35 - Louis VII

Battle Royale: French Monarchs

Our seventh Louis, called Louis the Young, is overshadowed by practically everyone around him (his dad, his wife, his vassals, his friends, his enemies... the list goes on). But as times go, the middle of the 12th Century was certainly an interesting one.
In this episode, once Louis VII gets back from his disastrous crusade and finally splits with Eleanor of Aquitaine, we witness the end of the English Anarchy in the north, the Rise of the Angevin Empire just to the west, and the looming presence of Emperor Frederick Barbarossa just to the east.

How well can our pious, pliant and prudish donkey Louis hold onto his father's hard-won possessions in the face of such threats? Is the zealous Thomas Becket the key to bringing down those pesky Angevins? And what role will the ever-present Blois faction have in finally getting Louis the heir for whom he has prayed in vain?

Find out this week!

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Battle Royale's intro/outro music is "Dansez" by Fasion. Thank you to them for making this track free to use and listen! Go check out more of their stuff here.
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CATEGORIES
Ben and Eliza each give a score out of 10 for the first 4 categories. The 5th is determined by maths! The result is a total score out of 100.

1. Enchanté: The shallow, first-impressions round: How fabulous and iconic an image have they passed down to us?
2. En Garde: (A.K.A. “Selfish Wins”) How well did they gain and increase their personal power, either through scheming, statesmanship or good old fashion battles?
3. Voulez-Vous: (A.K.A. “Selfless Wins”) How much would we want to live under their regime? How well did they better the world around them through law reforms and cultural projects?
4. Ouh-Là-Là: How pearl-clutchingly scandalous were the events of their life, both in their time and down through the ages? How mad, bad and dangerous were they to know?
5. La Vie en Throne: How many years did they reign, and how many of their children survived them?

For more details on the scores, how they are calculated and how our kings are ranking, visit our website.