Research Catalog

Title

Louis XIV / Geoffrey Treasure.

Author

Treasure, G. R. R. (Geoffrey Russell Richards)

Publication

Harlow : Longman, 2001.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Description

xi, 375 p.; 24 cm.

Summary

"Louis XIV changed the course of French history. His kingship was a sustained tour de force and his reign among the most important in the history of Europe. Though less powerful in practice than in absolutist theory and propaganda, the reign of Louis XIV still represents the apogee of French royal power in the ancient regime." "The age of Louis XIV was a period of French dominance, advances in government, great influence abroad and rich cultural achievement. Majestic in conception, bold in ambition and splendid in image and ceremony, the monarchy of Louis XIV set standards and posed questions which have challenged us ever since." "Louis XIV has consistenly provoked both adulation and hostility to the present day. Geoffrey Treasure expertly manages a balance between these poles by setting Louis in the style and thinking of the period. He evaluates the propaganda and manages to unravel and detach the real Louis from the images and representations."--Jacket.

Subject

• Louis XIV, King of France, 1638-1715
• 1600-1715
• France > Kings and rulers > Biography
• France > History > Louis XIV, 1643-1715
• France > Civilization > 17th century
• France > Relations > Europe
• Europe > Relations > France

Genre/Form

• History
• Biographies

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (p. 348-358) and index.

Processing Action (note)

• committed to retain

Contents

[ch]. 1. t Preparing for power -- The god-given -- The Fronde -- Mazarin : minister, guardian and tutor -- The anointed king -- The ecclesiastical Fronde -- A constitutional balance -- A ruler's duty -- [ch]. 2. Louis XIV's subjects -- The poor have no reserves -- Peasant farming -- The feudal régime -- Nobility -- Bourgeois France -- [ch]. 3. Personal rule -- The case of Fouquet -- Absolutism -- The French royal tradition : inspiration and restraint -- Parlement and Gallicanism -- 'A delightful business' -- Councils and ministers -- The intendants -- [ch]. 4. Wealth and power : Colbert -- The perfect royal servant -- The state's finances -- manufactures -- Trade and sea power -- [ch]. 5. The power of the army -- A defective instrument -- Control, discipline and recruitment -- Weaponry, fortresses and supply -- [ch]. 6. Power abroad -- The world of diplomacy -- The great treaties -- Trials of strength -- 'Desire to attack the Dutch' -- The Dutch war -- 'I fully rejoice in my clever conduct' -- [ch]. 7. Versailles : the display of power -- 'Great buildings, their magnificence' -- The problem of Paris -- A new palace -- Significant rituals -- An unhealthy dependence -- [ch]. 8. The temptation of power -- 'The grand doge' -- A defensible frontier -- Vienna : a decisive moment -- 9. Power and conformity -- The Huguenot question -- Huguenot crisis ; Catholic ascendancy -- The Edict of Fontainebleau -- Emigrés and rebels -- [ch]. 10. France against Europe : the Nine Years War -- Louvois's war -- Towards total war -- The necessity of peace -- A new moderation -- -- [ch]. 11. The great prize -- Treaty or will -- [ch]. 12. The Great War -- A war on four fronts -- 'There are murmurs at his very door' -- 'Conditions so contrary to justice' -- Peace at last -- Europe's changing face -- [ch]. 13. The price of war -- The money famine -- Desperate measures -- A crisis of morale : Colbertism challenged -- An alternative voice : Fénelon -- Great expectations and tragic losses -- [ch]. 14. Faith, reason and authority -- Jansenism -- An uneasy peace -- Self-inflicted wounds -- Quietism -- [ch]. 15. 'A king at every moment' -- A brave end -- Post-mortem : another regency -- Envoi.

ISBN

0582279585

OCLC

• 47939460
• SCSB-10688630

Owning Institutions

Harvard Library