04.02.2018
Louis XIV is a monarch who ruled France for over 70 years. True, the first years of his reign can be called such only formally, since he got the throne at the age of 5. Royal power was then absolute; the “anointed one of God” was allowed to control all spheres of life of his subjects. But why did Louis XIV receive the nickname "Sun King"? Is it only because of this greatness? After all, both before Louis and after him, the throne was occupied by many individuals, but no one else claimed the “solar” title. There are several versions.
Version one
The most common version is this. Representatives of the royal house at that time were very interested in the theater. The young king himself danced in ballet - at the Palais Royal Theater, from the age of 12. Of course, he was given roles corresponding to his high position, for example, the god Apollo, or even Rising Sun. It is quite possible that the nickname was “born” in those years.
Version two
The capital of France regularly hosted events called the “Carousel of the Tuileries”. They were something between knightly tournaments, sports competitions and masquerade.
In 1662, a particularly magnificent ceremony took place, in which Louis took part. In the hands of the king there was a huge shield, symbolizing the solar disk. This was supposed to indicate the divine origin of the ruler, and also instill in the subjects confidence that the king would protect them in the same way that the sun protects life on Earth.
Version three
The next option is related to a funny episode during a walk. One day, Louis, as a 6-7 year old child, went to the Tuileries Garden with his courtiers. In a huge puddle he saw the reflection of the shining sun (it was a fine day). “I am the sun!” - the child shouted in delight. Since then, the king's retinue began to call him that - first as a joke, and then seriously.
Version four
Another version explains the appearance of the nickname by the wide scope of the king’s actions, significant for France. Under him, economic prosperity began (though not for long), trade was encouraged, the Academy of Sciences was created, and the active development of the American colonies was underway. In addition, Louis pursued an offensive foreign policy, and his first campaigns were successful.
Version five
And finally, here is another theory regarding the royal nickname. The “Sun” was the name given to any monarch who was crowned during the regency period (that is, during childhood). That was the tradition. Louis simply became another “sunny” child ruler, and the nickname automatically stuck with him (maybe the courtiers often talked about him among themselves, using this term).
(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 education 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 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, 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 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 (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 court of Versailles (Louis's residence was moved to Versailles) was the envy and surprise of almost everyone 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 (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. 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 lost political significance nobility and, like a faithful son 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 in order not to lose their social benefits, and against Protestants from among other classes, restrictive decrees were used, ending with the Dragonades of 1683 (q.v.) and the repeal of the Edict of Nantes (q.v.) in 1685. These measures, despite strict penalties for emigration, forced more than 200,000 hardworking 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 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 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 the French 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. Home life 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). Critical edition of "Mémoires de Louis XIV"compiled by Dreyss (P., 1860). The extensive literature on Louis opens with the work of Voltaire: "Siècle de Louis XIV" (1752 and more often), after which the title " century of Louis XIV" has come into general use to mean late XVII and the 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 reigned for 72 years, longer than any other European monarch. He became king at the age of four, took full power into his own hands at 23 and ruled for 54 years. “The state is me!” - Louis XIV did not say these words, but the state has always been associated with the personality of the ruler. Therefore, if we talk about the blunders and mistakes of Louis XIV (the war with Holland, the repeal of the Edict of Nantes, etc.), then the assets of the reign should also be credited to him.
The development of trade and manufacturing, the emergence of the French colonial empire, the reform of the army and the creation of the navy, the development of the arts and sciences, the construction of Versailles and, finally, the transformation of France into a modern state. These are not all the achievements of the Century of Louis XIV. So what was this ruler who gave his name to his time?
Louis XIV de Bourbon.
Louis XIV de Bourbon, who received the name Louis-Dieudonné (“God-given”) at birth, was born on September 5, 1638. The name “God-given” appeared for a reason. Queen Anne of Austria gave birth to an heir at the age of 37.
For 22 years, the marriage of Louis's parents was barren, and therefore the birth of an heir was perceived by the people as a miracle. After the death of his father, young Louis and his mother moved to the Palais Royal, the former palace of Cardinal Richelieu. Here the little king was brought up in a very simple and sometimes squalid environment.
His mother was considered regent of France, but real power lay in the hands of her favorite, Cardinal Mazarin. He was very stingy and did not care at all not only about providing pleasure to the child king, but even about his availability of basic necessities.
The first years of Louis's formal reign saw events civil war, known as the Fronde. In January 1649, an uprising against Mazarin broke out in Paris. The king and ministers had to flee to Saint-Germain, and Mazarin generally fled to Brussels. Peace was restored only in 1652, and power returned to the hands of the cardinal. Despite the fact that the king was already considered an adult, Mazarin ruled France until his death.
Giulio Mazarin - church and political leader and first minister of France in 1643-1651 and 1653-1661. He took up the post under the patronage of Queen Anne of Austria.
In 1659, peace was signed with Spain. The agreement was sealed by the marriage of Louis with Maria Theresa, who was his cousin. When Mazarin died in 1661, Louis, having received his freedom, hastened to get rid of all guardianship over himself.
He abolished the position of first minister, announcing to the State Council that from now on he himself would be the first minister, and no decree, even the most insignificant, should be signed by anyone on his behalf.
Louis was poorly educated, barely able to read and write, but possessed common sense and a firm determination to maintain his royal dignity. He was tall, handsome, had a noble bearing, and tried to express himself briefly and clearly. Unfortunately, he was overly selfish, as no European monarch was distinguished by monstrous pride and selfishness. All previous royal residences seemed to Louis unworthy of his greatness.
After some deliberation, in 1662 he decided to turn the small hunting castle of Versailles into a royal palace. It took 50 years and 400 million francs. Until 1666, the king had to live in the Louvre, from 1666 to 1671. in the Tuileries, from 1671 to 1681, alternately in the Versailles under construction and Saint-Germain-O-l"E. Finally, from 1682, Versailles became the permanent residence of the royal court and government. From now on, Louis visited Paris only on short visits.
The king's new palace was distinguished by its extraordinary splendor. The so-called (large apartments) - six salons, named after ancient deities - served as hallways for the Mirror Gallery, 72 meters long, 10 meters wide and 16 meters high. Buffets were held in the salons, and guests played billiards and cards.
The Great Condé greets Louis XIV on the Staircase at Versailles.
At all card game became an uncontrollable passion at court. The bets reached several thousand livres at stake, and Louis himself stopped playing only after he lost 600 thousand livres in six months in 1676.
Also comedies were staged in the palace, first by Italian and then by French authors: Corneille, Racine and especially often Moliere. In addition, Louis loved to dance, and repeatedly took part in ballet performances at court.
The splendor of the palace also corresponded to the complex rules of etiquette established by Louis. Any action was accompanied by a whole set of carefully designed ceremonies. Meals, going to bed, even basic quenching of thirst during the day - everything was turned into complex rituals.
War against everyone
If the king were only concerned with the construction of Versailles, the rise of the economy and the development of the arts, then, probably, the respect and love of his subjects for the Sun King would be limitless. However, the ambitions of Louis XIV extended much beyond the borders of his state.
By the early 1680s, Louis XIV had the most powerful army in Europe, which only whetted his appetite. In 1681, he established chambers of reunification to determine the rights of the French crown to certain areas, seizing more and more lands in Europe and Africa.
In 1688, Louis XIV's claims to the Palatinate led to the whole of Europe turning against him. The so-called War of the League of Augsburg lasted for nine years and resulted in the parties maintaining the status quo. But the huge expenses and losses incurred by France led to a new economic decline in the country and a depletion of funds.
But already in 1701, France was drawn into a long conflict called the War of the Spanish Succession. Louis XIV hoped to defend the rights to the Spanish throne for his grandson, who was to become the head of two states. However, the war, which engulfed not only Europe, but also North America, ended unsuccessfully for France.
According to the peace concluded in 1713 and 1714, the grandson of Louis XIV retained the Spanish crown, 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. In addition, the project of uniting France and Spain under the hand of the French monarch had to be abandoned.
Sale of offices and expulsion of the Huguenots
This last military campaign of Louis XIV returned him to where he started - the country was mired in debt and groaning under the burden of taxes, and here and there uprisings broke out, the suppression of which required more and more resources.
The need to replenish the budget led to non-trivial decisions. Under Louis XIV, the trade in government positions was put on stream, reaching its maximum extent in the last years of his life. To replenish the treasury, more and more new positions were created, which, of course, brought chaos and discord into the activities of state institutions.
Louis XIV on coins.
The ranks of opponents of Louis XIV were joined by French Protestants after the “Edict of Fontainebleau” was signed in 1685, repealing the Edict of Nantes of Henry IV, which guaranteed freedom of religion to the Huguenots.
After this, more than 200 thousand French Protestants emigrated from the country, despite strict penalties for emigration. The exodus of tens of thousands of economically active citizens dealt another painful blow to the power of France.
The unloved queen and the meek lame woman
At all times and eras personal life monarchs influenced politics. Louis XIV is no exception in this sense. The monarch once remarked: “It would be easier for me to reconcile all of Europe than a few women.”
His official wife in 1660 was a peer, the Spanish Infanta Maria Theresa, who was Louis's cousin. cousin both father and mother.
The problem with this marriage, however, was not the close family ties of the spouses. Louis simply did not love Maria Theresa, but he meekly agreed to the marriage, which had important political significance. The wife bore the king six children, but five of them died in childhood. Only the first-born survived, named, like his father, Louis and who went down in history under the name of the Grand Dauphin.
The marriage of Louis XIV took place in 1660.
For the sake of marriage, Louis broke off relations with the woman he really loved - the niece of Cardinal Mazarin. Perhaps the separation from his beloved also influenced the king’s attitude towards his legal wife. Maria Theresa accepted her fate. Unlike other French queens, she did not intrigue or get involved in politics, playing a prescribed role. When the queen died in 1683, Louis said: “ This is the only worry in my life that she has caused me.».
The king compensated for the lack of feelings in marriage with relationships with his favorites. For nine years, Louise-Françoise de La Baume Le Blanc, Duchess de La Vallière, became Louis's sweetheart. Louise was not distinguished by dazzling beauty, and, moreover, due to an unsuccessful fall from a horse, she remained lame for the rest of her life. But the meekness, friendliness and sharp mind of Lamefoot attracted the attention of the king.
Louise bore Louis four children, two of whom lived to adulthood. The king treated Louise quite cruelly. Having begun to grow cold towards her, he settled his rejected mistress next to his new favorite - Marquise Françoise Athenaïs de Montespan. The Duchess de La Valliere was forced to endure the bullying of her rival. She endured everything with her characteristic meekness, and in 1675 she became a nun and lived for many years in a monastery, where she was called Louise the Merciful.
There was not a shadow of the meekness of her predecessor in the lady before Montespan. A representative of one of the most ancient noble families in France, Françoise not only became the official favorite, but for 10 years turned into the “true queen of France.”
Marquise de Montespan with four legitimized children. 1677 Palace of Versailles.
Françoise loved luxury and did not like counting money. It was the Marquise de Montespan who turned the reign of Louis XIV from deliberate budgeting to unrestrained and unlimited spending. Capricious, envious, domineering and ambitious, Francoise knew how to subjugate the king to her will. New apartments were built for her in Versailles, and she managed to place all her close relatives in significant government positions.
Françoise de Montespan bore Louis seven children, four of whom lived to adulthood. But the relationship between Françoise and the king was not as faithful as with Louise. Louis allowed himself hobbies besides his official favorite, which infuriated Madame de Montespan.
To keep the king with her, she began to study black magic and even became involved in a high-profile poisoning case. The king did not punish her with death, but deprived her of the status of a favorite, which was much more terrible for her.
Like her predecessor, Louise le Lavalier, the Marquise de Montespan exchanged the royal chambers for a monastery.
Time for repentance
Louis's new favorite was the Marquise de Maintenon, the widow of the poet Scarron, who was the governess of the king's children from Madame de Montespan.
This king's favorite was called the same as her predecessor, Françoise, but the women were as different from each other as heaven and earth. The king had long conversations with the Marquise de Maintenon about the meaning of life, about religion, about responsibility before God. The royal court replaced its splendor with chastity and high morality.
Madame de Maintenon.
After the death of his official wife, Louis XIV secretly married the Marquise de Maintenon. Now the king was occupied not with balls and festivities, but with masses and reading the Bible. The only entertainment he allowed himself was hunting.
The Marquise de Maintenon founded and directed the first secular school for women in Europe, called Royal House Saint Louis. The school in Saint-Cyr became an example for many similar institutions, including the Smolny Institute in St. Petersburg.
For her strict disposition and intolerance for social entertainment, the Marquise de Maintenon received the nickname Black queen. She survived Louis and after his death retired to Saint-Cyr, living the rest of her days among the pupils of her school.
Illegitimate Bourbons
Louis XIV recognized his illegitimate children from both Louise de La Vallière and Françoise de Montespan. They all received their father's surname - de Bourbon, and dad tried to arrange their lives.
Louis, Louise's son, was already promoted to French admiral at the age of two, and as an adult he went on a military campaign with his father. There, at the age of 16, the young man died.
Louis-Auguste, son from Françoise, received the title of Duke of Maine, became a French commander and in this capacity accepted the godson of Peter I and Alexander Pushkin's great-grandfather Abram Petrovich Hannibal for military training.
Grand Dauphin Louis. The only surviving legitimate child of Louis XIV by Maria Theresa of Spain.
Françoise Marie, Louis's youngest daughter, was married to Philippe d'Orléans, becoming Duchess of Orléans. Possessing the character of her mother, Françoise-Marie plunged headlong into political intrigue. Her husband became the French regent under the young King Louis XV, and Françoise-Marie's children married the scions of other European royal dynasties.
In a word, not many illegitimate children of ruling persons suffered the same fate that befell the sons and daughters of Louis XIV.
“Did you really think that I would live forever?”
The last years of the king's life turned out to be a difficult ordeal for him. The man, who throughout his life defended the chosenness of the monarch and his right to autocratic rule, experienced not only the crisis of his state. His close people left one after another, and it turned out that there was simply no one to transfer power to.
On April 13, 1711, his son, the Grand Dauphin Louis, died. In February 1712, the Dauphin's eldest son, the Duke of Burgundy, died, and on March 8 of the same year, the latter's eldest son, the young Duke of Breton, died.
On March 4, 1714, the Duke of Burgundy's younger brother, the Duke of Berry, fell from his horse and died a few days later. The only heir left was the king's 4-year-old great-grandson, younger son Duke of Burgundy. If this little one had died, the throne would have remained vacant after the death of Louis.
This forced the king to include even his illegitimate sons in the list of heirs, which promised internal civil strife in France in the future.
Louis XIV.
At 76 years old, Louis remained energetic, active and, as in his youth, regularly went hunting. During one of these trips, the king fell and injured his leg. Doctors discovered that the injury had caused gangrene and suggested amputation. The Sun King refused: this is unacceptable for royal dignity. The disease progressed rapidly, and soon agony began, lasting for several days.
At the moment of clarity of consciousness, Louis looked around those present and uttered his last aphorism:
- Why are you crying? Did you really think that I would live forever?
On September 1, 1715, at about 8 o'clock in the morning, Louis XIV died in his palace at Versailles, four days short of his 77th birthday.
Compilation of material - FoxLouis XIV, Sun King
Louis XIV.
Reproduction from the site http://monarchy.nm.ru/
Louis XIV
Louis XIV the Great, Sun King
Louis XIV le Grand, Le Roi Soleil
Years of life: September 5, 1638 - September 1, 1715
Reign: May 14, 1643 - September 1, 1715
Father: Louis XIII
Mother: Anna of Austria
Wives:
1) Maria Theresa of Austria
2) Francoise d'Aubigné, Marquise de Maintenon
Sons: Grand Dauphin Louis, Philip-Charles, Louis-Francis
Daughters: Maria Anna, Maria Teresa
For 22 years, the marriage of Louis's parents was barren, and therefore the birth of an heir was perceived by the people as a miracle. After the death of his father, young Louis and his mother moved to the Palais Royal, the former palace of the cardinal Richelieu. Here the little king was brought up in a very simple and sometimes squalid environment. His mother was considered regent France, but real power was in the hands of her favorite cardinal Mazarin. He was very stingy and did not care at all not only about providing pleasure to the child king, but even about his availability of basic necessities.
The first years of Louis's formal reign included the events of a civil war known as the Fronde. In January 1649, an uprising against Mazarin broke out in Paris. The king and ministers had to flee to Saint-Germain, and Mazarin generally fled to Brussels. Peace was restored only in 1652, and power returned to the hands of the cardinal. Despite the fact that the king was already considered an adult, Mazarin ruled France until his death. In 1659 peace was signed with Spain. The agreement was sealed by the marriage of Louis with Maria Theresa, who was his cousin.
When Mazarin died in 1661, Louis, having received his freedom, hastened to get rid of all guardianship over himself. He abolished the position of first minister, announcing to the State Council that from now on he himself would be the first minister, and no decree, even the most insignificant, should be signed by anyone on his behalf.
Louis was poorly educated, barely able to read and write, but had common sense and a strong determination to maintain his royal dignity. He was tall, handsome, had a noble bearing, and tried to express himself briefly and clearly. Unfortunately, he was overly selfish, as no European monarch was distinguished by monstrous pride and selfishness. All previous royal residences seemed to Louis unworthy of his greatness. After some deliberation, in 1662 he decided to turn the small hunting castle of Versailles into a royal palace. It took 50 years and 400 million francs. Until 1666, the king had to live in the Louvre, from 1666 to 1671. in the Tuileries, from 1671 to 1681, alternately in Versailles, which was under construction, and Saint-Germain-O-l"E. Finally, from 1682, Versailles became the permanent residence of the royal court and government. From now on, Louis visited Paris only on visits. The king's new palace was different extraordinary splendor. The so-called "large apartments" - six salons named after ancient deities - served as hallways for the Mirror Gallery, 72 meters long, 10 meters wide and 16 meters high. Buffets were arranged in the salons, guests played billiards and cards. Generally a card room the game became an indomitable passion at court, with bets reaching up to several thousand livres per game, and Louis himself stopped playing only after he lost 600 thousand livres in six months in 1676.
Also comedies were staged in the palace, first by Italian and then by French authors: Corneille, Racine and especially often Moliere. In addition, Louis loved to dance, and repeatedly took part in ballet performances at court. The splendor of the palace also corresponded to the complex rules of etiquette established by Louis. Any action was accompanied by a whole set of carefully designed ceremonies. Meals, going to bed, even basic quenching of thirst during the day - everything was turned into complex rituals.
From a young age, Louis was very ardent and partial to pretty women. Despite the fact that the young Queen Maria Theresa was beautiful, Louis was constantly looking for entertainment on the side. The king's first favorite was 17-year-old Louise de La Vallière, the maid of honor of the wife of Louis's brother. Louise was not an impeccable beauty and had a slight limp, but she was very sweet and gentle. The feelings that Louis had for her could be called true love. From 1661 to 1667, she bore the king four children and received the ducal title. After this, the king began to grow cold towards her, and in 1675 Louise was forced to go to the Carmelite monastery.
The king's new passion was the Marquise de Montespan, who was the complete opposite of Louise de La Vallière. The bright and ardent marquise had a calculating mind. She knew very well what she could get from the king in exchange for her love. Only in the first year of meeting the Marchioness, Louis gave her family 800 thousand livres to pay off debts. The golden shower did not become scarce in the future. At the same time, Montespan actively patronized many writers and other artists. The Marchioness was the uncrowned Queen of France for 15 years. However, since 1674, she had to fight for the heart of the king with Madame d'Aubigné, the widow of the poet Scarron, who was raising the children of Louis. Madame d'Aubigné was granted the estate of Maintenon and the title of marquise. After the death of Queen Maria Theresa in 1683 and the removal of the Marquise de Montespan, she acquired very strong influence over Louis. The king highly valued her intelligence and listened to her advice. Under her influence, he became very religious, stopped organizing noisy festivities, replacing them with soul-saving conversations with the Jesuits.
Under no other sovereign did France wage such a number of large-scale wars of conquest as under Louis XIV. After the death of Philip IV of Spain in 1667-1668. Flanders was captured. In 1672, a war began with Holland and Spain, Denmark and the German Empire, which came to its aid. However, the coalition, called the Grand Alliance, was defeated, and France acquired Alsace, Lorraine, Franche-Comté and several other lands in Belgium. The peace, however, did not last long. In 1681, Louis captured Strasbourg and Casale, and a little later Luxembourg, Kehl and a number of surrounding areas.
However, from 1688, things began to go worse for Louis. Through the efforts of William of Orange, an anti-French movement was created Augsburg League, which included Austria, Spain, Holland, Sweden and several German principalities. At first, Louis managed to capture the Palatinate, Worms and a number of other German cities, but in 1688 William became king of England and directed the resources of this country against France. In 1692, the Anglo-Dutch fleet defeated the French in Cherbourg harbor and began to dominate the sea. On land, the French successes were more noticeable. Wilhelm was defeated near Steinkerke and on the Neerwinden Plain. Meanwhile, in the south, Savoy, Girona and Barcelona were taken. However, a war on several fronts required Louis great amount money. During the ten years of war, 700 million livres were spent. In 1690, royal furniture made of solid silver and various small utensils were melted down. At the same time, taxes increased, which hit peasant families especially hard. Louis asked for peace. In 1696, Savoy was returned to the rightful duke. Louis was then forced to recognize William of Orange as king of England and withdraw all support from the Stuarts. The lands beyond the Rhine were returned to the German emperor. Luxembourg and Catalonia were returned to Spain. Lorraine regained its independence. Thus, the bloody war ended with the acquisition of only Strasbourg.
However, the most terrible thing for Louis was the War of the Spanish Succession. In 1700, the childless King of Spain Charles II died, bequeathing the throne to Louis' grandson Philip of Anjou with the condition, however, that the Spanish possessions would never be annexed to the French crown. The condition was accepted, but Philip retained the rights to the French throne. In addition, the French army invaded Belgium. The Grand Alliance consisting of England, Austria and Holland was immediately restored, and in 1701 the war began. Prince Eugene of Austria invaded the Duchy of Milan, which belonged to Philip as King of Spain. At first, things went well for the French, but in 1702, due to the betrayal of the Duke of Savoy, the advantage passed to the Austrians. At the same time, the Duke of Marlborough's English army landed in Belgium. Taking advantage of the fact that Portugal had joined the coalition, another English army invaded Spain. The French tried to launch a counterattack on Austria and moved towards Vienna, but in 1704 at Hechstedt they were defeated by the army of Prince Eugene. Soon Louis had to leave Belgium and Italy. In 1707, a 40,000-strong Allied army even crossed the Alps, invading France, and besieged Toulon, but to no avail. There was no end in sight to the war. The people of France were suffering from hunger and poverty. All the gold utensils were melted down, and even black bread was served on Madame de Maintenon’s table instead of white. However, the Allied forces were not unlimited. In Spain, Philip managed to turn the tide of the war in his favor, after which the British began to lean towards peace. In 1713, peace was signed with England in Utrecht, and a year later in Rishtadt - with Austria. France lost practically nothing, but Spain lost all its European possessions outside the Iberian Peninsula. In addition, Philip V was forced to renounce his claims to the French crown.
Louis's foreign policy problems were aggravated by family problems. In 1711, the king's son, the Grand Dauphin Louis, died of smallpox. A year later, the wife of the younger Dauphin, Marie-Adelaide, died. After her death, her correspondence with the heads of hostile states was opened, in which many state secrets of France were revealed. A few days after the death of his wife, the younger Dauphin Louis fell ill with a fever and also died. Another three weeks passed, and five-year-old Louis of Brittany, son of the younger Dauphin and heir to the throne, died of scarlet fever. The title of heir passed to his younger brother Louis of Anjou, who was still infant. Soon he also fell ill with some kind of rash. The doctors expected his death from day to day, but a miracle happened and the child recovered. Finally, in 1714, Charles of Berry, the third grandson of Louis, suddenly died.
After the deaths of his heirs, Louis became sad and gloomy. He practically never got out of bed. All attempts to rouse him led to nothing. On August 24, 1715, the first signs of gangrene appeared on his leg, on August 27 he made his last dying orders, and on September 1 he died. His 72-year reign became the longest reign of any monarch.
Material used from the site http://monarchy.nm.ru/
Other biographical materials:
Lozinsky A.A. The actual ruler was Cardinal Mazarin ( Soviet historical encyclopedia. In 16 volumes. - M.: Soviet encyclopedia. 1973-1982. Volume 8, KOSSALA – MALTA. 1965).
Before his birth, his parents' marriage was barren for twenty-two years ( All the monarchs of the world. Western Europe. Konstantin Ryzhov. Moscow, 1999).
Beginning of the reign of Louis XIV ( ).
Features of the absolutism of Louis XIV ( The World History. Volume V. M., 1958).
Under him, French absolutism stabilized ( History of France. (Ed. A.Z. Manfred). In three volumes. Volume 1. M., 1972).
Read further:
France in the 17th century (chronological table).
Louis XIII (biographical article).
The Sun King was loving! He entered into a relationship either with the Marquise de Montespan or with Princess Soubise, who gave birth to a son very similar to the king. I will continue the list: Madame de Ludre was replaced by the Countess of Grammont and the maiden Gedam. Then there was the girl Fontanges. But the king, satiated with voluptuousness, quickly abandoned his women. Why? Immediate pregnancy disfigured the beauty of each, and the birth was unhappy. Today, Louis XIV would not be so quick to abandon his ladies, because now pregnancy does not spoil modern women at all.
Loading...