A GEOGRAPHICAL
INTRODUCTION TO FRENCH HISTORY
Vexin/Beauce/Brie/Picardy
Seine/Marne/Oise/Eure,
etc.
Ile de la Cité
Pont Neuf/Place des Vosges/Louvre/Palais Royal (formerly the Palais Cardinal)/Luxembourg/Hôtel
des Invalides
canal du Midi
Carcasonne, Nîmes, etc.
Marseille and
Puy de Dôme
French
THE
INSTITUTIONS OF THE ABSOLUTE MONARCHY
Divine right/sacred monarchy/ etc.
Scrofula
Absolute monarchy
Salic Law
Royal Council(s)
Conseil d'état (Council of State), or Conseil
d'en-Haut (High Council): composed of members of the
royal family and ministers of state (see below), including the Chancellor
Conseil des Dépêches (Council of
Dispatches)
plus
other subdivisions of the Council which specialized in judicial,
administrative, and financial matters
Ministre d'état: minister of state; or member of the
Council of State
Secrétaire d'état: secretary of state; an upper-level
administrator, responsible for a "department": foreign affairs, war,
the navy and the royal household, and affairs of the "religion prétendue réformée" (i.e.,
Calvinism). There was a growing tendency for the ministers of state to be
also secretaries of state.
Conseiller d'état: state councilor; high ranking judicial
and administrative appointment; serving the royal council(s)
Maître des requêtes: master
of requests; also in service to the council(s)
Intendant de justice, police, et finances:
intendants; royal provincial administrators
Governors
Chancellor: The most prestigious officers of the
monarchy, especially after 1627 and the suppression of the office of
constable. Associated with the crown
itself and not an individual king; hence the Chancellor was irremovable. The highest legal official in the kingdom and
chief of the judiciary. Chief of the
royal councils and a permanent member of the Council of State. Responsible for
the sealing and the expedition of all royal legislation and for general
oversight of all the law courts of the realm, as well as oversight of the
entirety of domestic policy and life.
The
"Sovereign Courts"
Parlements:
Paris (about 1/3 of the kingdom, in jurisdiction); Rouen (Normandy), Rennes
(Brittany), Bordeaux (Gascony), Toulouse (Languedoc),
Pau (Navarre), Aix-en-Provence (Provence),
Grenoble (Dauphiné), Dijon (Burgundy), Metz
(Lorraine), and Tournai (Flanders).
Chambres des Comptes
(jurisdiction over royal finances) and Cours des
Aides (for adjudicating disputes over royal taxes): they existed in
remonstrances
venality or saleability
of offices
lit de justice: literally, "bed of justice"
Estates General
provincial estates:
THE
SIXTEENTH-CENTURY CRISIS
Francis
I (1515-1547)
Henry
II (1547-1559)--Diane de Poitiers
Catherine de Medici
Francis
II (1559-1560)
Charles
IX (1560-1574)
Henry
III (1574-1589)
les
mignons
Holy Roman Emperor and
Habsburg
family
Charles
V (1515-1556/58)
Austria/Bohemia/Hungary/Netherlands
(Holland & Belgium)/parts of northern and southern Italy/Spain and the
Spanish Empire; title of Holy Roman Emperor applied to Italy and Germany, in
practice much more to the latter than the former
Two
branches of the Habsburg family after 1556/58:
Eastern
branch: Austrian Habsburgs, with Austra/Bohemia/Hungary
and title of Holy Roman Emperor
Western
branch: Spanish Habsburgs, with
Philip
II, King of
The Rise of the Protestants
John
Calvin (1509-1564)
Gascony/Provence/Languedoc and parts of
Huguenots:
name applied to French Protestants; it originated in
8 civil
wars, 1562-1598
Saint
Bartholomew's Day Massacre,
Gaspard de Coligny, Admiral of
France
Margueritte of Valois and Henry
of
Guise
family and Duke of Guise
Maurevert
The Great Nobility
Bourbon
family. Kings of Navarre, a small
principality just north of
Montmorency
family. Duke of Montmorency was
Constable of France and Governor of Languedoc.
The
Guise family. Duchy of
The
Holy League
Estates
General of 1588
Jacques
Clément
Henry
of
HENRY
IV (1598-1610)
Son of Antoine de Bourbon, duke of Vendôme, and of Jeanne d'Albret
and the grandson of Henry II d'Albret, King of
Navarre
2 May 1598: Treaty of Vervins,
and peace with
Maximilien de Béthune, DUKE OF
SULLY (1559-1641): superintendent of
finances and minister
paulette: colloquial name for a royal edict of 1604
which guaranteed heredity of venal offices provided that the occupant paid a
modest sum annually to the Treasury--almost an insurance premium; greatly
desired by office-holders; subject to renewal at periodic intervals.
Barthélemy de Laffemas
(1545-c.1612): economist and
administrator
Royal châteaux: Louvre
and Tuileries: Grand Gallery/Fontainebleau (favorite
residence of the king)/ and Saint-Germanain-en-Laye
(where the royal children were raised).
Wives
Marguerite de Valois
(1553-1615), sister of King Charles IX.
The marriage took place on
Marie de Medici (1573-1642), niece of the Grand
Duke of Tuscany. The marriage took place
in 1600.
Louis
XIII (1601-1643), King of France and father of Louis XIV
Elisabeth
(1602-1644): married in 1615 to the future Philip IV of
Christine
(1606-1663): married in 1619 to Victor-Amadeus, Duke of Savoy in 1630
Gaston-Jean-Baptiste, duke of Orléans in 1626; "Monsieur"
Henriette-Marie (1609-1669: married in 1625 to Charles,
Prince of Wales, or King Charles I (1625-1649); mother of Henrietta of England,
who would marry Philippe of Orléans, younger brother of Louis XIV
Mistresses
and Children
Gabrielle d'Estrées,
duchess of Beaufort (1573-1599)
César, duke of Vendôme and
governor of
Catherine-Henriette, duchess of Elbeuf
(1596-
Alexandre, grand prior of Vendôme
(1598-1629)
Henriette d'Entragues, marquise
of Verneuil (1579-1633)
Gaston-Henri
(1601-
Gabrielle-Angéligique (1603-
The
End of the Reign
Charlotte de Montmorency, sister and heir of the
last duke of Montmorency, married in 1609 to Henri II, PRINCE OF CONDÉ
(1588-1646), cousin of the king and first prince of the blood.
Succession of the duchies of Julich,
Clèves, and Berg
14 May 1610: rue de la Ferronnerie;
Ravaillac
LOUIS
XIII (1610-1643)
Born
The
Regency
Marie de Medici (1573-1642)
Léonora Galigaï (1576-1617),
marquise of Ancre, married in 1601 to Concino CONCINI (c.1570-1617), who upon the death of Henry
IV became councilor of state, governor of fortresses in Picardy,
lieutenant general of Normandy, marquis of Ancre, and
marshal of France.
rebellion of the great nobility: Condé, Vendôme, Guise, et.al.
Estates General of 1614-1615
Charles d'Albert
(1578-1621), grand falconer in 1617, later DUKE OF LUYNES, and Nicolas de l'Hospital (1581-1644), captain of the king's guards in
1617, later marquis and DUKE OF VITRY.
Armand-Jean du Plessis de
Theology
graduate from the Sorbonne (1607), Bishop of Luçon
(1607), spokesman for the clergy in the Estates General (1615), member of the
Council of State (1616-1617), Cardinal (1622), member of the Council of State
again (1624) and eventually principal ministre
of the king.
See his
Testament Politique and Mémoires.
See
also the remarkable portraits of him by Philippe de Champaigne
in the Louvre and in the National Gallery (
The
Chalais conspiracy (1626)
Gaston
of Orléans and Marie de Bourbon, duchess of Montpensier
(1605-1627)
Marie
de Rohan, DUCHESS OF CHEVREUSE (1600-1679). Married to Charles d'Albert,
duke of Luynes, but a widow in 1621; remarried to
Claude de Lorraine, duke of Chevreuse; close friend
and confidante of Anne of Austria
Jean-Baptiste D'ORNANO (1581-1626), marshal of France and
governor of the household of Gaston; arrested on
César and Alexandre de VENDÔME;
both imprisoned in the
Henri
de Talleyrand-Périgord, COUNT OF CHALAIS; executed in
Anne-Marie-Louise
d'Orléans, Duchess of Montpensier,
known as "la Grande Mademoiselle" (1627-1693).
Siege
of
Benjamin
de Rohan, DUKE OF SOUBISE (1583-1642); and his older
brother, Henri, DUKE OF ROHAN (1579-1638), who was to die in the service of
Louis XIII
George Villiers, duke of Buckingham (1592-1628)
Ile de Ré
Jean Guiton (1585-1654): mayor of
Treaty
of Alais (
Thirty
Years War (1618-1648)
23 May
1618: "defenestration of
Christian
IV of
Elector
of
Gaspar de Guzman, count-duke of OLIVARES (1587-1645); prime
minister of Philip IV
raison
d'état
parti dévot: Marie
de Medici; Michel de Marillac (1563-1632), keeper of
the seals and author of ordinance for legal reform (which did not take effect);
Pierre de Bérulle (1575-1629), priest (1599),
spiritual reformer, founder of the Oratorian
religious community for preaching and conversion (1611), diplomat for the king,
and (finally) cardinal (1627); and others.
1628-1630:
Casale, fortress in northern
Charles
de Gonzague, DUKE OF NEVERS, and claimant to the Duchy
of Mantua; opposed by the King of Spain, the Emperor, and the Duke of Savoy
"Day
of Dupes": 10 and 11 November 1630
Claude
de SAINT-SIMON, duke and peer, father of Louis de Rouvroy,
duke of Saint-Simon (1675-1755); author of the famous memoirs of the reign of
Louis XIV
Michel
de Marillac: arrested on
Louis
de Marillac (1572-1632), brother of Michel and
commander of the royal army in northern
Francois,
MARQUIS OF BASSOMPIERRE (1579-1646), courtier, diplomat, and military
commander, marshal of France (1622), veteran of the Huguenot wars of the 1620s,
including
Charles
de l'Aubespine, MARQUIS OF CHATEAUNEUF, appointed
keeper of the seals on
Exile
of Marie de Medici in 1631; she died in
Gaston
and Montmorency
Gaston
of Orléans: marriage in 1632 to Marguerite de Lorraine-Vaudemont
Henri
II, marshal of MONTMORENCY and governor of
The
"Governmental Revolution"
The "créatures"
or "fidèles":
Claude Bouthillier (1581-1652), councilor of state (1619).
secretary of state (1628), superintendant of finances
(1632)
Léon Bouthillier, COUNT OF
CHAVIGNY (1608-1652), son of the above and one of the closest collaborators of
Richelieu, councilor of state and secretary of state (1632), minister (1643);
future rival of Mazarin; wanted to be prime minister after Richelieu.
François
SUBLET DE NOYERS (1588-1645), intendant des finances (1628), army intendant
(1634-35), secretary of state for war (1636), and superintendent of royal
buildings (1638) with oversight of the Louvre;
retired from public life after death of Richelieu.
intendants
(justice, police, and finances)
taille: the principal tax of the kingdom; paid
largely by peasants, most city dwellers and officials and all nobles having
gained exemptions; in most provinces, a direct tax on individual peasant
households; also adjunct taxes, such as the taillon,
the quartier d'hiver,
the ustensile.
trésoriers and élus:
local financial officials; charged with assessing and collecting direct taxes
parlements
Parlement
of
Edict
of
Provincial Estates
revolts of nu-pieds
(
Gustavus Adolphus, King of
1631:
Treaty of Bärwalde
1631:
1632:
tercios
19 May 1635:
declaration
of war by
1636: La Capelle, Le Catelet, and Corbie
1638: Breisach,
fortress on the right bank of the
1639: Dutch victory over the Spanish Navy at
1640:
Revolt
of
French alliance with
The
Cinq-Mars Conspiracy
Henri Coeffier de Ruzé, MARQUIS OF CINQ-MARS (1620-1642).
grand
écuyer: Grand Master of the King's Wardrobe
"Monsier Le Grand"
François-Auguste de
Thou: conseiller at Parlement of Paris, then councillor of state
Olivares
The
Death of Louis XIII
Saint-German-en-Laye:
royal palace west of
Dauphin: title of the oldest legitimate son of
the king, thus the heir to the throne, like "Prince of Wales" in
19 May 1643:
A small
French town at the entrance to the
Louis
II de Bourbon, DUKE OF ENGHIEN, son of the still surviving Henry II, prince of
CONDÉ, to be himself prince of Condé (upon his
father's death), called "le grand Condé"
(1621-1686); the first prince of the blood; the last word in military heroism
and valor; the very model of the "hero"; second only to Gaston in
prestige and power
THE
REGENCY
Anne of
Gaston
of Orléans (1608-1660); brother of Louis XIII, uncle of Louis XIV; called
"Monsieur"; great patron of the arts; renovated the royal chateau at
Henry
II, PRINCE OF CONDÉ (1588-1646); cousin of the king; "Monsieur le
Prince"
Count
of Chavigny: see above
Jules
MAZARIN (Giulio Mazarini)
(1602-1661); in his early career sponsored by the powerful Colonna family, who
in turn served the King of Spain; served Pope Urban VIII in 1628, met and
impressed Richelieu, and drifted into friendship with France; papal nuncio
(emissary) to France, 1634; cardinal, 1641; prime minister, 1643.
Palais Royal: the former Palais
Cardinal; bequeathed by
Return of old enemies:
By
Louis XIII (after
Liberated
from the Bastille: Marshals Bassompierre and (to some
degree) Vitry (imprisoned in 1637 for having struck
the Archbishop of Bordeaux; released in 1641)
Returning
from England: César de Vendôme,
one of the illegitimate sons of Henry IV, and his two sons, Louis, DUKE OF
MERCOEUR (1612-1668), and François de Bourbon-Vendôme,
DUKE OF BEAUFORT (1616-1669) (called "le roi des
Halles" because of his ability to rally a crowd
in the market district during the Fronde)
By Anne
of Austria (after Louis XIII's death):
Duchess
of Chevreuse, in exile in
Châteauneuf, former Keeper of the Seals, imprisoned in Angoulême fortress
The "Cabale des Importants" (1643)
Châteauneuf
Duke of Beaufort
Duchess of Chevreuse
1644-1648:
campaigns in
THE
"FRONDE"
The
Parlementary Fronde (1648-1649)
lits de justice:
Masters of Requests
Omer Talon (1595-1652): Solicitor General of the
Parlement of Paris; one of the great jurists of his generation
paulette: see above
Other "sovereign courts" in
Chambre des Comptes: a court for
auditing royal payments and collections and royal finances generally; and other
chambres des comptes in the
province
Cour des Aides: a court for judging disputes over royal
taxes, including the taille; also provincial cours des aides
Grand Conseil: a hybrid "sovereign court"; halfway
between the parlements in the royal council; exercising such special
jurisdictions as the king confided it; existing only in
13 May 1648: "Decree of
20 June--
Twenty-Seven Articles
Pierre Broussel
(1576-1654): councilor in the Grand' Chambre of the
Parlement of Paris since 1633; one of the most popular magistrates in the
Parlement
Declaration of
5-6 January 1649: Palais
Royal
Treaty of Rueil: March
1649
The
"Fronde of the Princes" (1650-1653)
The "Old Fronde":
Duchess
of Chevreuse
Jean-Francois-Paul
de Gondi, CARDINAL DE RETZ (1613-1679); coadjutor
(i.e., assistant) of the Archbishop of Paris, 1643-1654; Archbishop of Paris,
1654-1662
The "New Fronde":
Gaston
of Orléans
Prince
of Condé, now "le grand Condé"
Armand
de Bourbon, PRINCE OF CONTI (1629-1666); brother of Condé
and prince of the blood
Anne-Geneviève de Bourbon-Condé,
DUCHESS OF LONGUEVILLE (1619-1679; sister of Condé and
princess of the blood; married to Henri d'Orléans,
duke of Longueville (1595-1663); most beautiful woman
in the world
February 1651: return of the princes
Marie de Montpensier,
"la Grande Mademoiselle"
21-22 October 1652
"Mazarinettes":
the nieces of Mazarin:
Laura
Mancini (1635-1656), married in 1651 to the duke of Mercoeur
(!). (She died in childbirth in 1656 and left two sons, one of whom, the duke
of Vendôme, would be one of Louis XIV's greatest
generals.)
Anne-Marie
Martinozzi, married in 1654 to the prince of Conti
(!).
Also:
Olympia
Mancini (1639-1708), married in 1657 to Eugène-Maurice
de Savoie-Carignan, (i.e., a member of the Italian
House of Savoy), created count of Soissons, a
political marriage; the lover (?) of Louis XIV in the 1660s; disgraced in the
1670s as suspect in the husband's death (by poisoning?); died in Brussels. She had three daughters and five sons, one of
whom was the celebrated Eugene of Savoy, one of the greatest generals of the
century--but for Habsburg
Hortense Mancini (1646-1699), married in 1661 to
Armand-Charles, duke of La Meilleraye, who later took
the name duke of Mazarin; second cousin of Richelieu, he inherited much of
Mazarin's personal fortune on condition that he marry Hortense
and take Mazarin's name (an humiliation). It was a terrible marriage for her,
and she eventually deserted her husband (who was both miserly and jealous to
the point of insanity) and traveled about
LOUIS
XIV: THE YOUNG KING
Perrette Dufour
Philippe of Orléans (1640-1701), brother of the
king; "Monsieur"
Governor: Marquis de Villeroy;
preceptor or tutor: Abbé Hardouin
de Péréfixe
Mazarin, godfather of Louis XIV
Madame de Beauvais
Marie Mancini (1640-1715), one of the younger
nieces of Mazarin
(Married
in 1661 to the Constable Colonna, who took her to
Maria-Theresa, Infanta
(1638-1683), daughter of Philip IV, King of Spain
Saint-Jean de Luz
Nicolas Fouquet (1615-1680): superintendent of
finances (1653-1661) and solicitor general of the Parlement of Paris
(1650-1661)
Corneille/La Fontaine/Molière
Vaux-le-Vicomte: princely châteaux of Fouquet, to the north of
Jean-Baptiste Colbert
(1619-1683), administrator (i.e., a commis) in
the office of the secretary of state for war (1645), intendant for the
household and private fortune of Mazarin from 1651, and intendant des
finances (for the king) in 1661.
Brittany/Nantes
Charles
de Batz, sieur D'ARTAGNAN
(1615-1673), captain of musketeers.
A
member of the lower nobility, born in
His Mémoires de M. d'Artagnan
were written by Gatien Courtilz
de Sandras (1644-1712), who specialized in apocrypha;
they are not to be trusted, though they are the basis of The Three
Musketeers by Alexander Dumas.
"Grand Carrousel" of 1662/Place de
Carrousel, between the Louvre and the Tuileries
Henrietta of England (1644-1670), both the cousin
and the sister-in-law of Louis XIV.
She was
the daughter of Henrietta-Maria of France, the sister of Louis XIII, and of
King Charles I of
Louise-Françoise de la Baume
le Blanc, DUCHESS OF LA VALLIÈRE (in 1667) (1644-1710).
Marie-Anne
de Bourbon, MADEMOISELLE DE BLOIS (1666-1739), married in 1680 to Louis-Armand
de Bourbon, prince of Conti
Louis
de Bourbon, COUNT OF VERMANDOIS (1667-1683); admiral of France; died young
"Festival of the Enchanted Island": May
1664, at Versailles
Françoise-Athénaïs de Rochechouart, MARQUISE OF MONTESPAN (1640-1707)
Louis-Auguste de Bourbon, DUKE OF MAINE (1670-1736); governor of
Languedoc; married in 1692 to Louise de Bourbon, daughter of Henri-Jules,
prince of Condé
Louise-Françoise
de Bourbon, MADEMOISELLE DE NANTES (1673-1743), married in 1685 to Louis III de
Bourbon (1688-1710), prince of Condé
Françoise-Marie,
MADEMOISELLE DE BLOIS (1677-1749), married in 1692 to Philippe d'Orléans, duke of Chartres, son
of Louis's brother Philippe and the future Regent (after Louis's death)
Louis-Alexandre de Bourbon, COUNT OF TOULOUSE (1678-1737);
admiral of France; married in 1723 to Marie-Victoire-Sophie
de Noailles, daughter of Anne-Jules, duke of Noailles.
1674: Carmelites/Sister Louise de la Misériocorde
LOUIS
XIV AND THE REFORMS OF COLBERT
Council of State in 1661:
Michel
Le Tellier (1603-1685), secretary of state for war; Hugues de Lionne (1611-1671), who
would in 1663 become secretary of state for foreign affairs; Jean-Baptiste Colbert, intendant of finances, replacing Nicolas
Fouquet.
Chancellor of France:
Pierre
Séguier (1588-1672): He had been Chancellor since 1635, appointed as one of
Richelieu's créatures; now with his health and
strength beginning to fail, his office began to lose some of its importance.
Conseil Royal des Finances, or "Conseil
Royal":
Created
1661; included a Chef du Conseil
Royal; and various conseillers au conseil royal; and Colbert as intendant des finances.
Conseil des Dépêches:
Presided
by the king; included ministers of state; and various councillors
and masters of requests.
Conseil privé, or Privy
Council:
Judicial
body, virtually a law court, for the resolution of an array of lawsuits, as
determined by the king; presided by the chancellor and staffed by state
councilors and masters of requests.
There were about 80 masters of requests, 30 state
councilors, and 30-odd intendants, all of whom worked in or through these
councils.
Jean-Baptiste Colbert
(1619-1683):
Intendant
of finances in 1661; superintendent of buildings in 1664; controller general of
finances in 1665; secretary of state for Paris and the royal household in 1669,
to which was added the navy and internal and external commerce. In general, his competence extended to all
aspects of policy and administration except war, army administration, and
foreign affairs. Towards the end of his career, he hoped to become chancellor!
Jean-Baptiste Colbert
de SAINT-POUANGE (1602-1663); a "cousin" or member of a collateral branch of the family
reform of taille
and royal finances
legal reform
Council
of Justice
Ordinance
of Civil Procedure of 1667: "Code Louis"
Ordinance
of Criminal Procedure, 1670
Ordinance
of Commerce, 1673
Ordinance
of Overseas Commerce, 1681
mercantilism
East
Indies Company and West Indies Company (1664); Company of the North (1669);
Company of the Levant (1670)
Josse van Robais; 1665, at
Abbeville
Gobelins
Nicolas de La Reynie
(1625-1709):
Master
of requests (1661), associated with the reform of justice (1665), appointed as
the first Lieutenant General of Police, for the city of Paris (1667); served
until 1697; enormously respected
Paris
Louvre, boulevards, etc.
Hôtel des Invalides, founded (by
edict of 1674) in Faubourg Saint-Germain;
built under the supervision of Louvois, 1671-1674.
The famous church attached to the institution was designed by Jules-Hardouin-Mansart, the future architect of Versailles. Not completed until 1706.
Parlements
Edict
of 1665 for reform of venality
Ordinance
of 1667: Title I
Edict
of February 1673 with regard to remonstrances
Provincial Estates
Brittany,
Burgundy, Provence
THE
DUTCH WAR
Spain
Philip
IV (1621-1665)
Charles
II (1665-1700)
Treaty
of the Pyrenees (1659)
Holy Roman Empire
Leopold
I (1658-1705)
Sweden: Charles XI (1660-1697)
Brandenburg-Prussia: Elector Frederick William
(the Great Elector) (1640-1688)
Papacy: Alexander VII (1655-1667)
England: Charles II (1660-1685)
Precedence
Spain
Republic
of Genoa
Pope
Alexander VII
England
War of Devolution (1667-1668)
Marguerite-Theresa,
daughter of Philip IV, fiancée of the Emperor
Leopold, and sister of Queen Maria-Theresa of France
Spanish
Netherlands (May 1667)
John De
Witt, stadtholder of the United Provinces
Triple
Alliance
Treaty
of Aix-la-Chapelle: Flanders (Douai, Tournai, and especially
Lille)
Hugues de Lionne (1611-1671):
diplomatic career, secretary of state for foreign affairs, negotiated the
Treaty of the Pyrenees (1659)
Treaty of Dover (1670)
Dutch War (1672-1679)
6 April
1672
François-Michel
Le Tellier, marquis of LOUVOIS (1641-1691), son of Le
Tellier and his eventual successor as minister and
secretary of state for war (they exercised this office more or less jointly
from 1662, with the son gradually taking over the greater part of it), plus
many other functions
William
III of Orange (1650-1702): appointed
captain general of the United Provinces and stadtholder
of Holland and Zeeland
Grand
Alliance of the Hague (1673-1674): United-Provinces, Spain, Emperor, Duke of
Lorraine, Elector of Brandenburg, etc.
29 June
1673: siege and capture of Maastricht
1675:
Alsace and death of Henri de la Tour d'Auvergne,
viscount of TURENNE, marshal of France (1611-1675), after a brilliant campaign
Simon Arnauld, marquis of POMPONNE (1618-1699): diplomatic and
administrative service of the king; ambassador to Sweden (1665), the United
Provinces (1669) and again to Sweden (1671), and secretary of state for foreign
affairs (1672), upon the death of de Lionne; served
until 1679.
1678:
Ghent
1678-1679:
Treaty of Nimwegen and others
Commerical treaty with United Provinces
Recovery
by Sweden of territories lost to Breandenburg-Prussia
Cession
by Spain to France of various towns and cities in French Flanders and, above
all, the province of Franche-Comté
1679: Pomponne disgraced and replaced as minister of state and as
secretary of state for foreign affairs by Charles Colbert, marquis of CROISSY
(1625-1696), younger brother of Jean-Baptiste
Colbert.
1679:
"Louis le Grand"
La Rochefoucauld: "Il faut de
plus grandes vertus pour soutenir la bonne fortune que la mauvaise."
ARMY
AND NAVY REFORM
Secretaries of state for war:
Michel
LE TELLIER: 1643 to 1677
François-Michel
Le Tellier, marquis of LOUVOIS: jointly with his
father from 1662 and by himself after 1677
Louis-François
Marie Le Tellier de BARBEZIEUX: 1691-1701; son of the
above
Michel
CHAMILLART: 1701-1709
Daniel-François
VOYSIN: 1709-1715
Inspector General: Lieutenant Colonel Martinet
Chain of command: maréchal-de-camp
to ensign
uniforms
musket: match-lock musket/flint-lock musket
pikes and pikemen/socket
bayonet
bastions
main wall: revetment or rampart/curtain wall
ditch or moat
counterscarp or covered way
bastions/ravelins/hornworks
Sebastien Le Prestre de VAUBAN
(1663-1707):
military
engineer, the best in the century, perhaps the best of all time; general
commissioner for fortifications, author, scholar, marshal of France (1703)
pré carré and "fortress system" along the
frontiers with Spain, Savoy, the Empire, the Netherlands, and the entire
coastline
Lille/Dunkirk/Strasbourg/Luxemburg/Neuf-Brisach
Secretaries of state for naval affairs:
Jean-Baptiste Colbert: 1669-1683
Jean-Baptiste Colbert, marquis of SEIGNELAY: 1683-1690, son of
the above
Louis Phelypeaux, count of PONTCHARTRAIN: 1690-1699
Jérome Phelypeaux, count of
PONTCHARTRAIN: 1699-1715; son of the above
ship-of-the-line
Sovereign of the Seas: 1637
Royal Louis: 1696: 110 cannon; 1,000 men: the largest ship in the royal navy
7 great naval bases: Dunkirk, Le Havre, Brest, Lorient, Rochefort, Marseilles
and Toulon
VERSAILLES
1623: a hunting lodge constructed by Louis XIII
1633: rebuilt and renovated, modest but
impressive: "petit château de cartes"
The builders:
Louis
Le Vau (1612-1670), architect; known for his well
designed town houses in Paris; premier architecte du roi, 1654; designed Vaux-le-Vicomte for Fouquet and was architect for the Collège de Quatre Nations (across
the river from the Louvre); redesigned Versailles in
the 1660s, and there was extensive work there until 1673-74.
Jules Hardouin-Mansart (1646-1708), architect and builder,
especially in Paris; in the royal service since 1673; known especially for
designing the church at the Hôtel des Invalides, which was finished in 1706. His dome of the Invalides
is said to be the masterpiece of French classical architecture by reason of its
height and dignity. At Versailles he created the Hall of Mirrors; the great
South (1678-1682) and North (1685-1689) wings; the stables before the palace,
with their concave facades (1679-1682); the Orangerie;
also Marly and Trianon
Charles
Le Brun (1619-1690), painter and interior decorator;
see especially his ceiling decorations, marble panels.
André
Le Nôtre (1613-1700), landscape architect; controller
general of the gardens of the king
Main gate
Cour des ministres
Cour royale
Cour de marbre
Interior:
Ambassadors'
Staircase or Great Staircase
State
apartments:
Venus
Diana
Mars
Mercury
Apollo
Salon
de la guerre
Grande Galerie, or Hall of Mirrors: 17 windows and 17 mirrors
Manière de montrer les jardins de Versailles (1689)
THE
MIDDLE AGED KING
Transitions in the royal family
Death
of Anne of Austria in 1666
Death
of Henrietta of England ("Madame") in 1670
Madame
Palatine: Elisabeth-Charlotte of Bavaria (1652-1722); married in 1671 to
Philippe of Orléans, hence duchess of Orléans; the new "Madame"; Liselotte; author of 90,000 letters about the court,
many of which have yet to be translated or published in a reliable format.
Philippe
II d'Orléans (1674-1723), duke of Chartres,
then duke of Orléans (1701); regent of France, 1715-1723; married in 1692 to
Françoise-Marie de Bourbon, Mademoiselle de Blois
(1677-1749), daughter of Louis XIV and Madame de Montespan.
Louis
de France, the Dauphin (1661-1711), "Monseigneur."
Preceptor: Jacques-Bénige Bossuet
(1627-1704), Bishop of Meaux. Married in 1680 to Marie-Anne-Christine-Victoire of Wittelsbach, sister
of Maximilien-Emmanuel, elector of Bavaria.
Louis,
duke of BURGUNDY (1682-1712)
Philippe,
duke of ANJOU (1683-1746)
Charles,
duke of BERRY (1686-1714)
Death
of Maria-Theresa on 31 July 1683
Françoise
d'Aubigné, Madame SCARRON, marquise of MAINTENON,
"Madame de Maintenon" (1635-1719). Born in a prison (at Niort,
near La Rochelle), she became the second wife of Louis XIV: a secret,
morganatic marriage, which probably occurred on 9 October 1683.
18
November 1686: the "grande opération";
at Fontainebleau, in the presence of Madame de Maintenon
and the marquis of Louvois
Charles-François
Félix (1653-1703); surgeon; first surgeon of the king
from the beginning of the reign
Guy-Crescent
Fagon (1638-1718); doctor; first physician of the
Queen (1668) and of the King (1693)
CATHOLICS AND
PROTESTANTS
Catholic Reformation
Council
of Trent (1545-1564)
Society
of Jesus (Jesuits): 1532/1540
stabilization
in Italy and Spain, recovery of Austria and southern Germany, preservation of
Catholicism in France
Bishops
113
dioceses in France, each ruled and administered by a bishop
Concordat
of Bologna (1516): Francis I
Parish priests
missal:
book containing all that is said or sung during a Mass
cassock:
ankle-length outer garment worn by a priest or a monk
tonsure:
the shaved area of the head, especially the crown, of a priest
Seminaries, 1640-1698
Jacques-Bénige Bossuet (1627-1704), Bishop of Meaux
Discourse
on Universal History (1679)
History
of the Variations of the Protestant Chruch (1688)
Edict of Nantes (1598)
dragonnades: Béarn, the Midi, Aunis and Saintonge, Poitou, Dauphiné
Nicolas
de LAMOIGNON de Baville (1648-1724); intendant at
Montpellier (Languedoc), 1685-1718; thus 33 (!) years of service
Edict of Fontainebleau (18 October 1685)
Jansenism:
Cornelius
Jansen (1585-1638), Bishop of Ypres; Augustinus (1640)
Jacqueline
Arnauld (1591-1661), Mère Angélique, Abbess of Port-Royal
Jeam-Ambroise Duvergier de Hauranne (1581-1643), Abbot of Saint-Cyran
Antoine
Arnauld (1612-1694), "le grand Arnauld"
Blaise Pascal (1623-1662)
Provincial
Letters (1656-1657)
WAR
OF THE LEAGUE OF AUGSBURG
Treaty of Nimwegen
(1678-79)
policy of "reunions"" 1680s;
referred to Alsace and Lorraine and Treaty
of Westphalia (1648)
"sovereign
council" of Breisach: all of Alsace, especially
Strasbourg (1681)
Parlement
of Metz: much of Lorraine and Luxembourg
Parlement
of Besançon: territory of Montbéliard (80 villages)
Holy Roman Emperor (Leopold I)
1683:
siege of Vienna
1684:
Treaty of Ratisbon
1684:
recovery of Hungary and Buda (-Pest)
1687:
Battle of Mohacs
League of Augsburg (1686)
Emperor,
Sweden, Bavaria, Spain; reinforced by Elector of Palatinate and Duke of
Holstein Gottorp; to which were later added
Victor-Amadeus of Savoy. All these
states were also linked by additional treaties with England, United Provinces,
and the Elector of Brandenburg-Prussia.
"client states" of France: Bishopric of
Cologne and Palatinate
1688: occupation of Cologne and Palatinate,
especially Heidelberg, Worms, Speyer, and Mannheim.
England:
James
II (1685-1688), replaced by William, Prince of Orange and stadtholder
of the United Provinces; reign of William and Mary (1689-1702)
Grand Alliance of the Hague (1689-90):
United Provinces, Holy Roman Empire, Spain,
and England, to which were soon added Sweden, Bavaria, Brandenburg-Prussia, and
Savoy.
French marshals in the war:
François-Henry
de Montmorency-Bouteville, duke of Piney (1628-1695),
Marshal LUXEMBOURG. (His father was the
count of Bouteville, executed for dueling in 1627;
and his cousin was the duke of Montmorency, executed for rebellion in 1632.)
Taken as an orphan into the Condé household, he
learned warfare from, and fought with, the "great Condé."
Received the duchy of Luxembourg by marriage in 1661, and took that name. Regained royal favor in the Ducth War and appointed marshal of France in 1675.
Victorious at Fleurus (1690), Steinkerque
(1692), and Neerwinden (1693); the "tapissier de Notre Dame," by reason of the enemy flags
and standards which he seized.
Guy II
de Durfort, COUNT OF LORGE and duke of Quintin (1630-1702); marshal of France (1676); nephew of Turenne; commanded the French army in Germany, especially
in the Palatinate.
Nicolas
de CATINAT (1637-1712). Distinguished himself as a young officer in the War of
Devolution and the Dutch War, but rose to near greatness in the campaign in
Savoy of the War of the League of Augsburg, 1690-1692. Promoted to marshal of France in 1693.
Louis-François,
DUKE OF BOUFFLERS (1644-1711).
Distinguished career in the Dutch War, and fought with great bravery in
the Augsburg war, both in Germany and in Flanders. Played an important role at Namur and Steinkerque. Marshal of
France, 1693.
Seignelay and Anne-Hilarion de Cotentin, COUNT OF TOURVILLE (1642- 1701), vice admiral and marshal of France.
1692:
30
June: fortress of Namur (junction of Meuse and Sambre)
3 August: Battle of Steinkerque:
Luxembourg against William III
29-30
May: Battle of La Hogue, coast of Normandy (sinking of the Soleil
Royal, his flagship)
1693:
29
July: Battle of Neerwinden
Victories
of Catinat in Savoy
Treaty of Ryswick
(1696-97):
Arnauld de POMPONNE: returned to Council as minister of
state, upon death of Louvois in 1691 and served until
his death in 1699; directing foreign affairs with Charles Colbert of Croissy (see above), who continued as secretary of state
for foreign affairs (and minister of state) until his death in 1696
Savoy:
recovery of Casale and Pinerolo;
marriage of Marie-Adélaïde, daughter of the duke of
Savoy, to the duke of Burgundy, the oldest grandson of the king
surrender
of most of the "reunions" except Strasbourg
evacuation
of Cologne, Palatinate, and Spanish Netherlands
recognition
of William III as King of England
LOUIS
XIV AS AN OLD MAN
Madame de Maintenon and
Saint-Cyr (the Maison royale
de Saint-Louis at Saint-Cyr)
Louis de France, DUKE OF BURGUNDY (1682-1712);
oldest son of Monseigneur, the "grand
Dauphin," he became the Dauphin after the death of his father in 1711.
Preceptor: François de Salignac de la Mothe-FÉNELON (1651-1715), a liberal priest; author of Telemachus (1699); disgraced in 1699.
Married
in 1697 to Marie-Adélaïde of Savoy (1685-1712), then
11 years of age, who thus became the DUCHESS OF BURGUNDY.
Louis
de France, duke of BRITTANY (1707-1712)
Louis
de France, duke of ANJOU (1710-1774); dauphin in 1712 and King of France in
1715 as Louis XV
intendants/subdelegates
capitation (1695-1698; 1702-1715)
ORIGINS
OF THE WAR OF THE SPANISH SUCCESSION
Charles II of Spain (1665-1700)
Louis
XIV (1661-1715) and Leopold I (1658-1705)
Partition treaties (France, England, and the
United Provinces)
1698:
Prince Joseph Ferdinand of Bavaria, with Milan to Austria and Naples-Sicily to
France
1699:
Archduke Charles of Austria, with Naples-Sicily and Milan to France--to be changed
later for Lorraine
1700:
2 October: testament: to Philip, duke of Anjou
31
October: death of Charles II
9 and 10 November: sessions of the High
Council
16
November: "Vous le pouvez
saluer comme votre roi."
"Quelle
joi! Il n'y a plus de Pyrénées."
1701:
February:
barrier fortresses in Spanish Netherlands
commercial
policies of France and Spain
7
September: Grand Alliance of the Hague (England, United Provinces, and the
Emperor)
16
September: death of James II of England, recognition by France of the Prince of
Wales as James III
1702:
19
March: death of William III of England
15 May:
England, United Provinces, and the Emperor declare war on France and Spain
THE
WAR OF THE SPANISH SUCCESSION
France/Spain/Portugal/Elector of Bavaria/Duke of
Savoy/Elector of Cologne
England/United Provinces/Elector of Brandenburg
(to be King of Prussia)/Elector of the Palatinate/Denmark
John Churchill, DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH
(1650-1722).
As a
young and impecunious gentleman ambitious to rise in the army, he enjoyed the
patronage of the Duke of York, who became James II, but turned against James
and supported William in 1688. Both
James and William advanced his military career; and in 1701 he became captain
general of the British and Dutch armies.
François-Eugène de Savoie, PRINCE OF SAVOY (1663-1736).
Son of
Olympia Mancini and Eugène-Maurice de Savoie-Carignan, count of Soissons
(see above). Advanced rapidly in the
military service of the Emperor Leopold and distinguished himself against the
Turks before Vienna and in the subsequent campaigns in Hungary. Commanded in
Italy, Germany, and Flanders in this war, often fighting battles jointly with
Marlborough.
1704:
13
August: Battle of Blenheim
Camille
d'Hostun, marquis de la Baume,
COUNT OF TALLARD (1652-1728); marshal of France (1703) and duke of d'Hostun (1712), diplomat, and minister of state under
Louis XV. Captured at Blenheim, he spent
seven years in captivity in England.
1706:
Offensive
of duke of Vendôme in Savoy and against Turin
Louis-Joseph
de Bourbon, DUKE OF VENDOME (1654-1712); great-grandson of Henry IV, grandson
of the duke of Vendôme, son of the duke of Mercoeur and Laura Mancini. He rose in the armies of the
king and finished his career triumphantly in Spain.
Offensive
of Marshal Villars in central Germany, across the
Rhine
Louis-Hector,
MARQUIS OF VILLARS, later duke of Villars
(1653-1734); marshal of France (1702) in part because of his personal bravery
in battle. Commanded at Malplaquet (1709) and at Denain
(1711) and became the savior of France.
Purchased Vaux-le-Vicomte in 1701. In 1733-34
he commanded a French army in Italy at the age of 81 (!), and was victorious.
Offensive
of Marshal Villeroy in Flanders (Spanish Netherlands)
François
de Neufville, DUKE OF VILLEROY (1644-1730); a
personal friend of Louis XIV, he rose by his military talents, which turned out
to be limited, as well as his talents as a courtier; marshal of France (1693),
he fought in most of the famous battles in all the wars of the reign. Badly defeated at Ramillies,
he nevertheless became minister of state in 1714, chief of the Royal Council of
Finances, and governor of the young Louis XV.
23 May:
Battle
of Ramillies (near Namur
fortress, at junction of the Meuse and Sambre rivers)
Maison du Roi
(Household Regiment)
occupation
by Marlborough of much of the Spanish Netherlands (Antwerp, Brussels, etc.)
1708:
April-May:
Duke
of Vendôme and Duke of Burgundy maneuver against
Marlborough in Spanish Netherlands; he is joined by Prince Eugene
11
July:
Battle
of Oudenarde, on the Scheldt
River
9
December:
Fall
of the Lille citadel
1709:
5 September: fall of fortress of Tournai to Marlborough and Prince Eugene; advance to Mons
11
September: Battle of Malplaquet
1711:
death
of Emperor Joseph I (1705-1711), succeeded by his brother Charles VI
(1711-1740) ("Charles III" of Spain)
1712:
24
July: Battle of Denain (Villars
versus Prince Eugene)
1713-1714:
Treaties
of Utrecht and Rastadt
Death
and the Royal Family
1711:
14
April: Monseigneur (the "grand Dauphin")
1712:
12
February: Duchess of Burgundy
18
February: Duke of Burgundy (Dauphin for 10 months)
8 March: Duke of Brittany (Dauphin for 19
days); bare survival of Duke of Anjou, born 15 February 1710, the new Dauphin
1714:
4 May: Duke of Berry
1715:
1 September: Louis XIV
Louis XV, the former duke of Anjou, was then 5
1/2 years old
Man
in the Iron Mask
Count Matthioli Eustache Dauger