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On September 1, 1715, King Louis XIV of France (The Sun King) died after a reign of 72 years and 110 days —the longest of any major European monarch. From the article:
"Louis XIV
The reign of France’s Louis XIV (1638-1715), known as the Sun King, lasted for 72 years, longer than that of any other known European sovereign. In that time, he transformed the monarchy, ushered in a golden age of art and literature, presided over a dazzling royal court at Versailles, annexed key territories and established his country as the dominant European power. During the final decades of Louis XIV’s rule, France was weakened by several lengthy wars that drained its resources and the mass exodus of its Protestant population following the king’s revocation of the Edict of Nantes.
Early Life and Reign of Louis XIV
Born on September 5, 1638, to King Louis XIII of France (1601-1643) and his Habsburg queen, Anne of Austria (1601-1666), the future Louis XIV was his parents’ first child after 23 years of marriage; in recognition of this apparent miracle, he was christened Louis-Dieudonné, meaning “gift of God.” A younger brother, Philippe (1640-1701), followed two years later. When the king died on May 14, 1643, 4-year-old Louis inherited the crown of a fractured, unstable and nearly insolvent France. After orchestrating the annulment of Louis XIII’s will, which had appointed a regency council to rule on the young king’s behalf, Anne served as sole regent for her son, assisted by her chief minister and close confidant, the Italian-born Cardinal Jules Mazarin (1602-1661).
During the early years of Louis XIV’s reign, Anne and Mazarin introduced policies that further consolidated the monarchy’s power, angering nobles and members of the legal aristocracy. Beginning in 1648, their discontent erupted into a civil war known as the Fronde, which forced the royal family to flee Paris and instilled a lifelong fear of rebellion in the young king. Mazarin suppressed the revolt in 1653 and by decade’s end had restored internal order and negotiated a peace treaty with Hapsburg Spain, making France a leading European power. The following year, 22-year-old Louis married his first cousin Marie-Thérèse (1638-1683), daughter of King Philip IV of Spain. A diplomatic necessity more than anything else, the union produced six children, of whom only one, Louis (1661-1711), survived to adulthood. (A number of illegitimate offspring resulted from Louis XIV’s affairs with a string of official and unofficial mistresses.)
Louis XIV Assumes Control of France
After Mazarin’s death in 1661, Louis XIV broke with tradition and astonished his court by declaring that he would rule without a chief minister. He viewed himself as the direct representative of God, endowed with a divine right to wield the absolute power of the monarchy. To illustrate his status, he chose the sun as his emblem and cultivated the image of an omniscient and infallible “Roi-Soleil” (“Sun King”) around whom the entire realm orbited. While some historians question the attribution, Louis is often remembered for the bold and infamous statement “L’État, c’est moi” (“I am the State”).
Immediately after assuming control of the government, Louis worked tirelessly to centralize and tighten control of France and its overseas colonies. His finance minister, Jean-Baptiste Colbert (1619-1683), implemented reforms that sharply reduced the deficit and fostered the growth of industry, while his war minister, the Marquis de Louvois (1641-1691), expanded and reorganized the French army. Louis also managed to pacify and disempower the historically rebellious nobles, who had fomented no less than 11 civil wars in four decades, by luring them to his court and habituating them to the opulent lifestyle there.
The Arts and the Royal Court Under Louis XIV
A hard-working and meticulous ruler who oversaw his programs down to the last detail, Louis XIV nevertheless appreciated art, literature, music, theater and sports. He surrounded himself with some of the greatest artistic and intellectual figures of his time, including the playwright Molière (1622-1673), the painter Charles Le Brun (1619-1690) and the composer Jean-Baptiste Lully (1632-1687). He also appointed himself patron of the Académie Française, the body that regulates the French language, and established various institutes for the arts and sciences.
To accommodate his retinue of newly devoted nobles (and, perhaps, to distance himself from the population of Paris), Louis built several lavish châteaux that depleted the nation’s coffers while drawing accusations of extravagance. Most famously, he transformed a royal hunting lodge in Versailles, a village 25 miles southwest of the capital, into one of the largest palaces in the world, officially moving his court and government there in 1682. It was against this awe-inspiring backdrop that Louis tamed the nobility and impressed foreign dignitaries, using entertainment, ceremony and a highly codified system of etiquette to assert his supremacy. Versailles’ festive atmosphere dissipated to some extent when Louis came under the influence of the pious and orderly Marquise de Maintenon (1635-1719), who had served as his illegitimate children’s governess; the two wed in a private ceremony approximately one year after the death of Queen Marie-Thérèse in 1683.
Louis XIV and Foreign Policy
In 1667 Louis XIV launched the War of Devolution (1667-1668), the first in a series of military conflicts that characterized his aggressive approach to foreign policy, by invading the Spanish Netherlands, which he claimed as his wife’s inheritance. Under pressure from the English, Swedish and especially the Dutch, France retreated and returned the region to Spain, gaining only some frontier towns in Flanders. This unsatisfactory outcome led to the Franco-Dutch War (1672-1678), in which France acquired more territory in Flanders as well as the Franche-Compté. Now at the height of his powers and influence, Louis established “chambers of reunion” to annex disputed cities and towns along France’s border through quasi-legal means.
France’s position as the dominant power on the continent—coupled with a colonial presence that burgeoned under Louis XIV—was perceived as a threat by other European nations, including England, the Holy Roman Empire and Spain. In the late 1680s, responding to yet another spate of expansionist campaigns by Louis’ armies, they and several smaller countries formed a coalition known as the Grand Alliance. The ensuing war, fought on both hemispheres, lasted from 1688 to 1697; France emerged with most of its territory intact but its resources severely strained. More disastrous for Louis XIV was the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1714), in which the aging king defended his grandson Philip V’s inheritance of Spain and its empire. The long conflict plunged a famine-ridden France into massive debt, turning public opinion against the crown.
Louis XIV and Religion
It was not only decades of warfare that weakened both France and its monarch during the latter half of Louis XIV’s reign. In 1685, the devoutly Catholic king revoked the Edict of Nantes, issued by his grandfather Henry IV in 1598, which had granted freedom of worship and other rights to French Protestants (known as Huguenots). With the Edict of Fontainebleau, Louis ordered the destruction of Protestant churches, the closure of Protestant schools and the expulsion of Protestant clergy. Protestants would be barred from assembling and their marriages would be deemed invalid. Baptism and education in the Catholic faith would be required of all children.
Roughly 1 million Huguenots lived in France at the time, and many were artisans or other types of skilled workers. Although emigration of Protestants was explicitly forbidden by the Edict of Fontainebleau, scores of people—estimates range from 200,000 to 800,000—fled in the decades that followed, settling in England, Switzerland, Germany and the American colonies, among other places. Louis XIV’s act of religious zeal—advised, some have suggested, by the Marquise de Maintenon—had cost the country a valuable segment of its labor force while drawing the ire of its Protestant neighbors.
Death of Louis XIV
On September 1, 1715, four days before his 77th birthday, Louis XIV died of gangrene at Versailles. His reign had lasted 72 years, longer than that of any other known European monarch, and left an indelible mark on the culture, history and destiny of France. His 5-year-old great-grandson succeeded him as Louis XV."
"Louis XIV
The reign of France’s Louis XIV (1638-1715), known as the Sun King, lasted for 72 years, longer than that of any other known European sovereign. In that time, he transformed the monarchy, ushered in a golden age of art and literature, presided over a dazzling royal court at Versailles, annexed key territories and established his country as the dominant European power. During the final decades of Louis XIV’s rule, France was weakened by several lengthy wars that drained its resources and the mass exodus of its Protestant population following the king’s revocation of the Edict of Nantes.
Early Life and Reign of Louis XIV
Born on September 5, 1638, to King Louis XIII of France (1601-1643) and his Habsburg queen, Anne of Austria (1601-1666), the future Louis XIV was his parents’ first child after 23 years of marriage; in recognition of this apparent miracle, he was christened Louis-Dieudonné, meaning “gift of God.” A younger brother, Philippe (1640-1701), followed two years later. When the king died on May 14, 1643, 4-year-old Louis inherited the crown of a fractured, unstable and nearly insolvent France. After orchestrating the annulment of Louis XIII’s will, which had appointed a regency council to rule on the young king’s behalf, Anne served as sole regent for her son, assisted by her chief minister and close confidant, the Italian-born Cardinal Jules Mazarin (1602-1661).
During the early years of Louis XIV’s reign, Anne and Mazarin introduced policies that further consolidated the monarchy’s power, angering nobles and members of the legal aristocracy. Beginning in 1648, their discontent erupted into a civil war known as the Fronde, which forced the royal family to flee Paris and instilled a lifelong fear of rebellion in the young king. Mazarin suppressed the revolt in 1653 and by decade’s end had restored internal order and negotiated a peace treaty with Hapsburg Spain, making France a leading European power. The following year, 22-year-old Louis married his first cousin Marie-Thérèse (1638-1683), daughter of King Philip IV of Spain. A diplomatic necessity more than anything else, the union produced six children, of whom only one, Louis (1661-1711), survived to adulthood. (A number of illegitimate offspring resulted from Louis XIV’s affairs with a string of official and unofficial mistresses.)
Louis XIV Assumes Control of France
After Mazarin’s death in 1661, Louis XIV broke with tradition and astonished his court by declaring that he would rule without a chief minister. He viewed himself as the direct representative of God, endowed with a divine right to wield the absolute power of the monarchy. To illustrate his status, he chose the sun as his emblem and cultivated the image of an omniscient and infallible “Roi-Soleil” (“Sun King”) around whom the entire realm orbited. While some historians question the attribution, Louis is often remembered for the bold and infamous statement “L’État, c’est moi” (“I am the State”).
Immediately after assuming control of the government, Louis worked tirelessly to centralize and tighten control of France and its overseas colonies. His finance minister, Jean-Baptiste Colbert (1619-1683), implemented reforms that sharply reduced the deficit and fostered the growth of industry, while his war minister, the Marquis de Louvois (1641-1691), expanded and reorganized the French army. Louis also managed to pacify and disempower the historically rebellious nobles, who had fomented no less than 11 civil wars in four decades, by luring them to his court and habituating them to the opulent lifestyle there.
The Arts and the Royal Court Under Louis XIV
A hard-working and meticulous ruler who oversaw his programs down to the last detail, Louis XIV nevertheless appreciated art, literature, music, theater and sports. He surrounded himself with some of the greatest artistic and intellectual figures of his time, including the playwright Molière (1622-1673), the painter Charles Le Brun (1619-1690) and the composer Jean-Baptiste Lully (1632-1687). He also appointed himself patron of the Académie Française, the body that regulates the French language, and established various institutes for the arts and sciences.
To accommodate his retinue of newly devoted nobles (and, perhaps, to distance himself from the population of Paris), Louis built several lavish châteaux that depleted the nation’s coffers while drawing accusations of extravagance. Most famously, he transformed a royal hunting lodge in Versailles, a village 25 miles southwest of the capital, into one of the largest palaces in the world, officially moving his court and government there in 1682. It was against this awe-inspiring backdrop that Louis tamed the nobility and impressed foreign dignitaries, using entertainment, ceremony and a highly codified system of etiquette to assert his supremacy. Versailles’ festive atmosphere dissipated to some extent when Louis came under the influence of the pious and orderly Marquise de Maintenon (1635-1719), who had served as his illegitimate children’s governess; the two wed in a private ceremony approximately one year after the death of Queen Marie-Thérèse in 1683.
Louis XIV and Foreign Policy
In 1667 Louis XIV launched the War of Devolution (1667-1668), the first in a series of military conflicts that characterized his aggressive approach to foreign policy, by invading the Spanish Netherlands, which he claimed as his wife’s inheritance. Under pressure from the English, Swedish and especially the Dutch, France retreated and returned the region to Spain, gaining only some frontier towns in Flanders. This unsatisfactory outcome led to the Franco-Dutch War (1672-1678), in which France acquired more territory in Flanders as well as the Franche-Compté. Now at the height of his powers and influence, Louis established “chambers of reunion” to annex disputed cities and towns along France’s border through quasi-legal means.
France’s position as the dominant power on the continent—coupled with a colonial presence that burgeoned under Louis XIV—was perceived as a threat by other European nations, including England, the Holy Roman Empire and Spain. In the late 1680s, responding to yet another spate of expansionist campaigns by Louis’ armies, they and several smaller countries formed a coalition known as the Grand Alliance. The ensuing war, fought on both hemispheres, lasted from 1688 to 1697; France emerged with most of its territory intact but its resources severely strained. More disastrous for Louis XIV was the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1714), in which the aging king defended his grandson Philip V’s inheritance of Spain and its empire. The long conflict plunged a famine-ridden France into massive debt, turning public opinion against the crown.
Louis XIV and Religion
It was not only decades of warfare that weakened both France and its monarch during the latter half of Louis XIV’s reign. In 1685, the devoutly Catholic king revoked the Edict of Nantes, issued by his grandfather Henry IV in 1598, which had granted freedom of worship and other rights to French Protestants (known as Huguenots). With the Edict of Fontainebleau, Louis ordered the destruction of Protestant churches, the closure of Protestant schools and the expulsion of Protestant clergy. Protestants would be barred from assembling and their marriages would be deemed invalid. Baptism and education in the Catholic faith would be required of all children.
Roughly 1 million Huguenots lived in France at the time, and many were artisans or other types of skilled workers. Although emigration of Protestants was explicitly forbidden by the Edict of Fontainebleau, scores of people—estimates range from 200,000 to 800,000—fled in the decades that followed, settling in England, Switzerland, Germany and the American colonies, among other places. Louis XIV’s act of religious zeal—advised, some have suggested, by the Marquise de Maintenon—had cost the country a valuable segment of its labor force while drawing the ire of its Protestant neighbors.
Death of Louis XIV
On September 1, 1715, four days before his 77th birthday, Louis XIV died of gangrene at Versailles. His reign had lasted 72 years, longer than that of any other known European monarch, and left an indelible mark on the culture, history and destiny of France. His 5-year-old great-grandson succeeded him as Louis XV."
Louis XIV
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Louis XIV Documentary - Biography of the life of Louis XIV The Sun King
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Thank you, my friend SGT (Join to see) for making us aware King Louis XIV of France (The Sun King) died on September 1, 1715 after a reign of 72 years and 110 days.
I doubt he is resting in peace King Louis XIV since he ordered the persecution of Huguenot Protestants.
Louis XIV Documentary - Biography of the life of Louis XIV The Sun King
"Biographical Documentary on the life of King Louis XIV of France. A documentary on the life of The Sun King, from him ascending to the French throne and building the Palace of Versailles, to his persecution of Huguenot Protestants and his wars of expansion against the European powers."
https://youtu.be/_gqG-kdouqw?t=64
Images:
1. Louis XIV, King of France (1638-1715) in his Coronation Robes.
2. Colbert Presenting the Members of the Royal Academy of Sciences to Louis XIV in 1667, c. 1680.
3. Louis XIV, King of France, by artist Charles le Brun,1655.
4. A view of the equestrian statue of King Louis XIV in front of the chateau de Versailles in Versailles, France.
Background from thoughtco.com/king-louis-xiv-4766628
"Biography of King Louis XIV, France’s Sun King
By McKenzie Perkins
Updated August 27, 2019
Louis XIV, also known as the Sun King, was the longest-reigning monarch in European history, ruling France for 72 years and 110 days. He was responsible for moving the center of French government to the Palace of Versailles in 1682.
Fast Facts: Louis XIV
• Known For: King of France, 1643-1715
• Born: 5 September 1638
• Died: 1 September 1715
• Parents: Louis XVIII; Anne of Austria
• Spouses: Maria Theresa of Spain (m. 1660; d. 1683); Francoise d’Aubigne, Marquise de Maintenon (m. 1683)
• Children: Louis, Dauphin of France
Louis XIV assumed the throne at the age of five, and he was raised to believe in his divine right to rule. His experience with civil unrest during his childhood simultaneously fostered his desire for a strong France as well as his distaste for the French peasantry. He built a strong central government and expanded France’s borders, but his lavish lifestyle laid the foundation for the French Revolution.
Birth and Early Life
Louis XIV’s birth was a surprise. His parents, Louis XIII of France and Anne of Austria, were married when they were both 14, and they strongly disliked each other. Their marriage had produced a series of miscarriages and stillbirths, for which Louis blamed Anne. At the age of 37, Anne gave birth to a son, christened Louis-Dieudonne or Louis, the Gift of God. Two years later, she had a second son, Louis’ brother, Philippe I, Duke of Orleans.
Louis XIV, King of France (1638-1715) in his Coronation Robes. Found in the collection of Ambras Castle, Innsbruck. Artist : Egmont, Justus van. Heritage Images / Getty Images
Louis was doted on by his mother, and the two built a strong bond. He was raised from birth to believe that he was a gift from God, and it was his divine right to rule France as an absolute monarch. Even in his early years, Louis was charismatic, and he had an aptitude for languages and the arts.
The Sun King
Louis’ father died when he was only four, making him Louis XIV, king of France. His mother served as regent with the help of Cardinal Mazarin, but the years were marked by civil unrest. When Louis was 9 years old, members of the parliament in Paris rebelled against the crown, and the royal family was forced to flee to the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye. The rebellion and subsequent civil war, known as the Fronde, sparked Louis’ dislike for Paris and his fear of rebellions, impacting his future political decisions.
In 1661, Cardinal Mazarin died, and Louis declared himself as the Absolute Monarch to the French parliament, breaking with past French kings. In Louis’ view, treason wasn’t a crime under the law, but rather a sin against God. He adopted the Sun as the symbol of his monarchy, and he immediately began to centralize control of the government. He developed strict foreign policy while expanding the navy and army, and in 1667 he invaded Holland to claim what he believed to be his wife’s inheritance.
Under pressure from the Dutch and the English, he was forced to retreat, though in 1672, he was able to ally with a new English king, Charles II, to conquer territory from the Dutch and expand the size of France.
Louis XIV, King of France, by artist Charles le Brun, c1660-c1670. From the Musee du Louvre, Paris. Print Collector / Getty Images
Louis appointed those loyal to the crown to government offices to carry out legal and financial matters in the different regions of France. In 1682, he formally moved the center of government from Paris to his palace in Versailles.
A staunch Catholic, Louis revoked the Edict of Nantes in 1685, which had provided legal protection for French Protestants, causing a mass exodus of Protestants to the Netherlands and England.
Marriage and Children
Louis’ first significant relationship was with Marie Mancini, the niece of Cardinal Mazarin, but his first marriage was a political union with his first cousin, Maria Theresa of Spain. Though the pair produced six children together, only one survived to adulthood. The relationship was said to have been friendly but never passionate, and Louis took numerous mistresses.
Louis’ second wife was Francoise d’Aubigne, a devout Catholic and once governess of Louis’ illegitimate children.
Maria Theresa of Spain
In 1660, Louis married Maria Theresa, the daughter of Philip IV of Spain. She was his first cousin on his mother’s side, a Spanish princess of the House of Habsburg. The marriage was a political arrangement intended to foster peace and unity between the neighboring countries.
Of their six children, only one, Louis le Grand Dauphin, also known as Monseigneur, survived to adulthood. Though Monseigneur was heir to the throne, Louis XIV outlived both his son and his grandson, passing the throne to his great-grandson at the time of his death.
Francoise d’Aubigne, Marquise de Maintenon
As the governess to Louis’ illegitimate children, d’Aubigne came into contact with Louis on numerous occasions. She was a widow, known for her piety. The pair was secretly married at Versailles in 1683, never announcing the marriage to the public, though it was a matter of common knowledge.
Mistresses and Illegitimate Children
Throughout his marriage to his first wife, Maria Theresa, Louis took both official and unofficial mistresses, producing more than a dozen children. He was more faithful to his second wife, Francoise d’Aubigne, likely due to her piety, though the two never had children.
The Palace of Versailles
As a result of the rebellions he saw in his youth and the subsequent civil war, Louis developed a strong dislike for Paris, and he spent long stretches of time at his father’s hunting lodge in Versailles. During his lifetime, Versailles became Louis’ refuge.
A view of the equestrian statue of King Louis XIV in front of the chateau de Versailles on October 30, 2015 in Versailles, France. Chesnot / Getty Images
In 1661, after the death of Cardinal Mazarin, Louis began a massive construction project on Versailles, transforming the lodge into a palace suitable to host the Parisian court. He included the symbol of his monarchy, the sun with his face stamped into its center, as a design element in almost every part of the palace.
Louis formally relocated the French seat of government from Paris to Versailles in 1682, though construction continued on the palace until 1689. By isolating political leaders in rural Versailles, Louis strengthened his control over France.
Decline and Death
Toward the end of his life, Louis faced a series of personal and political disappointments in addition to failing health. The House of Stuart fell in England, and the Protestant William of Orange took the throne, eliminating any chance of continued political association between the countries. Louis XIV also lost a series of battles during the War of Spanish Succession, though he did manage to maintain the territory he had gained in previous decades.
Medical journals from the 18th century indicate that Louis faced a myriad of health complications towards the end of his life, including dental abscesses, boils, and gout, and he likely suffered from diabetes. In 1711, Louis XIV’s son, le Grand Dauphin, died, followed by his grandson, le Petit Dauphin in 1712.
Louis XIV died on September 1, 1715, from gangrene, passing the crown to his five-year-old great-grandson, Louis XV.
Legacy
During his lifetime, Louis XIV built an empire, reconstructing the government of France and transforming the country into the dominant European power. He is the most significant example of an absolute monarch during the 17th and 18th centuries, and he built the Palace of Versailles, one of the most famous contemporary historical landmarks in the world.
However strong Louis XIV made France to foreign adversaries, he created a stark divide between the nobility and the working classes, isolating the political elite in Versailles and separating the nobility from the common people in Paris. While Louis created a France that was stronger than it had ever been, he unknowingly laid the foundation for the revolution that was to come, a revolution that would see the permanent end to the French monarchy.
Sources
• Berger, Robert W. Versailles: The Château of Louis XIV. The Pennsylvania State University Press, 1985.
• Bernier, Olivier. Louis XIV. New World City, Inc., 2018.
• Cronin, Vincent. Louis XIV. The Harvill Press, 1990.
• Horne, Alistair. Seven Ages of Paris: Portrait of a City. Macmillian, 2002.
• Mitford, Nancy. The Sun King: Louis XIV at Versailles. New York Review Books, 2012."
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I doubt he is resting in peace King Louis XIV since he ordered the persecution of Huguenot Protestants.
Louis XIV Documentary - Biography of the life of Louis XIV The Sun King
"Biographical Documentary on the life of King Louis XIV of France. A documentary on the life of The Sun King, from him ascending to the French throne and building the Palace of Versailles, to his persecution of Huguenot Protestants and his wars of expansion against the European powers."
https://youtu.be/_gqG-kdouqw?t=64
Images:
1. Louis XIV, King of France (1638-1715) in his Coronation Robes.
2. Colbert Presenting the Members of the Royal Academy of Sciences to Louis XIV in 1667, c. 1680.
3. Louis XIV, King of France, by artist Charles le Brun,1655.
4. A view of the equestrian statue of King Louis XIV in front of the chateau de Versailles in Versailles, France.
Background from thoughtco.com/king-louis-xiv-4766628
"Biography of King Louis XIV, France’s Sun King
By McKenzie Perkins
Updated August 27, 2019
Louis XIV, also known as the Sun King, was the longest-reigning monarch in European history, ruling France for 72 years and 110 days. He was responsible for moving the center of French government to the Palace of Versailles in 1682.
Fast Facts: Louis XIV
• Known For: King of France, 1643-1715
• Born: 5 September 1638
• Died: 1 September 1715
• Parents: Louis XVIII; Anne of Austria
• Spouses: Maria Theresa of Spain (m. 1660; d. 1683); Francoise d’Aubigne, Marquise de Maintenon (m. 1683)
• Children: Louis, Dauphin of France
Louis XIV assumed the throne at the age of five, and he was raised to believe in his divine right to rule. His experience with civil unrest during his childhood simultaneously fostered his desire for a strong France as well as his distaste for the French peasantry. He built a strong central government and expanded France’s borders, but his lavish lifestyle laid the foundation for the French Revolution.
Birth and Early Life
Louis XIV’s birth was a surprise. His parents, Louis XIII of France and Anne of Austria, were married when they were both 14, and they strongly disliked each other. Their marriage had produced a series of miscarriages and stillbirths, for which Louis blamed Anne. At the age of 37, Anne gave birth to a son, christened Louis-Dieudonne or Louis, the Gift of God. Two years later, she had a second son, Louis’ brother, Philippe I, Duke of Orleans.
Louis XIV, King of France (1638-1715) in his Coronation Robes. Found in the collection of Ambras Castle, Innsbruck. Artist : Egmont, Justus van. Heritage Images / Getty Images
Louis was doted on by his mother, and the two built a strong bond. He was raised from birth to believe that he was a gift from God, and it was his divine right to rule France as an absolute monarch. Even in his early years, Louis was charismatic, and he had an aptitude for languages and the arts.
The Sun King
Louis’ father died when he was only four, making him Louis XIV, king of France. His mother served as regent with the help of Cardinal Mazarin, but the years were marked by civil unrest. When Louis was 9 years old, members of the parliament in Paris rebelled against the crown, and the royal family was forced to flee to the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye. The rebellion and subsequent civil war, known as the Fronde, sparked Louis’ dislike for Paris and his fear of rebellions, impacting his future political decisions.
In 1661, Cardinal Mazarin died, and Louis declared himself as the Absolute Monarch to the French parliament, breaking with past French kings. In Louis’ view, treason wasn’t a crime under the law, but rather a sin against God. He adopted the Sun as the symbol of his monarchy, and he immediately began to centralize control of the government. He developed strict foreign policy while expanding the navy and army, and in 1667 he invaded Holland to claim what he believed to be his wife’s inheritance.
Under pressure from the Dutch and the English, he was forced to retreat, though in 1672, he was able to ally with a new English king, Charles II, to conquer territory from the Dutch and expand the size of France.
Louis XIV, King of France, by artist Charles le Brun, c1660-c1670. From the Musee du Louvre, Paris. Print Collector / Getty Images
Louis appointed those loyal to the crown to government offices to carry out legal and financial matters in the different regions of France. In 1682, he formally moved the center of government from Paris to his palace in Versailles.
A staunch Catholic, Louis revoked the Edict of Nantes in 1685, which had provided legal protection for French Protestants, causing a mass exodus of Protestants to the Netherlands and England.
Marriage and Children
Louis’ first significant relationship was with Marie Mancini, the niece of Cardinal Mazarin, but his first marriage was a political union with his first cousin, Maria Theresa of Spain. Though the pair produced six children together, only one survived to adulthood. The relationship was said to have been friendly but never passionate, and Louis took numerous mistresses.
Louis’ second wife was Francoise d’Aubigne, a devout Catholic and once governess of Louis’ illegitimate children.
Maria Theresa of Spain
In 1660, Louis married Maria Theresa, the daughter of Philip IV of Spain. She was his first cousin on his mother’s side, a Spanish princess of the House of Habsburg. The marriage was a political arrangement intended to foster peace and unity between the neighboring countries.
Of their six children, only one, Louis le Grand Dauphin, also known as Monseigneur, survived to adulthood. Though Monseigneur was heir to the throne, Louis XIV outlived both his son and his grandson, passing the throne to his great-grandson at the time of his death.
Francoise d’Aubigne, Marquise de Maintenon
As the governess to Louis’ illegitimate children, d’Aubigne came into contact with Louis on numerous occasions. She was a widow, known for her piety. The pair was secretly married at Versailles in 1683, never announcing the marriage to the public, though it was a matter of common knowledge.
Mistresses and Illegitimate Children
Throughout his marriage to his first wife, Maria Theresa, Louis took both official and unofficial mistresses, producing more than a dozen children. He was more faithful to his second wife, Francoise d’Aubigne, likely due to her piety, though the two never had children.
The Palace of Versailles
As a result of the rebellions he saw in his youth and the subsequent civil war, Louis developed a strong dislike for Paris, and he spent long stretches of time at his father’s hunting lodge in Versailles. During his lifetime, Versailles became Louis’ refuge.
A view of the equestrian statue of King Louis XIV in front of the chateau de Versailles on October 30, 2015 in Versailles, France. Chesnot / Getty Images
In 1661, after the death of Cardinal Mazarin, Louis began a massive construction project on Versailles, transforming the lodge into a palace suitable to host the Parisian court. He included the symbol of his monarchy, the sun with his face stamped into its center, as a design element in almost every part of the palace.
Louis formally relocated the French seat of government from Paris to Versailles in 1682, though construction continued on the palace until 1689. By isolating political leaders in rural Versailles, Louis strengthened his control over France.
Decline and Death
Toward the end of his life, Louis faced a series of personal and political disappointments in addition to failing health. The House of Stuart fell in England, and the Protestant William of Orange took the throne, eliminating any chance of continued political association between the countries. Louis XIV also lost a series of battles during the War of Spanish Succession, though he did manage to maintain the territory he had gained in previous decades.
Medical journals from the 18th century indicate that Louis faced a myriad of health complications towards the end of his life, including dental abscesses, boils, and gout, and he likely suffered from diabetes. In 1711, Louis XIV’s son, le Grand Dauphin, died, followed by his grandson, le Petit Dauphin in 1712.
Louis XIV died on September 1, 1715, from gangrene, passing the crown to his five-year-old great-grandson, Louis XV.
Legacy
During his lifetime, Louis XIV built an empire, reconstructing the government of France and transforming the country into the dominant European power. He is the most significant example of an absolute monarch during the 17th and 18th centuries, and he built the Palace of Versailles, one of the most famous contemporary historical landmarks in the world.
However strong Louis XIV made France to foreign adversaries, he created a stark divide between the nobility and the working classes, isolating the political elite in Versailles and separating the nobility from the common people in Paris. While Louis created a France that was stronger than it had ever been, he unknowingly laid the foundation for the revolution that was to come, a revolution that would see the permanent end to the French monarchy.
Sources
• Berger, Robert W. Versailles: The Château of Louis XIV. The Pennsylvania State University Press, 1985.
• Bernier, Olivier. Louis XIV. New World City, Inc., 2018.
• Cronin, Vincent. Louis XIV. The Harvill Press, 1990.
• Horne, Alistair. Seven Ages of Paris: Portrait of a City. Macmillian, 2002.
• Mitford, Nancy. The Sun King: Louis XIV at Versailles. New York Review Books, 2012."
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