Start Date
4-26-2023 12:30 PM
Disciplines
History
Subjects
Versailles, Louis XIV, Courtiers, Le Duc de Saint Simon, Court Customs, Absolute Power, France, Seventeenth Century, Le Frond, Noble class
Abstract
“A nobleman, if he lives in his providence, lives free but without substance; if he lives at Court, he is taken care of, but enslaved.” A quote by a contemporary of Louis XIV, King of France and resident of Le Château de Versailles, Jean de La Bruyère reveals the more intricate reality of the Court in seventeenth century France. Versailles was not merely a royal spectacle, nor another French palace, it was a highly politicized project undertaken by Louis XIV with the express intent to devastate the noble class. This paper explores the means by which Louis weaponized Versailles and the fates of nobles who found themselves trapped behind gilded walls. Those who withered away in the spectacle that was Versailles are categorized in this paper as the desperate, the destitute, and the debauched. Each had their own reasons for staying at Versailles and found themselves victim to different entrapments. This paper seeks to unravel the original intent of Versailles through the noble class who was so affected.
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Persistent Identifier
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/39822
Included in
The Court of Versailles Under Lou’s XIV: Home to the Desperate, the Destitute, and the Debauched
“A nobleman, if he lives in his providence, lives free but without substance; if he lives at Court, he is taken care of, but enslaved.” A quote by a contemporary of Louis XIV, King of France and resident of Le Château de Versailles, Jean de La Bruyère reveals the more intricate reality of the Court in seventeenth century France. Versailles was not merely a royal spectacle, nor another French palace, it was a highly politicized project undertaken by Louis XIV with the express intent to devastate the noble class. This paper explores the means by which Louis weaponized Versailles and the fates of nobles who found themselves trapped behind gilded walls. Those who withered away in the spectacle that was Versailles are categorized in this paper as the desperate, the destitute, and the debauched. Each had their own reasons for staying at Versailles and found themselves victim to different entrapments. This paper seeks to unravel the original intent of Versailles through the noble class who was so affected.