A message about Louis 14. The God-like Sun King Louis XIV: the story of the life and death of a pious libertine

Kings and Queens of France | Bourbon Dynasty | Louis XIV the Sun King

"The State is Me"

Louis XIV (1638-1715)
received the name Louis-Dieudonné at birth (“God-given”, French Louis-Dieudonné), also known as the “Sun King” (French Louis XIV Le Roi Soleil), also Louis the Great (French Louis le Grand) - king of France and Navarre king of France from the Bourbon dynasty, reign (1643-1715)

Louis was born on Sunday, September 5, 1638 in the new palace of Saint-Germain-au-Laye. Previously, for twenty-two years, his parents' marriage had been fruitless and, it seemed, would remain so in the future. Therefore, contemporaries greeted the news of the birth of the long-awaited heir with expressions of lively joy. The common people saw this as a sign of God's mercy and called the newborn Dauphin God-given.

Louis XIV ascended 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 Anne of Austria, but in fact all affairs were managed by her favorite Cardinal Mazarin.

Giulio Raimondo Maz(z)arino

Louis's childhood and adolescence were marked by the turbulent events of the civil war, known in history as the Fronde. In January 1649, the royal family, accompanied by several courtiers and ministers, fled to Saint-Germain from Paris in rebellion. Mazarin, against whom the discontent was mainly directed, had to seek refuge even further - in Brussels. Only in 1652, with great difficulty, was it possible to establish internal peace. But in subsequent years, until his death, Mazarin firmly held the reins of power in his hands. In foreign policy, he also achieved important successes.

Signing of the Iberian Peace

In November 1659, the Peace of the Pyrenees was signed with Spain, ending twenty-four years of hostilities between the two kingdoms. The agreement was sealed by the marriage of the French king with his cousin, the Spanish Infanta Maria Theresa. This marriage turned out to be the last act of the all-powerful Mazarin.

Marriage of King Louis IV and Maria Theresa of Austria

In March 1661 he died. Until his death, despite the fact that the king had long been considered an adult, the cardinal remained the rightful ruler of the state, and Louis obediently followed his instructions in everything.

But as soon as Mazarin died, the king hastened to free himself from all guardianship. He abolished the position of first minister and, having convened the State Council, announced in an imperative tone that from now on he had decided to be his first minister himself and did not want anyone to sign even the most insignificant ordinance on his behalf.

Very few at this time were familiar with the real character of Louis. This young king, who was only 22 years old, had until then attracted attention only for his penchant for ostentation and love affairs. It seemed that he was created exclusively for idleness and pleasure. But it took very little time to be convinced otherwise. As a child, Louis received a very poor upbringing - he was barely taught to read and write. However, he was naturally gifted with common sense, a remarkable ability to understand the essence of things, and a firm determination to maintain his royal dignity. According to the Venetian envoy, “nature itself tried to make Louis XIV such a person who, by his personal qualities, was destined to become the king of the nation.”

He was tall and very handsome. There was something courageous or heroic in all his movements. He possessed the ability, very important for a king, to express himself briefly but clearly, and to say no more and no less than what was necessary.

All his life he was diligently engaged in government affairs, from which neither entertainment nor old age could tear him away. “They reign through work and for work,” Louis loved to repeat, “and to desire one without the other would be ingratitude and disrespect for the Lord.” Unfortunately, his innate greatness and industriousness served as a cover for the most shameless selfishness. Not a single French king had previously been distinguished by such monstrous pride and egoism; not a single European monarch had so clearly exalted himself above those around him and had not smoked incense to his own greatness with such pleasure. This is clearly visible in everything that concerned Louis: in his court and public life, in his domestic and foreign policies, in his love interests and in his buildings.

All previous royal residences seemed to Louis unworthy of his person. From the first days of his reign, he was preoccupied with thoughts of building a new palace, more consistent with his greatness. For a long time he did not know which of the royal castles to turn into a palace. Finally, in 1662, his choice fell on Versailles (under Louis XIII it was a small hunting castle). However, more than fifty years passed before the new magnificent palace was ready in its main parts. The construction of the ensemble cost approximately 400 million francs and absorbed 12-14% of all government expenditures annually. For two decades, while construction was underway, the royal court did not have a permanent residence: until 1666 it was located mainly in the Louvre, then, in 1666-1671 - in the Tuileries, over the next ten years - alternately in Saint-Germain-au -Lay and Versailles under construction. Finally, in 1682, Versailles became the permanent seat of the court and government. After this, until his death, Louis visited Paris only 16 times for short visits.

When Louis finally settled in Versailles, he ordered the minting of a medal with the following inscription: “The Royal Palace is open for public entertainment.”

Réception du Grand Condé à Versailles - The Grand Condé welcomes Louis XIV on the Staircase at Versailles

In his youth, Louis was distinguished by an ardent disposition and was very much indifferent to pretty women. Despite the beauty of the young queen, he was not for one minute in love with his wife and was constantly looking for amorous entertainment on the side. In his marriage to Maria Theresa (1638-1683), Infanta of Spain, the king had 6 children.

Maria Theresa of Spain (1638-1683)

Two Queens of France Anne d"Autriche with her niece and daughter-in-law, Marie-Thérèse d"Espagne

Louis the Great Dauphin (1661-1711) is the only surviving legitimate child of Louis XIV from Maria Theresa of Spain, his heir (Dauphin of France). He died four years before his father's death and did not reign.

Louis le Grand Dauphin (1661—1711)

The Family of the Grand Dauphin

Portrait Ludwig des XIV. und seiner Erben

The king also had many extramarital affairs and illegitimate children.

Louise-Françoise de La Baume Le Blanc(French Louise-Françoise de La Baume Le Blanc, duchesse de la Vallière et de Vaujours (1644-1710)) - Duchess de La Vallière et de Vaujours, favorite of Louis XIV.

Louise-Francoise de la Baume le Blanc, Duchesse de la Valliere and de Vaujours (1644-1710)

From the king, Louise de La Vallière gave birth to four children, two of whom lived to adulthood.

Maria Anna de Bourbon (1666 - 1739) - Mademoiselle de Blois.
Louis de Bourbon (1667-1683), Comte de Vermandois.

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The king's new hobby was the Marquise de Montespan. Possessing a clear and practical mind, she knew well what she needed, and was preparing to sell her caresses very expensively. Françoise Athenais de Rochechouart de Mortemart(French: Françoise Athénaïs de Rochechouart de Mortemart (1640-1707), known as Marquise de Montespan(French Marquise de Montespan) - the official favorite of the King of France Louis XIV.

The king's relationship with the Marquise de Montespan lasted sixteen years. During this time, Louis had many other novels, more or less serious... While the king gave himself up to sensual pleasures, the Marquise of Montespan remained for many years the uncrowned queen of France.

In fact, King Louis and the Marquise de Montespan had seven children. Four reached adulthood (the king gave them all the surname Bourbon):

Louis-Auguste de Bourbon, Duke of Maine (1670-1736)

Louise-Françoise de Bourbon (1673–1743), Mademoiselle de Nantes

Françoise-Marie de Bourbon (1677–1749), Mademoiselle de Blois

Louise-Françoise de Bourbon and Françoise-Marie de Bourbon

Louis-Alexandre de Bourbon, Count of Toulouse (1678-1737)

Louise Marie Anne de Bourbon (1674–1681), Mademoiselle de Tours, died at the age of 7

Marie-Angelique de Scoray de Roussil, Duchess of Fontanges(French Marie Angélique de Scorailles de Roussille, duchesse de Fontanges (1661 - 1681) one of the many lovers of the French king Louis XIV.

Duchesse de Fontanges

When Louis began to cool down to love adventures, a woman of a completely different type took possession of his heart. Francoise d'Aubigné (1635—1719), Marquise de Maintenon—she was a governess for his side children for a long time, then the official favorite of the king.

Marquise de Maintenon

From 1683, after the removal of the Marquise de Montespan and the death of Queen Maria Theresa, Madame de Maintenon acquired unlimited influence over the king. Their rapprochement ended in a secret marriage in January 1684. Approving all the orders of Louis, Madame de Maintenon, on occasion, gave him advice and guided him. The king had the deepest respect and trust for the marquise; under her influence he became very religious, abandoned all love affairs and began to lead a more moral lifestyle.

Family tragedy and the question of a successor

The family life of the elderly king at the end of his life presented a far from rosy picture. On April 13, 1711, Louis the Great Dauphin (French: Louis le Grand Dauphin), November 1, 1661—April 14, 1711) died - the only surviving legitimate child of Louis XIV from Maria Theresa of Spain, his heir (Dauphin of France). He died four years before his father's death and did not reign.

In February 1712 he was followed by the Dauphin's eldest son, the Duke of Burgundy, and on March 8 of the same year by the latter's eldest son, the young Duke of Breton. On March 4, 1714, he fell from his horse and a few days later, the younger brother of the Duke of Burgundy, the Duke of Berry, died, so that, in addition to Philip V of Spain, the Bourbons had only one heir left - the four-year-old great-grandson of the king, the second son of the Duke of Burgundy (later Louis XV).

The history of the nickname Sun King

In France, the sun was 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 mentions of solar emblems date back to the reign of Henry III; the grandfather and father of Louis XIV used them, but only under him did solar symbolism become truly widespread.

At the age of twelve (1651), Louis XIV made his debut in the so-called “ballets de cour” - court ballets, which were staged annually during the carnival.

The Baroque carnival is not just a holiday and entertainment, but an opportunity to play in an “upside-down world.” For example, the king became a jester, an artist or a buffoon for several hours, while at the same time the jester could well afford to appear in the guise of a king. In one of the ballet productions, which was called “Ballet of the Night,” young Louis had the opportunity to appear before his subjects for the first time in the image of the Rising Sun (1653), and then Apollo, the Sun God (1654).

When Louis XIV began to rule independently (1661), the genre of court ballet was put at the service of state interests, helping the king not only create his representative image, but also manage court society (as well as other arts). The roles in these productions were shared only by the king and his friend, the Comte de Saint-Aignan. Princes of the blood and courtiers, dancing next to their sovereign, depicted various elements, planets and other creatures 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 Carousel of the Tuileries in 1662. This is a festive carnival cavalcade, which is something between a sports festival (in the Middle Ages these were tournaments) and a masquerade. In the 17th century, Carousel was called “equestrian ballet”, since this action was more reminiscent of a performance with music, rich costumes and a fairly consistent script. At 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 his hand the king had a golden shield with the image of the Sun. This symbolized that this luminary protects the king and with him the whole of France.

According to the historian of the French Baroque F. Bossan, “it was on the Grand Carousel of 1662 that, in a way, the Sun King was born. His name was given not by politics or the victories of his armies, but by equestrian ballet.”

The reign of Louis XIV lasted 72 years and 110 days.

The French king Louis XIV (1638-1715) remained in history as the author of the saying “I am the state.” A system of state power in which a monarch (king, king, emperor) can make decisions only of his own free will, without any representatives of the people or nobility, is called absolutism. In France, absolutism developed under the father of Louis XIV, Louis XIII (his time is described in the famous novel by A. Dumas “The Three Musketeers”). But Louis the Pope did not rule the country himself; he was more interested in hunting. All matters were decided by the first minister, Cardinal Richelieu. Little Louis was left without a father early on, and until he came of age, the country was ruled by another first minister, also a cardinal, Mazarin. The Queen Mother, Anne of Austria, had a great influence on state affairs. The young king seemed only interested in dancing, balls and music.

But after Mazarin’s death, he matured sharply, did not appoint a first minister, and spent a long time doing business himself every day. His main concern was public finances. Together with the state controller of finances, J. Colbert, the king sought to increase state revenues. For this purpose, the development of manufactories was encouraged, and the history of the famous Lyon silk and tapestries began. It was during the era of Louis XIV that France began to rapidly turn into a trendsetter throughout the world. Even the English enemies tried to copy Parisian styles of clothing and hairstyles (and this was an era of very fancy fashions). Wanting to add shine to his reign, Louis made his court dazzlingly luxurious and surrounded himself with all the arts, like the outstanding rulers of antiquity.

His court playwrights were Moliere, Racine and Corneille, his favorite composer was Lully, and artists, furniture makers, and jewelers created products of unprecedented elegance.

As a child, Louis suffered many unpleasant moments during the uprising of the Parisian townspeople of the Fronde (“Slingshot”). Therefore, he decided to build himself a new luxurious residence, Versailles, outside of Paris. All this required huge expenses. Louis XIV introduced several new taxes, which placed a heavy burden on the peasants.

The rapid industrial development of France came into clear conflict with its medieval way of life, but Louis did not touch the privileges of the nobility and left the class division of society. However, he made great efforts to organize overseas colonies, especially in America. The territories here were named Louisiana in honor of the king.

The Sun King was what the flattering courtiers called the king. However, Louis overestimated his greatness. He revoked the toleration decree of his grandfather, Henry IV, and hundreds of thousands of Protestants, many of whom were remarkable craftsmen, left the country. Having moved to England and Germany, they created a textile industry there, which subsequently successfully competed with the French one. He even quarreled with the Pope, making the French Church independent of Rome. And he fought with all his neighbors. And these wars ended unsuccessfully for France as a whole.

Some territorial acquisitions were too expensive. By the end of the reign of Louis, France entered a time of economic recession, and only memories remained of the former prosperity of the peasants. The heir of Louis XIV was his great-grandson Louis XV, who in turn became famous for the phrase: “After us, even a flood.” The magnificent facade of the Sun King's state hid rotten pillars, but only the French Revolution showed how rotten they were. However, the cultural influence of the country established its European primacy for many centuries.

This strange man, often misunderstood by those around him, was forced to ascend the throne at the age of four and remained on it until old age. Having fallen in love with the girl of his dreams, he married not her, but a Spanish infanta, in whom he was not at all interested. He abolished the office of first minister and throughout his long life strictly adhered to the principles of absolute and unconditional monarchy. Contemporaries and descendants called him a reformer and a retrograde; he was considered a mercantile miser, but he loved to live on a grand scale. Until his death, he was active and even hunted twice a week, but died of a serious illness. Who really was Louis XIV, the famous Sun King?

Louis 14: biography of an unhappy and happy man

On March 10, 1661, immediately after the death of the unforgettable Cardinal Mazarin, the ruler decided to abolish the position of first minister, and thus began the long and happy, independent reign of the French king Louis XIV, nicknamed in history the “Great Century”. The special charm and beauty of that era could be felt by everyone who read Dumas’s work about the funny, and sometimes dangerous, adventures of the three musketeers, where loyal friends bravely fight for their country, king and queen. However, in reality, the book ruler was very different from the image that the visionary writer created in his work. To see this, just look through historical documents.

The French king Louis 14 went down in history with many actions, but the most famous in the world is his phrase “I am the state!” A system of state power, in which only the sole ruler makes all decisions of his own free will, is called absolutism, and this style of government was formed under the father of the sun king, whose reign is described in Dumas’s novel “The Three Musketeers.”

However, Louis the Pope, who seemed to be striving for absolutism, was of little interest in government, if not to say frankly, he was not interested at all, and he was not occupied with his direct duties, but with hunting and balls. It was left to Cardinal Richelieu to resolve the issues, who was replaced by Mazarin. Left without a father early, little Louis was also interested in balls, dancing, music and new clothes, and his “work” was done by his mother, Anna of Austria, but after the death of the cardinal, he suddenly completely changed, matured and decided to rule the country himself.

He was a good ruler, began to develop manufactories, supported them in order to increase the economic component of the country and fill the state treasury. He initiated the construction of factories for the production of the famous Lyon silk. It was during the reign of Louis 14 that France began to gradually turn into the fashionable capital of the world, which still dictates its laws today. In addition, he developed culture and art. Personalities such as Moliere, Lully, Corneille, and Racine served at court. It was this ruler who built the magnificent Versailles. However, he managed to quarrel even with the Pope, not to mention his closest neighbors. But the country's cultural achievements and influence after him made it a leader in Europe in this regard for many years.

Family of God's Chosen Ruler

The father of the future ruler was Louis XIII, whose mother Maria de Medici, in advance, at a young age, betrothed to the Spanish infanta Anna of Austria. They got married in 1615, but it can hardly be called happy. Only in the late thirties of the seventeenth century did relations in the royal family begin to improve, and already on September 5, 1638, in the new palace in Saint-Germain-aux-Layes, their first child was born - the future Sun King (Louis XIV Le Roi Soleil) , named Louis-Dieudonné de Bourbon, which literally means “God-given” (Louis-Dieudonné). Already on September 21, 1640, another boy was born, Philippe I of Orleans, who later bore the title “The King’s Only Brother” (le Frere unique du Roi).

In 1642, the permanent and “autocratic” Richelieu, who struck fear into the inhabitants only by the mention of his name, died, and in his place ascended Cardinal Mazarin, a faithful and capable student who became a support and assistant to Anne of Austria after just a few months later her husband died. In the spring of forty-three, Louis was enthroned, even without being fully four years old. It is clear that he controlled nothing, and could not control anything, at least not yet.

Little Louis' childhood

The little Dauphin of France is already a responsible position, and the future king began to give audiences before he learned to hold a spoon or even talk. Little is known about his early childhood, but he loved his mother dearly and was sincerely attached to his father. Just before his death, he made a will, in which he appointed Cardinal Mazarin as his godfather. Until the forty-fifth year, women, including the mother, were involved in raising the boy. In 1946, Anna of Austria transferred the care and education of the heir to the hands of men, led by the cardinal.

At first, the training, education and upbringing of the Dauphin was carried out by the Chevalier Ardunna de Perefix, who later entered the clergy and became the Bishop of Paris. It was he who recruited teachers and teachers: Antoine Auden (Latin, French, Spanish), le Camus (arithmetic), Jean le Baie (spelling), Bernard (rhetoric) and Davi (painting). In addition, Perefik himself taught state and church law, as well as languages and literature. Mazarin took Louis’s education very responsibly, not intending to make him a bookworm or a pedant, but gave him exactly what would be useful in the future. He himself worked with the boy on military matters, gave him tactics and strategy, and introduced him to diplomatic subtleties.

Louis was barely ten years old when a terrible and destructive civil war broke out - the Fronde, which lasted four whole years and ended only in 1652, together with the subjugation of Louis (Louis) II de Bourbon, Prince de Condé and the signing of the notorious Pyrenean Treaty between France and Spain. peace. Then young Louis 14 had to face the betrayal of close relatives, when, under the cover of darkness, the family had to leave the palace and escape. Experts believe that the experience gained during the ill-fated Fronde turned the boy into a grown man. On April 7, 1651, the king himself appeared at a meeting of the Paris Parliament where he announced that he would govern the country himself “with the fear of God and with justice.” In fact, this was the end of his mother’s regency, although formally she would be considered the guardian for another ten years.

Domestic and foreign policy of the solar king

The turning point in the history of the Fronde was the official announcement of the king's coming of age. That is, now any crime and even a statement against the ruling party of Mazarin, who was in exile for the second time at that time, could be regarded as lese majeste or the crown. Louis XIV returned his godfather to Paris in 1953, but only partially returned power to him, an area of foreign policy that he supported. However, the king was extremely dissatisfied with internal politics. Management, rapidly shrinking finances, a peasantry groaning under the yoke of exorbitant taxes, poor development of manufacturing production, imperfect justice, all this did not allow the young king to sleep at night. Even in his diaries, he would later write that “chaos, lawlessness and disorder” reigned around.

Worth knowing

In official history textbooks you can often read that after the end of the Fronde, peace began to shine in France, calm and serenity reigned, but this is not so. Part of the provincial nobility continued to show dissatisfaction and present problems that the king himself had to solve.

Religious politics and absolutism of the monarchy

On March 9, 1661, Cardinal Mazarin ordered a long life, after which Louis XIV concentrated all power in single hands, since his main goal was an absolute monarchy. The very next day after his godfather’s funeral, he convened the French Council of State and announced the abolition of the position of first minister. Then he completely forbade the chancellor to put a seal on any documents without his personal verdict, and for the secretaries to send any dispatches without his order; this was the beginning of his long independent absolute rule.

The story of Louis 14 is also interesting because he tried in every possible way to minimize, or even completely eliminate, the unlimited power of the Pope in France. Moreover, there were even prerequisites for creating our own, completely separate patriarchy. However, the influence of Bishop Bossuet of Moscow stopped the complete break from Rome in time. However, by nature it was the king who was the most ardent adherent of the most poisonous and all-pervasive Catholic reaction. First of all, this affected the unfortunate Huguenots, whose churches and lands were taken away; according to their laws, they could not marry, baptize children or bury old people.

Moreover, even mixed marriages between Protestants and Catholics were prohibited under penalty of imprisonment and even the death penalty. This hit the French economy extremely hard, from which more than two hundred thousand Protestants simply left for England. Among them were outstanding textile workers and artisans who became the founders of the English textile industry, which would soon become the best on the planet.

Versailles - the capital of cultural life

Beginning in the sixty-first year, when Mazarin died, Louis XIV began large-scale construction of his new residence, rightly believing that the Louvre was unlikely to be able to protect him, which he especially feared after the events of the Fronde. The main architects were Jules Hardouin-Mansart, as well as Louis Levo. Andre Le Nôtre was invited to lay out the park and landscape design. In fact, the residence was supposed to be built around the father's hunting lodge of Louis XIII, which was done.

A talented economist, Finance Minister Jean-Baptiste Colbert kept an eye on spending, but it was definitely not the best time for France. If we translate into modern prices, just under three hundred billion euros were spent on the construction of the residence, which is a colossal amount even in modern times. The peasants did not want to become builders; workers were often imported from Normandy and Flanders, but they also quickly ran away; the contractors were not paid if the costs exceeded the estimate. With grief in half, the magnificent Versailles was built, and a town of artisans immediately grew up around it, supplying the palace with everything necessary.

Louis' wars of conquest

However, if the ruler of France was involved in economics, religion and the construction of palaces, then the people and aristocrats would probably be quite satisfied. However, he wanted to fight, strengthening his position in the world, as well as capturing new territories.

After the death of King Philip IV of Spain in 1965, Louis decided to declare his claims to part of the Spanish Netherlands. This is how the Dutch War broke out, which ended only in 1678 with the conclusion of the Peace of Nimwegen, in which France grabbed a good piece of the territory of the Netherlands, but gave Philipsburg.
In 1688, Louis XIV decided to enter into military conflict again, this time on behalf of his own daughter-in-law, Elizabeth-Charlotte, Duchess of Orleans, who laid claim to the Palatinate. The hostilities began in earnest, and there was simply no money to conduct them. This war ended almost ten years later at Ryswick, where Louis had to accept that his claims would remain unsatisfied.
Nothing changed and after Charles II of Spain died, the state treasury was empty, the court continued to live in grand style, and the Sun King decided to keep the Spanish crown for his heir and grandson Philip of Anjou. Subsequently, in 1712 and 1713, two pacts were concluded in Utrecht and Rastatt, where Spain ceded to France, but France lost the Netherlands, conquered with such difficulty.

After the last war, the country found itself on the edge of a huge abyss, into which it began to slide, first slowly, and then more and more quickly. Enormous debts hung over it, which the monarchy did not want to pay, and simply could not.

Attitude to the activities of the crowned leader

Subsequent events led to severe financial collapse and poverty in France. Its Italian possessions were hopelessly lost, and England managed to destroy the Spanish fleet, which subsequently gave it almost unconditional naval dominance for many centuries to come. France was never able to recover from the last war, until the revolution, and throughout the country, here and there, riots broke out, the people were dissatisfied with the unaffordable taxes and levies.

In the sphere of political ideas there was a fierce struggle between the tyranny of the king and opposition views. Despite the ban on even referring to legislation, many writers took a clearly anti-royalist position, developing the theory of popular sovereignty. This can be found out from the works of Petty, Buchanan, Sidney and other thinkers. At the same time, it can be argued that the ideological and social policies of Louis XIV were aimed at the subsequent strengthening of the state and created a platform for later monarchical movements.

Personal life and death of a loving ruler

Looking from the heights of this century at any historical period, we can say with confidence that the personal lives of monarchs directly influenced the politics and life of the state as a whole. All this is true for the absolute monarchy of the sun king. The life of Louis 14 was filled with various beauties; he was a great connoisseur of sophisticated ladies, but he was not always able to get along with everyone. Subsequently, in his memoirs, he even wrote that it was easier for him to try on the whole of Europe than a couple of women.

Wives, lovers and children

In 1660, the mother of the twenty-two-year-old king, Anna of Austria, on the recommendation of the cardinal, arranged his marriage with the Spanish Infanta Maria Theresa of Austria. She was the same age as Louis, and in addition, also his cousin, both on his father and mother. Close family relations were not at all rare among the European aristocracy at that time, the marriage turned out to be unhappy, but in our case this was not the case. The king simply did not love his wife, who bore him six children.

Louis (1661), the only one to survive to adulthood and become Grand Dauphin.
Anna Elizabeth (1662), died in infancy.
Maria Anna (1664), who did not live to be a year old.
Maria Theresa (1667), who lived to be five years old.
Philip (1668), died before age three.
Louis-François (1672), died in infancy.

For the sake of this political marriage, Louis had to leave the woman he truly loved, the niece of the cardinal. Perhaps this affected his attitude towards the queen. However, she was a good wife, she did not weave intrigues, did not take part in conspiracies, and when she died in 1938, the king said that these were the only troubles and troubles she had brought in her entire life.

Louis skillfully compensated for the lack of love in his marriage with his relationship with Louise-Françoise de LaBaume LeBlanc, Duchess de La Valliere, who was definitely not a beauty, and on top of that, she was limping after falling from a horse. But she was distinguished by a sharp mind and amazing complaisance of character. She bore the ruler four children.

Charles de LaBaume LeBlanc (1663), who lived only two years.
Philippe de La Baume LeBlanc (1665), died in infancy.
Marie-Anne de Bourbon (1666), later Mademoiselle de Blois.
Louis de Bourbon (1667), later Comte de Vermandois.

When feelings for his new passion cooled, the king became involved with another favorite, whose name was Françoise-Athenais de Rochechouart de Mortemart, Marquise de Montespan. At the same time, he settled Louise in the neighboring chambers, which many considered cruel. Unable to withstand the bullying of her “successor,” she took monastic vows as a nun in 1675 and spent the rest of her days in prayer, earning herself the nickname “Merciful.” The new love brought the king seven more children, four of whom lived to adulthood.

The Frenchwoman loved money and hated it when people contradicted her. It was she who became the real queen for the next ten years. Under her, Versailles moved from reasonable savings to unrealistically huge expenses. She was jealous and capricious, but Louis managed to indulge in relationships and affairs. So in 79, Marie-Angelique de Scoray de Roussil gave birth to a stillborn child from him, and Claude de Vines, Mademoiselle des Hoye in 76, gave birth to Louise de Maisonblanche, who lived to be forty-two years old.

The last days of the public manager and his memory

Louis XIV's life in recent years was not at all calm or ideal. Misfortune after misfortune happened in his family: in 1711, the forty-nine-year-old Grand Dauphin died, followed by his eldest son in the twelfth year, and then his grandson. Despite this, the elderly king remained active, observed etiquette and hunted almost until his death; this activity finished him off.

At the end of August, Louis fell from his horse and injured his leg, which he forbade the doctors to remove. Gangrene began and already on September 1, 1715, the Sun King died, after several days of terrible agony. For eight days the king's body was laid out for farewell, after which he was transported to the basilica of the Abbey of Saint-Denis, where he was buried.

In 1822, more than a hundred years after the death of Louis 14, an equestrian statue of him was erected in the middle of Paris on Place des Victories, which can still be seen today. The Sun King became one of the main figures in Dumas’s trilogy about the musketeers, Bulgakov wrote about him in “The Cabal of the Saints” and was mentioned by Anna and Serge Gallon in the novels about Angelique. World cinema also could not resist such a colorful character, for example, the film directed by Gerard Corbier “The King Dances” is dedicated to Louis, in the French series “Versailles” the role of Louis XIV was played by the Englishman George Blagden.

(1715-09-01 ) (76 years old)
Palace of Versailles, Versailles, Kingdom of France Genus: Bourbons Father: Louis XIII Mother: Anne of Austria Spouse: 1st: Maria Theresa of Austria
Children: From 1st marriage:
sons: Louis the Grand Dauphin, Philippe, Louis-Francois
daughters: Anna Elisabeth, Maria Anna, Maria Teresa
many illegitimate children, some legitimized

Louis XIV de Bourbon, who received the name Louis-Dieudonné at birth (“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 from May 14. Reigned for 72 years - longer than any other European king in history (of the monarchs of Europe, only a few rulers were in power longer minor principalities of the Holy Roman Empire).

Louis, who survived the wars of the Fronde in his 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 I!”), 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 flowering of culture, went down in history as the Great Century. At the same time, the long-term military conflicts in which France participated during the reign of Louis the Great led to increased 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 abolished the Edict of Nantes on religious tolerance within the kingdom, about 200 thousand Huguenots emigrated from France.

Biography

Childhood and young years

Louis XIV in childhood

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 Anne 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 high aristocracy, supported by Spain and in alliance with the Parliament of Paris, began unrest, which received the general name Fronde (1648-1652) and ended only with the subjugation of the Prince de Condé and the signing of the Pyrenees Peace (7 November).

Secretaries of State - There were four main secretarial positions (for foreign affairs, for the military department, for the naval department, for the “reformist religion”). Each of the four secretaries received a separate province to manage. The posts of secretaries were for sale and, with the permission of the king, they could be inherited. Secretarial positions 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 post of Secretary of State for the Royal Household, which was a related 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 precise division of positions. State Councilors - members of the State Council. There were thirty of them: twelve ordinary, three military, three clergy and twelve semester. The hierarchy of advisors was headed by the dean. The positions of advisers were not for sale and were for life. The position of adviser gave a title of nobility.

Governance of provinces

The heads of the provinces were usually governors (gouverneurs). They were appointed by the king from the 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: keeping the province in obedience and peace, protecting it and maintaining it in readiness for defense, and promoting justice. Governors had to live in their provinces for at least six months a year or be at the royal court, unless otherwise permitted by the king. The 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 royal viceroys. In fact, none of them ruled the province, but only received a salary. There were also positions of chiefs of small districts, cities, and citadels, to which military personnel were often appointed.
Simultaneously with the governors, they were involved 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 boundaries did not coincide with the boundaries of the provinces. Historically, the positions of intendants arose from the positions of petition managers, who were sent to the province to consider complaints and requests, but remained for constant supervision. The length of service in the position has not been determined.
Subordinate to the intendants 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 rapporteurs.
Along with the governor's and commissariat's administration, class administration in the form of meetings of estates , which included representatives of the church, nobility, and middle class (tiers etat). The number of representatives from each class varied depending on the region. Assemblies of estates dealt mainly with issues of taxes and taxes.

City management

Was involved in city management city corporation or council (corps de ville, conseil de ville), consisting of one or more burgomasters (maire, prevot, consul, capitoul) and councilors or sheffens (echevins, conseilers). The positions were initially elective until 1692, and then purchased with lifetime replacement. The requirements for suitability for the position being filled were established independently by the city and varied from region to region. The city council dealt with city affairs accordingly and had limited autonomy in police, commercial and market affairs.

Taxes

Jean-Baptiste Colbert

Within the state, the new fiscal system meant only an increase in taxes and taxes for the growing military needs, which fell heavily on the shoulders of the peasantry and petty bourgeoisie. The salt gabelle was particularly unpopular, causing several riots throughout the country. The decision to impose a stamp paper tax in 1675 during the Dutch War sparked a powerful Stamp Paper Rebellion behind the country's lines in western France, most notably in Brittany, supported in part 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 towards the end of the year.

At the same time, Louis, as the “first nobleman” of France, spared the material interests of the nobility that had lost its political significance and, as a faithful son of the Catholic Church, did not demand anything from the clergy.

As the intendant of finances of Louis XIV, J.B. Colbert, figuratively formulated: “ Taxation is the art of plucking a goose so as to get the most feathers with the least squeak.»

Trade

Jacques Savary

In France, during the reign of Louis XIV, the first codification of trade law was carried out and the Ordonance de Commerce - Commercial Code (1673) was adopted. The significant advantages of the Ordinance of 1673 are due to the fact that its publication was preceded by very serious preparatory work based on reviews from knowledgeable persons. The chief worker was Savary, so this ordinance is often called the Savary Code.

Migration

On issues of emigration, the edict of Louis XIV, issued in 1669 and valid until 1791, was in force. The Edict stipulated that all persons who left France without special permission from the royal government would be subject to confiscation of their property; those who enter foreign service as shipbuilders are subject to the death penalty upon returning to their homeland.

“The bonds 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.”

Government positions:
A specific phenomenon of French public life was the corruption of government positions, 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 also served as a deposit. In addition, the approval of the king or a patent (lettre de provision) was also required, which was also produced for a certain cost and certified by the king’s seal.
To 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 official’s son.
The situation with the sales of positions in the last years of Louis XIV's life reached the point that in Paris alone 2,461 newly created positions were sold for 77 million French livres. Officials mainly received their salaries from taxes rather than from the state treasury (for example, slaughterhouse overseers demanded 3 livres for each bull brought to the market, or, for example, wine brokers and commission agents who received a duty on each purchased and sold barrels of wine).

Religious politics

He tried to destroy the political dependence of the clergy on the pope. Louis XIV even intended to form a French patriarchate independent from Rome. But, thanks to the influence of the famous Bishop of Moscow 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, Louis XIV's confessors (the Jesuits) made him an obedient instrument of the most ardent Catholic reaction, which was reflected in the merciless persecution of all individualistic movements within 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 perform divine services. Even mixed marriages between Catholics and Protestants were prohibited.
The Protestant aristocracy was forced to convert to Catholicism so as not to lose their social advantages, and restrictive decrees were used against Protestants from among other classes, ending with 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 Cevennes. The king's growing piety found support from Madame de Maintenon, who, after the death of the queen (1683), was united to 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 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 supporting court etiquette and the decor of his “great century,” which was already beginning to fade.

Marriages and children

(from June 9, 1660, Saint-Jean de Luz) Maria Theresa (1638-1683), Infanta of Spain
- Louis the Great Dauphin (1661-1711)
- Anna Elizabeth (1662-1662)
- Maria Anna (1664-1664)
- Maria Teresa (1667-1672)
- Philip (1668-1671)
- Louis-François (1672-1672)
(from June 12, 1684, Versailles) Françoise d'Aubigné (1635-1719), Marquise de Maintenon

Ext. connection Louise de La Baume Le Blanc (1644-1710), Duchess de La Vallière
- 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
Ext. connection Françoise-Athenais de Rochechouart de Mortemart (1641-1707), Marquise de Montespan

Mademoiselle de Blois and Mademoiselle de Nantes

- Louise-Françoise de Bourbon (1669-1672)
- Louis-Auguste de Bourbon, Duke of Maine (1670-1736)
- Louis-César de Bourbon (1672-1683)
- Louise-Françoise 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)
Ext. connection(1678-1680) Marie-Angelique de Scoray de Roussil (1661-1681), Duchess of Fontanges
- N (1679-1679), child was stillborn
Ext. connection Claude de Vines (c.1638 - September 8, 1686), Mademoiselle des Hoye
- Louise de Maisonblanche (1676-1718)

The history of the nickname Sun King

When Louis XIV began to rule independently (), the genre of court ballet was put at the service of state interests, helping the king not only create his representative image, but also manage court society (as well as other arts). The roles in these productions were distributed only by the king and his friend, the Comte de Saint-Aignan. Princes of the blood and courtiers, dancing next to their sovereign, depicted various elements, planets and other creatures 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.

The image of Louis XIV in popular culture

Louis XIV is one of the main historical characters in the Musketeers trilogy by Alexandre Dumas. In the last book of the trilogy, “The Vicomte de Bragelonne,” an impostor (allegedly the king’s twin brother 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 the novel by Dumas the Father “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 played them in the film's 1998 remake. In the 1962 French film The Iron Mask, these roles were played by Jean-François 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 about Louis XIV in France.

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). The extensive literature about L. opens with the work of Voltaire: “Siècle de Louis XIV” (1752 and more often), after which the name “century of L. XIV” came into general use to designate 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, “Correspondance administrative sous le règne 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, published by S. Skirmunt, 1906
Gurevich Y. “The significance of the reign of L. XIV and his personality”;
Le Mao K. Louis XIV and the Parliament of Bordeaux: very moderate absolutism // French Yearbook 2005. M., 2005. pp. 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 ones). - St. Petersburg. , 1890-1907.

Kings and Emperors of France (987-1870)

Capetians (987-1328)

987	996		1031		1060		1108		1137		1180		1223		1226
Hugo Capet		Robert II		Henry I		Philip I		Louis VI		Louis VII		Philip II		Louis VIII

1498	1515		1547		1559		1560		1574		1589
Louis XII		Francis I		Henry II		Francis II		Charles IX		Henry III

Louis XIV of France. End of life and death

As already mentioned, between 1683 and 1690. Versailles gradually began to isolate itself from the outside world. Paris also became more attractive to noble society. Economic problems as a result of the war, the aging of the king and, not least, the growing influence of Madame de Maintenon played a large role in this. But the fact that the king’s positions on matters of faith were increasingly closer to the positions of the “devout” was also of certain importance, and he demanded unquestioning adherence to morality from those around him.

Madame Scarron, née Françoise d'Aubigny, Marquise de Maintenon (1635-1719), who cared for the illegitimate children of King Louis XIV and the Marquise de Montespan, was in close contact with the king. She accompanied the king and his mistress on many trips. When the eldest surviving son of Montespan and Louis XIV was legitimized in December 1673, Madame Scarron came with him to court. An analysis of her correspondence indicates that this very beautiful woman, after some hesitation and overcoming remorse, became the king's mistress a few months later. In any case, from that time on she was showered with monetary rewards, privileges and trade monopolies. In addition, Louis XIV gave her the title "Madame de Maintenon", using the name of the castle, which she bought in December 1674. The close proximity of the king with Madame de Maintenon, who refused to be elevated to the rank of duchess, became quite obvious in 1681, when Louis XIV provided her with apartments at Versailles adjacent to his own. When Queen Maria Theresa died on July 30, 1683, the king proposed a secret marriage to his favorite. From the correspondence between Madame de Brinon and Charles d'Aubigny, we can conclude that this secret marriage took place on October 9 or 10, 1683. From that time on, Madame de Maintenon became the “uncrowned queen of Versailles.” From that moment on, her life was closely connected with the history of the kingdom. However, this indisputable fact should not lead to the false conclusion that she began to exert a noticeable, albeit secret, influence on the king’s policies.

Louis XIV throughout his life did not allow anyone to lead him in state affairs. And yet, given the particularly close relationship between Madame de Maintenon and the king, one cannot help but admit that the opinion of the “uncrowned queen of Versailles” had weight in political matters. From the end of 1683, they talked for a long time every day about everything: about construction sites, the theater, religious problems, and above all about people. It was therefore inevitable that their conversations would at least touch on politics. Thus, it is known that Maintenon did not rate Louvois highly and showed preference to the Colbert clan. In addition, it is known that at the end of the reign of Louis XIV, the ministers preferred to seek access to the weakened king, whom they did not want to tire too much, through Madame de Maintenon. They informed her and left it to her discretion whether the king should be disturbed with this matter. Therefore, evil tongues in 1714 claimed that a triumvirate ruled over the council of ministers - Mentenoi, confessor Michel Teillet (1643 - 1719) and chancellor Daniel-François Voisin de la Noireille (1654 - 1717). This was not entirely true. But it cannot be denied that Chancellor Voisin owed his career mainly to the patronage of de Maintenon. Even if Maintenon did not do politics, she still participated in some of the king’s most important political decisions, for example, on securing the succession to the throne and the will. It is also undeniable that this outstanding woman managed to bring about fundamental changes in the life of the king and the entire court. Life in Versailles became more serious and, in the opinion of the courtiers, more boring. Under her influence, the king acquired a more serious worldview.

After the death of the minister Seigneley (Jean-Baptiste Colbert, Marquis de Senieleil, 1651 - 1690) and Louvois (1641 - 1691), there was a further increase in the completeness of the king's personal power, although one cannot - like some contemporaries - talk about despotism. This is manifested, for example, in his strategic, tactical and administrative efforts aimed at eliminating the consequences of the devastating crop failures and famine of 1693/94.

The old king was greatly saddened and worried by three deaths of close people, which occurred within a few months and jeopardized the direct succession to the throne through the male line of the dynasty. On April 14, 1711, the son of Louis XIV, the Dauphin Louis of France (1661 - 1711), died of chickenpox. His death shocked the king and father. Having not yet recovered from this blow, on February 18, 1712, he lost his grandson, the second Dauphin Louis of France, Duke of Burgundy (1682 - 1712). Less than three weeks later, on March 8, 1712, the eldest great-grandson of the king, the third Dauphin, Louis of France, Duke of Brittany (1707 - 1712), died. He served as Dauphin for only 19 days. In order to preserve the inheritance of the throne for a long time in this situation for the threatened dynasty, the king decided on a measure that was a violation of the “Basic Law” of the monarchy regulating the succession to the throne, the so-called “Salic Law”. In July 1714, he issued an order that those born from a relationship with the Marquise de Montespan, i.e. illegitimate sons, the Duke of Maine (1670 - 1736) and the Count of Toulouse (1678 - 1723) are allowed to inherit the throne if there are no more princes of royal blood. And although this edict, in the appearance of which Madame de Maintenon also participated, clearly violated the “Basic Law” of the kingdom, the Paris Parliament registered it on August 2, 1714.

The will, presented in August 1714 to the Parisian Parliament, also had little correspondence with the Basic Law. With this will, the king wanted to regulate the future regency for his great-grandson, the Dauphin, by providing for the establishment of a regency council, even fixing its personal composition and establishing that decisions in this council would be made by a majority vote. However, this will did not play a role, since on September 2, 1715, the day after the death of the king, the Paris Parliament declared it invalid.

On August 9, 1715, the king fell ill and the next day returned from Marly, where he was hunting, to Versailles. Although in the following days he was engaged in government affairs as best he could, it was clear to everyone that his health was constantly deteriorating. On August 24, the court, the king’s friends and his doctors began to seriously worry about the course of the disease. The next day, Louis XIV received unction. Over the next few days, he said goodbye to the court, to his family members, and prepared for death. On August 30, he lost consciousness, gangrene spread to his knee and thigh. Louis XIV died on September 1, 1715 at 7.15 am. With his death, France lost one of its greatest and most significant rulers, whose reign left an indelible mark on the French monarchy and whose achievements inspired numerous imitations far beyond France's borders.

State finances were in a deplorable state in 1715. If the information that has reached us is correct, public debts reached a gigantic amount for that time, about 2 billion livres. However, despite this, it should be emphasized that the country, thanks to its natural resources, a relatively strong agricultural economy, manufacturing capacity and its overseas trade, although with the greatest difficulties, survived the 25 war years.

Although Louis XIV failed to realize his desire for hegemony in Europe, in death he left a country larger and better protected than at the beginning of his sole rule. Louis XIV left his successor a monarchy, which in subsequent decades was able to play a primary political role in Europe. We must agree with Voltaire, who aptly noted: “Despite everything that is written against him, his name will not be pronounced without reverence, and with this name will be connected the idea of a century that will forever remain grateful.”