Louis XIV and Absolutism

Louis XIV and Absolutism PDF

Author: William Beik

Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Published: 2000

Total Pages: 247

ISBN-13: 9780312227432

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This unique collection of documents with commentary explores the meaning of absolute monarchy by examining how Louis XIV of France became one of Europe's most famous and successful rulers. The documents, newly translated and carefully selected for their readability, examine the problems of the Fronde, Colbert's grasp of the economic and fiscal dimensions of the kingdom, the taming of the rural nobility, the interaction of royal ministers and provincial authorities, the repression of Jansenists and Protestants, popular rebellions, and royal image-making.

The Dream of Absolutism

The Dream of Absolutism PDF

Author: Hall Bjørnstad

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 2021-10-15

Total Pages: 247

ISBN-13: 022680383X

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Introduction. The problem with absolutism ; Beyond mere propaganda ; Approaching absolutism differently: royal glory and royal exemplarity ; The dream of absolutism -- The grammar of absolutism. The dream of a book like no other ; Taking Louis XIV's Mémoires seriously ; Absolutism, explained to a child: "The first and most important part of our entire politics" ; The utility of "These Mémoires" ; The paradoxes of absolutist exemplarity ; Conclusion: "So many ghastly examples" -- Mirrors of absolutism. Introduction: Our body in this space ; An age of mirrors ; A gallery celebrating greatness ; Making the king see what he felt ; A mirror for one ; In lieu of conclusion: Mirrors for a future without a past -- Absolutist absurdities. Exhibit A: The royal historiographer and the unparalleled greatness of Louis XIV ; Exhibit B: Absolutism from the cabinet of fairies to the cabinet of the king ; Conclusion: Seven theses on the dream of absolutism.

Louis XIV

Louis XIV PDF

Author: Geoffrey R R Treasure

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2018-10-24

Total Pages: 315

ISBN-13: 1317889037

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Louis IV represents the apogee of French royal power and the Ancien Regime. Having restored the nation's finances and rebuilt the army, he embarked on a series of wars of conquest which made France universally feared and respected as the central power of continental Europe. In the age of Moliere, Corneille, Racine et al, French culture blossomed at the court of Versailles. The counterpoint to these achievements was the emasculation of the political and legal institutions that might have limited the exercise of the royal will. In this new history, Geoffrey Treasure explores a unique combination of a personal philosophy, moulded by absolutist thinking and propaganda, and by Marzarin's deliberate training. He examines the influences and traits which permitted the growth of this particular exercise of power and its descent into an absolutism that ultimately set France on the road to 1789.

CM BDC Absolutism in Practice: Louis XIV, Versailles, and the Art of Personal Kingship

CM BDC Absolutism in Practice: Louis XIV, Versailles, and the Art of Personal Kingship PDF

Author: Bedford/St. Martin's

Publisher: Macmillan Higher Education

Published: 2018-01-04

Total Pages: 20

ISBN-13: 1319187196

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This document collection explores how Louis XIV sought to embody absolutism through his personal rule by examining the theory behind absolutism, Louis's own writings on kingship, and the observations of eyewitnesses at his court, shedding light on traditions of royal government in Europe since the Middle Ages. Students are guided through their analysis of the primary sources with an author-provided learning objective, central question, and historical context.

The Age of Absolutism (ENHANCED eBook)

The Age of Absolutism (ENHANCED eBook) PDF

Author: Tim McNeese

Publisher: Lorenz Educational Press

Published: 2000-09-01

Total Pages: 36

ISBN-13: 1429109173

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"The Age of Absolutism" (1650—1789) covers the final years of the last great European monarchies and the divestiture of monarchical power through reform and revolution. Emphasis is given to the absolute reign of Louis XIV of France, and the growth of constitutional monarchy in late-17th century England. Enlightenment thinkers, such as Voltaire, Rousseau, and Locke, and their theorectical impact on the unraveling of royal power and the revolutions in France and America are discussed. Challenging map exercises and provocative review questions encourage meaningful reflection and historical analysis. Tests and answer keys included.

Scenes from the Marriage of Louis XIV

Scenes from the Marriage of Louis XIV PDF

Author: Abby E. Zanger

Publisher: Stanford University Press

Published: 1997

Total Pages: 292

ISBN-13: 9780804729772

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This book radically revises our understanding of the construction of symbolic power in the age of absolutism by examining the fictions that emerge from visual, narrative, and ceremonial representations of (and reactions to) the 1660 marriage of Louis XIV to the Spanish infanta. Drawing on semiotics, the history of theater and spectacle, gender studies, and anthropology, the author reconsiders the nature of representation in absolutist political culture. The book is not intended as a history of the marriage. Rather, the author analyzes in detail exemplary moments or scenes from the royal wedding, in particular uncovering the dialectic at the heart of nuptial fictions. Like the kinship exchange out of which they emerge, fictions of marriage manipulate antagonistic forces in the service of promoting the political culture of absolutism. The nuptial fiction portrays a king who though central, is not yet absolute, and who depends on images and representational forms to become visible. His perceived power relies on appendages such as the queen and forms like print, fireworks, and drama. A calculus of addition, this dependence is invisible from within the models previously used to explore the representation of sovereignty, models based on rituals of substitution like the funeral rite. Though the fictions generated during Louis XIV’s marriage are not the principal ones of his rule, they do affect the portrait of the king and provide insight into the making of an image scholars too frequently take for granted. Studying nuptial fictions invites us to reexamine clichés about the representation of absolutist power, generalizations that do not fully characterize the less monumental (but equally crucial) periods of Louis XIV’s kingship.