Anne and Mazarin had largely pursued the policies of Cardinal Richelieu, augmenting the Crown's power at the expense of the nobility and the Parlements. All the details and rules were compressed in five positions of the bodies codified by Beauchamp. Though in some respects the Treaty of Ryswick may appear a diplomatic defeat for Louis since he failed to place client rulers in control of the Palatinate or the Electorate of Cologne, he did in fact fulfill many of the aims laid down in his 1688 ultimatum. Beaufort, who had escaped from the prison where Anne had incarcerated him five years before, was the military leader in Paris, under the nominal control of Conti. The War of Devolution did not focus on the payment of the dowry; rather, the lack of payment was what Louis XIV used as a pretext for nullifying Maria Theresa's renunciation of her claims, allowing the land to "devolve" to him. In 1910, the American historical novelist, Louis is a major character in the 1959 historical novel, A character based on Louis plays an important role in, The 15-year-old Louis XIV, as played by the Irish actor, Louis XIV, King of France and Navarre, 1638–1715, Gabrielle Angelique, Duchess of La Valette and Epernon, This page was last edited on 13 January 2021, at 20:50. Although an attempt to restore James II failed at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690, France accumulated a string of victories from Flanders in the north, Germany in the east, and Italy and Spain in the south, to the high seas and the colonies. The doctors were powerless. Leading contemporaries thus regarded him as a divine gift and his birth a miracle of God. [17] The queen's army, headed by Condé, attacked the rebels in Paris; the rebels were under the political control of Anne's old friend Marie de Rohan. He was named Louis Dieudonné (Louis the God-given)[6] and bore the traditional title of French heirs apparent: Dauphin. The sheer number of performances he gave as well as the diversity of roles he played may serve to indicate a deeper understanding and interest in the art form. Le Roi Soleil. He barely eats and weakens increasingly. Unfortunately for Anne, her partial victory depended on Condé, who wanted to control the queen and destroy Mazarin's influence. As tensions mounted, Louis decided to acknowledge James Stuart, the son of James II, as king of England on the latter's death, infuriating William III. Next, in 1684, a punitive mission was launched against Genoa in retaliation for its support for Spain in previous wars. Without royal approval, bishops could not leave France, and appeals could not be made to the Pope. Louis was found guilty by the National Assembly and condemned to death. Louis XIV was born on 5 September 1638 in the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, to Louis XIII and Anne of Austria. La Mort de Louis XIV. Louis instituted reforms in military administration through Michel le Tellier and the latter's son François-Michel le Tellier, Marquis de Louvois. In defiance of custom, which would have made Queen Anne the sole Regent of France, the king decreed that a regency council would rule on his son's behalf. However, French armies held significant advantages over their opponents; an undivided command, talented generals like Turenne, Condé and Luxembourg and vastly superior logistics. [28] The Code Louis played an important part in French legal history as the basis for the Napoleonic code, from which many modern legal codes are, in turn, derived. [5] By 1695, France retained much of its dominance, but had lost control of the seas to England and Holland, and most countries, both Protestant and Catholic, were in alliance against it. Thus, on his deathbed, Louis' heir was his five-year-old great-grandson, Louis, Duke of Anjou, Burgundy's younger son. He took a series of mistresses, both official and unofficial. In 1648, Anne and Mazarin attempted to tax members of the Parlement de Paris. [1][a] Louis XIV's France was emblematic of the age of absolutism in Europe. The veteran monarch seemed unshakeable, to the great admiration of all the courtiers. The next January, Louis was convicted and condemned to death by a narrow majority. 3.7 out of 5 stars 19 ratings. He may initially have been inclined to abide by the partition treaties, but the Dauphin's insistence persuaded him otherwise. By the winter of 1708–09, he was willing to accept peace at nearly any cost. Between 300,000 and 400,000 Huguenots converted, as this entailed financial rewards and exemption from the dragonnades. A serious fever erupts, which marks the beginning of the agony of the greatest King of France. Those Protestants who had resisted conversion were now to be baptised forcibly into the established church. Marlborough and Eugene met again at the Battle of Oudenarde, which enabled them to invade France. In 1705, the Emperor Leopold I died. His triumphs at the Battles of Fleurus in 1690, Steenkerque in 1692, and Landen in 1693 preserved northern France from invasion.[70]. In 1648 France was the leading European power, and most wars pivoted around its aggressiveness. The main weakness arose from an old bargain between the French crown and nobility: the king might raise taxes without consent if only he refrained from taxing the nobles. On the death of Mazarin, in March 1661, Louis assumed personal control of the reins of government and astonished his court by declaring that he would rule without a chief minister: "Up to this moment I have been pleased to entrust the government of my affairs to the late Cardinal. Conseil des dépêches ("Council of Messages", concerning notices and administrative reports from the provinces). Louis XIV, byname Louis the Great, Louis the Grand Monarch, or the Sun King, French Louis le Grand, Louis le Grand Monarque, or le Roi Soleil, (born September 5, 1638, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France—died September 1, 1715, Versailles, France), 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 … There is no better illustration of this than in Hyacinthe Rigaud's frequently-reproduced Portrait of Louis XIV of 1701, in which a 63-year-old Louis appears to stand on a set of unnaturally young legs. Louis XIV, the Sun King. Louis was at the height of his power, but at the cost of uniting his opponents; this increased as he continued his expansion. Louis' relationship with his mother was uncommonly affectionate for the time. Another war was on the horizon and, with it, a reversal of European alliances…. This allocated Spain, the Low Countries, and the Spanish colonies to the Archduke. Conseil de Conscience ("Council of Conscience", concerning religious affairs and episcopal appointments). From farther afield, Siam dispatched an embassy in 1684, reciprocated by the French magnificently the next year under Alexandre, Chevalier de Chaumont. It was Condé's sister who pushed him to turn against the queen. Defeats, famine, and mounting debt greatly weakened France. For the French musical about him, see, King of France and Navarre, from 1643 to 1715. By manipulating their rivalries and suspicions, Louis divided his enemies and broke their power. In the end, however, despite renewed tensions with the Camisards of south-central France at the end of his reign, Louis may have helped ensure that his successor would experience fewer instances of the religion-based disturbances that had plagued his forebears. Unlike that which preceded it, tales of sordid intrigue and half-hearted warfare characterized this second phase of upper-class insurrection. Through our new partnership with the French American Cultural Foundation, American citizens can easily support the Palace of Versailles. The Greek sun god Apollo was immortal. His reign of 72 years and 110 days is the longest recorded of any monarch of a sovereign country in European history. In general, Louis was an eager dancer who performed 80 roles in 40 major ballets. The French monarchy reached its height during the reign of the Louis XIV (r. 1643, officially from 1661 to his death in 1715). Rather, they focus on military and diplomatic successes, such as how he placed a French prince on the Spanish throne. The war began with French successes, but the talents of John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, and Eugene of Savoy checked these victories and broke the myth of French invincibility. The members of that council were called ministers of state. Over his lifetime, Louis commissioned numerous works of art to portray himself, among them over 300 formal portraits. [107], Louis greatly emphasized etiquettes in ballet dancing, evidently seen in "La belle danse" (the French noble style). [104] At other times, he would adopt mundane roles before appearing at the end in the lead role. Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban, France's leading military strategist, warned Louis in 1689 that a hostile "Alliance" was too powerful at sea. He danced four parts in three of Molière's comédies-ballets, which are plays accompanied by music and dance. Anne exiled some of her husband's ministers (Chavigny, Bouthilier), and she nominated Brienne as her minister of foreign affairs.[11]. [89] The king was, at first, put off by her strict religious practice, but he warmed to her through her care for his children. If the Duke of Berry declined it, it would go to the Archduke Charles, then to the distantly related House of Savoy if Charles declined it.[79]. Louis' policy of the Réunions may have raised France to its greatest size and power during his reign, but it alienated much of Europe. This, along with the prohibition of private armies, prevented them from passing time on their own estates and in their regional power bases, from which they historically waged local wars and plotted resistance to royal authority. Thanks to Louis, his allies the Electors of Bavaria and Cologne were restored to their prewar status and returned their lands.[88]. The duo allowed the Palatinate and Austria to occupy Bavaria after their victory at the Battle of Blenheim. This line can be traced back more than 1,200 years from Robert of Hesbaye to the present day, through Kings of France & Navarre, Spain and Two-Sicilies, Dukes of Parma and Grand-Dukes of Luxembourg, Princes of Orléans and Emperors of Brazil. However, Louis was so pleased with the work that he kept the original and commissioned a copy to be sent to his grandson. The same day the king received his five-year-old great-grandson, the future Louis XV, to give him advice. Louis secured permanent French sovereignty over all of Alsace, including Strasbourg, and established the Rhine as the Franco-German border (as it is to this day). Louis' patriline is the line from which he is descended father to son. Britain kept Gibraltar and Menorca. Eventually, therefore, Louis decided to accept Charles II's will. His passing brought to an end a reign of 59 years, the longest in the history of France after that of Louis XIV. "[8], It was his mother who gave Louis his belief in the absolute and divine power of his monarchical rule.[9]. Louis generously supported the royal court of France and those who worked under him. [122] And Lord Acton admired him as "by far the ablest man who was born in modern times on the steps of a throne". In the general settlement, Philip V retained Spain and its colonies, while Austria received the Spanish Netherlands and divided Spanish Italy with Savoy. Additionally, Mazarin's relations with Marie Mancini were not good, and he did not trust her to support his position. [106] In 1661, Royal of the Academy was founded by Louis to further his ambition. https://www.biography.com/video/louis-xiv-death-legacy-22729283779 He also attracted, supported and patronized such artists as André Charles Boulle, who revolutionised marquetry with his art of inlay, today known as "Boulle Work". Henriette, Duchesse d’Orléans, the sister-in-law of Louis XIV, took a drink of her usual chicory water and immediately clutched her side, crying out in pain. [125][126], In 1848, at Nuneham House, a piece of Louis' mummified heart, taken from his tomb and kept in a silver locket by Lord Harcourt, Archbishop of York, was shown to the Dean of Westminster, William Buckland, who ate it.[127]. His last surviving in-wedlock son, the Dauphin, died in 1711. In the 1660s, Louis began to be shown as a Roman emperor, the god Apollo, or Alexander the Great, as can be seen in many works of Charles Le Brun, such as sculpture, paintings, and the decor of major monuments. His elder son and successor, Joseph I, followed him in 1711. Composers and musicians such as Jean-Baptiste Lully, Jacques Champion de Chambonnières, and François Couperin thrived. In the case of Maria Theresa, nonetheless, the renunciation was considered null and void owing to Spain's breach of her marriage contract with Louis. The film starts the with the realization that the King Louis is very ill, and ends with his death. Moreover, a mob of angry Parisians broke into the royal palace and demanded to see their king. AKA Louis-Dieudonné. The Dauphin would receive all of Spain's Italian territories. In 1660, Louis had married Philip IV's eldest daughter, Maria Theresa, as one of the provisions of the 1659 Treaty of the Pyrenees. He made his devotions daily regardless of where he was, following the liturgical calendar regularly. Copy link. Moreover, the significant reduction in civil wars and aristocratic rebellions during his reign are seen by these historians as the result of Louis' consolidation of royal authority over feudal elites. [124] Voltaire's history, The Age of Louis XIV, named Louis' reign as not only one of the four great ages in which reason and culture flourished, but the greatest ever. To support the reorganized and enlarged army, the panoply of Versailles, and the growing civil administration, the king needed a good deal of money. The system was outrageously unjust in throwing a heavy tax burden on the poor and helpless. He was devoted to the soldiers' material well-being and morale, and even tried to direct campaigns. Condé's family was close to Anne at that time, and he agreed to help her attempt to restore the king's authority. As a further example of his continued care for the capital, Louis constructed the Hôtel des Invalides, a military complex and home to this day for officers and soldiers rendered infirm either by injury or old age. Domestically, he successfully increased the influence of the crown and its authority over the church and aristocracy, thus consolidating absolute monarchy in France. This captured Franche-Comté and much of the Spanish Netherlands; French expansion in this area was a direct threat to Dutch economic interests. The heart is buried at the Église Saint-Paul-Saint-Louis on Rue Saint-Antoine in Paris, a church that contained the monuments for the hearts of Louis XIII and Louis XIV … This agreement divided Spain's Italian territories between Louis's son le Grand Dauphin and the Archduke Charles, with the rest of the empire awarded to Joseph Ferdinand. [43] In 1699, Louis once again received a Moroccan ambassador, Abdallah bin Aisha, and in 1715, he received a Persian embassy led by Mohammad Reza Beg. All that remained of his immediate family was Louis's sister-in-law, Elizabeth Charlotte. This seemed to herald an era of Catholic monarchs in England. Louis foresaw an underaged heir and sought to restrict the power of his nephew Philip II, Duke of Orléans, who, as his closest surviving legitimate relative in France, would likely become regent to the prospective Louis XV. The Death of Louis XIV Jean-Pierre Léaud (Actor), Albert Serra (Director) Rated: Unrated. Mazarin soon supported the Queen's position because he knew that her support for his power and his foreign policy depended on making peace with Spain from a strong position and on the Spanish marriage. The Death Of Louis XIV is a refinement of his last feature, Story Of My Death, which interpreted the 18th-century crisis of reason as a meeting between Casanova and Dracula; it’s more pointed, populated, and sumptuous, with a vein of humor that seemed mostly lost on the earlier film. The app includes the audioguide tour of the Palace and an interactive map of the Estate. The Death of Louis XIV. Louis XIV’s father Louis XIII put an end to this practice, which he considered unacceptably pagan. Accordingly, he did not appoint a first minister after Mazarin's death. Versailles, August 1715. French diplomacy secured Bavaria, Portugal, and Savoy as Franco-Spanish allies.[83]. Thus, Brabant allegedly "devolved" to Maria Theresa, giving France a justification to attack the Spanish Netherlands. He also disallowed Protestant-Catholic intermarriages to which third parties objected, encouraged missions to the Protestants, and rewarded converts to Catholicism. [78] If Anjou refused, the throne would be offered to his younger brother Charles, Duke of Berry. Only the "unprivileged" classes paid direct taxes, and this term came to mean the peasants only, since many bourgeois, in one way or another, obtained exemptions. Responding to petitions, Louis initially excluded Protestants from office, constrained the meeting of synods, closed churches outside of Edict-stipulated areas, banned Protestant outdoor preachers, and prohibited domestic Protestant migration. Quick Facts. without my command; to render account to me personally each day and to favor no one". I request and order you to seal no orders except by my command . [18] "In one sense, Louis' childhood came to an end with the outbreak of the Fronde. But he could promise that Philip V would accept these terms, so the Allies demanded that Louis single-handedly attack his grandson to force these terms on him. This was felt by the Netherlands, France's Protestant ally, which negotiated a separate peace with Spain in 1648.[13]. [77] Indeed, in the event of war, it might be preferable to be already in control of the disputed lands. Impelled "by a mix of commerce, revenge, and pique," Louis sensed that war was the ideal way to enhance his glory. [99] Luxembourg gave France the defensive line of the Sambre by capturing Charleroi in 1693. The threat to the royal family prompted Anne to flee Paris with the king and his courtiers. The threat of an escalation and a secret treaty to divide Spanish possessions with Emperor Leopold, the other major claimant to the throne of Spain, led Louis to relinquish many of his gains in the 1668 Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle. First, Louis had Algiers and Tripoli, two Barbary pirate strongholds, bombarded to obtain a favourable treaty and the liberation of Christian slaves. One of Louis' more infamous decrees was the Grande Ordonnance sur les Colonies of 1685, also known as the Code Noir ("black code"). In an attempt to avoid war, Louis signed the Treaty of the Hague with William III of England in 1698. This was the longest recorded rule of any European monarch. On 5 April 1693, Louis also founded the Royal and Military Order of Saint Louis (French: Ordre Royal et Militaire de Saint-Louis), a military order of chivalry. Upon returning from a hunting expedition, King Louis XIV feels a sharp pain in his leg. This poor public opinion was compounded by French actions off the Barbary Coast and at Genoa. The King was thus portrayed largely in majesty or at war, notably against Spain. As a result of the fresh British perspective on the European balance of power, Anglo-French talks began, culminating in the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht between Louis, Philip V of Spain, Anne, Queen of Great Britain, and the Dutch Republic. [84] In desperation, Louis ordered a disastrous invasion of the English island of Guernsey in the autumn of 1704 with the aim of raiding their successful harvest. Upon returning from a hunting expedition, King Louis XIV feels a sharp pain in his leg. During Louis's reign, France fought three major wars: the Franco-Dutch War, the War of the League of Augsburg, and the War of the Spanish Succession. On the morning of 1 September he died. He also enforced uniformity of religion under the Gallican Catholic Church. [72] Louis tried to break up the alliance against him by dealing with individual opponents, but did not achieve his aim until 1696, when the Savoyards agreed to the Treaty of Turin and switched sides. Against all expectations, Louis the Beloved died an unpopular king. In May 1672, France invaded the Republic, supported by Münster and the Electorate of Cologne. Gradually, as pus was lanced from his body and face, the king improved.