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Louis XIV was known as the sun king

He married his cousin

The official inauguration of the Palace of Versailles was on May 6th 1682

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The reign of Louis XIV is often referred to as “Le Grand Siècle” (the Great Century), forever associated with the image of an absolute monarch and a strong, centralised state. Coming to the throne at a tender age, tutored by Cardinal Mazarin, the Sun King embodied the principles of absolutism. In 16…

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Louis' full name was Louis of Bourbon

he was the King of France and Navarre

he lived from 1654 to the year 1715

he took the throne at age 4 and lived to be about 70

he was associated with the sight of a strong absolute monarch

in 1682 he moved the royal Court into the Palace of Versailles (this defined his symbol of power/influence in Europe)

his mother was Anne of Austria

his father was King Louis XIII

his mother and godfather made sure he was well educated

Louis married his cousin, Maria Theresa of Spain (1660)

Louis and Maria Theresa had 6 children, but only the eldest child, Louis de France also known as Le Grand Dauphin, would survive adulthood

after the Queen died in 1683, Louis married Madame de Maintenon, one of his many mistresses

King Louis had 7 legitimized children with his mistresses

Louis XIV chose the sun as his emblem

like the sun God, Louis was a strong influencer trying to make the world fair

he fought the European countries in 4 wars

King Louis was seen as the embodiment of absolutism

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The reign of Louis XIV is often referred to as “Le Grand Siècle” (the Great Century), forever associated with the image of an absolute monarch and a strong, centralised state. Coming to the throne at a tender age, tutored by Cardinal Mazarin, the Sun King embodied the principles of absolutism. In 16…

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louis XIV was the longest reigning monarch in history he was in power for 72 years

he extended frances borders

he became king at age 4

he was only 9 when the french civil war known as the Fronde happened

he took over when he was 14 years old and genuinely thought he was gods representative on earth because of this anyone who rebelled or went against him was seen as sinful he was backed up by priest of the church to help enforce this

louis spent his days meticulously making sure his influence and power was everywhere he wanted to see and control everything in france

he corrupted his nobility to make them more easily controllable with gambling and making it so there descendants where dependant on him

he respected and funded the arts

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Louis XIV (born September 5, 1638, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France-died September 1, 1715, Versailles, France) was the king of France (1643-1715) who ruled his country, principally from his great palace at Versailles, during one of its most brilliant periods and who remains the symbol of absolute monarchy of the classical age. Internationally, in a series of wars between 1667 and 1697, he extended France's eastern borders at the expense of the Habsburgs and then, in the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-14), engaged a hostile European coalition in order to secure the Spanish throne for his grandson.

Early life and marriage

Louis was the son of Louis XIII and his Spanish queen, Anne of Austria. He succeeded his father on May 14, 1643. At the age of four years and eight months, he was, according to the laws of the kingdom, not only the master but the owner of the bodies and property of 19 million subjects. Although he was saluted as "a visible divinity," he was, nonetheless, a neglected child given over to the care of servants. He once narrowly escaped drowning in a pond because no one was watching him. Anne of Austria, who was to blame for this negligence, inspired him with a lasting fear of "crimes committed against God."

Louis was nine years old when the nobles and the Paris Parlement (a powerful law court), driven by hatred of the prime minister Jules Cardinal Mazarin, rose against the crown in 1648. This marked the beginning of the long civil war known as the Fronde, in the course of which Louis suffered poverty, misfortune, fear, humiliation, cold, and hunger. These trials shaped the future character, behaviour, and mode of thought of the young king. He would never forgive either Paris, the nobles, or the common people.

In 1653 Mazarin was victorious over the rebels and then proceeded to construct an extraordinary administrative apparatus with Louis as his pupil. The young king also acquired Mazarin's partiality for the arts, elegance, and display. Although he had been proclaimed of age, the king did not dream of disputing the cardinal's absolute power.

The war begun in 1635 between France and Spain was then entering its last phase. The outcome of the war would transfer European hegemony from the Habsburgs to the Bourbons. A French king had to be a soldier, and so Louis served his apprenticeship on the battlefield.

In 1658 Louis faced the great conflict between love and duty, a familiar one for princes of that period. He struggled with himself for two years over his love for Mazarin's niece, Marie Mancini. He finally submitted to the exigencies of politics and in 1660 married Marie-Thérèse of Austria, daughter of King Philip IV of Spain, in order to ratify peace between their two countries.

The childhood of Louis XIV was at an end, but no one believed him capable of seizing the reins of power. No one suspected his thoughts. He wrote in his Mémoires:

In my heart I prefer fame above all else, even life itself....Love of glory has the same subtleties as the most tender passions....In exercising a totally divine function here on earth, we must appear incapable of turmoils which could debase it.

The young king

Mazarin died on March 9, 1661. The dramatic blow came on March 10. The king informed his astonished ministers that he intended to assume all responsibility for ruling the kingdom. This had not occurred since the reign of Henry IV. It cannot be overemphasized that Louis XIV's action was not in accordance with tradition; his concept of a dictatorship by divine right was his own. In genuine faith, Louis viewed himself as God's representative on earth and considered all disobedience and rebellion to be sinful. From this conviction he gained not only a dangerous feeling of infallibility but also considerable serenity and moderation.

He was backed up first by the great ministers Jean-Baptiste Colbert, marquis de Louvois, and Hugues de Lionne, among whom he fostered dissension, and later by men of lesser capacity. For 54 years Louis devoted himself to his task eight hours a day; not the smallest detail escaped his attention. He wanted to control everything from court etiquette to troop movements, from road building to theological disputes. He succeeded because he faithfully reflected the mood of a France overflowing with youth and vigour and enamoured of grandeur.

Despite the use of pensions and punishments, the monarchy had been unable to subdue the nobles, who had started 11 civil wars in 40 years. Louis lured them to his court, corrupted them with gambling, exhausted them with dissipation, and made their destinies dependent on their capacity to please him. Etiquette became a means of governing. From that time, the nobility ceased to be an important factor in French politics, which in some respects weakened the nation.

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Louis XIV | Facts, Biography, Children, & Death

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Louis XIV, king of France (1643-1715) who ruled his country during one of its most brilliant periods and who remains the symbol of absolute monarchy of the classical age. He extended France's eastern borders at the expense of the Habsburgs and secured the Spanish throne for his grandson.

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Louis the Great, also called le Roi Soleil, aka the Sun King. He was the longest reigning monarch in Europe, he ruled in France for 72 years. He was the prime example of absolutism in such a way that the nobilities of France were rendered useless as he manipulated them and their power to have their goals be to serve him and his happiness. He caused and joined himself in many wars, and is quoted as saying on his deathbed, "I have loved war too much." One war in particular was the invasion of the Spanish Netherlands. This war he was forced to retreat from in the face of the English, and more importantly, the Dutch. He hated the Dutch, and joined forces with England to invade the Netherlands until the Treaty of Nijamen was signed. He made himself very unlikeable due to his revocation of the Edict of Nantes, which allowed freedom of religion. So his Protestant citizens quickly rose to hate him which began the King's general decline. However, he tried to continue the French expansion. This led to a revolt led by England, the Holy Roman Empire, and the Dutch in something called the Grand Alliance. Despite him winning many battles, he gave up his territory by signing the Treaty of Rijswijk which he was harshly judged for. After this, he recognized WIlliam of Orange as William III of England, which went against his belief in the divine right to the throne. 3 years after this, the last Habsburg King died, bequeathing his kingdom to Louis' grandson. Louis wanted nothing but peace during this event, so he accepted the kingdom hesitantly which resulted in even more public backlash. He only accepted because with England against him, the land would have been given to the HRE, who was equally as volatile. 15 years later, he finally died. In his last days he wrote up his will leaving his power to his child not expected to live, rather than his heir, his nephew.

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Louis XIV (born September 5, 1638, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France-died September 1, 1715, Versailles, France) was the king of France (1643-1715) who ruled his country, principally from his great palace at Versailles, during one of its most brilliant periods and who remains the symbol of absolute monarchy of the classical age. Internationally, in a series of wars between 1667 and 1697, he extended France's eastern borders at the expense of the Habsburgs and then, in the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-14), engaged a hostile European coalition in order to secure the Spanish throne for his grandson.

Early life and marriage

Louis was the son of Louis XIII and his Spanish queen, Anne of Austria. He succeeded his father on May 14, 1643. At the age of four years and eight months, he was, according to the laws of the kingdom, not only the master but the owner of the bodies and property of 19 million subjects. Although he was saluted as "a visible divinity," he was, nonetheless, a neglected child given over to the care of servants. He once narrowly escaped drowning in a pond because no one was watching him. Anne of Austria, who was to blame for this negligence, inspired him with a lasting fear of "crimes committed against God."

Louis was nine years old when the nobles and the Paris Parlement (a powerful law court), driven by hatred of the prime minister Jules Cardinal Mazarin, rose against the crown in 1648. This marked the beginning of the long civil war known as the Fronde, in the course of which Louis suffered poverty, misfortune, fear, humiliation, cold, and hunger. These trials shaped the future character, behaviour, and mode of thought of the young king. He would never forgive either Paris, the nobles, or the common people.

In 1653 Mazarin was victorious over the rebels and then proceeded to construct an extraordinary administrative apparatus with Louis as his pupil. The young king also acquired Mazarin's partiality for the arts, elegance, and display. Although he had been proclaimed of age, the king did not dream of disputing the cardinal's absolute power.

The war begun in 1635 between France and Spain was then entering its last phase. The outcome of the war would transfer European hegemony from the Habsburgs to the Bourbons. A French king had to be a soldier, and so Louis served his apprenticeship on the battlefield.

In 1658 Louis faced the great conflict between love and duty, a familiar one for princes of that period. He struggled with himself for two years over his love for Mazarin's niece, Marie Mancini. He finally submitted to the exigencies of politics and in 1660 married Marie-Thérèse of Austria, daughter of King Philip IV of Spain, in order to ratify peace between their two countries.

The childhood of Louis XIV was at an end, but no one believed him capable of seizing the reins of power. No one suspected his thoughts. He wrote in his Mémoires:

In my heart I prefer fame above all else, even life itself....Love of glory has the same subtleties as the most tender passions....In exercising a totally divine function here on earth, we must appear incapable of turmoils which could debase it.

The young king

Mazarin died on March 9, 1661. The dramatic blow came on March 10. The king informed his astonished ministers that he intended to assume all responsibility for ruling the kingdom. This had not occurred since the reign of Henry IV. It cannot be overemphasized that Louis XIV's action was not in accordance with tradition; his concept of a dictatorship by divine right was his own. In genuine faith, Louis viewed himself as God's representative on earth and considered all disobedience and rebellion to be sinful. From this conviction he gained not only a dangerous feeling of infallibility but also considerable serenity and moderation.

He was backed up first by the great ministers Jean-Baptiste Colbert, marquis de Louvois, and Hugues de Lionne, among whom he fostered dissension, and later by men of lesser capacity. For 54 years Louis devoted himself to his task eight hours a day; not the smallest detail escaped his attention. He wanted to control everything from court etiquette to troop movements, from road building to theological disputes. He succeeded because he faithfully reflected the mood of a France overflowing with youth and vigour and enamoured of grandeur.

Despite the use of pensions and punishments, the monarchy had been unable to subdue the nobles, who had started 11 civil wars in 40 years. Louis lured them to his court, corrupted them with gambling, exhausted them with dissipation, and made their destinies dependent on their capacity to please him. Etiquette became a means of governing. From that time, the nobility ceased to be an important factor in French politics, which in some respects weakened the nation.

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Louis XIV | Facts, Biography, Children, & Death

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Louis XIV, king of France (1643-1715) who ruled his country during one of its most brilliant periods and who remains the symbol of absolute monarchy of the classical age. He extended France's eastern borders at the expense of the Habsburgs and secured the Spanish throne for his grandson.

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France became Europe's most powerful country under Louis XIV reign

Was a absolute monarch

Known as the Sun King

Used Propaganda to his advantage

Knew many languages

Gained throne at 4

https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/renaissance-reformation/baroque-art1/france/a/rigaud-louis-xiv

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Louis XIV - The Sun King: What Did He Look Like? | History Documentary | Royalty Now

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Born Sept 5

Crowned at 14

he extended France’s eastern borders at the expense of the Habsburgs and then, in the war of Spanish succession

viewed himself as God’s representative on earth and considered all disobedience and rebellion to be sinful.

Fluent in French, Italian, Latin, and Spanish

He succeeded because he faithfully reflected the mood of a France overflowing with youth and vigor and enamored of grandeur.

His fleet equaled those of England and Holland.

Died Sept 1

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Louis-XIV-king-of-France/Patronage-of-the-arts

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Longest reigning living monarch in European history(1642-61).

Fought most of the European countries in four wars.

Neglected as a child, but gained throne privilege at the age of four.

Due to a revolt committed by other nobles and the judges of parliament against Anne and Louis, the two were driven out of Paris and placed into house arrest where they suffered starvation, humiliation, fear, and a wealth decrease.

Sparked hatred for all of the residents of Paris.

Was politically married to Marie Therese of Austria in order to establish peace between France and Spain.

http://www.louis-xiv.de/index.php?id=31

https://en.chateauversailles.fr/discover/history/great-characters/louis-xiv#king-by-divine-right

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The Royal Family

Acclaimed as "Louis the God-given", arriving as he did after a 23-year wait for an heir, Louis XIV was born in Saint-Germain-en-Laye in 1638. Taking the throne at the age of four following the death of his father, King Louis XIII, the young monarch received a thorough education from his mother Anne of Austria and his godfather Cardinal Mazarin. While his mother ruled as regent and Mazarin busied himself with the young king's political training, a civil conflict known as the Fronde broke out (1648-1653). Originating as a dispute between the monarchy and the Parlement de Paris, the rebellion subsequently spread to the aristocracy. The child king felt humiliated by the arrogance of the great lords and physically threatened in the capital. He would never forget this experience.

Louis XIV married his cousin (on both sides) Maria Theresa of Spain, the Spanish Infanta, at Saint-Jean-de-Luz in 1660. Their marriage sealed the reconciliation between France and neighbouring Spain. The royal couple had six children. Only the eldest, Louis de France, known as Le Grand Dauphin, would survive to adulthood. After the death of the queen in 1683, the King secretly married Madame de Maintenon. She was the last in a series of official mistresses which had included Mademoiselle de La Vallière and Madame de Montespan, with whom he had several legitimated children.

From royal residences to the Palace of Versailles

Until the official inauguration of the Palace of Versailles on 6 May 1682, the royal court often changed locations. Louis XIV and his courtiers were based in the Louvre Palace, then the Tuileries, alternating with stints at the Châteaux of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Vincennes, Fontainebleau and the rapidly-growing Versailles. The task of building and decorating the ultimate royal residence was entrusted to artists such as André Le Nôtre, Louis Le Vau, Charles Le Brun and Jules Hardouin-Mansart. In 1678 work began on the Hall of Mirrors, the most potent symbol of the King's absolute power. With enough room to house the whole court, the Palace and its surrounding buildings rapidly became symbols of an age when the nobility were prepared to go to any lengths to be close to the King, who respected the royal tradition whereby the monarch had to be accessible to his courtiers. Under the sovereign's watchful eye, the nobility could no longer plot against the throne; the great lords were kept in their place in the army or at court, eager to serve and please the King. Intimidating, majestic, kept informed by an army of spies, the king controlled everything.

A royal art-lover

The King cultivated a broad variety of interests and excelled in numerous fields, such as music (he played the guitar), dance (performing in ballets), and horse-riding (Louis XIV was an excellent rider). He also loved hunting, promenades, fencing, shows and parlour games, and was a great fan of billiards. He surrounded himself with the leading artists and writers of his day, including Molière, Lully and Racine. At the Palace of Versailles he staged the finest comedies, operas and tragedies and organised spectacular parties.

King by divine right

At the start of his reign, before turning to more political allegories, Louis XIV chose the sun as his personal emblem. The sun is the symbol of Apollo, god of peace and the arts; it is also the star which gives life to all things, rising and setting with unfailing regularity. Like the god, Louis XIV was a warrior fighting to restore peace; he was also a patron of the arts and the source of all privileges. Though the unstinting regularity of his life and with the public getting-up and going-to-bed ceremonies, he hammered home the symbolic parallels. The Palace of Versailles is replete with representations and allegorical allusions to the sun god (laurel wreathes, lyres, tripods) combined with royal portraits and emblems.

An absolute monarchy

As sovereign by divine right, the King was God's representative on earth. It is in this respect that his power was "absolute", which in Latin means literally 'free of all restraints': the king was answerable to no one but God. During his coronation, Louis XIV swore to defend the Catholic faith. To honour this pledge and preserve the religious unity of his kingdom, he cracked down on the Jansenists of Port-Royal and ordered the persecution of Protestants. The previous policy of religious tolerance was abandoned with the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685. Protestants were forced to convert, and over two hundred thousand fled the country. From his base in Versailles, Louis XIV ruled over a centralised, absolutist state which revolved entirely around him. The King lived in the main wing of the palace, on the first floor, in a suite of three apartments reserved for his use. He applied a strict etiquette at court, a set of rules and protocols by which his noble courtiers were obliged to abide. With the help of Colbert, he oversaw the administrative and financial reorganisation of his realm, and also set up manufactures and worked to boost trade. With Louvois he reformed the army and enjoyed a string of military victories.

After 72 years on the throne, Louis XIV died on 1 September 1715. He was buried in the Saint-Denis Basilica, and the throne passed to his great-grandson Louis XV, aged five.

Louis XIV continues to embody the Grand Siècle, synonymous with the splendour of Versailles and the glory of France.

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The reign of Louis XIV is often referred to as "Le Grand Siècle" (the Great Century), forever associated with the image of an absolute monarch and a strong, centralised state. Coming to the throne at a tender age, tutored by Cardinal Mazarin, the Sun King embodied the principles of absolutism.

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Louis XIV met Christina of Sweden and allowed her to stay at the Fontainebleau castle where she accused Marquis Monaldeschi of treason and had him killed due to Louis's absence. this murder of an innocent man became another piece of the reason revolutionaries wanted total destruction of the castle.

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The ‘Sun King’s’ castle - Château de Fontainebleau

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It is natural to associate Louis XIV with the Palace of Versailles, which was for the Sun King what Fontainebleau was for Francis I.

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1. Louis XIV was well versed in French, Italian, Spanish, and Latin.

2. Louis XIV was a religious bigot, Louis XIV was Catholic who cracked down on Huguenots, Jews, and Jansenists, resulting in the suppression of their religious freedoms, expulsion from the French West Indies, and the destruction of convents.

3. Louis XIV chose the sun as his personal emblem.

https://en.chateauversailles.fr/discover/history/great-characters/louis-xiv#the-royal-family

https://www.history.com/news/9-things-you-may-not-know-about-louis-xiv

https://library.si.edu/donate/adopt-a-book/emperor-kangxi-and-sun-king-louis-xiv#:~:text=Both%20rulers%20came%20to%20the,Italian%2C%20Spanish%2C%20and%20Latin.

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Louis XIV was born on September 5th, 1638 and died September 1st, 1715, both in France.

He started ruling France when he was only 4, in 1642 up until his death.

He remains the symbol for absolute monarchy during the classical age.

He lived in the Palace of Versailles

He married a spanish queen named Anne of Austria.

Nobles and Paris Parlament rose against the crown when he was 9 which marked the beginning of a civil war called the Fronde.

He married Anne of Austria out of trying to make peace between their two countries even though he loved Marie Mancini.

Mazarin died in 1661 and Louis claimed all the responsibility of ruling his country.

His grandson took over the throne when he died

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In the War of the Spanish Succession the anti-French alliance was reactivated by William of Orange before his death. The disasters of the war were so great that, in 1709, France came close to losing all the advantages gained over the preceding century. Private griefs were added to Louis's public calamities. Almost simultaneously he lost his son, the grand dauphin; two of his grandsons, the dukes de Bourgogne and Berry; his great grandson, the duke de Bretagne; and his granddaughter-in-law, the duchess de Bourgogne, who had been the consolation of his declining years.

An excess of flattery from within and an excess of malediction from without had created an artificial image of the king. He was viewed as an idol who would collapse under the blows of ill fortune, but the opposite occurred. Having first been the embodiment of a triumphant nation, Louis surpassed himself by bearing his own suffering and that of his people with unceasing resolution.

Finally, a palace revolution in London, bringing the pacific Tories to power, and a French victory over the imperial forces at the Battle of Denain combined to end the war. The Treaties of Utrecht, and of Rastatt and Baden, signed in 1713-14, cost France its hegemony but left its territory intact. It retained its recent conquests in Flanders and on the Rhine, which were so much in the order of things that neither later defeats nor revolutions would cause it to lose them.

Louis XIV died in 1715, four days shy of his 77th birthday. His body was borne, amid the jeers of the populace, to the Saint-Denis basilica. His heir, the last son of the duke de Bourgogne, was a five-year-old child who was not expected to live. Louis had distrusted his nephew, the duke d'Orléans, and wanted to leave actual power in the hands of the duke du Maine, his son by Mme de Montespan. In attempting to accomplish this, he had drawn up a will that was to help destroy the monarchy. The Parlement of Paris, convened to nullify the will after his death, rediscovered a political power that it used to prevent all reforms during the ensuing reigns, thus making the Revolution inevitable.

Legacy

During his lifetime, Louis was flattered ceaselessly by his subjects, while foreign journals compared him to a bloodthirsty tiger. Voltaire portrayed his grandeur in his Age of Louis XIV. The duke de Saint-Simon, a member of his court whose Mémoires show equal proportions of literary genius and insincerity, dealt with him quite harshly, without denying his admiration for him. Later judgments of Louis varied according to the author's political views.

Louis XIV was the foremost example of the monarchy that brought France to its pinnacle. He has been accused of having dug the grave of that monarchy, particularly through his religious policy, his last will, and his isolation of the court from the people. These mistakes could have been corrected. His irremediable error was to have concentrated all the machinery of the state in his own person, thus making of the monarchy a burden beyond human strength.

His reign, compared by Voltaire to that of the Roman emperor Augustus, had both its strong and its weak points. Despite his victories and conquests, France lost her primacy under him. Yet the brilliance of his reign made up for his military policies. The aristocracy of Europe adopted the language and customs of the France where the Sun King had shone, although resentments lingered for a long time.

The king identified with his office to such an extent that it is difficult to find the individual. His harshness and courage, despotism and stoicism, prodigious pride and passion for order, megalomania and religion, intolerance and love of beauty can be understood only as a function of the exigencies of governing. He wanted France to be powerful, prosperous, and magnificent but was not overly concerned with the well-being of the French people. His armies committed atrocities, but the horrors of today have eclipsed them, and under his reign one did not see whole nations reduced to slavery, mass deportations, and genocide. When an Italian chemist offered him a bacteriological weapon, he gave him a pension on condition that he never divulge his invention.

Louis was sometimes a tyrant, but in the words of Voltaire: "His name can never be pronounced without respect and without summoning the image of an eternally memorable age."
Philippe Erlanger

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Louis XIV - Absolutism, War, Legacy: In the War of the Spanish Succession the anti-French alliance was reactivated by William of Orange before his death. The disasters of the war were so great that, in 1709, France came close to losing all the advantages gained over the preceding century.

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The reign of Louis XIV is commonly referred to as “Le Grand Siècle” (the Great Century). He was a absolute monarch and took control at four years old following the death of his father King Louis XIII. Louis married his cousin Maria Theresa of Spain in 1660, This marriage helped seal the reconciliation of France and Spain, together they had 6 children. Louis XIV had chosen the sun as his personal emblem. The sun is the symbol of Apollo, the god of peace and arts. Like Apollo Louis XIV was fighting to restore peace. Louis could speak French, Italian, Spanish, and Latin. Louis XIV treated his people with contempt becasue he felt it was his duty to do so.

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The reign of Louis XIV is often referred to as “Le Grand Siècle” (the Great Century), forever associated with the image of an absolute monarch and a strong, centralised state. Coming to the throne at a tender age, tutored by Cardinal Mazarin, the Sun King embodied the principles of absolutism. In 16…

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The reign of Louis XIV is often referred to as “Le Grand Siècle” (the Great Century)

Louis XIV was born in Saint-Germain-en-Laye in 1638

Took the throne at age following the death of his father, King Louis XIII

Louis XIV married his cousin (on both sides) Maria Theresa of Spain whom he had 6 children with

Louis XIV chose the sun as his personal emblem after Apollo

Louis XIV was Catholic and ordered the persecution of Protestants.

After 72 years on the throne, Louis XIV died on September 1st 1715. He was buried in the Saint-Denis Basilica, and the throne passed to his great-grandson Louis XV aged five.

His full name is Louis of Bourbon

He was the King of France and Navarre

He survived 3 deadly diseases before the age of 20

At 44 he settled in the palace of Versailles which was still under construction

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The Royal Family

Acclaimed as "Louis the God-given", arriving as he did after a 23-year wait for an heir, Louis XIV was born in Saint-Germain-en-Laye in 1638. Taking the throne at the age of four following the death of his father, King Louis XIII, the young monarch received a thorough education from his mother Anne of Austria and his godfather Cardinal Mazarin. While his mother ruled as regent and Mazarin busied himself with the young king's political training, a civil conflict known as the Fronde broke out (1648-1653). Originating as a dispute between the monarchy and the Parlement de Paris, the rebellion subsequently spread to the aristocracy. The child king felt humiliated by the arrogance of the great lords and physically threatened in the capital. He would never forget this experience.

Louis XIV married his cousin (on both sides) Maria Theresa of Spain, the Spanish Infanta, at Saint-Jean-de-Luz in 1660. Their marriage sealed the reconciliation between France and neighbouring Spain. The royal couple had six children. Only the eldest, Louis de France, known as Le Grand Dauphin, would survive to adulthood. After the death of the queen in 1683, the King secretly married Madame de Maintenon. She was the last in a series of official mistresses which had included Mademoiselle de La Vallière and Madame de Montespan, with whom he had several legitimated children.

From royal residences to the Palace of Versailles

Until the official inauguration of the Palace of Versailles on 6 May 1682, the royal court often changed locations. Louis XIV and his courtiers were based in the Louvre Palace, then the Tuileries, alternating with stints at the Châteaux of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Vincennes, Fontainebleau and the rapidly-growing Versailles. The task of building and decorating the ultimate royal residence was entrusted to artists such as André Le Nôtre, Louis Le Vau, Charles Le Brun and Jules Hardouin-Mansart. In 1678 work began on the Hall of Mirrors, the most potent symbol of the King's absolute power. With enough room to house the whole court, the Palace and its surrounding buildings rapidly became symbols of an age when the nobility were prepared to go to any lengths to be close to the King, who respected the royal tradition whereby the monarch had to be accessible to his courtiers. Under the sovereign's watchful eye, the nobility could no longer plot against the throne; the great lords were kept in their place in the army or at court, eager to serve and please the King. Intimidating, majestic, kept informed by an army of spies, the king controlled everything.

A royal art-lover

The King cultivated a broad variety of interests and excelled in numerous fields, such as music (he played the guitar), dance (performing in ballets), and horse-riding (Louis XIV was an excellent rider). He also loved hunting, promenades, fencing, shows and parlour games, and was a great fan of billiards. He surrounded himself with the leading artists and writers of his day, including Molière, Lully and Racine. At the Palace of Versailles he staged the finest comedies, operas and tragedies and organised spectacular parties.

King by divine right

At the start of his reign, before turning to more political allegories, Louis XIV chose the sun as his personal emblem. The sun is the symbol of Apollo, god of peace and the arts; it is also the star which gives life to all things, rising and setting with unfailing regularity. Like the god, Louis XIV was a warrior fighting to restore peace; he was also a patron of the arts and the source of all privileges. Though the unstinting regularity of his life and with the public getting-up and going-to-bed ceremonies, he hammered home the symbolic parallels. The Palace of Versailles is replete with representations and allegorical allusions to the sun god (laurel wreathes, lyres, tripods) combined with royal portraits and emblems.

An absolute monarchy

As sovereign by divine right, the King was God's representative on earth. It is in this respect that his power was "absolute", which in Latin means literally 'free of all restraints': the king was answerable to no one but God. During his coronation, Louis XIV swore to defend the Catholic faith. To honour this pledge and preserve the religious unity of his kingdom, he cracked down on the Jansenists of Port-Royal and ordered the persecution of Protestants. The previous policy of religious tolerance was abandoned with the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685. Protestants were forced to convert, and over two hundred thousand fled the country. From his base in Versailles, Louis XIV ruled over a centralised, absolutist state which revolved entirely around him. The King lived in the main wing of the palace, on the first floor, in a suite of three apartments reserved for his use. He applied a strict etiquette at court, a set of rules and protocols by which his noble courtiers were obliged to abide. With the help of Colbert, he oversaw the administrative and financial reorganisation of his realm, and also set up manufactures and worked to boost trade. With Louvois he reformed the army and enjoyed a string of military victories.

After 72 years on the throne, Louis XIV died on 1 September 1715. He was buried in the Saint-Denis Basilica, and the throne passed to his great-grandson Louis XV, aged five.

Louis XIV continues to embody the Grand Siècle, synonymous with the splendour of Versailles and the glory of France.

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The reign of Louis XIV is often referred to as "Le Grand Siècle" (the Great Century), forever associated with the image of an absolute monarch and a strong, centralised state. Coming to the throne at a tender age, tutored by Cardinal Mazarin, the Sun King embodied the principles of absolutism.

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Louis XIV was the longest serving European Monarch in history. He served as the king of France from 1643 to 1715.

He grew up during a civil war in France called the Fronde, this changed Louis XIV's character and his way of thinking.

in 1660 he married Marie-Therese of Austria, daughter of King Phillip IV of Spain to ratify peace between the countries.

Louis XIV used his power and his way of thinking he received from the Fronde to undergo projects that would change the way people would see France.

He invaded the Spanish Netherlands in 1667.

He hated French Protestants, so much so he revoked the Edict of Nantes, which granted the French the freedom of worship.

He brought France to it's pinnacle, but also "dug it's grave" through things like his religion policy, and his isolation of the court to the people.

He used the divine right to justify his absolutism.

Source is Britannica's biography on Louis XIV https://www.britannica.com/biography/Louis-XIV-king-of-France/Final-years

https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/louis_xiv.shtml

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In the War of the Spanish Succession the anti-French alliance was reactivated by William of Orange before his death. The disasters of the war were so great that, in 1709, France came close to losing all the advantages gained over the preceding century. Private griefs were added to Louis's public calamities. Almost simultaneously he lost his son, the grand dauphin; two of his grandsons, the dukes de Bourgogne and Berry; his great grandson, the duke de Bretagne; and his granddaughter-in-law, the duchess de Bourgogne, who had been the consolation of his declining years.

An excess of flattery from within and an excess of malediction from without had created an artificial image of the king. He was viewed as an idol who would collapse under the blows of ill fortune, but the opposite occurred. Having first been the embodiment of a triumphant nation, Louis surpassed himself by bearing his own suffering and that of his people with unceasing resolution.

Finally, a palace revolution in London, bringing the pacific Tories to power, and a French victory over the imperial forces at the Battle of Denain combined to end the war. The Treaties of Utrecht, and of Rastatt and Baden, signed in 1713-14, cost France its hegemony but left its territory intact. It retained its recent conquests in Flanders and on the Rhine, which were so much in the order of things that neither later defeats nor revolutions would cause it to lose them.

Louis XIV died in 1715, four days shy of his 77th birthday. His body was borne, amid the jeers of the populace, to the Saint-Denis basilica. His heir, the last son of the duke de Bourgogne, was a five-year-old child who was not expected to live. Louis had distrusted his nephew, the duke d'Orléans, and wanted to leave actual power in the hands of the duke du Maine, his son by Mme de Montespan. In attempting to accomplish this, he had drawn up a will that was to help destroy the monarchy. The Parlement of Paris, convened to nullify the will after his death, rediscovered a political power that it used to prevent all reforms during the ensuing reigns, thus making the Revolution inevitable.

Legacy

During his lifetime, Louis was flattered ceaselessly by his subjects, while foreign journals compared him to a bloodthirsty tiger. Voltaire portrayed his grandeur in his Age of Louis XIV. The duke de Saint-Simon, a member of his court whose Mémoires show equal proportions of literary genius and insincerity, dealt with him quite harshly, without denying his admiration for him. Later judgments of Louis varied according to the author's political views.

Louis XIV was the foremost example of the monarchy that brought France to its pinnacle. He has been accused of having dug the grave of that monarchy, particularly through his religious policy, his last will, and his isolation of the court from the people. These mistakes could have been corrected. His irremediable error was to have concentrated all the machinery of the state in his own person, thus making of the monarchy a burden beyond human strength.

His reign, compared by Voltaire to that of the Roman emperor Augustus, had both its strong and its weak points. Despite his victories and conquests, France lost her primacy under him. Yet the brilliance of his reign made up for his military policies. The aristocracy of Europe adopted the language and customs of the France where the Sun King had shone, although resentments lingered for a long time.

The king identified with his office to such an extent that it is difficult to find the individual. His harshness and courage, despotism and stoicism, prodigious pride and passion for order, megalomania and religion, intolerance and love of beauty can be understood only as a function of the exigencies of governing. He wanted France to be powerful, prosperous, and magnificent but was not overly concerned with the well-being of the French people. His armies committed atrocities, but the horrors of today have eclipsed them, and under his reign one did not see whole nations reduced to slavery, mass deportations, and genocide. When an Italian chemist offered him a bacteriological weapon, he gave him a pension on condition that he never divulge his invention.

Louis was sometimes a tyrant, but in the words of Voltaire: "His name can never be pronounced without respect and without summoning the image of an eternally memorable age."
Philippe Erlanger

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Louis XIV - Absolutism, War, Legacy: In the War of the Spanish Succession the anti-French alliance was reactivated by William of Orange before his death. The disasters of the war were so great that, in 1709, France came close to losing all the advantages gained over the preceding century.

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Louis XIV came to power at the age of 4 years old.

He was tutored by Cardinal Mazarin and embodied the principles of absolutism.

He moved the royal Court to the Palace of Versailles.

Louis XIV married his cousin Maria Theresa of Spain. This allowed for France and Spain to be reconciled.

In 1678 work began on the Hall of Mirrors, this building/palace was a symbol of the King’s absolute power.

He chose the sun as his personal emblem because he was similar to Apollo.

Once he died, he passed his throne onto his great-grandson Louis XV, aged five.

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The Royal Family

Acclaimed as "Louis the God-given", arriving as he did after a 23-year wait for an heir, Louis XIV was born in Saint-Germain-en-Laye in 1638. Taking the throne at the age of four following the death of his father, King Louis XIII, the young monarch received a thorough education from his mother Anne of Austria and his godfather Cardinal Mazarin. While his mother ruled as regent and Mazarin busied himself with the young king's political training, a civil conflict known as the Fronde broke out (1648-1653). Originating as a dispute between the monarchy and the Parlement de Paris, the rebellion subsequently spread to the aristocracy. The child king felt humiliated by the arrogance of the great lords and physically threatened in the capital. He would never forget this experience.

Louis XIV married his cousin (on both sides) Maria Theresa of Spain, the Spanish Infanta, at Saint-Jean-de-Luz in 1660. Their marriage sealed the reconciliation between France and neighbouring Spain. The royal couple had six children. Only the eldest, Louis de France, known as Le Grand Dauphin, would survive to adulthood. After the death of the queen in 1683, the King secretly married Madame de Maintenon. She was the last in a series of official mistresses which had included Mademoiselle de La Vallière and Madame de Montespan, with whom he had several legitimated children.

From royal residences to the Palace of Versailles

Until the official inauguration of the Palace of Versailles on 6 May 1682, the royal court often changed locations. Louis XIV and his courtiers were based in the Louvre Palace, then the Tuileries, alternating with stints at the Châteaux of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Vincennes, Fontainebleau and the rapidly-growing Versailles. The task of building and decorating the ultimate royal residence was entrusted to artists such as André Le Nôtre, Louis Le Vau, Charles Le Brun and Jules Hardouin-Mansart. In 1678 work began on the Hall of Mirrors, the most potent symbol of the King's absolute power. With enough room to house the whole court, the Palace and its surrounding buildings rapidly became symbols of an age when the nobility were prepared to go to any lengths to be close to the King, who respected the royal tradition whereby the monarch had to be accessible to his courtiers. Under the sovereign's watchful eye, the nobility could no longer plot against the throne; the great lords were kept in their place in the army or at court, eager to serve and please the King. Intimidating, majestic, kept informed by an army of spies, the king controlled everything.

A royal art-lover

The King cultivated a broad variety of interests and excelled in numerous fields, such as music (he played the guitar), dance (performing in ballets), and horse-riding (Louis XIV was an excellent rider). He also loved hunting, promenades, fencing, shows and parlour games, and was a great fan of billiards. He surrounded himself with the leading artists and writers of his day, including Molière, Lully and Racine. At the Palace of Versailles he staged the finest comedies, operas and tragedies and organised spectacular parties.

King by divine right

At the start of his reign, before turning to more political allegories, Louis XIV chose the sun as his personal emblem. The sun is the symbol of Apollo, god of peace and the arts; it is also the star which gives life to all things, rising and setting with unfailing regularity. Like the god, Louis XIV was a warrior fighting to restore peace; he was also a patron of the arts and the source of all privileges. Though the unstinting regularity of his life and with the public getting-up and going-to-bed ceremonies, he hammered home the symbolic parallels. The Palace of Versailles is replete with representations and allegorical allusions to the sun god (laurel wreathes, lyres, tripods) combined with royal portraits and emblems.

An absolute monarchy

As sovereign by divine right, the King was God's representative on earth. It is in this respect that his power was "absolute", which in Latin means literally 'free of all restraints': the king was answerable to no one but God. During his coronation, Louis XIV swore to defend the Catholic faith. To honour this pledge and preserve the religious unity of his kingdom, he cracked down on the Jansenists of Port-Royal and ordered the persecution of Protestants. The previous policy of religious tolerance was abandoned with the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685. Protestants were forced to convert, and over two hundred thousand fled the country. From his base in Versailles, Louis XIV ruled over a centralised, absolutist state which revolved entirely around him. The King lived in the main wing of the palace, on the first floor, in a suite of three apartments reserved for his use. He applied a strict etiquette at court, a set of rules and protocols by which his noble courtiers were obliged to abide. With the help of Colbert, he oversaw the administrative and financial reorganisation of his realm, and also set up manufactures and worked to boost trade. With Louvois he reformed the army and enjoyed a string of military victories.

After 72 years on the throne, Louis XIV died on 1 September 1715. He was buried in the Saint-Denis Basilica, and the throne passed to his great-grandson Louis XV, aged five.

Louis XIV continues to embody the Grand Siècle, synonymous with the splendour of Versailles and the glory of France.

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The reign of Louis XIV is often referred to as "Le Grand Siècle" (the Great Century), forever associated with the image of an absolute monarch and a strong, centralised state. Coming to the throne at a tender age, tutored by Cardinal Mazarin, the Sun King embodied the principles of absolutism.

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Louis was born to Louis XIII and Queen Anne of Austria. He became King at 4 and-a-half years old. Under his reign he would:

Be disregarded by his government due to his young age

Nearly drown

Experienced poverty and starvation during a civil war before the monarchy won

Married a Habsburg to secure a treaty with Spain

Forced the nobles to give up some powers making him an absolute monarch "I am the state."

Created programs and institutes to fuse the arts into French culture

Fought (and lost) a war with Spain over the Netherlands

Fought a war with the Dutch and won

Fought a war with the Grand Alliance of the HRE, Spain and England

Persecuted Protestants and Huguenots

Put France into debt to secure his grandsons claim to the Spanish throne

Die in 1715, 4 days off from his birthday. His Great Grandson Louis XV would inherit the throne

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Louis XIV, also known as the "Sun King", was a powerful monarch who ruled France for over 70 years. He is often remembered for his extravagant lifestyle, the construction of the palace of Versailles, and his centralized rule. Louis XIV played a significant role in shaping the political and cultural landscape of France during the 17th century. He ruled France for a long time and had a major impact on the country. His reign had a profound influence on the political and cultural landscape of the time. Louis XIV was not only known for his political and architectural achievements, but he also had a great love for the arts. He was a patron of the arts and played a significant role is promoting French literature, theater and music. During his reign, French culture flourished, and many renowned artists found support and recognition under his patronage. Louis XIV's love for the arts contributed to the development of French classical literature and the establishment of the prestigious French academy. His passion for the arts left a lasting impact on the cultural heritage of France.

Site:

Louis XIV | Facts, Biography, Children, & Death | Britannica

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Louis XIV (born September 5, 1638, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France-died September 1, 1715, Versailles, France) was the king of France (1643-1715) who ruled his country, principally from his great palace at Versailles, during one of its most brilliant periods and who remains the symbol of absolute monarchy of the classical age. Internationally, in a series of wars between 1667 and 1697, he extended France's eastern borders at the expense of the Habsburgs and then, in the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-14), engaged a hostile European coalition in order to secure the Spanish throne for his grandson.

Early life and marriage

Louis was the son of Louis XIII and his Spanish queen, Anne of Austria. He succeeded his father on May 14, 1643. At the age of four years and eight months, he was, according to the laws of the kingdom, not only the master but the owner of the bodies and property of 19 million subjects. Although he was saluted as "a visible divinity," he was, nonetheless, a neglected child given over to the care of servants. He once narrowly escaped drowning in a pond because no one was watching him. Anne of Austria, who was to blame for this negligence, inspired him with a lasting fear of "crimes committed against God."

Louis was nine years old when the nobles and the Paris Parlement (a powerful law court), driven by hatred of the prime minister Jules Cardinal Mazarin, rose against the crown in 1648. This marked the beginning of the long civil war known as the Fronde, in the course of which Louis suffered poverty, misfortune, fear, humiliation, cold, and hunger. These trials shaped the future character, behaviour, and mode of thought of the young king. He would never forgive either Paris, the nobles, or the common people.

In 1653 Mazarin was victorious over the rebels and then proceeded to construct an extraordinary administrative apparatus with Louis as his pupil. The young king also acquired Mazarin's partiality for the arts, elegance, and display. Although he had been proclaimed of age, the king did not dream of disputing the cardinal's absolute power.

The war begun in 1635 between France and Spain was then entering its last phase. The outcome of the war would transfer European hegemony from the Habsburgs to the Bourbons. A French king had to be a soldier, and so Louis served his apprenticeship on the battlefield.

In 1658 Louis faced the great conflict between love and duty, a familiar one for princes of that period. He struggled with himself for two years over his love for Mazarin's niece, Marie Mancini. He finally submitted to the exigencies of politics and in 1660 married Marie-Thérèse of Austria, daughter of King Philip IV of Spain, in order to ratify peace between their two countries.

The childhood of Louis XIV was at an end, but no one believed him capable of seizing the reins of power. No one suspected his thoughts. He wrote in his Mémoires:

In my heart I prefer fame above all else, even life itself....Love of glory has the same subtleties as the most tender passions....In exercising a totally divine function here on earth, we must appear incapable of turmoils which could debase it.

The young king

Mazarin died on March 9, 1661. The dramatic blow came on March 10. The king informed his astonished ministers that he intended to assume all responsibility for ruling the kingdom. This had not occurred since the reign of Henry IV. It cannot be overemphasized that Louis XIV's action was not in accordance with tradition; his concept of a dictatorship by divine right was his own. In genuine faith, Louis viewed himself as God's representative on earth and considered all disobedience and rebellion to be sinful. From this conviction he gained not only a dangerous feeling of infallibility but also considerable serenity and moderation.

He was backed up first by the great ministers Jean-Baptiste Colbert, marquis de Louvois, and Hugues de Lionne, among whom he fostered dissension, and later by men of lesser capacity. For 54 years Louis devoted himself to his task eight hours a day; not the smallest detail escaped his attention. He wanted to control everything from court etiquette to troop movements, from road building to theological disputes. He succeeded because he faithfully reflected the mood of a France overflowing with youth and vigour and enamoured of grandeur.

Despite the use of pensions and punishments, the monarchy had been unable to subdue the nobles, who had started 11 civil wars in 40 years. Louis lured them to his court, corrupted them with gambling, exhausted them with dissipation, and made their destinies dependent on their capacity to please him. Etiquette became a means of governing. From that time, the nobility ceased to be an important factor in French politics, which in some respects weakened the nation.

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Louis XIV | Facts, Biography, Children, & Death

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Louis XIV, king of France (1643-1715) who ruled his country during one of its most brilliant periods and who remains the symbol of absolute monarchy of the classical age. He extended France's eastern borders at the expense of the Habsburgs and secured the Spanish throne for his grandson.

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Louis XIV was the King of France from the year 1643-1715

He was the son of Louis XIII, he succeeded his father on May 14, 1643

He was known as the Sun King

He inherited his father's crown when his father died

In 1667 he launched the War of Devolution

In 1685, Louis XIV revoked the Edict of Nantes

In 1658, Louis faced the great conflict between love and duty

He died four days before his 77th birthday, he was at Versailles and he died of gangrene

He worked on boost trade

He believed that he received his power from god

https://www.history.com/topics/european-history/louis-xiv

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Louis-XIV-king-of-France

https://en.chateauversailles.fr/discover/history/great-characters/louis-xiv#the-royal-family

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Came into the throne when he was 4 years old

He was the king of France from 1643-1715

His luxurious palace was located in Versailles

He was born on September 5th 1638

He was commonly referred to as "The Sun King"

He believed in the absolute power of monarchs

When he was born, he was compared to baby Jesus

He went on campaign in Northern or Eastern France every summer in wartime

From 1671 on, he had never slept in Paris, but only in his palace in Versailles

In 1688, Louis unintentionally assisted his greatest enemy William of Orange in invading England.

He was both loved and hated by his people

After Louis XIV died, someone ate his heart

He believed that he was a direct representative of God

https://acis.com/blog/5-facts-you-may-not-know-about-king-louis-xiv-of-france/#:~:text=His%20Heart%20was%20Devoured%20After,way%20through%20the%20animal%20kingdom.

https://listverse.com/2022/09/29/10-strange-facts-of-louis-xiv-that-you-may-not-know/

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Louis XIV (born September 5, 1638, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France-died September 1, 1715, Versailles, France) was the king of France (1643-1715) who ruled his country, principally from his great palace at Versailles, during one of its most brilliant periods and who remains the symbol of absolute monarchy of the classical age. Internationally, in a series of wars between 1667 and 1697, he extended France's eastern borders at the expense of the Habsburgs and then, in the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-14), engaged a hostile European coalition in order to secure the Spanish throne for his grandson.

Early life and marriage

Louis was the son of Louis XIII and his Spanish queen, Anne of Austria. He succeeded his father on May 14, 1643. At the age of four years and eight months, he was, according to the laws of the kingdom, not only the master but the owner of the bodies and property of 19 million subjects. Although he was saluted as "a visible divinity," he was, nonetheless, a neglected child given over to the care of servants. He once narrowly escaped drowning in a pond because no one was watching him. Anne of Austria, who was to blame for this negligence, inspired him with a lasting fear of "crimes committed against God."

Louis was nine years old when the nobles and the Paris Parlement (a powerful law court), driven by hatred of the prime minister Jules Cardinal Mazarin, rose against the crown in 1648. This marked the beginning of the long civil war known as the Fronde, in the course of which Louis suffered poverty, misfortune, fear, humiliation, cold, and hunger. These trials shaped the future character, behaviour, and mode of thought of the young king. He would never forgive either Paris, the nobles, or the common people.

In 1653 Mazarin was victorious over the rebels and then proceeded to construct an extraordinary administrative apparatus with Louis as his pupil. The young king also acquired Mazarin's partiality for the arts, elegance, and display. Although he had been proclaimed of age, the king did not dream of disputing the cardinal's absolute power.

The war begun in 1635 between France and Spain was then entering its last phase. The outcome of the war would transfer European hegemony from the Habsburgs to the Bourbons. A French king had to be a soldier, and so Louis served his apprenticeship on the battlefield.

In 1658 Louis faced the great conflict between love and duty, a familiar one for princes of that period. He struggled with himself for two years over his love for Mazarin's niece, Marie Mancini. He finally submitted to the exigencies of politics and in 1660 married Marie-Thérèse of Austria, daughter of King Philip IV of Spain, in order to ratify peace between their two countries.

The childhood of Louis XIV was at an end, but no one believed him capable of seizing the reins of power. No one suspected his thoughts. He wrote in his Mémoires:

In my heart I prefer fame above all else, even life itself....Love of glory has the same subtleties as the most tender passions....In exercising a totally divine function here on earth, we must appear incapable of turmoils which could debase it.

The young king

Mazarin died on March 9, 1661. The dramatic blow came on March 10. The king informed his astonished ministers that he intended to assume all responsibility for ruling the kingdom. This had not occurred since the reign of Henry IV. It cannot be overemphasized that Louis XIV's action was not in accordance with tradition; his concept of a dictatorship by divine right was his own. In genuine faith, Louis viewed himself as God's representative on earth and considered all disobedience and rebellion to be sinful. From this conviction he gained not only a dangerous feeling of infallibility but also considerable serenity and moderation.

He was backed up first by the great ministers Jean-Baptiste Colbert, marquis de Louvois, and Hugues de Lionne, among whom he fostered dissension, and later by men of lesser capacity. For 54 years Louis devoted himself to his task eight hours a day; not the smallest detail escaped his attention. He wanted to control everything from court etiquette to troop movements, from road building to theological disputes. He succeeded because he faithfully reflected the mood of a France overflowing with youth and vigour and enamoured of grandeur.

Despite the use of pensions and punishments, the monarchy had been unable to subdue the nobles, who had started 11 civil wars in 40 years. Louis lured them to his court, corrupted them with gambling, exhausted them with dissipation, and made their destinies dependent on their capacity to please him. Etiquette became a means of governing. From that time, the nobility ceased to be an important factor in French politics, which in some respects weakened the nation.

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Louis XIV | Facts, Biography, Children, & Death

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Louis XIV, king of France (1643-1715) who ruled his country during one of its most brilliant periods and who remains the symbol of absolute monarchy of the classical age. He extended France's eastern borders at the expense of the Habsburgs and secured the Spanish throne for his grandson.