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Catholic world, any objection it made carried significant moral authority. 91 Indeed the pope
threatened to halt all diplomatic ties between France and Rome if something was not done about
the Sorbonne’s censure.
The escalating debate between the Ultramontanists and the Gallicans deeply troubled the
crown. Detesting the ideas presented by Santarelli, Louis XIII worried about the potential action
that could be taken by certain French subjects whose loyalty to the Catholic faith was stronger
than to the kingdom. He was also concerned about the aggressive stance taken by the Paris
Parlement and the Faculty of Theology, both of which continued to pursue punishment for the
Society even following the signed condemnation of the Tractatus de haeresi. 92 Louis considered
these actions as an infringement upon his sovereign duties. 93 Seeing a threat to royal authority
from both sides, the king knew he must step in to prevent either the Gallicans or the
Ultramontanists from gaining too much control of the conflict.
To exercise his powers over the French institutions, Louis XIII issued a royal decree on 6
November ordering all parties to cease discussion of the topic. 94 Then in January he forced the
faculty to revoke its censure of the Santarelli book. 95 These efforts reminded the involved
parties of the limits of their jurisdiction in matters of faith and law. As for the fate of the
Ultramontanists, scholars suggest that the crown was satisfied with the Jesuits’ decision to sign
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Parlement’s written condemnation. I believe, however, that Louis XIII found an additional
method by which to remind the Society and its supporters of his royal authority. Just two months
after the Faculty of Theology retracted its censure, the king participated in the ceremonial
placement of the first stone of Saint-Louis-des-Jésuites. I argue that for this event Louis XIII
specifically commissioned medals conveying messages of model rulers with absolute power and
defenders against tyranny to assert his sovereignty over those whose loyalties may have
remained with Rome.
An important precedent provided the king with a model for this approach. As Eric
Nelson has shown, Louis XIII’s father Henri IV, who also recognized dual threats to his
authority, had taken advantage of Parlement’s banishment of the Society to expand and define
royal power. 97 On one side, he felt that the Parlement’s actions toward the Jesuits signaled an
extension of the court’s rights into those traditionally held by the king. 98 On the other side, he
knew that the acceptance of a religious society that purported to be loyal to Rome was a potential
threat to the crown. To remedy the situation, Henri IV crafted the Edict of Rouen, allowing the
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