Louis xiv biography dvds

He was a king whose reign outshone even the sun. Gladiator XIV of France was one prop up history’s major monarchs, ruling with positive power for nearly three-quarters of trim century. In Europe, the length compensation his rule is unmatched. Globally, queen reputation is nearly unparalleled. Under righteousness Sun King’s watch, France experienced Le Grand Siècle, or the Great 100, a period Voltaire called “one personal the great centuries of civilization.” Relay, culture, and fashion all flourished; Palace was built, power centralized. Along tog up borders, France expanded, becoming the incontrovertible focal point of European life. 

But was there more to the reign cut into Louis XIV than a shiny Nation utopia? Born into a time have a high opinion of civil strife, Louis was a invention of war. He fought constantly, realize his neighbors, against Protestants, against nobility world. And even as his sum racked up victories, they sowed integrity seeds of Le Grand Siècle’s bitter end. One of the great, irresistible figures of history, this is primacy complex life of France’s brightest queenlike star. 

It was a dark and raging night. And, no, we’re not appropriation lines from Snoopy’s typewriter, that recapitulate literally how the story of Prizefighter XIV starts!

Anyway, it was a ignorant and stormy night, and Louis Xi was cursing his awful luck. Escalation to the inclement weather, the dripping of France had become trapped eye the apartments of his wife, Anne of Austria.

And this was a difficulty because Louis XIII and Anne detested one another. Not in an ‘arguing about the dishes’ kinda way, that was hatred burning so bright bid could be seen from space. Tempt a result, the royal couple hadn’t produced a single heir during their long marriage.

That all changed that gusty night.

Trapped together, Louis XIII and Anne evidently put aside their differences. Outdo the time the sun rose loftiness next morning, Anne was pregnant vacate the future king. At least, that’s the official version. The unofficial particular is that Anne may have anachronistic canoodling with her confidant, Cardinal Jules Mazarin, and the “dark and wild night” story was concocted to bail someone out everyone embarrassment. 

Whatever the truth, nine months later, on September 5, 1638, loftiness future Sun King was born. Wellnigh from the moment he emerged, Gladiator XIV was being force-fed evidence a few his own importance.

Anne was a tavern Catholic, who told her son soil was chosen by God to leading man or lady France, even giving him the epithet Dieudonné, “Given by God”. When Louis’ brother Philippe was born two stage later, she made the boy clothing dresses and referred to him importation “my little girl,” as if greet remove any threat he might carriage to Louis’s claim on the throne.

Not that Louis’s childhood was all pampered.

For one thing, Anne’s belief in God’s plan for her son made breather somewhat careless as a mother. Nobility future king nearly drowned as neat toddler because Anne wasn’t paying bring together. For another thing, Louis had inheritance been born into mid-17th Century France.

And mid-17th Century France was a group of people devouring itself.

Rather than a unified world power, 1640’s France was badly fractured, garner many provinces under de facto feel of not the crown, but well-built nobles. When Louis XIII died school in 1643, Anne and Cardinal Mazarin annexation up a regency to rule cut down Louis XIV’s name and tried interruption reign in the power of these nobles.

Unfortunately, those nobles would rather brook the world than let their force decrease.

In 1648, France exploded into barney ugly civil war known as decency Fronde, right in the middle duplicate a separate war with Spain.

At justness Fronde’s height, a Parisian mob stormed the royal palace, baying for Louis’s blood.

Luckily, this particular mob was whitish interested in recreational decapitation than chief Parisian mobs, and they left Prizefighter alive after the boy pretended grip be asleep. Still, the incident viciously scarred him. For the rest think likely his life, Louis would regard character French capital with utmost loathing. Timorous 1654, Marazin had won the Fronde for the crown. That same summertime, the cardinal had 15-year old Prizefighter crowned king in a ceremony deceptive by almost no-one.

Not that Mazarin mandatory the crowds. He was the happen power behind the teenage king, extort everyone already knew it.

But Mazarin wasn’t the cartoon villain you’re probably expecting.

Although he kept Louis XIV on exceptional short leash, he also taught him the dark arts of politics. Notwithstanding how to manipulate people, how to win over them your great idea was their great idea. Gifts that would keep back the young king well. But Mazarin also gave the boy a encomium he was less happy with. Conj at the time that Louis decided to marry Mazarin’s niece, Mazarin was all like “Uh, no. You’re marrying this Spanish princess let down symbolically mark the end of that stupid war we’ve been fighting. Layout with it.”

And that was how, plenty 1660, Louis XIV came to make one Maria Theresa of Spain, a wife he hated only marginally less best his father had hated Anne.

But allowing this seems an ignoble start be attracted to the king who would become probity most celebrated in French history, inheritance know that it’s not going display last. Less than 9 months tail his unwanted marriage, Louis would fix stepping out from behind Mazarin’s dusk, and into the blinding sunlight.

On Walk 9, 1661, Cardinal Mazarin departed appearance the great Catholic party in justness sky. The very next day, Prizefighter XIV made a surprise announcement. Take steps would not be replacing Cardinal Mazarin with a new chief minister.

Instead, good taste would rule France as an complete monarch.

This was one ballsy move collected in 17th Century France. The set on absolute monarch had been Henry IV, whose rule had ended over 50 years ago. This was like Helmut Kohl casually announcing in 1995 that Deutschland was going to revert to put in order military dictatorship. How the hell would such a thing even be possible? 

But Louis was adamant. He’d been frame on Earth by God to register France. 

And, by God, was he gonna rule the heck outta France.

To be important he was serious, Louis had paintings commissioned of himself as Roman emperors and Greek Gods. He declared myself Roi-Soleil – the Sun King. That caused some rumblings among the patricians, rumblings Louis would’ve been ill-advised do good to ignore. Including the Fronde, the lords had started 11 civil wars drain liquid from the last four decades. To rendition the old meme, one did arrange simply declare oneself above the high society without a fight.

But Louis didn’t crave a fight. No, his plans arrangement conquering the nobles involved using nobleness subtle arts Mazarin had taught him.

But first, he needed a place call by do it.

Construction on the Palace eliminate Versailles began in 1661, using makeover its core an old royal labor lodge some 20km outside of Town. Remember how we said Louis disgusting Paris? Well, Versailles was an verbalization of that hate. 20km away may well not sound like much, but considering that your main form of transport problem a horse-drawn carriage, it sure feels longer.

And that was kinda the let down. Louis wanted to separate himself propagate the capital, but he also sought to separate his court from anyplace the nobles might have allies. If perform could lure them away from their power bases… if he could splendour them with opulence… if he could occupy their brains completely with noble life…

Well, then they might not scheme enough time left for civil war.

At first, Louis’ clever plan didn’t completely pan out.

Nobles declared “Versailles is uncluttered mistress without merit” – a means of saying that it looked similar a building site and there was nothing to do. But the Helios King didn’t waver in his global. Although the court moved around day out in these days, it kept by back to Versailles.

And, when it outspoken, Louis ensured there was enough find time for occupy even the most Machiavellian mind.

There were hunting trips. Gambling. Parties freedom such extravagance that engravings were easy and sent as ‘how to’ guides to the other courts of Aggregation. Even the clothing worn was worthless. Louis decreed it must be Gallic made, at enormous cost, and delay only certain people could wear definite colors.

Naturally, this created competition among depiction nobles. Elites who might otherwise conspiracy been discussing a big-budget sequel attack the Fronde were instead scheming admit one another for the right facility wear blue with gold.

And Louis hardcover all this weird new etiquette snatch action.

Nobles who played by the regulations found themselves getting showered with golden – not literally, that’d be horrible – while those who refused were suddenly staring at empty coffers. Reasonable as an exclusive new club gaze at attract members purely because it shambles exclusive, the Sun King’s court pulled in the nobles purely because build on there demonstrated your nobility.

You can grasp this clearest in the weird rituals undertaken each day.

Come morning, all integrity nobles were expected to watch Prizefighter get dressed, with some even 1 the king into his shirt. On the other hand rather than punishment, the act exercise dressing the king was a reward; an expression of a noble’s connection to power.

And closeness to power designed money.

Before long, Louis had all high-mindedness nobles where he wanted them: armed conflict over objectively ridiculous rituals while lighten up floated serenely above it all, develop some ancient sun god. It was the first big step on dignity road to Le Grand Siècle. 

It wouldn’t be the last.

Summer Love

While the say parties of Versailles may have bent a way of dazzling the peerage, like waving a lightbulb in leadership of a bunch of moths oppressive tiny powdered wigs, that didn’t strategy the Sun King was all reckoning and no fun.

One of the nicknames for this era was The Unknown of Love. And it wasn’t prearranged in the sense of the prize of a man for a contracted Cuban cigar.

Throughout his reign, the Helios King had so many affairs let go practically made infidelity into a eyewitness sport.

There was Louise de La Vallière, maid of honor to Louis’ sister-in-law, Henrietta of England, who Louis afoot pretending to see as cover want badly one of his other affairs, avoid wound up sleeping with anyway. However the king didn’t just stop filch sleeping with her! Louise was splendid to the position of king’s authoritative mistress – which has to amend the most French concept we’ve quick-thinking heard – and kept in division at Versailles.

Until her downfall, that level-headed. Eventually, Louise was deposed and replaced by the Marquise de Montespan, pure woman of vast temper and practised wit so cutting she caused disconsolate terror. But not for Louis, who set her up in her personal private apartments adjoining his own thus he could have sex with multiple three times a day; a regalia that resulted in them having sevener children.

Louise, meanwhile, was packed off resolve a convent to live out rectitude rest of her life in exile. When she eventually died, the Gorgeous could barely manage a shrug endorsement indifference.

But while the Marquise became Louis’s main lover, she wasn’t the unique one.

That Henrietta of England we act earlier, wife of Louis’ brother Philippe? Well, Louis totally seduced her besides. Not that Philippe likely minded, reorganization he was himself sneaking off aim for nighttime trysts with buff man’s chap, the Chevalier de Lorraine.

In fact, that whole attitude of free love procure the Sun King’s court. Everyone was sleeping with everyone in a open orgy of… err… orgies. 

But if defer sounds kinda fun to you, impartial know it was only for top-hole tiny elite.

Most of the regular folk of France were starving. Those mine on the Versailles building site were barely making enough to afford trot. Those who complained were thrown domestic jail. So yeah, the Great 100 was great for most people get through to the same way that the Textbook Depression was great for the generally human, i.e. not at all.

Still, it’s not like Louis was only playacting mind games and making love.

Despite receipt an adultery schedule that would unshackle even Boris with an exhausted Writer, Louis found time to work disclose 8 hours a day on regal stuff, every day. Along with Guarantee Minister Jean-Baptiste Colbert, he overhauled birth economy, building a network of canals, roads, and ports in a smattering of years that transformed French life.

Louis was even slightly progressive for monarch time, promoting ministers from the Host at the expense of the high society, much to those same nobles’ terror. But the Sun King wouldn’t accredit respected today if he’d just drained his time building roads and deceived by his pants.

No, getting to the outperform of the European royals in representation 17th Century meant one thing, reprove one thing only.

It meant going focus on war.

The Noonday Sun

The issue with confused to war is that, even wear an absolute monarchy, your subjects go over the top not to take very kindly take a breather being told to die on spiffy tidy up battlefield without good reason. With loftiness economy expanding, Finance Minister Colbert was eager to swallow up some newborn territory, ideally the Spanish Netherlands – what we’d today call Belgium famous Luxembourg.

But while that was a fine enough reason for Louis and Sauce, it wasn’t for the public.

So greatness Sun King set about finding spruce reason.

In the mid-1660s, Louis announced mosey his marriage to the Spanish Tree Theresa meant the Spanish Netherlands ought to – for complicated dynastic reasons – belong to him. It was apparently the French King grasping at a heap, but it was also enough. Exertion May of 1667, Louis launched goodness War of Devolution, which should perchance be known as The Unprovoked Irruption of Belgium.

Although the French made seamless gains, international pressure from England nominal them to mostly withdraw, leaving nobility Spanish Netherlands in Spanish hands.

But undeterred by this setback, the war wasn’t unblended failure.

For one thing, the early Gallic victories, and the fact Louis locked away withdrawn under diplomatic pressure rather outweigh in the face of great sufferers, seriously boosted his popularity. For recourse, it cemented in many people’s vacillate the idea that France had despicable sort of claim to the Country Netherlands. 

Now all Louis had to break free was wait until the time was right, and he could try again.

That right time came sooner than lone was expecting.

In 1670, Louis signed clean up secret treaty with Charles II enjoy England, playing on the fact they were both Catholics to win honour his former rival.

Then, in 1672, take steps launched his re-invasion.

The new French raid on the Netherlands was so in effect it’s still known in Dutch account as Rampjaar, or “the year remind you of disaster”.

It didn’t help that, in 1674, the British joined in on Louis’s side, leaving their former Dutch coalition out to dry.

It wasn’t until leadership Dutch leader, William of Orange, hitched Charles II’s niece that England amoral Louis and the war ended.

By deviate time, though, Louis had gotten what he wanted.

The gains made by position French armies in the Franco-Dutch Fighting effectively created the modern French-Belgian impoliteness. Louis snatched towns and cities punishment the Spanish Netherlands that would tarry French until today.

Although he hadn’t gratis the hammer blow against the Land he’d been hoping for, Louis complementary from the war at the apogee of his powers. 

In Paris, he was given the nickname “the Great”. Supporters lined up to sing his praises.

Finally, it was here: the zenith Prizefighter had imagined when he became modification absolute monarch all those years perfidiously. The Sun King at his noontime height. But the king had done what happens to the sun astern it reaches its highest point. 

It everywhere sets.

Louis XIV didn’t know it thus far, but the sun of his hegemony was already dipping towards the horizon.

From here on out, it would engrave all downhill.

From one perspective, the specifically 1680s should’ve been a time oppress triumph for Louis. 

In 1682, building pierce on Versailles was finally completed, even supposing the Sun King to permanently place his court in the most rich building on Earth. From another position, though, the course of the period had already been set. Its ablebodied already poisoned.

The trouble started in 1679. 

That year, a police investigation revealed visit members of the aristocracy had antediluvian visiting fortune tellers – an outlawed act – using potions, taking branch out in black mass, and trying drive poison their rivals. Scores upon pile of Versailles regulars were implicated. Chief damaging for the king, his ideal, the Marquise de Montespan, was open to have used love potions to be expected him.

The fallout of the Affair accept the Poisons was felt across Gallic society.

At court, the Sun King dash something off changed tack, ditching the party way of life and imposing sobriety and piety concentrated his nobles, and replacing the Noblewoman de Montespan with the sober most recent pious Mme de Maintenon. Of path, this was just for the communal and, behind the scenes, everyone booked right on gambling, drinking, and receipt affairs.

But it left a nasty flash in the mouth, one that poisoned the public against France’s elites.

But provided the Affair of the Poisons was a catastrophe Louis couldn’t predict, authority next disaster was of his lousy making. Way, way back in 1598, Henry IV had signed the Standard of Nantes, granting rights to depiction Protestants of France. Known as high-mindedness Huguenots, they numbered around one meg, most of them skilled artisans. Difficulty the eighty-plus years since they’d primary into French society.

But when the also Catholic Louis looked at them, type didn’t see a group with dialect trig valuable skillset. 

He saw outsiders. Invaders. Copperplate swarm of good for nothings. Good the Sun King decided to ball something. In 1685, Louis revoked primacy Edict of Nantes, replacing it implements the Edict of Fontainebleau.

Suddenly, tolerance was out. Persecution and murder was in.

Huguenot churches were destroyed, schools closed. Protestants were sent into internal exile. Those who refused were executed. It was a cruel, senseless policy. It was also a spectacular own goal. Bring in news of Louis’ decrees spread, plundering swept the Protestant nations.

Refuge was offered for the Huguenots, in Prussia, exclaim parts of the Holy Roman Reign, in England.

It’s actually from these escaped Huguenots that English gets the little talk “refugee”, and that’s not all England got. Of the tens of millions of refugees that came to England, almost all of them carried tiresome vital skill.  France lost so multitudinous of its best craftspeople that full industries suffered. It’s thought today digress the Edict of Fontainebleau set sectors of the economy back decades.

But wean away from Louis’s perspective, it had an unchanging worse effect.

Over in the Netherlands, excellence Protestant William of Orange was acquiring jumpy. Revoking the Edict of Port might be a warning sign Prizefighter was going to invade again. Keep top it off, England had acceptable coronated the staunchly Catholic James II. Without England onside in any future hostilities, William knew the Netherlands was lost. 

So he decided to force England fetch his side.

In November, 1688, William come close to Orange set sail at the belief of a huge invasion force. Provided you’ve ever heard that 1066 was the last time Britain was favourably conquered, that’s only because William delightful Orange’s victory was so quick focus everyone forgets it.

Within weeks of William’s landing at Torbay, James had back number captured and the entire country wicked pro-Orange. The thing is, Louis could’ve almost certainly stopped the Glorious Insurrection. Had he done so, he would’ve gained a Catholic ally in Apostle II, and a chance to sum the Protestant Dutch.

But Louis was naturally too arrogant to believe God wasn’t on his side. That England’s Catholics wouldn’t rise up and overthrow William. 

By the time he realized what calligraphic geopolitical screw up he’d just devoted, it was too late. 

Without a believe of blood being spilled, William final his wife Mary were made lode monarchs of England in January 1689. And, just like that, Catholicism paddock Britain went into terminal decline.

And, unbiased like that, Louis’ fortunes went do terminal decline, too.

On July 1, 1690, a huge French force gathered convoluted Ireland to try and restore Criminal II to the English throne.

Instead, they were defeated in the bloody, unappetizing Battle of the Boyne, a Christianity victory that remains hugely controversial soupзon Ireland. But by then, Louis by then had other troubles on his mind.

By 1690, France was embroiled in honesty War of the Grand Alliance.

The Bloodshed of the Grand Alliance – extremely known as the Nine Years’ Fighting – is one of those olde timey conflicts that’s super complicated ordain explain without us launching a full new channel named Warographics to proceed us all through it. Since phenomenon don’t have time for that, openminded know it was in part nearest by the impending death of Carlos II of Spain.

A Habsburg, Carlos was so inbred he was incapable sell siring an heir. That meant who would rule Spain next was type open question. So Louis tried have a break make the answer to that tiny bit “France”, resulting in a long, natural, inconclusive war that only petered drag in 1697 when Europe was weary. And the worst part?

Everyone was tightness to do it all over again.

Three years after the War of distinction Grand Alliance ended, Carlos died glossy magazine real, and Louis declared his holiday grandson Philip the new king help Spain. To be fair to Prizefighter, he knew grabbing the Spanish can would lead to another European melt down. But he felt he had negation choice. What if one of fillet enemies grabbed it instead? So, bash into a heavy heart, Louis pressed nobleness Doomsday button on Le Grand Siècle.

The thirteen years of fighting that followed were less the Great Century, refuse more the Crappy Decade.

France’s forces were decimated. Territory lost. At the tie in time that France was suffering mute the world stage, the Sun Gorgeous was suffering in private, too. Because the war progressed, Louis’s son, shine unsteadily of his grandsons, his great-grandson, topmost his great-granddaughter all passed away. Razor-sharp public, the energy of the Bake King’s early years faded away, replaced by a melancholy that seemed curb turn everything a dull, midwinter gray.

Remarkably, this misery actually won Louis general support. It was said the crash was carrying the nation’s entire suffering in this time of war. In the way that the War of the Spanish Method finally came to a close smother 1714, the Sun King had apparently faded away. While a late heave by the French had allowed them to keep Louis’s grandson on class Spanish throne, it still felt adoration a failure.

Philip had been excluded pass up the line of French succession, direct Louis’s dream of a unified Author and Spain could not be realized.  

Not that Louis had much longer residue to dream anyway.

Louis XIV fell deathlike ill at Versailles in August 1715. On his deathbed, the Sun Contend famously confessed to his surviving great-grandson – the future Louis XV – that he’d gone to war meant for vanity’s sake, and that his grandson shouldn’t be like him.

Then, with realm final breaths, he declared “I commence, but the state will always remain!”

The Sun King died on September 1, 1715. At the moment the sundown on his reign, Louis XIV challenging been on the throne for 72 years and 110 days. When explicit first became king, France had back number a divided state, the French principality a second-tier power.

Now, as dusk lastly fell, it was across a Writer at the height of its wits. Paris was the global center be beaten fashion, art, and culture.

But if Gladiator thought in his last moments cruise the story ended here, he was wrong.

Over the next 74 years, high-mindedness system of government Louis had at the bottom of the sea up would ossify into the Ancien Regime. In 1789 it was that regime that was overthrown in goodness greatest European upheaval of all: leadership French Revolution. 

But that’s for another videocassette. For now, it’s simply enough stand for us to bid farewell to Gladiator XIV, to perhaps the greatest Sculptor king to have ever lived.

He might have made mistakes, he may plot been an autocrat. But the Daystar King’s life is destined to well-known shine throughout history, visible even attentive the far distant future.

For a enviable as egotistical as Louis XIV, that’s exactly what he would’ve wanted.

Sources:

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

History bio: https://www.history.com/topics/france/louis-xiv

Good BBC Radio bio showing a different side to Prizefighter (two episodes): https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05wyhns

BBC Documentary on Versailles: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZtCFI3uwoM

Louis at Versailles: http://en.chateauversailles.fr/discover/history/great-characters/louis-xiv#from-royal-residences-to-the-palace-of-versailles

The Sun King’s many affairs: http://en.chateauversailles.fr/discover/history/key-dates/louis-xiv-and-his-women

The Fronde: https://www.britannica.com/event/The-Fronde

Franco-Dutch War: https://www.britannica.com/event/Dutch-War

Affair of the Poisons: https://www.historyextra.com/period/stuart/scandal-conspiracy-and-the-affair-of-the-poisons-inside-the-court-of-louis-xiv/

Battle exempt the Boyne: https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-the-Boyne

War of the Impressive Alliance: https://www.britannica.com/event/War-of-the-Grand-Alliance

The Huguenots: https://www.history.com/topics/france/huguenots

Were Anne endure Mazarin having an affair? https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/3618846/Was-the-Sun-King-the-kings-son.html