Primary Sources - HIST 229: Spectacles of Power in Europe, 1550-1700 - Louis XIV (HC)

Primary Sources Texts Online

Against Marriage: The Correspondence of la Grande Mademoiselle
In seventeenth-century France, aristocratic women were valued by their families as commodities to be married off in exchange for money, social advantage, or military alliance. The duchesse de Montpensier-a first cousin of Louis XIV-was one of very few exceptions, thanks to the vast wealth she inherited from her mother, who died shortly after Montpensier was born. She was also one of the few politically powerful women in France at the time to have been an accomplished writer.
China and France, or, Two treatises the one, of the present state of China as to the government, customs, and manners of the inhabitants thereof ... from the observation of two Jesuites lately returned from that country.
The treatise on China and missionary experiences there was written and published by the French King's cosmographer. The second treatise in the book concerns the "most remarkable passages of the reign and life of the present French King, Lewis the Fourteenth, and of the valour of our English in his armies."
Cour de France (Studies and documents about the French court)
Rich source of digitized primary sources. See thematic groupings under Court or the 17th and 18th century groupings under Period. The bibliographies also include recent books and journal articles (often digitized). Use the publication dates and titles to identify primary sources. Most of the entries are in French.
Description des rejouissances faites pour la naissance du Prince D'Angleterre.
Celebrations in France for the birth of the son of James II, a possible Catholic successor to the English throne.
Dialogues and Addresses. By Madame de Maintenon.
Born Françoise d'Aubigné, a criminal's daughter reduced to street begging as a child, Madame de Maintenon (1653-1719) made an improbable rise from impoverished beginnings to the summit of power as the second, secret wife of Louis XIV. An educational reformer, Maintenon founded and directed the celebrated academy for aristocratic women at Saint-Cyr. This volume presents the dialogues and addresses in which Maintenon explains her controversial philosophy of education for women.
A European Power Under Louis XIV (1648-1715)
Select group of sources. the majority are translated into English.
France and the Ancien Regime
This website offers 12 texts and documents, mostly in English, concerning Louis XIV.
An historical explication of what there is most remarkable in that wonder of the world, the French King's royal house at Versailles, and in that of Monsieur, at St. Cloud. Written in the French tongue by the Sieur Combes, ...
This account of Versailles was written in 1681 by Abbé Laurent Morellet, chaplain to the king's brother. Modern scholars note the omission of the Hall of Mirrors and errors in describing the allegorical themes of selected sculpture.
Louis XIV and Absolutism : A Brief Study with Documents
See the two series of documents, The King and the Aristocrats at Court" and "The King and His Image" linked here from the course Moodle page.
Memoirs: Hortense Mancini and Marie Mancini.
The memoirs of Hortense (1646-1699) and of Marie (1639-1715) Mancini, nieces of Cardinal Mazarin and members of the court of Louis XIV, represent the earliest examples in France of memoirs published by women under their own names. Both unhappily married-Marie had also fled the aftermath of her failed affair with Louis XVI-the sisters chose to leave their husbands. Through their writings, the Mancinis sought to rehabilitate their reputations.
Political testament of M. Jean Baptist Colbert, minister and secretary of state : Wherein is contain'd all that hath pass'd under the reign of Lewis the XIV. unto the year 1684. With remarks upon the government of the kingdom of France.
Although the book's dedication to Louis XIV is signed by Colbert, the work is generally attributed to Gatien Courtilz de Sandras, a prolific author and younger contemporary of Colbert.

Primary Source Collections

Gallica
Gallica is a digital library of French and francophone culture maintained by the Bibliothque nationale de France. Contains numerous electronic texts, images, maps, animation, and sound files of French and other publications in history, literature, science, philosophy, law, economics, and political science. Search for specific book titles. For keywords, use the Advanced Search page so that you can specify ranges for publication dates.
17th and 18th Century Texts Published in England about Louis XIV
English contemporaries were very interested in the king and his activities. Use these search results from Tripod to see titles available in Early English Books Online and Eighteenth Century Collections Online. Some of the texts are in French. You can add keywords to this search to find specific topics. Adding the keyword court* yields 25 titles including:
The Amorous Conquests of the Great Alcander, or, The Amours of the French King and Madam Montespan. Published in 1685.
Treasures in Full: Renaissance Festival Books
View 253 digitised Renaissance festival books (selected from over 2,000 in the British Library's collection) that describe the magnificent festivals and ceremonies that took place in Europe between 1475 and 1700 - marriages and funerals of royalty and nobility, coronations, stately entries into cities and other grand events. Includes:
Ballet danced in Paris by Louis XIV and Maria Teresa, Infanta of Spain, at their wedding (Paris: 1660)
Ballet danced in Paris by Louis XIV. (Paris: 1665)
Use the Advanced Search and enter Louis XIV in the keyword box to find all 14 festivals involving the king.