Weak Kings A French Tradition Fleur de Lis (Lily Flower) French Monarchy Symbol Image by Sodacan
Photo by lisaclarke
France had no shortage of them!
Dude... Put on some pants!
Louis XIII s Chief Minister
Louis XIII s queen, Anne of Austria, gave birth to FOUR stillborn children.
Louis XIII dedicated France to the Virgin Mary in 1638.
Louis-Dieudonné the God-given This miracle baby would bring the French monarchy to unprecedented glory.
Anne of Austria doted over her son much more than was normal for aristocratic women of the time.
R.I.P.
Louis father died when he was four.
Louis Mother Queen Regent
Chief Minister of France 1642-1661
French for sling French nobles and Parisian townspeople rebelled against Cardinal Mazarin. Photo by whiteafrican
Absolute King When Mazarin died, Louis XIV (aged 23) took power into his own hands He established all the hallmarks of absolutism: Propaganda (strong image) Divine right (chosen by God) Centralized government (reduced power of the nobles, reduced power of other institutions) Religious unity (Catholicism) Strong finances (mercantilism)
Some rights reserved by waitscm
L etat c est moi.
I am the State.
Un roi. Une loi. Une foi.
Un roi: ONE King
Louis put the nobles in their place.
French nobles were expected to attend to Louis regularly at his new palace at Versailles Photo Credit: G CHP
WHO DAT? or fall out of favor.
Versailles Louis wanted all the nobility where he could keep his eye on them and away from their local powerbases (avoid another Fronde) Anyone who was anyone was at Versailles (had to get permission from the King to leave) competing for the King s attention and favours (money or offices = patronage) Nobles were keen to wait on him at his levée and couchee (8.30am intimate friends for levee then wider circle, 10am mass, 11am council meeting, 1pm private dinner, 2pm hunting, 6pm work, 10pm public supper of royal family, 11.30pm couchee) He kept them busy hunting, gambling etc but did not involve them in government
Louis used propaganda to great success, giving an image of himself as: the Sun King around whom all the planets revolved when his son was born he dressed as a Roman emperor Symbols of the sun etc were everywhere at Versailles Propaganda
Versailles Statistics f 2,000 acres of grounds f 12 miles of roads f 27 miles of trellises f 200,000 trees f 210,000 flowers planted every year f 80 miles of rows of trees f 55 acres surface area of the Grand Canal f 12 miles of enclosing walls f 50 fountains and 620 fountain nozzles f 21 miles of water conduits f 3,600 cubic meters per hour: water consumed f 26 acres of roof f 51,210 square meters of floors f 2,153 windows f 700 rooms f 67 staircases f 6,000 paintings f 1,500 drawings and 15,000 engravings f 2,100 sculptures f 5,000 items of furniture and objects d'art f 150 varieties of apple and peach trees in the Vegetable Garden
VERSAILLES IN LOUIS DAY
VERSAILLES TODAY - CLIP
SWORD Nobles Old Nobility Some rights reserved by Vasnic64
ROBE Nobles New Nobility Some rights reserved by byronv2
Some rights reserved by lars hammar
Independent Revenue Some rights reserved by stevendepolo
Primary Document Life at Versailles
UNNECESSARY Louis never had to convene the Estates General, the king s advisory representative body.
Some rights reserved by Ben Husmann
The Estates General would not convene again until 1789.
Une loi: ONE Law
The Code Louis Louis attempted to standardize the laws in France, which were based on regional customs.
Une foi: ONE Faith
1598 Toleration for Huguenots in some French towns
Edict of Fontainebleau (1685)
Revocation of the Edict of Nantes (1685) Revocation of the Edict of Nantes Louis was very proud of this but it was a big mistake: Ended religious tolerance in France which Henry IV had established in the Edict of Nantes a hundred years earlier ¼ million Huguenots forced to flee France (joined the armies of his enemies e.g. William of Orange/England and were France s most skilled workers) Other countries now regarded him as a new Philip II (trying to force Europe to be Catholic) so his enemies ganged up on him
Edict of Fontainebleau (1685) We have determined that we can do nothing better, in order wholly to obliterate the memory of the troubles, the confusion, and the evils which the progress of this false religion has caused in this kingdom than entirely to revoke the said Edict of Nantes Read More
Huguenot Church Charleston, SC Photo by Aya37
The Pope has no power over political matters. Some rights reserved by Rene Bastiaanssen
Louis was a devout CATHOLIC
But above all, he was KING Some rights reserved by jbelluch
I am leaving you, but the state remains forever. Photo by Grangeburn -- Last Words of Louis XIV