Louis XIV of France - Height of Power

Height of Power

By the early 1680s Louis had greatly augmented French influence in the world. Domestically, he successfully increased the Crown's influence and authority over the Church and aristocracy, thus consolidating absolute monarchy in France.

Louis initially supported traditional Gallicanism, which limited papal authority in France, and convened an Assemblée du Clergé in November 1681. Before its dissolution eight months later, the Assembly had accepted the Declaration of the Clergy of France, which increased royal authority at the expense of papal power. Without royal approval, bishops could not leave France and appeals could not be made to the Pope. Additionally, government officials could not be excommunicated for acts committed in pursuance of their duties. Although the King could not make ecclesiastical law, all papal regulations without royal assent were invalid in France. Unsurprisingly, the pope repudiated the Declaration.

By attaching nobles to his court at Versailles, Louis achieved increased control over the French aristocracy. Apartments were built to house those willing to pay court to the king. However, the pensions and privileges necessary to live in a style appropriate to their rank were only possible by waiting constantly on Louis. For this purpose, an elaborate court ritual was created where the king became the centre of attention and was observed throughout the day by the public. With his excellent memory, Louis could then see who attended him at court and who was absent, facilitating the subsequent distribution of favours and positions. Another tool Louis used to control his nobility was censorship which often involved the opening of letters to discern their author's opinion of the government and king. Moreover, by entertaining, impressing and domesticating them with extravagant luxury and other distractions, Louis not only cultivated public opinion of him, but also ensured the aristocracy remained under his scrutiny. This, along with the prohibition of private armies, prevented them from passing time on their own estates and in their regional power-bases, from which they historically waged local wars and plotted resistance to royal authority. Louis thus compelled and seduced the old military aristocracy (the noblesse d'épée) into becoming his ceremonial courtiers, further weakening their power. In their place, Louis raised commoners or the more recently ennobled bureaucratic aristocracy (the noblesse de robe). He judged that royal authority thrived more surely by filling high executive and administrative positions with these men because they could be more easily dismissed than a grandee of ancient lineage with an entrenched influence. Explaining Louis's actions were his experiences during the Fronde, when men of high birth readily took up the rebel cause against their king and even, for some, kinsman. This victory over the nobility may have then in fact ensured the end of major civil wars in France until the Revolution about a century later.