Duc de Saint-Simon and The Court of Louis XIV essays

Duc de Saint-Simon and The Court of Louis XIV essays In 1746 Duc de Saint Simon finished work on his Memoirs. In this document he gave a detailed account of life in Versailles under the king Louis XIV. Saint-Simon described Louis XIV as a man whose natural talents were below mediocrity. He claimed that Louis made up for his natural shortcomings by affiliating himself with the most proficient people of both sexes in all areas. According to Saint-Simon Louis XIV real talent was that he was able to assimilate what was best in the minds of others without slavish imitation. In Saint-Simons document he states that Louis XIV greatest weakness was his vanity. This love of being flattered often caused Louis to engage in serious wars; for he was easily convinced that he had a superior aptitude when it came to war than any of his Generals (Saint-Simon). He also loved to tell stories about his campaigns which he expressed ... clearly in well chosen language (Saint-Simon). One example of his vanity is the symbol he chose to represent himsel f. Louis XIV dub himself the Sun King, claiming that the sun represented the duties of a Prince (Sendlessly promoted life, joy and growth and that the sun was the most dazzling and most beautiful image of the monarch (S It was not until 1682 that Louis XIV officially moved his court from Paris to Versailles. The motives behind him moving his court were mainly due to security issues. Louis did not feel safe in Paris due to a series of revolts against the monarchy known as the Fronde, also being away from the large crowds in Paris allowed him to keep a more watchful eye on the member of his court. By removing himself from the city he could more easily detect the movements and temporary absences of any of ... members (Saint-Simon). According to S&S Louis striped the member of his c...