Louis (22 January 1397 – 18 December 1415) was the eighth of twelve children of King Charles VI of France and Isabeau of Bavaria. He was their third son and the second to hold the titles Dauphin of Viennois and Duke of Guyenne, inheriting them in 1401, at the death of his older brother, Charles (1392–1401).
Louis was born between the eighth and ninth hours of the evening in the royal Hôtel Saint-Pol in Paris. He was baptised the next day in the parish church of Saint-Paul, with eight prelates attending, including the abbot of Saint-Denis. Present also was a large assembly of noblemen and ladies. The infant was carried to the font by Duke Louis I of Orléans, Pierre le Bègue de Villaines, and Countess Joan of Ligny. They gave him the name Louis and the archbishop of Vienne performed the baptism.
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In his mother's household
The first years of Louis's life were spent in the care of his mother. Only after the death of his elder brother Charles on 13 January 1401 did he take on a political importance by inheriting the Dauphiné. On 14 January, King Charles formally invested Louis with the Duchy of Guyenne, which was also raised into a peerage (pairie). On 28 February 1402, Charles juridically emancipated his son and Louis performed homage for Guyenne. Nonetheless, the young dauphin did not have his own household or treasury, but the monies collected by the treasurer-general of the Dauphiné were deposited with his mother. The revenues of Guyenne were overseen by John, Duke of Berry, as lieutenant-general of Languedoc.