text:
Louis XIV of France
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This is the latest accepted revision, reviewed on 30 October 2018.
Jump to navigation Jump to search
"Sun King" and "Le Roi Soleil" redirect here. For the French musical, see Le Roi Soleil (musical). For other uses, see Sun King (disambiguation).
"Louis XIV" and "Louis Quatorze" redirect here. For other uses, see Louis XIV (disambiguation) and Louis Quatorze (disambiguation).
Louis XIV
Portrait by Hyacinthe Rigaud, 1701
King of France and Navarre
Reign
14 May 1643 – 1 September 1715
Coronation
7 June 1654
Reims Cathedral
Predecessor
Louis XIII
Successor
Louis XV
Regent
Anne of Austria (1643–51)
Born
(1638-09-05)5 September 1638
Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Kingdom of France
Died
1 September 1715(1715-09-01) (aged 76)
Palace of Versailles, Versailles, Kingdom of France
Burial
Basilica of St Denis, Saint-Denis, France
Spouse
Maria Theresa of Spain
(m. 1660; d. 1683)

Françoise d'Aubigné, Marquise de Maintenon
(m. 1683)
Issue
among others...
Louis, Grand Dauphin
Full name
French: Louis de Bourbon
House
Bourbon
Father
Louis XIII of France
Mother
Anne of Austria
Religion
Roman Catholicism
Signature
Louis XIV (Louis Dieudonné; 5 September 1638 – 1 September 1715), known as Louis the Great (Louis le Grand) or the Sun King (Roi Soleil), was a monarch of the House of Bourbon who reigned as King of France and Navarre from 1643 until his death in 1715. Starting on 14 May 1643 when Louis was 4 years old, his reign of 72 years and 110 days is the longest recorded of any monarch of a sovereign country in European history.[1][note 1] In the age of absolutism in Europe, Louis XIV's France was a leader in the growing centralisation of power.[2]
Louis began his personal rule of France in 1661, after the death of his chief minister, the Italian Cardinal Mazarin.[3] An adherent of the concept of the divine right of kings, which advocates the divine origin of monarchical rule, Louis continued his predecessors' work of creating a centralised state governed from the capital. He sought to eliminate the remnants of feudalism persisting in parts of France and, by compelling many members of the nobility to inhabit his lavish Palace of Versailles, succeeded in pacifying the aristocracy, many members of which had participated in the Fronde rebellion during Louis' minority. By these means he became one of the most powerful French monarchs and consolidated a system of absolute monarchical rule in France that endured until the French Revolution.
Louis encouraged and benefited from the work of prominent political, military, and cultural figures such as Mazarin, Colbert, Louvois, the Grand Condé, Turenne, Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban, André Charles Boulle, Molière, Racine, Boileau, La Fontaine, Lully, Marais, Le Brun, Rigaud, Bossuet, Le Vau, Mansart, Charles, Claude Perrault, and Le Nôtre. Under his rule, the Edict of Nantes, which granted rights to Huguenots, was abolished. The revocation effectively forced Huguenots to emigrate or convert in a wave of dragonnades, which managed to virtually destroy the French Protestant minority.
During Louis' reign, France was the leading European power, and it fought three major wars: the Franco-Dutch War, the War of the League of Augsburg, and the War of the Spanish Succession. There were also two lesser conflicts: the War of Devolution and the War of the Reunions. Warfare defined the foreign policy of Louis XIV, and his personality shaped his approach. Impelled "by a mix of commerce, revenge, and pique", Louis sensed that warfare was the ideal way to enhance his glory. In peacetime he concentrated on preparing for the next war. He taught his diplomats that their job was to create tactical and strategic advantages for the French military.[4]
Contents
1 Early years
2 Minority and the Fronde
2.1 Accession
2.2 Early acts
3 Personal reign and reforms
3.1 Coming of age and early reforms
3.2 Relations with the major colonies
4 Early wars in the Low Countries
4.1 Spain
4.2 Relations with the Dutch
4.3 Non-European relations and the colonies
5 Height of power
5.1 Centralisation of power
5.2 France as the pivot of warfare
6 Revocation of the Edict of Nantes
7 League of Augsburg
7.1 Causes and conduct of the war
7.2 Treaty of Ryswick
8 War of the Spanish Succession
8.1 Causes and build-up to the war
8.2 Acceptance of the will of Charles II and consequences
8.3 Commencement of fighting
8.4 Turning point
8.5 Conclusion of peace
9 Personal life
9.1 Marriages and children
9.2 Piety and religion
9.3 Patronage of the arts
10 Image and depiction
10.1 Evolution of royal portraiture
10.2 Other works of art
10.3 Ballet
10.4 Unofficial image
10.5 In fiction
10.5.1 Literature
10.5.2 Films
10.5.3 Television
11 Health and death
11.1 Succession
11.2 Line of succession in 1715
12 Legacy
12.1 Reputation
12.2 Quotes
13 Titles, styles, honours and arms
13.1 Titles and styles
13.2 Arms
14 Order of Saint Louis
15 Family
15.1 Ancestors
15.1.1 Patrilineal descent
15.2 Issue
16 See also
17 References
17.1 Notes
18 Bibliography
18.1 Primary sources
19 External links
Early years[edit]
Louis XIV as a young child, unknown painter
Louis XIV was born on 5 September 1638 in the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, to Louis XIII and Anne of Austria. He was named Louis Dieudonné (Louis the God-given)[5] and bore the traditional title of French heirs apparent: Dauphin.[6] At the time of his birth, his parents had been married for 23 years. His mother had experienced four stillbirths between 1619 and 1631. Leading contemporaries thus regarded him as a divine gift and his birth a miracle of God.
Sensing imminent death, Louis XIII decided to put his affairs in order in the spring of 1643, when Louis XIV was four years old. In defiance of custom, which would have made Queen Anne the sole Regent of France, the king decreed that a regency council would rule on his son's behalf. His lack of faith in Queen Anne's political abilities was his primary rationale. He did, however, make the concession of appointing her head of the council.
Louis' relationship with his mother was uncommonly affectionate for the time. Contemporaries and eyewitnesses claimed that the Queen would spend all her time with Louis. Both were greatly interested in food and theatre, and it is highly likely that Louis developed these interests through his close relationship with his mother. This long-lasting and loving relationship can be evidenced by excerpts in Louis' journal entries, such as:
"Nature was responsible for the first knots which tied me to my mother. But attachments formed later by shared qualities of the spirit are far more difficult to break than those formed merely by blood."[7]
It was his mother who gave Louis his belief in the absolute and divine power of his monarchical rule.[8]
During his childhood, he was taken care of by the governesses Françoise de Lansac and Marie-Catherine de Senecey. In 1646, Nicolas V de Villeroy became the young king's tutor. Louis XIV became friends with Villeroy's young children, particularly François de Villeroy, and divided his time between the Palais-Royal and the nearby Hotel de Villeroy.
Minority and the Fronde[edit]
This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)
Accession[edit]
Further information: Franco-Spanish War (1635–59)
Louis XIV in 1643, prior to becoming king, by Claude Deruet
On 14 May 1643, with Louis XIII dead, Queen Anne had her husband's will annulled by the Parlement de Paris (a judicial body comprising mostly nobles and high clergymen).[9] This action abolished the regency council and made Anne sole Regent of France. Anne exiled some of her husband's ministers (Chavigny, Bouthilier), and she nominated Brienne as her minister of foreign affairs.[10] Anne also nominated Saint Vincent de Paul as her spiritual adviser, which helped her deal with religious policy and the Jansenism question.[11]
Anne kept the direction of religious policy strongly in her hand until 1661; her most important political decisions were to nominate Cardinal Mazarin as her chief minister and the continuation of her late husband's and Cardinal Richelieu's policy, despite their persecution of her, for the sake of her son. Anne wanted to give her son absolute authority and a victorious kingdom. Her rationales for choosing Mazarin were mainly his ability and his total dependence on her, at least until 1653 when she was no longer regent. Anne protected Mazarin by arresting and exiling her followers who conspired against him in 1643: the Duke of Beaufort and Marie de Rohan.[12] She left the direction of the daily administration of policy to Cardinal Mazarin.
The best example of Anne's statesmanship and the partial change in her heart towards her native Spain is seen in her keeping of one of Richelieu's men, the Chancellor of France Pierre Séguier, in his post. Séguier was the person who had interrogated Anne in 1637, treating her like a "common criminal" as she described her treatment following the discovery that she was giving military secrets and information to Spain. Anne was virtually under house arrest for a number of years during her husband's rule, and was physically searched and almost insulted by the chancellor according to certain sources[which?]. By keeping him in his post, Anne was giving a sign that the interests of France and her son Louis were the guiding spirit of all her political and legal actions. Though not necessarily opposed to Spain, she sought to end the war with a French victory, in order to establish a lasting peace between the Catholic nations.
The Queen also gave a partial Catholic orientation to French foreign policy. This was felt by the Netherlands, France's Protestant ally, which negotiated a separate peace with Spain in 1648.[13]
In 1648, Anne and Mazarin successfully negotiated the Peace of Westphalia, which ended the Thirty Years' War in Germany. Its terms ensured Dutch independence from Spain, awarded some autonomy to the various German princes of the Holy Roman Empire, and granted Sweden seats on the Imperial Diet and territories to control the mouths of the Oder, Elbe, and Weser rivers. France, however, profited most from the settlement. Austria, ruled by the Habsburg Emperor Ferdinand III, ceded all Habsburg lands and claims in Alsace to France and acknowledged her de facto sovereignty over the Three Bishoprics of Metz, Verdun, and Toul. Moreover, eager to emancipate themselves from Habsburg domination, petty German states sought French protection. This anticipated the formation of the 1658 League of the Rhine, leading to the further diminution of Imperial power.
Early acts[edit]
As the Thirty Years' War came to an end, a civil war known as the Fronde (after the slings used to smash windows) erupted in France. It effectively checked France's ability to exploit the Peace of Westphalia. Anne and Mazarin had largely pursued the policies of Cardinal Richelieu, augmenting the Crown's power at the expense of the nobility and the Parlements. Anne interfered much more in internal policy than foreign affairs; she was a very proud queen who insisted on the divine rights of the King of France.[citation needed]
Europe after the Peace of Westphalia in 1648
All this led her to advocate a forceful policy in all matters relating to the King's authority, in a manner that was much more radical than the one proposed by Mazarin. The Cardinal depended totally on Anne's support and had to use all his influence on the Queen to avoid nullifying, but to restrain some of her radical actions. Anne imprisoned any aristocrat or member of parliament who challenged her will; her main aim was to transfer to her son an absolute authority in the matters of finance and justice. One of the leaders of the Parlement of Paris, whom she had jailed, died in prison.[14]
The Frondeurs, political heirs of the disaffected feudal aristocracy, sought to protect their traditional feudal privileges from the increasingly centralized royal government. Furthermore, they believed their traditional influence and authority was being usurped by the recently ennobled bureaucrats (the Noblesse de Robe, or "nobility of the robe"), who administered the kingdom and on whom the monarchy increasingly began to rely. This belief intensified the nobles' resentment.[citation needed]
In 1648, Anne and Mazarin attempted to tax members of the Parlement de Paris. The members refused to comply and ordered all of the king's earlier financial edicts burned. Buoyed by the victory of Louis, duc d’Enghien (later known as le Grand Condé) at the Battle of Lens, Mazarin, on Queen Anne's insistence, arrested certain members in a show of force.[15] The most important arrest, from Anne's point of view, concerned Pierre Broussel, one of the most important leaders in the Parlement de Paris.
1655 portrait of Louis, the Victor of the Fronde, portrayed as the god Jupiter
People in France were complaining about the expansion of royal authority, the high rate of taxation, and the reduction of the authority of the Parlement de Paris and other regional representative entities. Paris erupted in rioting as a result, and Anne was forced, under intense pressure, to free Broussel. Moreover, a mob of angry Parisians broke into the royal palace and demanded to see their king. Led into the royal bedchamber, they gazed upon Louis, who was feigning sleep, were appeased, and then quietly departed. The threat to the royal family prompted Anne to flee Paris with the king and his courtiers.
Shortly thereafter, the conclusion of the Peace of Westphalia allowed Condé's army to return to aid Louis and his court. Condé's family was close to Anne at that time, and he agreed to help her attempt to restore the king's authority.[16] The queen's army, headed by Condé, attacked the rebels in Paris; the rebels were under the political control of Anne's old friend Marie de Rohan. Beaufort, who had escaped from the prison where Anne had incarcerated him five years before, was the military leader in Paris, under the nominal control of Conti. After a few battles, a political compromise was reached; the Peace of Rueil was signed, and the court returned to Paris.
Unfortunately for Anne, her partial victory depended on Condé, who wanted to control the queen and destroy Mazarin's influence. It was Condé's sister who pushed him to turn against the queen. After striking a deal with her old friend Marie de Rohan, who was able to impose the nomination of Charles de l'Aubespine, marquis de Châteauneuf as minister of justice, Anne arrested Condé, his brother Armand de Bourbon, Prince of Conti, and the husband of their sister Anne Genevieve de Bourbon, duchess of Longueville. This situation did not last long, and Mazarin's unpopularity led to the creation of a coalition headed mainly by Marie de Rohan and the duchess of Longueville. This aristocratic coalition was strong enough to liberate the princes, exile Mazarin, and impose a condition of virtual house arrest on Queen Anne.
All these events were witnessed by Louis and largely explained his later distrust of Paris and the higher aristocracy.[17] "In one sense, Louis' childhood came to an end with the outbreak of the Fronde. It was not only that life became insecure and unpleasant – a fate meted out to many children in all ages – but that Louis had to be taken into the confidence of his mother and Mazarin and political and military matters of which he could have no deep understanding".[18] "The family home became at times a near-prison when Paris had to be abandoned, not in carefree outings to other chateaux but in humiliating flights".[18] The royal family was driven out of Paris twice in this manner, and at one point Louis XIV and Anne were held under virtual arrest in the royal palace in Paris. The Fronde years planted in Louis a hatred of Paris and a consequent determination to move out of the ancient capital as soon as possible, never to return.[19]
Just as the first Fronde (the Fronde parlementaire of 1648–1649) ended, a second one (the Fronde des princes of 1650–1653) began. Unlike that which preceded it, tales of sordid intrigue and half-hearted warfare characterized this second phase of upper-class insurrection. To the aristocracy, this rebellion represented a protest against and a reversal of their political demotion from vassals to courtiers. It was headed by the highest-ranking French nobles, among them Louis' uncle Gaston, Duke of Orléans and first cousin Anne Marie Louise d'Orléans, Duchess of Montpensier, known as la Grande Mademoiselle; Princes of the Blood such as Condé, his brother Armand de Bourbon, Prince of Conti, and their sister the Duchess of Longueville; dukes of legitimised royal descent, such as Henri, Duke of Longueville, and François, Duke of Beaufort; so-called "foreign princes" such as Frédéric Maurice, Duke of Bouillon, his brother Marshal Turenne, and Marie de Rohan, Duchess of Chevreuse; and scions of France's oldest families, such as François de La Rochefoucauld.
Queen Anne played the most important role in defeating the Fronde because she wanted to transfer absolute authority to her son. In addition, most of the princes refused to deal with Mazarin, who went into exile for a number of years. The Frondeurs claimed to act on Louis' behalf, and in his real interest against his mother and Mazarin.
Queen Anne had a very close relationship with the Cardinal, and many observers believed that Mazarin became Louis XIV's stepfather by a secret marriage to Queen Anne.[20] However, Louis' coming-of-age and subsequent coronation deprived them of the Frondeurs' pretext for revolt. The Fronde thus gradually lost steam and ended in 1653, when Mazarin returned triumphantly from exile. From that time until his death, Mazarin was in charge of foreign and financial policy without the daily supervision of Anne, who was no longer regent.[21]
During this period, Louis fell in love with Mazarin's niece Marie Mancini, but Anne and Mazarin ended the king's infatuation by sending Mancini away from court to be married in Italy. While Mazarin might have been tempted for a short period of time to marry his niece to the King of France, Queen Anne was absolutely against this; she wanted to marry her son to the daughter of her brother, Philip IV of Spain, for both dynastic and political reasons. Mazarin soon supported the Queen's position because he knew that her support for his power and his foreign policy depended on making peace with Spain from a strong position and on the Spanish marriage. Additionally, Mazarin's relations with Marie Mancini were not good, and he did not trust her to support his position. All of Louis' tears and his supplications to his mother did not make her change her mind; the Spanish marriage was very important both for its role in ending the war between France and Spain, and because many of the claims and objectives of Louis' foreign policy in the next 50 years would be based on this marriage.[22]
Personal reign and reforms[edit]
Coming of age and early reforms[edit]
Royal Monogram
Louis XIV was declared to have reached the age of majority on 7 September 1651. On the death of Mazarin, in March 1661, Louis assumed personal control of the reins of government and astonished his court by declaring that he would rule without a chief minister: "Up to this moment I have been pleased to entrust the government of my affairs to the late Cardinal. It is now time that I govern them myself. You [he was talking to the secretaries and ministers of state] will assist me with your counsels when I ask for them. I request and order you to seal no orders except by my command . . . I order you not to sign anything, not even a passport . . . without my command; to render account to me personally each day and to favor no one".[23] Louis was able to capitalize on the widespread public yearning for law and order, that resulted from prolonged foreign wars and domestic civil strife, to further consolidate central political authority and reform at the expense of the feudal aristocracy. Praising his ability to choose and encourage men of talent, the historian Chateaubriand noted: "it is the voice of genius of all kinds which sounds from the tomb of Louis".[24]
Louis XIV, King of France, in 1661
Louis began his personal reign with administrative and fiscal reforms. In 1661, the treasury verged on bankruptcy. To rectify the situation, Louis chose Jean-Baptiste Colbert as Controller-General of Finances in 1665. However, Louis first had to neutralize Nicolas Fouquet, the Superintendent of Finances, in order to give Colbert a free hand. Although Fouquet's financial indiscretions were not very different from Mazarin's before him or Colbert's after him, his ambition was worrying to Louis. He had, for example, built an opulent château at Vaux-le-Vicomte where he entertained Louis and his court ostentatiously, as if he were wealthier than the king himself. The court was left with the impression that the vast sums of money needed to support his lifestyle could only have been obtained through embezzlement of government funds.
Fouquet appeared eager to succeed Mazarin and Richelieu in assuming power, and he indiscreetly purchased and privately fortified the remote island of Belle Île. These acts sealed his doom. Fouquet was charged with embezzlement. The Parlement found him guilty and sentenced him to exile. However, Louis altered the sentence to life-imprisonment and abolished Fouquet's post.
With Fouquet dismissed, Colbert reduced the national debt through more efficient taxation. The principal taxes included the aides and douanes (both customs duties), the gabelle (a tax on salt), and the taille (a tax on land).The taille was reduced at first; financial officials were forced to keep regular accounts, auctioning certain taxes instead of selling them privately to a favored few, revising inventories and removing unauthorized exemptions (for example, in 1661 only 10 per cent from the royal domain reached the King). Reform proved difficult because the taille was levied by officers of the Crown who had purchased their post at a high price: punishment of abuses necessarily lowered the value of the post. Nevertheless, excellent results were achieved: the deficit of 1661 turned into a surplus in 1666. The interest on the debt was reduced from 52 million to 24 million livres. The taille was reduced to 42 million in 1661 and 35 million in 1665; finally the revenue from indirect taxation progressed from 26 million to 55 million. The revenues of the royal domain were raised from 80,000 livres in 1661 to 5.5 million livres in 1671. In 1661, the receipts were equivalent to 26 million British pounds, of which 10 million reached the treasury. The expenditure was around 18 million pounds, leaving a deficit of 8 million. In 1667, the net receipts had risen to 20 million pounds sterling, while expenditure had fallen to 11 million, leaving a surplus of 9 million pounds.
Engraving of Louis XIV
To support the reorganized and enlarged army, the panoply of Versailles, and the growing civil administration, the king needed a good deal of money. Finance had always been the weak spot in the French monarchy: methods of collecting taxes were costly and inefficient; direct taxes passed through the hands of many intermediate officials; and indirect taxes were collected by private concessionaries, called tax farmers, who made a substantial profit. Consequently, the state always received far less than what the taxpayers actually paid.
The main weakness arose from an old bargain between the French crown and nobility: the king might raise taxes without consent if only he refrained from taxing the nobles. Only the "unprivileged" classes paid direct taxes, and this term came to mean the peasants only, since many bourgeois, in one way or another, obtained exemptions.
The system was outrageously unjust in throwing a heavy tax burden on the poor and helpless. Later, after 1700, the French ministers who were supported by Louis' secret wife Madame De Maintenon, were able to convince the king to change his fiscal policy. Louis was willing enough to tax the nobles but was unwilling to fall under their control, and only towards the close of his reign, under extreme stress of war, was he able, for the first time in French history, to impose direct taxes on the aristocratic elements of the population. This was a step toward equality before the law and toward sound public finance, but so many concessions and exemptions were won by nobles and bourgeois that the reform lost much of its value.[25]
Louis and Colbert also had wide-ranging plans to bolster French commerce and trade. Colbert's mercantilist administration established new industries and encouraged manufacturers and inventors, such as the Lyon silk manufacturers and the Gobelins manufactory, a producer of tapestries. He invited manufacturers and artisans from all over Europe to France, such as Murano glassmakers, Swedish ironworkers, and Dutch shipbuilders. In this way, he aimed to decrease foreign imports while increasing French exports, hence reducing the net outflow of precious metals from France.
Louis instituted reforms in military administration through Michel le Tellier and the latter's son François-Michel le Tellier, Marquis de Louvois. They helped to curb the independent spirit of the nobility, imposing order on them at court and in the army. Gone were the days when generals protracted war at the frontiers while bickering over precedence and ignoring orders from the capital and the larger politico-diplomatic picture. The old military aristocracy (the Noblesse d'épée, or "nobility of the sword") ceased to have a monopoly over senior military positions and rank. Louvois, in particular, pledged to modernize the army and re-organize it into a professional, disciplined, well-trained force. He was devoted to the soldiers' material well-being and morale, and even tried to direct campaigns.
Relations with the major colonies[edit]
Louis and his family portrayed as Roman gods in a 1670 painting by Jean Nocret. L to R: Louis' aunt, Henriette-Marie; his brother, Philippe, duc d'Orléans; the Duke's daughter, Marie Louise d'Orléans, and wife, Henriette-Anne Stuart; the Queen-mother, Anne of Austria; three daughters of Gaston d'Orléans; Louis XIV; the Dauphin Louis; Queen Marie-Thérèse; la Grande Mademoiselle.
Legal matters did not escape Louis' attention, as is reflected in the numerous "Great Ordinances" he enacted. Pre-revolutionary France was a patchwork of legal systems, with as many legal customs as there were provinces, and two co-existing legal traditions—customary law in the north and Roman civil law in the south.[26] The Grande Ordonnance de Procédure Civile of 1667, also known as the Code Louis, was a comprehensive legal code attempting a uniform regulation of civil procedure throughout legally irregular France. Among other things, it prescribed baptismal, marriage and death records in the state's registers, not the church's, and it strictly regulated the right of the Parlements to remonstrate.[27] The Code Louis played an important part in French legal history as the basis for the Napoleonic code, from which many modern legal codes are, in turn, derived.
One of Louis' more infamous decrees was the Grande Ordonnance sur les Colonies of 1685, also known as the Code Noir ("black code"). Although it sanctioned slavery, it attempted to humanise the practice by prohibiting the separation of families. Additionally, in the colonies, only Roman Catholics could own slaves, and these had to be baptised.
Louis ruled through a number of councils:
Conseil d'en haut ("High Council", concerning the most important matters of state)—composed of the king, the crown prince, the contrôleur général des finances (minister of finances), and the secretaries of state in charge of various departments. The members of that council were called ministers of state.
Conseil des dépêches ("Council of Messages", concerning notices and administrative reports from the provinces).
Conseil de Conscience ("Council of Conscience", concerning religious affairs and episcopal appointments).
Conseil royal des finances ("Royal Council of Finances") who was headed by the "chef du conseil des finances" (an honorary post in most cases)—this was one of the few posts in the council that was opened to the high aristocracy.[28]
Early wars in the Low Countries[edit]
Main articles: War of Devolution and Franco-Dutch War
Spain[edit]
Louis XIV in 1670, engraved portrait by Robert Nanteuil
The future Philip V being introduced as king of Spain by his grandfather, Louis XIV
The death of King Philip IV of Spain, in 1665, precipitated the War of Devolution. In 1660, Louis had married Philip IV's eldest daughter, Maria Theresa, as one of the provisions of the 1659 Treaty of the Pyrenees.[29] The marriage treaty specified that Maria Theresa was to renounce all claims to Spanish territory for herself and all her descendants.[29] Mazarin and Lionne, however, made the renunciation conditional on the full payment of a Spanish dowry of 500,000 écus.[30] The dowry was never paid and would later play a part persuading Charles II of Spain to leave his empire to Philip, Duke of Anjou (later Philip V of Spain), the grandson of Louis and Maria Theresa.
The War of Devolution did not focus on the payment of the dowry, rather, the lack of payment was what Louis XIV used as a pretext for nullifying Maria Theresa's renunciation of her claims, allowing the land to "devolve" to him. In the Brabant (the location of the land in dispute), children of first marriages traditionally were not disadvantaged by their parents’ remarriages and still inherited property. Louis' wife was Philip IV's daughter by his first marriage, while the new King of Spain, Charles II, was his son by a subsequent marriage. Thus, Brabant allegedly "devolved" to Maria Theresa. This excuse allowed France to attack the Spanish Netherlands.
Relations with the Dutch[edit]
Forces of Louis XIV before Schenkenschanz, 1672
Internal problems in the Dutch Republic aided Louis' designs. The most prominent politician in the Dutch Republic at the time, the "Grand Pensionary" Johan de Witt, feared the ambition of the young William III, Prince of Orange, specifically dispossession of his supreme power and the restoration of the House of Orange to the influence it had enjoyed before the death of William II, Prince of Orange. The Dutch were thus initially more preoccupied with domestic affairs than the French advance into Spanish territory. Moreover, the French were nominally their allies against the English in the ongoing Second Anglo-Dutch War. Shocked by the rapidity of French successes and fearful of the future, the Dutch decided to abandon their nominal allies and made peace with England. Joined by Sweden, the English and Dutch formed a Triple Alliance in 1668. The threat of an escalation of the conflict in the Low Countries and a secret treaty partitioning the Spanish succession with Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I, the other major claimant to the throne of Spain, induced Louis to make peace.
Louis XIV crosses the Rhine at Lobith on 12 June 1672; Rijksmuseum Amsterdam
Louis XIV in 1673
The Triple Alliance did not last very long. In 1670, French gold bought the adherence of Charles II of England to the secret Treaty of Dover. France and England, along with certain Rhineland princes, declared war on the Dutch Republic in 1672, igniting the Franco-Dutch War. The rapid invasion and occupation of most of the Netherlands precipitated a coup that toppled De Witt and brought William III to power.
In 1674, when France lost the assistance of England, which sued for peace by the Treaty of Westminster, William III received the help of Spain, the Emperor Leopold I, and the rest of the Holy Roman Empire. Despite these diplomatic reversals, the French continued to triumph against overwhelming opposing forces. Within a few weeks, in 1674, French forces led by Louis captured all of the Spanish-held Franche-Comté. Despite being greatly outnumbered, Condé trounced William III's coalition army of Austrians, Dutchmen, and Spaniards at the Battle of Seneffe, and prevented him from descending on Paris. Another outnumbered general, Turenne, conducted a daring and brilliant campaign in the winter of 1674–1675 against the Imperial armies under Raimondo Montecuccoli, driving them back across the Rhine river out of Alsace, which had been invaded. Through a series of feints, marches, and counter-marches in 1678, Louis besieged and captured Ghent.
By placing Louis in a military position far superior to that of his enemies, these victories brought the war to a speedy end. Six years of war had exhausted Europe, and peace negotiations were soon concluded in 1678 with the Treaty of Nijmegen. Although Louis returned all the Dutch territory he had captured, he retained the Franche-Comté and gained more land in the Spanish Netherlands.
The conclusion of a general peace permitted Louis to intervene in the Scanian War in 1679, on behalf of his ally Sweden. He forced Brandenburg-Prussia to the peace table at the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, and imposed peace on Denmark-Norway by the Treaty of Fontainebleau and the Peace of Lund, all concluded in 1679.
The successful conclusion of the Treaty of Nijmegen enhanced French influence in Europe, but Louis was still not satisfied. In 1679, he dismissed his foreign minister Simon Arnauld, marquis de Pomponne, because he was seen as having compromised too much with the allies. Louis maintained the strength of his army, but in his next series of territorial claims avoided using military force alone. Rather, he combined it with legal pretexts in his efforts to augment the boundaries of his kingdom. Contemporary treaties were intentionally phrased ambiguously. Louis established the Chambers of Reunion to determine the full extent of his rights and obligations under those treaties.
Silver coin of Louis XIV, dated 1674
Obverse. The Latin inscription is LVDOVICVS XIIII D[EI] GRA[TIA] ("Louis XIV, by the grace of God"). Reverse. The Latin inscription is FRAN[CIÆ] ET NAVARRÆ REX 1674 ("King of France and of Navarre, 1674").
Cities and territories, such as Luxembourg and Casale, were prized for their strategic positions on the frontier and access to important waterways. Louis also sought Strasbourg, an important strategic crossing on the left bank of the Rhine and theretofore a Free Imperial City of the Holy Roman Empire, annexing it and other territories in 1681. Although a part of Alsace, Strasbourg was not part of Habsburg-ruled Alsace and was thus not ceded to France in the Peace of Westphalia.
Following these annexations, Spain declared war, precipitating the War of the Reunions. However, the Spanish were rapidly defeated because the Emperor (distracted by the Great Turkish War) abandoned them, and the Dutch only supported them minimally. By the Truce of Ratisbon, in 1684, Spain was forced to acquiesce in the French occupation of most of the conquered territories, for 20 years.[31]
Louis' policy of the Réunions may have raised France to its greatest size and power during his reign, but it alienated much of Europe. This poor public opinion was compounded by French actions off the Barbary Coast and at Genoa. First, Louis had Algiers and Tripoli, two Barbary pirate strongholds, bombarded to obtain a favourable treaty and the liberation of Christian slaves. Next, in 1684, a punitive mission was launched against Genoa in retaliation for its support for Spain in previous wars. Although the Genoese submitted, and the Doge led an official mission of apology to Versailles, France gained a reputation for brutality and arrogance. European apprehension at growing French might and the realisation of the extent of the dragonnades' effect (discussed below) led many states to abandon their alliance with France.[32] Accordingly, by the late 1680s, France became increasingly isolated in Europe.
Non-European relations and the colonies[edit]
Further information: Orientalism in early modern France
The Persian embassy to Louis XIV sent by Sultan Husayn in 1715. Ambassade de Perse auprès de Louis XIV, studio of Antoine Coypel.
French colonies multiplied in Africa, the Americas, and Asia during Louis' reign, and French explorers made important discoveries in North America. In 1673, Louis Jolliet and Jacques Marquette discovered the Mississippi River. In 1682, René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, followed the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico and claimed the vast Mississippi basin in Louis' name, calling it Louisiane. French trading posts were also established in India, at Chandernagore and Pondicherry, and in the Indian Ocean at Île Bourbon. Throughout these regions Louis and Colbert embarked on an extensive program of architecture and urbanism meant to reflect the styles of Versailles and Paris and the 'gloire' of the realm. [33]
Siamese embassy of King Narai to Louis XIV in 1686, led by Kosa Pan. Engraving by Nicolas Larmessin.
Meanwhile, diplomatic relations were initiated with distant countries. In 1669, Suleiman Aga led an Ottoman embassy to revive the old Franco-Ottoman alliance.[34] Then, in 1682, after the reception of the Moroccan embassy of Mohammed Tenim in France, Moulay Ismail, Sultan of Morocco, allowed French consular and commercial establishments in his country.[35] In 1699, Louis once again received a Moroccan ambassador, Abdallah bin Aisha, and in 1715, he received a Persian embassy led by Mohammad Reza Beg.
From farther afield, Siam dispatched an embassy in 1684, reciprocated by the French magnificently the next year under Alexandre, Chevalier de Chaumont. This, in turn, was succeeded by another Siamese embassy under Kosa Pan, superbly received at Versailles in 1686. Louis then sent another embassy in 1687, under Simon de la Loubère, and French influence grew at the Siamese court, which granted Mergui as a naval base to France. However, the death of Narai, King of Ayutthaya, the execution of his pro-French minister Constantine Phaulkon, and the Siege of Bangkok in 1688 ended this era of French influence.[36]
France also attempted to participate actively in Jesuit missions to China. To break the Portuguese dominance there, Louis sent Jesuit missionaries to the court of the Kangxi Emperor in 1685: Jean de Fontaney, Joachim Bouvet, Jean-François Gerbillon, Louis Le Comte, and Claude de Visdelou).[37] Louis also received a Chinese Jesuit, Michael Shen Fu-Tsung, at Versailles in 1684.[38] Furthermore, Louis' librarian and translator Arcadio Huang was Chinese.[39][40]
Height of power[edit]
Centralisation of power[edit]
By the early 1680s, Louis had greatly augmented French influence in the world. Domestically, he successfully increased the influence of the crown and its authority over the church and aristocracy, thus consolidating absolute monarchy in France.
Louis initially supported traditional Gallicanism, which limited papal authority in France, and convened an Assembly of the French clergy in November 1681. Before its dissolution eight months later, the Assembly had accepted the Declaration of the Clergy of France, which increased royal authority at the expense of papal power. Without royal approval, bishops could not leave France, and appeals could not be made to the Pope. Additionally, government officials could not be excommunicated for acts committed in pursuance of their duties. Although the king could not make ecclesiastical law, all papal regulations without royal assent were invalid in France. Unsurprisingly, the pope repudiated the Declaration.[3]
Louis receiving the Doge of Genoa at Versailles on 15 May 1685, following the Bombardment of Genoa. (Reparation faite à Louis XIV par le Doge de Gênes. 15 mai 1685 by Claude Guy Halle, Versailles.)
By attaching nobles to his court at Versailles, Louis achieved increased control over the French aristocracy. Apartments were built to house those willing to pay court to the king.[41] However, the pensions and privileges necessary to live in a style appropriate to their rank were only possible by waiting constantly on Louis.[42] For this purpose, an elaborate court ritual was created wherein the king became the centre of attention and was observed throughout the day by the public. With his excellent memory, Louis could then see who attended him at court and who was absent, facilitating the subsequent distribution of favours and positions. Another tool Louis used to control his nobility was censorship, which often involved the opening of letters to discern their author's opinion of the government and king.[41] Moreover, by entertaining, impressing, and domesticating them with extravagant luxury and other distractions, Louis not only cultivated public opinion of him, he also ensured the aristocracy remained under his scrutiny.
Louis' extravagance at Versailles extended far beyond the scope of elaborate court rituals. In an excerpt from Diderot's Encyclopédie, Louis-Jean-Marie Daubenton recounts a story in which Louis took delivery of an African elephant as a gift.
In 1668 the king of Portugal sent an elephant from the kingdom of Congo to the king of France. It was seventeen years old and measured six and a half feet from the ground to the top of its back. The elephant lived in the menagerie at Versailles for thirteen years and only grew a further foot, no doubt because the change in climate and food had stunted its growth; so it measured just seven and a half feet when the gentlemen of the Royal Academy of Sciences carried out their description of it.[43]
This, along with the prohibition of private armies, prevented them from passing time on their own estates and in their regional power bases, from which they historically waged local wars and plotted resistance to royal authority.[44] Louis thus compelled and seduced the old military aristocracy (the "nobility of the sword") into becoming his ceremonial courtiers, further weakening their power. In their place, Louis raised commoners or the more recently ennobled bureaucratic aristocracy (the "nobility of the robe"). He judged that royal authority thrived more surely by filling high executive and administrative positions with these men because they could be more easily dismissed than nobles of ancient lineage, with entrenched influence. It is believed that Louis' policies were rooted in his experiences during the Fronde, when men of high birth readily took up the rebel cause against their king, who was actually the kinsman of some. This victory of Louis' over the nobility may have then in fact ensured the end of major civil wars in France until the French Revolution about a century later.
France as the pivot of warfare[edit]
Main article: International relations 1648-1814
Louis XIV
In 1648 France was the leading European power, and most of the wars pivoted around its aggressiveness. Only poverty-stricken Russia exceeded it in population, and no one could match its wealth, central location, and very strong professional army. It had largely avoided the devastation of the Thirty Years War. Its weaknesses included an inefficient financial system that was hard-pressed to pay for all the military adventures, and the tendency of most other powers to gang up against it.
During the very long reign of King Louis XIV (1643 – 1715), France fought three major wars: the Franco-Dutch War, the War of the League of Augsburg, and the War of the Spanish Succession. There were also two lesser conflicts: the War of Devolution and the War of the Reunions.[45] The wars were very expensive but they defined Louis XIV's foreign policies, and his personality shaped his approach. Impelled "by a mix of commerce, revenge, and pique," Louis sensed that warfare was the ideal way to enhance his glory. In peacetime he concentrated on preparing for the next war. He taught his diplomats that their job was to create tactical and strategic advantages for the French military.[4] By 1695, France retained much of its dominance, but had lost control of the seas to the combination of England and Holland. What's more, most countries, both Protestant and Catholic, were in alliance against it. Vauban, France's leading military strategist, warned the king in 1689 that a hostile "Alliance" was too powerful at sea. He recommended the best way for France to fight back was to license French merchants ships to privateer and seize enemy merchant ships, while avoiding its navies:
France has its declared enemies Germany and all the states that it embraces; Spain with all its dependencies in Europe, Asia, Africa and America; the Duke of Savoy [in Italy], England, Scotland, Ireland, and all their colonies in the East and West Indies; and Holland with all its possessions in the four corners of the world where it has great establishments. France has ... undeclared enemies, indirectly hostile, hostile, and envious of its greatness, Denmark, Sweden, Poland, Portugal, Venice, Genoa, and part of the Swiss Confederation, all of which states secretly aid France's enemies by the troops that they hire to them, the money they lend them and by protecting and covering their trade.[46]
Vauban was pessimistic about France's so-called friends and allies:
For lukewarm, useless, or impotent friends, France has the Pope, who is indifferent; the King of England [James II] expelled from his country; the grand Duke of Tuscany; the Dukes of Mantua, Mokena, and Parma [all in Italy]; and the other faction of the Swiss. Some of these are sunk in the softness that comes of years of peace, the others are cool in their affections....The English and Dutch are the main pillars of the Alliance; they support it by making war against us in concert with the other powers, and they keep it going by means of the money that they pay every year to... Allies.... We must therefore fall back on privateering as the method of conducting war which is most feasible, simple, cheap, and safe, and which will cost least to the state, the more so since any losses will not be felt by the King, who risks virtually nothing....It will enrich the country, train many good officers for the King, and in a short time force his enemies to sue for peace.[47]
Revocation of the Edict of Nantes[edit]
Main article: Revocation of the Edict of Nantes
Louis XIV in 1685, the year he revoked the Edict of Nantes
It has traditionally been suggested that the devout Madame de Maintenon pushed Louis to persecute Protestants and revoke the 1598 Edict of Nantes, which awarded Huguenots political and religious freedom, but her influence in the matter is now being questioned.[48] Louis saw the persistence of Protestantism as a disgraceful reminder of royal powerlessness. After all, the Edict was the pragmatic concession of his grandfather Henry IV to end the longstanding French Wars of Religion. An additional factor in Louis' thinking was the prevailing contemporary European principle to assure socio-political stability, cuius regio, eius religio ("whose realm, his religion"), the idea that the religion of the ruler should be the religion of the realm (as originally confirmed in central Europe in the Peace of Augsburg of 1555).[49]
Responding to petitions, Louis initially excluded Protestants from office, constrained the meeting of synods, closed churches outside of Edict-stipulated areas, banned Protestant outdoor preachers, and prohibited domestic Protestant migration. He also disallowed Protestant-Catholic intermarriages to which third parties objected, encouraged missions to the Protestants, and rewarded converts to Catholicism.[50] This discrimination did not encounter much Protestant resistance, and a steady conversion of Protestants occurred, especially among the noble elites.
In 1681, Louis dramatically increased his persecution of Protestants. The principle of cuius regio, eius religio generally had also meant that subjects who refused to convert could emigrate, but Louis banned emigration and effectively insisted that all Protestants must be converted. Secondly, following the proposal of René de Marillac and the Marquis of Louvois, he began quartering dragoons in Protestant homes. Although this was within his legal rights, the dragonnades inflicted severe financial strain on Protestants and atrocious abuse. Between 300,000 and 400,000 Huguenots converted, as this entailed financial rewards and exemption from the dragonnades.[51]
Protestant peasants rebelled against the officially sanctioned dragonnades (conversions enforced by dragoons, labeled "missionaries in boots") that followed the Edict of Fontainebleau.
On 15 October 1685, Louis issued the Edict of Fontainebleau, which cited the redundancy of privileges for Protestants given their scarcity after the extensive conversions. The Edict of Fontainebleau revoked the Edict of Nantes and repealed all the privileges that arose therefrom.[3] By his edict, Louis no longer tolerated the existence of Protestant groups, pastors, or churches in France. No further churches were to be constructed, and those already existing were to be demolished. Pastors could choose either exile or a secular life. Those Protestants who had resisted conversion were now to be baptised forcibly into the established church.[52]
Writers have debated Louis' reasons for issuing the Edict of Fontainebleau. He may have been seeking to placate Pope Innocent XI, with whom relations were tense and whose aid was necessary to determine the outcome of a succession crisis in the Electorate of Cologne. He may also have acted to upstage Emperor Leopold I and regain international prestige after the latter defeated the Turks without Louis' help. Otherwise, he may simply have desired to end the remaining divisions in French society dating to the Wars of Religion by fulfilling his coronation oath to eradicate heresy.[53][54]
Many historians have condemned the Edict of Fontainebleau as gravely harmful to France.[55] In support, they cite the emigration of about 200,000 highly skilled Huguenots (roughly one-fourth of the Protestant population, or 1% of the French population) who defied royal decrees and fled France for various Protestant states, weakening the French economy and enriching that of Protestant states.
On the other hand, there are historians who view this as an exaggeration. They argue that most of France's preeminent Protestant businessmen and industrialists converted to Catholicism and remained.[56]
What is certain is that reaction to the Edict was mixed. Even while French Catholic leaders exulted, Pope Innocent XI still argued with Louis over Gallicanism and criticised the use of violence. Protestants across Europe were horrified at the treatment of their co-religionists, but most Catholics in France applauded the move. Nonetheless, it is indisputable that Louis' public image in most of Europe, especially in Protestant regions, was dealt a severe blow.
In the end, however, despite renewed tensions with the Camisards of south-central France at the end of his reign, Louis may have helped ensure that his successor would experience fewer instances of the religion-based disturbances that had plagued his forebears. French society would sufficiently change by the time of his descendant, Louis XVI, to welcome tolerance in the form of the 1787 Edict of Versailles, also known as the Edict of Tolerance. This restored to non-Catholics their civil rights and the freedom to worship openly.[57] With the advent of the French Revolution in 1789, Protestants were granted equal rights with their Roman Catholic counterparts.
League of Augsburg[edit]
Main article: War of the Grand Alliance
Causes and conduct of the war[edit]
Battle of Fleurus, 1690
Louis in 1690
The War of the League of Augsburg, which lasted from 1688 to 1697, initiated a period of decline in Louis' political and diplomatic fortunes. The conflict arose from two events in the Rhineland. First, in 1685, the Elector Palatine Charles II died. All that remained of his immediate family was Louis' sister-in-law, Elizabeth Charlotte. German law ostensibly barred her from succeeding to her brother's lands and electoral dignity, but it was unclear enough for arguments in favour of Elizabeth Charlotte to have a chance of success. Conversely, the princess was clearly entitled to a division of the family's personal property. Louis pressed her claims to land and chattels, hoping the latter, at least, would be given to her.[58] Then, in 1688, Maximilian Henry of Bavaria, Archbishop of Cologne, an ally of France, died. The archbishopric had traditionally been held by the Wittelsbachs of Bavaria. However, the Bavarian claimant to replace Maximilian Henry, Prince Joseph Clemens of Bavaria, was at that time not more than 17 years old and not even ordained. Louis sought instead to install his own candidate, William Egon of Fürstenberg, to ensure the key Rhenish state remained an ally.[59]
In light of his foreign and domestic policies during the early 1680s, which were perceived as aggressive, Louis' actions, fostered by the succession crises of the late 1680s, created concern and alarm in much of Europe. This led to the formation of the 1686 League of Augsburg by the Holy Roman Emperor, Spain, Sweden, Saxony, and Bavaria. Their stated intention was to return France to at least the borders agreed to in the Treaty of Nijmegen.[60] Emperor Leopold I's persistent refusal to convert the Truce of Ratisbon into a permanent treaty fed Louis' fears that the Emperor would turn on France and attack the Reunions after settling his affairs in the Balkans.[61]
Another event that Louis found threatening was the Glorious Revolution of 1688, in England. Although King James II was Catholic, his two Anglican daughters, Mary and Anne, ensured the English people a Protestant succession. However, when James II's son James was born, he took precedence in the succession over his elder sisters. This seemed to herald an era of Catholic monarchs in England. Protestant lords took up arms and called on the Dutch Prince William III of Orange, grandson of Charles I of England, to come to their aid. He sailed for England with troops despite Louis' warning that France would regard it as a provocation. Witnessing numerous desertions and defections, even among those closest to him, James II fled England. Parliament declared the throne vacant, and offered it to James's daughter Mary II and his son-in-law and nephew William. Vehemently anti-French, William (now William III of England) pushed his new kingdoms into war, thus transforming the League of Augsburg into the Grand Alliance. Before this happened, Louis expected William's expedition to England to absorb his energies and those of his allies, so he dispatched troops to the Rhineland after the expiry of his ultimatum to the German princes requiring confirmation of the Truce of Ratisbon and acceptance of his demands about the succession crises. This military manoeuvre was also intended to protect his eastern provinces from Imperial invasion by depriving the enemy army of sustenance, thus explaining the pre-emptive scorched earth policy pursued in much of southwestern Germany (the "Devastation of the Palatinate").[62]
Louis XIV at the Siege of Namur (1692).
French armies were generally victorious throughout the war because of Imperial commitments in the Balkans, French logistical superiority, and the quality of French generals such as Condé's famous pupil, François Henri de Montmorency-Bouteville, duc de Luxembourg. His triumphs at the Battles of Fleurus in 1690, Steenkerque in 1692, and Landen in 1693 preserved northern France from invasion.[63]
Marshal de Luxembourg
Although an attempt to restore James II failed at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690, France accumulated a string of victories from Flanders in the north, Germany in the east, and Italy and Spain in the south, to the high seas and the colonies. Louis personally supervised the captures of Mons in 1691 and Namur in 1692. Luxembourg gave France the defensive line of the Sambre by capturing Charleroi in 1693. France also overran most of the Duchy of Savoy after the battles of Marsaglia and Staffarde in 1693. While naval stalemate ensued after the French victory at the Battle of Beachy Head in 1690 and the Allied victory at Barfleur-La Hougue in 1692, the Battle of Torroella in 1694 exposed Catalonia to French invasion, culminating in the capture of Barcelona. Although the Dutch captured Pondichéry in 1693, a French raid on the Spanish treasure port of Cartagena in 1697 yielded a fortune of 10,000,000 livres.
In July 1695, the city of Namur, occupied for three years by the French, was besieged by an allied army led by William III. Louis XIV ordered the surprise destruction of a Flemish city to divert the attention of these troops. This led to the bombardment of Brussels, in which 4-5000 buildings were destroyed, including the entire city-center. The strategy failed, as Namur fell three weeks later, but harmed Louis XIV's reputation: a century later, Napoleon deemed the bombardment "as barbarous as it was useless."[64]
Peace was broached by Sweden in 1690. By 1692, both sides evidently wanted peace, and secret bilateral talks began, but to no avail.[65] Louis tried to break up the alliance against him by dealing with individual opponents, but this did not achieve its aim until 1696, when the Savoyards agreed to the Treaty of Turin and switched sides. Thereafter, members of the League of Augsburg rushed to the peace table, and negotiations for a general peace began in earnest, culminating in the Treaty of Ryswick of 1697.[66]
Treaty of Ryswick[edit]
Main article: Treaty of Ryswick
The Treaty of Ryswick ended the War of the League of Augsburg and disbanded the Grand Alliance. By manipulating their rivalries and suspicions, Louis divided his enemies and broke their power.
The treaty yielded many benefits for France. Louis secured permanent French sovereignty over all of Alsace, including Strasbourg, and established the Rhine as the Franco-German border (which persists to this day). Pondichéry and Acadia were returned to France, and Louis' de facto possession of Saint-Domingue was recognised as lawful. However, he returned Catalonia and most of the Reunions.
French military superiority might have allowed him to press for more advantageous terms. Thus, his generosity to Spain with regard to Catalonia has been read as a concession to foster pro-French sentiment and may ultimately have induced King Charles II to name Louis' grandson Philip, Duke of Anjou, as heir to the throne of Spain.[67] In exchange for financial compensation, France renounced its interests in the Electorate of Cologne and the Palatinate. Lorraine, which had been occupied by the French since 1670, was returned to its rightful Duke Leopold, albeit with a right of way to the French military. William and Mary were recognised as joint sovereigns of the British Isles, and Louis withdrew support for James II. The Dutch were given the right to garrison forts in the Spanish Netherlands that acted as a protective barrier against possible French aggression. Though in some respects, the Treaty of Ryswick may appear a diplomatic defeat for Louis since he failed to place client rulers in control of the Palatinate or the Electorate of Cologne, he did in fact fulfill many of the aims laid down in his 1688 ultimatum.[68] In any case, peace in 1697 was desirable to Louis, since France was exhausted from the costs of the war.
War of the Spanish Succession[edit]
Main article: War of the Spanish Succession
Causes and build-up to the war[edit]
Philip V of Spain
By the time of the Treaty of Ryswick, the Spanish succession had been a source of concern to European leaders for well over forty years. King Charles II ruled a vast empire comprising Spain, Naples, Sicily, Milan, the Spanish Netherlands, and numerous Spanish colonies. He produced no children, however, and consequently had no direct heirs.
The principal claimants to the throne of Spain belonged to the ruling families of France and Austria. The French claim derived from Louis XIV's mother Anne of Austria (the older sister of Philip IV of Spain) and his wife Maria Theresa (Philip IV's eldest daughter). Based on the laws of primogeniture, France had the better claim as it originated from the eldest daughters in two generations. However, their renunciation of succession rights complicated matters. In the case of Maria Theresa, nonetheless, the renunciation was considered null and void owing to Spain's breach of her marriage contract with Louis. In contrast, no renunciations tainted the claims of the Emperor Leopold I's son Charles, Archduke of Austria, who was a grandson of Philip III's youngest daughter Maria Anna. The English and Dutch feared that a French or Austrian-born Spanish king would threaten the balance of power and thus preferred the Bavarian Prince Joseph Ferdinand, a grandson of Leopold I through his first wife Margaret Theresa of Spain (the younger daughter of Philip IV).
In an attempt to avoid war, Louis signed the Treaty of the Hague with William III of England in 1698. This agreement divided Spain's Italian territories between Louis's son le Grand Dauphin and the Archduke Charles, with the rest of the empire awarded to Joseph Ferdinand. William III consented to permitting the Dauphin's new territories to become part of France when the latter succeeded to his father's throne.[69] The signatories, however, omitted to consult the ruler of these lands, and Charles II was passionately opposed to the dismemberment of his empire. In 1699, he re-confirmed his 1693 will that named Joseph Ferdinand as his sole successor.[70]
Six months later, Joseph Ferdinand died. Therefore, in 1700, Louis and William III concluded a fresh partitioning agreement, the Treaty of London. This allocated Spain, the Low Countries, and the Spanish colonies to the Archduke. The Dauphin would receive all of Spain's Italian territories.[71] Charles II acknowledged that his empire could only remain undivided by bequeathing it entirely to a Frenchman or an Austrian. Under pressure from his German wife, Maria Anna of Neuburg, Charles II named the Archduke Charles as his sole heir.
Acceptance of the will of Charles II and consequences[edit]
Louis in 1701.
On his deathbed in 1700, Charles II unexpectedly changed his will. The clear demonstration of French military superiority for many decades before this time, the pro-French faction at the court of Spain, and even Pope Innocent XII convinced him that France was more likely to preserve his empire intact. He thus offered the entire empire to the Dauphin's second son Philip, Duke of Anjou, provided it remained undivided. Anjou was not in the direct line of French succession, thus his accession would not cause a Franco-Spanish union.[71] If Anjou refused, the throne would be offered to his younger brother Charles, Duke of Berry. If the Duke of Berry declined it, it would go to the Archduke Charles, then to the distantly related House of Savoy if Charles declined it.[72]
Louis was confronted with a difficult choice. He might agree to a partition of the Spanish possessions and avoid a general war, or accept Charles II's will and alienate much of Europe. Initially, Louis may have been inclined to abide by the partition treaties. However, the Dauphin's insistence persuaded Louis otherwise.[73] Moreover, Louis's foreign minister, Jean-Baptiste Colbert, marquis de Torcy, pointed out that war with the Emperor would almost certainly ensue whether Louis accepted the partition treaties or Charles II's will. He emphasised that, should it come to war, William III was unlikely to stand by France since he "made a treaty to avoid war and did not intend to go to war to implement the treaty".[70] Indeed, in the event of a war, it might be preferable to be already in control of the disputed lands. Eventually, therefore, Louis decided to accept Charles II's will. Philip, Duke of Anjou, thus became Philip V, King of Spain.
Most European rulers accepted Philip as king, though some only reluctantly. Depending on one's views of the war as inevitable or not, Louis acted reasonably or arrogantly.[74] He confirmed that Philip V retained his French rights despite his new Spanish position. Admittedly, he may only have been hypothesising a theoretical eventuality and not attempting a Franco-Spanish union. But his actions were certainly not read as being disinterested. Moreover, Louis sent troops to the Spanish Netherlands to evict Dutch garrisons and secure Dutch recognition of Philip V. In 1701, Philip transferred the asiento (the right to supply slaves to Spanish colonies) to France, alienating English traders. As tensions mounted, Louis decided to acknowledge James Stuart, the son of James II, as king of England on the latter's death, infuriating William III. These actions enraged Britain and the Dutch Republic.[75] With the Holy Roman Emperor and the petty German states, they formed another Grand Alliance and declared war on France in 1702. French diplomacy, however, secured Bavaria, Portugal, and Savoy as Franco-Spanish allies.[76]
Commencement of fighting[edit]
The Franco-Spanish army led by the Duke of Berwick defeated decisively the Alliance forces of Portugal, England, and the Dutch Republic at the Battle of Almansa.
The Battle of Ramillies between the French and the English, 23 May 1706.
Even before war was officially declared, hostilities began with Imperial aggression in Italy. When finally declared, the War of the Spanish Succession would last almost until Louis's death, at great cost to him and the kingdom of France.
The war began with French successes, however the joint talents of John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough, and Eugene of Savoy checked these victories and broke the myth of French invincibility. The duo allowed the Palatinate and Austria to occupy Bavaria after their victory at the Battle of Blenheim. Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria, had to flee to the Spanish Netherlands. The impact of this victory won the support of Portugal and Savoy. Later, the Battle of Ramillies delivered the Low Countries up to the Allies, and the Battle of Turin forced Louis to evacuate Italy, leaving it open to Allied forces. Marlborough and Eugene of Savoy met again at the Battle of Oudenarde, which enabled them to mount an invasion of France.
France established contact with Francis II Rákóczi and promised support if he took up the cause of Hungarian independence.
Defeats, famine, and mounting debt greatly weakened France. Between 1693 and 1710, over two million people died in two famines, made worse as foraging armies seized food supplies from the villages.[77][78] In his desperation, Louis XIV even ordered a disastrous invasion of the English island of Guernsey in the autumn of 1704 with the aim of raiding their successful harvest. By the winter of 1708–1709, Louis was willing to accept peace at nearly any cost. He agreed that the entire Spanish empire should be surrendered to the Archduke Charles, and he also consented to return to the frontiers of the Peace of Westphalia, giving up all the territories he had acquired over sixty years of his reign. He could not speak for his grandson, however, and could not promise that Philip V would accept these terms. Thus, the Allies demanded that Louis single-handedly attack his own grandson to force these terms on him. If he could not achieve this within the year, the war would resume. Louis could not accept these terms.[79]
Turning point[edit]
Louis XIV depicted on a Louis d'or in 1709
The final phases of the War of the Spanish Succession demonstrated that the Allies could not maintain the Archduke Charles in Spain just as surely as France could not retain the entire Spanish inheritance for King Philip V. The Allies were definitively expelled from central Spain by the Franco-Spanish victories at the Battles of Villaviciosa and Brihuega in 1710. French forces elsewhere remained obdurate despite their defeats. The Allies suffered a Pyrrhic victory at the Battle of Malplaquet with 21,000 casualties, twice that of the French.[80] Eventually, France recovered its military pride with the decisive victory at Denain in 1712.
French military successes near the end of the war took place against the background of a changed political situation in Austria. In 1705, the Emperor Leopold I died. His elder son and successor, Joseph I, followed him in 1711. His heir was none other than the Archduke Charles, who secured control of all of his brother's Austrian land holdings. If the Spanish empire then fell to him, it would have resurrected a domain as vast as that of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V in the sixteenth century. To the maritime powers of Great Britain and the Dutch Republic, this would have been as undesirable as a Franco-Spanish union.[81]
Conclusion of peace[edit]
Map of France after the death of Louis XIV
As a result of the fresh British perspective on the European balance of power, Anglo-French talks began that culminated in the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht between Louis, Philip V of Spain, Anne, Queen of Great Britain, and the Dutch Republic. In 1714, after losing Landau and Freiburg, the Holy Roman Emperor also made peace with France in the Treaties of Rastatt and Baden.
In the general settlement, Philip V retained Spain and its colonies, whereas Austria received the Spanish Netherlands and divided Spanish Italy with Savoy. Britain kept Gibraltar and Menorca. Louis agreed to withdraw his support for James Stuart, son of James II and pretender to the throne of Great Britain, and ceded Newfoundland, Rupert's Land, and Acadia in the Americas to Anne. Britain gained most from the Treaty of Utrecht, but the final terms were much more favourable to France than what was being discussed in peace negotiations in 1709 and 1710.[citation needed] France retained Île-Saint-Jean and Île Royale, and Louis did acquire a few minor European territories, such as the Principality of Orange and the Ubaye Valley, which covered transalpine passes into Italy. Thanks to Louis, his allies the Electors of Bavaria and Cologne were restored to their pre-war status and returned their lands.[82]
Personal life[edit]
Marriages and children[edit]
Dual Cypher of King Louis XIV & Queen Marie Thérèse.
Louis and his wife Maria Theresa of Spain had six children from the marriage contracted for them in 1660. However, only one child, the eldest, survived to adulthood: Louis, le Grand Dauphin, known as Monseigneur. Maria Theresa died in 1683, whereupon Louis remarked that she had never caused him unease on any other occasion.
Despite evidence of affection early on in their marriage, Louis was never faithful to Maria Theresa. He took a series of mistresses, both official and unofficial. Among the better documented are Louise de La Vallière (with whom he had 5 children; 1661–67), Bonne de Pons d'Heudicourt (1665), Catherine Charlotte de Gramont (1665), Françoise-Athénaïs, Marquise de Montespan (with whom he had 7 children; 1667–80), Anne de Rohan-Chabot (1669–75), Claude de Vin des Œillets (1 child born in 1676), Isabelle de Ludres (1675–78), and Marie Angélique de Scorailles (1679–81), who died at age 19 in childbirth. Through these liaisons, he produced numerous illegitimate children, most of whom he married to members of cadet branches of the royal family.
Louis proved relatively more faithful to his second wife, Françoise d'Aubigné, Marquise de Maintenon. He first met her through her work caring for his children by Madame de Montespan, noting the care she gave to his favorite, Louis Auguste, Duke of Maine.[83] The king was, at first, put off by her strict religious practice, but he warmed to her through her care for his children.[83]
When he legitimized his children by Madame de Montespan on 20 December 1673, Françoise d'Aubigné became the royal governess at Saint-Germain.[83] As governess, she was one of very few people permitted to speak to him as an equal, without limits.[83] It is believed that they were married secretly at Versailles on or around 10 October 1683[84] or January 1684.[85] This marriage, though never announced or publicly discussed, was an open secret and lasted until his death.[86]
Piety and religion[edit]
Louis XIV encouraged Catholic missions through the creation of the Paris Foreign Missions Society.
Louis was a pious and devout king who saw himself as the head and protector of the Gallican Church. Louis made his devotions daily regardless of where he was, following the liturgical calendar regularly.[87] Under the influence of his very religious second wife, he became much stronger in the practice of his Catholic faith.[88] This included the banning of opera and comedy performances during Lent.[88]
Towards the middle and the end of his reign, the centre for the King's religious observances was usually the Chapelle Royale at Versailles. Ostentation was a distinguishing feature of daily Mass, annual celebrations, such as those of Holy Week, and special ceremonies.[89] Louis established the Paris Foreign Missions Society, but his informal alliance with the Ottoman Empire was criticised for undermining Christendom.[90]
Patronage of the arts[edit]
Painting from 1667 depicting Louis as patron of the fine arts
The Cour royale and the Cour de marbre at Versailles
See also: Style Louis XIV
Louis generously supported the royal court of France and those who worked under him. He brought the Académie Française under his patronage and became its "Protector". He allowed Classical French literature to flourish by protecting such writers as Molière, Racine, and La Fontaine, whose works remain greatly influential to this day. Louis also patronised the visual arts by funding and commissioning various artists, such as Charles Le Brun, Pierre Mignard, Antoine Coysevox, and Hyacinthe Rigaud, whose works became famous throughout Europe. In music, composers and musicians such as Jean-Baptiste Lully, Jacques Champion de Chambonnières, and François Couperin thrived. In 1661, Louis founded the Académie Royale de Danse, and in 1669, the Académie d'Opéra, important driving events in the evolution of ballet. The King also attracted, supported and patronized such artists as André Charles Boulle who revolutionised marquetry with his art of inlay, today known as "Boulle Work".
Over the course of four building campaigns, Louis converted a hunting lodge built by Louis XIII into the spectacular Palace of Versailles. With the exception of the current Royal Chapel (built near the end of Louis' reign), the palace achieved much of its current appearance after the third building campaign, which was followed by an official move of the royal court to Versailles on 6 May 1682. Versailles became a dazzling, awe-inspiring setting for state affairs and the reception of foreign dignitaries. At Versailles, the king alone commanded attention.
Bust of Louis XIV by Gianlorenzo Bernini
Several reasons have been suggested for the creation of the extravagant and stately palace, as well as the relocation of the monarchy's seat. For example, the memoirist Saint-Simon speculated that Louis viewed Versailles as an isolated power center where treasonous cabals could be more readily discovered and foiled.[42] Alternatively, there has been speculation that the revolt of the Fronde caused Louis to hate Paris, which he abandoned for a country retreat. However, his sponsorship of many public works in Paris, such as the establishment of a police force and of street-lighting,[91] lend little credence to this theory. As a further example of his continued care for the capital, Louis constructed the Hôtel des Invalides, a military complex and home to this day for officers and soldiers rendered infirm either by injury or old age. While pharmacology was still quite rudimentary in his day, the Invalides pioneered new treatments and set new standards for hospice treatment. The conclusion of the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, in 1668, also induced Louis to demolish the northern walls of Paris in 1670 and replace them with wide tree-lined boulevards.[92]
Louis also renovated and improved the Louvre and other royal residences. Gian Lorenzo Bernini was originally to plan additions to the Louvre; however, his plans would have meant the destruction of much of the existing structure, replacing it with an Italian summer villa in the centre of Paris. Bernini's plans were eventually shelved in favour of Perrault's elegant colonnade. With the relocation of the court to Versailles, the Louvre was given over to the arts and the public.[93] During his visit from Rome, Bernini also executed a renowned portrait bust of the king.
Image and depiction[edit]
Bronze bust of Louis XIV. Circa 1660, by an unknown artist. From Paris, France. The Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
Few rulers in world history have commemorated themselves in as grand a manner as Louis.[94] Louis used court ritual and the arts to validate and augment his control over France. With his support, Colbert established from the beginning of Louis' personal reign a centralised and institutionalised system for creating and perpetuating the royal image. The King was thus portrayed largely in majesty or at war, notably against Spain. This portrayal of the monarch was to be found in numerous media of artistic expression, such as painting, sculpture, theatre, dance, music, and the almanacs that diffused royal propaganda to the population at large.
Evolution of royal portraiture[edit]
Le roi gouverne par lui-même, modello for the central panel of the ceiling of the Hall of Mirrors ca. 1680 by Le Brun, (1619–1690)
Over his lifetime, Louis commissioned numerous works of art to portray himself, among them over 300 formal portraits. The earliest portrayals of Louis already followed the pictorial conventions of the day in depicting the child king as the majestically royal incarnation of France. This idealisation of the monarch continued in later works, which avoided depictions of the effect of the smallpox that Louis contracted in 1647. In the 1660s, Louis began to be shown as a Roman emperor, the god Apollo, or Alexander the Great, as can be seen in many works of Charles Le Brun, such as sculpture, paintings, and the decor of major monuments.
The depiction of the king in this manner focused on allegorical or mythological attributes, instead of attempting to produce a true likeness. As Louis aged, so too did the manner in which he was depicted. Nonetheless, there was still a disparity between realistic representation and the demands of royal propaganda. There is no better illustration of this than in Hyacinthe Rigaud's frequently-reproduced Portrait of Louis XIV of 1701, in which a 63-year-old Louis appears to stand on a set of unnaturally young legs.[95]
Rigaud's portrait exemplified the height of royal portraiture during Louis' reign. Although Rigaud crafted a credible likeness of Louis, the portrait was neither meant as an exercise in realism nor to explore Louis' personal character. Certainly, Rigaud was concerned with detail and depicted the king's costume with great precision, down to his shoe buckle.[96]
However, Rigaud's intention was to glorify the monarchy. Rigaud's original, now housed in the Louvre, was originally meant as a gift to Louis' grandson, Philip V of Spain. However, Louis was so pleased with the work that he kept the original and commissioned a copy to be sent to his grandson. That became the first of many copies, both in full and half-length formats, to be made by Rigaud, often with the help of his assistants. The portrait also became a model for French royal and imperial portraiture down to the time of Charles X over a century later. In his work, Rigaud proclaims Louis' exalted royal status through his elegant stance and haughty expression, the royal regalia and throne, rich ceremonial fleur-de-lys robes, as well as the upright column in the background, which, together with the draperies, serves to frame this image of majesty.
Other works of art[edit]
In addition to portraits, Louis commissioned at least 20 statues of himself in the 1680s, to stand in Paris and provincial towns as physical manifestations of his rule. He also commissioned "war artists" to follow him on campaigns to document his military triumphs. To remind the people of these triumphs, Louis erected permanent triumphal arches in Paris and the provinces for the first time since the decline of the Roman Empire.
Louis' reign marked the birth and infancy of the art of medallions. Sixteenth-century rulers had often issued medals in small numbers to commemorate the major events of their reigns. Louis, however, struck more than 300 to celebrate the story of the king in bronze, that were enshrined in thousands of households throughout France.
He also used tapestries as a medium of exalting the monarchy. Tapestries could be allegorical, depicting the elements or seasons, or realist, portraying royal residences or historical events. They were among the most significant means to spread royal propaganda prior to the construction of the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles.[97]
Ballet[edit]
Hall of Mirrors, Palace of Versailles
Louis loved ballet and frequently danced in court ballets during the early half of his reign. In general, Louis was an eager dancer who performed 80 roles in 40 major ballets. This approaches the career of a professional ballet dancer.[98]
His choices were strategic and varied. He danced four parts in three of Molière's comédies-ballets, which are plays accompanied by music and dance. Louis played an Egyptian in Le Mariage forcé in 1664, a Moorish gentleman in Le Sicilien in 1667, and both Neptune and Apollo in Les Amants magnifiques in 1670.
He sometimes danced leading roles which were suitably royal or godlike (such as Neptune, Apollo, or the Sun).[98] At other times, he would adopt mundane roles before appearing at the end in the lead role. It is considered that, at all times, he provided his roles with sufficient majesty and drew the limelight with his flair for dancing.[98] For Louis, ballet may not have merely been a tool for manipulation in his propaganda machinery. The sheer number of performances he gave as well as the diversity of roles he played may serve to indicate a deeper understanding and interest in the art form.[citation needed]
Unofficial image[edit]
Besides the official depiction and image of Louis, his subjects also followed a non-official discourse consisting mainly of clandestine publications, popular songs, and rumors that provided an alternative interpretation of Louis and his government. They often focused on the miseries arising from poor government, but also carried the hope for a better future when Louis escaped the malignant influence of his ministers and mistresses, and took the government into his own hands. On the other hand, petitions addressed either directly to Louis or to his ministers exploited the traditional imagery and language of monarchy. These varying interpretations of Louis abounded in self-contradictions that reflected the people's amalgamation of their everyday experiences with the idea of monarchy.[99]
In fiction[edit]
Literature[edit]
Alexandre Dumas portrayed Louis in his two sequels to The Three Musketeers: first as a child in Twenty Years After, then as a young man in The Vicomte de Bragelonne, in which he is a central character. The final part of the latter novel recounts the legend that a mysterious prisoner in an iron mask was actually Louis' twin brother and has spawned numerous film adaptations generally titled The Man in the Iron Mask.
In 1910, the American historical novelist Charles Major wrote "The Little King: A Story of the Childhood of King Louis XIV".
Louis is a major character in the 1959 historical novel "Angélique et le Roy" ("Angélique and the King"), part of the Angelique Series. The protagonist, a strong-willed lady at Versailles, rejects the King's advances and refuses to become his mistress. A later book, the 1961 "Angélique se révolte" ("Angélique in Revolt"), details the dire consequences of her defying this powerful monarch.
A character based on Louis plays an important role in The Age of Unreason, a series of four alternate history novels written by American science fiction and fantasy author Gregory Keyes.
Louis features significantly in Neal Stephenson's Baroque Cycle, specifically The Confusion, the greater part of which takes place at Versailles.
In the 39 Clues series universe, it has been noted that Louis was part of the Cahill branch, Tomas.
He is called the son of Apollo in Rick Riordan's Trials of Apollo series.
Films[edit]
The film, The Taking of Power by Louis XIV (1966), directed by Roberto Rossellini, shows Louis's rise to power after the death of Cardinal Mazarin.
The film, Le Roi Danse (2000; translated: The King Dances), directed by Gérard Corbiau, reveals Louis through the eyes of Jean-Baptiste Lully, his court musician. Julian Sands portrayed Louis in Roland Jaffe's Vatel (2000).
Alan Rickman directed, co-wrote, and stars as Louis XIV in the film, A Little Chaos, which centers on construction in the gardens of Versaille, at the time immediately before and after the death of Queen Maria Theresa.
The 2016 film The Death of Louis XIV, directed by Albert Serra, is set during the last two weeks of Louis XIV's life before dying of gangrene, with the monarch played by Jean-Pierre Léaud.
Television[edit]
The 15-year-old Louis XIV, as played by the Irish actor Robert Sheehan, is a major character of the short-lived historical fantasy series Young Blades from January to June 2005.
George Blagden portrays Louis XIV in the Canal+ series Versailles which aired for three seasons from 2015.
Health and death[edit]
Louis XIV (seated) with his son le Grand Dauphin (to the left), his grandson Louis, Duke of Burgundy (to the right), his great-grandson Louis Duke of Anjou, and Madame de Ventadour, Anjou's governess, who commissioned this painting; busts of Henry IV and Louis XIII are in the background.
Despite the image of a healthy and virile king that Louis sought to project, evidence exists to suggest that his health was not that good. He had many ailments: for example, symptoms of diabetes, as confirmed in reports of suppurating periostitis in 1678, dental abscesses in 1696, along with recurring boils, fainting spells, gout, dizziness, hot flushes, and headaches.
From 1647 to 1711, the three chief physicians to the king (Antoine Vallot, Antoine d'Aquin, and Guy-Crescent Fagon) recorded all of his health problems in the Journal de Santé du Roi (Journal of the King's Health), a daily report of his health. On 18 November 1686, Louis underwent a painful operation for an anal fistula that was performed by the surgeon Charles Felix de Tassy, who prepared a specially shaped curved scalpel for the occasion. The wound took more than two months to heal.[100]
Louis died of gangrene at Versailles on 1 September 1715, four days before his 77th birthday, after 72 years on the throne. Enduring much pain in his last days, he finally "yielded up his soul without any effort, like a candle going out", while reciting the psalm Domine, ad adjuvandum me festina (O Lord, make haste to help me).[101] His body was laid to rest in Saint-Denis Basilica outside Paris. It remained there undisturbed for about 80 years, until revolutionaries exhumed and destroyed all of the remains found in the Basilica.[102]
Succession[edit]
Louis outlived most of his immediate legitimate family. His last surviving son, the Dauphin, died in 1711. Barely a year later, the Duke of Burgundy, the eldest of the Dauphin's three sons and then heir to Louis, followed his father. Burgundy's elder son, Louis, Duke of Brittany, joined them a few weeks later. Thus, on his deathbed, Louis' heir was his five year old great-grandson, Louis, Duke of Anjou, Burgundy's younger son.
Louis foresaw an underaged heir and sought to restrict the power of his nephew Philip II, Duke of Orléans, who, as his closest surviving legitimate relative in France, would likely become regent to the prospective Louis XV. Accordingly, the king created a regency council as Louis XIII had in anticipation of his own minority, with some power vested in his illegitimate son Louis-Auguste de Bourbon, Duke of Maine.[103] Orléans, however, had Louis' will annulled by the Parlement of Paris after his death and made himself sole regent. He stripped Maine and his brother, Louis-Alexandre, Count of Toulouse, of the rank of Prince of the Blood, which Louis had granted them, and significantly reduced Maine's power and privileges.[104]
Line of succession in 1715[edit]
Line of succession to the French throne upon the death of Louis XIV in 1715. Louis XIV's only surviving legitimate grandson Philip V was not included in the line of succession due to having renounced the French throne after the war of the Spanish succession which lasted for 13 years after the death of Charles II of Spain in 1700.[105]
Louis XIII (1601–1643)
Louis XIV (1638–1715)
Louis, Grand Dauphin (1661–1711)
Louis, Duke of Burgundy (1682–1712)
Louis, Duke of Brittany (1707–1712)
(1) Louis, Duke of Anjou (1710–)
Philip V of Spain (1683–)
Charles, Duke of Berry (1686–1714)
Philippe I, Duke of Orléans (1640–1701)
(2) Philippe II, Duke of Orléans (1674–)
(3) Louis, Duke of Chartres (1703–)
Legacy[edit]
Reputation[edit]
According to Philippe de Dangeau's Journal, Louis on his deathbed advised his heir with these words:
Do not follow the bad example which I have set you; I have often undertaken war too lightly and have sustained it for vanity. Do not imitate me, but be a peaceful prince, and may you apply yourself principally to the alleviation of the burdens of your subjects.[106]
Territorial expansion of France under Louis XIV (1643–1715) is depicted in orange
Some historians point out that it was a customary demonstration of piety in those days to exaggerate one's sins. Thus they do not place much emphasis on Louis' deathbed declarations in assessing his accomplishments. Rather, they focus on military and diplomatic successes, such as how he placed a French prince on the Spanish throne. This, they contend, ended the threat of an aggressive Spain that historically interfered in domestic French politics. These historians also emphasise the effect of Louis' wars in expanding France's boundaries and creating more defensible frontiers that preserved France from invasion until the Revolution.[106]
Arguably, Louis also applied himself indirectly to "the alleviation of the burdens of [his] subjects." For example, he patronised the arts, encouraged industry, fostered trade and commerce, and sponsored the founding of an overseas empire. Moreover, the significant reduction in civil wars and aristocratic rebellions during his reign are seen by these historians as the result of Louis' consolidation of royal authority over feudal elites.[107] In their analysis, his early reforms centralised France and marked the birth of the modern French state. They regard the political and military victories as well as numerous cultural achievements as the means by which Louis helped raise France to a preeminent position in Europe.[108] Europe came to admire France for its military and cultural successes, power, and sophistication. Europeans generally began to emulate French manners, values, goods, and deportment. French became the universal language of the European elite.
Louis' detractors have argued that his considerable foreign, military, and domestic expenditure impoverished and bankrupted France. His supporters, however, distinguish the state, which was impoverished, from France, which was not. As supporting evidence, they cite the literature of the time, such as the social commentary in Montesquieu's Persian Letters.[109]
Alternatively, Louis' critics attribute the social upheaval culminating in the French Revolution to his failure to reform French institutions while the monarchy was still secure. Other scholars counter that there was little reason to reform institutions that largely worked well under Louis. They also maintain that events occurring almost 80 years after his death were not reasonably foreseeable to Louis, and that in any case, his successors had sufficient time to initiate reforms of their own.[110]
Royal procession passing the Pont-Neuf under Louis XIV
Louis has often been criticised for his vanity. The memoirist Saint-Simon, who claimed that Louis slighted him, criticised him thusly:
There was nothing he liked so much as flattery, or, to put it more plainly, adulation; the coarser and clumsier it was, the more he relished it.
For his part, Voltaire saw Louis' vanity as the cause for his bellicosity:
It is certain that he passionately wanted glory, rather than the conquests themselves. In the acquisition of Alsace and half of Flanders, and of all of Franche-Comté, what he really liked was the name he made for himself.[111]
Nonetheless, Louis has also received praise. The anti-Bourbon Napoleon described him not only as "a great king", but also as "the only King of France worthy of the name".[112] Leibniz, the German Protestant philosopher, commended him as "one of the greatest kings that ever was".[113] And Lord Acton admired him as "by far the ablest man who was born in modern times on the steps of a throne".[114] The historian and philosopher Voltaire wrote: "His name can never be pronounced without respect and without summoning the image of an eternally memorable age".[115] Voltaire's history, The Age of Louis XIV, named Louis' reign as not only one of the four great ages in which reason and culture flourished, but the greatest ever.[116][117]
In 1848, at Nuneham House, a piece of Louis' mummified heart, taken from his tomb and kept in a silver locket by Lord Harcourt, Archbishop of York, was shown to the Dean of Westminster, William Buckland, who ate it.[118]
Quotes[edit]
Wikiquote has quotations related to: Louis XIV of France
Numerous quotes have been attributed to Louis XIV by legend. The well-known "I am the state" ("L'état, c'est moi.") was reported from at least the late 18th century.[119] It was widely repeated but also denounced as apocryphal by the early 19th century.[120]
He did say, "Every time I appoint someone to a vacant position, I make a hundred unhappy and one ungrateful." [121][122] Louis is recorded by numerous eyewitnesses as having said on his deathbed: "Je m'en vais, mais l'État demeurera toujours." ("I depart, but the State shall always remain.")[123]
Titles, styles, honours and arms[edit]
Royal styles of
King Louis XIV
Par la grâce de Dieu,
Roi de France et de Navarre
Reference style
His Most Christian Majesty
Spoken style
Your Most Christian Majesty
Alternative style
Monsieur Le Roi
Titles and styles[edit]
5 September 1638 – 14 May 1643 His Royal Highness The Dauphin of France
14 May 1643 – 1 September 1715 His Most Christian Majesty The King of France
Louis's formal style was "Louis XIV, par la grâce de Dieu, roi de France et de Navarre", or "Louis XIV, by the Grace of God, King of France and of Navarre".
Arms[edit]
Coat of arms of Louis XIV of France show
Notes
Upon his accession to the throne Louis assumed the royal coat of arms of France & Navarre.[124]
Adopted
1643 - 1715
Crest
The Royal crown of France
Helm
An opened gold helmet, with blue and gold mantling.
Escutcheon
Azure, three fleurs-de-lis Or (for France) impaling Gules on a chain in cross saltire and orle Or an emerald Proper (for Navarre).
Supporters
The two supporters are two angels, acting as heralds for the two realms. The dexter angel carries a standard with the arms of France, and wearing a tabard with the same arms. The sinister angel also carries a standard and wears a tabard, but that of Navarre. Both are standing on puffs of cloud.
Motto
The motto is written in gold on a blue ribbon: MONTJOIE SAINT DENIS the war cry of France, Saint Denis was also the abbey where the oriflamme was kept.
Orders
The escutcheons are surrounded first by the chain of the Order of Saint Michael and by the chain of the Order of the Holy Spirit, both were known as the ordres du roi.
Other elements
Above all is a pavilion armoyé with the Royal crown. From it, is a royal blue mantle with a semis of fleurs-de-lis Or, lined on the inside with ermine.
Banner
Royal standard of the king
Order of Saint Louis[edit]
On 5 April 1693, Louis also founded the Royal and Military Order of Saint Louis (French: Ordre Royal et Militaire de Saint-Louis), a military order of chivalry.[125][126] He named it after Louis IX and intended it as a reward for outstanding officers. It is notable as the first decoration that could be granted to non-nobles and is roughly the forerunner of the Légion d'honneur, with which it shares the red ribbon (though the Légion d'honneur is awarded to military personnel and civilians alike).
Family[edit]
Ancestors[edit]
showAncestors of Louis XIV of France
16. Charles, Duke of Vendôme[133]
8. Antoine of Navarre[129]
17. Françoise of Alençon[133]
4. Henry IV of France[127]
18. Henry II of Navarre[134]
9. Jeanne III of Navarre[129]
19. Marguerite of Angoulême[134]
2. Louis XIII of France
20. Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany[135]
10. Francesco I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany[130]
21. Eleanor of Toledo[135]
5. Marie de' Medici[127]
22. Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor[136] (= 28)
11. Joanna of Austria[130]
23. Anne of Bohemia and Hungary[136] (= 29)
1. Louis XIV of France
24. Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor[137]
12. Philip II of Spain[131]
25. Isabella of Portugal[137]
6. Philip III of Spain[128]
26. Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor[138]
13. Anna of Austria[131] (≠ 31)
27. Maria of Austria[138]
3. Anne of Austria
28. Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor[139] (= 22)
14. Charles II, Archduke of Inner Austria[132]
29. Anne of Bohemia and Hungary[139] (= 23)
7. Margaret of Austria[128]
30. Albert V, Duke of Bavaria[140]
15. Maria Anna of Bavaria[132]
31. Anna of Austria[140] (≠ 13)
Patrilineal descent[edit]
showPatrilineal descent
Louis' patriline is the line from which he is descended father to son.
Patrilineal descent is the principle behind membership in royal houses, as it can be traced back through the generations - which means that if King Louis were to choose an historically accurate house name it would be Robertian, as all his male-line ancestors have been of that house.
Louis is a member of the House of Bourbon, a branch of the Capetian dynasty and of the Robertians.
Louis' patriline is the line from which he is descended father to son. It follows the Bourbon, Kings of France, and the Counts of Paris and Worms. This line can be traced back more than 1,200 years from Robert of Hesbaye to the present day, through Kings of France & Navarre, Spain and Two-Sicilies, Dukes of Parma and Grand-Dukes of Luxembourg, Princes of Orléans and Emperors of Brazil. It is one of the oldest in Europe.
Robert II of Worms and Rheingau (Robert of Hesbaye), 770–807
Robert III of Worms and Rheingau, 808–834
Robert IV the Strong, 820–866
Robert I of France, 866–923
Hugh the Great, 895–956
Hugh Capet, 941–996
Robert II of France, 972–1031
Henry I of France, 1008–1060
Philip I of France, 1053–1108
Louis VI of France, 1081–1137
Louis VII of France, 1120–1180
Philip II of France, 1165–1223
Louis VIII of France, 1187–1226
Louis IX of France, 1215–1270
Robert, Count of Clermont, 1256–1317
Louis I, Duke of Bourbon, 1279–1342
James I, Count of La Marche, 1319–1362
John I, Count of La Marche, 1344–1393
Louis, Count of Vendôme, 1376–1446
Jean VIII, Count of Vendôme, 1428–1478
François, Count of Vendôme, 1470–1495
Charles de Bourbon, Duke of Vendôme, 1489–1537
Antoine, King of Navarre, Duke of Vendôme, 1518–1562
Henry IV, King of France and of Navarre, 1553–1610
Louis XIII, King of France and Navarre, 1601–1643
Louis XIV, King of France and Navarre, 1638–1715
Issue[edit]
Main article: Descendants of Louis XIV of France
Name
Birth
Death
Notes
By Maria Theresa, Infanta of Spain, Archduchess of Austria, Queen of France and of Navarre (20 September 1638 – 30 July 1683)
Louis, le Grand Dauphin 1 November 1661 14 April 1711 Fils de France. Dauphin of France (1661–1711). Had issue. Father of Louis, Dauphin of France, Philip V of Spain and Charles, Duke of Berry. Grandfather of Louis XV of France
Anne Élisabeth 18 November 1662 30 December 1662 Fille de France. Died in infancy.
Marie Anne 16 November 1664 26 December 1664 Fille de France. Died in infancy.
Marie Thérèse 2 January 1667 1 March 1672 Fille de France. Known as Madame Royale and la Petite Madame. Died in childhood.
Philippe Charles, Duke of Anjou 5 August 1668 10 July 1671 Fils de France. Died in childhood.
Louis François, Duke of Anjou 14 June 1672 4 November 1672 Fils de France. Died in infancy.
This is an incomplete list of Louis XIV's illegitimate children. He reputedly had more, but the difficulty in fully documenting all such births restricts the list only to the better-known and legitimised.
Name
Birth
Death
Notes
By NN, a gardener
Daughter 1660 unknown She married N de la Queue, a sentry.[141]
By Louise de La Vallière (6 August 1644 – 6 June 1710)
Charles de La Baume Le Blanc 19 December 1663 15 July 1665 (aged 1) Not legitimised.
Philippe de La Baume Le Blanc 7 January 1665 1666 (aged 1) Not legitimised.
Louis de La Baume Le Blanc 27 December 1665 1666 (aged 1) Not legitimised.[142][143]
Marie Anne de Bourbon 2 October 1666 3 May 1739 (aged 73) Legitimised on 14 May 1667. Married Louis Armand I, Prince of Conti.
Louis, Count of Vermandois 3 October 1667 18 November 1683 (aged 16) Legitimised on 20 February 1669. Held the office of Admiral of France.
By Françoise-Athénaïs, marquise de Montespan (5 October 1641 – 27 May 1707)
Louise Françoise de Bourbon at the end of March, 1669 23 February 1672 (aged 2)
Louis Auguste, Duke of Maine 31 March 1670 14 May 1736 (aged 66) Legitimised on 20 December 1673. Held numerous offices, of which: Colonel General of the Suisses et Grisons, Governor of Languedoc, General of the Galleys, and Grand Master of Artillery. Also Duke of Aumale, Count of Eu and Prince of Dombes. Had issue. Founder of the Maine Line.
Louis César, Count of Vexin 20 June 1672 10 January 1683 (aged 10) Legitimised on 20 December 1673.
Louise Françoise de Bourbon 1 June 1673 16 June 1743 (aged 70) Legitimised on 20 December 1673. Married Louis III, Prince of Condé. Had issue.
Louise Marie Anne de Bourbon 12 November 1674 15 September 1681 (aged 6) Legitimised in January 1676.
Françoise Marie de Bourbon 9 February 1677 1 February 1749 (aged 72) Legitimised in November 1681. Married Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, the Regent of France under Louis XV. Had issue.
Louis Alexandre, Count of Toulouse 6 June 1678 1 December 1737 (aged 59) Legitimised on 22 November 1681. Held numerous offices, of which: Admiral of France, Governor of Guyenne, Governor of Brittany, and Grand Huntsman of France. Also Duke of Damville, of Rambouillet and of Penthièvre. Had issue.
by Claude de Vin, Mademoiselle des Œillets (1637 – 18 May 1687)
Louise de Maisonblanche c. 17 June 1676 12 September 1718 (aged 42) In 1696 she married Bernard de Prez, Baron de La Queue.[144]
by Angélique de Fontanges (1661 – 28 June 1681)
Son January 1680 January 1680 (stillborn)
Daughter March 1681 March 1681 (stillborn) Her existence is doubtful.
See also[edit]
Charles de Lorme, personal medical doctor to Louis XIV
House of France
Levée (ceremony)
List of French monarchs
Outline of France
Style Louis XIV
Europe portal
Biography portal
Kingdom of France portal
Catholicism portal
References[edit]
Jump up ^ "Louis XIV". MSN Encarta. 2008. Archived from the original on 1 November 2009. Retrieved 20 January 2008.
Jump up ^ Jackson J. Spielvogel (2016). Western Civilization: A Brief History, Volume I: To 1715. Cengage Learning. p. 419. ISBN 9781305888425.
^ Jump up to: a b c "Louis XIV". Catholic Encyclopedia. 2007. Retrieved 19 January 2008.
^ Jump up to: a b James Nathan, "Force, Order, and Diplomacy in the Age of Louis XIV." Virginia Quarterly Review 69#4 (1993) 633+.
Jump up ^ Brémond, Henri (1908). La Provence mystique au XVIIe siècle (in French). Paris: Plon-Nourrit. pp. 381–382.
Jump up ^ François Bluche (translated by Mark Greengrass (1990). Louis XIV. New York: Franklin Watts. p. 11. ISBN 978-0-531-15112-9.
Jump up ^ Fraser, Antonia. "Love and Louis XIV: The Women in the Life of the Sun King". Random House, Inc, 2006, pp. 14–16.
Jump up ^ Petitfils 2002, pp. 30–40
Jump up ^ Bély 2001, p. 57.
Jump up ^ Sonnino 1998, pp. 217–218.
Jump up ^ McCoy 1942, pp. 442–449.
Jump up ^ Petitfils 2002, pp. 34–37
Jump up ^ Petitfils 2002, pp. 29–36
Jump up ^ Petitfils 2002, pp. 70–75
Jump up ^ Petitfils 2002, pp. 80–85
Jump up ^ Petitfils 2002, pp. 84–87
Jump up ^ Petitfils 2002, pp. 88–90,91–98
^ Jump up to: a b Hatton 1972, p. 22.
Jump up ^ Hatton 1972, p. 31.
Jump up ^ Hatton 1972, p. 18.
Jump up ^ Petitfils 2002, pp. 148–150
Jump up ^ Bluche 1990, pp. 128–129
Jump up ^ "Louis XIV - the Sun King: Absolutism". louis-xiv.de.
Jump up ^ Ian Dunlop, "Louis XIV", (2001) p. xii
Jump up ^ Petitfils 2002, pp. 250–253,254–255,256–260
Jump up ^ Merryman, John Henry. The Civil Law Tradition: An Introduction to the Legal Systems of Europe and Latin America, 2007 Stanford University Press.
Jump up ^ Antoine, Michel, Louis XV, Fayard, Paris, 1989, p. 33
Jump up ^ Petitfils 2002, pp. 223–225
^ Jump up to: a b Wolf 1968, p. 117.
Jump up ^ Dunlop, p. 54.
Jump up ^ Lynn 1999, pp. 161–171.
Jump up ^ Meriman, John (1996). A History of Modern Europe. W.W. Norton & Company. p. 319.
Jump up ^ Gauvin Alexander Bailey, Architecture and Urbanism in the French Atlantic Empire: State, Church and Society, 1604-1830. McGill-Queen's University Press, 2018.
Jump up ^ Faroqhi, Suraiya (2006-03-03). The Ottoman Empire and the World Around It. google.com. ISBN 9781845111229.
Jump up ^ Bluche, p. 439.
Jump up ^ Keay, John. "The Honourable Company: A History of the English East India Company", p. 201-204, Harper Collins Publishers, London (1993).
Jump up ^ Pagani, Catherine (2001). Eastern Magnificence and European Ingenuity: Clocks of Late Imperial China. p. 182. ISBN 978-0472112081.
Jump up ^ Sullivan, Michael (1989). The Meeting of Eastern and Western Art. p. 98. ISBN 978-0-520-21236-7.
Jump up ^ Barnes, Linda L. (2005). Needles, Herbs, Gods, and Ghosts: China, Healing, and the West to 1848. Harvard University Press. p. 85. ISBN 978-0-674-01872-3.
Jump up ^ Mungello, David E. (2005). The Great Encounter of China and the West, 1500–1800. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 125. ISBN 978-0-7425-3815-3.
^ Jump up to: a b Sources of Making of the West, People and Cultures, Vol. 2, Since 1340
^ Jump up to: a b Louis de Rouvroy, duc de Saint-Simon. "Historical Memoirs of the Duc de Saint-Simon, volume 1 1691–1709: The Court of Louis XIV". Retrieved 19 January 2008.
Jump up ^ Louis-Jean-Marie Daubenton (1 April 2015). "Elephant". The Encyclopedia of Diderot & d'Alembert Collaborative Translation Project. Retrieved 1 April 2015. CS1 maint: Uses authors parameter (link)
Jump up ^ Coincidentally, at roughly the same time and for the same reasons, Japan adopted a similar policy, called sankin kōtai.
Jump up ^ Lynn 1999, p. [page needed]
Jump up ^ Quoted in Geoffrey Simcox, ed., War, Diplomacy, and Imperialism, 1618–1763 (1974), pp. 236-37.
Jump up ^ Quoted in Simcox, pp. 237, 242.
Jump up ^ For example, see Buckley, Veronica. Madame de Maintenon: The Secret Wife of Louis XIV. London: Bloomsbury, 2008
Jump up ^ Sturdy, David J. "Louis XIV", St Martin's Press, New York (1998), p. 89–99.
Jump up ^ Sturdy, p. 92–93.
Jump up ^ Sturdy, p. 96, citing Pillorget, "France Baroque, France Classique", i, 935.
Jump up ^ Cathal J. Nolan, Wars of the age of Louis XIV, 1650–1715 (2008) p. 132
Jump up ^ Sturdy, p. 96-97.
Jump up ^ Bluche, p. 20–21.
Jump up ^ Columbia Encyclopedia (2007). "Louis XIV, king of France". Archived from the original on 7 January 2008. Retrieved 19 January 2008.
Jump up ^ David J. Sturdy, p. 98, citing W.C. Scoville, The Persection of Huguenots and French Economic Development, 1680–1720 (1960)
Jump up ^ "casinosdigital.de". booking-help.org. Archived from the original on 14 July 2012.
Jump up ^ Durant, Will and Ariel. "The Story of Civilisation (Volume 8): The Age of Louis XIV", Simon & Schuster, Boston (1963), p. 691.
Jump up ^ Lynn 1999, p. 192.
Jump up ^ Dunlop, Ian. "Louis XIV", p. 313, Pimlico London 2001.
Jump up ^ Lynn 1999, pp. 189–191.
Jump up ^ Lynn 1999, pp. 192–193.
Jump up ^ Lynn 1999, p. [page needed].
Jump up ^ (in French) Cited in Cahiers bruxellois, t. III, fasc. II, 1958, by C. Terlinden. Lit.: aussi barbare qu’inutile
Jump up ^ Lynn 1999, p. 232.
Jump up ^ Lynn 1999, p. 253.
Jump up ^ Bluche, p. 653.
Jump up ^ Lossky, Andrew. "Louis XIV and the French Monarchy", New Brunswick, New Jersey (1994), p. 255
Jump up ^ Lynn 1999, p. 267.
^ Jump up to: a b Dunlop, Ian. "Louis XIV", p. 353, Pimlico, London 2001.
^ Jump up to: a b Lynn 1999, p. 268.
Jump up ^ Kamen, Henry. (2001) Philip V of Spain: The King who Reigned Twice, Yale University Press, p. 6. ISBN 0-300-08718-7.
Jump up ^ Dunlop, p. 358.
Jump up ^ Lynn 1999, p. 269, see footnote 1.
Jump up ^ Lynn 1999, pp. 269–270.
Jump up ^ Merriman, page 321.
Jump up ^ Ó Gráda, Cormac; Chevet, Jean-Michel (2002). "Famine And Market In Ancient Régime France" (PDF). The Journal of Economic History. 62 (3): 706–733. doi:10.1017/S0022050702001055. hdl:10197/368. PMID 17494233.
Jump up ^ "Cambridge Journals Online - The Journal of Economic History - Abstract - FAMINE AND MARKET IN ANCIEN RÉGIME FRANCE". cambridge.org.
Jump up ^ Lynn 1999, p. 326.
Jump up ^ Lynn 1999, p. 334.
Jump up ^ Lynn 1999, p. 342.
Jump up ^ Lynn 1999, pp. 356–360.
^ Jump up to: a b c d Bryant 2004, p. 80.
Jump up ^ Buckley, Veronica. Madame de Maintenon: The Secret Wife of Louis XIV. London: Bloomsbury, 2008
Jump up ^ Bryant 2004, p. 77.
Jump up ^ "Morganatic and Secret Marriages in the French Royal Family". Retrieved 10 July 2008. : The description of the marriage as morganatic is inaccurate as French law does not define such marriages.
Jump up ^ John B. Wolf, Louis XIV p. 280.
^ Jump up to: a b Bryant 2004, p. 83.
Jump up ^ Gaudelus, Sébastien (2000). "La Mise en Spectacle De La Religion Royale: Recherches sur la Devotion de Louis XIV" (PDF). Histoire, Economie et Société. 19 (4): 513–526. doi:10.3406/hes.2000.2133.
Jump up ^ Tony Claydon, Europe and the Making of England, 1660–1760 (2007) p 182
Jump up ^ Dunlop, Ian. "Louis XIV", p. 242-251, Pimlico London 2001.
Jump up ^ Dunlop, p. 247.
Jump up ^ Bluche, François. "Louis XIV", p. 497, Hachette Litteratures, Paris (1986).
Jump up ^ Burke, Peter (1992). "The fabrication of Louis XIV". History Today. 42 (2).
Jump up ^ Perez, Stanis (July–September 2003). "Les rides d'Apollon: l'évolution des portraits de Louis XIV" [Apollo's Wrinkles: The Evolution of Portraits of Louis XIV]. Revue d'Histoire Moderne et Contemporaine. 50 (3): 62–95. ISSN 0048-8003. JSTOR 20530984.
Jump up ^ See also Schmitter, Amy M. (2002). "Representation and the Body of Power in French Academic Painting". Journal of the History of Ideas. 63 (3): 399–424. doi:10.1353/jhi.2002.0027. ISSN 0022-5037. JSTOR 3654315.
Jump up ^ Sabatier, Gérard (2000). "La Gloire du Roi: Iconographie de Louis XIV de 1661 a 1672" (PDF). Histoire, Economie et Société. 19 (4): 527–560. doi:10.3406/hes.2000.2134.
^ Jump up to: a b c Prest, Julia (2001). "Dancing King: Louis XIV's Roles in Molière's Comedies-ballets, from Court to Town". Seventeenth Century. 16 (2): 283–298. ISSN 0268-117X . Fulltext: Ebsco
Jump up ^ Jens Ivo, Engels (July–September 2003). "Dénigrer, espérer, assumer la réalité. Le roi de France perçu par ses sujets, 1680-1750" [Disparaging, Hoping, Taking on Reality: the French King as Perceived by His Subjects, 1680–1750]. Revue d'Histoire Moderne et Contemporaine. 50 (3): 96–126. JSTOR 20530985.
Jump up ^ "Servier - Famous French diabetics". Medicographia.com.
Jump up ^ Dunlop, p. 468.
Jump up ^ Schama, Simon (1990). Citizens: A Chronicle of the French Revolution (Reprint ed.). Vintage. ISBN 978-0679726104.
Jump up ^ Dunlop, p. 454–455.
Jump up ^ Antoine, p. 33–37.
Jump up ^ Peace and War: Armed Conflicts and International Order, 1648-1989, ed. Kalevi J. Holsti, (Cambridge University Press, 1991), 74.
^ Jump up to: a b Bluche, p. 890.
Jump up ^ See above, section on "Height of Power."
Jump up ^ Dunlop, p. 433; citing Montesquieu: "Louis established the greatness of France by building Versailles and Marly."
Jump up ^ Bluche, p. 876, Hachette Litteratures, Paris (1986).
Jump up ^ Bluche, p. 506 & 877–878, Hachette Litteratures, Paris (1986).
Jump up ^ "The wars of Louis XIV". wisc.edu.
Jump up ^ Napoleon Bonaparte, Napoleon's Notes on English History made on the Eve of the French Revolution, illustrated from Contemporary Historians and referenced from the findings of Later Research by Henry Foljambe Hall. New York: E. P. Dutton & Co., 1905, 258.
Jump up ^ Bluche, p. 926.
Jump up ^ Durant, Will and Ariel. "The Story of Civilisation (Volume 8): The Age of Louis XIV," p. 721.
Jump up ^ Rogers Neill Sehnaoui, Caroline (Cally) (2013-03-01). Victorious Charles: A Ladies' Man - a Biography of King Charles Vii of France (1403-1461). Strategic Book Publishing. p. 4. ISBN 9781625160492.
Jump up ^ Montoya, Alicia (2013). Medievalist Enlightenment: From Charles Perrault to Jean-Jacques Rousseau. DS Brewer. p. 47. ISBN 9781843843429.
Jump up ^ Delon, Michel (2013-12-04). Encyclopedia of the Enlightenment. Routledge. p. 1227. ISBN 9781135959982.
Jump up ^ "Westminster Abbey " William Buckland". westminster-abbey.org. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
Jump up ^ C. D. Erhard, Betrachtungen über Leopolds des Weisen Gesetzgebung in Toscana, Richter, 1791, p. 30.
Jump up ^ Jean Etienne François Marignié, The king can do no wrong: Le roi ne peut jamais avoit tort, le roi ne peut mal faire, Le Normant, 1818 p. 12. The anecdote as circulated after the French Revolution, designed to illustrate the tyrannical character of the absolutism of the Ancien Régime, held that the president of the parlement began to address the king with the words Sire, l'Etat [...] but was cut off by the king interjecting L'Etat c'est moi. Jenaische Allgemeine Literatur-Zeitung No. 31, (February 1817), vol. 14.1 (1818), p. 241.
Jump up ^ Tim Blanning, The Pursuit of Glory: The Five Revolutions That Made Modern Europe (2008) p. 286
Jump up ^ Peter H. Wilson, Absolutism in central Europe (2000) p. 54
Jump up ^ Marquis de Dangeau. "Mémoire sur la mort de Louis XIV (on page 24)" (in French). Retrieved 29 November 2009.
Jump up ^ "Arms of France". heraldica.org.
Jump up ^ Hamilton, Walter. Dated Book-plates (Ex Libris) with a Treatise on Their Origin, P37. Published 1895. A.C. Black
Jump up ^ Edmunds, Martha. Piety and Politics, p. 274. 2002. University of Delaware Press. ISBN 0-87413-693-8.
^ Jump up to: a b Anselme 1726, pp. 145–146.
^ Jump up to: a b Wurzbach, Constantin, von, ed. (1860). "Habsburg, Anna von Oesterreich (Königin von Frankreich)" (in German). Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich [Biographical Encyclopedia of the Austrian Empire]. 6. Wikisource. p. 152.
^ Jump up to: a b Anselme 1726, pp. 143–144.
^ Jump up to: a b Marie de Médicis at Encyclopædia Britannica
^ Jump up to: a b Wurzbach, Constantin, von, ed. (1861). "Habsburg, Philipp III." (in German). Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich [Biographical Encyclopedia of the Austrian Empire]. 7. Wikisource. p. 120.
^ Jump up to: a b Wurzbach, Constantin, von, ed. (1861). "Habsburg, Margaretha (Königin von Spanien)" (in German). Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich [Biographical Encyclopedia of the Austrian Empire]. 7. Wikisource. p. 13.
^ Jump up to: a b Anselme 1726, pp. 328–329.
^ Jump up to: a b Anselme 1726, p. 211.
^ Jump up to: a b "The Medici Granducal Archive and the Medici Archive Project" (PDF). p. 12. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 January 2006.
^ Jump up to: a b Wurzbach, Constantin, von, ed. (1860). "Habsburg, Johanna von Oesterreich (Tochter des Kaisers Ferdinand I.)" (in German). Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich [Biographical Encyclopedia of the Austrian Empire]. 6. Wikisource. p. 290.
^ Jump up to: a b Kurth, Godefroid (1911). "Philip II". In Herbermann, Charles. Catholic Encyclopedia. 12. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
^ Jump up to: a b Wurzbach, Constantin, von, ed. (1860). "Habsburg, Anna von Oesterreich (Königin von Spanien)" (in German). Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich [Biographical Encyclopedia of the Austrian Empire]. 6. Wikisource. p. 151.
^ Jump up to: a b Wurzbach, Constantin, von, ed. (1860). "Habsburg, Karl II. von Steiermark" (in German). Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich [Biographical Encyclopedia of the Austrian Empire]. 6. Wikisource. p. 352.
^ Jump up to: a b Wurzbach, Constantin, von, ed. (1861). "Habsburg, Maria von Bayern" (in German). Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich [Biographical Encyclopedia of the Austrian Empire]. 7. Wikisource. p. 20.
Jump up ^ "Capet 40". euweb.cz.
Jump up ^ François Bluche: "Dictionnaire du Grand Siècle".
Jump up ^ Jean-Christian Petitfils: "Louise de la Vallière".
Jump up ^ "Suzanne de Mésenge". roglo.eu.
Notes[edit]
Jump up ^ Some monarchs of states in the Holy Roman Empire ruled for longer: Buchanan, Rose Troup (29 August 2015). "Longest serving rulers ever". The Independent. Retrieved 4 July 2017.
Bibliography[edit]
Anselme de Sainte-Marie, Père (1726). Histoire généalogique et chronologique de la maison royale de France [Genealogical and chronological history of the royal house of France] (in French). 1 (3rd ed.). Paris: La compagnie des libraires.
Ashley, Maurice P. Louis XIV And The Greatness Of France (1965) excerpt and text search
Beik, William. Louis XIV and Absolutism: A Brief Study with Documents (2000) excerpt and text search
Beik, William. "The Absolutism of Louis XIV as Social Collaboration." Past & Present 2005 (188): 195–224. online at Project MUSE
Bély, Lucien (2001). The History of France. Paris: Editions Jean-Paul Gisserot. ISBN 978-2-87747-563-1.
Bluche, François, Louis XIV, (Franklin Watts, 1990) ISBN 0531151123
Bryant, Mark (2004). "Partner, Matriarch, and Minister: Mme de Maintenon of France, Clandestine Consort, 1680-1715". In Campbell Orr, Clarissa. Queenship in Europe 1660-1815: The Role of the Consort. Cambridge University Press. pp. 77–106. ISBN 978-0-521-81422-5.
Buckley, Veronica. Madame de Maintenon: The Secret Wife of Louis XIV. London: Bloomsbury, 2008. ISBN 9780747580980
Wolf Burchard: "The Sovereign Artist: Charles Le Brun and the Image of Louis XIV", Paul Holberton Publishing, 2016, ISBN 1911300059
Burke, Peter. The Fabrication of Louis XIV (1994) ISBN 0300051530
Cambridge Modern History: Vol. 5 The Age Of Louis XIV (1908), old, solid articles by scholars; complete text online
Campbell, Peter Robert. Louis XIV, 1661–1715 (London, 1993)
Church, William F., ed. The Greatness of Louis XIV. (1972).
Cowart, Georgia J. The Triumph of Pleasure: Louis XIV and the Politics of Spectacle U of Chicago Press, 2008. ISBN 9780226116389
Cronin, Vincent. Louis XIV. London: HarperCollins, 1996. ISBN 9781860460920
Dunlop, Ian. Louis XIV (2000), 512pp excerpt and text search
Engerand, Fernand, editor (1899). Inventaire des tableaux du Roy rédigé en 1709 et 1710 par Nicolas Bailly. Paris: Ernest Leroux. Copy at Gallica.
Erlanger, Philippe, Louis XIV Praeger, 1970.
Fraser, Antonia. Love and Louis XIV: The Women in the Life of the Sun King. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2006 (hardcover, ISBN 0-297-82997-1); New York: Nan A. Talese, 2006 (hardcover, ISBN 0-385-50984-7)
Goubert, Pierre (197). Louis XIV and Twenty Million Frenchmen. social history from Annales School. ISBN 978-0394717517.
Hatton, Ragnhild Marie (1972). Louis XIV and His World. New York: Putnam.
Jones, Colin. The Great Nation: France from Louis XIV to Napoleon (1715–1799) (2002)
Lewis, W. H. The Splendid Century: Life in the France of Louis XIV (1953) excerpt and text search; also online complete edition
Le Roy Ladurie, Emmanuel. The Ancien Régime: A History of France 1610–1774 (1999), survey by leader of the Annales School excerpt and text search
Lynn, John A. (1999). The Wars of Louis XIV, 1667–1714. New York: Longman.
McCoy, Bernard J. (1942). "St. Vincent De Paul's Letters on Jansenism". The Catholic Historical Review. 27 (4): 442–449.
Mitford, Nancy. The Sun King (1995), popular excerpt and text search
Nolan, Cathal J. Wars of the Age of Louis XIV, 1650–1715: An Encyclopedia of Global Warfare and Civilization . (2008) 607pp; over 1000 entries; ISBN 978-0-313-33046-9
Petitfils, Jean-Christian (2002). Louis XIV (in French). Paris: Perrin. OCLC 423881843.
Rowlands, Guy. The Dynastic State and the Army under Louis XIV: Royal Service and Private Interest, 1661–1701 (2002) online edition
Rubin, David Lee, ed. Sun King: The Ascendancy of French Culture during the Reign of Louis XIV. Washington: Folger Books and Cranbury: Associated University Presses, 1992.
Rule, John C., Louis XIV and the craft of kingship 1969.
Shennan, J. H. Louis XIV (1993) online edition
Sonnino, Paul (1998). "Prelude to the Fronde: The French Delegation at the Peace of Westphalia". In Heinz Duchhardt, ed. Der Westfälische Friede: Diplomatie–Politische Zäsur–Kulturelles Umfeld–Rezeptionsgeschichte. München: Oldenberg Verlag GmbH. ISBN 3-486-56328-9. CS1 maint: Extra text: editors list (link)
Thompson, Ian. The Sun King's Garden: Louis XIV, André Le Nôtre And the Creation of the Gardens of Versailles. London: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2006 ISBN 1-58234-631-3
Treasure, Geoffrey. Louis XIV (London, 2001). ISBN 0582279585
Treasure, Geoffrey. The Making of Modern Europe, 1648–1780 (3rd ed. 2003). pp 230–96.
Wilkinson, Rich. Louis XIV Routledge, 2007. ISBN 9780415358156
Wolf, John B. (1968). Louis XIV. W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. the standard scholarly biography; online Questia edition
Primary sources[edit]
Ranum, Orest, ed. The Century of Louis XIV (1972) documents; online
External links[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Louis XIV of France.
Wikiquote has quotations related to: Louis XIV of France
"Louis XIV."
Works by or about Louis XIV of France at Internet Archive
Works by Louis XIV of France at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)
Louis XIV at History.com
"Music and politics in the court of Louis XIV"
Full text of marriage contract (PDF), France National Archives transcription (in French)
Le Siècle de Louis XIV by Voltaire, 1751, hosted by French Wikisource
The Age of Louis XIV (English translation of Le Siècle de Louis XIV) hosted by the Online Library of Liberty
The Story of Civilization VIII: The Age of Louis XIV online ebook by historians Will Durant and Ariel Durant.
"Louis XIV King of France and Navarre 1643-1651-1715". Genealogics.org
List of films dedicated to Louis XIV and period ( "Louis XIV – the Sun King: Louis XIV – the Sun King". Louis-xiv.de. Retrieved 31 August 2008. ) Of particular interest: Documentary on Versailles—The Visit.
Louis XIV of France
House of Bourbon
Cadet branch of the Capetian dynasty
Born: 5 September 1638 Died: 1 September 1715
Regnal titles
Preceded by
Louis XIII King of France
14 May 1643 – 1 September 1715 Succeeded by
Louis XV
French royalty
Preceded by
Louis Dauphin of France
5 September 1638 – 14 May 1643 Succeeded by
Louis
"le Grand Dauphin"
show
v
t
e
Dauphins of France
House of Bourbon
Louis XIII
Louis XIV
Louis, Le Grand Dauphin
Louis, Le Petit Dauphin
Louis
Louis XV
Louis
Louis Auguste
Louis Joseph
Louis Charles
Louis Antoine
show
v
t
e
Princes of France
The first generation are the children of Henri IV; these males held the rank of Son of France or Grand son of France;
1st generation
Louis XIII
Nicolas Henri, Duke of Orléans*
Gaston, Duke of Orléans*
2nd generation
Louis XIV
Philippe, Duke of Orléans
Jean Gaston, Duke of Valois*
3rd generation
Louis, Dauphin of France
Philippe Charles, Duke of Anjou*
Louis François, Duke of Anjou*
Philippe Charles, Duke of Valois*
Alexandre Louis, Duke of Valois*
Philippe, Duke of Orléans
4th generation
Louis, Duke of Burgundy
King Felipe of Spain
Charles, Duke of Berry*
5th generation
Louis, Duke of Brittany*
Louis, Duke of Brittany*
Louis XV
6th generation
Louis, Dauphin of France
Philippe, Duke of Anjou*
7th generation
Louis, Duke of Burgundy*
Xavier, Duke of Aquitaine*
Louis XVI*
Louis XVIII*
Charles X
8th generation
Louis Joseph, Dauphin of France*
Louis XVII*
Louis Antoine, Duke of Angoulême (Louis XIX)*
Charles Ferdinand, Duke of Berry
9th generation
Henri, Count of Chambord (Henry V)*
* died without surviving issue
show
v
t
e
House of Bourbon
show
Henry IV of France
Spouse(s)
Margaret of Valois
Marie de' Medici
Children
Louis XIII
Elisabeth, Queen of Spain
Christine Marie, Duchess of Savoy
Nicolas Henri, Duke of Orléans
Gaston, Duke of Orléans
Henriette Marie, Queen of England, Ireland and Scotland
Siblings
Henri, Duke of Beaumont (1551–1553)
Louis, Count of Marle (1555–1557)
Madeleine (1556)
Catherine, Duchess of Lorraine
Illegitimate children
César, Duke of Vendôme
Catherine Henriette, Duchess of Elbeuf
Alexandre, Chevalier de Vendôme
Henri, Duke of Verneuil
Gabrielle Angelique, Duchess of La Valette and Epernon
Antoine, Count of Moret
Jeanne Baptiste, Abess of Fontevraud
Marie Henriette, Abess of Chelles
Grandchildren
Anne Marie Louise, Duchess of Montpensier
Marguerite Louise, Grand Duchess of Tuscany
Élisabeth Marguerite, Duchess of Alençon and Angoulême
Françoise Madeleine, Duchess of Savoy
Princess Marie Anne
Jean Gaston, Duke of Valois
Louis XIV of France
Philippe, Duke of Orléans
show
Louis XIII of France
Spouse(s)
Infanta Ana Maria Mauricia of Spain 3
Children
Louis XIV of France
Philippe, Duke of Orléans
Grandchildren
Louis, Dauphin of France
Princess Anne Élisabeth
Princess Marie Anne
Princess Marie Therèse, Madame Royale
Philippe Charles, Duke of Anjou
Louis François, Duke of Anjou
Marie Louise, Queen of Spain
Philippe Charles, Duke of Valois
Anne Marie, Queen of Sardinia
Alexandre Louis, Duke of Valois
Philippe Charles, Duke of Orléans
Élisabeth Charlotte, Duchess of Lorraine
Great
grandchildren
Louis, Duke of Burgundy
King Felipe of Spain
Charles, Duke of Berry
Louis, Duke of Orléans
show
Louis XIV of France
Spouse(s)
Infanta María Teresa of Spain 3
Françoise d'Aubigné, Marchioness of Maintenon
Children
Louis, Dauphin of France
Princess Anne Élisabeth
Princess Marie Anne
Princess Marie Therèse, Madame Royale
Philippe Charles, Duke of Anjou
Louis François, Duke of Anjou
Illegitimate children
Marie Anne, Princess of Conti
Louis, Count of Vermandois
Louis Auguste, Duke of Maine
Louis César, Count of Vexin
Louise Françoise, Duchess of Bourbon
Louise Marie Anne, Mademoiselle de Tours
Françoise Marie, Duchess of Orléans
Louis Alexandre, Count of Toulouse
Louise, Baroness of La Queue
Grandchildren
Louis, Duke of Burgundy
King Felipe V of Spain p
Charles, Duke of Berry
Louis Auguste, Prince of Dombes
Louis Charles, Count of Eu
Louise Françoise, Mademoiselle du Maine
Louis Jean Marie, Duke of Penthièvre
Great
grandchildren
Louis, Duke of Brittany
Louis, Duke of Brittany
Louis XV of France
Louis I of Spain 1
Felipe of Spain 1
Felipe of Spain 1
Ferdinand VI of Spain 1
Charles III of Spain 1
Francisco of Spain 1
Mariana Víctoria, Queen of Portugal 1
Philip, Duke of Parma 1
Maria Teresa Rafaela, Dauphine of France 1
Luis, Count of Chinchón 1
Maria Antonietta, Queen of Sardinia 1
Charles, Duke of Alençon
Marie Louise Élisabeth d'Alençon
Louis Alexandre, Prince of Lamballe
show
Louis XV of France
Spouse(s)
Maria Carolina Sophia Felicity Leszczyńska
Children
Louise Élisabeth, Duchess of Parma
Princess Henriette
Princess Louise (1728–1733)
Louis, Dauphin of France
Philippe, Duke of Anjou
Marie Adélaïde, Duchess of Louvois
Princess Victoire
Sophie, Duchess of Louvois
Princess Thérèse
Princess Louise (1737–1787)
Grandchildren
Princess Marie Therèse, Madame Royale
Princess Marie Zéphyrine
Louis, Duke of Burgundy
Xavier, Duke of Aquitaine
Louis XVI of France
Louis XVIII of France
Charles X of France
Clothilde, Queen of Sardinia
Princess Élisabeth
Illegitimate children
included
Charles de Vintimille
Agathe Louise de Saint-Antoine
Philippe, Duke of Narbonne-Lara
Louis, comte de Narbonne-Lara
show
Louis XVI of France
Spouse(s)
Archduchess Maria Antonia of Austria 2
Children
Marie Thérèse, Duchess of Angoulême
Louis Joseph, Dauphin of France
Louis XVII of France
Princess Sophie Hélène
show
Louis XVII of France
Note
Louis had no children; he died aged 10 in 1795. His uncle, the future Louis XVIII of France, proclaimed himself regent but both titles were disputed.
See Bourbon Restoration.
show
Louis XVIII of France
Spouse(s)
Princess Marie Joséphine of Savoy
show
Charles X of France
Spouse(s)
Princess Maria Teresa of Savoy
Children
Louis Antoine, Duke of Angoulême
Sophie, Mademoiselle
Charles Ferdinand, Duke of Berry
Marie Thérèse, Mademoiselle d'Angoulême
Grandchildren
Princess Louise Élisabeth
Prince Louis
Louise Marie Thérèse, Duchess of Parma
Henri, Count of Chambord
Notes
1 also an Infante or Infanta of Spain
2 also an Archduchess of Austria
3 both
p Philip was the first Bourbon king of Spain, the country's present ruling house.
show
v
t
e
Heads of state of France
Recognized as Francia from 481 to 843 – Recognized as West Francia from 843 to 987 – Recognized as France from 987 to present
Styled President of the Republic after 1871, except from 1940 to 1944 (Chief of State) and 1944 to 1947 (Chairman of the Provisional Government).
Detailed monarch family tree | Simplified monarch family tree
Merovingians (486–751)
Clovis I
Childebert I
Chlothar I
Charibert I
Guntram
Chilperic I
Sigebert I
Childebert II
Chlothar II
Dagobert I
Sigebert II
Clovis II
Chlothar III
Childeric II
Theuderic III
Clovis IV
Childebert III
Dagobert III
Chilperic II
Chlothar IV
Theuderic IV
Childeric III
Carolingians,
Robertians and Bosonids (751–987)
Pepin the Short
Carloman I
Charlemagne (Charles I)
Louis I
Charles II
Louis II
Louis III
Carloman II
Charles the Fat
OdoR
Charles III
Robert IR
RudolphB
Louis IV
Lothair
Louis V
House of Capet (987–1328)
Hugh Capet
Robert II
Henry I
Philip I
Louis VI
Louis VII
Philip II
Louis VIII
Louis IX
Philip III
Philip IV
Louis X
John I
Philip V
Charles IV
House of Valois (1328–1589)
Philip VI
John II
Charles V
Charles VI
Charles VII
Louis XI
Charles VIII
Louis XII
Francis I
Henry II
Francis II
Charles IX
Henry III
House of Lancaster (1422–1453)
Henry VI of England
House of Bourbon (1589–1792)
Henry IV
Louis XIII
Louis XIV
Louis XV
Louis XVI
Louis XVII
First Republic (1792–1804)
National Convention
Directory
Consulate
First Empire (1804–1815)
Napoleon I
Napoleon II
Bourbon Restoration (1815–1830)
Louis XVIII
Charles X
Louis XIX
Henry V
July Monarchy (1830–1848)
Louis Philippe I
Second Republic (1848–1852)
Jacques-Charles Dupont de l'Eure
Executive Commission
Louis-Eugène Cavaignac
Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte
Second Empire (1852–1870)
Napoleon III
Government of National Defense (1870–1871)
Louis-Jules Trochu
Third Republic (1871–1940)
Adolphe Thiers
Patrice de Mac-Mahon
Jules Armand Dufaure*
Jules Grévy
Maurice Rouvier*
Sadi Carnot
Charles Dupuy*
Jean Casimir-Perier
Charles Dupuy*
Félix Faure
Charles Dupuy*
Émile Loubet
Armand Fallières
Raymond Poincaré
Paul Deschanel
Alexandre Millerand
Frédéric François-Marsal*
Gaston Doumergue
Paul Doumer
André Tardieu*
Albert Lebrun
Vichy France (1940–1944)
Philippe Pétain
Provisional Government (1944–1947)
Charles de Gaulle
Félix Gouin
Georges Bidault
Vincent Auriol
Léon Blum
Fourth Republic (1947–1958)
Vincent Auriol
René Coty
Fifth Republic (1958–present)
Charles de Gaulle
Alain Poher*
Georges Pompidou
Alain Poher*
Valéry Giscard d'Estaing
François Mitterrand
Jacques Chirac
Nicolas Sarkozy
François Hollande
Emmanuel Macron
Debatable or disputed rulers are in italics. Acting heads of state are denoted by an asterisk*. Millerand held the presidency in an acting capacity before being fully elected.
show
v
t
e
France topics
History
Periods
Timeline
Prehistory
Celtic Gaul
Roman Gaul
Kingdom of the Visigoths
Francia
West Francia
Middle Ages
Early modern era
Long nineteenth century
Revolutionary era
Napoleonic era
Belle Époque
Twentieth century
Regimes
Absolute monarchy
Ancien Régime
First Republic
First Empire
Constitutional monarchy
Bourbon Restoration
July Monarchy
Second Republic
Second Empire
Government of National Defense
Third Republic
France during the Second World War
Free France
Vichy France
Provisional Government of the French Republic
Fourth Republic
Fifth Republic
Geography
Administrative divisions
Cities
Islands
Lakes
Mountains
Rivers
Politics
Constitution
Elections
presidential
Foreign relations
Government
Human rights
Intersex
LGBT
Judiciary
Law
enforcement
Military
Parliament
Political parties
Economy
Agriculture
Banking
Central bank
Economic history
Energy
Euro
Exports
Franc (former currency)
French subdivisions by GDP
Stock exchange
Taxation
Telecommunications
Tourism
Trade unions
Transport
Society
Crime
Demographics
Education
Health care
People
Poverty
Religion
Social class
Welfare
Culture
Architecture
Art
Cinema (comedy)
Cuisine
Cultural icons
Fashion
Gardens
Language
Literature
Media
Music
Philosophy
Public holidays
Sport
Symbols
Theatre
Outline
Book
Category
Portal
WikiProject
Authority control
WorldCat Identities
BNE: XX1048059
BNF: cb11913463s (data)
BPN: 71586483
GND: 118816829
ISNI: 0000 0001 0803 0835
LCCN: n80051801
NDL: 00621017
NKC: jn20000701091
NLA: 35313556
RKD: 346039
ICCU: IT\ICCU\RAVV\063533
SELIBR: 194162
SNAC: w65h7mb4
SUDOC: 027328848
ULAN: 500122256
VIAF: 268675767
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Louis_XIV_of_France&oldid=866486240"
Categories:
Louis XIV of France
Kings of France
1638 births
1715 deaths
17th-century French monarchs
18th-century French monarchs
17th-century Princes of Andorra
18th-century Princes of Andorra
Ancien Régime in France
Anti-Protestantism
Burials at the Basilica of St Denis
Baroque architecture in France
Dauphins of France
Dauphins of Viennois
Deaths from gangrene
Early Modern France
French art collectors
French Baroque
French military personnel of the Nine Years' War
House of Bourbon (France)
Modern child rulers
Hunters
People from Saint-Germain-en-Laye
People of the Ancien Régime
People of the Regency of Philippe d'Orléans
Princes of Andorra
Princes of France (Bourbon)
Roman Catholic monarchs
1640s in France
1650s in France
1660s in France
1670s in France
1680s in France
1690s in France
1700s in France
1710s in France
17th-century French people
18th-century French people
17th-century monarchs in Europe
18th-century monarchs in Europe
Hidden categories:
CS1 French-language sources (fr)
CS1 maint: Uses authors parameter
Wikipedia articles needing page number citations from July 2017
Articles with French-language external links
Articles with inconsistent citation formats
Articles with Encyclopædia Britannica links
Articles incorporating a citation from the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia with Wikisource reference
Wikipedia pending changes protected pages
Use dmy dates from August 2012
Pages using deprecated image syntax
Articles containing French-language text
Articles needing additional references from August 2017
All articles needing additional references
All articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases
Articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases from May 2018
All articles with unsourced statements
Articles with unsourced statements from May 2018
Articles with unsourced statements from July 2016
Articles with unsourced statements from December 2016
CS1 maint: Extra text: editors list
Articles with Internet Archive links
Articles with LibriVox links
Wikipedia articles with BNE identifiers
Wikipedia articles with BNF identifiers
Wikipedia articles with BPN identifiers
Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers
Wikipedia articles with ISNI identifiers
Wikipedia articles with LCCN identifiers
Wikipedia articles with NDL identifiers
Wikipedia articles with NKC identifiers
Wikipedia articles with NLA identifiers
Wikipedia articles with RKDartists identifiers
Wikipedia articles with SBN identifiers
Wikipedia articles with SELIBR identifiers
Wikipedia articles with SNAC-ID identifiers
Wikipedia articles with SUDOC identifiers
Wikipedia articles with ULAN identifiers
Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers
AC with 16 elements
Navigation menu
Personal tools
Not logged in
Talk
Contributions
Create account
Log in
Namespaces
Article
Talk
Variants
Views
Read
Edit
View history
More
Search
Navigation
Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikipedia store
Interaction
Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page
Tools
What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Wikidata item
Cite this page
Print/export
Create a book
Download as PDF
Printable version
In other projects
Wikimedia Commons
Wikiquote
Wikisource
Languages
Afrikaans
Alemannisch
አማርኛ
Ænglisc
العربية
Aragonés
Asturianu
Azərbaycanca
Bân-lâm-gú
Башҡортса
Беларуская
Беларуская (тарашкевіца)
Български
Boarisch
Bosanski
Brezhoneg
Буряад
Català
Čeština
Corsu
Cymraeg
Dansk
Deutsch
Eesti
Ελληνικά
Español
Esperanto
Euskara
فارسی
Fiji Hindi
Français
Frysk
Gaeilge
Galego
한국어
Հայերեն
हिन्दी
Hrvatski
Ido
Ilokano
Bahasa Indonesia
Íslenska
Italiano
עברית
Basa Jawa
ქართული
Қазақша
Kiswahili
Kurdî
Latina
Latviešu
Lëtzebuergesch
Lietuvių
Ligure
Limburgs
Magyar
Македонски
Malagasy
മലയാളം
मराठी
მარგალური
مصرى
Bahasa Melayu
Монгол
Nederlands
日本語
Нохчийн
Nordfriisk
Norsk
Norsk nynorsk
Occitan
Oʻzbekcha/ўзбекча
ਪੰਜਾਬੀ
پنجابی
ភាសាខ្មែរ
Picard
Piemontèis
Plattdüütsch
Polski
Português
Română
Runa Simi
Русиньскый
Русский
Scots
Shqip
Sicilianu
Simple English
Slovenčina
Slovenščina
کوردی
Српски / srpski
Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски
Suomi
Svenska
Tagalog
தமிழ்
Татарча/tatarça
ไทย
Türkçe
Українська
اردو
Tiếng Việt
Võro
West-Vlams
Winaray
吴语
ייִדיש
Yorùbá
粵語
Žemaitėška
中文
Kabɩyɛ
Lingua Franca Nova
105 more
Edit links
This page was last edited on 30 October 2018, at 16:51 (UTC).
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Contact Wikipedia
Developers
Cookie statement
Mobile view
Enable previews

key: html

type: local

value: div

attrs: id class

values: mw-page-base noprint

values: mw-head-base noprint

value: a

value: img

attrs: alt src width height srcset data-file-width data-file-height

values: Page protected with pending changes level 1

attrs: href title

values: All edits by unregistered and new users are subject to review prior to becoming visible to unregistered users

attrs: class id

attrs: id class lang

values: firstHeading firstHeading en

values: siteSub noprint

attrs: class src alt title

values: Changes must be reviewed before being displayed on this page.

attrs: id class src style alt

attrs: class href

attrs: id style class

values: flaggedrevs_short flaggedrevs_stable_synced plainlinks noprint nomobile

values: mw-jump-link #mw-head

values: mw-jump-link #p-search

values:
/wiki/Sun_King_(disambiguation)
mw-disambig
Sun King (disambiguation)

attrs: role class

values:
note
hatnote navigation-not-searchable

value: p

values:
/wiki/Louis_XIV_(disambiguation)
mw-disambig
Louis XIV (disambiguation)

values:
/wiki/Louis_Quatorze_(disambiguation)
mw-disambig
Louis Quatorze (disambiguation)

values: text-align:center;font-size:125%;font-weight:bold;background-color: #cbe; font-size: 125%

values:
/wiki/King_of_France
mw-redirect
King of France

values:
/wiki/Versailles_(city)
mw-redirect
Versailles (city)

values:
/wiki/Basilica_of_St_Denis
mw-redirect
Basilica of St Denis

values: Françoise d'Aubigné, Marquise de Maintenon

values: width:22em;border-collapse:collapse; border-spacing:0px; border:none; width:100%; margin:0px; font-size:100%; clear:none; float:none

values:
/wiki/Roman_Catholicism
mw-redirect
Roman Catholicism

values:
/wiki/File:Louis_XIV_Signature.svg
image
Louis XIV's signature

values:
/wiki/European_history
mw-redirect
European history

values:
/wiki/Centralised_government
mw-redirect
Centralised government

values:
/wiki/Absolute_Monarchy
mw-redirect
Absolute Monarchy

values: François-Michel le Tellier, Marquis de Louvois

values: Henri de la Tour d'Auvergne, Vicomte de Turenne

values:
/wiki/Jules_Hardouin_Mansart
mw-redirect
Jules Hardouin Mansart

values: checkbox button toctogglecheckbox toctogglecheckbox display:none

values: Help:Introduction to referencing with Wiki Markup/1

values: plainlinks metadata ambox ambox-content ambox-Refimprove

values: The material near this tag possibly uses too vague attribution or weasel words. (May 2018)

values:
/wiki/Wikipedia:Avoid_weasel_words
mw-redirect
Wikipedia:Avoid weasel words

values:
/wiki/Weser_River
mw-redirect
Weser River

values:
/wiki/Habsburg_Dynasty
mw-redirect
Habsburg Dynasty

values: This claim needs references to reliable sources. (May 2018)

values:
noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact
white-space:nowrap;

values: Charles de l'Aubespine, marquis de Châteauneuf

values: Anne Marie Louise d'Orléans, Duchess of Montpensier

values:
/wiki/Fran%C3%A7ois,_Duke_of_Beaufort
mw-redirect
François, Duke of Beaufort

values:
/wiki/Marshal_of_France
mw-redirect
Marshal of France

values: Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne, vicomte de Turenne

values: Edit section: Personal reign and reforms

values: Edit section: Coming of age and early reforms

values:
/wiki/Customs_(tax)
mw-redirect
Customs (tax)

values:
/wiki/Pounds_sterling
mw-redirect
Pounds sterling

values:
/wiki/Gobelins_manufactory
mw-redirect
Gobelins manufactory

values:
/wiki/Michel_le_Tellier
mw-redirect
Michel le Tellier

values: Edit section: Relations with the major colonies

values: Princess Marie Louise of Orléans (1662–1689)

values:
/wiki/Henrietta_Anne_Stuart
mw-redirect
Henrietta Anne Stuart

values:
/wiki/Great_Ordinances
mw-redirect
Great Ordinances

values:
/wiki/Napoleonic_code
mw-redirect
Napoleonic code

values: Edit section: Early wars in the Low Countries

values:
/wiki/Grand_Pensionary
mw-redirect
Grand Pensionary

values:
/wiki/Triple_Alliance_of_1668
mw-redirect
Triple Alliance of 1668

values:
/wiki/Treaty_of_Dover
mw-redirect
Treaty of Dover

values:
/wiki/Treaty_of_Nijmegen
mw-redirect
Treaty of Nijmegen

values: width:121px;padding:2px; border: 1px #cccccc solid; line-height: 1.5em;

values: width:121px;padding:2px 1px 2px 2px; border: 1px #cccccc solid; line-height: 1.5em;

values: border: 1px #cccccc solid; border-collapse: collapse; background: #f9f9f9; float:right; clear:right; margin:0.3em 0 0.3em 1em;

values: Edit section: Non-European relations and the colonies

values:
/wiki/Pondicherry_(city)
mw-redirect
Pondicherry (city)

values:
/wiki/Mohammed_Tenim
mw-redirect
Mohammed Tenim

values:
/wiki/Abdallah_bin_Aisha
mw-redirect
Abdallah bin Aisha

values:
/wiki/Louis_Le_Comte
mw-redirect
Louis Le Comte

values:
/wiki/Claude_Guy_Halle
mw-redirect
Claude Guy Halle

values: Subsidiary structures of the Palace of Versailles

values: Edit section: France as the pivot of warfare

values:
/wiki/International_relations_1648-1814
mw-redirect
International relations 1648-1814

values: Edit section: Revocation of the Edict of Nantes

values:
/wiki/Revocation_of_the_Edict_of_Nantes
mw-redirect
Revocation of the Edict of Nantes

values:
/wiki/Edict_of_Tolerance
mw-redirect
Edict of Tolerance

values:
/wiki/War_of_the_Grand_Alliance
mw-redirect
War of the Grand Alliance

values: Edit section: Causes and conduct of the war

values:
/wiki/War_of_the_League_of_Augsburg
mw-redirect
War of the League of Augsburg

values:
/wiki/Elector_Palatine
mw-redirect
Elector Palatine

values:
/wiki/William_Egon_of_F%C3%BCrstenberg
mw-redirect
William Egon of Fürstenberg

values: François Henri de Montmorency-Bouteville, duc de Luxembourg

values:
/wiki/Pondicherry_district
mw-redirect
Pondicherry district

values:
/wiki/Namur_(city)
mw-redirect
Namur (city)

values:
/wiki/Lorraine_(duchy)
mw-redirect
Lorraine (duchy)

values: Edit section: War of the Spanish Succession

values: Edit section: Causes and build-up to the war

values: Balance of power in international relations

values: Edit section: Acceptance of the will of Charles II and consequences

values:
/wiki/Eugene_of_Savoy
mw-redirect
Eugene of Savoy

values: Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria

values:
/wiki/Battle_of_Turin
mw-redirect
Battle of Turin

values: Louis XIV depicted on a Louis d'or in 1709

values: width: 220px; height: 220px; overflow: hidden; position: relative; top: -3px; left: -3px; width: 445px

values:
/wiki/Treaty_of_Utrecht_(1713)
mw-redirect
Treaty of Utrecht (1713)

values: This claim needs references to reliable sources. (July 2016)

values:
/wiki/Le_Grand_Dauphin
mw-redirect
Le Grand Dauphin

values: Françoise-Athénaïs, Marquise de Montespan

values:
/wiki/Acad%C3%A9mie_Fran%C3%A7aise
mw-redirect
Académie Française

values:
/wiki/Gianlorenzo_Bernini
mw-redirect
Gianlorenzo Bernini

values:
/wiki/Palais_du_Louvre
mw-redirect
Palais du Louvre

values: Edit section: Evolution of royal portraiture

values:
/wiki/Mus%C3%A9e_du_Louvre
mw-redirect
Musée du Louvre

values:
/wiki/Decline_of_the_Roman_Empire
mw-redirect
Decline of the Roman Empire

values: This claim needs references to reliable sources. (December 2016)

values:
/wiki/The_Vicomte_de_Bragelonne
mw-redirect
The Vicomte de Bragelonne

values:
/wiki/Angelique_(French_series)
mw-redirect
Angelique (French series)

values:
/wiki/Baroque_Cycle
mw-redirect
Baroque Cycle

values:
/wiki/The_Confusion_(novel)
mw-redirect
The Confusion (novel)

values:
/wiki/Trials_of_Apollo
mw-redirect
Trials of Apollo

values:
/wiki/Le_Roi_Danse
mw-redirect
Le Roi Danse

values:
/wiki/Louis_of_France,_Duke_of_Burgundy
mw-redirect
Louis of France, Duke of Burgundy

values:
/wiki/Saint-Denis_Basilica
mw-redirect
Saint-Denis Basilica

values:
/wiki/Philip_II,_Duke_of_Orl%C3%A9ans
mw-redirect
Philip II, Duke of Orléans

values: Louis-Alexandre de Bourbon, comte de Toulouse

values:
/wiki/Prince_du_Sang
mw-redirect
Prince du Sang

values: Edit section: Line of succession in 1715

values:
/wiki/Philippe_de_Dangeau
mw-redirect
Philippe de Dangeau

values:
/wiki/Napol%C3%A9on_I_of_France
mw-redirect
Napoléon I of France

values: Edit section: Titles, styles, honours and arms

values: text-align:center;font-size:125%;font-weight:bold;font-weight: normal; background-color: #6495ED; color: #000066;

values:
/wiki/Most_Christian_Majesty
mw-redirect
Most Christian Majesty

values: Grand Royal Coat of Arms of France & Navarre.svg

values: wikitable collapsible collapsed mw-collapsible mw-collapsed mw-made-collapsible

values:
/wiki/L%C3%A9gion_d%27honneur
mw-redirect
Légion d'honneur

values: padding:0.2em 0.3em 0.2em 4.3em;background:none;width:auto

values: border:1px solid black;height:0.5em; padding:0 0.2em;background-color: #9fe;

values: border:1px solid black;height:0.5em; padding:0 0.2em;background-color: #bfc;

values: border:1px solid black;height:0.5em; padding:0 0.2em;background-color: #ffc;

values: border:1px solid black;height:0.5em; padding:0 0.2em;background-color: #fb9;

values: Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany

values: Francesco I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany

values: Joanna of Austria, Grand Duchess of Tuscany

values: border:1px solid black;height:0.5em; padding:0 0.2em;background-color: #fcc;

values: collapsible collapsed mw-collapsible mw-collapsed mw-made-collapsible

values: margin:0.3em auto;clear:none;min-width:60em;width:auto;font-size:88%;border:1px solid #aaa

values: padding:0.2em 0.3em 0.2em 4.3em;background:none; width:auto

values:
/wiki/Patrilineal_descent
mw-redirect
Patrilineal descent

values:
/wiki/Robert_of_Hesbaye
mw-redirect
Robert of Hesbaye

values:
/wiki/Robert_IV_the_Strong
mw-redirect
Robert IV the Strong

values:
/wiki/Jean_VIII,_Count_of_Vend%C3%B4me
mw-redirect
Jean VIII, Count of Vendôme

values: margin: 0.3em auto auto; clear:none; min-width:70em; width:auto; font-size:88%; border:1px solid #aaa;

values:
/wiki/Fille_de_France
mw-redirect
Fille de France

values: Princess Marie Thérèse of France (1667–1672)

values: Françoise-Athénaïs, marquise de Montespan

values:
/wiki/Bourbon_du_Maine
mw-redirect
Bourbon du Maine

values:
/wiki/Louis_III,_Prince_of_Cond%C3%A9
mw-redirect
Louis III, Prince of Condé

values:
/wiki/Ang%C3%A9lique_de_Fontanges
mw-redirect
Angélique de Fontanges

values:
/wiki/Lev%C3%A9e_(ceremony)
mw-redirect
Levée (ceremony)

values: Royal Standard of the King of France.svg

values:
noprint metadata navbox
navigation
Portals
font-weight:bold;padding:0.4em 2em

values:
nofollow
external text
http://www.louis-xiv.de/index.php?id=30

values:
/wiki/Ian_Dunlop_(author)
mw-redirect
Ian Dunlop (author)

values: Category:CS1 maint: Uses authors parameter

values:
/wiki/Sankin_k%C5%8Dtai
mw-redirect
Sankin kōtai

values: This citation requires a reference to the specific page or range of pages in which the material appears. (July 2017)

values:
nofollow
external text
//hdl.handle.net/10197%2F368

values:
/wiki/PubMed_Identifier
mw-redirect
PubMed Identifier

values:
nofollow
external text
//www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17494233

values:
nofollow
external text
//doi.org/10.3406%2Fhes.2000.2133

values:
nofollow
external text
//www.worldcat.org/issn/0048-8003

values:
nofollow
external text
//www.jstor.org/stable/20530984

values:
nofollow
external text
//doi.org/10.1353%2Fjhi.2002.0027

values:
nofollow
external text
//www.worldcat.org/issn/0022-5037

values:
nofollow
external text
//www.jstor.org/stable/3654315

values:
nofollow
external text
//doi.org/10.3406%2Fhes.2000.2134

values:
nofollow
external text
//www.worldcat.org/issn/0268-117X

values:
nofollow
external text
//www.jstor.org/stable/20530985

values: s:de:BLKÖ:Habsburg, Anna von Oesterreich (Königin von Frankreich)

values: Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich

values: s:de:BLKÖ:Habsburg, Margaretha (Königin von Spanien)

values: s:de:BLKÖ:Habsburg, Johanna von Oesterreich (Tochter des Kaisers Ferdinand I.)

values: wikisource:Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Philip II

values: s:de:BLKÖ:Habsburg, Anna von Oesterreich (Königin von Spanien)

values: s:de:BLKÖ:Habsburg, Karl II. von Steiermark

values:
nofollow
external text
http://roglo.eu/roglo?lang=es;i=337437

values: -moz-column-width: 30em; -webkit-column-width: 30em; column-width: 30em; list-style-type: decimal;

values:
reflist mw-references-wrap
list-style-type: decimal;

values:
/wiki/Annales_School
mw-redirect
Annales School

values:
nofollow
external text
https://www.questia.com/read/6019084

values:
nofollow
external text
http://www.jstor.org/stable/25014077

values:
nofollow
external text
//www.worldcat.org/oclc/423881843

values:
nofollow
external text
https://www.questia.com/read/105134626

values:
nofollow
external text
https://www.questia.com/read/108828773

values: Category:CS1 maint: Extra text: editors list

values:
nofollow
external text
https://www.questia.com/read/103250721

values:
nofollow
http://www.louis-xiv.de/
external text

values:
nofollow
external text
https://librivox.org/author/9631

values:
nofollow
external text
http://www.history.com/topics/louis-xiv

values: border-top: 5px solid #FFD700; text-align:center;

values: Template:Dauphins of France (House of Bourbon)

values: Template talk:Dauphins of France (House of Bourbon)

values: Louis, Dauphin of France (son of Louis XV)

values: Coat of Arms of the Dauphin of France.svg

values:
navbox-image
1
width:1px;padding:0px 0px 0px 2px

values: nowraplinks collapsible collapsed navbox-inner mw-collapsible mw-collapsed mw-made-collapsible

values:
navbox-image
9
width:1px;padding:0px 0px 0px 2px

values:
/wiki/Alexandre_Louis,_Duke_of_Valois
mw-redirect
Alexandre Louis, Duke of Valois

values:
/wiki/Christine_Marie_of_France
mw-redirect
Christine Marie of France

values: nowraplinks collapsible collapsed navbox-subgroup mw-collapsible mw-collapsed mw-made-collapsible

values:
/wiki/Princess_Marie_Anne_of_France
mw-redirect
Princess Marie Anne of France

values: Marie Thérèse, Madame Royale (1667–1672)

values: Louise Françoise de Bourbon, Duchess of Bourbon

values: Louise Françoise de Bourbon, Mademoiselle du Maine

values: Louis Jean Marie de Bourbon, Duke of Penthièvre

values:
/wiki/Princess_Henriette_of_France
mw-redirect
Princess Henriette of France

values:
/wiki/Princess_Louise_of_France
mw-redirect
Princess Louise of France

values:
/wiki/Princess_Victoire_of_France
mw-redirect
Princess Victoire of France

values:
/wiki/Princess_Sophie_of_France
mw-redirect
Princess Sophie of France

values: Marie Thérèse, Madame Royale (1746–1748)

values:
/wiki/Marie_Clotilde_of_France
mw-redirect
Marie Clotilde of France

values:
/wiki/Princess_%C3%89lisabeth_of_France
mw-redirect
Princess Élisabeth of France

values: Princess Sophie Hélène Béatrice of France

values:
/wiki/Princess_Maria_Theresa_of_Savoy
mw-redirect
Princess Maria Theresa of Savoy

values: nowraplinks hlist collapsible collapsed navbox-inner mw-collapsible mw-collapsed mw-made-collapsible

values:
/wiki/Albert_Fran%C3%A7ois_Lebrun
mw-redirect
Albert François Lebrun

values: Provisional Government of the French Republic

values: nowraplinks collapsible autocollapse navbox-inner mw-collapsible mw-made-collapsible mw-collapsed

values:
/wiki/Kingdom_of_the_Visigoths
mw-redirect
Kingdom of the Visigoths

values: List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants

values:
/wiki/Banque_de_France
mw-redirect
Banque de France

values: List of French regions and overseas collectivities by GDP

values:
/wiki/Remarkable_Gardens_of_France
mw-redirect
Remarkable Gardens of France

values:
/wiki/Symbols_of_France
mw-redirect
Symbols of France

values: nowraplinks hlist collapsible autocollapse navbox-inner mw-collapsible mw-made-collapsible mw-collapsed

attrs: alt src width height style srcset data-file-width data-file-height

values:
nofollow
external text
https://d-nb.info/gnd/118816829

values:
nofollow
external text
http://isni.org/isni/0000000108030835

values:
nofollow
external text
https://nla.gov.au/anbd.aut-an35313556

values:
nofollow
external text
https://libris.kb.se/auth/194162

values:
nofollow
external text
https://www.idref.fr/027328848

values:
nofollow
external text
https://viaf.org/viaf/268675767

values: Category:17th-century Princes of Andorra

values: Category:18th-century Princes of Andorra

values: Category:Burials at the Basilica of St Denis

values: Category:French military personnel of the Nine Years' War

values: Category:People of the Regency of Philippe d'Orléans

values: Category:17th-century monarchs in Europe

values: Category:18th-century monarchs in Europe

values: Category:CS1 French-language sources (fr)

values: Category:Wikipedia articles needing page number citations from July 2017

values: Category:Articles with French-language external links

values: Category:Articles with inconsistent citation formats

values: Category:Articles with Encyclopædia Britannica links

values: Category:Articles incorporating a citation from the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia with Wikisource reference

values: Category:Wikipedia pending changes protected pages

values: Category:Pages using deprecated image syntax

values: Category:Articles containing French-language text

values: Category:Articles needing additional references from August 2017

values: Category:All articles needing additional references

values: Category:All articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases

values: Category:Articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases from May 2018

values: Category:All articles with unsourced statements

values: Category:Articles with unsourced statements from May 2018

values: Category:Articles with unsourced statements from July 2016

values: Category:Articles with unsourced statements from December 2016

values: Category:Articles with Internet Archive links

values: Category:Wikipedia articles with BNE identifiers

values: Category:Wikipedia articles with BNF identifiers

values: Category:Wikipedia articles with BPN identifiers

values: Category:Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers

values: Category:Wikipedia articles with ISNI identifiers

values: Category:Wikipedia articles with LCCN identifiers

values: Category:Wikipedia articles with NDL identifiers

values: Category:Wikipedia articles with NKC identifiers

values: Category:Wikipedia articles with NLA identifiers

values: Category:Wikipedia articles with RKDartists identifiers

values: Category:Wikipedia articles with SBN identifiers

values: Category:Wikipedia articles with SELIBR identifiers

values: Category:Wikipedia articles with SNAC-ID identifiers

values: Category:Wikipedia articles with SUDOC identifiers

values: Category:Wikipedia articles with ULAN identifiers

values: Category:Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers

values: Discussion about edits from this IP address [ctrl-alt-n]

values: A list of edits made from this IP address [ctrl-alt-y]

values: You are encouraged to create an account and log in; however, it is not mandatory

values: You're encouraged to log in; however, it's not mandatory. [ctrl-alt-o]

values:
/wiki/Louis_XIV_of_France
View the content page [ctrl-alt-c]
c

values: Discussion about the content page [ctrl-alt-t]

values: p-namespaces navigation vectorTabs p-namespaces-label

values:
p-variants
navigation
vectorMenu emptyPortlet
p-variants-label

values: Past revisions of this page [ctrl-alt-h]

values: p-views navigation vectorTabs p-views-label

values:
p-cactions
navigation
vectorMenu emptyPortlet
p-cactions-label

values:
mw-wiki-logo
/wiki/Main_Page
Visit the main page

values:
/wiki/Main_Page
Visit the main page [ctrl-alt-z]
z

values: Featured content – the best of Wikipedia

values: Find background information on current events

values:
/wiki/Special:Random
Load a random article [ctrl-alt-x]
x

values: portal navigation p-navigation p-navigation-label

values: Guidance on how to use and edit Wikipedia

values: About the project, what you can do, where to find things

values: A list of recent changes in the wiki [ctrl-alt-r]

values: portal navigation p-interaction p-interaction-label

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-af
display: none;

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-als
display: none;

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-am
display: none;

values: Hloþwig XIV Francena Cyning – Old English

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-ang
display: none;

values: لويس الرابع عشر ملك فرنسا – Arabic

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-ar
display: none;

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-an
display: none;

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-ast
display: none;

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-az
display: none;

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-zh-min-nan
display: none;

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-ba
display: none;

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-be
display: none;

values: Людовік XIV – Belarusian (Taraškievica orthography)

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-be-x-old
display: none;

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-bg
display: none;

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-bar
display: none;

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-bs
display: none;

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-br
display: none;

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-bxr
display: none;

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-ca
display: none;

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-cs
display: none;

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-co
display: none;

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-cy
display: none;

values: interlanguage-link interwiki-da badge-Q17559452 badge-recommendedarticle

values: interlanguage-link interwiki-de badge-Q17437796 badge-featuredarticle

values:
https://et.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_XIV
Louis XIV – Estonian
et
et
interlanguage-link-target

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-et
display: none;

values: Λουδοβίκος ΙΔ΄ της Γαλλίας – Greek

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-el
display: none;

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-es
display: none;

values: interlanguage-link interwiki-eo badge-Q17437796 badge-featuredarticle

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-eu
display: none;

values: لوئی چهاردهم – Persian

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-fa
display: none;

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-hif
display: none;

values:
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_XIV
Louis XIV – French
fr
fr
interlanguage-link-target

values: Loadewyk XIV fan Frankryk – Western Frisian

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-fy
display: none;

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-ga
display: none;

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-gl
display: none;

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-ko
display: none;

values: Լուի Արև արքա – Armenian

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-hy
display: none;

values: चौदहवाँ लुई – Hindi

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-hr
display: none;

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-io
display: none;

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-ilo
display: none;

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-id
display: none;

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-is
display: none;

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-it
display: none;

values: לואי הארבעה עשר, מלך צרפת – Hebrew

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-he
display: none;

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-jv
display: none;

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-ka
display: none;

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-kk
display: none;

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-sw
display: none;

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-ku
display: none;

values: interlanguage-link interwiki-la badge-Q17437796 badge-featuredarticle

values:
https://lv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luijs_XIV
Luijs XIV – Latvian
lv
lv
interlanguage-link-target

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-lv
display: none;

values: Louis XIV. vu Frankräich – Luxembourgish

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-lb
display: none;

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-lt
display: none;

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-lij
display: none;

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-li
display: none;

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-hu
display: none;

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-mk
display: none;

values:
https://mg.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_XIV
Louis XIV – Malagasy
mg
mg
interlanguage-link-target

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-mg
display: none;

values: ലൂയി പതിനാലാമൻ – Malayalam

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-ml
display: none;

values: चौदावा लुई, फ्रान्स – Marathi

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-mr
display: none;

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-xmf
display: none;

values: لويس الاربعتاشر ملك فرنسا – Egyptian Arabic

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-arz
display: none;

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-ms
display: none;

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-mn
display: none;

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-nl
display: none;

values: interlanguage-link interwiki-ja badge-Q17437798 badge-goodarticle

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-ce
display: none;

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-frr
display: none;

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-no
display: none;

values: Ludvig XIV av Frankrike – Norwegian Nynorsk

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-nn
display: none;

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-oc
display: none;

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-uz
display: none;

values: ਫ਼ਰਾਂਸ ਦਾ ਲੂਈ ਚੌਦਵਾਂ – Punjabi

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-pa
display: none;

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-pnb
display: none;

values: ល្វី ដ៏អស្ចារ្យ – Khmer

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-km
display: none;

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-pcd
display: none;

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-pms
display: none;

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-nds
display: none;

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-pl
display: none;

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-pt
display: none;

values: Ludovic al XIV-lea al Franței – Romanian

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-ro
display: none;

values:
https://qu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_XIV
Louis XIV – Quechua
qu
qu
interlanguage-link-target

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-qu
display: none;

values: Людвік XIV Французьскый – Rusyn

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-rue
display: none;

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-ru
display: none;

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-sco
display: none;

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-sq
display: none;

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-scn
display: none;

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-simple
display: none;

values: interlanguage-link interwiki-sk badge-Q17437798 badge-goodarticle

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-sl
display: none;

values: لویی چواردەیەم – Central Kurdish

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-ckb
display: none;

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-sr
display: none;

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-sh
display: none;

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-fi
display: none;

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-sv
display: none;

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-tl
display: none;

values: பிரான்சின் பதினான்காம் லூயி – Tamil

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-ta
display: none;

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-tt
display: none;

values: พระเจ้าหลุยส์ที่ 14 แห่งฝรั่งเศส – Thai

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-th
display: none;

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-tr
display: none;

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-uk
display: none;

values: لوئی چودہواں – Urdu

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-ur
display: none;

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-vi
display: none;

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-fiu-vro
display: none;

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-vls
display: none;

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-war
display: none;

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-wuu
display: none;

values: לואי דער פערצנטער – Yiddish

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-yi
display: none;

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-yo
display: none;

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-zh-yue
display: none;

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-bat-smg
display: none;

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-kbp
display: none;

values:
https://lfn.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_14
Louis 14 – Lingua Franca Nova
lfn
lfn
interlanguage-link-target

values:
interlanguage-link interwiki-lfn
display: none;

values: All languages (initial selection from common choices by you and others)

values: mediawiki ltr sitedir-ltr mw-hide-empty-elt ns-0 ns-subject page-Louis_XIV_of_France rootpage-Louis_XIV_of_France skin-vector action-view