Death of Louis XIV
Louis XIV died on the morning of Sunday, September 1, 1715. He was 77 years old, and he reigned for 72 years, of which 54 ruled alone (1661-1715).
Until his death, he managed to maintain that "decorum", those strict rules of official etiquette, which he himself established. Feeling the approach of death from a gangrenous leg, he played his role of king to the end. On Saturday, August 31, he ordered the courtiers to gather, from whom he asked for forgiveness "for the bad examples that he gave them." Then he invited the heir to the throne, his five-year-old great-grandson, the future King Louis XV, and said: “My child, you will become a great king. Do not follow my passion for luxurious palaces, nor for wars. Strive to make life easier for your subjects. and that's why I feel miserable."
The reign of Louis XIV was important not only because of its exceptional length.
Louis XIV wanted and managed to become a "great king", asserting his personal power and giving the final form of an absolute monarchy. He was also great because, following the policy of prestige, he built the Palace of Versailles, patronized the arts and literature, and waged wars of conquest. In the latter, the results are not so obvious, as evidenced by his "self-criticism" at the end of his life.
Together with his death, we are entering a new historical era, and it is noteworthy that his contemporaries were aware of this.
Sun King
By the time of the death of his father Louis XIII in 1643, soon followed by the death of Prime Minister Richelieu, Louis XIV was less than five years old. His mother Anna of Austria, having become regent, entrusted the reign to Mazarin. This Italian, who had previously served the Pope, was made Cardinal by Richelieu, although he was not a priest. The country's economy was then in a period of decline. The expenses associated with the foreign policy of Richelieu (the war against the Austrian dynasty) brought the poverty of the people to the extreme limit. Mazarin increases the exactions and thereby increases discontent. The nobility and the Parisian parliament (a judicial institution whose members bought their positions; has nothing to do with the English parliament) considered that the time had come to intervene in politics and limit the royal power in the person of Mazarin. It was the Fronde, about which Louis XIV retained painful memories. He was grateful to Mazarin for suppressing the Fronde and left him in power until his death in 1661.
At that moment, Louis XIV was 22 years old, he had no experience in leading the state. When he announced to his advisors that he would henceforth be "his own prime minister," there was a slight embarrassment.
He kept his word. Louis XIV in full, consciously and diligently carried out what he called "the craft of the king." He worked daily, for many hours, studying affairs himself or with one of the ministers.
Aware of the limitations of his abilities, he listened to the advice of all whom he considered competent, but made decisions alone.
Convinced that his power was from God and that he was not obliged to give any reports to mortals, he wanted to have absolute power and chose the Sun as his emblem, hence his nickname Sun King, and as a motto the Latin words "Nec pluribus impar" ("incomparable" , "above all").
Concern for prestige forced him to devote a significant part of the day to "representation." He created a personality cult of the king, which was supported by etiquette, in the Spanish manner. This meant that strict ceremonial surrounded every act of his life, from getting up to going to bed, with the participation of the most noble nobles. The latter, who received huge pensions for the performance of "service" from the king, were dependent on him, were removed from political power.
Century of Louis XIV
In the reign of Louis XIV, France acquired a high cultural prestige in addition to political and military ones, to which we shall return. She became, according to Ten, "a source of elegance, comfort, fine style, sophisticated ideas and the art of living." In a word, for the propertied classes of all Europe, it has become a model of civility.
However, all intellectual and artistic life was under royal control; various "academies" became intermediaries. To the French Academy created by Richelieu, Louis XIV added the academies of exact sciences, painting and sculpture, music, etc. Each of them was entrusted with the duty to work for the glory of the king, maintain established principles and manage their field of activity.
The distribution of pensions to artists, writers, scientists, French and foreign, maintained discipline among them.
It was the golden age of fiction with its classical masterpieces, with theater (Corneille, Racine, Molière), poetry (Lafontaine, Boileau). Successes in painting and music are not so brilliant. Lebrun, court painter, seems very mediocre. The same can be said about the Italian Lully, who exercised a real dictatorship in music.
The most outstanding work of art of this era was the Palace of Versailles, where Louis XIV, fearing popular movements, moved his residence from Paris. The architect Levo worked on its construction, and after 1676 - Mansart. By the end of the reign of Louis XIV, it was far from over.
Foreign policy of Louis XIV
Louis XIV's pursuit of glory plunged the country into repetitive and costly wars with questionable results. By the end of his reign, a coalition of European powers rose up against him, which almost crushed him.
He annexed Franche-Comte, taken from Spain, several cities of Flanders, as well as Strasbourg.
In 1700, the last offspring of Charles V from the senior branch of the Habsburgs died without a direct heir. The power of Charles II extended over Spain with colonies (America, the Philippines), over the Netherlands (present-day Belgium), both Sicilies and the Duchy of Milan in Italy.
Fearing the collapse of this empire and knowing that France would not tolerate these possessions, as under Charles V, being united with the Austrian lands of the Habsburgs (passed over to a junior branch) and with the imperial crown, the dying Charles II bequeathed his possessions to the grandson of Louis XIV, the Duke of Anjou. At the same time, the condition was set that under no circumstances would the crowns of France and Spain be united under the rule of one sovereign. Such a will is explained by the fact that the Duke of Anjou had rights to the Spanish crown through his grandmother, Maria Theresa, the wife of Louis XIV and the eldest daughter of the Spanish King Philip IV.
Louis XIV sacrificed the interests of France for the sake of the glory of the dynasty, because he had the opportunity, in accordance with the partition plan drawn up by the European powers, to take possession of the Netherlands. He preferred to see a representative of the Bourbon dynasty on the throne of Spain (by the way, they still reign there). However, the Duke of Anjou, having become the Spanish king under the name of Philip V, retained only Spain and its colonies, losing all his European possessions to Austria.
Absolute monarchy
The form of absolute monarchy established by Louis XIV remained until the end of the "old order".
Louis XIV did not allow the titled nobility to power, "taming" her with court positions.
He nominated people of low birth to the ministers, generously endowing them with titles of nobility. Therefore, they were completely dependent on the will of the king. The best known are Colbert, Minister of Finance and Economy, and Louvois, Minister of War.
In the provinces, Louis XIV limited the power of governors and left them only honorary duties. All real power was concentrated in the hands of the "commissaries of finance, justice and police," whom he appointed and removed at his whim, and who, in his words, were "the king himself in the province."
In the religious sphere, Louis XIV sought to impose his will and opinion on everyone. He came into conflict with the Pope over control of the Catholic Church in France. He persecuted the Jansenists, implacable and strict Catholics. In 1685, Louis XIV rescinded the Edict of Nantes, by which Henry IV granted the Protestants religious freedom. Now they were forced to change their faith by force, many emigrated, which led to the desolation of entire regions. Despite all efforts, Protestantism in France was never eradicated.
End of the reign of Louis 14
Constant wars, and especially the last one, called the War of the Spanish Succession, ravaged the country. Poverty was exacerbated by several lean years, and in particular by the freezing winter of 1709 (temperatures fell below 20° throughout France throughout January, and snow continued until the end of March).
The burden of taxes fell almost exclusively on the "ignorant", while the clergy, nobles and part of the bourgeoisie were exempted from them. At the end of his reign, Louis XIV tried to introduce taxes paid by everyone depending on income (capital, tithe), but the privileged estates very soon freed themselves from them, and the part that fell on others increased even more.
(1715-09-01 ) (76 years old)Palace of Versailles, Versailles, Kingdom of France
sons: Louis the Great Dauphin, Philippe, Louis-Francois
daughters: Anna Elizabeth, Maria Anna, Maria Theresa
many illegitimate children, some legitimized
Louis XIV de Bourbon, who received at birth the name Louis-Dieudonné ("God-given", fr. Louis-Dieudonne), also known as "sun king"(fr. Louis XIV Le Roi Soleil), also Louis Great(fr. Louis le Grand), (September 5 ( 16380905 ) , Saint-Germain-en-Laye - September 1, Versailles) - King of France and Navarre since May 14. Reigned for 72 years - longer than any other European king in history (of the monarchs of Europe, only some rulers have been in power longer petty principalities of the Holy Roman Empire).
Louis, who survived the wars of the Fronde in childhood, became a staunch supporter of the principle of absolute monarchy and the divine right of kings (he is credited with the expression “The State is me!”), He combined the strengthening of his power with the successful selection of statesmen for key political posts. The reign of Louis - a time of significant consolidation of the unity of France, its military power, political weight and intellectual prestige, the flourishing of culture, went down in history as the Great Age. At the same time, the long-term military conflicts in which France participated during the reign of Louis the Great led to higher taxes, which placed a heavy burden on the shoulders of the population and caused popular uprisings, and as a result of the adoption of the Edict of Fontainebleau, which repealed the Edict of Nantes on religious tolerance within the kingdom, about 200,000 Huguenots emigrated from France.
Biography
Childhood and early years
Louis XIV as a child
Louis XIV came to the throne in May 1643, when he was not yet five years old, therefore, according to his father's will, the regency was transferred to Anna of Austria, who ruled in close tandem with the first minister, Cardinal Mazarin. Even before the end of the war with Spain and the House of Austria, the princes and the highest aristocracy, supported by Spain and in alliance with the Parliament of Paris, began unrest, which received the general name of the Fronde (1648-1652) and ended only with the submission of the Prince de Condé and the signing of the Pyrenean Peace (7 November).
Secretaries of State - There were four main positions of secretaries (according to foreign affairs, according to the military department, according to the naval department, according to the "reformed religion"). Each of the four secretaries received a separate province for administration. The posts of secretaries were sold and, with the permission of the king, they could be inherited. The positions of secretaries were very well paid and powerful. Each subordinate had his own clerks and clerks, appointed at the personal discretion of the secretaries. There was also the position of Secretary of State for the King's Household, which was an adjoining one, held by one of the four Secretaries of State. Adjacent to the positions of secretaries was often the position of controller general. There was no exact division of posts. State Advisors - Members of the State Council. There were thirty of them: twelve ordinary, three military, three spiritual and twelve semester. The hierarchy of councilors was headed by a dean. The positions of advisers were not for sale and were for life. The position of an adviser gave a title of nobility.provincial government
The heads of the provinces were usually governors
(gouverneurs). They were appointed by the king from noble families of dukes or marquises for a certain time, but often this post could be inherited with the permission (patent) of the king. The duties of the governor included: to keep the province in obedience and peace, to protect it and keep it ready for defense, to promote justice. Governors had to reside in their provinces for at least six months of the year, or be at the royal court, unless otherwise authorized by the king. Governors' salaries were very high.
In the absence of governors, they were replaced by one or more lieutenant generals, who also had deputies, whose positions were called as royal governors. In fact, none of them ruled the province, but only received a salary. There were also positions of chiefs of small districts, cities, citadels, to which the military was often appointed.
Simultaneously with the governors, they were engaged in management quartermasters
(intendants de justice police et finances et commissaires departis dans les generalites du royaume pour l`execution des ordres du roi) in territorially separate units - regions (generalites), which in turn numbered 32 and whose borders did not coincide with the borders of the provinces. Historically, the positions of quartermasters arose from the positions of petitioners who were sent to the provinces to deal with complaints and requests, but remained to exercise constant control. The tenure of the position has not been determined.
Subordinate to the quartermasters were the so-called subdelegates (elections), appointed from employees of lower institutions. They had no right to make any decisions and could only act as speakers.
Along with the gubernatorial and commissary administration, in many regions the estate administration was preserved in the person of assemblies of estates
, which included representatives of the church, the nobility, the middle class (tiers etat). The number of representatives from each estate varied depending on the region. Meetings of estates dealt mainly with taxes and taxes.
City management
Managed cities city corporation or council (corps de ville, conseil de ville), consisting of one or more burgomasters (maire, prevot, consul, capitoul) and advisers or chefs (echevins, conseilers). The positions were initially elective until 1692, and then purchased with a lifetime replacement. The requirements for compliance with the position to be occupied were set independently by the city and varied from region to region. The city council handled the affairs of the city, respectively, and had limited autonomy in the affairs of the police, trade and market.
taxes
Jean Baptiste Colbert
Inside the state, the new fiscal system had in mind only an increase in taxes and taxes for the growing military needs, which fell heavily on the shoulders of the peasantry and the petty bourgeoisie. Particularly unpopular was the filing of sol-gabel, which caused several unrest throughout the country. The decision to impose a stamp paper tax in 1675 during the Dutch War caused a powerful Stamp Rebellion in the rear of the country, in the west of France, primarily in Brittany, partly supported by the regional parliaments of Bordeaux and Rennes. In the west of Brittany, the uprising developed into anti-feudal peasant uprisings, which were suppressed only by the end of the year.
At the same time, Louis, as the "first nobleman" of France, spared the material interests of the lost political significance nobility and, as a faithful son of the Catholic Church, did not demand anything from the clergy.
As figuratively formulated by the intendant of finance of Louis XIV - J. B. Colbert: “ Taxation is the art of plucking a goose in such a way as to obtain the maximum feathers with the minimum squeak.»
Trade
Jacques Savary
In France, during the reign of Louis XIV, the first codification of commercial law was carried out and the Ordonance de Commerce - the Commercial Code (1673) was adopted. The significant merits of the Ordinance of 1673 are due to the fact that its publication was preceded by very serious preparatory work based on the opinions of knowledgeable persons. The chief worker was Savary, so this ordinance is often referred to as Savary's code.
Migration
On emigration issues, the edict of Louis XIV, issued in 1669 and valid until 1791, was in effect. The edict decreed that all persons who left France without special permission from the royal government would be subject to confiscation of their property; those who enter into foreign service as shipbuilders are subject, upon their return to their homeland, to the death penalty.
“The connections of birth,” the edict said, “connecting natural subjects with their sovereign and fatherland, are the closest and most inseparable of all that exist in civil society.”
State positions:
A specific phenomenon of French public life was the venality of government posts, both permanent (offices, charges) and temporary (commissions).
A person was appointed to a permanent position (offices, charges) for life and could only be removed from it by a court for a serious violation.
Regardless of whether an official was removed or a new position was established, any person suitable for it could acquire it. The cost of the position was usually approved in advance, and the money paid for it was also a pledge. In addition, the approval of the king or a patent (lettre de provision) was still required, which was also produced for a certain cost and certified by the seal of the king.
For persons holding one position for a long time, the king issued a special patent (lettre de survivance), according to which this position could be inherited by the son of an official.
The position sales situation in last years life of Louis XIV reached the point that in Paris alone, 2,461 newly created posts were sold for 77 million French livres. Officials, however, mainly received salaries from taxes than from the state treasury (for example, overseers of slaughterhouses demanded 3 livres for each bull imported to the market, or, for example, brokers and commissioners for the wine part, who received a duty on each bought and sold barrels of wine).
Religious policy
He tried to destroy the political dependence of the clergy on the pope. Louis XIV even intended to form a French patriarchate independent of Rome. But, thanks to the influence of the famous Bishop of Moss, Bossuet, the French bishops refrained from breaking with Rome, and the views of the French hierarchy received official expression in the so-called. statement of the Gallican clergy (declaration du clarge gallicane) of 1682 (see Gallicanism).
In matters of faith, the confessors of Louis XIV (Jesuits) made him an obedient instrument of the most ardent Catholic reaction, which was reflected in the merciless persecution of all individualistic movements among the church (see Jansenism).
A number of harsh measures were taken against the Huguenots: churches were taken away from them, priests were deprived of the opportunity to baptize children according to the rules of their church, perform marriages and burials, and conduct worship. Even mixed marriages between Catholics and Protestants were forbidden.
The Protestant aristocracy was forced to convert to Catholicism so as not to lose their social advantages, and restrictive decrees were launched against Protestants from among other classes, culminating in the dragonades of 1683 and the repeal of the Edict of Nantes in 1685. These measures, despite severe penalties for emigration, forced more than 200 thousand hardworking and enterprising Protestants to move to England, Holland and Germany. An uprising even broke out in the Cévennes. The growing piety of the king was supported by Madame de Maintenon, who, after the death of the queen (1683), was united with him by secret marriage.
War for the Palatinate
Even earlier, Louis legitimized his two sons from Madame de Montespan - the Duke of Maine and the Count of Toulouse, and gave them the surname Bourbons. Now, in his will, he appointed them members of the regency council and declared their eventual right to succession to the throne. Louis himself remained active until the end of his life, firmly maintaining court etiquette and the decor of his “great century” was already beginning to fade.
Marriages and children
- (from June 9, 1660, Saint-Jean de Lutz) Maria Theresa (1638-1683), Infanta of Spain
- Louis the Great Dauphin (1661-1711)
- Anna Elizabeth (1662-1662)
- Maria Anna (1664-1664)
- Maria Theresa (1667-1672)
- Philip (1668-1671)
- Louis Francois (1672-1672)
- (from June 12, 1684, Versailles) Francoise d'Aubigne (1635-1719), Marquise de Maintenon
- Vnebr. connection Louise de La Baume Le Blanc (1644-1710), Duchess de Lavalière
- Charles de La Baume Le Blanc (1663-1665)
- Philippe de La Baume Le Blanc (1665-1666)
- Marie-Anne de Bourbon (1666-1739), Mademoiselle de Blois
- Louis de Bourbon (1667-1683), Comte de Vermandois
- Vnebr. connection Françoise-Athenais de Rochechouart de Mortemart (1641-1707), marquise de Montespan
Mademoiselle de Blois and Mademoiselle de Nantes
- Louise-Francoise de Bourbon (1669-1672)
- Louis-Auguste de Bourbon, Duke of Maine (1670-1736)
- Louis Cesar de Bourbon (1672-1683)
- Louise-Francoise de Bourbon (1673-1743), Mademoiselle de Nantes
- Louise-Marie-Anne de Bourbon (1674-1681), Mademoiselle de Tours
- Françoise-Marie de Bourbon (1677-1749), Mademoiselle de Blois
- Louis-Alexandre de Bourbon, Count of Toulouse (1678-1737)
- Vnebr. connection(1678-1680) Marie-Angelique de Skoray de Roussil (1661-1681), Duchess de Fontanges
- N (1679-1679), stillborn child
- Vnebr. connection Claude de Ven (c.1638 - 8 September 1686), Mademoiselle des Hoyers
- Louise de Maisonblanche (1676-1718)
The history of the nickname Sun King
In France, the sun acted as a symbol of royal power and the king personally even before Louis XIV. The luminary became the personification of the monarch in poetry, solemn odes and court ballets. The first mention of solar emblems dates back to the reign of Henry III, it was used by the grandfather and father of Louis XIV, but only under him did solar symbolism become truly widespread.
When Louis XIV began to rule independently (), the court ballet genre was put at the service of state interests, helping the king not only create his representative image, but also manage the court society (however, like other arts). The roles in these productions were distributed only by the king and his friend, the Comte de Sainte-Aignan. Princes of the blood and courtiers, dancing next to their sovereign, depicted various elements, planets and other beings and phenomena subject to the Sun. Louis himself continues to appear before his subjects in the form of the Sun, Apollo and other gods and heroes of Antiquity. The king left the stage only in 1670 .
But the emergence of the nickname of the Sun King was preceded by another important cultural event of the Baroque era - the Tuileries Carousel of 1662. This is a festive carnival cavalcade, which is a cross between a sports festival (in the Middle Ages, these were tournaments) and a masquerade. In the 17th century, the Carousel was called "equestrian ballet", since this action was more like a performance with music, rich costumes and a fairly consistent script. On the Carousel of 1662, given in honor of the birth of the first-born of the royal couple, Louis XIV pranced in front of the audience on a horse dressed as a Roman emperor. In the hand of the king was a golden shield with the image of the Sun. This symbolized that this luminary protects the king and, with him, all of France.
According to the historian of the French Baroque F. Bossan, “it was on the Great Carousel of 1662 that, in a way, the Sun King was born. He was given his name not by politics and not by the victories of his armies, but by equestrian ballet.
Image of Louis XIV in popular culture
Louis XIV is one of the main historical characters in the trilogy about the musketeers by Alexandre Dumas. In the last book of the Vicomte de Bragelonne trilogy, an impostor (allegedly the twin brother of King Philip) is involved in a conspiracy, with whom they are trying to replace Louis.
In 1929, the film The Iron Mask was released, based on Dumas père's novel The Vicomte de Bragelonne, where Louis and his twin brother were played by William Blackwell. Louis Hayward played twins in the 1939 film The Man in the Iron Mask. Richard Chamberlain played them in the 1977 film adaptation and Leonardo DiCaprio in the 1998 remake of that film. In the 1962 French film The Iron Mask, these roles were played by Jean-Francois Poron.
For the first time in modern Russian cinema, the image of King Louis XIV was performed by the artist of the Moscow New Drama Theater Dmitry Shilyaev, in Oleg Ryaskov's film "The Servant of the Sovereigns".
The musical The Sun King was staged in France about Louis XIV.
see also
Notes
Literature
The best sources for getting acquainted with the character and way of thinking of L. are his "Oeuvres", containing "Notes", instructions to the Dauphin and Philip V, letters and reflections; they were published by Grimoird and Grouvelle (P., 1806). A critical edition of Mémoires de Louis XIV was compiled by Dreyss (P., 1860). An extensive literature on L. opens with the work of Voltaire: "Siècle de Louis XIV" (1752 and more often), after which the name "century L. XIV" came into common use to refer to the end of the 17th and beginning of the 18th centuries.
- Saint-Simon, "Mémoires complets et authentiques sur le siècle de Louis XIV et la régence" (P., 1829-1830; new ed., 1873-1881);
- Depping, "Correspondence administrative sous le regne de Louis XIV" (1850-1855);
- Moret, "Quinze ans du règne de Louis XIV, 1700-1715" (1851-1859); Chéruel, "Saint-Simon considéré comme historien de Louis XIV" (1865);
- Noorden, "Europä ische Geschichte im XVIII Jahrh." (Dusseld. and Lpts., 1870-1882);
- Gaillardin, "Histoire du règne de Louis XIV" (P., 1871-1878);
- Ranke, Franz. Geschichte” (vols. III and IV, Lpts., 1876);
- Philippson, "Das Zeitalter Ludwigs XIV" (B., 1879);
- Chéruel, "Histoire de France pendant la minorité de Louis XIV" (P., 1879-80);
- "Mémoires du Marquis de Sourches sur le règne de Louis XIV" (I-XII, P., 1882-1892);
- de Mony, "Louis XIV et le Saint-Siège" (1893);
- Koch, "Das unumschränkte Königthum Ludwigs XIV" (with an extensive bibliography, V., 1888);
- Koch G. "Essays on the history of political ideas and public administration" St. Petersburg, edition of S. Skirmunt, 1906
- Gurevich Ya. "The meaning of the reign of L. XIV and his personality";
- Le Mao K. Louis XIV and the Parliament of Bordeaux: a very moderate absolutism // French Yearbook 2005. M., 2005. P. 174-194.
- Trachevsky A. "International politics in the era of Louis XIV" ("J. M. N. Pr., 1888, No. 1-2).
Links
- // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: In 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - St. Petersburg. , 1890-1907.
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The longest time on the throne of France was Louis XIV of Bourbon, who received the nickname "Sun King". Louis was born in 1638 after 22 years of fruitless marriage between King Louis XIII and Anne of Austria, and five years later he became the French king. After the death of his father, Louis and his mother lived in a rather ascetic environment in the Palais Royal.
Despite the fact that Anna of Austria was the regent of the state, the first minister, Cardinal Mazarin, had full power. In early childhood, the young king had to go through a civil war - the fight against the so-called Fronde, and only in 1652 was peace restored, however, despite the fact that Louis was already an adult, Mazarin remained in power. In 1659, Louis entered into a marriage alliance with the Spanish princess Maria Theresa. Finally, in 1661, after the death of Cardinal Mazarin, Louis was able to concentrate all power in his hands.
The king was poorly educated, poorly read and wrote, but possessed wonderful logic and common sense. The main negative feature of the king was excessive selfishness, pride and selfishness. So, Louis considered that in France there was no palace emphasizing his greatness, therefore, from 1662, he began construction, which dragged on for a long fifty years. Since 1982, the king has almost never been to Paris, the entire royal court was located in Versailles. The new palace was extremely luxurious; the king spent four hundred million francs on its construction. The palace contained numerous galleries, salons and parks. The king loved the game of cards, his example was followed by the courtiers. Moliere's comedies were staged at Versailles, balls and receptions were held almost every evening, a new strict ceremonial was developed, which was supposed to be performed to the smallest detail by each of the courtiers.
Even during his lifetime, they began to call Louis the Sun King because of the identification of royal power with the heavenly body, and this has been going on since the 16th century, but during Louis XIV it reached its climax. Louis adored all kinds of staged ballets, masquerades and carnivals and the main role in them was given, of course, to the king. At these carnivals, the king appeared before his courtiers in the role of Apollo or the Rising Sun. The Tuileries Ballet of 1662 played a big role in the emergence of this nickname, at this carnival the king appeared in the form of a Roman emperor, in whose hands was a shield with the image of the sun, as a symbol of the king, which illuminates all of France. It was after this equestrian ballet that Louis began to be called the Sun King.
There were always many beautiful women near Louis, but the king never forgot his wife, six children were born in their marriage. The king also had more than ten illegitimate children, some of whom the king legitimized. It was under Louis that the concept of “official favorite” arose - the mistress of the king. The first was Louise de Lavalier, who bore him four children and ended her life in a monastery. The next famous mistress of the king was Athenais de Montespan, she was next to the king for about 15 years on a par with Queen Maria Theresa. The last favorite was Francoise de Maintenon. It was she who, after the death of Queen Maria Theresa in 1683, became the morganatic wife of the French king.
Louis completely subordinated all power to his will, the Council of Ministers, the Council of Finance, the Postal Council, the Trade and Spiritual Councils, the Grand and State Councils helped the monarch in governing the state. However, in resolving any issues, the last word remained with the king. Louis introduced a new tax system, which was mainly reflected in the increase in taxes from the peasants and the petty bourgeoisie to expand the financing of military needs, in 1675 even a stamp paper tax was introduced. The first confiscation of commercial law was introduced by the monarch, and the Commercial Code was adopted. Under Louis, the sale of public posts reached its zenith; in the last years of his life, two and a half thousand new posts were created to enrich the treasury, which brought 77 million livres to the treasury. For the final establishment of absolutism, he even wanted to achieve the creation of the French patriarchy, this would create the political independence of the clergy from the pope. Also, Louis canceled the Edict of Nantes and resumed the persecution of the Huguenots, which, most likely, was a consequence of the influence of his morganatic wife de Maintenon.
The era of the Sun King was marked in France by large-scale wars of conquest. Until 1681, France managed to capture Flanders, Alsace, Lorraine, Franche-Comté, Luxembourg, Kehl and lands in Belgium. Only since 1688 did the aggressive policy of the French king begin to fail, the huge costs of the war required a constant increase in taxes, the king often gave his silver furniture and various utensils for remelting. Realizing that the war could cause great discontent among the people, Louis began to seek peace with the enemy, who at that time was the King of England, William of Orange. According to the concluded treaty, France was deprived of Savoy, Catalonia, Luxembourg, in the end, only the previously captured Strasbourg was saved.
In 1701, the already aging Louis unleashed a new war for the Spanish crown. The Spanish throne was claimed by the grandson of Louis Philip of Anjou, however, it was necessary to comply with the condition of non-annexation of the Spanish lands to France, but the French side retained Philip's rights to the throne, in addition, the French sent their troops to Belgium. England, Holland and Austria opposed this state of affairs. The war every day undermined the economy of France, the treasury was completely empty, many French were starving, all the gold and silver utensils were melted down, even at the royal court white bread was replaced with black bread. The peace was concluded in stages in 1713-14, the Spanish king Philip renounced the rights to the French throne.
The difficult foreign political situation was aggravated by problems inside royal family. During the years 1711-1714, the son of the monarch, Dauphin Louis, died of smallpox, a little later his grandson and his wife, and twenty days later, their son, the great-grandson of the king, five-year-old Louis, also died of scarlet fever. The sole heir was the chest great-grandson of the king, who was destined to ascend the throne. Numerous deaths of children and grandchildren greatly crippled the old king, and in 1715 he practically did not get out of bed, and in August of the same year he died.
King of France and Navarre from May 14, 1643. He reigned for 72 years - longer than any other monarch of the largest states in Europe.
He ascended the throne as a minor and the government passed into the hands of his mother and Cardinal Mazarin. Even before the end of the war with Spain and the House of Austria, the highest aristocracy, supported by Spain and in alliance with Parliament, began unrest, which received the general name of the Fronde and ended only with the subordination of the Prince de Conde and the signing of the Peace of the Pyrenees (November 7, 1659).
In 1660, Louis married the Infanta of Spain, Maria Theresa of Austria. At this time, the young king, having grown up without proper upbringing and education, did not arouse even greater expectations. However, as soon as Cardinal Mazarin died (1661), Louis set about independent government. He had a gift for choosing talented and capable employees (for example, Colbert, Vauban, Letellier, Lyonne, Louvois). Louis raised the doctrine of royal rights to a semi-religious dogma.
Thanks to the work of the brilliant Colbert, much was done to strengthen state unity, the well-being of the working classes, and encourage trade and industry. At the same time, Luvois put the army in order, unified its organization and increased its fighting strength. After the death of King Philip IV of Spain, he declared French claims to part of the Spanish Netherlands and kept it behind him in the so-called war of devolution. The Peace of Aachen, concluded on May 2, 1668, gave French Flanders and a number of border areas into his hands.
War with the Netherlands
From that time on, the United Provinces had a passionate enemy in the person of Louis. Contrasts in foreign policy, state views, trade interests, religion led both states to constant clashes. Louis in 1668-71 skillfully managed to isolate the republic. Through bribery, he managed to divert England and Sweden from the Triple Alliance, to win over Cologne and Munster to the side of France. Having brought his army to 120,000 people, Louis in 1670 occupied the possessions of an ally of the States General, Duke Charles IV of Lorraine, and in 1672 crossed the Rhine, conquered half the provinces within six weeks and returned in triumph to Paris. The breakthrough of the dams, the rise of William III of Orange to power, the intervention of European powers stopped the success of French weapons. The States General entered into an alliance with Spain and Brandenburg and Austria; the empire also joined them after the French army attacked the archbishopric of Trier and occupied the 10 imperial cities of Alsace, already half-joined with France. In 1674, Louis opposed his enemies with 3 large armies: with one of them he personally occupied Franche-Comté; the other, under the command of Conde, fought in the Netherlands and won at Senef; the third, headed by Turenne, devastated the Palatinate and successfully fought the troops of the emperor and the great elector in Alsace. After a short break due to the death of Turenne and the removal of Condé, Louis, at the beginning of 1676, appeared with renewed vigor in the Netherlands and conquered a number of cities, while Luxembourg devastated Breisgau. The whole country between the Saar, the Moselle and the Rhine, by order of the king, was turned into a desert. In the Mediterranean, Duquesne defeated Reuter; Brandenburg's forces were distracted by an attack by the Swedes. Only as a result of hostile actions on the part of England, Louis in 1678 concluded the Treaty of Niemwegen, which gave him large gains from the Netherlands and the entire Franche-Comté from Spain. He gave Philippsburg to the emperor, but received Freiburg and kept all the conquests in Alsace.
Louis at the pinnacle of power
This world marks the apogee of Louis' power. His army was the most numerous, best organized and led. His diplomacy dominated all European courts. The French nation, with its achievements in the arts and sciences, in industry and commerce, has reached unprecedented heights. The court of Versailles (Louis transferred the royal residence to Versailles) became the object of envy and surprise of almost all modern sovereigns, who tried to imitate the great king even in his weaknesses. Strict etiquette was introduced at the court, regulating all court life. Versailles became the center of all high society life, in which the tastes of Louis himself and his many favorites (Lavaliere, Montespan, Fontange) reigned. All the highest aristocracy coveted court positions, since living away from the court for a nobleman was a sign of strife or royal disgrace. "Absolutely without objection, - according to Saint-Simon, - Louis destroyed and eradicated every other force or authority in France, except those that came from him: reference to the law, to the right was considered a crime." This cult of the Sun-King, in which capable people were increasingly pushed aside by courtesans and intriguers, was bound to lead inevitably to the gradual decline of the entire edifice of the monarchy.
The king held back his desires less and less. In Metz, Breisach and Besancon, he established chambers of reunification (chambres de réunions) to seek the rights of the French crown to certain localities (September 30, 1681). The imperial city of Strasbourg was suddenly occupied by French troops in peacetime. Louis did the same with respect to the Dutch borders. In 1681, the fleet bombarded Tripoli, in 1684 - Algiers and Genoa. Finally, an alliance was formed between Holland, Spain and the emperor, forcing Louis in 1684 to conclude a 20-year truce in Regensburg and abandon further "reunions".
Religious policy
Inside the state, the new fiscal system had in mind only an increase in taxes and taxes for the growing military needs; at the same time, Louis, as the “first nobleman” of France, spared the material interests of the nobility that had lost political significance and, as a faithful son of the Catholic Church, did not demand anything from the clergy. He tried to destroy the political dependence of the latter on the pope, having achieved at the national council of 1682 a decision in his favor against the pope (see Gallicanism); but in matters of faith, his confessors (Jesuits) made him an obedient instrument of the most ardent Catholic reaction, which was reflected in the merciless persecution of all individualistic movements among the church (see Jansenism). A number of harsh measures were taken against the Huguenots; the Protestant aristocracy was forced to convert to Catholicism so as not to lose their social advantages, and restrictive decrees were launched against Protestants from among other classes, culminating in the dragonades of 1683 and the repeal of the Edict of Nantes in 1685. These measures, despite severe penalties for emigration forced more than 200,000 industrious and enterprising Protestants to move to England, Holland and Germany. An uprising even broke out in the Cévennes. The growing piety of the king was supported by Madame de Maintenon, who, after the death of the queen (1683), was united with him by secret marriage.
War for the Palatinate
In 1688 broke out new war, the reason for which was, among other things, the claims to the Palatinate, presented by Louis on behalf of his daughter-in-law, Elizabeth-Charlotte of Orleans, who was related to the Elector Karl-Ludwig, who died shortly before that. Having entered into an alliance with the Elector of Cologne, Karl-Egon Furstemberg, Louis ordered his troops to occupy Bonn and attack the Palatinate, Baden, Württemberg and Trier. At the beginning of 1689, French troops devastated the entire Lower Palatinate in the most terrible way. An alliance was formed against France from England (which had just overthrown the Stuarts), the Netherlands, Spain, Austria, and the German Protestant states. Luxembourg defeated the allies on July 1, 1690 at Fleurus; Catinat conquered Savoy, Tourville defeated the British-Dutch fleet on the heights of Dieppe, so that the French had an advantage even at sea for a short time. In 1692, the French laid siege to Namur, Luxembourg gained the upper hand at the Battle of Steenkerken; on the other hand, on May 28, the French fleet was completely destroyed by Rossel at Cape La Gogue. In 1693-95, the preponderance began to lean towards the side of the allies; Luxembourg died in 1695; in the same year a huge military tax was needed, and peace became a necessity for Louis. It took place at Ryswick in 1697, and for the first time Louis had to confine himself to the status quo.
War of the Spanish Succession
France was completely exhausted when, a few years later, the death of Charles II of Spain brought Louis to war with the European coalition. The War of the Spanish Succession, in which Louis wanted to win back the entire Spanish monarchy for his grandson Philip of Anjou, inflicted incurable wounds on the power of Louis. The old king, who personally led the struggle, held himself in the most difficult circumstances with amazing dignity and firmness. According to the peace concluded in Utrecht and Rastatt in 1713 and 1714, he kept Spain proper for his grandson, but her Italian and Dutch possessions were lost, and England, by destroying the Franco-Spanish fleets and conquering a number of colonies, laid the foundation for her maritime dominion. The French monarchy did not have to recover until the very revolution from the defeats at Hochstadt and Turin, Ramilla and Malplaque. She languished under the weight of debts (up to 2 billion) and taxes, which caused local outbursts of displeasure.
Last years. Family tragedy and the question of a successor
Thus, the result of the whole system of Louis was the economic ruin, the poverty of France. Another consequence was the growth of oppositional literature, especially developed under the successor of the "great" Louis. The home life of the aged king at the end of his life presented a sad picture. On April 13, 1711, his son, the Dauphin Louis (born in 1661), died; in February 1712 he was followed by the eldest son of the Dauphin, the Duke of Burgundy, and on March 8 of the same year, the eldest son of the latter, the infant Duke of Brittany. On March 4, 1714, the younger brother of the Duke of Burgundy, the Duke of Berry, fell off his horse and was killed to death, so that, in addition to Philip V of Spain, there was only one heir - the four-year-old great-grandson of the king, the 2nd son of the Duke of Burgundy (later Louis XV). Even earlier, Louis legitimized his 2 sons from Mrs. Montespan, the Duke of Maine and the Count of Toulouse, and gave them the name Bourbon. Now, in his will, he appointed them members of the regency council and declared their eventual right to succession to the throne. Louis himself remained active until the end of his life, firmly maintaining court etiquette and the whole appearance of his “great age”, which was already beginning to fall. He died September 1, 1715.
In 1822, an equestrian statue (based on Bosio's model) was erected to him in Paris, on the Place des Victoires.
The origin of the nickname "Sun King"
Louis XIV from the age of 12 danced in the so-called "ballets of the theater of the Palais Royal". These events were quite in the spirit of the time, for they were held during the carnival.
Baroque carnival is not just a holiday, it is an upside down world. The king for several hours became a jester, an artist, a buffoon (just as the jester could well afford to appear in the role of king). In these ballets, young Louis had a chance to play the roles of the Rising Sun (1653) and Apollo - the Sun God (1654).
Later, court ballets were staged. The roles in these ballets were distributed by the king himself or by his friend de Saint-Aignan. In these court ballets, Louis also dances the parts of the Sun or Apollo.
For the emergence of the nickname, another cultural event of the Baroque era is also important - the so-called Carousel. This is a festive carnival cavalcade, something between a sports festival and a masquerade. In those days, the Carousel was simply called "horse ballet". On the Carousel of 1662, Louis XIV appeared before the people in the role of the Roman Emperor with a huge shield in the shape of the Sun. This symbolized that the Sun protects the king and with him all of France.
The princes of the blood were "forced" to depict different elements, planets and other beings and phenomena subject to the Sun.
We read from the ballet historian F. Bossan: “It was on the Great Carousel of 1662 that the Sun King was born in some way. It was not politics or the victories of its armies that gave it its name, but the equestrian ballet.”
Image of Louis XIV in popular culture
Louis XIV appears in the Musketeers trilogy by Alexandre Dumas. In the last book of the Vicomte de Bragelonne trilogy, an impostor (allegedly the twin brother of the king) is involved in a conspiracy, with whom they are trying to replace Louis. In 1929, the film The Iron Mask was released, based on the Vicomte de Bragelon, where William Blackwell played Louis and his twin brother. Louis Hayward played twins in the 1939 film The Man in the Iron Mask. Richard Chamberlain played them in the 1977 film adaptation and Leonardo DiCaprio in the 1999 remake of that film.
Louis XIV also appears in the film Vatel. In the film, the Prince of Condé invites him to his castle of Chantelly and tries to impress him in order to take the post of chief marshal in the war with the Netherlands. Responsible for the entertainment of the royal person is the master Vatel, brilliantly played by Gerard Depardieu.
Vonda McLintre's novella The Moon and the Sun depicts the court of Louis XIV at the end of the 17th century. The king himself appears in the Baroque Cycle of Neil Stevenson's trilogy.
Louis XIV is one of the main characters in Gerard Corbier's The King Dances.
Louis XIV appears as a beautiful seducer in the film "Angelica and the King", where he was played by Jacques Toja (fr. Jacques Toja), also appears in the films "Angelica - Marquis of Angels" and "Magnificent Angelica".
For the first time in modern Russian cinema, the image of King Louis XIV was performed by the artist of the Moscow New Drama Theater Dmitry Shilyaev, in Oleg Ryaskov's film The Servant of the Sovereigns.
Louis XIV is one of the main characters in the 1996 Nina Companéez series "L" Allée du roi" "The Way of the King" Historical drama based on the novel by Françoise Chandernagor "Royal Avenue: memoirs of Françoise d'Aubigné, Marquise de Maintenon, wife of the King of France". Dominique Blanc stars as Françoise d'Aubigné and Didier Sandre stars as Louis XIV.
Louis XIV, Sun King
Louis XIV.
Reproduction from the website http://monarchy.nm.ru/
Louis XIV
Louis XIV the Great, Sun King
Louis XIV le Grand, Le Roi Soleil
Years of life: September 5, 1638 - September 1, 1715
Reigned: May 14, 1643 - September 1, 1715
Father: Louis XIII
Mother: Anna of Austria
Wives:
1) Maria Theresa of Austria
2) Francoise d "Aubigne, Marquise de Maintenon
Sons: Grand Dauphin Louis, Philip Charles, Louis Francis
Daughters: Maria Anna, Maria Teresa
For 22 years, the marriage of Louis' parents was fruitless, and therefore the birth of an heir was perceived by the people as a miracle. After the death of his father, the young Louis moved with his mother to the Palais Royal, the former palace of the cardinal Richelieu. Here the little king was brought up in a very simple and sometimes wretched environment. His mother was considered the regent France, but the real power was in the hands of her favorite cardinal Mazarin. He was very stingy and did not care at all not only about pleasing the child-king, but even about the availability of basic necessities for him.
The first years of the formal reign of Louis saw the events civil war known as the Fronde. In January 1649, an uprising broke out in Paris against Mazarin. The king and ministers had to flee to Saint-Germain, and Mazarin to Brussels in general. Peace was restored only in 1652, and power returned to the hands of the cardinal. Despite the fact that the king was already considered an adult, Mazarin ruled France until his death. In 1659 peace was signed with Spain. The treaty was sealed by the marriage of Louis with Maria Theresa, who was his cousin.
When Mazarin died in 1661, Louis, having received his freedom, hastened to get rid of any guardianship over himself. He abolished the office of First Minister, announcing to the State Council that from now on he would be First Minister himself, and no even the most insignificant decree should be signed by anyone on his behalf.
Louis was poorly educated, barely able to read and write, but possessed of common sense and a firm determination to uphold his royal dignity. He was tall, handsome, had a noble posture, strove to express himself briefly and clearly. Unfortunately, he was excessively selfish, as no European monarch was distinguished by monstrous pride and selfishness. All former royal residences seemed to Louis unworthy of his greatness. After some deliberation, in 1662 he decided to turn the small hunting castle of Versailles into a royal palace. It took 50 years and 400 million francs. Until 1666, the king had to live in the Louvre, from 1666 to 1671. in the Tuileries, from 1671 to 1681, alternately in the construction of Versailles and Saint-Germain-O-l "E. Finally, from 1682, Versailles became the permanent residence of the royal court and government. From now on, Louis visited Paris only on short visits. The new palace of the king was different extraordinary splendor. The so-called "large apartments" - six salons named after ancient deities - served as hallways for the Mirror Gallery 72 meters long, 10 wide and 16 meters high. Buffets were arranged in the salons, guests played billiards and cards. In general, a card room the game became an indomitable passion at court.Bets reached several thousand livres per game, and Louis himself stopped playing only after losing 600,000 livres in six months in 1676.
Comedies were also staged in the palace, first by Italian and then by French authors: Corneille, Racine, and especially often Molière. In addition, Louis loved to dance, and repeatedly took part in ballet productions at court. The splendor of the palace corresponded to the complex rules of etiquette established by Louis. Any action was accompanied by a whole set of carefully designed ceremonies. Meals, going to bed, even the simple quenching of thirst during the day - everything was turned into complex rituals.
From a young age, Louis was very ardent and not indifferent to pretty women. Despite the fact that the young Queen Maria Theresa was beautiful, Louis was constantly looking for entertainment on the side. The first favorite of the king was the 17-year-old Louise de La Valliere, the maid of honor of the wife of brother Louis. Louise was not a flawless beauty and limped a little, but she was very sweet and gentle. The feelings that Louis felt for her could be called true love. From 1661 to 1667, she gave birth to four children for the king and received a ducal title. After that, the king began to cool off towards her, and in 1675 Louise was forced to leave for the Carmelite monastery.
The king's new passion was the Marquise de Montespan, who was the complete opposite of Louise de La Vallière. The bright and ardent marquise had a prudent mind. She knew perfectly well what she could get from the king in exchange for her love. Only in the first year of his acquaintance with the Marquise, Louis gave her family 800 thousand livres to pay off debts. The golden rain did not fail in the future. At the same time, Montespan actively patronized many writers and other people of art. The Marquise was the uncrowned Queen of France for 15 years. However, since 1674, she had to fight for the heart of the king with Madame d "Aubigne, the widow of the poet Scarron, who was engaged in the upbringing of the children of Louis. Madame d" Aubignet was granted the estate of Maintenon and the title of Marquise. After the death of Queen Maria Theresa in 1683 and the removal of the Marquise de Montespan, she acquired a very strong influence on Louis. The king highly valued her mind and listened to her advice. Under her influence, he became very religious, stopped organizing noisy festivities, replacing them with soul-saving conversations with the Jesuits.
Under no sovereign did France wage such a large-scale war of conquest as under Louis XIV. After the death of Philip IV of Spain in 1667-1668. Flanders was captured. In 1672, a war began with Holland and Spain, Denmark and the German Empire, which came to her aid. However, the coalition called Great Union, was defeated, and France acquired Alsace, Lorraine, Franche-Comte and several other lands in Belgium. Peace, however, did not last long. In 1681, Louis captured Strasbourg and Casale, and a little later Luxembourg, Kehl and a number of environs.
However, from 1688, things began to go worse for Louis. Through the efforts of William of Orange, the anti-French Augsburg League was created, which included Austria, Spain, Holland, Sweden and several German principalities. At first, Louis managed to capture the Palatinate, Worms and a number of other German cities, but in 1688 William became king of England and directed the resources of this country against France. In 1692, the Anglo-Dutch fleet defeated the French in the harbor of Cherbourg and began to dominate the sea. On land, the successes of the French were more noticeable. Wilhelm was defeated near Steinkerke and on the Neuerwinden Plain. Meanwhile, in the south, Savoy, Girona and Barcelona were taken. However, the war on several fronts required a huge amount of money from Louis. During the ten years of the war, 700 million livres were spent. In 1690, royal furniture made of solid silver and various small utensils were melted down. At the same time, taxes increased, which hit peasant families especially hard. Louis asked for peace. In 1696, Savoy was returned to the rightful duke. Then Louis was forced to recognize William of Orange as king of England and to refuse all support of the Stuarts. The lands beyond the Rhine were returned to the German emperor. Luxembourg and Catalonia were returned to Spain. Lorraine regained its independence. Thus the bloody war ended with the acquisition of Strasbourg alone.
However, the most terrible for Louis was the War of the Spanish Succession. In 1700, the childless king of Spain, Charles II, died, bequeathing the throne to the grandson of Louis, Philip of Anjou, with the condition, however, that the Spanish possessions never join the French crown. The condition was accepted, but Philip retained the rights to the French throne. In addition, the French army invaded Belgium. The Great Union was immediately restored in the composition of England, Austria and Holland, and in 1701 the war began. The Austrian Prince Eugene invaded the Duchy of Milan, which belonged to Philip as King of Spain. At first, things were going well for the French, but in 1702, due to the betrayal of the Duke of Savoy, the advantage passed to the side of the Austrians. At the same time, the English army of the Duke of Marlborough landed in Belgium. Taking advantage of the fact that Portugal joined the coalition, another English army invaded Spain. The French tried to launch a counterattack against Austria and moved to Vienna, but in 1704 at Gechstadt they were defeated by the army of Prince Eugene. Soon Louis had to leave Belgium and Italy. In 1707, the 40,000-strong Allied army even crossed the Alps, invading France, and laid siege to Toulon, but to no avail. There was no end in sight to the war. The people of France were suffering from hunger and poverty. All the golden utensils were melted down, and even black bread instead of white was served on Madame de Maintenon's table. However, the forces of the allies were not unlimited. In Spain, Philip managed to turn the tide of the war in his favor, after which the British began to lean towards peace. In 1713 peace was signed with England in Utrecht, and a year later in Rishtadt with Austria. France lost practically nothing, but Spain lost all its European possessions outside the Iberian Peninsula. In addition, Philip V was forced to renounce his claims to the French crown.
Foreign policy problems of Louis were exacerbated by family problems. In 1711, the king's son, the great dauphin Louis, died of smallpox. A year later, the wife of the younger Dauphin, Marie Adelaide, died. After her death, her correspondence with the heads of hostile states was opened, in which many state secrets of France were revealed. A few days after the death of his wife, the younger Dauphin Louis fell ill with a fever and also died. Another three weeks passed, and five-year-old Louis of Brittany, the son of the younger dauphin and heir to the throne, died of scarlet fever. The title of heir passed to his younger brother Louis of Anjou, at that time still an infant. Soon he, too, fell ill with a rash. Doctors were waiting for his death from day to day, but a miracle happened and the child recovered. Finally, in 1714, Charles of Berry, the third grandson of Louis, died suddenly.
After the deaths of his heirs, Louis became sad and gloomy. He hardly got out of bed. All attempts to stir him up came to nothing. On August 24, 1715, the first signs of gangrene appeared on his leg, on August 27 he made his last dying orders, and on September 1 he died. His 72-year reign was the longest among all monarchs.
Used material from the site http://monarchy.nm.ru/
Other biographical material:
Lozinsky A.A. The de facto ruler was Cardinal Mazarin ( Soviet historical encyclopedia. In 16 volumes. - M.: Soviet Encyclopedia. 1973-1982. Volume 8, KOSHALA - MALTA. 1965).
Prior to his birth, for twenty-two years his parents' marriage had been fruitless ( All the monarchs of the world. Western Europe. Konstantin Ryzhov. Moscow, 1999).
Beginning of the reign of Louis XIV ).
Features of the absolutism of Louis XIV ( The World History. Volume V. M., 1958).
Under him, French absolutism stabilized ( History of France. (responsible editor A.Z. Manfred). In three volumes. Volume 1. M., 1972).
Read further:
France in the 17th century (chronological table).
Louis XIII (biographical article).
Loving was the Sun King! He entered into a relationship with the Marquise de Montespan, then with the Princess of Subise, who gave birth to a son, very similar to the king. To continue the list: Madame de Ludre was replaced by the Countess of Grammont and the maiden Guesdam. Then there was the girl Fontanges. But the king, satiated with voluptuousness, quickly left his women. Why? An early pregnancy disfigured the beauty of each, and childbirth was unhappy. Today, Louis XIV would not be so quick to abandon ladies, because now pregnancy does not spoil modern women in the least.