Royal sun of Versailles. The Grand Age of Louis XIV. Louis XIV - biography, information, personal life

Booker Igor 11/23/2013 at 5:07 pm

The frivolous public readily believes in tales of the love of the French king Louis XIV. Against the backdrop of the morals of that time, the number of love victories of the “sun king” simply fades. The timid young man, getting to know women, did not become a notorious libertine. Louis was characterized by attacks of generosity towards the ladies he left behind, who continued to enjoy many favors, and their offspring received titles and estates. Among the favorites stands out Madame de Montespan, whose children from the king became Bourbons.

The marriage of Louis XIV with Maria Theresa was a political marriage and the French king was bored with his wife. The daughter of the King of Spain was a pretty woman, but she had no charm at all (despite the fact that she was the daughter of Elizabeth of France, she had not an ounce of French charm in her) and there was no cheerfulness. At first, Louis looked at Henrietta of England, his brother's wife, who was disgusted by her husband, a fan of same-sex love. At one of the court balls, Duke Philippe of Orleans, who showed courage and leadership qualities on the battlefield, dressed in a woman's dress and danced with his handsome gentleman. An unattractive 16-year-old big girl with a drooping lower lip had two advantages - a lovely opal complexion and amenability.

Contemporary French writer Eric Deschodt, in his biography of Louis XIV, testifies: “The relationship between Louis and Henrietta does not go unnoticed. Monsieur (title Monsieur given to the brother of the King of France, next in rank - ed.) complains to his mother. Anne of Austria scolds Henrietta. Henrietta suggests that Louis, in order to divert suspicion from himself, pretend that he is courting one of her ladies-in-waiting. For this they choose Françoise Louise de La Baume Le Blanc, the La Vallière girl, a seventeen-year-old native of Touraine, a delightful blonde (in those days, as later in Hollywood, men prefer blondes), - whose voice can move even an ox, and whose gaze can soften a tiger.”

For Madame - a title Madame was given to his wife sibling the king of France, next in seniority and having the title "Monsieur" - the result was disastrous. It’s impossible to say without looking, but Louis traded Henrietta’s dubious charms for the blond beauty. From Maria Theresa, who in 1661 gave birth to the Grand Dauphin (the king's eldest son), Louis hid his affair in greatest secret. "Contrary to all appearances and legends, from 1661 to 1683 Louis XIV always tries to keep her love affairs a big secret, writes French historian François Bluche. “He does this first of all to spare the queen.” Those around the ardent Catholic Anna of Austria were in despair. La Valliere would give birth to four children from the “sun king,” but only two would survive. Louis recognizes them.

The parting gift to her mistress would be the Duchy of Vojour, then she would retire to the Parisian Carmelite monastery, but for some time she stoically endured the bullying of the new favorite Françoise Athénaïs de Rochechouart de Mortemart or the Marquise de Montespan. It is difficult for historians to establish an exact list and chronology of Louis’s love affairs, especially since he, as noted, often returned to his former passions.

Even then, witty compatriots noted that Lavaliere loved the monarch like a mistress, Maintenon like a governess, and Montespan like a mistress. Thanks to the Marquise de Montespan, on July 18, 1668, a “grand royal holiday at Versailles” took place, the Bath Apartments, the porcelain Trianon were built, the Versailles bosquets were created, and an amazing castle (“Armide’s Palace”) was built in Clagny. Both contemporaries and modern historians tell us that the king’s affection for Madame de Montespan (where spiritual intimacy played no less a role than sensuality) continued even after the end of their love affair.

At the age of 23, Mademoiselle de Tonnay-Charente was married to the Marquis de Montespan of the house of Pardaillan. The husband was constantly afraid of arrest for debts, which extremely irritated Athenais. She answered the call of the king, who had already become less timid and shy than during the cupids with Louise de La Vallière. The Marquis could have taken his wife to the provinces, but for some reason he did not. Having learned about the marquise's betrayal, the Gascon blood awakened in the cuckold and one day he lectured the monarch and ordered a memorial service for his wife.

Louis was not a tyrant and, although he was quite fed up with the Gascon, he not only did not put him in prison, but also promoted in every possible way the legitimate son of the Marquis and Marquise de Montespan. First he made him a lieutenant general, then general director construction work and finally granted him the titles of Duke and Peerage. Madame de Montespan, awarded the title maîtresse royale en titre- "the official mistress of the king, bore Louis eight children. Four of them reached adulthood and were legitimized and made Bourbons. Three of them married into royal blood. After the birth of the seventh bastard, Count of Toulouse, Louis avoids intimacy with Montespan.

Not even on the horizon, but almost in the royal chambers, Marie Angelique de Scorraille de Roussille, the maiden of Fontanges, appears, arriving from Auvergne. The aging king falls in love with an 18-year-old beauty, according to contemporaries, “who has not been seen at Versailles for a long time.” Their feelings are mutual. The maiden Fontanges has in common with Montespan the arrogance shown towards Louis’ former and forgotten favorites. Perhaps the only thing she lacked was de Montespan's causticity and sharp tongue.

Madame de Montespan stubbornly did not want to give up her place for a healthy living, and the king, by nature, was not inclined to make an open break with the mother of his children. Louis allowed her to continue living in his luxurious apartments and even visited his former mistress from time to time, flatly refusing to have sex with his overweight favorite.

“Marie Angelica sets the tone,” writes Eric Deschaudt. “If during a hunt in Fontainebleau she ties a stray strand of hair with a ribbon, then the next day the whole court and all of Paris do it. The hairstyle “a la Fontanges” is still mentioned in dictionaries . But the happiness of the one who invented her turned out to be not so long-lasting. A year later, Louis is already bored. A replacement is being found for the beauty. It seems that she was stupid, but this was unlikely to be the only reason for her disgrace." The king granted the Duchess de Fontanges a pension of 20 thousand livres. A year after losing her prematurely born son, she died suddenly.

Subjects forgave their monarch for his love affairs, which cannot be said about gentlemen historians. Historiographers connected the “reign” of the Marquise de Montespan and her “resignation” with unseemly cases, such as the “poisoning case” (L’affaire des Poisons). “During the investigation, they very soon started talking about miscarriages, evil eyes, witchcraft, and damage , black masses and all sorts of other devilry, but at first it was only about poisoning, as is clear from its name, under which it appears to this day,” says historian Francois Bluche.

In March 1679, the police arrested one Catherine Deshayes, Monvoisin's mother, who was simply called La Voisin, suspected of witchcraft. Five days later, Adam Quéré or Cobre, aka Dubuisson, aka “Abbé Lesage,” was arrested. Their interrogation revealed or allowed to imagine that witches and sorcerers fell into the hands of justice. These, in the words of Saint-Simon, “fashionable crimes”, were dealt with by a special court established by Louis XIV, nicknamed Chambre ardente- "Fire Chamber". This commission included high-ranking officials and was chaired by Louis Bouchra, the future chancellor.

King of France and Navarre from May 14, 1643. Reigned for 72 years - longer than any other monarch of the largest European states.

He ascended the throne as a minor and control of the state 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 subjugation of the Prince de Condé and the signing of the Pyrenees Peace (November 7, 1659).

In 1660, Louis married the Spanish Infanta Maria Theresa of Austria. At this time, the young king, who grew up without proper upbringing and education, did not raise even greater expectations. However, as soon as Cardinal Mazarin died (1661), Louis began to govern the state independently. He had the gift of selecting talented and capable employees (for example, Colbert, Vauban, Letelier, Lyonne, Louvois). Louis elevated the doctrine of royal rights to a semi-religious dogma.

Thanks to the works of the brilliant Colbert, much has been done to strengthen state unity, the welfare of the working classes, the promotion of trade and industry. At the same time, Louvois brought order to the army, united its organization and increased fighting strength. After the death of King Philip IV of Spain, he declared French claims to part of the Spanish Netherlands and retained it in the so-called war of devolution. Concluded on May 2, 1668, the Peace of Aachen gave French Flanders and a number of border areas into his hands.

War with the Netherlands

From this time on, the United Provinces had a passionate enemy in Louis. Contrasts in foreign policy, state views, trade interests, religion led both states to constant clashes. Louis in 1668-71 masterfully managed to isolate the republic. Through bribery, he managed to distract England and Sweden from the Triple Alliance and win Cologne and Munster to the side of France. Having brought his army to 120,000 people, Louis in 1670 occupied the possessions of the ally of the Estates General, Duke Charles IV of Lorraine, and in 1672 he crossed the Rhine, within six weeks conquered half of the provinces and returned to Paris in triumph. The breakdown of dams, the emergence of William III of Orange in power, and the intervention of European powers stopped the success of French weapons. The Estates 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 half of the 10 imperial cities of Alsace already connected to France. In 1674, Louis confronted his enemies with 3 large armies: with one of them he personally occupied Franche-Comté; another, under the command of Conde, fought in the Netherlands and won at Senef; the third, led by Turenne, devastated the Palatinate and successfully fought the troops of the emperor and the great elector in Alsace. After a short interval due to the death of Turenne and the removal of Condé, Louis appeared in the Netherlands at the beginning of 1676 with renewed vigor and conquered a number of cities, while Luxembourg was devastated by Breisgau. The entire country between the Saar, Moselle and Rhine was turned into a desert by order of the king. In the Mediterranean, Duquesne prevailed over Reuther; Brandenburg's forces were distracted by a Swedish attack. Only as a result of hostile actions on the part of England, Louis concluded the Peace of Nimwegen in 1678, which gave him large acquisitions from the Netherlands and the entire Franche-Comté from Spain. He gave Philippsburg to the emperor, but received Freiburg and retained all his conquests in Alsace.

Louis at the height of his power

This world marks the apogee of Louis's power. His army was the largest, best organized and led. His diplomacy dominated all European courts. The French nation has reached unprecedented heights with its achievements in the arts and sciences, in industry and commerce. The Versailles court (Louis moved the royal residence to Versailles) became the subject 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 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, Fontanges) reigned. The entire high aristocracy sought court positions, since living away from the court for a nobleman was a sign of opposition or royal disgrace. “Absolute 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 inevitably going to lead to the gradual decline of the entire edifice of the monarchy.

The king restrained his desires less and less. In Metz, Breisach and Besançon, he established chambers of reunion (chambres de réunions) to determine the rights of the French crown to certain areas (September 30, 1681). The imperial city of Strasbourg was suddenly occupied by French troops in peacetime. Louis did the same with regard to the Dutch borders. In 1681, his fleet bombarded Tripoli, in 1684 - Algeria and Genoa. Finally, an alliance was formed between Holland, Spain and the emperor, which forced Louis to conclude a 20-year truce in Regensburg in 1684 and refuse further “reunions.”

Religious politics

Within the state, the new fiscal system meant only an increase in taxes and taxes for growing military needs; 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. He tried to destroy the latter’s political dependence on the pope, achieving at the national council in 1682 a decision in his favor against the pope (see Gallicanism); but in matters of faith, his 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; 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 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 200,000 industrious 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

In 1688 it broke out new war, the reason for which was, among other things, the claims to the Palatinate made by Louis on behalf of his daughter-in-law, Elizabeth Charlotte of Orleans, who was related to Elector Charles Ludwig, who had died shortly before. Having concluded an alliance with the Elector of Cologne, Karl-Egon Fürstemberg, Louis ordered his troops to occupy Bonn and attack the Palatinate, Baden, Württemberg and Trier. At the beginning of 1689, French troops horribly devastated the entire Lower Palatinate. 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 for a short time had an advantage even at sea. In 1692, the French besieged Namur, Luxembourg gained the upper hand at the Battle of Stenkerken; but on May 28, the French fleet was completely destroyed by Rossel at Cape La Gogue. In 1693-95, the advantage began to lean towards the allies; Luxembourg died in 1695; in the same year a huge war tax was needed, and peace became a necessity for Louis. It took place in 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 led Louis to war with the European coalition. The War of the Spanish Succession, in which Louis wanted to reconquer the entire Spanish monarchy for his grandson Philip of Anjou, inflicted lasting wounds on Louis's power. 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 retained Spain proper for his grandson, but its Italian and Dutch possessions were lost, and England, by destroying the Franco-Spanish fleets and conquering a number of colonies, laid the foundation for its maritime dominion. The French monarchy did not have to recover from the defeats of Hochstedt and Turin, Ramilly and Malplaquet until the revolution itself. It was suffering under the weight of debts (up to 2 billion) and taxes, which caused local outbursts of discontent.

Last years. Family tragedy and the question of a successor

Thus, the result of Louis's entire system was the economic ruin and poverty of France. Another consequence was the growth of opposition literature, especially developed under the successor of the “great” Louis. The home life of the elderly king at the end of his life presented a sad picture. On April 13, 1711, his son, the Dauphin Louis (born 1661), died; 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, the younger brother of the Duke of Burgundy, the Duke of Berry, fell from his horse and was killed to death, so that, in addition to Philip V of Spain, there was only one heir left - 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 Madame 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 appearance of his “great century,” which was already beginning to fall. He died on 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 history of the nickname “Sun King”

From the age of 12, Louis XIV danced in the so-called “ballets of the Palais Royal.” These events were quite in the spirit of the times, since they were held during the carnival.

The Baroque Carnival is not just a holiday, it is an upside-down world. For several hours the king became a jester, an artist, a buffoon (just as the jester could well afford to appear in the role of a king). In these ballets, young Louis had the opportunity to play the roles of the Rising Sun (1653) and Apollo - the Sun God (1654).

Later, court ballets were held. The roles in these ballets were assigned by the king himself or his friend de Saint-Aignan. In these court ballets, Louis also dances the roles of the Sun or Apollo.

Another cultural event of the Baroque era was also important for the origin of the nickname - the so-called Carousel. This is a festive carnival cavalcade, something between sports festival and masquerade. In those days, Carousel was simply called “equestrian ballet.” At the Carousel of 1662, Louis XIV appeared before the people as a Roman emperor with a huge shield in the shape of the Sun. This symbolized that the Sun protects the king and with him the whole of France.

The princes of the blood were "forced" to portray different elements, planets and other creatures and phenomena subject to the Sun.

From the ballet historian F. Bossant we read: “It was on the Grand Carousel of 1662 that the Sun King was, in a way, born. His name was given not by politics or the victories of his armies, but by equestrian ballet.”

The image of Louis XIV in popular culture

Louis XIV appears 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) is involved in a conspiracy, with whom they are trying to replace Louis. In 1929, the film " Iron mask", based on "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 1999 remake.

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 entertaining the royalty is 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 Neal Stephenson's trilogy.

Louis XIV is one of the main characters in Gerard Corbier's film The King Dances.

Louis XIV appears as a beautiful seducer in the film "Angelique and the King", where he was played by Jacques Toja, and also appears in the films "Angelique - Marquise of Angels" and "The Magnificent Angelique".

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". A historical drama based on the novel by Françoise Chandernagor "Royal Alley: Memoirs of Françoise d'Aubigné, Marquise de Maintenon, wife of the King of France." Dominique Blanc stars as Françoise d'Aubigné and Didier Sandre as Louis XIV.

Louis XIV de Bourbon, who 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). Born September 5, 1638 in Saint-Germain-en-Laye - died September 1, 1715 in Versailles. King of France and Navarre since May 14, 1643.

He reigned for 72 years - longer than any other European king in history (of the monarchs of Europe, only some rulers of the small states of the Holy Roman Empire, for example, Bernard VII of Lippe or Charles Friedrich of Baden, were in power longer).

Louis, who lived through the wars of the Fronde in his childhood, became a staunch supporter of the principle absolute monarchy and the divine right of kings (he is credited with saying “The state is me!”), he combined the strengthening of his power with good selection statesmen to key political positions.

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.

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 Parisian Parliament, 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 1659).

In 1660, Louis married the Spanish Infanta Maria Theresa of Austria. At this time, the young king, who grew up without sufficient upbringing and education, did not yet show much hope. However, as soon as Cardinal Mazarin died (1661), the next day Louis XIV assembled the Council of State, at which he announced that he henceforth intended to rule independently, without appointing a first minister.

So Louis began to independently govern the state, a course the king followed until his death. Louis XIV had the gift of selecting talented and capable employees (for example, Colbert, Vauban, Letelier, Lyonne, Louvois). One might even say that Louis elevated the doctrine of royal rights to a semi-religious dogma. Thanks to the works of the talented economist and financier J.B. Colbert, much was done to strengthen state unity, the welfare of representatives of the third estate, encourage trade, and develop industry and the fleet. At the same time, the Marquis de Louvois reformed the army, unified its organization and increased its fighting strength.

After the death of King Philip IV of Spain (1665), Louis XIV declared French claims to part of the Spanish Netherlands and retained it in the so-called War of Devolution. The Peace of Aachen, concluded on May 2, 1668, transferred French Flanders and a number of border areas into his hands.

From this time on, the United Provinces had a passionate enemy in Louis. Contrasts in foreign policy, state views, trade interests, and religion led both states to constant clashes. Louis in 1668-1671 masterfully managed to isolate the republic. Through bribery, he managed to distract England and Sweden from the Triple Alliance and win Cologne and Munster to the side of France.

Having brought his army to 120,000 people, Louis in 1670 occupied the possessions of the ally of the Estates General, Duke Charles IV of Lorraine, and in 1672 he crossed the Rhine, within six weeks conquered half of the provinces and returned to Paris in triumph. The breakthrough of the dam, the emergence of William III of Orange in power, and the intervention of European powers stopped the success of French weapons. The Estates General entered into an alliance with Spain, 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 connected to France.

In 1674, Louis confronted his enemies with 3 large armies: with one of them he personally occupied Franche-Comté; another, under the command of Conde, fought in the Netherlands and won at Senef; the third, led by Turenne, devastated the Palatinate and successfully fought the troops of the emperor and the great elector in Alsace. After a short interval due to the death of Turenne and the removal of Condé, Louis came to the Netherlands with renewed vigor at the beginning of 1676 and conquered a number of cities, while Luxembourg devastated Breisgau. The entire country between the Saar, Moselle and Rhine was turned into a desert by order of the king. In the Mediterranean, Duquesne prevailed over Reuther; Brandenburg's forces were distracted by a Swedish attack. Only as a result of hostile actions on the part of England, Louis concluded the Peace of Nimwegen in 1678, which gave him large acquisitions from the Netherlands and the entire Franche-Comté from Spain. He gave Philippsburg to the emperor, but received Freiburg and retained all his conquests in Alsace.

This moment marks the apogee of Louis's power. His army was the largest, best organized and led. His diplomacy dominated all European courts. The French nation has reached unprecedented heights with its achievements in the arts and sciences, in industry and commerce.

The Versailles court (Louis moved the royal residence to Versailles) became the subject 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 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, Fontanges) reigned. The entire high aristocracy sought court positions, since living away from the court for a nobleman was a sign of opposition or royal disgrace. “Absolute 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 inevitably going to lead to the gradual decline of the entire edifice of the monarchy.

The king restrained his desires less and less. In Metz, Breisach and Besançon, he established chambers of reunion (chambres de réunions) to determine the rights of the French crown to certain areas (September 30, 1681). The imperial city of Strasbourg was suddenly occupied by French troops in peacetime. Louis did the same with regard to the Dutch borders. In 1681, his fleet bombarded Tripoli, and in 1684 - Algiers and Genoa. Finally, an alliance was formed between Holland, Spain and the emperor, which forced Louis to conclude a 20-year truce in Regensburg in 1684 and refuse further “reunions.”

The central administration of the state was carried out by the king with the help of various councils (conseils):

Council of Ministers (Conseil d'État)- considered issues of special importance: foreign policy, military affairs, appointed the highest ranks of regional administration, resolved conflicts in the judiciary. The council included state ministers with lifelong salaries. The number of one-time council members has never exceeded seven people. These were mainly the secretaries of state, the controller general of finance and the chancellor. The king himself presided over the council. Was a permanent council.

Council of Finance (Conseil royal des finances)- considered fiscal issues, financial issues, as well as appeals against quartermaster orders. The council was created in 1661 and at first it was chaired by the king himself. The council consisted of the chancellor, the controller general, two state councilors and the intendant for financial affairs. Was a permanent council.

Postal Council (Conseil des dépêches)- considered general issues management, for example, lists of all appointments. It was a permanent council. The Trade Council was a temporary council established in 1700.

Spiritual Council (Conseil des conscience)- was also a temporary council in which the king consulted with his confessor about filling spiritual positions.

Council of State (Conseil des parties)- consisted of state advisers, intendants, in the meeting of which lawyers and petition managers took part. In the conventional hierarchy of councils was lower than the councils under the king (Council of Ministers, Finance, Postal and others, including temporary ones). It combined the functions of the cassation chamber and the highest administrative court, a source of precedents in the administrative law of France at that time. The Council was chaired by the Chancellor. The council consisted of several departments: on awards, on matters of land holdings, salt tax, noble affairs, coats of arms and on various other issues, depending on the need.

Grand council- a judicial institution consisting of four presidents and 27 councilors. He considered issues regarding bishoprics, church estates, hospitals, and was the final authority in civil matters.

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.

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) 1682

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.

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 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.

In 1688, a new war broke out, the reason for which was the claims to the Palatinate made by Louis XIV on behalf of his daughter-in-law, Elizabeth Charlotte, Duchess of Orleans, who was related to Elector Charles Ludwig, who had died shortly before. Having concluded an alliance with the Elector of Cologne, Karl-Egon Fürstemberg, Louis ordered his troops to occupy Bonn and attack the Palatinate, Baden, Württemberg and Trier.

At the beginning of 1689, French troops horribly devastated the entire Lower Palatinate. An alliance was formed against France from England (which had just overthrown the Stuarts), the Netherlands, Spain, Austria and the German Protestant states.

The Marshal of France, the Duke of Luxembourg, defeated the allies on July 1, 1690 at Fleurus; Marshal Catinat conquered Savoy, Vice Admiral Tourville defeated the British-Dutch fleet at the Battle of Beachy Head, so that the French for a short time had an advantage even at sea.

In 1692, the French besieged Namur, Luxembourg gained the upper hand at the Battle of Stenkerken; but on May 28, the French fleet was defeated at Cape La Hougue.

In 1693-1695, the advantage began to lean towards the allies; in 1695 the Duke de Luxembourg, a student of Turenne, died; in the same year a huge war tax was needed, and peace became a necessity for Louis. It took place in Ryswick in 1697, and for the first time Louis XIV had to confine himself to the status quo.

France was completely exhausted when, a few years later, the death of Charles II of Spain led Louis to war with the European coalition. The War of the Spanish Succession, in which Louis wanted to reconquer the entire Spanish monarchy for his grandson Philip of Anjou, inflicted lasting wounds on Louis's power. The old king, who personally led the struggle, held himself in the most difficult circumstances with dignity and firmness. According to the peace concluded in Utrecht and Rastatt in 1713 and 1714, he retained Spain proper for his grandson, but its Italian and Dutch possessions were lost, and England, by destroying the Franco-Spanish fleets and conquering a number of colonies, laid the foundation for its maritime dominion. The French monarchy did not have to recover from the defeats of Hochstedt and Turin, Ramilly and Malplaquet until the revolution itself. It was suffering under the weight of debts (up to 2 billion) and taxes, which caused local outbreaks of discontent.

Thus, the result of Louis's entire system was the economic ruin and poverty of France. Another consequence was the growth of opposition literature, especially developed under the successor of the “great” Louis.

Family life At the end of his life, the elderly king presented a far from rosy picture. On April 13, 1711, his son, the Grand Dauphin Louis (born in 1661), died; 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).

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.

Louis XIV died on September 1, 1715 at 8:15 am, surrounded by courtiers. Death occurred after several days of agony. The reign of Louis XIV lasted 72 years and 110 days.

The king's body was exhibited for 8 days for farewell in the Salon of Hercules in Versailles. On the night of the ninth day, the body was transported (having taken the necessary measures to prevent the population from organizing holidays along the funeral procession) to the basilica of the Abbey of Saint-Denis, where Louis was interred in compliance with all the rites of the Catholic Church due to the monarch.

In 1822, an equestrian statue (based on Bosio's model) was erected to him in Paris, on the Place des Victories.

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 (“Ballet of the Night” by Jean-Baptiste Lully), young Louis had the opportunity to appear for the first time before his subjects in the form 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 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.

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, the Carousel was called an “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.”

Marriages and children of Louis XIV:

first wife: from June 9, 1660 Maria Theresa (1638-1683), Infanta of Spain, cousin of Louis XIV on two lines - both maternal and paternal.

children of Louis XIV and Maria Theresa:

Louis the Great Dauphin (1661-1711)
Anna Elizabeth (1662-1662)
Maria Anna (1664-1664)
Maria Teresa (1667-1672)
Philip (1668-1671)
Louis-Francois (1672-1672).

Extramarital affair: Louise de La Baume Le Blanc (1644-1710), Duchess de La Vallière

children of Louis XIV and the 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.

Extramarital affair: Françoise-Athenais de Rochechouart de Mortemart (1641-1707), Marquise de Montespan

children of Louis XIV and the Marquise de Montespan:

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).

Extramarital affair (1678-1680): Marie-Angelique de Scoray de Roussil(1661-1681), Duchess de Fontanges (N (1679-1679), child was stillborn).

Extramarital affair: Claude de Vines(c.1638 - September 8, 1686), Mademoiselle des Hoye: daughter of Louise de Maisonblanche (1676-1718).

(Louis le Grand) - king of France (1643-1715); genus. in 1638, son of Louis XIII and Anne of Austria (q.v.); ascended the throne as a minor; control of the state passed into the hands of his mother and Mazarin (q.v.). Even before the end of the war with Spain and Austria, the highest aristocracy, supported by Spain and in alliance with parliament, began the unrest of the Fronde (q.v.), which ended only with the submission of Condé (q.v.) and the Pyrenees Peace of 1659. In 1660, Louis married the Infanta Spanish Maria Theresa. At this time, the young king, who grew up without proper upbringing and education, did not raise even greater expectations. However, as soon as Mazarin had time to die (1661), Louis became the independent ruler of the state. He knew how to choose such collaborators as, for example, Colbert, Vauban, Letelier, Lyonne, Louvois; but he no longer tolerated the first minister, such as Richelieu and Mazarin, near him and elevated the doctrine of royal rights to a semi-religious dogma, expressed in the characteristic, although not entirely reliably attributed to him, expression “L”état c”est moi” [“The State - It's me"]. Thanks to the works of the brilliant Colbert (q.v.), much was done to strengthen state unity, the welfare of the working classes, and encourage trade and industry. At the same time, Louvois (q.v.) put the army in order, united its organization and increased its fighting strength. After the death of Philip IV of Spain, he declared claims to part of the Spanish Netherlands and retained it in the so-called. devolutionary war (see). The Peace of Aachen concluded on May 2, 1668 (q.v.) gave French Flanders and a number of border areas into his hands. From this time on, the United Provinces had a passionate enemy in Louis. Contrasts in foreign policy, state views, trade interests, and religion led both states to constant clashes. Lyonne in 1668-71 masterfully managed to isolate the republic. Through bribery, he managed to distract England and Sweden from the Triple Alliance and win Cologne and Munster to the side of France. Having brought his army to 120,000 people, Louis in 1670 occupied the possessions of the ally of the Estates General, Duke Charles IV of Lorraine, and in 1672 he crossed the Rhine, conquered half of the provinces within six weeks and returned to Paris in triumph. The breakdown of dams, the emergence of William III of Orange in power, and the intervention of European powers stopped the success of French weapons. The Estates 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 half of the 10 imperial cities of Alsace already connected to France. In 1674, Louis confronted his enemies with 3 large armies: with one of them he personally occupied Franche-Comté; another, under the command of Conde, fought in the Netherlands and won at Senef; the third, led by Turenne, devastated the Palatinate and successfully fought the troops of the emperor and the great elector in Alsace. After a short interval due to the death of Turenne and the removal of Condé, Louis appeared in the Netherlands at the beginning of 1676 with renewed vigor and conquered a number of cities, while Luxembourg was devastated by Breisgau. The entire country between the Saar, Moselle and Rhine was turned into a desert by order of the king. In the Mediterranean, Duquesne (q.v.) prevailed over Reuther; Brandenburg's forces were distracted by a Swedish attack. Only as a result of hostile actions on the part of England, Louis concluded the Peace of Nimwegen in 1678 (see), which gave him large acquisitions from the Netherlands and all of Franche-Comté from Spain. He gave Philippsburg to the emperor, but received Freiburg and retained all his conquests in Alsace. This world marks the apogee of Louis's power. His army was the largest, best organized and led; his diplomacy dominated all courts; the French nation rose above all others in the arts and sciences, in industry and trade; luminaries of literature glorified Louis as the ideal sovereign. The Versailles court (Louis's residence was moved to Versailles) was the subject of envy and surprise of almost all modern sovereigns, who tried to imitate the great king even in his weaknesses. The king's person was surrounded by etiquette, which measured all his time and every step he took; his court became the center of high society life, in which the tastes of Louis himself and his numerous “matresses” (Lavaliere, Montespan, Fontanges) reigned; the entire high aristocracy was crowded into court positions, since living away from the court for a nobleman was a sign of opposition 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 (le roi soleil), in which capable people were increasingly pushed aside by courtesans and intriguers, was inevitably going to lead to the gradual decline of the entire edifice of the monarchy. The king restrained his desires less and less. In Metz, Breisach and Besançon, he established chambers of reunion (chambres de reunions) to determine the rights of the French crown to certain areas (30 September. 1681). The imperial city of Strasbourg was suddenly occupied by French troops in peacetime. Louis did the same with regard to the Dutch borders. Finally, an alliance was formed between Holland, Spain and the emperor, which forced Louis to conclude a 20-year truce in Regensburg in 1684 and refuse further “reunions.” In 1681, his fleet bombarded Tripoli, in 1684 - Algeria and Genoa. Within the state, the new fiscal system meant only an increase in taxes and taxes for 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 latter’s political dependence on the pope, achieving at the national council in 1682 a decision in his favor against the pope (see Gallicanism); but in religious matters, his 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 (q.v.); 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 other classes, ending with the Dragonades of 1683 (q.v.) and the repeal of the Edict of Nantes (q.v.) 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 Cevennes (see Camisards). The king's growing piety found support from Madame de Maintenon (q.v.), who, after the death of the queen (1683), was united to him by secret marriage. In 1688, a new war broke out, the reason for which was, among other things, claims to the Palatinate made by Louis on behalf of his daughter-in-law, Elizabeth Charlotte of Orleans, who was related to Elector Charles Louis, who had died shortly before. Having concluded an alliance with the Elector of Cologne, Karl-Egon Fürstemberg, Louis ordered his troops to occupy Bonn and attack the Palatinate, Baden, Württemberg and Trier. At the beginning of 1689 the French. the troops horribly devastated the entire Lower Palatinate. 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 for a short time had an advantage even at sea. In 1692, the French besieged Namur, Luxembourg gained the upper hand at the Battle of Stenkerken; but on May 28 the French the fleet was completely destroyed by Rossel at Cape La Gogue (see). In 1693-95 the advantage began to lean towards the allies; Luxembourg died in 1695; in the same year a huge war tax was needed, and peace became a necessity for Louis; it took place in Riswick in 1697, and for the first time Louis had to limit himself to the statu quo. France was completely exhausted when, a few years later, the death of Charles II of Spain led Louis to war with the European coalition. The War of the Spanish Succession (q.v.), in which Louis wanted to win back the entire Spanish monarchy for his grandson Philip of Anjou, inflicted incurable wounds on Louis's power. 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 retained Spain proper for his grandson, but its Italian and Dutch possessions were lost, and England, by destroying the Franco-Spanish fleets and conquering a number of colonies, laid the foundation for its maritime dominion. The French monarchy did not have to recover from the defeats of Hochstedt and Turin, Ramilly and Malplaquet until the revolution itself. It was suffering under the weight of debts (up to 2 billion) and taxes, which caused local outbursts of discontent. Thus, the result of Louis's entire system was the economic ruin and poverty of France. Another consequence was the growth of opposition literature, especially developed under the successor of the “great” Louis. The home life of the elderly king at the end of his life presented a sad picture. On April 13, 1711, his son, the Dauphin Louis (born 1661), died; 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 Duke of Brittany. On March 4, 1714, the younger brother of the Duke of Burgundy, the Duke of Berry, fell from his horse and was killed to death, so that, in addition to Philip V of Spain, there was only one heir left - the 2nd son of the Duke of Burgundy (later Louis XV). Earlier, Louis legitimized his two sons from Madame 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 appearance of his “great century,” which was already beginning to fall. Louis died on 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 best sources for understanding the character and way of thinking of Louis 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 on Louis opens with Voltaire's work: "Siècle de Louis XIV" (1752 and more often), after which the title " century of Louis XIV"came into general use to refer to the end of the 17th and beginning of the 18th centuries. See Saint-Simon, "Mémoires complets et authentiques sur le siècle de Louis XIV et la régence" (P., 1829-30; new ed., 1873- 81); Depping, "Correspondance administrative sous le règne de Louis XIV" (1850-55); Moret, "Quinze ans du règne de Louis XIV, 1700-15" (1851-59); Chéruel, "Saint-Simon considéré comme historien de Louis XIV" (1865); Noorden, "Europäische Geschichte im XVIII Jahrh." (Dusseld. and Lpc., 1870-82); Gaillardin, "Histoire du règne de Louis XIV" (P., 1871-78); Ranke, "Franz. Geschichte" (vols. III and IV, Lpc., 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., 1882-92); de Mony, "Louis XIV et le Saint-Siège" (1893); Koch, "Das unumschränkte Königthum Ludwigs XIV" (with an extensive bibliography, V., 1888); Y. Gurevich, "The significance of the reign of Louis XIV and his personality"; A. Trachevsky, "International politics in the era of Louis XIV" ("J. M. N. Pr. ., 1888, No. 1-2).

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).

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,” said the edict, “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.
Persons long time to those occupying one position, 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 sales of positions in last years The life of Louis XIV 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

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.

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.

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, all 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 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.

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). 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 early XVIII 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.