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DOCUMENT 5 French State Building and Louis XIV
Louis XIV (r. 1643–1715), the king of France, and other European monarchs, such as
those in Spain and Russia, operated under a set of assumptions known as absolutism,
which held that kings ruled by “divine right” and could legitimately claim sole and
uncontested authority in their realms. Louis’s famous dictum “L’état, c’est moi” (“I am the
state”) summed up the absolutist ideal.
Document 5 illustrates one way in which Louis attempted to realize this ideal. Writ-
ten by Louis himself, this document focuses on the importance of “spectacle” and public
display in solidifying the exalted role of the monarch. The “carousel” described here was
an extravagant pageant held in Paris in June 1662. It featured various exotic animals,
princes, and nobles arrayed in fantastic costumes representing distant lands, as well as
many equestrian competitions. Unifying this disparate assembly was King Louis himself,
dressed as a Roman emperor, while on the shields of the nobles was that grand symbol
of the monarchy, the sun.

Source: French King Louis XIV on the importance of spectacle for the common people,
from his Memoirs, 1670.
The more I moved away from all the excesses towards gentler pursuits, the more I had to
preserve and cultivate carefully everything that connected me through affection to my peo-
ples and especially people of noble carriage, without diminishing my authority or the respect
that was owed me, to make them see in so doing that it was in no way by aversion to them
nor an assumed strictness nor crudeness of spirit, but simply reason and duty that made me
in other ways more reserved and exacting towards them. The society of pleasures [shared
public activities], which gives to people of the Court [powerful aristocrats who interacted with
Louis] a moral closeness with us, touches and charms them more than one can express. The
common people, on the other hand, delight in the spectacle, by which in the end we always
seek to please them. . . . By this, we hold their minds and their hearts, sometimes more
tightly maybe than through rewards and charitable gestures. . . .
The carousel . . . had only been envisaged as a simple celebration at the beginning, but
we discussed it with passion, and it became a sufficiently large and magnificent spectacle,
either by the number of movements, or by the novelty of the dress, or from the variety of
emblems.
Mémoires de Louis XIV, edited by Jean Longonon (Paris: Éditions Jules Tallandier, 1927). Translated by Tonia E. Tinsley.

Question to Consider: What methods does Louis use to control the people of France?
How do these methods vary according to social status?

AP Analyzing Sources: Consider Louis’s attitude toward himself, the elite members of
®

society, and the commoners in France. Is his tone similar or different? Why?

Uncorrected proofs have been used in this sample. 251
Copyright © Bedford, Freeman & Worth Publishers.
Distributed by Bedford, Freeman & Worth Publishers. For review purposes only. Not for redistribution.

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