[30] Mazarin and Lionne, however, made the renunciation conditional on the full payment of a Spanish dowry of 500,000 écus. [67] Emperor Leopold I's persistent refusal to convert the Truce of Ratisbon into a permanent treaty fed Louis's fears that the Emperor would turn on France and attack the Reunions after settling his affairs in the Balkans. [… [15], The Frondeurs, political heirs of the disaffected feudal aristocracy, sought to protect their traditional feudal privileges from the increasingly centralized royal government. That became the first of many copies, both in full and half-length formats, to be made by Rigaud, often with the help of his assistants. A view of the equestrian statue of King Louis XIV in front of the chateau de Versailles on October 30, 2015 in Versailles, France. Domestically, he successfully increased the influence of the crown and its authority over the church and aristocracy, thus consolidating absolute monarchy in France. [118], Alternatively, Louis' critics attribute the social upheaval culminating in the French Revolution to his failure to reform French institutions while the monarchy was still secure. Therefore, in 1700, Louis and William III concluded a fresh partitioning agreement, the Treaty of London. Eventually, therefore, Louis decided to accept Charles II's will. Impelled "by a mix of commerce, revenge, and pique," Louis sensed that war was the ideal way to enhance his glory. However, their renunciation of succession rights complicated matters. Louis was confronted with a difficult choice. Le Roi Soleil. Cities and territories, such as Luxembourg and Casale, were prized for their strategic positions on the frontier and access to important waterways. [104] At other times, he would adopt mundane roles before appearing at the end in the lead role. [21] However, Louis' coming-of-age and subsequent coronation deprived them of the Frondeurs' pretext for revolt. In July 1695, the city of Namur, occupied for three years by the French, was besieged by an allied army led by William III. He had many ailments: for example, symptoms of diabetes, as confirmed in reports of suppurating periostitis in 1678, dental abscesses in 1696, along with recurring boils, fainting spells, gout, dizziness, hot flushes, and headaches. The French monarchy reached its height during the reign of the Louis XIV (r. 1643, officially from 1661 to his death in 1715). An exhibition on the death and funeral of the Sun King, 300 years after his death. The Death of Louis XIV (French: La Mort de Louis XIV) is a 2016 historical drama film directed by Albert Serra and starring Jean-Pierre Léaud.Set in 1715, it depicts the final days of Louis XIV of France.The film had its world premiere at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival … 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. [64] With the advent of the French Revolution in 1789, Protestants were granted equal rights with their Roman Catholic counterparts. In peacetime he concentrated on preparing for the next war. Before this happened, Louis expected William's expedition to England to absorb his energies and those of his allies, so he dispatched troops to the Rhineland after the expiry of his ultimatum to the German princes requiring confirmation of the Truce of Ratisbon and acceptance of his demands about the succession crises. On 8 May the disease reached … By 1678, mutual exhaustion led to the Treaty of Nijmegen, which was generally settled in France's favour and allowed Louis to intervene in the Scanian War. For the French musical about him, see, King of France and Navarre, from 1643 to 1715. Their stated intention was to return France to at least the borders agreed to in the Treaty of Nijmegen. Just as the first Fronde (the Fronde parlementaire of 1648–1649) ended, a second one (the Fronde des princes of 1650–1653) began. It arose from two events in the Rhineland. Upon returning from a hunting expedition, King Louis XIV feels a sharp pain in his leg. [108], Besides the official depiction and image of Louis, his subjects also followed a non-official discourse consisting mainly of clandestine publications, popular songs, and rumors that provided an alternative interpretation of Louis and his government. The French claim derived from Louis XIV's mother Anne of Austria (the older sister of Philip IV of Spain) and his wife Maria Theresa (Philip IV's eldest daughter). After going for a walk, Louis XIV feels a pain in his leg. [77] Indeed, in the event of war, it might be preferable to be already in control of the disputed lands. I request and order you to seal no orders except by my command . He integrated ballet deeply in court social functions and fixated his nobles' attention on upholding standards in ballet dancing, effectively distracting them from political activities. Its terms ensured Dutch independence from Spain, awarded some autonomy to the various German princes of the Holy Roman Empire, and granted Sweden seats on the Imperial Diet and territories to control the mouths of the Oder, Elbe, and Weser rivers. [116], Some historians point out that it was a customary demonstration of piety in those days to exaggerate one's sins. He allowed Classical French literature to flourish by protecting such writers as Molière, Racine, and La Fontaine, whose works remain influential to this day. The Edict of Fontainebleau revoked the Edict of Nantes and repealed all the privileges that arose therefrom. Philip, Duke of Anjou, thus became Philip V, King of Spain. All that remained of his immediate family was Louis's sister-in-law, Elizabeth Charlotte. The wound took more than two months to heal. In peacetime he concentrated on preparing for the next war. Louis XIV King of France and Navarre In Power May 14, 1643 – Sept. 1, 1715 Born Sept. 5, 1638 Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France Died Sept. 1, 1715 (at age 76) Palace of Versailles, Versailles, France Nationality French Religion Catholicism Louis XIV rose to power when he was only five years old. [106] In 1661, Royal of the Academy was founded by Louis to further his ambition. In 1938 exhibitions and cultural events were organised in France for the 300th anniversary of Louis XIV’s birth. He begins to die, surrounded by loyal followers in the royal chambers. It remained there undisturbed for about 80 years until revolutionaries exhumed and destroyed all the remains to be found in the Basilica. A Regency Council had been created by the king to counteract the power of Philippe II of Orléans, Louis XIV’s nephew, who would be Regent until the future Louis XV came of age. [1][a] Louis XIV's France was emblematic of the age of absolutism in Europe. Leading contemporaries thus regarded him as a divine gift and his birth a miracle of God. Format: DVD. To this very day, no document has been discovered that proves the whole thing, yet it is accepted to have happened by historians all over word. Anne interfered much more in internal policy than foreign affairs; she was a very proud queen who insisted on the divine rights of the King of France. Parliament declared the throne vacant, and offered it to James's daughter Mary II and his son-in-law and nephew William. Louis then sent another embassy in 1687, under Simon de la Loubère, and French influence grew at the Siamese court, which granted Mergui as a naval base to France. Shopping. The revenues of the royal domain were raised from 80,000 livres in 1661 to 5.5 million livres in 1671. The Allies suffered a Pyrrhic victory at the Battle of Malplaquet with 21,000 casualties, twice that of the French. Another tool Louis used to control his nobility was censorship, which often involved the opening of letters to discern their author's opinion of the government and king. Through these liaisons, he produced numerous illegitimate children, most of whom he married to members of cadet branches of the royal family. After reigning for 72 years, Louis XIV was diagnosed with gangrene and the Sun King died at the Palace of Versailles on 1 September 1715. He began ruling after the death of Cardinal Mazarin, his chief minister. He brought the Académie Française under his patronage and became its "Protector". With the exception of the current Royal Chapel (built near the end of his reign), the palace achieved much of its current appearance after the third building campaign, which was followed by an official move of the royal court to Versailles on 6 May 1682. By 1 May, though, his condition seemed stable. [19] The royal family was driven out of Paris twice in this manner, and at one point Louis XIV and Anne were held under virtual arrest in the royal palace in Paris. This long-lasting and loving relationship can be evidenced by excerpts in Louis' journal entries, such as: "Nature was responsible for the first knots which tied me to my mother. 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). This approaches the career of a professional ballet dancer.[104]. Under pressure from his German wife, Maria Anna of Neuburg, Charles II named the Archduke Charles as his sole heir. . [4] An adherent of the concept of the divine right of kings, Louis continued his predecessors' work of creating a centralised state governed from the capital. As the Thirty Years' War came to an end, a civil war known as the Fronde (after the slings used to smash windows) erupted in France. The principle of cuius regio, eius religio generally had also meant that subjects who refused to convert could emigrate, but Louis banned emigration and effectively insisted that all Protestants must be converted. He also disallowed Protestant-Catholic intermarriages to which third parties objected, encouraged missions to the Protestants, and rewarded converts to Catholicism. Complaining of pain in his leg, the King of France continued … Conseil d'en haut ("High Council", concerning the most important matters of state)—composed of the king, the crown prince, the controller-general of finances, and the secretaries of state in charge of various departments. This allocated Spain, the Low Countries, and the Spanish colonies to the Archduke. However, the burial of Louis XIII, the father of Louis XIV, broke with ancient traditions. 1 hr 55 mins. Debatable or disputed rulers are in italics. [35] Although Brandenburg was forced out of the war by the June 1673 Treaty of Vossem, in August an anti-French alliance was formed by the Dutch, Spain, Emperor Leopold and the Duke of Lorraine. Louis maintained the strength of his army, but in his next series of territorial claims avoided using military force alone. For example, he patronised the arts, encouraged industry, fostered trade and commerce, and sponsored the founding of an overseas empire. He also enforced uniformity of religion under the Gallican Catholic Church. He may have been seeking to placate Pope Innocent XI, with whom relations were tense and whose aid was necessary to determine the outcome of a succession crisis in the Electorate of Cologne. [65] Then, in 1688, Maximilian Henry of Bavaria, Archbishop of Cologne, an ally of France, died. [76] The signatories, however, omitted to consult the ruler of these lands, and Charles II was passionately opposed to the dismemberment of his empire. After 72 years on the throne, Louis died of gangrene at Versailles on 1 September 1715, four days before his 77th birthday. In 1679, he dismissed his foreign minister Simon Arnauld, marquis de Pomponne, because he was seen as having compromised too much with the allies. The Dauphin would receive all of Spain's Italian territories. The well-known "I am the state" ("L'état, c'est moi.") By the winter of 1708–09, he was willing to accept peace at nearly any cost. Tap to unmute. Only poverty-stricken Russia exceeded it in population, and no one could match its wealth, central location, and very strong professional army. 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 … The great Sun King had lost his wife Marie-Thérèse d’Autriche to a sudden illness in 1683. Although the king could not make ecclesiastical law, all papal regulations without royal assent were invalid in France. The Death of Louis XIV . 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. [78] If Anjou refused, the throne would be offered to his younger brother Charles, Duke of Berry. Unfortunately for Anne, her partial victory depended on Condé, who wanted to control the queen and destroy Mazarin's influence. August 1715. [19] "The family home became at times a near-prison when Paris had to be abandoned, not in carefree outings to other chateaux but in humiliating flights". Pre-revolutionary France was a patchwork of legal systems, with as many legal customs as there were provinces, and two co-existing legal traditions—customary law in the north and Roman civil law in the south. The Fronde thus gradually lost steam and ended in 1653, when Mazarin returned triumphantly from exile. Held the office of. [68], Another event Louis found threatening was England's Glorious Revolution of 1688. They often focused on the miseries arising from poor government, but also carried the hope for a better future when Louis escaped the malignant influence of his ministers and mistresses, and took the government into his own hands. "[8], It was his mother who gave Louis his belief in the absolute and divine power of his monarchical rule.[9]. Louis, however, struck more than 300 to celebrate the story of the king in bronze, that were enshrined in thousands of households throughout France. The movie was co-written and directed by Albert Serra. 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. In their place, he raised commoners or the more recently ennobled bureaucratic aristocracy (the "nobility of the robe"). [75] In any case, peace in 1697 was desirable to Louis, since France was exhausted from the costs of the war. Unsurprisingly, the pope repudiated the Declaration.[4]. In 1648, Anne and Mazarin successfully negotiated the Peace of Westphalia, which ended the Thirty Years' War. This idealisation of the monarch continued in later works, which avoided depictions of the effect of the smallpox that Louis contracted in 1647. )", "La Mise en Spectacle De La Religion Royale: Recherches sur la Devotion de Louis XIV", "Force, Order, and Diplomacy in the Age of Louis XIV", "La Gloire du Roi: Iconographie de Louis XIV de 1661 a 1672", Henriette Marie, Queen of England, Ireland and Scotland, Anne Marie Louise, Duchess of Montpensier, Marguerite Louise, Grand Duchess of Tuscany, Élisabeth Marguerite, Duchess of Alençon and Angoulême, Françoise d'Aubigné, Marchioness of Maintenon, Maria Carolina Sophia Felicity Leszczyńska, Provisional Government of the French Republic, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Louis_XIV&oldid=1000149468, French military personnel of the Nine Years' War, People of the Regency of Philippe d'Orléans, Wikipedia articles needing page number citations from October 2020, Wikipedia articles needing page number citations from July 2017, Articles lacking reliable references from May 2020, Articles with Encyclopædia Britannica links, Articles lacking reliable references from May 2019, Short description is different from Wikidata, Wikipedia pages semi-protected against vandalism, Articles needing additional references from August 2017, All articles needing additional references, Articles with unsourced statements from May 2018, Articles with unsourced statements from July 2016, Pages using Sister project links with hidden wikidata, Articles with French-language sources (fr), Wikipedia articles with BIBSYS identifiers, Wikipedia articles with CANTIC identifiers, Wikipedia articles with CINII identifiers, Wikipedia articles with MusicBrainz identifiers, Wikipedia articles with PLWABN identifiers, Wikipedia articles with RKDartists identifiers, Wikipedia articles with SELIBR identifiers, Wikipedia articles with SNAC-ID identifiers, Wikipedia articles with SUDOC identifiers, Wikipedia articles with Trove identifiers, Wikipedia articles with WORLDCATID identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Legitimised on 20 February 1669.