Louis XIV

G.R.R. Treasure

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2018
• ISBN:
  9781317889038
• Edition: 1
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: French History
• Index: History

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.

Chapter 1
Preparing for Power

Kings of France are kings elect and chosen of God, kings after his own heart.

ANDRÉ DUCHESNE, 1609

The God-Given

When Anne of Austria gave birth to a boy at the palace of Saint-Germain on 5 September 1638, the event was hailed as an answer to prayer, indeed a miracle. He was the 'God-given'. In February Louis XIII had signed letters patent placing the realm under the protection of 'the most holy and glorious' Virgin Mary. Anne had vowed to construct a new church at Valde-Grace in honour of the Mother of God. Her pregnancy had been as unexpected as it was welcome. She was thirty-seven years old and she had been married since she was fourteen. Early pregnancies had led to miscarriages. Long neglected by her husband, she had lived a virtually separate life. In 1637, when France had been at war with Spain for two years, she had come under Richelieu's surveillance, suspected of treasonous correspondence with her brother, King Philip IV of Spain. Now the mother of the dauphin became a figure of central importance.

A few days later, in Spain, Anne's brother, Philip IV, had cause to rejoice: his wife, Elizabeth of Bourbon, gave birth to a girl, Maria Teresa. For several years Anne had felt divided loyalties. Now, strong in her own position, she could cherish a hope for the future. Nor was she alone. Chavigny, one of Richelieu's most influential ministers, wrote that 'the coincidence of the two births might bring about, one day a great union and a great blessing to Christendom'.

In France the rejoicing was general and sincere. 'Never', wrote Grotius, 'had a people demonstrated such delight,' It was widely remarked, not least by Englishmen, who tended to be cooler in this respect, that the French loved their sovereigns in an uncritical, possessive, almost religious fashion. The sentiment reflected centuries of struggle against rivals and intruders: enemies of the king and despoilers of the land. It also reflected political reality. In the absence of any visible organic unity, only the person of the king represented the unity of the realm. The words on the medal struck to mark Louis XIV's birth were literally true: he was Francorum Spes Magna. Periods when monarchy was weak were associated with disorder and lawlessness. Old men could remember the worst days of the Religious Wars when, before the Edict of Nantes (1598) brought them to a formal end and Henry IV began to rule effectively, religion was invoked to justify extremism: political leaders resorted to assassination, and Spanish armies trampled over French lands. Richelieu's generation was profoundly affected by the experience; he personally, by family misfortunes and his own, near-fatal involvement in the power struggle during the regency of Marie de Medicis that followed the assassination of Henry IV in 1610.¹

Queen Anne's childless state had given cause for concern since Louis XIII had chronically poor health. Until 1638 the heir to the throne had been his brother Gaston of Orleans (d. 1660), who had conspired against Richelieu and defied the king too often to inspire confidence in his capacity to rule. There would be no place for Richelieu or his policies in the reign of king Gaston. So the cardinal was sincere in his congratulations. In 1640 a younger brother, Philippe, was born. However there remained cause for anxiety. It was likely that the young Louis would come to the throne a minor, that the experience of Marie's Regency would be repeated and his work undone. After Richelieu's drastic measures to assert the authority of the crown over some of the highest in the land it was certain that there would be a reaction and likely that there would be a relapse into anarchy.

For the development of Louis XIV's character it was perhaps fortunate that his father died when he was young. Louis XIII had been brought up abominably. His father was hearty, neglectful and sometimes brutal; his mother openly preferred Gaston; the spoiling attention of court ladies was no substitute for a systematic training. He grew up bruised and bewildered. He was timid with women, preferring the company of men. His best side can be seen in his devout sense of duty to God and to the realm. In an unimaginatively narrow way he was conscientious and just. The stammering, insecure prince grew up into a king who needed to assert his dignity, managed to do so on certain public occasions, yet, towards the end, allowed himself to be compromised in an obsessive relationship with a young favourite, Cinq Mars. At certain critical moments Louis XIII rose to the occasion. He gave a brave lead during the crisis of the Habsburg invasions, the 'Year of Corbie' (1636). He only once wavered seriously in his support of Richelieu. There was little in this remote, unpredictable father to encourage tender feeling in the son. It is hard to imagine a relationship extending into his adolescence being anything but disastrous. There were some features in Louis XIII's rule, as he came to understand it, that Louis XIV would respect. Significantly however he would never hear talk of Richelieu. For a model he would look back to his grandfather, Henry IV.

Anne of Austria was a fond mother; she was also a sensible one.² In play and talk she clearly delighted in the child's company. Her hitherto rather empty life, solaced by cards, gossip and chocolate, given purpose mainly by religion, had now become serious and dedicated to the nurture of a king. Graceful and refined in her ways, with a concern for cleanliness unusual for the period, she created a decorous and pious household. Louis's health, conduct, education and spiritual development became her prime concerns. It was her mission to cherish and protect him till he should be old enough to rule. Aware of the effect on Louis XIII and Gaston of their mother's preference for the latter, she pointedly distinguished between Louis and his brother whom at first she would treat, and sometimes dress, as a girl. So was instilled in Louis a sense of superiority, in Philippe acceptance of second place – and a lasting inclination towards effeminacy in dress and taste. Meanwhile, as regent, Anne would be as authoritative as was required to prevent subjects encroaching upon the powers that belonged, as of right, to the king. As a Habsburg, daughter of one king and sister of another, that came naturally to her. Schooled under Richelieu in absolutist principles, her chancellor could assure her that she was in the right. 'There is no minority in kings with respect to powers and authority, no deficiency nor disqualification; the queen is obliged to conserve her authority': thus Séguier,³ in 1645, after Parlement had rejected new taxes.

Louis XIII died on 14 May 1643. He had intended to bind Anne by setting up a regency council. In a lit de justice, held a few days after the king's death, she secured from Parlement the effective annulment of the will when it accepted her as Regent with full powers, including the vital provision that she could choose her own ministers. Dressed in violet, lifted on to the throne by Mme de Mansac, Louis spoke a few well-rehearsed lines before handing over to his chancellor. Undoubtedly there was less of majesty in the child's words than in the principle he represented. Nonetheless, with Cardinal Mazarin presiding over council and assuming the powers of premier ministre and Parlemenfs satisfactory response to Anne's overtures, Louis XIV's first royal action assumed significance. 'Le roi est mort; vive le Roi' had been the traditional formula. There would be continuity: as to the crown, of course, and its rights – but to what extent its policies?

'I have come to show my goodwill towards my Parlement': the judges interpreted Louis's words as a promise of change, a softening, at least, in the style of government. 'Be the father of your people' and 'Strive to be the prince of peace': such parlementaire rhetoric expressed also a longing for peace. The stirring news of Conde's victory of Rocroy (May 1643), removing the threat of invasion, strengthened hopes of peace. It also emboldened those disposed to resist the demands of government. Within weeks the Cabale des Importants served warning that some of the highest in the land, notably here the due de Vendôme and his son, due de Beaufort,⁴ would stop at nothing – including the projected assassination of Mazarin – to further their own ends. The intrigue came to nothing. Its leaders were treated relatively leniently. Beaufort was imprisoned. Would not Richelieu have had him executed? A military triumph and a foiled plot: Louis's reign started well.

Astrologers had vied with each other to offer favourable horoscopes for the dauphin, born under the sign of Virgo when 'this constellation had its greatest force'. His easy temperament and robust health seemed to prove them right. Geneticists might point rather to the hybrid strength coming from a crossing of ancestral strains – by marked contrast with the inbreeding in the Spanish Habsburg line, where the tragically deformed Charles II would demonstrate its dangers. Louis could count among his near ancestors sovereigns of vigour and proven ability. To Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain, Emperors Maximilian I and Charles V, add Burgundian duke Charles the Bold, Lorenzo Medici of Florence and, for good measure, Henry IV; recall that Louis had no share in the French Valois line which had ended so feebly – and we can appreciate the high hopes of all who saw the child, 'handsome as an angel' as he was described in the Gazette.

The education of princes is notoriously difficult. Between excessive pressure from the tutor, striving to produce a paragon (as in the case of bishop Bossuet and Louis's own son) and too light a hand from courtiers, timeserving, or simply in deference to rank and prospects (especially when the pupil was already king), it has proved hard to find a satisfactory middle way. Louis XIV's education was to be much interrupted during the Fronde. He did not receive the complete humanist syllabus which might fit a subject for high office. For his unique role he did, however, receive a sound, in some respects excellent training. Anne insisted on a reasonable discipline. She was an adoring mother but she showed that she would not be trifled with. In the absence of a father, the role of his godfather, Cardinal Mazarin, was vital. The due de Villeroi.'⁵ to whom Mazarin entrusted guardianship, was a loyal, amiable grandee. Hardouin de Péréfixe – later archbishop of Paris – who directed the staff of tutors, taught him the history of his country through daily summaries of its more instructive parts. From his own history of Henry IV he presented the king with a sanitised and eulogistic view of his grandfather, the restorer of peace and order. He instilled a basic grasp of public laws and rights. He pointed out that a king, with whom lay the ultimate responsibility, placed as he was at the apex of the pyramid of counsel and command, 'must be taught primarily to perform decisive actions'. Louis would never forget such lessons. He was being trained to see the history of French monarchy in terms of successive challenges to its power, only to be overcome by resolute action. Tales from Mezeray's Histoire de France about fainéants kings aroused a child's ready disgust. He promised 'to follow the example of the most generous of his ancestors, particularly abhorring Louis the Idle'.

Péréfixe also prepared for him a royal commonplace book of moral tags, the Institutio Principis, which his pupil had to translate daily from the Latin. In due course many of these maxims would be passed on to his own son who would be assured, for example, that 'the profession of a king is a majestic, noble and delightful one'. Péréfixe had observed that 'a king should delight in his calling'. Louis's path to learning was decked with laurel branches. By his writing master he was required to copy out the sentence: 'homage is due to kings; they may do as they please'. He learned the rudiments of Spanish and Italian. Manuals of geography, rhetoric, logic and ethics were prepared for him. From specially designed playing cards he could consider improving gobbets of history and mythology. Saint-Simon⁶ was to say that he could barely read or write. It was an absurdly jaundiced view but it suggests an aspect of Louis's personality that would not change. He was a quick learner and he had a capacious memory. But he did not relish learning for its own sake. His approach was pragmatic. After early difficulties he returned to Latin when he found it essential for studying diplomatic documents. To learn about war and statecraft and their delusory outcomes, both controlled and predictable, he read Caesar's self-justificatory Commentaries. Closer to home and dealing instructively with the formative reign of Louis XI were the Mémoires of Commines.⁷ Horsemanship and fencing were learned from renowned masters. A dancing master found him an apt pupil. Laporte, his self-important valet, took it upon himself to teach practical lessons in deportment. Jealous of Mazarin's influence he became over-bold in his offensive jibes and, in 1652, the cardinal secured his dismissal. His own wiser hand can be seen in Louis's musical studies. Playing the lute or Spanish guitar, he acquired the taste which enabled him to appreciate the Italian opera introduced to the court by Mazarin and later to patronise the great French composers, Jean-Baptiste Lully and François Couperin.⁸

The Spanish mother and Italian minister, entirely devoted but also, up to a point, easy-going, seem to have allowed the king to remain a boy. With a child's gift for assuming that what happens around him is normal and, no doubt, a pleasant sense of his own importance, he enjoyed parades and reviews of the household troops and Swiss guards; later, drilling and staging fights round mock fortifications. He was also to be seen, however, on a Maundy Thursday, washing the feet of a dozen poor people of the parish of Saint-Eustache, Altogether Anne and Mazarin's tutelage leaves an impression of high seriousness, a keen sense of duty towards the most important of pupils, of balance and worldly common sense. Great events could be turned to advantage. The treaty of Westphalia became Mazarin's pretext for a lesson on the history of the Holy Roman Empire. Later he made a practice of bringing Louis into council meetings. When Péréfixe complained that Louis was not giving time to his studies Mazarin reassured him: 'Rely on my judgement and do not be too much concerned. He can know too much; as it is, when he is present in Council he asks me a hundred questions about the subject in hand.'

Mazarin's training and early experience had been as a Papal diplomat.⁹ From his first encounters with Richelieu, during the Mantuan crisis and subsequent war, the young Roman had been drawn steadily towards French service. It was his diplomatic skills, knowledge of the European scene and resourceful, self-confident personality that had first appealed to Richelieu. The death, in 1638, of Father Joseph, Richelieu's right-hand man, had left a gap that he seemed well suited to fill. It was a positive advantage to his patron that Mazarin came to France relatively free of the client-ties and obligations that a French minister would bring to his office. Even so, Richelieu is unlikely to have seen Mazarin as his successor as premier ministre. That position he owed to the admiration of Louis XIII, who insisted on his being a minister; then, after Louis's death, to Anne. From representing the interest of the Papacy in a general peace it was not too great a move to working for terms advantageous to France. Responsibility overall, as premier ministre, for French government, was more testing. In his relationship with the king he had several advantages. He had been chosen by Louis XIII, to be the boy's god-father. (The other, significantly, was the princesse de Condé.) After the king died Mazarin moved closer to the royal household. To Anne he was a trusted confidant and advisor. He was imaginative and sympathetic. Like Anne he spoke French with an accent that invited derision, but he was fluent in her nati...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Dedication
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Preface
• Acknowledgements
• 1 Preparing for Power
• 2 Louis XIV's Subjects
• 3 Personal Rule
• 4 Wealth and Power: Colbert
• 5 The Power of the Army
• 6 Power Abroad
• 7 Versailles: The Display of Power
• 8 The Temptation of Power
• 9 Power and Conformity
• 10 France against Europe: The Nine Years War
• 11 The Great Prize
• 12 The Great War
• 13 The Price of War
• 14 Faith, Reason and Authority
• 15 'A King at Every Moment'
• Glossary
• Bibliography
• Index