Page 45 - All About History - Issue 56-17

Empire of the Sun King

receipts increasing by over 4 million livres (almost aside and rank was now to be attained through magnificent palace we know today, and the
£70 million today) in just a decade. ability, as opposed to birthright. No longer would beating heart of French administration.
Tax reform was always a problem in France, commanders be able to draw out conflict for their Any aristocrat desiring office or advancement
where few beyond peasants actually paid anything own ends, and they too would be expected to had to make their home at Versailles, and the king
to the state. Under ancient law, the king could only answer to the sovereign and his appointees. required proof of birthright from all who did. This
raise levies if he exempted the upper classes, and included papers that traced lineage for the past 100
plenty of wealthy non-nobles found ways around Power at Versailles years, and it all had to be verified by religious and
the system by paying off the aristocracy. Louis government officials.
stopped short of overturning this scheme and Vital to Louis’ reign was the decision to bring the So-called ‘false nobles’ were subject to huge taxes
didn’t impose taxes on the nobles until very late in government to Versailles. The Fronde had shown and any genuine ones who balked at relocating to
his reign, but he certainly did plenty other things to him the plots that nobles could dream up when they Versailles were effectively frozen out of their own
bring them under control. were away from court, yet no Parisian residence class. They were denied office or subsidies and
With the state coffers under control, the king could accommodate them all. So at enormous public swiftly fell into debt, while losing any influence
turned to the military. The old rule that reserved expense he created one that could, turning what they might once have held.
senior ranks for the aristocracy was swept had been a relatively simple hunting lodge into the By congregating all those ambitious nobles
right under his very nose, Louis had played a
masterstroke. Scheming was next to impossible, for
the king seemed to know everything, and the age
Manicured garden of the all-powerful aristocrat ruling over his far-
In the grounds of Versailles, courtiers still flung corner of France had come to an end.
couldn’t relax. Strict rules governed how a
man and woman might touch and even walk, Those who did come to Versailles faced crippling
as well as where they were allowed to tread. expenditure just to keep up with Louis. It was the
most fabulous and fashionable court in Europe and
to fit in was no mean feat. Debt was a fact of life to
most courtiers but worth it to associate with the
king. Only Louis was empowered to grant loans to
The Hall of Plenty
The Hall of Plenty was the place the courtiers, and with the nobles indebted to him
where courtiers could feast, party there was even less chance of revolt, for no one
and let their hair down. Here the dared to fall on the wrong side of him lest he call
gatherings were raucous and
protocol relaxed just a little. in their debts for immediate payment. 45
Best of all, an exhausting focus on fashion and
peacocking kept those courtiers preoccupied,
hoodwinking them into scheming to outdo each
other on the catwalk rather than their monarch in
matters of business. This was by design rather than
by accident on the part of Louis, who preferred
to see his followers plotting to be the most
fashionable and well connected instead of making
the sort of trouble that led to civil wars.
Baffling rules of etiquette were established,
determining who could sit in which chair, in what
order one was to dress, where one was allowed
to go and so on. Everything revolved around the
king, and if one wanted to flourish, one had to pay
proper respect to him by observing the strict rules
that had been established to ensure loyalty.

Just a child in this
painting, the king is
already depicted as the
conquering Jupiter
Noble suites
Those who lived at Versailles had to
be housed somewhere. For some it
was in nearby towns, for others the
palace. Favoured nobles were billeted
overlooking the gardens.

“Everything

revolved around

the king”