The document summarizes the daily routines and activities of King Louis XIV at Versailles. It describes how he would wake up each morning to a ceremonial rising called the "levee," where he would be dressed and have breakfast. He would then hold council meetings to govern the kingdom. Louis immersed himself completely in his role as king, identifying himself as "the State." Each evening he would have a public supper before retiring for the night. Versailles housed the entire French court and government and helped the king control the nobility through constant supervision.
10. The Master of Versailles
The enchanting chateau of the king's youth became
the official residence of the court and government
of France on May 6, 1682. By providing enough
space to house the courtiers, the chateau and its
outbuildings helped to domesticate the nobility.
Under the king's ever watchful eye, great lords no
longer plotted—they remained with the army or at
court, ready to please and serve. Intimidating,
majestic, and fully informed by his spies, the king
controlled everything. If he was heard to say of
you, "I know him not," you were doomed forever.
22. The Sun Myth
Louis XIV chose the sun as his emblem. The sun was
associated with Apollo, god of peace and arts, and was
also the heavenly body which gave life to all things,
regulating everything as it rose and set. Like Apollo, the
warrior-king Louis XIV brought peace, was a patron of
the arts, and dispensed his bounty. The regularity of his
work habits and his ritual risings and retirings (levee and
couchee) were another point of solar comparison.
Throughout Versailles, decoration combines images and
attributes of Apollo (laurel, lyre, tripod) with the king's
portraits and emblems (the double LL, the royal crown,
the sceptre and hand of justice). The Apollo Salon is the
main room of the Grand Apartment because it was
originally the monarch's state chamber. The path of the
sun is also traced in the layout of the gardens.
26. Levee
8.30 am: 'It is time, Sire',
declares the First Valet de
Chambre, waking the king. The
levee, or ceremonial rising, thus
begins. Doctors, family and a few
favoured friends successively
enter the King's Bedchamber
where he is washed, combed,
andÑevery other dayÑshaven.
The Officers of the Chamber and
the Wardrobe then enter in turn
for full levee, during which the
king is dressed and has a
breakfast of broth. The most
important officials of the
kingdom are admitted; it is
estimated that the usual number
of people attending numbered
one hundred, all male.
29. Council
11 a m : R e t u r n i n g t o h i s
apartments, the king holds
council in his cabinet. Sundays
and Wednesdays are devoted to
Councils of State; on Tuesdays
and Saturdays, finances are
dealt with; Mondays, Thursdays
and Fridays, another Council of
State might replace a Dispatch
Council (domestic affairs) or
Religious Council, or perhaps
the king will decide to focus on
his building programme. Five
or six ministers usually advise
the monarch who speaks little,
listens a great deal, and always
decides.
30.
31. 'L'Etat, c'est moi'
Louis XIV immersed himself completely in what he
called 'the trade of kingship', identifying himself
totally with the state in the famous phrase, 'I am the
State'. Devoting himself to his people, he put
himself constantly on public show—Versailles was
open to everyone, not just courtiers. Access to the
monarch was governed by court ceremonial, and
the immutable rites of the Sun King's day drove the
entire 'court mechanism'. Elsewhere, the wheels of
the new administration established during the early
part of the reign ran smoothly: at the centre, king
and council decided; in the provinces, intendants
executed his orders.
36. Supper
10 pm: A crowd fills the antechamber of the King's
Suite to witness this public supper. The king is
joined at table by the princes and princesses of the
royal family. Once the meal is over, the king returns
to his bedchamber to say 'goodnight ladies' then
retires to his cabinet where he can indulge in
conversation with his close acquaintances.
37. Louis’ sister-in-law wrote this about his dining:
“I have often seen the King eat four plates of soup
Of different kinds, a whole pheasant, a partridge,
A large plate of salad, two thick slices of ham, a
Dish of mutton in a garlic-flavored sauce, a plateful
Of pastries and then fruit and hard-boiled eggs. Both
The King and Monsieur are exceedingly fond of
Hardboiled eggs.
38. The Duc de Bourgogne(the Dauphine’s son) had his two
Brothers had been taught the polite innovation of using a
Fork while eating but when they were invited to the King’s
Table at supper, he would have none of it and forbade them
To use such a tool. He would never have had occasion to
Reproach me in that matter, for I have never in my life used
Anything to eat with but my knife and my fingers
44. The Most Christian King
Monarch by divine right, the king
was God's lieutenant on earth.
During his coronation, he swore to
defend the Catholic faith. To
honour this oath and preserve the
religious unity of his kingdom,
Louis XIV launched the struggle
against Jansenists at the Port-
Royal monastery, and persecuted
Protestants. Forced conversions
and the emigration of 200,000
Protestants ultimately led him in
1685 to rescind of the Edict of
Nantes (which had decreed
religious tolerance).
45. Promenade or Hunting
2 pm: The king always announces the afternoon
programme in the morning. If he has decided on a
promenade, it might be taken on foot in the gardens
or in a carriage with ladies. On the other hand,
hunting activities the Bourbons' favourite pastime
will take place on the grounds (if the king goes
shooting) or in the surrounding forests (riding to
hounds).
47. 800 hectares (2,000 acres) of
grounds
20 kilometres (12 miles) of roads
46 kilometres (27 miles) of trellises
200,000 trees
210,000 flowers planted every year
132 kilometres (80 miles) of rows of
trees
23 hectares (55 acres): surface area
of the Grand Canal
5.57 kilometres (3.3 miles):
perimeter of the Grand Canal
48. 20 kilometres (12 miles) of enclosing walls
50 fountains
620 fountain nozzles
35 kilometres (21 miles) of water conduits
3,600 cubic meters per hour: water consumed
during Full Play of Fountains
11 hectares (26 acres) of roof
51,210 square meters of floors
49. 2,153 windows
700 rooms
67 staircases
6,000 paintings
1,500 drawings and 15,000 engravings
2,100 sculptures
5,000 items of furniture and objets d'art
150 varieties of apple and peach trees in the
Vegetable Garden
