France in the Age of Louis XIII and Richelieu

xix, 622 pp. Black-and-white illustrations. When Cardinal Richelieu became Louis XIII's chief minister in 1624, France was in danger of becoming a vassal state. By strengthening the power of the state and pressing the whole nation into its service, Louis and Richelieu helped to liberate France from its medieval shackles and opened wider horizons for every Frenchman. Traces the reign of Louis XIII from its ominous beginning in 1610 to its profoundly moving close thirty-three years later.