So in 1660 Louis married Maria Theresa, infanta of Spain.. The following of the death of his god father and prime minister, Cardinal Mazarin the 23 year old monarch announced that he would govern. Although no one believed him and yet he still insisted on conveying a council on a daily a basis from which he excluded all grand nobles surrounding him instead with ministers.
Louis fought four major wars. His great aim was to make himself supreme in Europe. In the first three wars, fought between 1667 and 1697, Louis hoped to recapture all lands that had ever been under French rule. He gained important territories, but his aggressive moves led other countries to form alliances against him. In the fourth war, the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1714), Louis fought to protect his grandson Philip V's right to be king of Spain. To this day, the descendents of Louis XIV are on the throne in Spain.
Louis married Maria Theresa of Spain in 1660, but he was more attracted to mistresses. His first mistress was Louise de Valliere. His second mistress was Madame de Montespan. He had more children with here than anyone his wife included. Louis XIV's last mistress was Madame de Maintenon. He secretly married her after Maria Theresa died in 1683. They never had any children. She was very religious and she believed it was here duty to save the kings soul. She worked hard to make Louis more religious and it seem that she succeed. Madame de Maintenon approved of Louis's harsh treatment of the French Protestants, who were called Huguenots. Since 1598, the Huguenots had enjoyed religious toleration and privileges under the Edict of Nantes. In 1685, Louis revoked this edict. The government persecuted the Huguenots savagely in an effort to compel them to change their religion. Many thousands of Huguenots fled the country. Those who left included numerous craftworkers and business people.
At one point in Louis' life, he had a son, grandson, and
‘The Century of Louis XIV’
The First 20 years of the king’s personal reign were the most astounding. Louis declared that he would rule France without a Chief minister, which was never done before. He intended to rule as an absolute monarch, believing that his power as king was derived from god. He took the sun as his emblems and connected himself to its radiant images. Portraits, woodcuts and engravings of the King portrayed as the Greek sun god Apollo poured from Parisian workshops.
The Sun Myth
Louis XIV chose the sun as his emblem. The sun was associated with Apollo, god of peace, art and music he was the heavenly body, which gave life to all living things. Like Apollo, the warrior-king Louis XIV brought peace, was a patron of the arts and dispensed his bounty. The regularity of his work habits and his ritual rising’s and retiring were another part of solar compassion. Throughout Versailles, decoration combined attributes of Apollo to the image of the King, and emblems such as the hand of justice.
Palace of Versailles
Versailles was the royal residence of France, from around 1682- 1789, a little more than a century, when the French revolution began. Louis XIII built hunting lodge at the village outside Paris in 1624. This small structure became the base on which was constructed one of the most costly and extravagant buildings in the world. After Louis XIII died, his son Louis XIV ordered that a palace be constructed at this same site. Work began in 1661 under the direction of Louis Le Vau, a French architect. The palace took 36 000 men, more than 40 years to complete, about 37, 000 acres of land was cleared to make room for tree-lined terraces and walks with thousands of flowering plants. There were 1400 fountains and 400 new sculptures.
Three successive kings occupied it, before the French revolution. Over 1000 nobles were in residence here during king Louis XIV reign. It expanded throughout the kings life time. Louis XIV built virtually all the palace and the parks. The Hall of Mirrors is where the treaty of Versailles was signed, which ended World War 1. The palace is more than 400 metres or ¼ mile long and has about 1,300 rooms. Many of the rooms have been refurbished to look as they did when royalty lived in them. The palace also has paintings and sculptures by famous European artists.
In 1676 another architect Jules Mardouin- Mansart was put in charge of redesigning and enlarging the building. There was much activity at Versailles between the years 1678 and 1684 Mansart direct building campaign which included the transformation of the marble court, the construction of the Minister’ Wing, the southern wing and the Hall of Mirrors. The construction of Versailles was completed near the end of Louis XIV’s life. The Chapel was built last and was finished after Mansart’s death in 1708 by his son-in-law Robert de Cotte.
The interior of the palace is richly decorated. The most famous rooms include the living quarters of the king and queen, the Room of Hercules, and the Hall of Mirrors. The Hall of Mirrors, designed by Charles Le Brun, was begun in 1678. It is a long hallway lined with mirrors that runs along the front of the palace. The ceiling is decorated with paintings glorifying the achievements of Louis XIV. The palace also contains a magnificent royal chapel and a private theater.
The French Revolution of 1789-1799 led to the overthrow of the French king. Mobs invaded the palace during the revolution and removed or destroyed most of the furniture and art. Little was done to maintain the building until the early 1900's, when restoration work began. This project is still going on.