Louis XIV
Louis XIV was king of France from 1643 to 1715, the longest reign of any major European monarch.
Known as the Sun King, he centralized power, built Versailles, and made France the dominant European power of his era.
His reign epitomizes absolute monarchy: L'état, c'est moi—I am the state.
Eighteenth-century European dynastic conflict
- military expansionStrengthening armed forces capacity
- VaubanFrench military architect
- fortificationsDefensive barriers against attack
- campaignsOrganized efforts toward goals
French Protestant tolerance proclamation
- HuguenotsFrench Reformed Christians
- CatholicPapal church adherent
- persecutionSystematic mistreatment of groups
- conversionAct of changing states
God-granted ruling authority
- centralizationUnifying control in one place
- sovereigntySupreme independent authority
- autocracyRule by one
- despotismAbsolute one-person rule
supremacy · dominion · unlimited · undivided · decree · edict · omnipotence · unrestrained
Monarch's official residence
- gardensCultivated planting areas
- fountainsWater-spouting structures
- orangerieCitrus tree greenhouse
- marbleRecrystallized limestone rock
gilded · opulence · court · estate · château · Grand Canal · royal chapel · architecture
Sun deity, moonshot namesake
- radianceGlowing luminous quality
- splendorImpressive, striking beauty
- goldenBright yellow, or precious
- solarOf the star
emblem · imagery · symbolism · divine · glory · magnificence · ballet · mythology
Tartuffe's comic creator
- RacineSoutheastern Wisconsin municipality
- classicismAdherence to ancient artistic principles
- patronageSupporter's financial backing
- balletClassical dance on pointe
opera · theater · literature · arts · La Fontaine · baroque music
Successive family rulers
- ValoisFrench royal dynasty
- successionFollowing in order
- lineageDescent from progenitors
- heirOne who receives legacy
dauphin · bloodline · legitimacy · hereditary · regent · royal house · primogeniture
War of Spanish Succession
Eighteenth-century European dynastic conflict
- military expansionStrengthening armed forces capacity
- VaubanFrench military architect
- fortificationsDefensive barriers against attack
Edict of Nantes
French Protestant tolerance proclamation
- HuguenotsFrench Reformed Christians
- CatholicPapal church adherent
- persecutionSystematic mistreatment of groups
conversion · Protestantism · exile · Fontainebleau · Counter-Reformation
divine right
God-granted ruling authority
- centralizationUnifying control in one place
- sovereigntySupreme independent authority
- autocracyRule by one
despotism · supremacy · dominion · unlimited · undivided · decree · edict · omnipotence · unrestrained · authoritarianism
palace
Monarch's official residence
marble · gilded · opulence · court · estate · château · Grand Canal · royal chapel · architecture · statecraft
Apollo
Sun deity, moonshot namesake
solar · emblem · imagery · symbolism · divine · glory · magnificence · ballet · mythology · theatrical
Molière
Tartuffe's comic creator
- RacineSoutheastern Wisconsin municipality
- classicismAdherence to ancient artistic principles
- patronageSupporter's financial backing
ballet · opera · theater · literature · arts · La Fontaine · baroque music
dynasty
Successive family rulers
- ValoisFrench royal dynasty
- successionFollowing in order
- lineageDescent from progenitors
heir · dauphin · bloodline · legitimacy · hereditary · regent · royal house · primogeniture
- World LeadersChurchill, Winston Churchill, Eisenhower, Gorbachev, Thatcher
- louis
- Baroquebaroque music, baroque art, Bernini, Bach, Handel
- French HistoryNapoleon Bonaparte, French Revolution, Napoleon, Bastille, Reign of Terror
- 17th-Century LeadersOliver Cromwell, Charles I, Charles II, James I, William of Orange
- Famous CatholicsPope Francis, Thomas More, Flannery O'Connor, Charlemagne, Philip II
Louis XIVOliver Cromwell
English republican dictator
George Washington · Thomas Jefferson · parliamentary democracy · republicanism · Abraham Lincoln
Louis XIVLouis XVI
Marcus Aurelius · Nicholas II · Frederick the Great · austerity · plain living
Louis XIVRobespierre
Revolutionary who devoured himself
Napoleon Bonaparte · the Republic · revolutionary · regicide