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Definition: Louis XIV |
Louis XIVNoun1. King of France from 1643 to 1715; his long reign was marked by the expansion of French influence in Europe and by the magnificence of his court and the Palace of Versailles (1638-1715). Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
| Domain | Definitions |
Biographical Satire | LOUIS XIV, called the Grand, 1638-1715. Furniture builder, salon decorator, wig maker, and constructor. Also assisted Paris in acquiring her reputation. Built Versailles, the Louvre, and Napoleon's tomb. He was the man who captured Alsace-Lorraine from Germany. (See Napoleon III.) Motto: I am the state. Ambition: Strauss waltzes at Versailles. Recreation: Dancing and attending to affairs of state. Address: Versailles. Source: Who was Who: 5000BC - 1914. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
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Louis XIV (the Sun King) (September 5, 1638 - September 1, 1715) reigned as king of France from May 14, 1643 to September 1, 1715. Louis did not effectively become ruler until the death of Cardinal Mazarin, in 1661. His reign is commonly cited as an example of political absolutism; in fact, he is sometimes said to have been "the greatest absolute monarch".
He wed Maria-Theresa of Austria (Marie-Thérèse d'Autriche), in 1660. After her death (1683), he wed Madame de Maintenon.
King Louis XIV died on September 1, 1715 and is buried in Saint Denis Basilica. He outlived his son, the dauphin Louis, and he was succeeded by his great-grandson who became King Louis XV of France, and who spent his minority under the regency of Philippe of Orleans.
Louis XIV, and his advisor Colbert, were advocates of mercantilism. During this period, France fought four major wars (the War of Devolution, the Dutch War, the War of the Grand Alliance and the War of the Spanish Succession) resulting in large national debt. At the time of Louis's death France's territory had increased and France was arguably the most inflential and powerful state in Europe. On the other hand, the country was in debt and the living conditions of the poor were growing steadily worse.
At this time the principal French taxes were the aides, douanes, gabelle, and taille. The aides and douanes were customs taxes, the gabelle was a salt tax, and the taille was a land tax. The nobles and clergy were exempted from these taxes, a remnant of feudal France that would lead to the French Revolution.
Louis would appoint Colbert as his "minister of finance"; by fighting corruption and reorganizing the bureaucracy Colbert's policies began to generate revenue, although this was not enough to begin to reverse France's growing national debt.
Birth & Childhood
His birth at Saint-Germain-en-Laye appeared miraculous, occurring twenty-three years after marriage of his parents, Louis XIII and Anne of Austria. At the age of 5 (1643), Louis became King. France was essentially ruled by Cardinal Mazarin until his death, in 1661, Louis then began to assert his power. Brief Overview of Louis XIV's Reign
When Louis was a child, a class uprising called the Fronde (1648-53) took place, sparked by the policies of Cardinal Mazarin. This event is believed to have had a impact upon Louis, as he became determined to never to allow such an uprising to occur again. Economics
The treasury was, essentially bankrupt in 1661. Louis XIV was an incredibly extravagent spender, dispensing huge sums of money to finance his wars and his court. Some estimates conclude that by the end of Louis' reign half of France's annual revenue was spent on maintaining Versailles. Also, large amounts of money were wasted because of corruption within the large French bureacracy.The Estates-General
During the reign of Louis XIV, the French parliament was the Estates-General; however, it was an essentially defunct organization with little real political power. Protestants
During the reign of Louis XIV, increasing restrictions were placed on the Protestant population, notably the Edict of Fontainebleau (1685). This revoked the Edict of Nantes (1598) and ordered the destruction of Huguenot churches, as well as the closing of Protestant schools. King Louis also did not shave at all.Versailles
Continuing the work of Cardinals Richelieu and Mazarin, Louis XIV worked to create a centralized, and absolutist, nation-state. He weakened the nobility by ordering them to serve as members of his court, rather than as regional governors and ministers. To this end, he built Versailles, an enormous and lavish palace outside Paris. On May 6, 1682, the court was moved to Versailles. Noblemen were required by court etiquette to spend incredible sums of money on their clothes, and to spend most of their time attending the whirlwind of Masses, balls, dinners, performances, and celebrations from which life at court was composed. The aristocracy became more focused on winning the King's favor, as evidenced by trivial details such as who would have the honor of helping him dress, rather than their own affairs or pre-empting power. This allowed Louis to choose less aristocratic individuals to fill those positions once occupied by the traditonal nobility, and to ensure that political power remained firmly in the hands of the king.Global Cultural Dominance
Louis XIV's reign was characterized by French global cultural dominance. French was the language of culture in the 17th century in the way that English is today the global language of business.Slavery
In 1689, King Louis passed the "Code Noir," allowing the full use of slaves in France's colonies.The French Revolution
Louis XIV remains beloved in France for his vigorous promotion of French greatness. However, his continued waging of war bankrupted the state, forcing him to continually levy high taxes on the peasantry. According to the French historian Alexis de Tocqueville, Louis XIV's weakening of the nobility coupled with his oppression of the peasantry contributed to the political, social and economic instabilities that eventually led to the French Revolution.Other Events of Louis' Reign
In 1674, the island of Martinique was purchased by the French government from the private French business concern who had acquired it in 1635.Quotes by Louis XIV
Quotes about Louis XIV
References
Preceded by:
(Anne of Austria, regent following Louis XIII's reign )List of French monarchs
Succeeded by:
(Philippe of Orleans, regent for Louis XV)
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Louis XIV of France."
Synonyms: Louis XIVSynonyms: Louis the Great (n), Sun King (n). (additional references) |
Crosswords: Louis XIV |
| English words defined with "Louis XIV": Augustan age ♦ Camisard ♦ Delphine, Dragonnade ♦ Edict of Nantes ♦ Francoise d'Aubigne, Francoise-Athenais de Rochechouart, Fronde ♦ Jean Baptiste Lully ♦ Lonis quatorze, Louis XV, Lully ♦ Madame de Maintenon, Maintenon, Marquise de Maintenon, Marquise de Montespan, Montespan ♦ Orleanist ♦ Versailles ♦ War of the Grand Alliance, War of the League of Augsburg, War of the Spanish Succession. (references) |
| Specialty definitions using "Louis XIV": Catholic King, Clelie, Cooks ♦ Delphin Classics, Dying Sayings ♦ Fifteen decisive Battles ♦ Genre Painter ♦ Iron Mask ♦ Jansenists ♦ LACHAISE, L'Etat c'est Moi, Lewis Baboon, Little Dauphin, Lobster Sauce, LOUIS XIV ♦ Old Bona Fide ♦ Quadruple Alliance of 1674 ♦ Regiment de la Calotte, Rococo Jewellery. (references) |
| Etymologies containing "Louis XIV": Colbertine ♦ frangipane ♦ Roquelaure. (references) |
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Clever | Laws are the sovereigns of sovereigns. (references; author: Louis XIV) Has God forgotten all I have done for Him. (references; author: Louis XIV) Whatever side I take, I know well that I will be blamed. (references; author: Louis XIV) Every time I appoint someone to a vacant position, I make a hundred unhappy and one ungrateful. (references; author: Louis XIV) | |
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Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
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Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Author | Quotation |
Louis XIV | Laws are the sovereigns of sovereigns. |
| Has God forgotten all I have done for Him. | |
| Whatever side I take, I know well that I will be blamed. | |
| Every time I appoint someone to a vacant position, I make a hundred unhappy and one ungrateful. | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | |
| Title | Author | Quote |
Les Miserables | Hugo, Victor | Of what use is it to deface the crown of Louis XIV. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Economic History | France | During the reign of Louis XIV (1643-1715), France was the dominant power in Europe. (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Expression | Frequency per Day |
louis xiv | 245 |
king louis xiv | 53 |
louis xiv france | 9 |
king louis xiv of france | 8 |
louis xiv furniture | 7 |
louis xiv and versailles | 7 |
louis xiv biography | 7 |
louis xiv sun king | 6 |
king louis xiv picture | 5 |
chair louis xiv | 3 |
the war of louis xiv | 2 |
the reign of louis xiv | 2 |
courtesans louis xiv | 2 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "i-i-l-o-s-u-v-x" | |
-3 letters: louis, viols. | |
-4 letters: luvs, oils, silo, soil, soli, soul, viol. | |
-5 letters: lis, lox, luv, lux, oil, six, sol, sou, sox, vis, vox, xis. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
Hexadecimal (or equivalents, 770AD-1900s) (references)4C 6F 75 69 73 58 49 56 |
| Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519; backwards) (references)
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Binary Code (1918-1938, probably earlier) (references)01001100 01101111 01110101 01101001 01110011 00100000 01011000 01001001 01010110 |
HTML Code (1990) (references)L o u i s   X I V |
ISO 10646 (1991-1993) (references)004C 006F 0075 0069 0073 0058 0049 0056 |
Encryption (beginner's substitution cypher): (references)46818775852584356 |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Modern | 5. Usage: Commercial 6. Images: Slideshow 7. Quotations: Familiar 8. Quotations: Fiction | 9. Quotations: Non-fiction 10. Expressions: Internet 11. Anagrams 12. Orthography | 13. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
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