Louis VI of France

Louis VI, called the Fat or the Fighter, reigned as King of the Franks from 1108 to 1137. Like his father Philip I, Louis made a lasting contribution to centralizing the institutions of royal power. He spent much of his twenty-nine-year reign fighting – either against the "robber barons" who plagued the Ile de France, or against Henry I of England for the English continental possessions in Normandy. Nonetheless, Louis VI managed to reinforce his influence considerably, often resorting to force to bring lawless knights to justice, and was the first member of the House of Capet to issue ordonnan…