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The reign of Louis XIV is often referred to as “Le Grand Siècle” (the Great Century), forever associated with the image of an absolute monarch and a strong, centralised state. Coming to the throne at a tender age, tutored by Cardinal Mazarin, the Sun King embodied the principles of absolutism. In 1682 he moved the royal Court to the Palace of Versailles, the defining symbol of his power ...
- Early Life of Louis XIV
- The Fronde
- Sun King
- The Arts and The Royal Court Under Louis XIV
- Versailles
- Louis XIV and Foreign Policy
- War of The Spanish Succession
- Louis XIV and Religion
- Death of Louis XIV
- Sources
Born on September 5, 1638, to King Louis XIII of France and his Habsburg queen, Anne of Austria, the future Louis XIV was his parents’ first child after 23 years of marriage; in recognition of this apparent miracle, he was christened Louis-Dieudonné, meaning “gift of God.” A younger brother, Philippe, followed two years later. When his father died ...
During the early years of Louis XIV’s reign, Anne and Mazarin introduced policies that further consolidated the monarchy’s power, angering nobles and members of the legal aristocracy. Beginning in 1648, their discontent erupted into a civil war known as the Fronde, which forced the royal family to flee Paris and instilled a lifelong fear of rebelli...
After Mazarin’s death in 1661, Louis XIV broke with tradition and astonished his court by declaring that he would rule without a chief minister. He viewed himself as the direct representative of God, endowed with a divine right to wield the absolute power of the monarchy. To illustrate his status, he chose the sun as his emblem and cultivated the i...
A hard-working and meticulous administrator who oversaw his programs down to the last detail, Louis XIV nevertheless appreciated art, literature, music, theater and sports. He surrounded himself with some of the greatest artistic and intellectual figures of his time, including the playwright Molière, the painter Charles Le Brun and the composer Jea...
Most famously, he transformed a royal hunting lodge in Versailles, a village 25 miles southwest of the capital, into one of the largest and most extravagant palacesin the world, officially moving his court and government there in 1682. It was against this awe-inspiring backdrop that Louis tamed the nobility and impressed foreign dignitaries, using ...
In 1667 Louis XIV launched the War of Devolution—the first in a series of military conflicts that characterized his aggressive approach to foreign policy—by invading the Spanish Netherlands, which he claimed as his wife’s inheritance. Under pressure from the English, Swedish and especially the Dutch, France retreated and returned the region to Spai...
In the late 1680s, responding to yet another spate of expansionist campaigns by Louis’ armies, several powerful countries formed a coalition known as the Grand Alliance. The ensuing war, fought on both hemispheres, lasted from 1688 to 1697; France emerged with most of its territory intact but its resources severely strained. More disastrous for Lou...
It was not only decades of warfare that weakened both France and its monarch during the latter half of Louis XIV’s reign. In 1685, the devoutly Catholic king revoked the Edict of Nantes, issued by his grandfather Henry IV in 1598, which had granted freedom of worship and other rights to French Protestants, known as Huguenots. With the 1685 Edict of...
On September 1, 1715, four days before his 77th birthday, Louis XIV died of gangrene at Versailles. His reign had lasted 72 years, longer than that of any other known European monarch, and left an indelible mark on the culture, history and destiny of France. His five-year-old great-grandson succeeded him as Louis XV.
The Edict of Nantes, 1598. Columbia University Core Curriculum. History. Chateau de Versailles. The Reign of Louis XIV (1643-1715): An Overview. University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences. History: Louis XIV (1638-1715). BBC.
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The palace of Versailles: Sun King Louis XIV's ultimate power play. Turning a modest hunting lodge into the magnificent Palace of Versailles was the crowning glory that defined King Louis XIV’s France. But this opulent edifice was more than a fashion statement for the Sun King, writes Jonny Wilkes: it was a political endeavour that cemented ...
Apr 29, 2024 · Louis XIV (born September 5, 1638, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France—died September 1, 1715, Versailles, France) was the king of France (1643–1715) who ruled his country, principally from his great palace at Versailles, during one of its most brilliant periods and who remains the symbol of absolute monarchy of the classical age.
- What is Louis XIV known for?Louis XIV, king of France (1643–1715), ruled his country, principally from his great palace at Versailles, during one of the country’s most brillia...
- How old was Louis XIV when he acceded to the throne?Louis XIV succeeded his father as king of France on May 14, 1643, at the age of four years eight months. According to the laws of the kingdom, he b...
- How did Louis XIV die?Louis XIV died in 1715, four days shy of his 77th birthday, from gangrene associated with an infection in his leg.
Versailles under the reign of Louis XIV. Only at the start of his personal reign (after the Fronde civil wars and the death of Mazarin) did Louis XIV begin to frequent Versailles, which he then considered merely as a place of leisure. Construction work began immediately, led by architect Louis Le Vau.
The reign of Louis XIV 1638 - 1715. The history of Versailles is inextricably linked with the figure of Louis XIV. Although the location existed for centuries before the sovereign, Louis XIV developed a genuine liking for Versailles early on, and decided to extend it beyond the chateau that had grown out of the hunting lodge of brick and stone first built by his father.
The Palace of Versailles was declared the official royal residence in 1682 and the official residence of the court of France on May 6, 1682, but it was abandoned after the death of Louis XIV in 1715. In 1722, however, it was returned to its status as royal residence. Further additions were made during the reigns of Louis XV.
