War of Devolution - Image of The "Sun King"

Image of The "Sun King"

For the young French king, the war against Spain was an opportunity to secure a great reputation for himself. As was customary, he personally commanded the army, at least nominally, and accompanied it on campaigns. He reached the main army on 3 June 1667 near Charleroi and left it again on 2 September 1667. From 2–24 February 1668 he was once again in the field with the army of Prince Condé in the Franche-Comté. Although Louis took part in the council of war, it was in fact experienced generals who decided matters on the battlefield. The King drew some attention to himself, however, by constantly putting himself in personal danger; during sieges, for example, he visited the trenches at the front line, and spent many nights in bivouac shelters. This did not, however, come close to the "heroism" of some of his predecessors; Voltaire unfavourably compared his actions with those of Francis I and Henry IV.

During this period the King did, however, travel with his entire royal household and all the luxuries that he was accustomed to and would not dispense with even in wartime. This alone required a huge logistical effort. Louis XIV was accompanied by, amongst others, the Queen, his two mistresses, (Louise de La Vallière and Madame de Montespan), as well as all his ministers and generals who were not involved in the war. The latter in particular tended to scheme against the marshals in command, especially against the Maréchal de Turenne, which impaired his ability to lead.

The two leading court painters, Adam Frans van der Meulen and Charles Le Brun, were also amongst the King's retinue; they were instructed to record the Sun King's deeds, as were various other artists. Thus numerous paintings and Gobelin tapestries were created, as well as medals and poems. After peace was declared, a great victory celebration took place in Versailles; various important figures of the time participated in arranging this, including Molière, Jean-Baptiste Lully, Louis Le Vau and Carlo Vigarani. At all these events and in every representation, the King was constantly portrayed as having personally been in sole command; the numerous marshals and generals were not mentioned. In the years following the war (after 1671) the King was often praised as Louis le Grand or Ludovicus Magnus (Ludwig the Great), and on the suggestion of Colbert, the finance minister, even a triumphal arch was to be built in Paris; however, construction was abandoned in 1671.