The Finances of the King Who Struck the Sun

A Mark Other Than the King's Face

On November 2, 1475, a new gold coin was born: the écu d'or au soleil—the gold écu with a sun. Its name came from the small sun placed above the shield. Why did the king have a sun, rather than his own face, struck on the coinage?

It was a manifestation of his will to restore the currency to a sound state, reversing a trend in which the value of the coinage inherited at the beginning of his reign had reportedly been subject to debasement. On the same day, billon coins for the common people's markets were also struck. The sun was a symbol declaring the restored radiance of royal authority.

The Spider's Web Woven with Gold

Louis XI was called the 'Universal Spider' in the chronicles of his enemies, the Burgundians. This was an accusation of weaving webs of conspiracy. He confronted the powerful Duke of Burgundy, Charles the Bold, but preferred not to engage in decisive battles himself.

With the Treaty of Picquigny in 1475, he paid King Edward IV of England, who had landed on the continent, an immediate sum of 75,000 écus and an annual pension of 50,000 écus to make him withdraw. Furthermore, he provided subsidies to the Swiss and set them against the Bold Duke. The Duke fell at Nancy in 1477, in a battle against the army of the Duke of Lorraine and the Swiss. The king dismantled the wealthiest of duchies through bribery and an army woven with gold.

The Sinews of the State, the Taille Tax

Where did these abundant funds come from? The source was the taille, a direct tax made permanent by his father, Charles VII, in 1439. Louis XI developed this tax into a source of revenue for the standing army and diplomacy, increasing the levy approximately threefold over the course of his reign. Historical sources suggest a range, some saying twofold, others fourfold.

The clergy, nobility, and privileged towns were exempt, leaving the heavy burden solely on the shoulders of the commoners. With this tax revenue, the king strengthened the compagnies d'ordonnance inherited from his father. It was not just for war. His was a policy of moving money and commerce not through war or debasement, but through institutions. Just as he protected the great fairs of Lyon and transferred to it the prosperity of Geneva, his reign was one that moved wealth through institutions.

The Legacy of the Sun

When Louis XI passed away in 1483, a backlash against the heavy taxes occurred. In 1484, the Estates-General, convened in Tours, demanded a reduction of the taille, and the standing cavalry was reduced from 24,000 to 15,000.

However, neither the centralized finances left by his father nor the sound money of the écu au soleil were dismantled. Using these abundant crown resources, his successor, Charles VIII, marched his army into Italy in 1494. The gold coins counted on that occasion were none other than the sun coins created by his father.