Louis XV of France. Man, personality, character

“I want to follow in everything the example of the deceased king, my great-grandfather,” declared 16-year-old Louis XV after the fall of prime minister the Duke de Bourbon in 1726. Was this possible?

Under his great-grandfather Louis XIV (1643 - 1715), the system of “absolutist” monarchy in France and Europe reached its highest development. The "Sun King", like no one else, knew how to personify the sovereignty of the "absolute" monarch and the central power of the kingdom in reality and personally fill this central position. The difficult role of the “omnipresent” king was only possible for a person with the qualities of Louis XIV. But with this, the “sun king” turned the kingdom into a burden that exceeded human strength.

Human weaknesses prevented Louis XV, despite everything positive traits, follow the example of his predecessor and concentrate the state in his person, as the “omnipresent” king did. He has not grown up to the inhuman tasks of an “absolute” monarchy. So he became a misunderstood, lonely and tragic figure.

For a long time, Louis XV was portrayed as a lazy and weak king with a large number of favorites and mistresses, and only new biographers, most notably Michel Antoine, rightly evaluate him as a person with inherent merits.

Louis was born in Versailles on February 15, 1710. He was the son of the Duke of Burgundy, the eldest son of the Dauphin (Crown Prince) Louis and Maria Anna of Bavaria. Thus, he was the son of the eldest grandson of Louis XIV and Marie Adelaide of Savoy. Nothing seemed to foretell little Louis that he would someday ascend to the throne of the “Sun King.” But then a huge misfortune broke out over the Bourbon dynasty: within one year, from April 14, 1711 to March 8, 1712, death claimed the Dauphin in turn (died on April 14, 1711 from smallpox), followed by the Dauphin, Duke of Burgundy (died on February 18, 1711). .1712 from measles), his wife Maria Adelaide (died 12.2.1712) and his elder brother, who became the Dauphin (died 8.3.1712).

Since the firstborn died in childhood, only two-year-old Louis remained, the Dauphin, the hope of the dynasty when the reigning king and great-grandfather Louis XIV was already 73 and a half years old. The little crown prince is a charming child, lively, precociously developed, timid, very gentle, sensitive, weak and spoiled, being a complete orphan, he grew up without a family, 6 siblings, very isolated and withdrawn, although surrounded by many people. Therefore, he became very attached to the governess, whom he called “Mama Ventadur,” and to his great-grandfather, whom he called “Papa the King.”

The latter ordered that his former comrade-in-arms in the games, the 73-year-old Duke of Vieuroy, become a tutor, the 63-year-old Bishop Fleury - a teacher, and the Duke of Meigne, a legitimate son, - a guardian, so that the Duke of Orleans, regent and great-uncle of the baby, would not influence him too much. great influence.

When Louis XIV died on September 1, 1715, Louis XV became king of France at the age of five and a half. Of course, at this age he could not yet rule; this was done by the regent and the regency council on his behalf. But nevertheless, a serious life began for the little shy boy, because he was more and more involved in performing representative tasks. Already on September 2, 1715, he was supposed to preside as king at the reading of the will of Louis XIV. He opened the meeting with a few memorized words and then conveyed everything to the Chancellor. He also had to accept expressions of condolences in the presence of the regent in connection with the death of Louis XIV, then regularly receive the diplomatic corps, be present at the taking of the oath and perform religious duties as the most Christian king, and much more. Vijeroy is primarily to blame for the fact that a little boy in his seventh year of life was overloaded with these protocol duties, and the naturally timid child developed a fear of crowds that never left him. strangers. Behind his ease and excellent manners, an innate timidity was hidden in the soul and character of the monarch. At a time when other children could play with their peers, he carried out with amazing seriousness the duties entrusted to him, which greatly burdened him and early developed a tendency towards melancholy. Soon a relationship of trust united him with his tutor and home teacher, Bishop Andre Hercule de Fleury, who ruled the small bishopric of Freju from 1699 to 1715, a modest, wise and pious man who eschewed court intrigues.

Fleury gave the young king a strong religious education.

Already at the age of 10, along with his previous representative duties, Louis XV began to be involved in other royal affairs. From February 18, 1720, he regularly (as a listener) participated in meetings State Council. In addition, he began to study in depth all branches of knowledge important to the king.

As in other monarchies, the king's marriage was considered an important political event; the wishes or sympathies of the participants did not play a role here. But the marriage policy of the regent and his prime minister, Cardinal Dubois, who, in order to consolidate friendly relations with Spain, united the 11-year-old Louis XV with the 3-year-old Spanish infanta Maria Anna Victoria, was especially egregious. The marriage contract was signed on November 25, 1721, and the little Spanish princess was brought to Paris to raise her there and wait until a church wedding became possible.

The 11-year-old king was naturally left indifferent by his bride, but upon her arrival he gave her a doll. So Louis XV grew up alone at the head of state, without family or close friend. His only confidants were the elderly “Maman Ventadour” and the relatively old Fleury.

10/25/1722 with great pomp, according to old tradition, Louis was anointed to rule and crowned at Reims Cathedral. When the king turned 13 on February 15, 1723, he became an adult and the regency ended.

Soon the Prime Minister, the Duke de Bourbon, considered it extremely necessary to marry the often ill king, on whom the dynasty's hopes were pinned. The 6-year-old “infanta queen” was sent back to Madrid in 1725, to the great indignation of the Spaniards. Bourbon chose as his new bride the Polish princess Maria Leszczynska, the daughter of the dethroned King Stanislav, who was 7 years older than Louis. The wedding took place on September 5, 1725 in Fontainebleau with great pomp and in the presence of a huge number of princes and nobles from all over Europe.

What kind of person was Louis XV, who grew up without parents and family and always felt alone? What was his character like?

Contemporaries, as well as surviving portraits, indicate that Louis XV was a handsome, well-built, strong man. His representative appearance and harmonious facial features made him very attractive. They said that he " handsome man in your kingdom." He especially loved horse riding and hunting and had good health. However, he had a tendency to inflammation of the nasal mucosa and laryngitis, which made his voice hoarse. In general, his voice did not match his impressive appearance. This prevented him from speaking, gaining recognition with his speeches, representing, leading the Council, pacifying obstinate parliamentary councils and ruling his court. Therefore, ministers often had to read his statements instead.

The most important distinguishing feature of the king was his high intelligence. He, along with Henry IV, was the most intelligent of the Bourbons (Antoine), quickly grasped the essence and was insightful, as many of his employees emphasize, such as d'Agreson, d'Averdi, Croy and others. The French Minister of Foreign Affairs, Marquis d'Agreson wrote: "The king thinks quickly." And he emphasized: “His train of thought is faster than lightning... with quick and sharp judgments.”

Louis was, as the Austrian envoy Kaunitz reported to Vienna with surprise, one of the most well-informed and highly educated rulers of his time. The monarch always sought to expand and enrich his knowledge and for this purpose he collected a magnificent personal library, constantly replenished with new books. Along with history, law and theology, he was interested in natural sciences and public health issues. He personally contributed to the founding of the Academy of Surgery and encouraged natural scientific projects, such as that of Comte Le Garey, who published his Hydraulic Chemistry in 1745. As Croy, a contemporary, emphasized, “the king was particularly well versed in astronomy, physics and botany.”

Louis XV, a highly intelligent and educated man, had an “extremely complex and mysterious character” (Antoine). Agreson and the Duke of Luyny described him as impenetrable and inaccessible. He had weak nerves, was timid in front of people, and often fell into melancholy and depression. Luyny writes about this: “Attacks of melancholy sometimes appeared spontaneously, sometimes they were determined by circumstances.”

While the “Sun King,” whom everyone - at least outwardly - respected and revered, controlled the court and courtiers at Versailles, the shy, fearful Louis XV was greatly on the nerves of constant court intrigues and disputes over rank , malicious chatter and slander, undisguised envy and pride. Accustomed to secrecy since childhood, the monarch saw only one opportunity to isolate himself from all this: to show a restrained, mysterious, silent attitude, always mysterious and inaccessible to external influences. Like many shy people, he did not show his feelings and became a master of pretense and secrecy. Very remarkable in this regard is the advice that he gave to his grandson Ferdinand in 1771: “First of all, calm down and do not let your feelings be seen.”

Louis XV hid what he was planning, what he was doing and what he was working on. Because of this, the public had the false impression that he was not interested in the affairs of the state and was lazy; because no one knew his true thoughts, intentions, hard work, and foresight.

Unlike Louis XIV, whose life from morning to evening took place in public, surrounded by many ceremonies, including the presence of especially privileged people during the toilet, Louis XV was horrified by all this, tried to avoid court life, tried to fence off free space for himself. He built himself small apartments in Versailles, where he slept and worked, and where not everyone had access, as in the “large apartments.” In addition, as soon as the opportunity presented itself, he fled from Versailles to small hunting castles in Rambouillet, La Mouette, Choisy, Saint-Hubert, etc. It has been established that in some years he spent less than 100 nights at Versailles.

The royal ceremony was for Louis XV only a harsh duty and a heavy burden, a façade behind which he hid his true way of life.

Louis, despite his timidity in front of people and fear of crowds and strangers, did not try to avoid performing representative duties. But he did not like theatrical appearances. When going into the active army, he, unlike his predecessors, avoided big ceremonies and simply left. From time to time he missed his great-grandfather's daily public rising or going to bed with all the court ceremonies in the large royal apartments.

Louis XV spent the night in his small apartments, got up early and managed to work for several hours at his desk before heading to the larger apartments.

In the same way, Louis retired in the evening after hunting to his small chambers to work, have dinner with several trusted people, and only then went to the state room to publicly demonstrate going to bed. But as soon as the curtains of the bed were drawn and the courtiers left, he went to sleep in his room. According to contemporaries, in his personal life he was a “modest and kind-hearted person.”

However, such a double life led to the fact that the king could not use the court, court life and ceremony as a tool for ruling and “taming” the court nobility. In addition, by constantly avoiding publicity, he gave rise to mistrust, idle gossip, fantastic rumors, false judgments about his activities, and all this in the face of a very critical public, which, under the influence of the thoughts of enlighteners, as well as the scandalous press, was only looking for sacrifice. Louis XV became her favorite target, which gradually led to the weakening of the monarchical idea.

There was also something else that prevented him from completely taking the position of an “absolute” monarch like his great-grandfather: his naturally very strong shyness, fear of people and fear of public speaking, which increased during his childhood and youth. On them, “the king was always paralyzed” and could not, as Beri’s contemporary emphasizes, because of his timidity “read more than four sentences.” Thus, he could rarely overcome himself and publicly make a speech, address an envoy at a reception, exchange a few phrases with one of the courtiers, or express his praise or dissatisfaction to a minister or official. The king, who seemed constrained, cold and stiff in public, as Croy reports, in a narrow circle could be “cheerful, relaxed” and “no longer shy at all, but completely natural.”

The lack of ability in an official setting to address those who were waiting for his words constrained his actions. As Antoine rightly notes, for an absolute monarch it was primarily speech, that is, the ability to “speak to order and decide, to judge, to prohibit or allow, to congratulate, to encourage, to praise or scold, to punish or forgive.” Shyness made it difficult for him to communicate with his ministers and senior officials, especially with new faces, which is why he did not like change. They generally did not know what to expect from the monarch, who zealously guarded his powers of power, since they had never heard either praise or disapproval. All the more unexpected for them, in the appropriate circumstances, was Louis’s decision to resign or his written orders on punishments. Either truly significant politicians could not appear in such an atmosphere, or they simply did not exist. In any case, during the time of Louis XV after Fleury there were few significant political personalities, although there were well-governing officials. Despite this, Louis XV carried out his duties as the supreme representative of the kingdom, as the embodiment of the highest legislative, executive and judiciary. He had a clear concept of his integral sovereign authority, a religious position of the “most Christian king”; he showed himself not as a despot or even as an authoritarian monarch.

He was a bureaucrat who wrote a lot, which suited his introverted nature. Unlike Louis XIV, who willingly and competently used the spoken word in his rule and wrote little, his great-grandson led the same institutions passed down from his predecessors in writing. Although he often had to preside over meetings of the State Council and regularly confer with ministers in a narrow circle, he still preferred correspondence. Since he was good with the pen, he felt much more confident in the written field. He wrote everything himself and did not have a personal secretary. The Marquis d'Argeson notes on this matter: “The king writes a lot in his own hand, letters, memos, many excerpts from what he reads...” Thus, the monarch tried to control writing as much as possible, demanded this or that, did notes in the documents of his ministers and officials, criticized or approved, gave instructions, etc.

Thus, he was able to fully carry out his management duties and keep everything under control, although he was often absent from Versailles and moved from one hunting castle to another. He had a folding desk with a lockable drawer filled with letters and files that was always with him, and important ministers sometimes had to travel to talk with their king.

Despite this style of government, which could have been quite effective, historians generally talk about his low ability to solve domestic and foreign political and financial problems due to exaggerated modesty and strong self-doubt. This intelligent, insightful monarch constantly doubted himself. His lack of confidence hampered his valuable qualities. He very quickly grasped what was essential and necessary, as well as the meaning and consequences of events. But if his entourage or ministers expressed a different opinion, he became confused, became indecisive and spent a lot of time making a decision. Contemporary Duke Croy, who knew the king well, remarks on this matter: “...modesty was a quality that turned into a flaw in him. Although he understood matters much better than others, he always believed himself to be in the wrong.”

Non-musical, but sensitive to art, deeply religious, a devout man and a faithful son of the church and the pope, he did not allow many nobles to distract him from his faith, although they diligently tried to do so.

After he was no longer intimate with the queen from 1737 at the latest, he lived for long periods with official mistresses, to whom were sometimes added fleeting favorites of lower birth. Although keeping mistresses was then common for almost all monarchs, these constant violations of church morality caused remorse and depression in the French king. He was aware of his sinful state, but did not want to change it or did not have enough willpower to do so. He hoped, being always surrounded by priests, to solve the problem by repentance before death, as Croy notes.

Cardinal Burney emphasized: “His love for women conquered his love for religion, but it could never... harm his respect for her” and “The King has a religion... he would rather abstain from the sacrament of the sacrament than profane it.” . During the 38 years of his reign, Louis did not take the sacrament, although he otherwise fulfilled his religious duties responsibly and, like his predecessor, participated in Mass every day with great reverence and always kneeling, fasted on prescribed days and participated in processions. It was customary for the king, as God's anointed, to lay hands on his subjects who were sick with scrofula on major holidays in order to heal them. But for this it was necessary to first confess and receive communion. From 1722 to 1738, Louis XV always faithfully carried out the laying on of hands on scrofulous people. But from 1739 this stopped because he no longer received communion. This caused a big scandal. Although, thanks to the Enlightenment, the nobility had long questioned the sacredness of royal power, Louis XV, by ceasing to perform the old royal ritual of laying hands on the scrofulous, contributed to the desacralization of his authority and its weakening.

Louis XV caused great damage to his reputation by having too many mistresses. He was considered a "lustful sinner." This “most Christian king” was not forgiven, although most of the courtiers lived not with their wives, but with their mistresses, and things were no better for the upper bourgeoisie. A special reason for the scandal was the king’s connection with the notorious Pompadour, which went down in history as a symbol of the royal mistress.

The young king was at first a loving, good and faithful husband. In the first 12 years, his wife gave birth to ten children. The first daughter was born when he was seventeen and a half years old, and the last when he was twenty-seven and Mary thirty-four. In addition to two boys, the couple had 8 girls who bore the title “Madame of France”; they were numbered by age (“Madame First”, “Madame Second”, etc.). Of the girls, “Madame the Third” died at four and a half years old, and of the boys, the youngest, born in 1730. Only son remained the Dauphin Louis, born on September 4, 1729, an organist and singer, who did not like either hunting or sports, very pious and domestic, who, after the death of his beloved first wife, led a happy life with his second wife, Maria Josepha of Saxony. family life, more reminiscent of the bourgeois. From them descended the subsequent kings Louis XVI, Louis XVIII and Charles X. Louis XV's relationship with his son was very tense, but he was very attached to his daughters, whom, when they grew up, he willingly visited and talked with them. I listened to their music and made them coffee with my own hands. Only the eldest, Elizabeth of France, married Don Philip of Spain, the future Duke of Parma. The youngest, Louise, became a nun of the Carmelite Order.

Although Louis was a loving father, difficulties soon arose in his marriage to Maria Leszczynska. His wife, seven years older, very pious, but unattractive, boring, apathetic and sad, had completely different interests than the king, rarely accompanied him because of her frequent pregnancies, and was unable to create the environment that Louis was striving for. There was no truly close, trusting relationship between them, and the king “found the queen’s darkest corner at court.” When the queen once, on the advice of doctors, denied intimacy to her husband, but did not dare explain the reason, he, offended, finally turned away from her. Not accustomed to abstinence and, obviously, incapable of it, from 1738/39 the king began to spend time in the company of the metresses. Croy spoke about this as follows: “Along with exaggerated modesty, he had the most important and only drawback - a passion for women.” The first official mistresses were the four daughters of the Marquis de Nestlé. He enjoyed the fact that he could relax with them and “live like an ordinary person.”

In the spring of 1745, a new lady rose to the position of "chief mistress": Jeanne Antoinette Poisson, illegitimate daughter financier, who grew up in a respectable bourgeois family and at the age of 20, in 1742, married financier Charles Guillaume Le Normand d'Etoile. A seductive, exceptionally beautiful, ambitious and educated young woman met Louis XV during his hunting expeditions and decided to become his mistress, which she achieved in March 1745. She separated from her husband, received a noble estate from Louis and as Marquise de Pompadour was admitted to the court, although the nobles despised this upstart. Her art and talent lay primarily in the fact that she knew how to entertain the king and dispel his melancholy. The new mistress, unyielding in her ambition and desire for power, played a very important role from 1745 until her death in 1764. The public found it particularly scandalous that this woman was able to maintain her position for so many years. She perfectly knew how to recapture the king from her rivals and maintain his favor. Although their relationship lasted only until 1750, she remained an even more influential friend, created a private atmosphere for him and supplied the king with or tolerated around him little favorites from the common classes who were not dangerous to her. It was these little mistresses who lived in the same house that gave rise to fantastic rumors, stories and suspicions. They talked about mass orgies, seduction of minors, etc. In reality, young women of marriageable age made their way on their own, often pushed by their ambitious parents. Although Louis XV knew what a blow Pompadour dealt to his prestige, yet in 1768, at the age of 58, he made another bourgeoisie, 25-year-old Jeanne Vaubenier, who was married to the Comte de Barry, the main mistress. The new mistress, Countess de Barry, a cheerful, crafty, good-natured young woman, now surrounded by courtiers, artists and philosophers, did not play such a political role as the Marquise de Pompadour, but with her extravagance she also contributed to the decline of the monarch’s authority. The number of Louis's illegitimate children is estimated differently. Antoine emphasizes that there were only eight of them, i.e. less than the legal ones. It was mainly about girls who were married off well; both sons became clergymen.

(1715–1774) and Louis XVI. This was the time of the entire development of educational literature, but at the same time the era of France’s loss of its former importance in matters of international politics and complete internal decay and decline. Louis XIV system led the country to complete ruin under the burden of heavy taxes, huge public debt and a constant excess of government spending over revenue (deficit). Reactionary Catholicism that triumphed over Protestantism after abolition Edict of Nantes, and royal absolutism, which killed all the institutions of the country, but itself submitted to the influence of the Versailles court nobility, continued to dominate France in the 18th century, at the very time when the country was the main hotbed of new ideas, and beyond its borders sovereigns and ministers acted in the spirit enlightened absolutism.

Both Louis XV and Louis XVI were careless people who knew no other life except the court life of their Versailles, and in general, both did nothing to improve the state of affairs in the country. Until the middle of the 18th century, all the French, who wanted reforms and clearly understood their necessity, pinned their hopes on royal power as the only force that would be able to carry out reforms; Both Voltaire and the physiocrats thought so. When, however, society saw that its expectations were in vain, it began, on the contrary, to have a negative attitude towards this power, and the ideas of political freedom, the spokesmen of which were Montesquieu and Rousseau, began to spread within it. It did The task of the French government is even more difficult. If in other states the governments of the era of enlightened absolutism met with opposition from the defenders of antiquity, i.e. on the part of the nobility and clergy, then in France the government, in addition to such opposition, had to deal with the discontent of those social classes who wanted change. It was exactly wealthy and educated bourgeoisie. At first she only strived for reforms that did not affect the essence of royal power, but then it was in her that the desire for political freedom spread. In general, the state of affairs at the end of the reign of Louis XV and under Louis XVI was this: the government protected antiquity, which caused the displeasure of the vast majority of the nation, but if it happened that by some private measures the government offended the interests of the privileged, it entered into a struggle with them and resorted against them to harsh measures, this caused displeasure in the rest of the nation, which condemned such measures from the point of view of their violation of public freedom.

221. Regency era

At the beginning of the reign Louis XV(great-grandson of Louis XIV) during his childhood, France was ruled as regent as the closest royal relative by Duke Philippe of Orléans. Regency era(1715–1723) became famous for the frivolity and depravity of representatives of government and high society. At this time France experienced a strong economic shock, further upset matters, which were already in a sad situation. A Scotsman came to Paris, having amassed a million-dollar fortune through various financial scams, and suggested that the regent improve French finances. His system was for the state, using the credit of the nation, to put into circulation paper money in greater quantities than the treasury had specie, and thereby revive trade and industry. The Regent accepted this purely mercantilistic project, built on the idea that the wealth of the country was in money, and Law began to implement his plan, which at the same time expanded more and more. Having obtained a huge amount of money by publishing large quantity special monetary securities (shares), he founded the royal bank, which began to issue notes that were accepted into the treasury on a par with real money. Then Law began to expand the operations of this bank, connecting with it the monopoly trade in both Indias, obtaining the right to mint coins, taking over various taxes, the tobacco monopoly, etc. As the operation expanded, more and more shares were issued, and more and more bank notes. At first the shares were a huge success with the public, and their price increased by 30–40 times the declared value. The entire society, especially the upper classes, was seized by stock exchange fever: in order to buy shares with a view to resell them for a profit, lands, houses, and jewelry were sold and mortgaged. Many actually got rich from this, but the moment came when the grandiose enterprise began to reveal all its fragility; As soon as the government limited the exchange of bank notes for hard currency due to the insufficiency of the latter, panic began in society, and everyone began to rush to sell their shares, not wanting, however, to take bank notes for them. This entailed the ruin of many individuals, but the entire enterprise also collapsed. Among those who went bankrupt were a lot of aristocrats who morally humiliated themselves during this pursuit of easy money. Of course, the complete collapse of the royal bank - its shares and notes lost all value - could not but affect the finances of the state itself, and the authority of the authorities could not help but suffer due to the fact that the treasury managed to pay off a very large part of its debts with notes, which later turned out to be worth absolutely nothing. However, this did not bother the frivolous and depraved regent.

Portrait of John Law, financial swindler of the era of Louis XV. OK. 1715-1720

When When he came of age, he himself had little interest and was busy with business. He loved only secular entertainment and paid special attention only to court intrigues, entrusting affairs to ministers and being guided in their appointment and removal by the whims of his favorites. Of the latter, the Marquise became especially famous for her influence on the king and her insane spending. Pompadour, interfering in high politics. In the War of the Austrian Succession, France was against Maria Theresa, but when the Empress wrote a letter to the all-powerful Marchioness, calling her a dear cousin, Louis XV took the side of Austria and defended its interests in the new war (Seven Years). Marquise Pompadour supported the minister Choiseul, who entered into the fight against the Jesuits, and the destruction of this order in France did not occur without her assistance. The character of Louis XV is best expressed in two phrases attributed to him: “after us, even a flood,” and “if I were in the place of my subjects, I would rebel.”

Louis XV. Portrait by van Loo

223. Fight against parliaments

The end of the reign of Louis XV was marked by the fight against parliaments. Louis XIV kept the parliaments in complete obedience, but, starting with the regency of the Duke of Orleans, they again began to behave independently and even enter into disputes with the government and criticize its actions. In essence, the members of these judicial chambers, who bought and sold or inherited their seats, were ardent defenders of antiquity and enemies of new ideas, which they proved by the burning of many literary works XVIII century, but their independence and courage in relation to the government made parliaments very popular in the nation, but the government did not dare to take away from this judicial aristocracy their positions, which they looked at as private property. Only in the early seventies did it take this last measure, but chose the most unfortunate reason. One provincial parliament opened a case on charges of various iniquities against the local governor (Duke of Aiguillon), who was considered a “peer of France” and therefore was subject only to the Parisian parliament. The accused enjoyed the favor of the court, and Louis XV ordered the case to be stopped, but the capital parliament, whose side was taken by all the provincial ones, declared such an order contrary to the laws, at the same time recognizing it as impossible to administer justice if the courts were deprived of freedom. Then Minister of Justice (Chancellor) Mopu exiled recalcitrant judges and replaced parliaments with new courts, in which important improvements were made (1771). These courts, however, received the nickname "parliaments of Maupou", and only Voltaire approved the destruction of the old parliaments. Public irritation was so strong that when Louis XV died, his successor hastened to restore the old parliaments.

René Nicolas Maupou, Chancellor of Louis XV

On February 15, 1710, King Louis XV of France was born, famous for his unbridled extravagance and love of love...

Pestilence in the Royal Family

The legendary French king Louis XIV is credited with the phrase: “The state is me!” Regardless of whether the monarch pronounced it or not, it reflects the essence of his reign, which lasted for 72 years.

Under the Sun King, absolute monarchy in France reached its peak. But after blossoming, decline inevitably follows. And the successor of a great monarch most often falls to the fate of being a pale shadow of his predecessor.

The “shadow” of Louis XIV was his great-grandson Louis XV.

The last years of the Sun King's reign were extremely dramatic. The position of the ruling dynasty, which until recently seemed unshakable, has been shaken due to a series of deaths of the heirs to the throne.

In 1711, the only legitimate son of Louis XIV died. In 1712 on royal family measles struck. From February 12 to March 8, the father, mother and elder brother of the future Louis XV died from this disease.

The two-year-old great-grandson of Louis XIV remained his only direct heir and the only barrier to the impending dynastic crisis. The baby’s life hung in the balance, and his teacher, the Duchess de Vantadour, rescued him from the clutches of death.

The heir to the throne was protected like the apple of his eye. He was not left alone for a minute; doctors constantly monitored his health. Excessive care in childhood greatly influenced the character of Louis XV in later years.

Marriage in the interests of the state

On September 1, 1715, the five-year-old heir to the throne ascended to the French throne after the death of his great-grandfather.

Hyacinth Rigaud Portrait of Louis XV in Coronation Dress 1715

Of course, in the first years of his reign public administration was concentrated in the hands of the regent, who became the nephew of Louis XIV, Philippe of Orleans. This period was marked by the struggle of various court factions, an economic crisis and chaos in foreign affairs.

The young king was not privy to what was happening. Louis studied under the guidance of Bishop Fleury, who taught him piety and piety, and free time spent with Marshal Villeroy, who was ready to fulfill any whim of the monarch.

What united the warring factions at the French court was the fear of the sudden death of Louis, who, due to his too young age, had no heirs.

Jean-François de Troy Portrait of Louis XV and Marianne Victoria of Spain

In 1721, the regent announced Louis's engagement to his two-year-old cousin, Infanta Mariana Victoria of Spain... here, as they say, "no comment." The little infanta arrived in France and was considered the royal bride.

After the death of Philippe d'Orléans in December 1723, Duke Louis Henry of Condé-Bourbon became the first minister and he decided to marry the king as quickly as possible.

The only age-appropriate Catholic princess (although 7 years older than the king) turned out to be Maria Leszczynska, the daughter of the former Polish king Stanislaw Leszczynski. The little Infanta Marianne of Spain was sent home to Madrid and later became Queen of Portugal.

François Stimard, Marie Leszczynska, Queen of France

This marriage indeed turned out to be prolific - the couple had 10 children, seven of whom lived to adulthood.

For the cardinal - power, for the king - entertainment

In 1726, 16-year-old Louis XV announced that he was taking the reins of power into his own hands, but in reality power actually passed into the hands of his tutor Fleury, who became a cardinal.

Louis XV had little interest state affairs, which was greatly facilitated by the cardinal, who concentrated great power in his hands.

Cardinal Fleury avoided reforms and drastic political steps in general, but his cautious policy allowed him to somewhat improve the economic situation of the country. Louis himself spent his time in entertainment and was engaged in philanthropy, supporting sculptors, painters and architects, and encouraged natural sciences and medicine.

From 1722 to 1774, more than 800 paintings, more than a thousand elegant pieces of furniture, and much more were purchased for the castles of Louis XV. But women were a much greater passion for the king than art.

Louis XV

Louis XV had countless favorites. Their number especially increased after his wife Maria Leshchinskaya (after the birth of her tenth child in 1737) refused intimacy with her husband.

The topic of the love affairs of King Louis XV is so vast that it could fill several volumes. As historians say, the fall from grace of the ruler of France, at that time very shy (with already ten children!) and indecisive, began with the family of the old noble family of Neleus, related to the house of Maglia.

Four of the five Nelei-Malia sisters became the king's mistresses and favorites. The first was the eldest Louise de Magli, then there were Pauline - Felicite, Diana - Adelaide and Marie - Anne...

Main favorite

After the death of Cardinal Fleury in 1743, Louis XV finally became the sovereign ruler of France. In 1745, banker Joseph Paris, hoping to get closer to the king, introduced him to 23-year-old Jeanne Antoinette d'Etiol, a Parisian beauty who, according to the financier, might appeal to Louis XV.

Jeanne-Antoinette d'Etiol

The banker was not mistaken - Jeanne Antoinette became the king's mistress. But this turned out to be no passing hobby. The energetic lady managed to become a close friend for the king, a confidant in all matters, and then, in fact, an adviser in matters of public administration.

So Jeanne-Antoinette d'Etiolle turned into the influential Marquise de Pompadour, the official favorite of the king, who overthrew and appointed ministers, determined the direction of the internal and foreign policy countries.

Subsequently, the French themselves were inclined to blame Madame de Pompadour for all the failures of France during the reign of Louis XV. However, in reality, the blame lies with the king himself, who was never able to overcome the aversion to state affairs that had been ingrained in him since childhood.

By the end of the 1750s, the country's economic situation began to deteriorate sharply. In 1756, Louis XV, not without the influence of his favorite and her nominees, was drawn into the Seven Years' War, taking the side of Austria, traditionally a rival of France.

This conflict not only devastated the treasury, but also led the country to the loss of colonies and a decrease in France's political influence in the world as a whole.

"Deer Park"

The king, who was the favorite of France in childhood and received the nickname Beloved, was rapidly losing popularity. He preferred to spend time in the company of his favorites, whom he gave gifts expensive gifts and in whose honor he threw luxurious feasts that shook out the last pennies from the treasury.

The king’s favorite leisure spot was the “Deer Park,” a mansion in the vicinity of Versailles, specially built for meetings between Louis XV and his favorites. The initiator of its construction was the Marquise de Pompadour. The far-sighted woman, who did not want to lose her place as the official favorite, decided to take into her own hands the matter of raising the girls, who would later go to bed with the king.

The older Louis XV became, the younger his mistresses were. However, the accusations of pedophilia against the king are somewhat exaggerated. The inhabitants of the “Deer Park” were mainly girls 15-17 years old, who, by the standards of that time, were no longer considered children.

After the next young mistress ceased to attract the king, she was given in marriage, giving a worthy dowry for this.

Two-faced marquise

The easiest way would be to call the power-hungry marquise “the keeper of the royal brothel.” But Madame de Pompadour was at the same time the patroness of scientists, painters and other creative people. Thanks to her, old palaces were rebuilt and new ones were built, and street ensembles were created, which are the pride of France to this day.

The name of the Marquise de Pompadour is inextricably linked with the concept of “Gallant Age”. The great Voltaire admired the intelligence and energy of this woman.

In 1764, the all-powerful favorite passed away at the age of 42. Louis XV suffered this loss rather indifferently - as a consolation he was left with the Deer Park, where fresh beauties were always at his service.

The death of Madame de Pompadour opened the final period of the reign of Louis XV. Having never felt a craving for state affairs, he now almost completely withdrew from them, engaging in them only for one purpose - to obtain funds for entertainment and gifts for his mistresses.

"Flood" as a legacy to a grandson

The Parisian parliament, which resisted the king's introduction of new taxes, was forced by Louis to obey by force. In 1771, he completely dispersed the parliamentarians with the help of soldiers. Such measures contributed to the growth of discontent not only in the ranks of the aristocracy, but also among the lower strata of society.

IN last years In his life, Louis XV, who spent more and more time hunting and in the “Deer Park,” invariably responded to the words of the courtiers about the unrest among the people and the catastrophic financial situation of the country with a phrase once said by Madame de Pompadour, who was reproached for wastefulness: “After us, even a flood! »

Louis XV himself was not destined to see the “flood”. In 1774, another young mistress infected the king with smallpox. On May 10, 1774, he died in Versailles.

Louis XV's grandson, Louis XVI, ascended the throne. The young king, who did not share his grandfather’s hobbies and was disgusted by the “Deer Park,” soon became a victim of that very “flood”, the onset of which Louis XV and the Marquise de Pompadour predicted after themselves. But the guillotine does not understand royal necks...

He ascended the throne at the age of five. The regent of the kingdom was Prince Philip of Orléans. After the prim morals of the last years of the reign of Louis XIV, times of free morality came. After the death of the regent Philip, another prince of the blood, the Duke of Bourbon, assumed power. At the age of 16, the king became the husband of the Polish princess Maria Leszczynska. But the young monarch did not want to engage in state affairs. And from 1726 to 1743, France was ruled by the elderly Cardinal de Fleury, who became first minister at the age of 70. This experienced politician managed to strengthen financial position country, contributed to the development of industry and trade. After the death of Fleury (1743), Louis himself began to rule the state and difficult days came for the country. The king often showed indifference to business, devoting most of his time to feasts, hunting and love affairs. His favorites could have a great influence on state affairs. Among them, the most influential was the Marquise of Pompadour (1721-1764). The king generously rewarded his lovers at the expense of the country's budget, taxes grew. War of the Polish Succession (1733-1735), war for Austrian inheritance (1740-1746), Seven Years' War(1756-1763) drained the treasury. The outcome of the last war was especially sad. The British defeated French troops in North America and India. As a result of these defeats, the French were effectively driven out of India and lost Canada. Some of the rise of France was associated with the activities of the Duke of Choiseul; since 1758, he received great power under the patronage of the Marquise of Pompadour, who patronized encyclopedists. By the early 1750s, the king had greatly deteriorated both morally and physically. From a handsome young man, he turned into an unattractive, flabby, fat man who suffered from shortness of breath. Gluttony and debauchery were increasingly combined with hypocrisy. During the years of his reign, Choiseul enjoyed relative independence, although the king did not trust his minister, resorting to methods of “secret diplomacy.” Nevertheless, Choiseul managed to expel the Jesuits from the country, carry out reforms in the army, and improve the economic situation of the country. He managed to annex Corsica to France (1768) and achieve peace. But Choiseul could not raise the authority of the king. The Paris and other parliaments of France, which had been completely submissive under Louis XIV, began to oppose the king's policies. After Pompadour's death, DuBarry took her place. In 1770, Choiseul was dismissed. Louis appointed Maupou, who fulfilled the whims of the “wild” favorite.

Under Louis XV, the role of the royal court declined sharply. In the previous reign, the court played a large role in cultural life countries. In the age of Louis XV, the enlightened French viewed court life ironically. For readers Voltaire , Rousseau , Diderot, Helvetius and other court increasingly seemed an anachronism. The eve of the French Revolution was approaching.

On May 10, 1774, Louis died in Versailles. Paris rejoiced, hoping that under the new king Louis XVI good times will come.

LOUIS XV Bourbon (Louis Le Bien-Aime, Louis the Beloved) (February 15, 1710, Versailles - May 10, 1774, ibid.), King of France from September 1, 1715. Great-grandson, youngest of the surviving children of Louis of Burgundy and Marie-Adelaide of Savoy.

The future king was orphaned at the age of two: his entire family died from smallpox and, as many courtiers were sure, from incompetent treatment. Little Louis was hidden from the doctors by his devoted teacher, the Duchess de Vantadour. After the death of Louis XIV in 1715, the five-year-old boy became king of France, and Duke Philippe d'Orléans became regent. He was devoted to Louis, but, wanting to raise the heir to the greatness of the “Sun King,” he treated him with respect and aloofness. The king grew up to be a reserved, proud and at the same time shy person. In 1721, the regent announced Louis's engagement to his two-year-old cousin, a Spanish infanta who had arrived in France and lived at court as the royal bride.

After the death of the Duke of Orleans in December 1723, Duke Louis Henry of Condé-Bourbon became the first minister, who decided to marry the king as quickly as possible. The Spanish infanta was still just a child and was sent back home. She subsequently became Queen of Portugal. For Louis, the age-appropriate Catholic princess (although 7 years older than the king) turned out to be Maria Leszczynska, the daughter of the former Polish king Stanislaw Leszczynski. At first, the marriage with Leshchinskaya was happy: by the age of twenty-seven, the king had seven children, but the company of his wife, a colorless and ordinary woman, did not satisfy Louis. The dynastic connection with Stanislaw Leszczynski dragged France into the unsuccessful War of the Polish Succession (1733-1738).

Disappointed in his wife, the king began to have mistresses. It soon became clear that he was capable of making government decisions under female influence: for example, one of the metresses, the Marquise de Ventimius, convinced the king to enter into the War of the Austrian Succession. In 1744, having left to join his army in Metz, the king became dangerously ill; In order to receive communion, he was forced to agree to remove his mistress, but, not satisfied with this, the churchmen forced him to repent publicly, also by posting the text of repentance in all the churches of the country. Having recovered to the jubilation of the people, who then nicknamed the king “Beloved,” he recalled with disgust until the end of his life the “story in Metz,” maintaining strained relations with the church.

In 1726, Condé was replaced as first minister by Cardinal Fleury, the king's former tutor; Until his death in 1744, all state affairs were under the jurisdiction of the cardinal, although in 1743 the king announced his intention to reign independently. In 1745, Madame Pompadour, whose influence on state affairs was decisive, became Louis' mistress. Internal affairs The king did little, but tried to influence international ones with the help of a specially organized (around 1747-1748) secret service, “The King’s Secret,” whose agents were stationed at all European courts. Despite such skillful and extraordinary agents as, for example, the Chevalier d'Eon, France actually received few benefits. In 1756, not without the efforts of Madame Pompadour, the country entered the Seven Years' War, after which France lost its North American and Indian possessions. Another decision of Pompadour - the appointment of the Duke de Choiseul was more successful: he managed to restore the military power of the country to some extent.In 1757, an attempt was made on the life of Louis XV.

After Pompadour's death, she was replaced by Madame DuBarry, who did not even have the understanding of state interests that Pompadour had; in addition, there was a whole royal “harem” near Versailles. Despite the successful development of French industry, the huge expenses of the king and his mistresses caused serious discontent. The state of finances was threatening. The conflict with the church, especially with the Jesuits (expelled from France in 1764), was aggravated by the conflict with the Jansenists within the French church itself. In the last years of Louis's reign, a conflict was added with the Parisian Parliament, which sought reforms of the judicial system, the convening of the Estates General and financial reforms. Chancellor Rene de Maup managed to extinguish the conflict by canceling the sale of judicial positions, but in general the archaic feudal system was not reformed. The decline in morality encouraged by the king caused a protest from the entire society, not a single problem was solved, but only postponed, and Louis, who ascended the throne with the complete jubilation of the entire people, died, hated by everyone, from smallpox. The motto of his reign was his catchphrase: “After us there might be a flood.” The reign of Louis XV marks the crisis of French absolutism.