Louis the Quarrelsome: His Brief Reign, Wives and Son, John the Posthumous

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Master's Curse

In March 1314, Jacques Molay, the 23rd and last Master of the Templar Order, was executed. There is a legend according to which, having mounted the fire, he summoned his persecutors to God's judgment. They were the French monarch Philip IV, his close associate Guillaume de Nogaret and Pope Clement V. He cursed them and their descendants to the thirteenth generation and, already shrouded in clouds of smoke, promised that within a year their lives would end.

Further events developed as follows. Pope Clement V died the same year, in April, and Philip the Fair died in November. As for the reasons for their death, there are various versions in connection with it. Among them are both ordinary physical and occult ones. The personality of Guillaume Nogaret entered the legend by mistake, because he died back in 1313, in March.

Thus, according to legend, the reign of Louis the Grumpy began with a curse on his family.

Chapter III. Second Year of Public Service

The election of the twelve apostles was a great event in the preaching work of our Lord Jesus Christ. Before this, He had not yet made such a detailed presentation of the New Testament teaching, which was to replace the Old Testament. Now, with the election of devoted disciples and followers, ready to become heralds of the Kingdom of Heaven among the nations. The Lord began to reveal to them and to the people gathered on the mountain the secrets and spiritual treasures of the Kingdom of God, which He came to establish on earth.

The Jews, proud of the consciousness of their superiority over all the peoples of the earth, considering themselves a chosen people and especially loved by God, thought that they were called to dominate the whole world. Confused by such dreams, they ceased to understand the spiritual meaning of the prophecies about the Messiah and His Kingdom.

They were waiting for Him as a mighty king who would not only free them from earthly oppressors, but also enslave the whole world to them. They were even carried away by tales that the Messiah would stand in Joppa on the seashore and command the sea elements to throw pearls and all the treasures of the sea at His feet. Then He will dress His people in purple, adorned with precious stones, and will feed them with manna even sweeter than that which was sent in the wilderness. In a word, they dreamed in their own way about the Messiah and His Kingdom - and so not only the Pharisees and scribes dreamed, but almost all Jews. Even those who believed in Jesus as the Messiah expected that He would finally declare Himself the King of Israel. With such and such dreams, with such and such false views of the Messiah, they now surrounded Jesus on the Mount of Beatitudes.

The Lord opened His mouth and began to preach the gospel of the Kingdom of God. In His teaching, Christ first of all contrasts the Kingdom of Heaven with all the powers of this world, with all types of human organizations. For the Kingdom of Heaven is “not of this world,” it lives according to other laws, but it comes into this world and brings the laws of Heaven to earth.

The Kingdom of God is not a new social system, but first of all a new life for the human soul, a world in which God reigns inseparably. This is the kingdom of Love, Truth, Goodness, Peace, and the Grace of God. It is invisibly present among people. It is everywhere: in the family, in society and, above all, within every person. In the depths of the human spirit, in the pure heart of the human soul, God dwells, and with Him dwells peace, joy, love and bliss. It is here, into this divine world, into this spiritual heaven that opens in our hearts, that the Lord calls man to enter. To be with God, to carry Him in your heart is the greatest joy, this is the Kingdom of God on earth. For if a person has God in his heart, he has everything, even if he has lost everything in the world. A soul that has achieved bliss cannot close itself in on itself; it opens up to everyone, and is embraced by the fire of love for the whole world. Therefore, the Kingdom of God cannot remain the lot of individual souls. It must inevitably develop into the Kingdom of all-human spiritual unity, in the center of which God will reign. Abba Dorotheos expressed this thought in the form of a circle, in the center of which is God. The closer the radii are to the center, the closer they are to each other; The closer people are to God, the closer they are to each other. In the center everything merges together. There “God will be all in all” (1 Cor. 15:28).

But a person can enter the Kingdom of God only by cleansing his spirit from sin, for God will not enter a heart filled with spiritual idols. Even in a conversation with Nicodemus, Christ explained that in order to enter the Kingdom of God it is necessary to be spiritually reborn, re-educate oneself and, with God’s help, become someone else—a spiritual person. To do this, one must not be lazy, but exert all one’s strength, for “the Kingdom of God is taken by force” and only those who work and work on themselves will enter it. To enter the Kingdom of the God of Love, you need a constant struggle with yourself. This struggle requires sacrifices, spiritual purification: for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven, no feat can be too great

. “If... your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out... it is better for you that one of your members should perish, and not that your whole body should be cast into hell.”

On the scales of values, the Kingdom of God exceeds all the values ​​and ideals of the earth, all the great and noble goals of humanity. Whoever enters this Kingdom of Love and Truth will achieve true happiness (bliss), which man seeks in vain on earth without God. And only the poor in spirit, crying over their sins, the meek, hungry and thirsty for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, peacemakers, exiled for the truth, will enter it.

The proud will never enter the Kingdom of Love and Truth, but the humble, realizing his spiritual poverty, has already taken the path of perfection. He will cry over his sins, treat people meekly, thirst for God's truth, be merciful to his neighbors, create peace around him and take care of the purity of his heart. And if tests of his faith come, he, like a rock in a stormy sea, will remain strong, steadfast and devoted to God, despite any persecution. Whoever follows this path, the path of fulfilling the commandments of Christ, will undoubtedly see God, accept Him into his pure heart and will be happy with not earthly happiness.

Having taught the people the nine beatitudes, the Lord then turned directly to the apostles, who were to build the Church of Christ on these spiritual foundations of the New Testament. “You are the salt of the earth,” Christ said to His disciples, “Salt the world with My teaching, protect it from moral corruption. Remember that if the salt loses its strength, then what will you use to make it salty? It is no longer good for anything except throwing it out... Likewise, if you do not live according to the commandments of God, then your life will lose its highest meaning and you will become the laughing stock of people...

You are the light of the world. Enlighten him with My teaching. Bring the light of the Gospel into the dark kingdom of sin. So let your light shine before people, so that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in Heaven?” [ ].

The Beatitudes were so unusual for the listeners that to them, accustomed to the lifeless, hackneyed teaching of the rabbis, they could seem completely new, destroying the old law of Moses, on which the entire spiritual life of the chosen people was based. To dispel their bewilderment, Christ said to the people: “Do not think that I came to destroy the law of the prophets: I did not come to destroy, but to fulfill.”

The law of God, which is love for God and neighbors, must remain immutable at all times. But the Jews, and above all their spiritual leaders the scribes and Pharisees, have long since lost the true meaning of God's law. They turned into formal and petty executors of the Sinai law. Therefore, Christ warns His listeners: “Unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven.”

Weak ruler

Louis was a weak and spineless man. If his father pursued a deliberate policy to gain unlimited monarchical power, then he was unable to continue his work. During his reign, protests by the nobility against the king resumed. But Louis only entered into evasive agreements with the highest aristocracy, essentially remaining in his previous positions.

In fact, affairs in the kingdom were controlled by Charles of Valois, his uncle. Louis removed all of Philip IV's assistants and advisers from himself, and put some on trial. In 1315 he executed Enguerrand de Marigny, the first of his father's advisers. The king made many promises: about the restoration of the fief and judicial rights of feudal owners, about the minting of full-fledged coins instead of low-grade ones (as was the case under Louis IX, his grandfather).

He also promised to reduce the influence of the royal administration and legalists. The latter were lawyers who held positions in the state apparatus. They played a big role in the centralization of the French kingdom. However, the “good customs” that existed during the time of Saint Louis were never restored by the current king.

Excerpt characterizing John I (King of France)

Prince Andrei answered. This question was followed by other, equally simple questions: “Is Kutuzov healthy? How long ago did he leave Krems?” etc. The Emperor spoke with such an expression as if his whole goal was only to ask a certain number of questions. The answers to these questions, as was too obvious, could not interest him. – At what time did the battle begin? - asked the emperor. “I can’t tell your Majesty at what time the battle began from the front, but in Dürenstein, where I was, the army began the attack at 6 o’clock in the evening,” said Bolkonsky, perking up and at the same time assuming that he would be able to present what was already ready in his head a true description of everything that he knew and saw. But the emperor smiled and interrupted him: “How many miles?” - From where and to where, Your Majesty? – From Durenstein to Krems? - Three and a half miles, Your Majesty. -Have the French left the left bank? “As the scouts reported, the last ones crossed on rafts that night. – Is there enough fodder in Krems? – The fodder was not delivered in that quantity... The Emperor interrupted him. - At what time was General Schmit killed?... - At seven o’clock, it seems. - At 7:00. Very sad! Very sad! The Emperor said his thanks and bowed. Prince Andrei came out and was immediately surrounded on all sides by courtiers. Kind eyes looked at him from all sides and gentle words were heard. Yesterday's adjutant reproached him for not staying at the palace and offered him his home. The Minister of War approached, congratulating him on the Order of Maria Theresa, 3rd class, which the Emperor had bestowed upon him. The Empress's chamberlain invited him to see Her Majesty. The Archduchess also wanted to see him. He didn’t know who to answer, and took a few seconds to collect his thoughts. The Russian envoy took him by the shoulder, took him to the window and began to talk to him. Contrary to Bilibin’s words, the news he brought was received joyfully. A thanksgiving service was scheduled. Kutuzov was awarded the Grand Cross by Maria Theresa, and the entire army received decorations. Bolkonsky received invitations from all sides and had to make visits to the main dignitaries of Austria all morning. Having finished his visits at five o'clock in the evening, mentally composing a letter to his father about the battle and about his trip to Brunn, Prince Andrei returned home to Bilibin. At the porch of the house occupied by Bilibin, a britzka half-stuffed with belongings stood, and Franz, Bilibin’s servant, with difficulty dragging his suitcase, came out of the door. Before going to Bilibin, Prince Andrei went to a bookstore to stock up on books for the trip and sat in the shop. - What's happened? – asked Bolkonsky. - Ach, Erlaucht? - said Franz, with difficulty loading the suitcase into the chaise. – Wir ziehen noch weiter. Der Bosewicht ist schon wieder hinter uns her! [Ah, your Excellency! We go even further. The villain is already on our heels again.] - What is it? What? - asked Prince Andrei. Bilibin came out to meet Bolkonsky. There was excitement on Bilibin’s always calm face. “Non, non, avouez que c'est charmant,” he said, “cette histoire du pont de Thabor (bridge in Vienna). Ils l'ont passe sans coup ferir. [No, no, admit that this is a delight, this story with the Tabor Bridge. They crossed it without resistance.] Prince Andrey did not understand anything. - Where are you from that you don’t know what all the coachmen in the city already know? - I am from the Archduchess. I didn't hear anything there. – And didn’t you see that they are stacking everywhere? - I haven’t seen it... But what’s the matter? – Prince Andrei asked impatiently. - What's the matter? The fact is that the French crossed the bridge that Auesperg defends, and the bridge was not blown up, so Murat is now running along the road to Brunn, and today they will be here tomorrow.

Famous Ordinance

Feeling a constant need for money, Louis the Grumpy was forced to enlist the support of the townspeople who opposed the feudal lords. The most remarkable event in his reign was the offer to serfs of the opportunity to gain freedom by paying a cash ransom. It was made in 1315 and became the famous ordinance of Louis X.

In it, he abolished serfdom in his own domains and invited other lords to follow his example. The king declared that each of the French subjects should be free. Despite the fact that the adoption of this measure was dictated solely by financial considerations, it was the starting point in the abolition of serfdom throughout the country.

Louis continued the fight against Flanders begun by his father. He planned to conquer the Flanders cities, but failed. Almost all of this king's undertakings failed.

First wife of Louis the Grumpy

His wife was the daughter of the Duke of Burgundy (Robert II), the granddaughter of Saint Louis, who was her husband's cousin. Her name was Margarita. A rather unpleasant story was connected with it, which influenced the further fate of the French throne.

Shortly before the death of Philip the Handsome, it turned out that Margaret, the wife of Louis the Grumpy, as well as her sister, Blanca of Burgundy, were unfaithful to their husbands. The king, after the verdict of the court, imprisoned them in the castle of Chateau-Gaillard for life. Now the legitimacy of their children was in question.

However, according to the canons dictated by the Catholic Church, adultery was not considered as a basis for divorce. Therefore, Louis X, even after occupying the French throne, could not break the marriage bond with his unloved wife, who was in captivity.

When Margaret of Burgundy died in the prison of Château-Gaillard in 1315, rumors spread that her death had been violent and that she had been approved by Louis the Grumpy.

The tomb of Russian Emperor John VI discovered

During excavations in the village of Kholmogory, Arkhangelsk region, the grave of the Russian Emperor Ivan Antonovich (John VI) was found. The head of the search group, Anatoly Karanin, announced this at a press conference yesterday. Until now, historians had two versions about the burial place of this king: the Tikhvin Monastery and the Shlisselburg Fortress.

John VI was born on August 23, 1740 in St. Petersburg. After the death of Empress Anna Ioannovna, the two-month-old son of Princess Anna Leopoldovna and Prince Anton Ulrich of Brunswick, as well as the great-great-grandson of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, was proclaimed emperor. But he “reigned” for 404 days and was overthrown by the daughter of Peter the Great, Elizaveta Petrovna. The entire Brunswick family was sent into exile to Kholmogory. John was forever separated from his parents and in 1756 imprisoned in the Shlisselburg fortress. There, in 1764, already under Catherine II, he was killed by jailers when Lieutenant Vasily Mirovich tried to free the young Tsar.

Anatoly Karanin claims that he found the body of the murdered emperor in Kholmogory, during excavations on the territory of a church destroyed under Soviet rule. He bases his version on the following facts: the body was in a coffin made of Karelian pine, and it was too thick - therefore, it was intended for transportation, and not a regular burial. The pine was Karelian (that is, not far from Shlisselburg) and dates back to 1758 - that is, the tree grew shortly before the murder. Studies of the skeleton showed that the height and age of the murdered man coincided with the royal one, the wounds were inflicted exactly as described in the literature, the sword was stuck to the hilt. In addition, experts discovered an injury to the skull caused by an Italian triangular stiletto when he was 6 months old. Karanin even showed a similar stiletto, noting that the court physician Lestocq had just written that 6-month-old Ivan Antonovich was very sick. Karanin considers the likelihood of such coincidences to be negligible.

No documents have survived that accurately indicate the burial place of John VI. But based on reports from contemporaries, a number of historians believe that the murdered emperor was buried on the territory of the Tikhvin Monastery, under the porch of the temple. Deputy head of the Bureau of Forensic Medicine of the Leningrad Region, Professor Yuri Molin, told Izvestia about this. According to him, Grand Duke Nikolai Mikhailovich shared the same opinion.

But there is another point of view. “We do not show the tomb of John VI to visitors,” says Yulia Dyakova, a researcher at the Oreshek Fortress Museum. “But the Marquis de Custine, in his memoirs about a visit to the Shlisselburg fortress, writes that the commandant of the fortress showed it to him, behind the church, under a rose bush. The Marquis even concluded: “In Russia, victims of arbitrariness do not have graves.”

A genetic examination can tell exactly whose body was found in Kholmogory, but Anatoly Karanin does not have the means to do so. During a press conference, lawyer for the House of Romanov German Lukyanov expressed surprise that the remains were not handed over to the prosecutor's office to initiate a criminal case. However, prosecutor-criminologist Vladimir Solovyov, who dealt with the royal remains found in Yekaterinburg, says: “Archaeologists annually find hundreds of burials, and do not initiate cases.” According to Solovyov, it is more likely that the prosecutor’s office will check that the search engines have the documents required for excavation and opening of the burial. By the way, the remains of the children of Nicholas II, the authenticity of which has long been confirmed by leading world experts, still lie in the refrigerator of the Yekaterinburg Forensic Bureau.

Second marriage and death

As soon as the king freed himself from Margarita, he hastened to enter into a second marriage. His wife was the Neapolitan princess. It was Clementia of Hungary. Soon the king set out on a campaign against Flanders, which ended in failure. When he returned, he fell ill with a fever and died at a young age.

After the death of Louis the Grumpy, Clementia gave birth to a son from him, Jean I Posthumous. The baby lived only four days. There was an opinion that this was the result of a conspiracy in which Countess Mago Artois was involved, who sought to place her daughter and son-in-law on the throne. However, there is no evidence for this version.

Jeanne, the daughter from her first marriage, was removed from the French crown. Louis X's younger brothers also had no male offspring, which led to the suppression of the older Capetian line. The Valois dynasty reigned on the throne, and the Hundred Years' War began.

Biography

By virtue of Salic law, the throne was not allowed to be inherited by sister Joanna (Jeanne) of Navarre, the daughter of Louis X from his first marriage to Margaret of Burgundy, and the regent of the kingdom, Louis’s younger brother, Count of Poitiers Philip, became the baby’s successor. The succession to the throne caused a dynastic crisis, since for more than three centuries such difficulties with the succession to the throne had not arisen - since the time of Hugh Capet, among the Capetians, power had always passed without difficulty from father to eldest son.

There were rumors that Philip V was involved in the death of his newborn nephew; others claimed that Philip kidnapped John and replaced him with a dead child. Subsequently, impostors appeared, posing as John the Posthumous; one of them, named Giannino di Guccio Baglioni, acted in the 1350s in Provence and was imprisoned there, where he died.

Rumors said that King John I was poisoned by Philip's mother-in-law, Countess Matilda d'Artois (Mago d'Artois) - this ambitious lady allegedly dreamed of her son-in-law and daughter becoming king and queen of France.

There is an authentic codex of Cola di Rienzo, which describes the whole story of Mago’s poisoning of the son, but not of the queen, but of the nurse (the substitute king, according to the code, was brought up in France, then in Italy under the name Baglioni).

The Child King was buried in the basilica of the Abbey of Saint-Denis. During the French Revolution, his grave was desecrated, his remains were thrown out, and his tombstone was broken. The current tombstone is a new one.