Louis I

Louis I or Louis the Pious, Fr. Louis le Pieux or Louis le Débonnaire, 778–840, emperor of the West (814–40), son and successor of Charlemagne. He was crowned king of Aquitaine in 781 and co-emperor with his father in 813. His court was a learned one; his advisers included Benedict of Aniane. At the Assembly of Aachen (817) he issued an imperial order that sought to preserve the unity of the empire by breaking with tradition and not dividing the empire among his heirs. He thus made his eldest son, Lothair I, co-emperor and gave Aquitaine and Bavaria to his sons Pepin I and Louis the German. Louis's attempts to create a kingdom for Charles (later Emperor of the West Charles II), his son by a second marriage, provoked several revolts by his older sons. In 822, Louis repented publicly for his persecution of the rebels. In 830, Lothair rebelled and became virtually sole ruler of the empire. However, Pepin and Louis the German, fearing Lothair's supremacy, soon restored their father to power. Another revolt by all three sons occurred in 833. Louis met the rebels near Colmar on a field known since then as the Field of Lies (Ger. Lügenfeld) because of the general defection of the imperial troops. Louis, compelled to surrender, was formally deposed, and Lothair became sole emperor. Yet in 834, Louis the German and Pepin once more joined against Lothair and restored Louis. Later he partitioned his empire between Lothair and Charles and died while attempting to uphold the partition against the Aquitanians and Louis the German.

Louis I, 1786–1868, king of Bavaria (1825–48), son and successor of King Maximilian I. He was chiefly responsible for transforming Munich into one of the handsomest capitals of Europe and for making it a center of the arts. His reign, liberal at first, became reactionary, and his unpopularity was heightened by his liaison with Lola Montez. The Revolution of 1848 forced him to abdicate in favor of his son, Maximilian II.

Louis I, French king: see Louis I, emperor of the West.

Louis I or Louis the Great, 1326–82, king of Hungary (1342–82) and of Poland (1370–82). He succeeded his father, Charles I, in Hungary, and his uncle, Casimir III, in Poland. He continued the internal policy of his father, favoring the church and the commerce of the towns. In 1351 he confirmed the Golden Bull of Andrew II, but to assure the continuance of a strong and wealthy military class he applied the system of entail to the estates of the nobles and made it mandatory for serfs to pay one ninth of their farm produce to their overlords. He was rarely forced to appeal to the diet for funds; as a result, its meetings became less frequent. The murder (1345) of his brother Andrew at the court of Andrew's wife, Joanna I of Naples, broke Hungary's alliance with the western branch of the Angevin dynasty and slowed Louis's reconquest of Dalmatia. Two successful wars (1357–58, 1378–81) against Venice, however, gained him Dalmatia and Ragusa. The rulers of Serbia, Walachia, Moldavia, and Bulgaria became his vassals. In Poland, where his campaign (1354) against the Tatars and the Lithuanians had made him popular, he was unable to prevent revolts after his accession. In 1377, Louis campaigned successfully against the Ottomans. He brought Hungarian power to its peak and also fostered art and learning, which were influenced both by Louis's French background and by his campaigns that brought Hungarians in contact with the Italian Renaissance. Louis had no male heir but provided for his succession by marrying his eldest daughter, Mary, to Sigismund (later Holy Roman emperor). After a period of turmoil following Louis's death, Mary and Sigismund ruled Hungary jointly. Poland refused to continue the union of the crowns, so his younger daughter, Jadwiga, succeeded him as ruler of Poland.

Louis I, 1339–84, king of Naples (1382–84; rival claimant to Charles III), duke of Anjou, count of Provence, second son of John II of France. He founded the second Angevin line in Naples. As a regent for his nephew, Charles VI of France, he was noted for his rapacity. In 1380, Joanna I of Naples adopted Louis as heir to the throne and to Provence, repudiating her first choice, Charles of Durazzo. Charles, supported by his uncle, Pope Urban VI, conquered the kingdom (1381) and was crowned king of Naples as Charles III. Supported by the antipope Clement VII (Robert of Geneva), Louis I invaded the kingdom, but his troops soon deserted, and he died shortly thereafter. His claim then passed to his son, Louis II.

Louis I, 1838–89, king of Portugal (1861–89), son of Maria II and Ferdinand II. He succeeded to the throne on the death of his brother Peter V. His reign was marked by much political turmoil and by a growth of republicanism, while a succession of alternating liberal and conservative ministries accomplished little. In 1886, Portugal secured French and German recognition of its claim to the African interior between Angola and Mozambique, but this was challenged by Great Britain. Slavery was abolished in the Portuguese colonies during Louis's reign, and Portugal made considerable progress in transportation, commerce, and industry. Louis was succeeded by his son, Charles I.

REFERENCE

Por, A. Nagy Lajos…. Budapest, 1892.