Louis X of France (The Kalmar Union)

Louis X was King of France during the early 14th century. Generally remembered as a dour, gloomy figure he would attempt to leverage France's apparent up-swing in fortunes into domination of Francia as a whole but would ultimately be stymied by circumstance.

His father had shorn up the French realms perilous position by defeating Champagne over the course of the Berry War. Louis, on his ascession to the throne in 1302 sought to expand his direct realm to areas long-since lost to foreign powers. His first target would be to the south.

Aragon was slowly been strengthening its grip on Francia's southern region; the Langue D'oc, or Gothia, especially as it had largely routed out Cathar heresy and appropriated many estates for the benefit of the Aragonese crown itself. Pope Boniface VIII was mostly unimpressed by Peter III's suppression of heresy and instead accused him of attacking Sicily which it claimed as a Papal fief excommunicating him in early 1304. Louis X was quick to seize the opportunity and the French nobility, still bitter from the failure of the Albigensian Crusade, were happy to support him. Learning the lessons of the crusade, the French avoided hostile Auvergnese lands and with Aquitanian allies ploughed into the Aragonese possessions with great success, at least at first.

Following the capture of Roussillon in May 1305 Louis had himself crowned King of Majorca. Thereafter the French position was undermined; firstly the Aquitanian navy was crushed at the Battle of Les Formigues, then the French army routed at Perpignan. Louis would only escape this disaster thanks to the quick thinking of his retinue and all of the advances of the previous year had to be abandoned. Boniface VIII would make peace in 1307 following a similarly futile attempt by Castile to assuage the Papacy's honour. The Aragonese domination of southern Francia would only solidify and they would be mostly free to reconcentrate their full attentions on Naples once more.

France would be much affected by the 'Great Famine' of 1315-1322 which would blight much of Northern Europe. Whilst the effects would linger suppressing the French economy for years it had a more immediate effect on Louis' ambitions; a war against Weesex had to be completely abandoned as the conditions made warfare effectively impossible.

For the remainder of his reign Louis was occupied with the restoration of France's treasury and legal matters stemming from it. This structural improvement would allow his successor, his only son Louis, to briefly become master of Northern Francia.