Louis XIV de Bourbon, who received the name Louis-Dieudonné at birth (“God-given”, French Louis-Dieudonné), also known as "sun king"(French: Louis XIV Le Roi Soleil), also Louis Great(French: Louis le Grand), (September 5, 1638, Saint-Germain-en-Laye - September 1, 1715, Versailles) - King of France and Navarre from May 14, 1643. Reigned for 72 years - longer than any other European king in history (of the monarchs of Europe, only some rulers of the small states of the Holy Roman Empire, for example, Bernard VII of Lippe or Charles Friedrich of Baden, were in power longer).

Louis, who survived the wars of the Fronde in his childhood, became a staunch supporter of the principle of absolute monarchy and the divine right of kings (he is credited with the expression “The State is I!”), He combined the strengthening of his power with the successful selection of statesmen for key political posts. The reign of Louis - a time of significant consolidation of the unity of France, its military power, political weight and intellectual prestige, the flowering of culture, went down in history as the Great Century. At the same time, the long-term military conflicts in which France participated during the reign of Louis the Great led to increased taxes, which placed a heavy burden on the shoulders of the population and caused popular uprisings, and as a result of the adoption of the Edict of Fontainebleau, which abolished the Edict of Nantes on religious tolerance within the kingdom, about 200 thousand Huguenots emigrated from France.

Childhood and young years

Louis XIV came to the throne in May 1643, when he was not yet five years old, therefore, according to his father's will, the regency was transferred to Anne of Austria, who ruled in close tandem with the first minister, Cardinal Mazarin. Even before the end of the war with Spain and the House of Austria, the princes and high aristocracy, supported by Spain and in alliance with the Parisian Parliament, began unrest, which received the general name Fronde (1648-1652) and ended only with the subjugation of the Prince de Condé and the signing of the Pyrenees Peace (7 November 1659).

In 1660, Louis married the Spanish Infanta Maria Theresa of Austria. At this time, the young king, who grew up without sufficient upbringing and education, did not yet show much hope. However, as soon as Cardinal Mazarin died (1661), the next day Louis XIV assembled the Council of State, at which he announced that he henceforth intended to rule independently, without appointing a first minister.

So Louis began to independently govern the state, a course the king followed until his death. Louis XIV had the gift of selecting talented and capable employees (for example, Colbert, Vauban, Letelier, Lyonne, Louvois). One might even say that Louis elevated the doctrine of royal rights to a semi-religious dogma. Thanks to the works of the talented economist and financier J.B. Colbert, much was done to strengthen state unity, the welfare of representatives of the third estate, encourage trade, and develop industry and the fleet. At the same time, the Marquis de Louvois reformed the army, unified its organization and increased its fighting strength.

After the death of King Philip IV of Spain (1665), Louis XIV declared French claims to part of the Spanish Netherlands and retained it in the so-called War of Devolution. The Treaty of Aachen, concluded on May 2, 1668, transferred French Flanders and a number of border areas into his hands.

War with the Netherlands

From this time on, the United Provinces had a passionate enemy in Louis. Contrasts in foreign policy, state views, trade interests, and religion led both states to constant clashes. Louis in 1668-1671 masterfully managed to isolate the republic. Through bribery, he managed to distract England and Sweden from the Triple Alliance and win Cologne and Munster to the side of France. Having brought his army to 120,000 people, Louis in 1670 occupied the possessions of the ally of the Estates General, Duke Charles IV of Lorraine, and in 1672 he crossed the Rhine, within six weeks conquered half of the provinces and returned to Paris in triumph. The breakthrough of the dam, the emergence of William III of Orange in power, and the intervention of European powers stopped the success of French weapons. The Estates General entered into an alliance with Spain, Brandenburg and Austria; The Empire also joined them after the French army attacked the Archbishopric of Trier and occupied the 10 imperial cities of Alsace, already half connected to France. In 1674, Louis confronted his enemies with 3 large armies: with one of them he personally occupied Franche-Comté; another, under the command of Conde, fought in the Netherlands and won at Senef; the third, led by Turenne, devastated the Palatinate and successfully fought the troops of the emperor and the great elector in Alsace. After a short interval due to the death of Turenne and the removal of Condé, Louis came to the Netherlands with renewed vigor at the beginning of 1676 and conquered a number of cities, while Luxembourg devastated Breisgau. The entire country between the Saar, Moselle and Rhine was turned into a desert by order of the king. In the Mediterranean, Duquesne prevailed over Reuther; Brandenburg's forces were distracted by a Swedish attack. Only as a result of hostile actions on the part of England, Louis concluded the Peace of Nimwegen in 1678, which gave him large acquisitions from the Netherlands and the entire Franche-Comté from Spain. He gave Philippsburg to the emperor, but received Freiburg and retained all his conquests in Alsace.

Louis at the height of his power

This moment marks the apogee of Louis's power. His army was the largest, best organized and led. His diplomacy dominated all European courts. The French nation has reached unprecedented heights with its achievements in the arts and sciences, in industry and commerce. The Versailles court (Louis moved the royal residence to Versailles) became the subject of envy and surprise of almost all modern sovereigns, who tried to imitate the great king even in his weaknesses. Strict etiquette was introduced at court, regulating all court life. Versailles became the center of all high society life, in which the tastes of Louis himself and his many favorites (Lavaliere, Montespan, Fontanges) reigned. The entire high aristocracy sought court positions, since living away from the court for a nobleman was a sign of opposition or royal disgrace. “Absolute without objection,” according to Saint-Simon, “Louis destroyed and eradicated every other force or authority in France, except those that came from him: reference to the law, to the right was considered a crime.” This cult of the Sun King, in which capable people were increasingly pushed aside by courtesans and intriguers, was inevitably going to lead to the gradual decline of the entire edifice of the monarchy.

The king restrained his desires less and less. In Metz, Breisach and Besançon, he established chambers of reunion (chambres de réunions) to determine the rights of the French crown to certain areas (September 30, 1681). The imperial city of Strasbourg was suddenly occupied by French troops in peacetime. Louis did the same with regard to the Dutch borders. In 1681, his fleet bombarded Tripoli, and in 1684 - Algiers and Genoa. Finally, an alliance was formed between Holland, Spain and the emperor, which forced Louis to conclude a 20-year truce in Regensburg in 1684 and refuse further “reunions.”

Religious politics

Louis XIV tried to destroy the political dependence of the clergy on the Pope. He even intended to form a French patriarchate independent from Rome. But, thanks to the influence of Bossuet, the famous Bishop of Mosse, the French bishops refrained from breaking with Rome, and the views of the French hierarchy received official expression in the so-called. statement of the Gallican clergy (declaration du clarge gallicane) 1682

In matters of faith, Louis XIV's confessors (the Jesuits) made him an obedient instrument of the most ardent Catholic reaction, which was reflected in the merciless persecution of all individualistic movements within the church.

A number of harsh measures were taken against the Huguenots: churches were taken away from them, priests were deprived of the opportunity to baptize children according to the rules of their church, perform marriages and burials, and perform divine services. Even mixed marriages between Catholics and Protestants were prohibited.

The Protestant aristocracy was forced to convert to Catholicism so as not to lose their social advantages, and restrictive decrees were used against Protestants from among other classes, ending with the Dragonades of 1683 and the repeal of the Edict of Nantes in 1685. These measures, despite severe penalties for emigration forced more than 200 thousand Protestants to move to England, Holland and Germany. An uprising even broke out in the Cevennes. The king's growing piety found support from Madame de Maintenon, who, after the death of the queen (1683), was united to him by secret marriage.

War for the Palatinate

In 1688, a new war broke out, the reason for which was the claims to the Palatinate made by Louis XIV on behalf of his daughter-in-law, Elizabeth Charlotte, Duchess of Orleans, who was related to Elector Charles Ludwig, who had died shortly before. Having concluded an alliance with the Elector of Cologne, Karl-Egon Fürstemberg, Louis ordered his troops to occupy Bonn and attack the Palatinate, Baden, Württemberg and Trier.

At the beginning of 1689, French troops horribly devastated the entire Lower Palatinate. An alliance was formed against France from England (which had just overthrown the Stuarts), the Netherlands, Spain, Austria and the German Protestant states.

The Marshal of France, the Duke of Luxembourg, defeated the allies on July 1, 1690 at Fleurus; Marshal Catinat conquered Savoy, Vice Admiral Tourville defeated the British-Dutch fleet at the Battle of Beachy Head, so that the French for a short time had an advantage even at sea.

In 1692, the French besieged Namur, Luxembourg gained the upper hand at the Battle of Stenkerken; but on May 28, the French fleet was defeated at Cape La Hougue.

In 1693-1695, the advantage began to lean towards the allies; in 1695 the Duke de Luxembourg, a student of Turenne, died; in the same year a huge war tax was needed, and peace became a necessity for Louis. It took place in Ryswick in 1697, and for the first time Louis XIV had to confine himself to the status quo.

War of the Spanish Succession

France was completely exhausted when, a few years later, the death of Charles II of Spain led Louis to war with the European coalition. The War of the Spanish Succession, in which Louis wanted to reconquer the entire Spanish monarchy for his grandson Philip of Anjou, inflicted lasting wounds on Louis's power. The old king, who personally led the struggle, held himself in the most difficult circumstances with dignity and firmness. According to the peace concluded in Utrecht and Rastatt in 1713 and 1714, he retained Spain proper for his grandson, but its Italian and Dutch possessions were lost, and England, by destroying the Franco-Spanish fleets and conquering a number of colonies, laid the foundation for its maritime dominion. The French monarchy did not have to recover from the defeats of Hochstedt and Turin, Ramilly and Malplaquet until the revolution itself. It was suffering under the weight of debts (up to 2 billion) and taxes, which caused local outbreaks of discontent.

Last years. Family tragedy and the question of a successor

Thus, the result of Louis's entire system was the economic ruin and poverty of France. Another consequence was the growth of opposition literature, especially developed under the successor of the “great Louis.”

The family life of the elderly king at the end of his life presented a far from rosy picture. On April 13, 1711, his son, the Grand Dauphin Louis (born in 1661), died; in February 1712 he was followed by the Dauphin's eldest son, the Duke of Burgundy, and on March 8 of the same year by the latter's eldest son, the young Duke of Breton. On March 4, 1714, he fell from his horse and a few days later, the younger brother of the Duke of Burgundy, the Duke of Berry, died, so that, in addition to Philip V of Spain, the Bourbons had only one heir left - the four-year-old great-grandson of the king, the third son of the Duke of Burgundy (later Louis XV).

Even earlier, Louis legitimized his two sons from Madame de Montespan - the Duke of Maine and the Count of Toulouse, and gave them the surname Bourbon. Now, in his will, he appointed them members of the regency council and declared their eventual right to succession to the throne. Louis himself remained active until the end of his life, firmly supporting court etiquette and the decor of his “great century,” which was already beginning to fade.

Louis XIV died on September 1, 1715 at 8:15 am, surrounded by courtiers. Death occurred after several days of agony, from gangrene of the leg, which the king damaged when falling from a horse while hunting (he considered amputation unacceptable for royal dignity). The reign of Louis XIV lasted 72 years and 110 days.

The king's body was exhibited for 8 days for farewell in the Salon of Hercules in Versailles. On the night of the ninth day, the body was transported (having taken the necessary measures to prevent the population from organizing holidays along the funeral procession) to the basilica of the Abbey of Saint-Denis, where Louis was interred in compliance with all the rites of the Catholic Church due to the monarch.

In 1822, an equestrian statue (based on Bosio's model) was erected to him in Paris, on the Place des Victories.

Marriages and children

• (from June 9, 1660, Saint-Jean de Luz) Maria Theresa (1638-1683), Infanta of Spain, cousin of Louis XIV on two lines - both maternal and paternal:
  • Louis the Great Dauphin (1661-1711)
  • Anna Elizabeth (1662-1662)
  • Maria Anna (1664-1664)
  • Maria Teresa (1667-1672)
  • Philip (1668-1671)
  • Louis-Francois (1672-1672).

Louis

Anna-Elizabeth and Maria-Anna

Maria Teresa

Philip

• (from June 12, 1684, Versailles) Françoise d'Aubigné (1635-1719), Marquise de Maintenon.
• Ext. connection Louise de La Baume Le Blanc (1644-1710), Duchess de La Vallière:
  • Charles de La Baume Le Blanc (1663-1665)
  • Philippe de La Baume Le Blanc (1665-1666)
  • Marie-Anne de Bourbon (1666-1739), Mademoiselle de Blois
  • Louis de Bourbon (1667-1683), Comte de Vermandois.
• Ext. connection Françoise-Athenais de Rochechouart de Mortemart (1641-1707), Marquise de Montespan:
  • Louise-Françoise de Bourbon (1669-1672)
  • Louis-Auguste de Bourbon, Duke of Maine (1670-1736)
  • Louis-César de Bourbon (1672-1683)
  • Louise-Françoise de Bourbon (1673-1743), Mademoiselle de Nantes
  • Louise Marie Anne de Bourbon (1674-1681), Mademoiselle de Tours
  • Françoise-Marie de Bourbon (1677-1749), Mademoiselle de Blois
  • Louis-Alexandre de Bourbon, Count of Toulouse (1678-1737).
• Ext. connection(1678-1680) Marie-Angelique de Scoray de Roussil (1661-1681), Duchess of Fontanges:
  • N (1679-1679), the child was born dead.
• Ext. connection Claude de Vines (c.1638 - September 8, 1686), Mademoiselle des Hoye:
  • Louise de Maisonblanche (1676-1718).

The history of the nickname Sun King

In France, the sun was a symbol of royal power and the king personally even before Louis XIV. The luminary became the personification of the monarch in poetry, solemn odes and court ballets. The first mentions of solar emblems go back to the reign of Henry III; the grandfather and father of Louis XIV used them, but only under him did solar symbolism become truly widespread.

At the age of twelve (1651), Louis XIV made his debut in the so-called “ballets de cour” - court ballets, which were staged annually during the carnival.

The Baroque carnival is not just a holiday and entertainment, but an opportunity to play in an “upside-down world.” For example, the king became a jester, an artist or a buffoon for several hours, while at the same time the jester could well afford to appear in the guise of a king. In one of the ballet productions (“Ballet of the Night” by Jean-Baptiste Lully), young Louis had the opportunity to appear for the first time before his subjects in the form of the Rising Sun (1653), and then Apollo, the Sun God (1654).

When Louis XIV began to rule independently (1661), the genre of court ballet was put at the service of state interests, helping the king not only create his representative image, but also manage court society (as well as other arts). The roles in these productions were distributed only by the king and his friend, the Comte de Saint-Aignan. Princes of the blood and courtiers, dancing next to their sovereign, depicted various elements, planets and other creatures and phenomena subject to the Sun. Louis himself continues to appear before his subjects in the form of the Sun, Apollo and other gods and heroes of Antiquity. The king left the stage only in 1670.

But the emergence of the nickname of the Sun King was preceded by another important cultural event of the Baroque era - the Carousel of the Tuileries in 1662. This is a festive carnival cavalcade, which is something between a sports festival (in the Middle Ages these were tournaments) and a masquerade. In the 17th century, the Carousel was called an “equestrian ballet”, since this action was more reminiscent of a performance with music, rich costumes and a fairly consistent script. At the Carousel of 1662, given in honor of the birth of the first-born of the royal couple, Louis XIV pranced in front of the audience on a horse dressed as a Roman emperor. In his hand the king had a golden shield with the image of the Sun. This symbolized that this luminary protects the king and with him the whole of France.

According to the historian of the French Baroque F. Bossan, “it was on the Grand Carousel of 1662 that, in a way, the Sun King was born. His name was given not by politics or the victories of his armies, but by equestrian ballet.”

The image of Louis XIV in popular culture

Fiction

• Louis XIV is one of the main historical characters in the trilogy about the musketeers by Alexandre Dumas.
• Michael Bulgakov. Cabal of saints.
• The hero of the series of novels “Angelique” by Anna and Serge Gallon.
• The hero of the novel by Françoise Chandernagore “Royal Alley: Memoirs of Françoise d’Aubigné, Marquise de Maintenon, wife of the King of France”
• A.A.Gurshtein"Stars of Paris" 2016. (A novel chronicling the life of astronomers during the times of Louis XIV).

Movie

• The Iron Mask (USA; 1929) directed by Allan Duon, in the role of Louis, William Bakewell.
• The Man in the Iron Mask (USA; 1939) directed by James Whale, Louis Hayward as Louis.
• The Iron Mask / Le masque de fer (Italy, France; 1962) directed by Henri Decoin, in the role of Louis Jean-François Poron.
• The seizure of power by Louis XIV / La prise de pouvoir par Louis XIV (France; 1966) directed by Roberto Rossellini, in the role of Louis Jean-Marie Patt.
• The Man in the Iron Mask (UK, USA; 1977) directed by Mike Newell, Richard Chamberlain as Louis.
• The King's Path / L "allée du roi (France; 1996) directed by Nina Companeets, in the role of King Louis XIV Didier Sandre.
• In 1993, Roger Planchon directed the biographical film Louis, the Child King about the childhood and youth of Louis XIV.
• In the 1998 film The Man in the Iron Mask, Louis XIV is portrayed as cruel, selfish, fun-loving, and a weak politician. According to the plot of the film, Louis has a twin brother, who later takes the place of king and leads France to the “Golden Age”. Louis XIV was played by Leonardo DiCaprio.
• A film directed by Gerard Corbier is also dedicated to him. "The King Dances", which reveals the theme of the relationship between power and art.
• Louis XIV is one of the main characters in Roland Joffe's drama Vatel. In the film, the Prince of Condé invites the king to his castle of Chantilly and tries to impress him in order to take the post of commander in chief in the upcoming war with Holland. Louis XIV is played by Julian Sands.
• Louis XIV appears as a beautiful seducer in the film “Angelique and the King”, where he was played by Jacques Toja, and also appears in the first two films of the epic “Angelique - Marquise of Angels” and “The Magnificent Angelique”.
• In Oleg Ryaskov’s film “The Servant of the Sovereign,” the role of King Louis XIV was played by the artist of the Moscow New Drama Theater Dmitry Shilyaev.
• In the films by George Yungvald-Khilkevich “The Secret of Queen Anne, or The Musketeers Thirty Years Later” (1993) and “The Return of the Musketeers or The Treasures of Cardinal Mazarin” (2008), Louis XIV was played by Dmitry Kharatyan.
• In Alan Rickman's film An Affair of Versailles (2014), Alan Rickman played the role of King Louis XIV.
• TV series "Versailles" (France-Canada, 2015-). The role of King Louis XIV is played by George Blagden.
• The Death of Louis XIV / La mort de Louis XIV (Portugal, France, Spain; 2016) directed by Albert Serra, in the role of Louis Jean-Pierre Léaud.

Musical

• The musical “The Sun King” was staged in France about Louis XIV.

Documentaries

• 2015 - Death of the Sun King / 1715. The Sun King is Dead! / La mort de Louis XIV (dir. Sylvie Faiveley)

The attention of any tourist who steps under the arches of the royal residence near Paris of Versailles, in the very first minutes, will be drawn to the numerous emblems on the walls, tapestries and other furnishings of this beautiful palace ensemble. The emblems represent a human face framed by the sun's rays illuminating the globe.

Source: Ivonin Yu. E., Ivonina L. I. Rulers of the destinies of Europe: emperors, kings, ministers of the 16th – 18th centuries. – Smolensk: Rusich, 2004. P.404–426.

This face, executed in the best classical traditions, belongs to the most famous of all French kings of the Bourbon dynasty, Louis XIV. The personal reign of this monarch, which had no precedents in Europe for its duration - 54 years (1661-1715) - went down in history as a classic example of absolute power, as an era of unprecedented flourishing in all areas of culture and spiritual life, which prepared the way for the emergence of the French Enlightenment and, finally, as the era of French hegemony in Europe. Therefore, it is not surprising that the second half of the 17th - early 18th centuries. In France it was called the “Golden Age”; the monarch himself was called the “Sun King”.

A huge number of scientific and popular books have been written about Louis XIV and his time abroad.

The authors of a number of well-known works of art to this day are attracted by the personality of this king and his era, so rich in a wide variety of events that left an indelible mark on the history of France and Europe. Domestic scientists and writers, in comparison with their foreign colleagues, paid relatively little attention to both Louis himself and his time. Nevertheless, everyone in our country has at least a rough idea of ​​this king. But the problem is how accurately this idea corresponds to reality. Despite the wide range of most controversial assessments of the life and work of Louis XIV, they can all be boiled down to the following: he was a great king, although he made many mistakes during his long reign, he elevated France to the rank of the primary European powers, although ultimately he diplomacy and endless wars led to the elimination of French hegemony in Europe. Many historians note the contradictory policies of this king, as well as the ambiguity of the results of his reign. As a rule, they look for the sources of contradictions in the previous development of France, the childhood and youth of the future absolute ruler. The psychological characteristics of Louis XIV are very popular, although they practically leave behind the scenes the knowledge of the depth of the king’s political thinking and his mental abilities. The latter, I think, is extremely important for assessing the life and activities of an individual within the framework of his era, his understanding of the needs of his time, as well as the ability to foresee the future. Let us immediately note here, so as not to refer to this in the future, that the versions about the “iron mask” as the twin brother of Louis XIV have long been swept aside by historical science.

“Louis, by the grace of God, King of France and Navarre” was the title of the French monarchs in the mid-17th century. It represented a certain contrast with the contemporaneous long titles of Spanish kings, Holy Roman Emperors or Russian Tsars. But its apparent simplicity in fact meant the unity of the country and the presence of a strong central government. To a large extent, the strength of the French monarchy was based on the fact that the king simultaneously combined different roles in French politics. We will mention only the most important ones. The king was the first judge and, undoubtedly, the personification of justice for all inhabitants of the kingdom. Being responsible (p.406) before God for the well-being of his state, he led its domestic and foreign policy and was the source of all legitimate political power in the country. As the first overlord, he had the largest lands in France. He was the first nobleman of the kingdom, protector and head of the Catholic Church in France. Thus, broad legally based powers in the event of successful circumstances gave the King of France rich opportunities for effective management and implementation of his power, of course, provided that he had certain qualities for this.

In practice, of course, not a single king of France could simultaneously combine all these functions on a full scale. The existing social order, the presence of government and local authorities, as well as the energy, talents, and personal psychological characteristics of monarchs limited the field of their activity. In addition, in order to rule successfully, the king needed to be a good actor. As for Louis XIV, in this case the circumstances were most favorable for him.

Actually, the reign of Louis XIV began much earlier than his immediate reign. In 1643, after the death of his father Louis XIII, he became king of France at the age of five. But only in 1661, after the death of the first minister, Cardinal Giulio Mazarin, Louis XIV took full power into his own hands, proclaiming the principle “The State is me.” The king, realizing the comprehensive and unconditional significance of his power and might, repeated this phrase very often.

…The ground had already been thoroughly prepared for the development of the new king’s vigorous activity. He had to consolidate all the achievements and outline the further path of development of French statehood. The outstanding ministers of France, Cardinals Richelieu and Mazarin, who had advanced political thinking for that era, were the creators of the theoretical foundations of French (p. 407) absolutism, laid its foundation and strengthened it in the successful struggle against opponents of absolute power. The crisis during the Fronde era was overcome, the Peace of Westphalia in 1648 ensured French hegemony on the continent and made it the guarantor of European balance. The Peace of the Pyrenees in 1659 consolidated this success. The young king was to take advantage of this magnificent political inheritance.

If we try to give a psychological description of Louis XIV, we can somewhat correct the widespread idea of ​​this king as a selfish and thoughtless person. According to his own explanations, he chose the emblem of the “sun king” for himself, since the sun is the giver of all blessings, a tireless worker and the source of justice, it is a symbol of a calm and balanced reign. The later birth of the future monarch, which his contemporaries called miraculous, the foundations of his upbringing laid by Anne of Austria and Giulio Mazarin, the horrors of the Fronde he experienced - all this forced the young man to rule in this way and show himself to be a real, powerful sovereign. As a child, according to the recollections of contemporaries, he was “serious... prudent enough to remain silent for fear of saying anything inappropriate,” and, having begun to rule, Louis tried to fill the gaps in his education, since his training program was too general and avoided special knowledge. Undoubtedly, the king was a man of duty and, contrary to the famous phrase, considered the state incomparably higher than himself as an individual. He performed the “royal craft” conscientiously: in his view, it was associated with constant work, with the need for ceremonial discipline, restraint in public displays of feelings, and strict self-control. Even his entertainments were largely a state matter; their pomp supported the prestige of the French monarchy in Europe.

Could Louis XIV have done without political mistakes? Was his reign really calm and balanced? (p.408)

Continuing, as he believed, the work of Richelieu and Mazarin, Louis XIV was most occupied with improving royal absolutism, which corresponded to his personal inclinations and concepts of the duty of the monarch. His Majesty persistently pursued the idea that the source of all statehood is only the king, who is placed above other people by God himself and therefore assesses the surrounding circumstances more perfectly than they do. “One head,” he said, “has the right to consider and resolve issues; the functions of the remaining members are only to carry out the orders given to them.” He considered the absolute power of the sovereign and the complete submission of his subjects to be one of the main divine commandments. “In all Christian doctrine there is no more clearly established principle than the unquestioning obedience of subjects to those who are placed over them.”

Each of his ministers, advisers or associates could maintain his position provided that he managed to pretend that he was learning everything from the king and considered him alone to be the reason for the success of every business. A very illustrative example in this regard was the case of the surintendent of finance Nicolas Fouquet, with whose name during the reign of Mazarin the stabilization of the financial situation in France was associated. This case was also the most striking manifestation of the royal vindictiveness and rancor brought up by the Fronde and was associated with the desire to remove everyone who does not obey the sovereign to the proper extent, who can compare with him. Despite the fact that Fouquet showed absolute loyalty to the Mazarin government during the years of the Fronde and had considerable services to the supreme power, the king eliminated him. In his behavior, Louis most likely saw something “frontier” - self-reliance, an independent mind. The surintendent also strengthened the island of Belle-Ile, which belonged to him, attracted clients from the military, lawyers, and representatives of culture, maintained a lush courtyard and a whole staff of informants. His castle of Vaux-le-Vicomte was not inferior in its beauty and splendor to the royal palace. In addition, according to a document that has survived (p. 409), although only in a copy, Fouquet tried to establish a relationship with the king’s favorite, Louise de La Vallière. In September 1661, the surintendent was arrested at the festival of Vaux-le-Vicomte by the well-known captain of the royal musketeers d'Artagnan and spent the rest of his life in prison.

Louis XIV could not tolerate the existence of political rights that remained after the death of Richelieu and Mazarin for some state and public institutions, because these rights to some extent contradicted the concept of royal omnipotence. Therefore, he destroyed them and introduced bureaucratic centralization, brought to perfection. The king, of course, listened to the opinions of ministers, members of his family, favorites and favorites. But he stood firmly at the top of the power pyramid. Secretaries of state acted in accordance with the orders and instructions of the monarch, each of whom, in addition to the main sphere of activity - financial, military, etc., had several large administrative-territorial regions under his command. These areas (there were 25 of them) were called “generalite”. Louis XIV reformed the Royal Council, increased the number of its members, turning it into a real government under his own person. The States General was not convened under him, provincial and city self-government was everywhere destroyed and replaced by the management of royal officials, of whom the intendants were vested with the broadest powers. The latter carried out the policies and activities of the government and its head, the king. The bureaucracy was all-powerful.

But it cannot be said that Louis XIV was not surrounded by sensible officials or did not listen to their advice. In the first half of the king's reign, the brilliance of his reign was largely contributed by the controller general of finance Colbert, the minister of war Louvois, the military engineer Vauban, talented commanders - Condé, Turenne, Tesse, Vendôme and many others. (p.410)

Jean-Baptiste Colbert came from the bourgeois strata and in his youth managed the private property of Mazarin, who was able to appreciate his outstanding intelligence, honesty and hard work, and before his death he recommended him to the king. Louis was won over by Colbert's relative modesty compared to the rest of his employees, and he appointed him controller general of finance. All the measures taken by Colbert to boost French industry and trade received a special name in history - Colbertism. First of all, the Comptroller General of Finance streamlined the financial management system. Strict reporting was introduced in the receipt and expenditure of state revenues, all those who illegally evaded it were forced to pay the land tax, taxes on luxury goods were increased, etc. True, in accordance with the policy of Louis XIV, the nobility of the sword (hereditary military nobility). Nevertheless, this reform of Colbert improved the financial position of France, (p. 411) but not enough to satisfy all state needs (especially military) and the insatiable demands of the king.

Colbert also took a number of measures known as the policy of mercantilism, i.e., encouraging the productive forces of the state. To improve French agriculture, he reduced or completely abolished taxes for peasants with many children, gave benefits to arrears, and, with the help of reclamation measures, expanded the area of ​​cultivable land. But most of all the minister was occupied with the question of the development of industry and trade. Colbert imposed a high tariff on all imported goods and encouraged their domestic production. He invited the best craftsmen from abroad, encouraged the bourgeoisie to invest money in the development of manufactories; moreover, he provided them with benefits and issued loans from the state treasury. Several state-owned manufactories were founded under him. As a result, the French market was filled with domestic goods, and a number of French products (Lyon velvet, Valenciennes lace, luxury goods) were popular throughout Europe. Colbert's mercantilist measures created a number of economic and political difficulties for neighboring states. In particular, angry speeches were often made in the English Parliament against the policy of Colbertism and the penetration of French goods into the English market, and Colbert's brother Charles, who was the French ambassador in London, was not loved throughout the country.

In order to intensify French internal trade, Colbert ordered the construction of roads that stretched from Paris in all directions, and destroyed internal customs between individual provinces. He contributed to the creation of a large merchant and military fleet capable of competing with English and Dutch ships, founded the East India and West India trading companies, and encouraged the colonization of America and India. Under him, a French colony was founded in the lower reaches of the Mississippi, named Louisiana in honor of the king.

All these measures provided the state treasury with enormous revenues. But the maintenance of the most luxurious court in Europe and the continuous wars of Louis XIV (even in peacetime, 200 thousand people were constantly under arms) absorbed such colossal sums that they were not enough to cover all costs. At the king's request, in order to raise money, Colbert had to raise taxes even on basic necessities, which caused discontent against him throughout the kingdom. It should be noted that Colbert was by no means an opponent of French hegemony in Europe, but was against the military expansion of his overlord, preferring economic expansion to it. Eventually, in 1683, the Comptroller General of Finance fell out of favor with Louis XIV, which subsequently led to a gradual decline in the share of French industry and trade on the continent compared to England. The factor holding the king back was eliminated.

The Minister of War Louvois, the reformer of the French army, greatly contributed to the prestige of the French kingdom in the international arena. With the approval (p.413) of the king, he introduced conscription of soldiers and thereby created a standing army. During wartime, its number reached 500 thousand people - an unsurpassed figure in Europe at that time. Exemplary discipline was maintained in the army, recruits were systematically trained, and each regiment was given special uniforms. Louvois also improved weapons; the pike was replaced by a bayonet screwed to a gun, barracks, provision stores and hospitals were built. On the initiative of the Minister of War, a corps of engineers and several artillery schools were established. Louis highly valued Louvois and in the frequent quarrels between him and Colbert, due to his inclination, he took the side of the Minister of War.

According to the designs of the talented engineer Vauban, more than 300 land and sea fortresses were erected, canals were dug, and dams were built. He also invented some weapons for the army. Having become familiar with the state of the French kingdom for 20 years of continuous work, Vauban submitted a memo to the king proposing reforms that could improve the situation of the lower strata of France. Louis, who did not issue any instructions and did not want to waste his royal time, and especially finances, on new reforms, subjected the engineer to disgrace.

The French commanders the Prince of Condé, Marshals Turenne, Tesse, who left valuable memoirs to the world, Vendôme and a number of other capable military leaders significantly increased the military prestige and asserted the hegemony of France in Europe. They saved the day even when their king started and waged wars thoughtlessly and unreasonably.

France was in a state of war almost continuously during the reign of Louis XIV. The Wars of the Spanish Netherlands (60s - early 80s of the 17th century), the War of the League of Augsburg, or the Nine Years' War (1689–1697) and the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1714), absorbing huge financial resources, ultimately ultimately led to a significant decrease in French influence (p.414) in Europe. Although France still remained among the states that determined European politics, a new balance of power emerged on the continent, and irreconcilable Anglo-French contradictions arose.

The religious measures of his reign were closely connected with the international policy of the French king. Louis XIV made many political mistakes that Cardinals Richelieu and Mazarin could not afford. But the miscalculation that became fatal for France and was later called the “mistake of the century” was the abolition of the Edict of Nantes in October 1685. The king, who assessed his kingdom as the strongest economically and politically in Europe, claimed not only (p. 415) territorial -political, but also spiritual hegemony of France on the continent. Like the Habsburgs in the 16th and first half of the 17th centuries, he sought to play the role of defender of the Catholic faith in Europe, and as a result, his disagreements with the See of St. Peter deepened. Louis XIV banned the Calvinist religion in France and continued the persecution of French Protestants, which began in the 70s. and have now become cruel. Huguenots flocked abroad in droves, and therefore the government banned emigration. But, despite strict punishments and cordons placed along the border, up to 400 thousand people moved to England, Holland, Prussia, and Poland. The governments of these countries willingly accepted Huguenot emigrants, mostly of bourgeois origin, who significantly revived the industry and trade of the states that sheltered them. As a result, considerable damage was caused to the economic development of France; Huguenot nobles most often entered the service as officers in the army of states that were enemies of France.

It must be said that not everyone around the king supported the repeal of the Edict of Nantes. As Marshal Tesse very aptly noted, “its results were fully consistent with this apolitical measure.” The “mistake of the century” dramatically damaged Louis XIV’s foreign policy plans. The mass exodus of Huguenots from France revolutionized Calvinist doctrine. In the Glorious Revolution of 1688-1689. More than 2 thousand Huguenot officers took part in England. Outstanding Huguenot theologians and publicists of that time, Pierre Hury and Jean Le Clerc, created the basis of new Huguenot political thinking, and the Glorious Revolution itself became for them a theoretical and practical model for the reconstruction of society. The new revolutionary worldview was that France needed a “parallel revolution”, the overthrow of the absolutist tyranny of Louis XIV. At the same time, the destruction of the Bourbon monarchy as such was not proposed, but only constitutional changes that would turn it into a parliamentary monarchy. As a result, the religious policy of Louis XIV (p.416) prepared the transformation of political ideas, which were finally developed and strengthened in the concepts of the French Enlightenment of the 18th century. The Catholic Bishop Bossuet, who was influential at the king’s court, noted that “free-thinking people did not neglect the opportunity to criticize the policies of Louis XIV.” The concept of a tyrant king was formed.

So, for France, the repeal of the Edict of Nantes was truly a disastrous act. Called to strengthen royal power within the country and achieve not only the territorial-political, but also the spiritual hegemony of France in Europe, in fact, he gave cards to the hands of the future English king William III of Orange and contributed to the accomplishment of the Glorious Revolution, alienating almost all of its few allies from France. The violation of the principle of freedom of conscience, in parallel with the disruption of the balance of power in Europe, resulted in severe defeats for France in both domestic and foreign policy. The second half of the reign of Louis XIV no longer looked so brilliant. And for Europe, in essence, his actions turned out quite favorably. The Glorious Revolution was carried out in England, neighboring states rallied into an anti-French coalition, through the efforts of which, as a result of bloody wars, France lost its absolute primacy in Europe, retaining it only in the cultural field.

It is in this area that France's hegemony has remained unshakable, and in some aspects continues to this day. At the same time, the very personality of the king and his activities laid the foundation for the unprecedented cultural rise of France. In general, there is an opinion among historians that talking about the “golden age” of the reign of Louis XIV can only be done in relation to the sphere of culture. This is where the “Sun King” was truly great. During his upbringing, Louis did not acquire the skills to work independently with books; he preferred questions and lively conversation to the search for truth from authors who contradicted each other. Perhaps that is why the king paid great attention to the cultural framework of his reign (p. 417), and raised his son Louis, born in 1661, differently: the heir to the throne was introduced to jurisprudence, philosophy, taught Latin and mathematics.

Among the various measures that were supposed to contribute to the growth of royal prestige, Louis XIV attached particular importance to attracting attention to his own person. He devoted as much time to worries about this as he did to the most important state affairs. After all, the face of the kingdom was, first of all, the king himself. Louis, as it were, made his life a work of classicism. He did not have a “hobby”; it was impossible to imagine him being passionate about something that did not coincide with the “profession” of the monarch. All his sporting hobbies were purely royal activities, creating the traditional image of a king-knight. Louis was too integral to be talented: brilliant talent would have broken through the boundaries of the circle of interests assigned to him somewhere. However, such rationalistic concentration on one's specialty was an early modern phenomenon, which in the field of culture was characterized by encyclopedism, scatteredness and disorganized curiosity.

By granting ranks, awards, pensions, estates, profitable positions, and other signs of attention, for which Louis XIV was inventive to the point of virtuosity, he managed to attract representatives of the best families to his court and turn them into his obedient servants. The most noble aristocrats considered it their greatest happiness and honor to serve the king when dressing and undressing, at the table, during walks, etc. The staff of courtiers and servants numbered 5-6 thousand people.

Strict etiquette was adopted at court. Everything was distributed with meticulous punctuality, every, even the most ordinary act of the life of the royal family was arranged extremely solemnly. When dressing the king, the entire court was present; a large staff of servants was required to serve the king a dish or drink. During the royal dinner, everyone admitted to him, including (p.418) members of the royal family, stood; it was possible to talk with the king only when he himself wished. Louis XIV considered it necessary for himself to strictly observe all the details of complex etiquette and demanded the same from his courtiers.

The king gave unprecedented splendor to the external life of the court. His favorite residence was Versailles, which under him became a large luxurious city. Particularly magnificent was the grandiose palace in a strictly consistent style, richly decorated both outside and inside by the best French artists of that time. During the construction of the palace, an architectural innovation was introduced, which later became fashionable in Europe: not wanting to demolish his father’s hunting lodge, which became an element of the central part of the palace ensemble, the king forced the architects to come up with a hall of mirrors, when the windows of one wall were reflected in mirrors on the other wall, creating there the illusion of the presence of window openings. The large palace was surrounded by several small ones for members of the royal family, many royal services, premises for the royal guards and courtiers. The palace buildings were surrounded by an extensive garden, maintained according to the laws of strict symmetry, with decoratively trimmed trees, many flower beds, fountains, and statues. It was Versailles that inspired Peter the Great, who visited there, to build Peterhof with its famous fountains. True, Peter spoke about Versailles as follows: the palace is beautiful, but there is little water in the fountains. In addition to Versailles, other beautiful architectural structures were built under Louis - the Grand Trianon, Les Invalides, the Louvre colonnade, the gates of Saint-Denis and Saint-Martin. The architect Hardouin-Monsard, artists and sculptors Lebrun, Girardon, Leclerc, Latour, Rigaud and others worked on all these creations, encouraged by the king.

While Louis XIV was young, life at Versailles was a continuous holiday. There was a continuous series of balls, masquerades, concerts, theatrical performances, and pleasure walks. Only in his old age (p.419) did the king, who was already constantly ill, begin to lead a calmer lifestyle, unlike the English king Charles II (1660–1685). Even on the day that turned out to be the last in his life, he organized a celebration in which he took an active part.

Louis XIV constantly attracted famous writers to his side, giving them monetary rewards and pensions, and for these favors he expected glorification of himself and his reign. The literary celebrities of that era were the playwrights Corneille, Racine and Moliere, the poet Boileau, the fabulist La Fontaine and others. Almost all of them, with the exception of La Fontaine, created the cult of the sovereign. For example, Corneille, in his tragedies from the history of the Greco-Roman world, emphasized the advantages of absolutism, which extended beneficence to its subjects. Moliere's comedies skillfully ridiculed the weaknesses and shortcomings of modern society. However, their author tried to avoid anything that might not please Louis XIV. Boileau wrote laudatory odes in honor of the monarch, and in his satires he ridiculed medieval orders and opposition aristocrats.

Under Louis XIV, a number of academies arose - sciences, music, architecture, the French Academy in Rome. Of course, it was not only the high ideals of serving the beautiful that inspired His Majesty. The political nature of the French monarch's concern for cultural figures is obvious. But does this make the works created by the masters of his era any less beautiful?

As we may have already noticed, Louis XIV made his private life the property of the entire kingdom. Let us note one more aspect. Under the influence of his mother, Louis grew up to be a very religious man, at least outwardly. But, as researchers note, his faith was the faith of a common man. Cardinal Fleury, in a conversation with Voltaire, recalled that the king “believed like a coal miner.” Other contemporaries noted that “he had never read the Bible in his life and believed everything the priests and bigots told him.” But perhaps this was consistent with the king's religious policy. Louis listened to Mass every day (p.420), washed the feet of 12 beggars every year on Holy Thursday, read simple prayers every day, and listened to long sermons on holidays. However, such ostentatious religiosity was not an obstacle to the king’s luxurious life, his wars and relationships with women.

Like his grandfather, Henry IV of Bourbon, Louis XIV was very amorous by temperament and did not consider it necessary to observe marital fidelity. As we already know, at the insistence of Mazarin and his mother, he had to renounce his love for Maria Mancini. The marriage to Maria Teresa of Spain was a purely political matter. Without being faithful, the king still conscientiously fulfilled his marital duty: from 1661 to 1672, the queen gave birth to six children, of whom only the eldest son survived. Louis was always present at childbirth and, together with the queen, experienced her torment, as did other courtiers. Maria Teresa, of course, was jealous, but very unobtrusively. When the queen died in 1683, her husband honored her memory with the following words: “This is the only trouble she caused me.”

In France, it was considered quite natural that a king, if he was a healthy and normal man, should have mistresses, as long as decency was maintained. It should also be noted that Louis never confused love affairs with state affairs. He did not allow women to interfere in politics, carefully measuring the boundaries of influence of his favorites. In his “Memoirs” addressed to his son, His Majesty wrote: “Let the beauty who gives us pleasure dare not talk to us about our affairs or our ministers.”

Among the king's many lovers, three figures are usually distinguished. Former favorite in 1661-1667. the quiet and modest maid of honor Louise de La Vallière, who gave birth to Louis four times, was perhaps the most devoted and most humiliated of all his mistresses. When the king no longer needed her, she retired to a monastery, where she spent the rest of her life.

In some ways, Françoise-Athenais de Montespan, who “reigned” (p. 422) in 1667-1679, presented a contrast to her. and bore the king six children. She was a beautiful and proud woman who was already married. So that her husband could not take her away from the court, Louis gave her the high court rank of surintendant of the queen's court. Unlike Lavaliere, Montespan was not loved by those around the king: one of the highest church authorities in France, Bishop Bossuet, even demanded that the favorite be removed from the court. Montespan adored luxury and loved to give orders, but she also knew her place. The king's beloved preferred to avoid asking Louis for private individuals, talking with him only about the needs of the monasteries under her care.

Unlike Henry IV, who at the age of 56 was crazy about 17-year-old Charlotte de Montmorency, Louis XIV, widowed at 45, suddenly began to strive for quiet family happiness. In the person of his third favorite, Françoise de Maintenon, who was three years older than him, the king found what he was looking for. Despite the fact that in 1683 Louis entered into a secret marriage with Françoise, his love was already the calm feeling of a man who foresaw old age. The beautiful, intelligent and pious widow of the famous poet Paul Scarron was, obviously, the only woman capable of influencing him. French educators attributed to its decisive influence the abolition of the Edict of Nantes in 1685. However, there is no doubt that this act was most consistent with the aspirations of the king himself in the field of domestic and foreign policy, although one cannot help but notice that the “era of Maintenon” coincided with the second, worst half of his reign. In the secluded rooms of his secret wife, His Majesty “shed tears that he could not hold back.” Nevertheless, the traditions of court etiquette were observed in relation to her before her subjects: two days before the death of the king, his 80-year-old wife left the palace and lived out her days in Saint-Cyr, the educational institution she founded for noble maidens.

Louis XIV died on September 1, 1715 at the age of 77. Judging by his physical characteristics, the king could have lived much longer. Despite his small stature, which forced him to wear high heels, Louis was stately and proportionally built, and had a representative appearance. Natural grace was combined in him with majestic posture, calm eyes, and unshakable self-confidence. The king had enviable health, rare in those difficult times. Louis's most conspicuous tendency was bulimia - an insatiable feeling of hunger that caused an incredible appetite. The king ate mountains of food day and night, absorbing the food in large pieces. What organism can withstand this? The inability to cope with bulimia was the main cause of his numerous illnesses, combined with the dangerous experiments of doctors of that era - endless bloodletting, laxatives, drugs with the most incredible ingredients. The court physician Vallo rightly wrote about the “heroic health” of the king. But it was gradually weakened, in addition to illnesses, also by countless entertainments, balls, hunting, wars and the nervous tension associated with the latter. It is not for nothing that, on the eve of his death, Louis XIV said the following words: “I loved war too much.” But this phrase, most likely, was uttered for a completely different reason: on his deathbed, the “Sun King” may have realized what result his policies had led to the country.

So, now it remains for us to utter the sacramental phrase, so often repeated in studies about Louis XIV: did a man die or a messenger of God on earth? Undoubtedly, this king, like many others, was a man with all his weaknesses and contradictions. But it is still not easy to appreciate the personality and reign of this monarch. The great emperor and unsurpassed commander Napoleon Bonaparte noted: “Louis XIV was a great king: it was he who elevated France to the rank of the first nations in Europe, it was he who for the first time had 400 thousand people under arms and 100 ships at sea, he annexed Franche-Comté to France, Roussillon, Flanders, he placed one of his children on the throne of Spain... What king since Charlemagne can compare with Louis in every respect?” Napoleon was right - Louis XIV was indeed a great king. But was he a great man? It seems that this suggests the assessment of the king by his contemporary Duke Saint-Simon: “The king’s mind was below average and did not have much ability for improvement.” The statement is too categorical, but its author did not sin much against the truth.

Louis XIV was, without a doubt, a strong personality. It was he who contributed to bringing absolute power to its apogee: the system of strict centralization of government, cultivated by him, set an example for many political regimes of both that era and the modern world. It was under him that the national and territorial integrity of the kingdom was strengthened, a single internal market functioned, and the quantity and quality of French industrial products increased. Under him, France dominated Europe, having the strongest and most combat-ready army on the continent. And finally, he contributed to the creation of immortal creations that spiritually enriched the French nation and all of humanity.

But nevertheless, it was during the reign of this king that the “old order” in France began to crack, absolutism began to decline, and the first prerequisites for the French Revolution of the late 18th century arose. Why did it happen? Louis XIV was neither a great thinker, nor a significant commander, nor a capable diplomat. He did not have the broad outlook that his predecessors Henry IV, Cardinals Richelieu and Mazarin could boast of. The latter created the foundation for the flourishing of the absolute monarchy and defeated its internal and external enemies. And Louis XIV, with his ruinous wars, religious persecution and extremely strict centralization, built obstacles to the further dynamic development of France. Indeed, in order to choose the right strategic course for his state, extraordinary political thinking was required from the monarch. But the “sun king” did not possess such a thing. Therefore, it is not surprising that on the day of the funeral of Louis XIV, Bishop Bossuet, in his funeral speech, summed up the turbulent and incredibly long reign with one phrase: “Only God is great!”

France did not mourn the monarch who reigned for 72 years. Did the country already foresee the destruction and horrors of the Great Revolution? And was it really impossible to avoid them during such a long reign?

1. The most brilliant of the kings of France was also the longest-serving monarch of Europe. He reigned for 72 years, and even the current English Queen Elizabeth, who ascended the throne in 1952, has not yet managed to “overtake” the illustrious Sun King.

2.Louis XIV believed that he was a kind of gift from God.

3. For more than twenty years, Queen Anne of Austria could not become pregnant from Louis XIII, when, finally, by an incredible chance, this happened, Louis XIII, to celebrate, decided to dedicate the entire country to the Blessed Virgin and place himself and the kingdom under her heavenly protection.

4. The royal couple was lucky - on September 5, 1638, a boy was born. Moreover, the little Dauphin was born on the most suitable day for this, on Sunday, the day of the sun. They also say that it was a divine manifestation of heavenly grace that Louis XIV was born with two teeth in his mouth. Therefore, he immediately received the nickname Louis-Dieudonné, that is, “given by God.”

5. The famous philosopher Tommaso Campanella, who lived at the French court in those years, and who once wrote the popular treatise “The City of the Sun,” connected his utopian city with the appearance of the heir of France on the day of the Sun, and confidently declared: “How he will please the sun with his warmth and light France and its friends."

King Louis 13

6.In 1643, Louis XIV ascended the throne as a four-year-old boy and began to build his future and the future of the country. People remember the reign of Louis XIV as the era of the Sun King. And this is all thanks to the enormous benefits received after the end of the 30-year war, the country’s rich resources, military victories and many other factors.

7.His father, Louis XIII, died on May 14, 1643 at the age of 41, when little Louis was 4 years and 8 months old. The throne automatically passed to him, but, of course, it was impossible to rule the state at such a tender age, so his mother, Anna of Austria, became regent. But in fact, the affairs of the state were managed by Cardinal Mazarin, who not only was the king’s godfather, but, in fact, for some time became his real stepfather and doted on him.

8. Louis XIV was officially crowned at the age of 15, but in fact, he did not rule the state for another seven years - until the death of Mazarin. By the way, this story was later repeated with his great-grandson Louis XV, who ascended the throne at the age of 5, after the death of his brilliant grandfather.

9. The 72 years of the reign of King Louis XIV received the name “Great Century” in French history.

10.When Louis was 10 years old, a virtual civil war broke out in the country, in which the opposition Fronde confronted the authorities. The young king had to endure a blockade in the Louvre, a secret escape and many other, not at all royal things.

Anne of Austria - mother of Louis 14

11. Louis XIV grew up, and along with him grew his firm intention to rule the country independently, because in the period from 1648 to 1653, civil wars raged in France, and at that time the young monarch found himself a puppet in the wrong hands. But he successfully defeated the rebellions and in 1661 took all power into his own hands after the death of the first minister, Mazarin.

12. It was during these years that his character and his views were formed. Remembering the turmoil of his childhood, Louis XIV was convinced that the country could prosper only under the strong, unlimited power of the autocrat.

13.After the death of Cardinal Mazarin in 1661, the young king convened the Council of State, at which he announced that from now on he intended to rule independently, without appointing a first minister. It was then that he decided to build a large residence in Versailles, so as not to return to the unreliable Louvre.

14. In 1661, the 23-year-old King Louis XIV of France arrived at his father’s small hunting castle, located near Paris. The monarch ordered large-scale construction of his new residence to begin here, which was to become his stronghold and refuge. The Sun King's dream has come true. In Versailles, created at his request, Louis spent his best years, and here he ended his earthly journey.

15.In the period from 1661 to 1673, the monarch carried out the most productive reforms for France. Louis XIV carried out reforms in the social and economic spheres to reorganize all state institutions. Literature and art began to flourish in the country.

Versailles

16. The royal court moves to the Palace of Versailles, it is considered a monument to the era of Louis XIV. The monarch there surrounds himself with noble nobles and keeps them constantly under control, thus he excluded any possibility of political intrigue.

17. This king, as they say, worked excellently with personnel. The de facto head of government for two decades was Jean-Baptiste Colbert, a talented financier. Thanks to Colbert, the first period of the reign of Louis XIV was very successful from an economic point of view.

18. Louis XIV patronized science and art, because he considered it impossible for his kingdom to flourish without a high level of development of these spheres of human activity.

19. If the king were only concerned with the construction of Versailles, the rise of the economy and the development of the arts, then, probably, the respect and love of his subjects for the Sun King would be limitless.

20.However, the ambitions of Louis XIV extended much beyond the borders of his state. By the early 1680s, Louis XIV had the most powerful army in Europe, which only whetted his appetite.

21. In 1681, he established chambers of reunification to determine the rights of the French crown to certain areas, seizing more and more lands in Europe and Africa.

22. Louis XIV became an absolute monarch and first of all he brought order to the treasury, created a strong fleet, and developed trade. By force of arms he realizes territorial claims. So, as a result of military operations, Franche-Comté, Metz, Strasbourg, a number of cities in the Southern Netherlands and some other cities went to France.

23.The military prestige of France rose high, which allowed Louis XIV to dictate his terms to almost all European courts. But this circumstance also turned against Louis XIV himself, the enemies of France rallied, and the Protestants turned against Louis for persecuting the Huguenots.

24. In 1688, Louis XIV's claims to the Palatinate led to the whole of Europe turning against him. The so-called War of the League of Augsburg lasted for nine years and resulted in the parties maintaining the status quo. But the huge expenses and losses incurred by France led to a new economic decline in the country and a depletion of funds.

25.But already in 1701, France was drawn into a long conflict, called the War of the Spanish Succession. Louis XIV hoped to defend the rights to the Spanish throne for his grandson, who was to become the head of two states. However, the war, which engulfed not only Europe, but also North America, ended unsuccessfully for France. According to the peace concluded in 1713 and 1714, the grandson of Louis XIV retained the Spanish crown, but its Italian and Dutch possessions were lost, and England, by destroying the Franco-Spanish fleets and conquering a number of colonies, laid the foundation for its maritime dominion. In addition, the project of uniting France and Spain under the hand of the French monarch had to be abandoned.

King Louis 15

26. This last military campaign of Louis XIV returned him to where he started - the country was mired in debt and groaning from the burden of taxes, and here and there uprisings broke out, the suppression of which required more and more resources.

27.The need to replenish the budget led to non-trivial decisions. Under Louis XIV, the trade in government positions was put on stream, reaching its maximum extent in the last years of his life. To replenish the treasury, more and more new positions were created, which, of course, brought chaos and discord into the activities of state institutions.

28.The ranks of opponents of Louis XIV were joined by French Protestants after the “Edict of Fontainebleau” was signed in 1685, repealing the Edict of Nantes of Henry IV, which guaranteed freedom of religion to the Huguenots.

29.After this, more than 200 thousand French Protestants emigrated from the country, despite strict penalties for emigration. The exodus of tens of thousands of economically active citizens dealt another painful blow to the power of France.

30.At all times and eras, the personal life of monarchs influenced politics. Louis XIV is no exception in this sense. The monarch once remarked: “It would be easier for me to reconcile all of Europe than a few women.”

Maria Theresa

31. His official wife in 1660 was a peer, the Spanish Infanta Maria Theresa, who was Louis’s cousin on both his father and mother.

32. The problem with this marriage, however, was not the close family ties of the spouses. Louis simply did not love Maria Theresa, but he meekly agreed to the marriage, which had important political significance. The wife bore the king six children, but five of them died in childhood. Only the first-born survived, named, like his father, Louis and who went down in history under the name of the Grand Dauphin.

33. For the sake of marriage, Louis broke off relations with the woman he really loved - the niece of Cardinal Mazarin. Perhaps the separation from his beloved also influenced the king’s attitude towards his legal wife. Maria Theresa accepted her fate. Unlike other French queens, she did not intrigue or get involved in politics, playing a prescribed role. When the queen died in 1683, Louis said: “This is the only worry in my life that she has caused me.”

Louise - Francoise de Lavalliere

34. The king compensated for the lack of feelings in marriage with relationships with his favorites. For nine years, Louise-Françoise de La Baume Le Blanc, Duchess de La Vallière, became Louis's sweetheart. Louise was not distinguished by dazzling beauty, and, moreover, due to an unsuccessful fall from a horse, she remained lame for the rest of her life. But the meekness, friendliness and sharp mind of Lamefoot attracted the attention of the king.

35. Louise bore Louis four children, two of whom lived to adulthood. The king treated Louise quite cruelly. Having begun to grow cold towards her, he settled his rejected mistress next to his new favorite - Marquise Françoise Athenaïs de Montespan. The Duchess de La Valliere was forced to endure the bullying of her rival. She endured everything with her characteristic meekness, and in 1675 she became a nun and lived for many years in a monastery, where she was called Louise the Merciful.

Françosasa Athenais Montespan

36. In the lady before Montespan there was not a shadow of the meekness of her predecessor. A representative of one of the most ancient noble families in France, Françoise not only became the official favorite, but for 10 years turned into the “true queen of France.”

37.Françoise loved luxury and did not like counting money. It was the Marquise de Montespan who turned the reign of Louis XIV from deliberate budgeting to unrestrained and unlimited spending. Capricious, envious, domineering and ambitious, Francoise knew how to subjugate the king to her will. New apartments were built for her in Versailles, and she managed to place all her close relatives in significant government positions.

38. Françoise de Montespan gave birth to seven children for Louis, four of whom lived to adulthood. But the relationship between Françoise and the king was not as faithful as with Louise. Louis allowed himself hobbies besides his official favorite, which infuriated Madame de Montespan. To keep the king with her, she began to practice black magic and even became involved in a high-profile poisoning case. The king did not punish her with death, but deprived her of the status of a favorite, which was much more terrible for her. Like her predecessor, Louise le Lavalier, the Marquise de Montespan exchanged the royal chambers for a monastery.

39. Louis's new favorite was the Marquise de Maintenon, the widow of the poet Scarron, who was the governess of the king's children from Madame de Montespan. This king's favorite was called the same as her predecessor, Françoise, but the women were as different from each other as heaven and earth. The king had long conversations with the Marquise de Maintenon about the meaning of life, about religion, about responsibility before God. The royal court replaced its splendor with chastity and high morality.

40.After the death of his official wife, Louis XIV secretly married the Marquise de Maintenon. Now the king was occupied not with balls and festivities, but with masses and reading the Bible. The only entertainment he allowed himself was hunting.

Marquise de Maintenon

41. The Marquise de Maintenon founded and directed the first secular school for women in Europe, called the Royal House of Saint Louis. The school in Saint-Cyr became an example for many similar institutions, including the Smolny Institute in St. Petersburg. For her strict disposition and intolerance to secular entertainment, the Marquise de Maintenon received the nickname the Black Queen. She survived Louis and after his death retired to Saint-Cyr, living the rest of her days among the pupils of her school.

42.Louis XIV recognized his illegitimate children from both Louise de La Vallière and Françoise de Montespan. They all received their father's surname - de Bourbon, and dad tried to arrange their lives.

43. Louis, son from Louise, was already promoted to French admiral at the age of two, and having matured, he went on a military campaign with his father. There, at the age of 16, the young man died.

44. Louis-Auguste, son from Françoise, received the title of Duke of Maine, became a French commander and in this capacity accepted the godson of Peter I and Alexander Pushkin’s great-grandfather Abram Petrovich Hannibal for military training.

45. Françoise Marie, Louis's youngest daughter, was married to Philippe d'Orléans, becoming Duchess of Orléans. Possessing the character of her mother, Françoise-Marie plunged headlong into political intrigue. Her husband became the French regent under the young King Louis XV, and Françoise-Marie's children married the scions of other European royal dynasties. In a word, not many illegitimate children of ruling persons suffered the same fate that befell the sons and daughters of Louis XIV.

46.The last years of the king’s life turned out to be a difficult ordeal for him. The man, who throughout his life defended the chosenness of the monarch and his right to autocratic rule, experienced not only the crisis of his state. His close people left one after another, and it turned out that there was simply no one to transfer power to.

47. On April 13, 1711, his son, the Grand Dauphin Louis, died. In February 1712, the Dauphin's eldest son, the Duke of Burgundy, died, and on March 8 of the same year, the latter's eldest son, the young Duke of Breton, died. On March 4, 1714, the Duke of Burgundy's younger brother, the Duke of Berry, fell from his horse and died a few days later. The only heir was the 4-year-old great-grandson of the king, the youngest son of the Duke of Burgundy. If this little one had died, the throne would have remained vacant after the death of Louis. This forced the king to include even his illegitimate sons in the list of heirs, which promised internal civil strife in France in the future.

48. When the French, along with their British competitors, were in full swing developing the newly discovered America, René-Robert Cavelier de la Salle staked out lands on the Mississippi River in 1682, calling them Louisiana, precisely in honor of Louis XIV. True, France later sold them.

49.Louis XIV built the most magnificent palace in Europe. Versailles was born from a small hunting estate and became a real royal palace, causing the envy of many monarchs. Versailles had 2,300 rooms, 189,000 square meters, a park on 800 hectares of land, 200,000 trees and 50 fountains.

50. At 76 years old, Louis remained active, active and, as in his youth, regularly went hunting. During one of these trips, the king fell and injured his leg. Doctors discovered that the injury had caused gangrene and suggested amputation. The Sun King refused: this is unacceptable for royal dignity. The disease progressed rapidly, and soon agony began, lasting for several days. At the moment of clarity of consciousness, Louis looked around those present and uttered his last aphorism: “Why are you crying?” Did you really think that I would live forever? On September 1, 1715, at about 8 o'clock in the morning, Louis XIV died in his palace at Versailles, four days short of his 77th birthday. France said goodbye to the great monarch. The threat from Britain, which was gaining strength, was growing.

Louis XIV de Bourbon, who received the name Louis-Dieudonné at birth (“God-given”, French Louis-Dieudonné), also known as the “Sun King” (French Louis XIV Le Roi Soleil), also Louis the Great (French Louis le Grand). Born September 5, 1638 in Saint-Germain-en-Laye - died September 1, 1715 in Versailles. King of France and Navarre since May 14, 1643.

He reigned for 72 years - longer than any other European king in history (of the monarchs of Europe, only some rulers of the small states of the Holy Roman Empire, for example, Bernard VII of Lippe or Charles Friedrich of Baden, were in power longer).

Louis, who survived the wars of the Fronde in his childhood, became a staunch supporter of the principle of absolute monarchy and the divine right of kings (he is credited with the expression “The state is me!”), he combined the strengthening of his power with the successful selection of government officials for key political positions.

The reign of Louis - a time of significant consolidation of the unity of France, its military power, political weight and intellectual prestige, the flowering of culture, went down in history as the Great Century. At the same time, the long-term military conflicts in which France participated during the reign of Louis the Great led to increased taxes, which placed a heavy burden on the shoulders of the population and caused popular uprisings, and as a result of the adoption of the Edict of Fontainebleau, which abolished the Edict of Nantes on religious tolerance within the kingdom, about 200 thousand Huguenots emigrated from France.

Louis XIV came to the throne in May 1643, when he was not yet five years old, therefore, according to his father's will, the regency was transferred to Anne of Austria, who ruled in close tandem with the first minister, Cardinal Mazarin. Even before the end of the war with Spain and the House of Austria, the princes and high aristocracy, supported by Spain and in alliance with the Parisian Parliament, began unrest, which received the general name Fronde (1648-1652) and ended only with the subjugation of the Prince de Condé and the signing of the Pyrenees Peace (7 November 1659).

In 1660, Louis married the Spanish Infanta Maria Theresa of Austria. At this time, the young king, who grew up without sufficient upbringing and education, did not yet show much hope. However, as soon as Cardinal Mazarin died (1661), the next day Louis XIV assembled the Council of State, at which he announced that he henceforth intended to rule independently, without appointing a first minister.

So Louis began to independently govern the state, a course the king followed until his death. Louis XIV had the gift of selecting talented and capable employees (for example, Colbert, Vauban, Letelier, Lyonne, Louvois). One might even say that Louis elevated the doctrine of royal rights to a semi-religious dogma. Thanks to the works of the talented economist and financier J.B. Colbert, much was done to strengthen state unity, the welfare of representatives of the third estate, encourage trade, and develop industry and the fleet. At the same time, the Marquis de Louvois reformed the army, unified its organization and increased its fighting strength.

After the death of King Philip IV of Spain (1665), Louis XIV declared French claims to part of the Spanish Netherlands and retained it in the so-called War of Devolution. The Peace of Aachen, concluded on May 2, 1668, transferred French Flanders and a number of border areas into his hands.

From this time on, the United Provinces had a passionate enemy in Louis. Contrasts in foreign policy, state views, trade interests, and religion led both states to constant clashes. Louis in 1668-1671 masterfully managed to isolate the republic. Through bribery, he managed to distract England and Sweden from the Triple Alliance and win Cologne and Munster to the side of France.

Having brought his army to 120,000 people, Louis in 1670 occupied the possessions of the ally of the Estates General, Duke Charles IV of Lorraine, and in 1672 he crossed the Rhine, within six weeks conquered half of the provinces and returned to Paris in triumph. The breakthrough of the dam, the emergence of William III of Orange in power, and the intervention of European powers stopped the success of French weapons. The Estates General entered into an alliance with Spain, Brandenburg and Austria; The Empire also joined them after the French army attacked the Archbishopric of Trier and occupied the 10 imperial cities of Alsace, already half connected to France.

In 1674, Louis confronted his enemies with 3 large armies: with one of them he personally occupied Franche-Comté; another, under the command of Conde, fought in the Netherlands and won at Senef; the third, led by Turenne, devastated the Palatinate and successfully fought the troops of the emperor and the great elector in Alsace. After a short interval due to the death of Turenne and the removal of Condé, Louis came to the Netherlands with renewed vigor at the beginning of 1676 and conquered a number of cities, while Luxembourg devastated Breisgau. The entire country between the Saar, Moselle and Rhine was turned into a desert by order of the king. In the Mediterranean, Duquesne prevailed over Reuther; Brandenburg's forces were distracted by a Swedish attack. Only as a result of hostile actions on the part of England, Louis concluded the Peace of Nimwegen in 1678, which gave him large acquisitions from the Netherlands and the entire Franche-Comté from Spain. He gave Philippsburg to the emperor, but received Freiburg and retained all his conquests in Alsace.

This moment marks the apogee of Louis's power. His army was the largest, best organized and led. His diplomacy dominated all European courts. The French nation has reached unprecedented heights with its achievements in the arts and sciences, in industry and commerce.

The Versailles court (Louis moved the royal residence to Versailles) became the subject of envy and surprise of almost all modern sovereigns, who tried to imitate the great king even in his weaknesses. Strict etiquette was introduced at court, regulating all court life. Versailles became the center of all high society life, in which the tastes of Louis himself and his many favorites (Lavaliere, Montespan, Fontanges) reigned. The entire high aristocracy sought court positions, since living away from the court for a nobleman was a sign of opposition or royal disgrace. “Absolute without objection,” according to Saint-Simon, “Louis destroyed and eradicated every other force or authority in France, except those that came from him: reference to the law, to the right was considered a crime.” This cult of the Sun King, in which capable people were increasingly pushed aside by courtesans and intriguers, was inevitably going to lead to the gradual decline of the entire edifice of the monarchy.

The king restrained his desires less and less. In Metz, Breisach and Besançon, he established chambers of reunion (chambres de réunions) to determine the rights of the French crown to certain areas (September 30, 1681). The imperial city of Strasbourg was suddenly occupied by French troops in peacetime. Louis did the same with regard to the Dutch borders. In 1681, his fleet bombarded Tripoli, and in 1684 - Algiers and Genoa. Finally, an alliance was formed between Holland, Spain and the emperor, which forced Louis to conclude a 20-year truce in Regensburg in 1684 and refuse further “reunions.”

The central administration of the state was carried out by the king with the help of various councils (conseils):

Council of Ministers (Conseil d'État)- considered issues of special importance: foreign policy, military affairs, appointed the highest ranks of regional administration, resolved conflicts in the judiciary. The council included state ministers with lifelong salaries. The number of one-time council members has never exceeded seven people. These were mainly the secretaries of state, the controller general of finance and the chancellor. The king himself presided over the council. Was a permanent council.

Council of Finance (Conseil royal des finances)- considered fiscal issues, financial issues, as well as appeals against quartermaster orders. The council was created in 1661 and at first it was chaired by the king himself. The council consisted of the chancellor, the controller general, two state councilors and the intendant for financial affairs. Was a permanent council.

Postal Council (Conseil des dépêches)- considered general management issues, for example, lists of all appointments. It was a permanent council. The Trade Council was a temporary council established in 1700.

Spiritual Council (Conseil des conscience)- was also a temporary council in which the king consulted with his confessor about filling spiritual positions.

Council of State (Conseil des parties)- consisted of state advisers, intendants, in the meeting of which lawyers and petition managers took part. In the conventional hierarchy of councils was lower than the councils under the king (Council of Ministers, Finance, Postal and others, including temporary ones). It combined the functions of the cassation chamber and the highest administrative court, a source of precedents in the administrative law of France at that time. The Council was chaired by the Chancellor. The council consisted of several departments: on awards, on matters of land holdings, salt tax, noble affairs, coats of arms and on various other issues, depending on the need.

Grand council- a judicial institution consisting of four presidents and 27 councilors. He considered issues regarding bishoprics, church estates, hospitals, and was the final authority in civil matters.

In France, during the reign of Louis XIV, the first codification of trade law was carried out and the Ordonance de Commerce - Commercial Code (1673) was adopted. The significant advantages of the Ordinance of 1673 are due to the fact that its publication was preceded by very serious preparatory work based on reviews from knowledgeable persons. The chief worker was Savary, so this ordinance is often called the Savary Code.

He tried to destroy the political dependence of the clergy on the pope. Louis XIV even intended to form a French patriarchate independent from Rome. But, thanks to the influence of the famous Bishop of Moscow Bossuet, the French bishops refrained from breaking with Rome, and the views of the French hierarchy received official expression in the so-called. statement of the Gallican clergy (declaration du clarge gallicane) 1682

In matters of faith, Louis XIV's confessors (the Jesuits) made him an obedient instrument of the most ardent Catholic reaction, which was reflected in the merciless persecution of all individualistic movements within the church.

A number of harsh measures were taken against the Huguenots: churches were taken away from them, priests were deprived of the opportunity to baptize children according to the rules of their church, perform marriages and burials, and perform divine services. Even mixed marriages between Catholics and Protestants were prohibited.

The Protestant aristocracy was forced to convert to Catholicism so as not to lose their social advantages, and restrictive decrees were used against Protestants from among other classes, ending with the Dragonades of 1683 and the repeal of the Edict of Nantes in 1685. These measures, despite severe penalties for emigration forced more than 200 thousand Protestants to move to England, Holland and Germany. An uprising even broke out in the Cevennes. The king's growing piety found support from Madame de Maintenon, who, after the death of the queen (1683), was united to him by secret marriage.

In 1688, a new war broke out, the reason for which was the claims to the Palatinate made by Louis XIV on behalf of his daughter-in-law, Elizabeth Charlotte, Duchess of Orleans, who was related to Elector Charles Ludwig, who had died shortly before. Having concluded an alliance with the Elector of Cologne, Karl-Egon Fürstemberg, Louis ordered his troops to occupy Bonn and attack the Palatinate, Baden, Württemberg and Trier.

At the beginning of 1689, French troops horribly devastated the entire Lower Palatinate. An alliance was formed against France from England (which had just overthrown the Stuarts), the Netherlands, Spain, Austria and the German Protestant states.

The Marshal of France, the Duke of Luxembourg, defeated the allies on July 1, 1690 at Fleurus; Marshal Catinat conquered Savoy, Vice Admiral Tourville defeated the British-Dutch fleet at the Battle of Beachy Head, so that the French for a short time had an advantage even at sea.

In 1692, the French besieged Namur, Luxembourg gained the upper hand at the Battle of Stenkerken; but on May 28, the French fleet was defeated at Cape La Hougue.

In 1693-1695, the advantage began to lean towards the allies; in 1695 the Duke de Luxembourg, a student of Turenne, died; in the same year a huge war tax was needed, and peace became a necessity for Louis. It took place in Ryswick in 1697, and for the first time Louis XIV had to confine himself to the status quo.

France was completely exhausted when, a few years later, the death of Charles II of Spain led Louis to war with the European coalition. The War of the Spanish Succession, in which Louis wanted to reconquer the entire Spanish monarchy for his grandson Philip of Anjou, inflicted lasting wounds on Louis's power. The old king, who personally led the struggle, held himself in the most difficult circumstances with dignity and firmness. According to the peace concluded in Utrecht and Rastatt in 1713 and 1714, he retained Spain proper for his grandson, but its Italian and Dutch possessions were lost, and England, by destroying the Franco-Spanish fleets and conquering a number of colonies, laid the foundation for its maritime dominion. The French monarchy did not have to recover from the defeats of Hochstedt and Turin, Ramilly and Malplaquet until the revolution itself. It was suffering under the weight of debts (up to 2 billion) and taxes, which caused local outbreaks of discontent.

Thus, the result of Louis's entire system was the economic ruin and poverty of France. Another consequence was the growth of opposition literature, especially developed under the successor of the “great” Louis.

The family life of the elderly king at the end of his life presented a far from rosy picture. On April 13, 1711, his son, the Grand Dauphin Louis (born in 1661), died; in February 1712 he was followed by the Dauphin's eldest son, the Duke of Burgundy, and on March 8 of the same year by the latter's eldest son, the young Duke of Breton. On March 4, 1714, he fell from his horse and a few days later, the younger brother of the Duke of Burgundy, the Duke of Berry, died, so that, in addition to Philip V of Spain, the Bourbons had only one heir left - the four-year-old great-grandson of the king, the second son of the Duke of Burgundy (later).

Even earlier, Louis legitimized his two sons from Madame de Montespan - the Duke of Maine and the Count of Toulouse, and gave them the surname Bourbon. Now, in his will, he appointed them members of the regency council and declared their eventual right to succession to the throne. Louis himself remained active until the end of his life, firmly supporting court etiquette and the decor of his “great century,” which was already beginning to fade.

Louis XIV died on September 1, 1715 at 8:15 am, surrounded by courtiers. Death occurred after several days of agony. The reign of Louis XIV lasted 72 years and 110 days.

The king's body was exhibited for 8 days for farewell in the Salon of Hercules in Versailles. On the night of the ninth day, the body was transported (having taken the necessary measures to prevent the population from organizing holidays along the funeral procession) to the basilica of the Abbey of Saint-Denis, where Louis was interred in compliance with all the rites of the Catholic Church due to the monarch.

In 1822, an equestrian statue (based on Bosio's model) was erected to him in Paris, on the Place des Victories.

The history of the nickname Sun King:

In France, the sun was a symbol of royal power and the king personally even before Louis XIV. The luminary became the personification of the monarch in poetry, solemn odes and court ballets. The first mentions of solar emblems date back to the reign of Henry III; the grandfather and father of Louis XIV used them, but only under him did solar symbolism become truly widespread.

At the age of twelve (1651), Louis XIV made his debut in the so-called “ballets de cour” - court ballets, which were staged annually during the carnival.

The Baroque carnival is not just a holiday and entertainment, but an opportunity to play in an “upside-down world.” For example, the king became a jester, an artist or a buffoon for several hours, while at the same time the jester could well afford to appear in the guise of a king. In one of the ballet productions (“Ballet of the Night” by Jean-Baptiste Lully), young Louis had the opportunity to appear for the first time before his subjects in the form of the Rising Sun (1653), and then Apollo, the Sun God (1654).

When Louis XIV began to rule independently (1661), the genre of court ballet was put at the service of state interests, helping the king not only create his representative image, but also manage court society (as well as other arts). The roles in these productions were distributed only by the king and his friend, the Comte de Saint-Aignan. Princes of the blood and courtiers, dancing next to their sovereign, depicted various elements, planets and other creatures and phenomena subject to the Sun. Louis himself continues to appear before his subjects in the form of the Sun, Apollo and other gods and heroes of Antiquity. The king left the stage only in 1670.

But the emergence of the nickname of the Sun King was preceded by another important cultural event of the Baroque era - the Carousel of the Tuileries in 1662. This is a festive carnival cavalcade, which is something between a sports festival (in the Middle Ages these were tournaments) and a masquerade. In the 17th century, the Carousel was called an “equestrian ballet”, since this action was more reminiscent of a performance with music, rich costumes and a fairly consistent script. At the Carousel of 1662, given in honor of the birth of the first-born of the royal couple, Louis XIV pranced in front of the audience on a horse dressed as a Roman emperor. In his hand the king had a golden shield with the image of the Sun. This symbolized that this luminary protects the king and with him the whole of France.

According to the historian of the French Baroque F. Bossan, “it was on the Grand Carousel of 1662 that, in a way, the Sun King was born. His name was given not by politics or the victories of his armies, but by equestrian ballet.”

Marriages and children of Louis XIV:

first wife: from June 9, 1660 Maria Theresa (1638-1683), Infanta of Spain, cousin of Louis XIV on two lines - both maternal and paternal.

children of Louis XIV and Maria Theresa:

Louis the Great Dauphin (1661-1711)
Anna Elizabeth (1662-1662)
Maria Anna (1664-1664)
Maria Teresa (1667-1672)
Philip (1668-1671)
Louis-Francois (1672-1672).

Extramarital affair: Louise de La Baume Le Blanc (1644-1710), Duchess de La Vallière

children of Louis XIV and the Duchess de La Vallière:

Charles de La Baume Le Blanc (1663-1665)
Philippe de La Baume Le Blanc (1665-1666)
Marie-Anne de Bourbon (1666-1739), Mademoiselle de Blois
Louis de Bourbon (1667-1683), Comte de Vermandois.

Extramarital affair: Françoise-Athenais de Rochechouart de Mortemart (1641-1707), Marquise de Montespan

children of Louis XIV and the Marquise de Montespan:

Louise-Françoise de Bourbon (1669-1672)
Louis-Auguste de Bourbon, Duke of Maine (1670-1736)
Louis-César de Bourbon (1672-1683)
Louise-Françoise de Bourbon (1673-1743), Mademoiselle de Nantes
Louise Marie Anne de Bourbon (1674-1681), Mademoiselle de Tours
Françoise-Marie de Bourbon (1677-1749), Mademoiselle de Blois
Louis-Alexandre de Bourbon, Count of Toulouse (1678-1737).

Extramarital affair (1678-1680): Marie-Angelique de Scoray de Roussil(1661-1681), Duchess de Fontanges (N (1679-1679), child was stillborn).

Extramarital affair: Claude de Vines(c.1638 - September 8, 1686), Mademoiselle des Hoye: daughter of Louise de Maisonblanche (1676-1718).

French king (since 1643), from the Bourbon dynasty, son of Louis XIII and Anne of Austria. His reign is the apogee of French absolutism. He fought numerous wars - the Devolutionary War (1667...1668), for the Spanish Succession (1701...1714), etc. By the end of his reign, France had up to 2 billion in debt, the king introduced huge taxes, which caused popular discontent. Louis XIV is credited with the saying: “The State is me.”

It was as if Louis XIV was destined to be the darling of fate. His very birth, after twenty years of his parents’ married life, could serve as a good sign. At the age of five, he became heir to the most beautiful and powerful of the thrones of Europe. Louis XIV was called the Sun King. A handsome man with dark curls, regular features of a blooming face, graceful manners, majestic posture, and also the ruler of a great country, he really made an irresistible impression. Could women not love him?

The first lesson of love was taught to him by the queen's chief chambermaid, Madame de Beauvais, who in her youth was quite a libertine. One day she waylaid the king and took him to her room. Louis XIV was fifteen years old, Madame de Beauvais was forty-two...

The admiring king spent all the subsequent days with his chambermaid. Then he wished for variety and, as the philosopher Saint-Simon said, “everyone was good for him, as long as there were women.”

He began with ladies who wanted to obtain his virginity, and then began to methodically conquer the ladies-in-waiting who lived at court under the supervision of Madame de Navay.

Every night - alone or in the company of friends - Louis XIV went to these girls in order to taste the healthy pleasure of physical love with the first maid of honor who came to his hand.

Naturally, these nightly visits eventually became known to Madame de Navay, and she ordered bars to be placed on all the windows. Louis XIV did not retreat in the face of the obstacle that arose. Calling on the masons, he ordered to break through the secret door in the bedroom of one of the mademoiselles.

For several nights in a row, the king successfully used the secret passage, which during the day was masked by the headboard of the bed. But the vigilant Madame de Navay discovered the door and ordered it to be walled up. In the evening, Louis XIV was surprised to see a smooth wall where the secret passage had been the day before.

He returned to himself in a rage; the next day Madame de Navay and her husband were informed that the king no longer needed their services and ordered them to immediately go to Guienne.

Fifteen-year-old Louis XIV no longer tolerated interference in his love affairs...

Some time after all these events, the monarch made the gardener's daughter his mistress. Probably as a sign of gratitude, the girl gave birth to a child. The king's mother, Anna of Austria, greeted this news with great displeasure.

If at night Louis XIV had fun with the Queen Mother's ladies-in-waiting, during the day he was most often seen in the company of Mazarin's nieces. It was then that the king suddenly fell in love with his peer Olympia, the second of the Mancini sisters.

The court learned about this idyll on Christmas Day 1654. Louis XIV made Olympia the queen of all festive celebrations in the last week of the year. Naturally, a rumor soon spread throughout Paris that Olympia would become queen of France.

Anna of Austria was seriously angry. She was ready to turn a blind eye to her son’s excessive affection for Mazarin’s niece, but she was offended by the very idea that this friendship could be legitimized.

And young Olympia, who had gained too much power over the king in the hope of winning the throne, was ordered to leave Paris. Mazarin quickly found her a husband, and soon she became Countess of Soissons...

In 1657, the king fell in love with Mademoiselle de la Motte d'Argencourt, the queen's maid of honor. Mazarin reacted with annoyance to this news and informed the young monarch that his chosen one was the mistress of the Duke de Richelieu, and one evening they were taken by surprise when “they made love on a stool.” Louis XIV did not like the details, and he broke off all relations with the beauty, after which he went with Marshal Turenne to the northern army.

After the capture of Duncker (June 12, 1658), Louis XIV fell ill with a severe fever. He was transported to Calais, where he finally fell ill. Within two weeks the monarch was on the verge of death, and the entire kingdom offered up prayers to God for his recovery. On June 29, he suddenly became so ill that it was decided to send for sacred gifts.

At that moment, Louis XIV saw the girl’s face drenched in tears. Seventeen-year-old Maria Mancini, another niece of Mazarin, had long loved the king, without admitting it to anyone. Louis looked at her from his bed with eyes shining with heat. According to Madame de Motteville, she was black and yellow, the fire of passion had not yet ignited in her large dark eyes, and that is why they seemed dull, her mouth was too large, and if not for her very beautiful teeth, she could have passed for an ugly person.”

However, the king realized that he was loved and was moved by this look. The doctor brought the patient medicine “from a wine infusion of antimony.” This amazing mixture had a miraculous effect: Louis XIV began to recover before his eyes and expressed a desire to return to Paris in order to quickly be near Marie...

When he saw her, he realized “by the beating of his heart and other signs” that he had fallen in love, but did not admit it, but only asked that she and her sisters come to Fontainebleau, where he decided to stay until he fully recovered.

For several weeks, entertainment took place there: boat trips accompanied by musicians: dancing until midnight, ballets under the trees of the park. Marie was the queen of all entertainment.

The court then returned to Paris. The girl was in seventh heaven. “I discovered then,” she wrote in her “Memoirs,” “that the king did not have hostile feelings towards me, for I already knew how to recognize that eloquent language that speaks more clearly than any beautiful words. The courtiers, who always spy on kings, guessed, like me, about His Majesty’s love for me, demonstrating this even with excessive importunity and showing the most incredible signs of attention.”

Soon the king became so bold that he confessed his love to Marie and gave her several amazing gifts. From now on they were always seen together.

In order to please the one whom he already considered his bride, Louis XIV, who had received a rather superficial upbringing, began to study intensively. Ashamed of his ignorance, he improved his knowledge of French and began to study Italian, at the same time paying much attention to ancient authors. Under the influence of this educated girl, who, according to Madame de Lafayette, was distinguished by an “extraordinary mind” and knew many poems by heart, he read Petrarch, Virgil, Homer, became passionate about art and discovered a new world, the existence of which he did not even suspect, while he was under the tutelage of his teachers.

Thanks to Maria Mancini, this king was subsequently involved in the construction of Versailles, provided patronage to Moliere and financial assistance to Racine. However, she managed not only to transform the spiritual world of Louis XIV, but also to instill in him the idea of ​​the greatness of his destiny.

“The king was twenty years old,” said one of his contemporaries, Amédée Rene, “and he still obediently obeyed his mother and Mazarin. Nothing in him foreshadowed a powerful monarch: when discussing state affairs, he was openly bored and preferred to shift the burden of power to others. Marie awakened the dormant pride in Louis XIV; she often talked with him about glory and extolled the happy opportunity to command. Whether it was vanity or calculation, she wanted her hero to behave as befits a crowned person.”

Thus, we can come to the conclusion that the Sun King was born from love...

The king experienced real feeling for the first time in his life. He shuddered at the sound of violins, sighed on moonlit evenings and dreamed of “the sweet embrace” of a delightful Italian woman who grew prettier day by day.

But at the same time, talk began at court that the king would soon marry the Spanish Infanta Maria Theresa.

Knowing in detail the progress of negotiations with Spain, Mancini, as versed in politics as in music and literature, suddenly realized that the passion of Louis XIV could have the most fatal consequences for the entire kingdom. And on September 3, she wrote to Mazarin that she was abandoning the king.

This news plunged Louis XIV into despair.

He sent her pleading letters, but received no response to any of them. In the end, he ordered his beloved dog to be taken to her. The exile had enough courage and determination not to thank the king for the gift, which, however, brought her painful joy.

Then Louis XIV signed a peace treaty with Spain and agreed to marry the infanta. Maria Theresa had an unusually calm disposition. Preferring silence and solitude, she spent her time reading Spanish books. On the day when the festive bells rang throughout the kingdom, in Brouage Marie burst into burning tears. “I could not think,” she wrote in her Memoirs, “that I had paid a heavy price for the peace that everyone was so happy about, and no one remembered that the king would hardly have married the infanta if I had not sacrificed myself. ..”

Maria Theresa sometimes waited all night for the return of the king, who flitted from one lover to another at that time. In the morning or the next day, the wife bombarded Louis XIV with questions, in response he kissed her hands and referred to state affairs.

Once, at a ball at Henrietta of England's, the king met the eyes of a charming girl and began to persistently court the maid of honor Louise de La Vallière.

Louis XIV loved Louise so much that he surrounded his relationship with her, in the words of the Abbé de Choisy, “an impenetrable secret.” They met at night in the park of Fontainebleau or in the room of the Comte de Saint-Aignan, but in public the king did not allow himself a single gesture that could reveal “the secret of his heart.”

Their connection was discovered by chance. One evening the courtiers were walking through the park when suddenly a heavy downpour poured down. To escape the thunderstorm, everyone took refuge under the trees. The lovers fell behind. Lavaliere because of his lameness, and Louis for the simple reason that no one walks faster than his beloved.

In front of the court, the king led his favorite into the palace in the pouring rain, baring his head to cover her with his hat.

Naturally, such a gallant manner of treating the young lady-in-waiting caused a stream of satirical couplets and epigrams from malicious poets.

After some time, jealousy again made Louis XIV forget about his restraint.

One young courtier named Lomenie de Brienne had the imprudence to court Louise de La Vallière a little. Having met her one evening in the chambers of Henrietta of England, he invited her to pose for the artist Lefebvre in the form of Magdalene. During the conversation, the king entered the room.

“What are you doing here, mademoiselle?”

Louise, blushing, spoke of Brienne's proposal.

“Isn’t that a good idea?” - he asked.

The king was unable to hide his displeasure: “No. She should be depicted as Diana. She's too young to pose as a penitent."

Lavaliere sometimes refused a date, citing illness. But the king found thousands of ways to see her. One day she volunteered to accompany Henrietta to Saint-Cloud, where she hoped to hide from him. He immediately jumped on his horse and, under the pretext of wanting to inspect the construction work, visited Vincennes Castle, the Tuileries and Versailles in one day.

At six o'clock in the evening he was in Saint-Cloud.

“I came to have dinner with you,” he told his brother.

After dessert, the king went up to the bedroom of Louise, the maid of honor of his brother's wife. He rode thirty-seven leagues just to spend the night with Louise - an absolutely incredible act that caused amazement among all his contemporaries.

Despite this evidence of ardent passion, the naive girl initially hoped that the king would become more prudent in the last weeks before his wife gave birth.

However, after a quarrel with Maria Theresa, the king decided to devote himself entirely to his mistress. He couldn't miss this opportunity. And Louise, who thought that he could return to the true path, now spent almost every night with him, experiencing both unspeakable pleasure and strong remorse in his arms...

On November 1st, the queen gave birth to a son, who was named Louis. This happy event temporarily brought the crowned spouses closer together. However, as soon as the Dauphin was christened, the monarch returned to Mademoiselle de La Vallière’s bed. On this bed, warmed by a heating pad, the favorite experienced joys that quenched the languor of the body, but at the same time brought confusion into the soul...

One day the king asked Louise about the love affairs of Henrietta of England. The favorite, who promised her friend to keep the secret, refused to answer. Louis XIV left in great irritation, slamming the door and leaving a sobbing Louise in the bedroom.

Meanwhile, even at the beginning of their relationship, the lovers agreed that “if they happen to quarrel, then neither of them will go to bed without writing a letter and making an attempt at reconciliation.”

So Louise waited all night for the messenger to knock on her door. At dawn it became clear to her: the king had not forgiven the insult. Then she, wrapped in an old cloak, left the Tuileries in despair and ran to the Chaillot monastery.

This news brought the king into such confusion that he, forgetting about decency, jumped on his horse. The Queen, who was present, said that he was completely out of control.

Louis brought Louise to the Tuileries in his carriage and kissed her publicly, so that all witnesses to this scene were amazed...

Having reached the chambers of Henrietta of England, Louis XIV “began to rise very slowly, not wanting to show that he was crying.” Then he began to ask for Louise and achieved - not without difficulty - Henrietta's consent to keep her with him... The greatest king of Europe turned into a humiliated petitioner, concerned only that Mademoiselle de La Vallière would not shed any more tears.

In the evening, Louis visited Louise. Alas! The more pleasure she received, the more she was tormented by remorse. “And languid sighs mixed with sincere lamentations...”

At this time, Mademoiselle de la Mothe Udencourt, burning with passion, made a desperate attempt to lure Louis XIV into her network. But the king could not afford two relationships at the same time, especially since he was too busy - he was building Versailles.

For several months now, the monarch, with the help of architects Le Brun and Le Nôtre, had been building the most beautiful palace in the world in honor of Louise. For the twenty-four-year-old king, this was an intoxicating activity that absorbed all his time.

When he happened to push aside the drawings that cluttered his desk, he began to write a tender letter to Louise. Once he even wrote her an exquisite couplet on the two of diamonds during a card game. And Mademoiselle de La Vallière, with her usual wit, responded with a real little poem, where she asked her to write on the deuce of hearts, because this is a more reliable suit.

When the king returned to Paris, he immediately rushed to Louise, and both lovers then experienced such joy that they completely forgot about caution.

The result was not long in coming: one evening the favorite, in tears, announced to the king that she was expecting a child. Louis XIV, delighted, threw away his usual restraint: from now on he began to walk around the Louvre with his girlfriend, which he had never done before.

Several months have passed. Louis XIV went to fight with the Duke of Lorraine and, at the head of a victorious army, returned on October 15, 1663, covering himself with glory. Louise was waiting for him impatiently. She could no longer hide her pregnancy.

On December 19, at four o’clock in the morning, Colbert received the following note from the obstetrician: “We have a boy, strong and healthy. Mother and child are doing well. God bless. I'm waiting for orders."

The orders turned out to be cruel for Louise. On the same day, the newborn was carried to Saint-Lay: by secret order of the king, he was recorded as Charles, son of M. Lencourt and Mademoiselle Elisabeth de Bey.

All winter, Louise hid in her house, not receiving anyone except the king, who was very upset by this seclusion. In the spring he brought her to Versailles, which was almost completed. Now she took the position of the officially recognized favorite, and the courtesans fawned over her in every possible way. However, Louise did not know how to be happy and therefore cried.

But she would have cried even more bitterly if she had known that she was carrying under her heart a second little bastard, conceived the previous month.

This child was born under the cover of the deepest secrecy on January 7, 1665 and was christened Philippe, “the son of Francois Dersy, a bourgeois, and Marguerite Bernard, his wife.” Colbert, who still had to deal with the arrangement of the babies, entrusted him to the care of reliable people.

In the end, Louis XIV got tired of appeasing his mistress, and he turned his attention to the Princess of Monaco. She was young, charming, witty and unusually attractive; but in the eyes of the king her greatest advantage was that she shared a bed with Lauzen, a famous seducer, and therefore had a wealth of experience.

Louis XIV began to diligently court the princess, who happily allowed herself to be seduced.

Three weeks later, the king parted with the Princess of Monaco, because he found her affection somewhat tiresome for himself, and again returned to de La Vallière.

On January 20, 1666, regent Anne of Austria, mother of Louis XIV, died. With her, the last barrier that had kept the king at least a little within the bounds of decency disappeared. Soon everyone was convinced of this. A week later, Mademoiselle de La Vallière stood next to Maria Theresa during mass...

It was then that one young lady-in-waiting of the queen tried to attract the attention of the king, who realized that circumstances were developing in her favor. She was beautiful, cunning and sharp-tongued. Her name was Françoise Athenais, she had been married to the Marquis de Montespan for two years, but she was not distinguished by impeccable marital fidelity.

Louis XIV soon fell under her spell. Without abandoning Louise, who was pregnant again, he began to flutter around Athenais. The modest favorite quickly realized that from now on it was not only she that interested the king. As always, having quietly been relieved of her burden, she hid in her mansion and prepared to suffer in silence.

But the future Sun King loved theatricality, so that everything happened in front of the audience. Therefore, he organized celebrations in Saint-Germain under the name “Ballet of the Muses”, where Louise and Madame de Montespan received exactly the same roles, so that it became clear to everyone that both would share his bed on equal terms.

On May 14, around noon, amazing news broke. It became known that the king had just bestowed the title of Duchess on Mademoiselle de La Vallière and recognized her third child, little Maria Anna, as his daughter (the first two sons died in infancy).

The pale Madame de Montespan hurried to the queen to find out the details. Maria Theresa was crying. Around her, the courtiers were discussing in whispers the charter of grant, already approved by parliament. There was no limit to amazement. They said that such shamelessness had not happened since the time of Henry IV.

On October 3, Lavaliere gave birth to a son, who was immediately taken away. He was to receive the name Comte de Vermandois. This event brought the king somewhat closer to the gentle Lavaliere, and the alarmed Montespan hurried to the sorceress Voisin. She handed her a bag of “love powder” made from charred and crushed toad bones, mole teeth, human nails, Spanish flies, bat blood, dry plums and iron powder.

That same evening, the unsuspecting King of France swallowed this disgusting potion along with his soup. It was difficult to doubt the power of witchcraft, since the king almost immediately left Louise de La Valliere, returning to the arms of Madame de Montespan.

Soon Louis XIV decided to give his mistresses official status in order to demonstrate his disdain for all kinds of moralists. At the beginning of 1669, he placed Louise and Françoise in adjacent apartments in Saint-Germain. Moreover, he demanded that both women maintain the appearance of friendly relations. From now on, everyone saw them playing cards, dining at the same table, and walking hand in hand through the park, chatting animatedly and amiably.

The king silently waited to see how the court would react to this. And soon couplets appeared, very disrespectful towards the favorites, but restrained as far as the king was concerned. Louis XIV realized that the game could be considered won. Every evening, with a calm soul, he went to his beloved and found more and more pleasure in this.

Of course, preference was almost always given to Madame de Montespan. She did not hide her delight. She really liked the king's caresses. Louis XIV did this with knowledge of the matter, since he read Ambroise Paré, who argued that “a sower should not invade the field of human flesh at a swoop...” But after that it was possible to act with the courage of a husband and king.

This approach could not fail to bear fruit. At the end of March 1669, Madame de Montespan gave birth to a delightful girl.

The king, who became more and more attached to the ardent marquise, practically ignored de La Vallière. Madame de Montespan was so favored by the king that on March 31, 1670, she gave birth to her second child, the future Duke of Maine. This time the child was born in Saint-Germain, “in the ladies' quarters,” and Madame Scarron, whom the king did not like, did not dare to come there. But Lozen did everything for her. He took the child, wrapped him in his own cloak, walked quickly through the chambers of the queen, who was in ignorance, crossed the park and approached the grating where the teacher's carriage was waiting. Two hours later the boy had already joined his sister.

Suddenly, stunning news spread: Mademoiselle de La Vallière, having secretly left the court during a ball in the Tuileries, went to the Chaillot monastery at dawn. Louise, humiliated by Madame de Montespan, abandoned by the king, crushed by grief and tormented by remorse, decided that only in religion could she find solace.

Louis XIV was informed of this when he was about to leave the Tuileries. Having listened dispassionately to the news, he climbed into the carriage along with Madame de Montespan and Mademoiselle de Montpensier, and it seemed to many that Louise’s flight had left him completely indifferent. However, as soon as the carriage entered the road to Versailles, tears began to flow down the king’s cheeks. Seeing this, Montespan burst into tears, and Mademoiselle de Montpensier, who always cried willingly at the opera, thought it best to join her.

That same evening, Colbert brought Louise to Versailles by order of the king. The unfortunate woman found her lover in tears and believed that he still loved her.

But after on December 18, 1673, in the Church of Saint-Sulpice, the king forced her to be the godmother of Madame de Montespan's next daughter, Louise made the most important decision of her life.

On June 2, at the age of thirty, she took monastic vows and became the merciful Sister Louise. And she bore this name until her death, for thirty-six years.

Meanwhile, in Paris, Madame de Montespan did not sit idle. She constantly sent love powders to Saint-Germain, which were then mixed into the king's food through bribed servants. Since these powders contained Spanish fly and other stimulants, Louis XIV again began to wander around the apartments of the young ladies-in-waiting, and many girls acquired the status of women thanks to this circumstance...

Then the beauty de Montespan turned to the Norman sorcerers, who began to regularly supply her with love potions and aphrodisiacs for Louis XIV. This went on for many years. The potion had an increasingly stronger effect on the king than Madame de Montespan would like. The monarch began to experience an insatiable need for sexual intercourse, as many ladies-in-waiting soon became aware of.

The first person the king noticed was Anne de Rohan, Baroness de Soubise, a delightful young woman of twenty-eight years of age, who respectfully yielded to the not very respectful proposal. The monarch met with her in the apartments of Madame de Rochefort. Receiving endless pleasure from these dates, he tried to act as carefully as possible so that no one would find out anything, because the beauty was married.

But Louis XIV was tormented in vain: de Soubise was well brought up and had an easy-going character. Moreover, he was a business man. Seeing his dishonor as a source of income, he did not protest, but demanded money. “A vile deal was completed,” the chronicler wrote, “and the noble scoundrel, into whose baronial mantle golden rain poured, bought the former palace of the Guises, which received the name Soubise. He made a million-dollar fortune for himself.”

When someone expressed admiration for his wealth, the indulgent husband replied with commendable modesty: “I have nothing to do with it, this is the merit of my wife.”

The lovely Anna was as greedy and insatiable as her husband. She benefited all her relatives: this family was showered with favors from the king. From Baroness de Soubise, the favorite turned into Princess de Soubise and felt that she could now look down on Madame de Montespan.

The Marquise, jealous of her rival, ran to the sorceress Voisin and got hold of a new potion in order to discourage Louis XIV from Anna. It is difficult to say whether this powder caused his disgrace, but the king suddenly left his young mistress and returned to Françoise’s bed.

At the end of 1675, Louis XIV, having bestowed his affection first on Mademoiselle de Grandce and then on Princess Marie-Anne of Würtenburg, fell in love with Françoise's chambermaid. From then on, on his way to see his favorite, the king invariably lingered in the hallway, engaging in not very decent pastimes with Mademoiselle de Hoye.

Having discovered that she was being deceived, de Montespan, in a rage, instructed her reliable friends to turn to Auvergne healers and get from them a potion stronger than Voisin powders. Soon, mysterious vials containing a cloudy liquid were delivered to her, which then ended up in the king's food.

However, the results were encouraging: Louis XIV, who did not tolerate monotony, left Mademoiselle de Hoye, and Madame de Montespan was imbued with even greater faith in the power of love potions. She ordered other stimulants to be prepared in order to once again become the king’s only mistress, but she achieved the opposite.

Once again the monarch could not be satisfied with the charms of his favorite; he needed one more "sweet flesh" to satisfy his desire. He entered into a relationship with Mademoiselle de Ludre, a maid of honor from the Queen’s retinue. But this woman also showed immodesty.

The marquise, overwhelmed by jealousy, began to look for even stronger remedies and for two weeks fed them to the king, who, admittedly, had great health if he managed to digest preparations containing crushed toad, snake eyes, boar's testicles, cat urine, fox feces, artichokes and capsicums.

One day he came to Françoise while under the influence of a potion and gave her an hour of pleasure. Nine months later, on May 4, 1677, the radiant marquise gave birth to a daughter, who was christened Françoise Marie of Bourbon. She was subsequently recognized as the king's legitimate daughter under the name Mademoiselle de Blois.

But Françoise did not manage to gain a foothold in her former capacity as the only mistress, because the beautiful Mademoiselle de Ludre, wanting to maintain her “position,” decided to pretend that she had also become pregnant by the king.

The accomplices delivered a box of gray powder to Françoise, and, by a strange coincidence, Louis XIV completely lost interest in Mademoiselle de Ludre, who ended her days in the convent of the daughters of St. Mary in the suburbs of Saint-Germain.

However, the monarch, overly inflamed by the Provençal drug, again eluded Françoise: in the witty expression of Madame de Sevigne, “there was a fresh smell again in the country of Quanto.”

Among the ladies-in-waiting, Madame Louis XIV spotted a delightful blonde with gray eyes. She was eighteen years old and her name was Mademoiselle de Fontanges. It was about her that the Abbé de Choisy said that “she is as beautiful as an angel and stupid as a cork.”

The king was inflamed with desire. One evening, unable to restrain himself any longer, he left Saint-Germain, accompanied by several guards, and went to the Palais Royal, the residence of Henrietta of England. There he knocked on the door with the agreed signal, and one of the princess's ladies-in-waiting, Mademoiselle de Adré, who became an accomplice of the lovers, escorted him to her friend's chambers.

Unfortunately, when he returned to Saint-Germain at dawn, the Parisians recognized him, and soon Madame de Montespan received comprehensive information about this love affair. Her rage is beyond description. Perhaps it was then that the idea came to her to poison both the king and Mademoiselle de Fontanges out of revenge.

On March 12, 1679, the poisoner Voisin, whose services de Montespan had repeatedly resorted to, was arrested. The favorite, mad with fear, left for Paris.

A few days later, Françoise, convinced that her name had not been mentioned, calmed down a little and returned to Saint-Germain. However, upon arrival, a blow awaited her: Mademoiselle de Fontanges settled in apartments adjacent to the king’s chambers.

Ever since Françoise discovered Mademoiselle de Fontanges in her place, she was determined to poison the king. At first it occurred to her to do this with the help of a petition saturated with strong poison. Trianon, Voisin's accomplice, "prepared a poison so strong that Louis XIV had to die as soon as he touched the paper." The delay prevented the execution of this plan: Madame de Montespan, knowing that La Reynie, after the arrest of the poisoners, doubled her vigilance and intensely guarded the king, decided ultimately to resort to damage rather than poison.

For some time, both favorites seemed to live in good harmony. Mademoiselle de Fontanges gave gifts to Françoise, and Françoise herself dressed up Mademoiselle de Fontanges before the evening balls. Louis XIV paid attention to both his ladies and seemed to be at the height of bliss...

Fontanges died on June 28, 1681, after an agony of eleven months, at the age of twenty-two. Rumors immediately spread about the murder, and the Princess of the Palatinate noted: “There is no doubt that Fontanges was poisoned. She herself blamed Montespan for everything, who bribed the footman, and he killed her by pouring poison into her milk.”

Of course, the king shared the court's suspicions. Fearing that his mistress had committed a crime, he forbade an autopsy of the deceased.

Although the king had to behave with the Marchioness as if he knew nothing, he still could not continue to play the lover and returned to Maria Theresa.

He embarked on this path not without the help of Madame Scarron, née Françoise D'Aubigné, the widow of a famous poet, who was slowly gaining influence, acting in the shadows, but extremely cleverly and cautiously. She raised Montespan's illegitimate children from the king.

Louis XIV saw with what love she raised the children abandoned by Madame de Montespan. He had already managed to appreciate her intelligence, honesty and directness and, not wanting to admit it to himself, increasingly sought her company.

When she bought the lands of Maintenon, a few leagues from Chartres, in 1674, Madame de Montespan expressed extreme displeasure: “Is that so? A castle and an estate for the teacher of bastards?

“If it is humiliating to be their teacher,” replied the newly-minted landowner, “then what can we say about their mother?”

Then, in order to silence Madame de Montespan, the king, in the presence of the entire court, speechless with amazement, called Madame Scarron by a new name - Madame de Maintenon. From that moment on, and by special order of the monarch, she signed only with this name.

Years passed, and Louis XIV became attached to this woman, so different from Madame de Montespan. After the case of the poisoners, he naturally turned his gaze to her, for his troubled soul required consolation.

But Madame de Maintenon did not want to take the place of the favorite. “Strengthening the monarch in faith,” said the Duke de Noailles, “she used the feelings that she inspired in him in order to return him to the pure family bosom and pay to the queen those signs of attention that rightfully belonged only to her.”

Maria Theresa could not believe her luck: the king spent evenings with her and talked with tenderness. For almost thirty years, she had not heard a single kind word from him.

Madame de Maintenon, stern and pious almost to the point of hypocrisy, although she had, according to many, a rather stormy youth, was now distinguished by amazing rationality and restraint. She treated the monarch with extreme respect, admired him and considered herself chosen by God to help him become “the most Christian king.”

For several months, Louis XIV met with her daily. De Maintenon gave excellent advice, skillfully and unobtrusively intervened in all matters and, ultimately, became necessary for the monarch.

Louis XIV looked at her with burning eyes and “with some tenderness in his facial expression.” Without a doubt, he longed to embrace this beautiful touch-me-not, who at forty-eight years of age was experiencing a brilliant decline.

The monarch considered it indecent to make a mistress out of a woman who raised his children so well. However, the dignified behavior and restraint of Françoise de Maintenon excluded any thought of adultery. She was not one of those ladies who could easily be lured to the first bed that came her way.

There was only one way out: to marry her in secret. Louis, having made up his mind, sent his confessor, Father de Lachaise, one morning to propose to Françoise.

The marriage took place in 1684 or 1685 (no one knows the exact date) in the king's office, where the newlyweds were blessed by Monsignor Harle de Chanvallon in the presence of Father de Lachaise.

Many then began to guess about the king’s secret marriage with Françoise. But this did not come to the surface, because everyone tried to keep the secret. Only Madame de Sevigne, whose pen was as uncontrollable as her tongue, wrote to her daughter: “Madame de Maintenon’s position is unique, nothing like this has ever happened and never will happen...”

Under the influence of Madame de Maintenon, who, with her knees drawn together and her lips pursed, continued the work of “cleansing” morals, Versailles turned into such a boring place that, as they said then, “even the Calvinists would howl here with melancholy.”

At court, all playful expressions were prohibited, men and women no longer dared to openly communicate with each other, and beauties, burned by internal fire, were forced to hide languor under the mask of piety.

On May 27, 1707, Madame de Montespan died on the waters of Bourbon-l'Archambault. Louis XIV, having learned about the death of his former mistress, said with complete indifference: “She died too long ago for me to mourn her today.”

On August 31, 1715, Louis XIV fell into a coma and on September 1, at a quarter past nine in the morning, he breathed his last.

In four days he would have turned seventy-seven years old. His reign lasted seventy-two years.

Muromov I.A. 100 great lovers. – M.: Veche, 2002.