What was the peak of the 'Sun King' Louis XIV's power and his decline in his later years?
The Final Days of Louis XIV - YouTube
Louis XIV's mornings began with breakfast and defecation, with a doctor examining his stool. Every detail of his body was publicly displayed as part of his reign, and Louis XIV's body was a symbol of the nation. Music and entrance ceremonies were arranged for Louis XIV at mass, with a different song prepared for him each day. Even if God existed in heaven, Louis XIV was worshipped as God's representative.
At 11 o'clock, Louis XIV returned to his chambers to discuss correspondence, finances, and strategy with his ministers. All state decisions passed through his hands. In particular, Louis XIV devoted himself to territorial expansion, demonstrating his grandeur.
Foreign diplomacy was also a spectacle, and lavish gifts were presented to Louis XIV. A gift from an envoy from Siam (now Thailand), which took two years to arrive, was estimated to be worth about $2 million (approximately 310 million yen) in today's money, and was also used to demonstrate Louis XIV's prestige.
In 1682, Louis XIV made the Palace of Versailles his permanent residence. Even though it was unfinished, the palace was touted as surpassing all other palaces, and it served as both a symbol of glory and a political instrument.
The vast gardens and the scale of the buildings at the Palace of Versailles are overwhelming, and the sheer opulence of the palace itself serves as a tool for legitimizing Louis XIV. The scene, bathed in gold, is a stage for teaching the viewer submission.
The palace became a symbol of luxury, filled with perfumes, candles, and steam from heating food, and the gardens were lit by 24,000 candles.
The Palace of Versailles brought together aristocrats from all over France, forcing them to live lives cut off from their homes. While the palace appeared to be a social center, it was actually a system of confinement that stripped the aristocrats of their power. Louis XIV fed the aristocrats' vanity with titles and privileges, giving them the illusion of importance, which in turn drew state funds to the palace and further strengthened his control.
At dinner, a band played and courtiers dined with Louis XIV, who is said to have preferred to eat with his hands, without regard for tableware.
But outside the glitter, European nations feared France's rapid growth.
Louis XIV considered the Rhine, the Alps, and the Pyrenees to be 'natural borders,' and built over 100 star-shaped forts and strengthened his defenses with 400,000 soldiers and 13,000 cannons. During his 72-year reign, he fought five major wars.
Genoa, one of Italy's major port cities, was bombarded by France for 10 days, with half of the city destroyed and the city threatened to be set on fire if it resisted. As a result of this war, Belgium, Lorraine, Alsace, Strasbourg and other areas were taken over by France.
However, as a result of aggressive territorial expansion, the military consumed more than half of the national finances even in peacetime. During the war, the national treasury dried up, heavy taxes increased peasant discontent, and riots were met with military repression. Propaganda was also used to exaggerate victories and downplay domestic problems.
Louis XIV also implemented measures that appeared to be charitable, but the Paris hospitals built as charitable works were considered filthy and more like places of isolation than treatment, and it was said that 'medical care was like training to endure pain.'
At the time,
However, due to insufficient hygiene, a hole eventually opened up between Louis XIV's mouth and nose. Drinks leaked into his nose and food accumulated, causing a constant stench of putrefaction to waft from Louis XIV. To endure the stench, ministers are said to have held perfumed handkerchiefs over their noses during meetings. Doctors then tried to cauterize the hole to close it, leaving Louis XIV unable to eat properly for several days.
Furthermore, if the swelling around the anus worsened, treatments included stabbing, burning, and injecting medicine. Because this was an unprecedented operation, the surgeon apparently tried it on a condemned prisoner before attempting it on Louis XIV, but it failed. As the blade entered his anus, Louis XIV is said to have grasped his minister's hand and said a short prayer. The operation was completed after three hours, and although it was supposed to have been a secret, it apparently led to a trend in the court of wrapping bandages around the buttocks.
Louis XIV continued to fight in the war well into his 60s, but gout and arthritis kept him away from the front lines. Bloodletting and enemas were ineffective, and with Louis XIV having lost his teeth, banquets were a memory of the past. At a time when Louis XIV wanted to preserve the dynasty, measles struck the Louis XIV family, killing his sons, grandsons, and other successors one after another. Then, one summer day, Louis XIV himself felt a chill and noticed the pain and black spots in his left leg, indicating that
As the stench of decay filled his bedroom, Louis XIV tried to continue his government duties, but his ministers saw signs of death in him.
On September 1, 1715, Louis XIV died from worsening gangrene. He called his great-grandson, Louis XV, who was five years old, and told him, 'Keep peace with your neighbors. Don't follow my example, who loved war too much.' The French people, who had suffered under heavy taxes and oppression, are said to have rejoiced upon hearing of Louis XIV's death.
'Throughout his 72-year reign, Louis XIV embodied the idea that one man is the state,' Nightshift said. 'But this system was costly and too dependent on one man's enormous ego and body. As the body that was once the source of his power crumbled, the image of perfection crumbled, leaving behind a toothless, suffering human being. While the dream of Versailles continues to be imitated, the human body is the limit of his influence.'
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