Absolutism and the " Ancien Regime"

  • Absolutism: A political system in which a single ruler holds supreme authority, typically justified by divine right.

  • The "Ancien Régime": The political and social system in France before the French Revolution, characterized by feudalism and the absolute monarchy.

Louis XIII 1610-1643

  • Came to throne as child

  • Regent - mother Marie de Medici

  • Cardinal Richelieu ( helped Louis with taking control )

  • Increases tax collection

  • Concerns about nobility

  • Much stronger central government.

Louis XIV 1638-1715 ( reign 1642-1715)

  • Known as the greatest example of Absolutism

  • Expanded France through war

  • A “visible divinity” - Gods representative on earth.

  • Wins over European hegemony through wars

  • Worked very hard at governing and controlling everything including government policy, road building, court etiquette, troop movements etc.

The Emergence of the Modern State

  • Old Feudal Notion of the State

  • The Modern Conception of the State

    • “ governed” and “ those who govern

  • Role of great wars of the 16th and 17th centuries

  • Obligations across classes

A Definition of Absolutism

  • The exaltation of the ruler as the embodiment of the state “L’Etat c’es Moi”

    • The role of divine right theory

  • Absolutism is not totalitarianism, but there are some similarities between the two

  • New scale and feel to political life - looming presence of the state.

The Tasks of the Absolutist State

  • To gain the Loyalty of the Nobility

    • “Nobles of the Sword” : The Old Aristocracy with landed wealth

    • “Nobles of the Robe” : The New Aristocracy with

  • Secure Obedience

  • Exert Control over Economic Life

  • Protect its Territory and the expansion of its claims

  • Create a state beurocracy

  • To Enlist the Service of the Church

    • Revocation of the Edict of Nantes ( 1685 )

    • “ One King, One Law, One Faith “

  • To Employ Culture to Exalt the State

    • French Classicism

Creating a “ Spectacle

  • To be seen was the supreme social duty of the nobility

  • To shine at court was to keep the rest of the world at a distance

  • The monarch created the spectacle, or theater, for this social drama

  • The birth of ballet

Versailles: A Model Palace of Baroque Absolutism

“ you gaze, you stare, you try to understand that it is real, that it is on earth, that it is not the Garden of Eden” - Mark Twain.

Features Of Versailles

  • Baroque planning

  • Law

  • Order

  • Uniformity

  • Conformity to the King’s will

  • Geometry reigned supreme

The Grounds and Gardens

  • The triumph of man over nature

  • Acres and acres of formal gardens

  • The symbolism of geometrical patterns

  • Massive canal and 1400 formal fountains

The Palace Square

  • Symbolism of a the Exterior View

  • Stables for the King’s Horses

  • Central point of Versailles was always the King

  • Every window had to have a spectacular view.

The King’s Bedroom

  • Center of the Palace

  • The Significance of the daily ritual of the King’s Rising

  • Watching the King