Can you share some facts that you think are interesting and little known about Louis XIII? I would love to hear them, thank you so much for this blog <3
I know this is an old ask and I actually wanted to respond on the first day I saw it but then life's obstacles suddenly screwed things up for me again lol. I am really back though, just still recovering... The thing is as much as I'd love to come back with twenty five posts in a row, I'm also afraid that I'm the type of person who needs to come back gradually or else I won't be able to come back anywhere at all ahaha.
At first I wanted to make a list of facts that would be at least a little unusual for other already hyperfixated ppl like me to read, but then I realized that everything would seem "too average" so I kind of gave in and eventually decided to pick a few completely random ahh facts that just aren't nuanced enough for big posts (I'll leave them for a dessert~) and don't seem to get discussed often, so here we go!
I. Private concerts.
Surprisingly, the grandiose interest in ballet dancing wasn't always like that for a king, but all because it was part of his educational program! It's difficult to immediately express active interest in something if it's presented under the dull and ugly word "program", especially when you are a child. However, it did not include such things that he himself enthusiastically asked to be taught, that's just how much he liked them! Among those things, of course, was painting, but right now I really want to talk a little about music specifically. Louis was such a fierce fan of playing the lute from his earliest childhood that from such a strong love for the instrument, he nicknamed it "the King of instruments". It's not surprising that this beautiful stringed wonder was so popular at the court of Louis, but not everyone knows that the king also held cycles of private concerts dedicated to lute music. There he performed wonderfully himself, and also invited other musicians he respected and close friends-connoisseurs to these concerts.
II. Bass or baritone?
Although it's not stated anywhere directly, but in fact, voice was also one of his favorite instruments! Ever since he was very young, the king really liked to sing in the morning, before sleep and on many other occasions. At the age of three, he was already coming up with something of his own to the instrumental music of other songs, long before his completely authentic compositions were born! But have you ever wondered what the voice of someone from such a distant past might have sounded like? Of course, we don't have a concrete answer to this question, but there's still some food for thought! I had to stick my nose in a lot of places just to come to only one clear conclusion, namely this - Louis XIII is practically never mentioned anywhere as a tenor. What does it mean (in case you didn't know): in classical choral music, the voice types, from the lowest to the highest, have specific names. Tenor is the highest male voice, baritone is the middle voice, and bass is the lowest and rarest voice. If I'm not mistaken, there are some other subclassifications, but these three are considered the main ones for men... What am I getting at? Some say he was a bass, while others say he only sang the first bass part, which is the main catch. When choral parts are divided into first bass and second bass, it does not mean that the ones with the lowest voices sing in both! In fact, the first bass part is usually sung by baritones, who are comfortable hitting notes from approximately G2 to E4. In any case however, there's a chance that Louis had a fairly low voice, perhaps closer to baritone! But here we are already going a little beyond the clarity of facts, so let's move on.
III. The King and his little friends.
As some of us probably already know, Louis was an outstandingly skilled shooter, and his love of hunting which he inherited from Henry IV even inspired him to create an iconic ballet about hunting the blackbird (for which a fresh post is currently being prepared on a huge platter as a wip). In the sacred book of all fandom, you can already guess which one, an interesting incident was described on January 1608, from which we learn that our contradictory blorbo not only hunted birds, but also showed care for the feathered ones. Then the little Dauphin told his doctor, Jean Heroard, that he caught little birds during a snowfall and since then for some time they lived on the terrace of his room, where there was a fountain, closed in an aviary: «I have a company of little birds in my aviary, which I put there during the frost. There is an Ardennes chaffinch who is the captain; another chaffinch, the lieutenant, and another, the ensign. There is a lark who is the drummer, and a goldfinch who is the fifer. Every day I had a pot full of embers in there, and they came all around, two by two, warming themselves, and they sang. Then I added wine to the water they drank, and the drummer got drunk.» I hope that I'm not the only one who somehow sees penguins from Madagascar in this... well, ahem. Similar things were described later, although something tells me that those are more about birds of prey, which were then kept in aviaries for the hunt. In the diary of Heroard it says that the king raised his own birds and gave them what was called "meal" (or in French "la mangeaille"). He went alone into the forest and into the aviary, in such simple-looking clothes that one day in Saint-Germain, a miller chased him, mistaking him for a falconer and stubbornly insisting that he had stolen his hen, which gave the king as much of enjoyment as the argument that arose between them.
The last one is my favorite actually, because Louis seemed to be in no hurry to reveal his true status and it was nice for him to just feel like, even if only for a few moments, a simple falconer, and not the king of France, and there's just something so... human about this? Anyway, I apologize that it turned out so short! I just want to describe everything in more detail on almost all other topics, but then this post would be too endless for a simple ask ahaha. So, as a bonus, I can add a few more truly quick mini-facts without context: 1. He had a monkey for whom he designed and cut clothes; 2. He hated math, but loved history, music and art; 3. He tried to grow green peas on his own; 4. He was a dog person; 5. He loved water procedures and bathing.
There are also more serious or dark topics that I really want to cover, but at the same time I wanted to start my comeback with something lighthearted, so the next post will either be about dogs or ballet... No idea how to end this, so I guess stay tuned for the new updates :р Thank u sm for the ask, love y'all 💞
What a detailed, interesting post, and........... OH THE ART ‼️✨‼️✨‼️✨
Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my question. Reading this post is like opening up an illustrated fairy tale, haha 📜🕯️
I've always wanted to learn more about Louis XIII's life and hobbies; he really had some little pleasures that we'd sometimes be surprised to learn about. Cooking, playing the lute, and keeping pet birds were probably three of them 🥹
Your description of his voice makes me curious about his performances, too. Do you think he also likes to hum a tune while working? 🤭
And I sympathize with the boredom with math, Louis XIII 😔 I still don't understand how we survived learning math 😔
If I remember correctly, he also enjoyed participating in mock battles as a child? Maybe his love of history had a lot to do with it 🤭
Ohh I'm so happy that my post made you feel this way!! Your comparison made me shed a tear of joy bc I actually dream of publishing my own fairy tales with illustrations lol. One day I'll make it happen...
I'm so glad to hear it made you curious too! It means that I did everything right haha 😅
Hell yah he like LOVED singing really often as a child so It's fun to think that he could at least partially keep this habit. So yes, I can easily picture him humming something while doing almost anything 👀
Unfortunately my memory's no less vague, but I wouldn't be surprised at his interest in mock battles as he definitely loved action oriented activities + I don't remember him complaining about the trainings or anything like that...
Aaaaand same with math. Sorry to all the math fans but ughhhH WHY how?? But whatever, I enjoyed reading ur little thoughts that my post managed to provoke, makes my motivation grow 🥹 Thank you sm for the feedback, I appreciate it! 💖
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I just want to say I love your blog, the quality of the writing and the edited photos are amazing. We need more people to know about this ''cult'' 🥹🫶
Heeeey it seems like I already responded to this one in my head but absolutely forgot to do it outside of it sorry!! Thank you lots for the sweet words, I'm especially happy to hear about my writing being liked by someone because I honestly doubt my english all the time (not my first language :c)
Yeah the time of his reign is so unfairly forgotten I'm preeetty sure I won't abandon this blog ever even if I catch the craziest hiatus in history because I always have something to say about it ahaha. I've got too many ideas for every interest of mine but I absolutely. can't. manage my time unfortunately 🫠
Btw I was beyond happy reading your recent reblog oh gosh, will def respond to it a little bit later! 💖🫶
Can you share some facts that you think are interesting and little known about Louis XIII? I would love to hear them, thank you so much for this blog <3
I know this is an old ask and I actually wanted to respond on the first day I saw it but then life's obstacles suddenly screwed things up for me again lol. I am really back though, just still recovering... The thing is as much as I'd love to come back with twenty five posts in a row, I'm also afraid that I'm the type of person who needs to come back gradually or else I won't be able to come back anywhere at all ahaha.
At first I wanted to make a list of facts that would be at least a little unusual for other already hyperfixated ppl like me to read, but then I realized that everything would seem "too average" so I kind of gave in and eventually decided to pick a few completely random ahh facts that just aren't nuanced enough for big posts (I'll leave them for a dessert~) and don't seem to get discussed often, so here we go!
I. Private concerts.
Surprisingly, the grandiose interest in ballet dancing wasn't always like that for a king, but all because it was part of his educational program! It's difficult to immediately express active interest in something if it's presented under the dull and ugly word "program", especially when you are a child. However, it did not include such things that he himself enthusiastically asked to be taught, that's just how much he liked them! Among those things, of course, was painting, but right now I really want to talk a little about music specifically. Louis was such a fierce fan of playing the lute from his earliest childhood that from such a strong love for the instrument, he nicknamed it "the King of instruments". It's not surprising that this beautiful stringed wonder was so popular at the court of Louis, but not everyone knows that the king also held cycles of private concerts dedicated to lute music. There he performed wonderfully himself, and also invited other musicians he respected and close friends-connoisseurs to these concerts.
II. Bass or baritone?
Although it's not stated anywhere directly, but in fact, voice was also one of his favorite instruments! Ever since he was very young, the king really liked to sing in the morning, before sleep and on many other occasions. At the age of three, he was already coming up with something of his own to the instrumental music of other songs, long before his completely authentic compositions were born! But have you ever wondered what the voice of someone from such a distant past might have sounded like? Of course, we don't have a concrete answer to this question, but there's still some food for thought! I had to stick my nose in a lot of places just to come to only one clear conclusion, namely this - Louis XIII is practically never mentioned anywhere as a tenor. What does it mean (in case you didn't know): in classical choral music, the voice types, from the lowest to the highest, have specific names. Tenor is the highest male voice, baritone is the middle voice, and bass is the lowest and rarest voice. If I'm not mistaken, there are some other subclassifications, but these three are considered the main ones for men... What am I getting at? Some say he was a bass, while others say he only sang the first bass part, which is the main catch. When choral parts are divided into first bass and second bass, it does not mean that the ones with the lowest voices sing in both! In fact, the first bass part is usually sung by baritones, who are comfortable hitting notes from approximately G2 to E4. In any case however, there's a chance that Louis had a fairly low voice, perhaps closer to baritone! But here we are already going a little beyond the clarity of facts, so let's move on.
III. The King and his little friends.
As some of us probably already know, Louis was an outstandingly skilled shooter, and his love of hunting which he inherited from Henry IV even inspired him to create an iconic ballet about hunting the blackbird (for which a fresh post is currently being prepared on a huge platter as a wip). In the sacred book of all fandom, you can already guess which one, an interesting incident was described on January 1608, from which we learn that our contradictory blorbo not only hunted birds, but also showed care for the feathered ones. Then the little Dauphin told his doctor, Jean Heroard, that he caught little birds during a snowfall and since then for some time they lived on the terrace of his room, where there was a fountain, closed in an aviary: «I have a company of little birds in my aviary, which I put there during the frost. There is an Ardennes chaffinch who is the captain; another chaffinch, the lieutenant, and another, the ensign. There is a lark who is the drummer, and a goldfinch who is the fifer. Every day I had a pot full of embers in there, and they came all around, two by two, warming themselves, and they sang. Then I added wine to the water they drank, and the drummer got drunk.» I hope that I'm not the only one who somehow sees penguins from Madagascar in this... well, ahem. Similar things were described later, although something tells me that those are more about birds of prey, which were then kept in aviaries for the hunt. In the diary of Heroard it says that the king raised his own birds and gave them what was called "meal" (or in French "la mangeaille"). He went alone into the forest and into the aviary, in such simple-looking clothes that one day in Saint-Germain, a miller chased him, mistaking him for a falconer and stubbornly insisting that he had stolen his hen, which gave the king as much of enjoyment as the argument that arose between them.
The last one is my favorite actually, because Louis seemed to be in no hurry to reveal his true status and it was nice for him to just feel like, even if only for a few moments, a simple falconer, and not the king of France, and there's just something so... human about this? Anyway, I apologize that it turned out so short! I just want to describe everything in more detail on almost all other topics, but then this post would be too endless for a simple ask ahaha. So, as a bonus, I can add a few more truly quick mini-facts without context: 1. He had a monkey for whom he designed and cut clothes; 2. He hated math, but loved history, music and art; 3. He tried to grow green peas on his own; 4. He was a dog person; 5. He loved water procedures and bathing.
There are also more serious or dark topics that I really want to cover, but at the same time I wanted to start my comeback with something lighthearted, so the next post will either be about dogs or ballet... No idea how to end this, so I guess stay tuned for the new updates :р Thank u sm for the ask, love y'all 💞
➥ infinite list of favorite historical figures : [3/∞] Louis XIII of France
The historical reputation of Louis XIII has been overshadowed by two figures close to him—his chief minister, Cardinal Richelieu , and his son, Louis XIV. Richelieu stands as the personification of seventeenth-century statecraft, and his steely brilliance is generally credited for bringing France from its sorry state following the Wars of Religion to the verge of greatness. Louis XIV - the French king par excellence, the very embodiment of royalty in all its grandeur and power. In comparison, the stammering Louis XIII seems a ruler of diminished stature indeed. This second of the Bourbon kings, however, deserves a more exalted place in history. His reign witnessed the decisive consolidation of monarchical power and France’s rise to European prominence.
Louis’s reign formally began upon the assassination of his father Henry IV in 1610, but the government remained in the hands of his mother, Marie de Médicis, who ruled as regent until 1617. The regency was a turbulent time, marred by noble conspiracies and revolts. In 1617 Louis took power in a veritable coup d'état. Historians looking to credit Louis with more initiative and political savvy than he is usually accorded have pointed to this decisive act by a fifteen-year-old. And in general it should be noted that Louis faced a series of daunting challenges, both at home and abroad, including near-permanent opposition, often rebellion, from his mother and brother and the growing crisis of the Thirty Years’ War (1618–1648), while still a teenager and a young man in his twenties.
The coup d'état of 1617 was the first in a series of acts that served as turning points in Louis’s reign, demonstrating his deep and precocious appreciation of the craft of kingship. Louis was a dutiful ruler, fully cognizant of the demands of his position. His initiative was next displayed in 1624, when he appointed Richelieu to the royal council. This was a move fraught with potential difficulties, for Richelieu was his mother’s man, a figure of formidable and widely recognized talents. The choice, however, turned out to be a brilliant stroke of talent spotting. Richelieu brought discipline, intellectual rigor, and an enormous capacity for work to the royal cabinet. Together they managed to concentrate royal power in a partnership that many great noblemen and especially the queen mother and the king’s brother Gaston. But it was a partnership that soon bore fruit in the successful siege of the Huguenot stronghold La Rochelle in 1627–1628.
In 1635 France formally entered the Thirty Years’ War.Even before that, Louis was preoccupied with martial matters. He had to face down a series of revolts, rebellions, and conspiracies—from his mother, brother, great noblemen, Huguenots, peasants, and even court favorites. Louis saw himself as a warrior-king, frequently exposing himself to great danger by personally leading his armies into battle.Louis’s martial bent contrasted with other aspects of his personality. He was constantly ill and several times at death’s door. He abhorred ceremony and indeed cut a poor figure in public. He suffered from neglect, even abuse, as a child and received a poor education at court. His marriage to Anne of Austria in 1615 took four years to consummate, and their married life was marked by long periods of estrangement. Louis, however, seems to have remained faithful to his wife. The birth of the dauphin in 1638, after years of inactivity in the marriage bed, was considered a miracle. Only five years later Louis died at the age of forty-two.
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I love how at first I made Louis a birthday post then disappeared for months again (bc my mental health suddenly went off rails after a few weeks AGAIN) and now I'm back again just to realise that tomorrow is his and his father's death day ;-;
Sorry I've been away but now I'm finally back! It was quite sad to see Louis XIII not getting any birthday posts on Tumblr lately so lemme fix it!!
A couple days ago + 423 years ago, in the Fontainebleau Palace in Paris, on September 27, one unusual boy was born, who later became not only a real king, but also a very talented and strong person 🎂
It is he who still gives me inspiration with his far from simple yet super interesting story and undoubted creativity, behind the curtains of which you can see two hands of a tough warrior grabbing his favourite lute and gently playing his beautiful songs... oh even I can't comprehend the way this guy makes me feel it's impossible to tell in just few words!
Unfortunately, he was also a victim of constant betrayals and 'cause of that his personality is still shrouded in a veil of contradictory myths and disrespectful fairy tales.
However, from now on I'm going to be more active on this blog to at least try to help the situation by inviting everyone into this beautiful and ugly, even tragic, sometimes weird but fascinating world in which he actually lived and grew into such a wonderful and complex person that we know him as 🕊️
Happy belated birthday to you, king Louis XIII of France!!👑
The room is named for Louis XIII because he was born here in 1601. It was redecorated just after his birth. The paintings on the walls and ceiling by the Flemish painter Ambroise Dubois are illustrations of a Greek novel called The Loves of Théagène and Cariclée, but the characters have been dressed in 16th-century style. The furniture is from the 19th century.
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When it comes to our Louis XIII cult, I often refer to the king's iconic omelettes, but what about his other stuff? For example, he really loved sweets (like beignets or jams), but could he also cook them? The answer is YES, and that's not even all yet!
Louis was a curious child who's head was already filled with various interests and cooking became one of them when he was only ten years old at the time (which is quite unusual for a king). First ever case of the king cooking was recorded on february 11th of 1611, when he was preparing milk soups for the Duchess of Guise / Catherine of Cleves. So milk soup, most likely, could be Louis' very first dish made by himself!
Of course many kids have a sweet tooth and our precious omelette king was not an exception which I guess is why he started to learn how to cook mostly from recipes of sweets. Also, take a shot every time I say "sweets" or "cooking" (don't..) 🕊️
So, among 17th century royal sw- *ahem* DESSERTS we had in our menu – a jam, quince jelly, beignets (basically french donuts) and marzipans. In a well-known, among many of y'all Louis stalkers, journal of his doctor Jean Héroard I found some clear evidence of Louis XIII cooking some of these himself, so here it is feat. me periodically panicking over my own translation because my half-french friend is too busy atm and I don’t wanna bother them:
June 6th, 1611 — «He walks through the corridor from the study to the paneled gallery where he had an oven for making jams, he is amused to see how it's done.» I know it's not exactly him cooking, but I just wanted to leave it here :")
October 15th, 1612 — «Madame comes to see him; he has fun making jam with Mademoiselle de Vendôme»
January 29th, 1613 — «He often has fun making almond milk and marzipans at Madame's house.»
March 6th, 1615 — «It was very cold; he goes to the kitchen, makes omelettes, beignets, fried eggs; it was he who made them and ate a little of that he tasted.» Pretty sure the last few words could be translated better because it's always rather my terrible french or a little confusing way of Héroard's writing, so feel free to correct me.
February 3rd, 1616 — «He is preparing a small snack of dry jam for the queen, who must come to him at two o'clock. After going back to bed, he happily forms various battalions of his little silver men.»
February 5th, 1622 — «He leaves Saint-Germain, goes to Pontoise, where he enjoys making and eating beignets; while dining at Cormeille, he suddenly goes to the goblet in which he makes little cream puffs.» The original text says «petits choux au lait» and I have no idea what could that exactly be, but it seems like some sort of little éclair-like buns made of milk? Little cream puffs?? Maybe by «choux au lait» Jean meant «choux à la crème» which were invented back in 1540 in France.
I know you've been waiting for the quince jelly too, but unfortunately I couldn't find anything about the jelly :c Though, judging by what we've got here It's still quite possible Louis could cook quince jelly as well, hmm... Anyways, if you know something I don't know of the jelly mystery, hit me up!
In the future, this great love for desserts will be inherited by his son Philippe I, Duke of Orléans (brother of Louis XIV), who is also a very interesting character in history!!
In conclusion I must say that Louis not only had a sweet tooth, but also a big love for trying out different things, all this curiosity and pure excitement, even when it comes to something so simple and familiar like food, will never ever stop to fascinate me :"D
Btw speaking about Louis 'trying out different things', I of course still have a lot to share on this as well! Stay tuned and have a good day/night 💘💘💘
Mamma, I want so much to see you and ray little brother of Orleans, and if you do not come soon, I shall get my white riding coat and my stockings and boots, and I shall get on my little horse and go patata, patata. Mamma, I shall start to-morrow, early in the morning, for fear of the flies. Mamma, they tell me you have something pretty for me, and I want so much to see it. Do come, dear mamma. It is such fine weather, and you will find me so good. Meantime I am, mamma, your very humble and very obedient son.
DAUPHIN.
Letter from Louis XIII to his mother Marie de Medici when he was 4 years old. Unfortunately his mother never replied to his adorable letters. Louis one day asked wistfully why his mother never wrote.
“Papa tells me,” he said, “ that she makes ever so many smudges, but if she wrote to me, even if there were smudges, I should take care of the letter.”
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Louis XIII liked cooking and he is known for his omelette cooking skills. Below is a recipe from the man himself for a dessert omelette:
Ingredients
1 cup sliced strawberries
1/3 cup Framboise
1/2 tsp cornstarch dissolved in 2 tb of water
Dash of salt
1/3 cup sugar
2 tb unsalted butter
5 eggs
1 TB water
Instructions
Place strawberries and Framboise in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat for 3 minutes. Stir in cornstarch and keep cooking for 2-3 more minutes until mixture turns from cloudy to clear.
Mix eggs, salt, 3 tb sugar, and 1 tb water.
Melt butter in omelet pan with a metal handle. Pour in eggs and cook omelet until nearly set, but slightly soft on top.
Pour 2/3 of strawberry mixture on half of omelette. Turn omelette over. Sprinkle with remaining sugar and place under broiler for 1 minute.. Remove and top with remaining strawberry mixture.
Louis XIII of France, born 1601, reigned 1610-1643. Soldier, artist, musician, composer, dancer, hunter, and first and foremost, a king with no love for his role, but who spent his life strengthening the monarchy against the opposition of much of the nobility and most of his own family. Overshadowed in popular imagination by Cardinal Richelieu, but they were friends, not enemies - don’t believe the fiction, it’s based on junk written by people who hated them (and lost the political fight).
Also the most beautiful man I’ve ever seen in my life. <3
