Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Foreword Preface LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PART ONE
Introduction: Louis XIV and French Absolutism
Absolutism in Theory
French Absolutism in Practice
The Landed Nobility
The Robe Nobility
The Royal Commissioners
The Catholic Church
The Urban Bourgeoisie
The Lower Classes
A Note about the Text
PART TWO The Documents
1. Confronting French Society during the Fronde
Paris Rebels against the Crown
Madame de Motteville’s Account of the Parisian Disturbances in August 1648
A Mazarinade against the Queen and the Cardinal An Intimate Discussion between the King and the Queen Regent, His Mother, concerning the Affairs of the Day
The Parlementaires of Aix Strike Back, 1649 Haitze’s Account of the Uprising in Aix, 1649
Agen Is Seduced by the Princes An Account by Bru, Bookseller, 1652
A Revolutionary Party in Bordeaux: The Ormée 44 Apology for the Ormée
The Ormée Abolishes the Parlement of Bordeaux
2. The King and the Aristocrats at Court
The King and His Family
Mademoiselle de Montpensier Saint Maurice
Primi Visconti
The World of the Court Saint Maurice Primi Visconti
The Princess Palatine
Exéchiel Spanheim
3. Managing France Colbert’s Instructions for the Commissioners Who Have Been Sent into the Provinces, September 1663
Financial Memorandum by Colbert, Addressed to the King in 1670
Louis XIV’s Tax Flows
4. Reforming the Provinces: The Grands Jours d’Auvergne Letters Patent for the Establishment of the Grands Jours
Excerpts from the Memoirs of Esprit Fléchier
5. Reforming the Provinces: Interaction with Burgundy Letters to and from Burgundy
Brulart to Mazarin, Dijon, January 5, 1660
Brulart to Mazarin, Dijon, April 20, 1660
Condé to Colbert, Dijon, June 18, 1662
Brulart to La Vrillière, Dijon, January 31, 1663
Louis XIV to Brulart, Paris, February 13, 1663
Bouchu to Colbert, Dijon, February 14, 1663
Bouchu to Colbert, Dijon, February 17, 1663
Brulart to La Vrillière, Dijon, February 21, 1663
Colbert to Bouchu, June 5, 1663
Bouchu to Colbert, Dijon, November 13, 1663
Brulart to Chancellor Séguier, Dijon, December 16, 1663
Bouchu to Colbert, December 10, 1664
Bouchu to Colbert, Dijon, January 25, 1665
Brulart to La Vrillière, Dijon, January 25, 1665
La Vrillière to Brulart, Paris, February 3, 1665
Bouchu to Colbert, Port Digoin, October 30, 1665
Bouchu to Colbert, Dijon, March 21, 1666
Bouchu to Colbert, April 21, 1666
Bouchu to Colbert, Auxerre, November 4, 1667
Bouchu to Colbert, Dijon, June 23, 1669
The Viscount Mayor and Échevins of Dijon to Colbert, July 14, 1669
Bouchu to Colbert, Dijon, July 14, 1669
Colbert to Bouchu, Paris, December 19, 1670
Meeting the People of Dijon Brulart to Louvois, Dijon, June 1673
Request by the City Council of Dijon for a Monitory, November 21, 1668
Extract from the Deliberations of the City Council, April 7, 1671
Petition about Drunken Husbands, April 8, 1672
Illegal Vending, June 30, 1673
Illegal Production, September 11, 1673
Homelessness, September 2, 1674
Illegitimate Births, April 27, 1675
A Riot by Winegrowers, January 1684
Petition to the Mayor and Échevins from the Protesters Debauchery of Youth, March 28, 1688
6. Social Unrest: The Revolts of 1675 Eyewitness Account by Ferrant, Agent of the King’s Tax Receiver Le Maigre, Bordeaux, March 30, 1675
The Mayor and Consuls of Bergerac to de Sève, Intendant of Bordeaux, May 3, 1675
La Case, Tax Collector from Quimper [Brittany], to Colbert, June 24, 1675
Dallier, Tax Farmer from Nantes, to Colbert, June 25, 1675
The Bishop of Saint Malo to Colbert, July 23, 1675
7. Absolutism and the Churches Divine Right Monarchy
Bossuet’s Vision in
Politics Drawn from the Very Words of Holy Scripture Bossuet Chides Louis XIV about the State of His Soul
Dealing with the Gallican Church and the Pope Pope Innocent XI to Louis XIV, December 29, 1679
Memoirs of the Intendant Foucault on the Resistance over the Régale, 1679 –1680
Declaration of the Clergy of France, 1682
Dealing with the Jansenists Suppression of the Abbey of Port Royal des Champs by d’Argenson, Paris Lieutenant of Police, 1709
Dealing with the Huguenots Commission for the Execution of the Edict of Nantes, 1663
Commentary by Saint Maurice, November 23, 1668
Verbal Abuse, Protestants to Catholics [Summary], 1678
Memoir by the Intendant d’Aguesseau on How to Convert the Pastors and Huguenots of Languedoc, 1679
Verbal Abuse: Catholics to Protestants [Summary], 1680
Letter of the Intendant d’Aguesseau to Secretary of State Châteauneuf, Toulouse, September 29, 1682
Demolition of the Main Protestant Temple in Montpellier, 1682
Report of the Intendant d’Aguesseau on the Situation in Montpellier and Languedoc, July 18, 1683
D’Aguesseau’s List of Protestants Who Have Left Languedoc in Violation of the Royal Orders, August 3, 1685
Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, Fontainebleau, October 25, 1685
Royal Dragoons in Languedoc, 1685
List of Property Belonging to Protestants Who Have Fled from the Diocese of Montpellier [Summary], 1686
Epilogue The Princess Palatine Remembers Louis XIV
8. The King and His Image Charles Perrault on Colbert’s Plans to Glorify the King
Chapelain to Colbert, Paris, November 18, 1662
Report to the Estates of Languedoc on the Equestrian Statue of the King, October 30, 1686
The King’s Own Words Excerpts from Louis XIV’s
Mémoires for the Instruction of the Dauphin PART THREE Conclusion
APPENDICES A Louis XIV Chronology (1638–1715)
Questions for Consideration
Selected Bibliography
Index
