The following excerpt is from the memoirs of the Duc de Saint-Simon, a French nobleman who lived at Versailles and was a member of Louis XIV’s court. The Duc and Louis XIV had a sometimes difficult relationship – the Duc was disappointed by the promotions that Louis gave him, and Louis XIV didn’t trust the Duc
At twenty-three years of age he [Louis XIV] entered the great world as King, under the most favorable auspices. His ministers were the most skillful in all Europe; his generals the best; his Court was filled with illustrious and clever men.
Louis XIV was made for a brilliant Court. In the midst of other men, his figure, his courage, his grace, his beauty, even the tone of his voice and the majestic and natural charm of all his person, distinguished him till his death…
His Ministers, generals, mistresses, and courtiers soon found out his weak point, namely, his love of hearing his own praises. There was nothing he liked so much as flattery, or, to put it more plainly, adulation; the coarser and clumsier it was, the more he relished it. That was the only way to approach him; if he ever took a liking to a man it was invariably due to some lucky stroke of flattery in the first instance, and to indefatigable perseverance in the same line afterwards. His Ministers owed much of their influence to their frequent opportunities for burning incense before him....
It was this love of praise which made it easy…to engage him in serious wars, for he persuaded him that he had greater talents for war than any of his Generals, greater both in design and in execution, and the Generals themselves encouraged him in this notion, to keep in favor with him. His campaigns were his favorite topic when talking to his mistresses. He talked well, expressed himself clearly in well-chosen language; and no man could tell a story better.
Very early in the reign of Louis XIV, the Court was removed from Paris, never to return. The troubles of the minority had given him a dislike to that city; his flight from it still rankled in his memory; he did not consider himself safe there.... No doubt that he was also influenced by the feeling that he would be regarded with greater awe and veneration [respect] when no longer exposed every day to the gaze of the multitude.
He loved splendor, magnificence, and profusion in all things, and encouraged similar tastes in his Court; to spend money freely on buildings, on feasting and at cards, was a sure way to gain his favor. Motives of policy had something to do with this; by making expensive habits the fashion, and, for people in a certain position, a necessity, he compelled his courtiers to live beyond their income. This folly, sustained by pride, has already produced widespread confusion; it threatens to end in nothing short of ruin and a general overthrow.
1. Based on the primary source above, what were some of the ways that Louis XIV was a good leader?
2. Based on the primary source above, what were some of the ways that Louis XIV was a bad leader?
3. Why did Louis XIV move his court away from Paris? Give two reasons.
4. How did Louis’ policies hurt the French economy?
5. Do we have any reason to suspect that this source might be biased? Do you this it is biased towards Louis XIV, or against him?