Absolute Monarchy: Intro and France

Summary

In this engaging exploration of absolutism, Kathryn Steinhaus delves into the emergence of absolute monarchy in post-reformation Europe. The video navigates through key figures like Jacques Bossuet and Thomas Hobbes, who laid the theoretical foundations for this form of governance, advocating for the divine right of kings and the notion of sacrificing individual rights for societal stability, respectively. At the forefront of absolutism is Louis XIV of France, whose lavish construction of the Palace of Versailles served as both a symbol and central mechanism of power, emphasizing control over the nobility and state through opulent displays and calculated political maneuvers.

Highlights

• Absolutism rose post-reformation amidst European turbulence. ⚔️
• Bossuet championed the divine right of kings, tying monarchy to religion. 🙏
• Hobbes argued for absolute rule as a safeguard against anarchy. 📚
• Louis XIV’s grand Versailles was more than a palace; it was a political chess move. ♟️
• Under Louis, favoring the king got you power—even if it meant holding a chamber pot. 🚽

Key Takeaways

• Absolute monarchy emerged as a stabilizing force post religious wars in Europe. ✨
• Jacques Bossuet and Thomas Hobbes provided the ideological backbone for absolutism with differing perspectives. 📖
• Louis XIV’s Versailles was a power play, epitomizing control and grandeur. 🏰
• Keeping nobles occupied at Versailles was Louis's way of preventing revolts. 🍾
• Absolute monarchy utilized both fear and opulence to maintain control. 👑

Overview

Absolutism stood as a beacon in a Europe weary from the violence of religious wars. This form of government emerged in the 17th century, promoted by thinkers like Jacques Bossuet and Thomas Hobbes. Bossuet rooted his support in divine right and religious order, asserting that kings rule with God’s blessing and defying them was akin to blasphemy. Meanwhile, Hobbes presented a secular argument, focusing on the chaos of ungoverned societies and contending that absolute monarchy was the best way to ensure peace and civilization.

At the heart of this movement was Louis XIV of France, the quintessential absolute monarch. His childhood fears and experiences shaped his reign, pushing him to construct the extravagant Palace of Versailles. Not just a residence, Versailles was a strategic masterpiece designed to centralize power and keep the nobility in check through lavish distractions and surveillance, ensuring loyalty and mitigating rebellion.

Louis’s reign demonstrated the opulence and strategic cunning of absolute monarchy. He expertly manipulated both the social and political landscapes, using Versailles as a hub to control nobility under the guise of endless entertainment. This luxury came with a potent message: power resided with those who controlled the wealth. Louis ensured his dominance by granting favors and overseeing military positions, all while maintaining an iron grip over the state’s affairs. His methodology highlighted the dual nature of absolutism—fear blended seamlessly with grandeur.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 01:00: Introduction to Absolutism The chapter 'Introduction to Absolutism' discusses the emergence of absolutism or absolute monarchy as a new form of government in Europe. This development happened in response to the violent Wars of Religion. The class also references earlier discussions about Europe's recovery, which includes population growth and the conclusion of over 100 years of conflict following the Reformation.
• 01:01 - 05:00: Theorists of Absolute Monarchy: Bossuet and Hobbes The chapter discusses the period in the late 1600s and 1700s, a time when Europeans focused on consolidating government power domestically rather than externally. This shift was largely due to internal unrest, with populations ready to revolt over various issues. The chapter relates this era to the ideas of absolute monarchy, as exemplified by theorists Bossuet and Hobbes, who offered differing perspectives on the role of religion and governance.
• 05:01 - 10:00: Louis XIV of France: The Sun King The chapter titled "Louis XIV of France: The Sun King" begins by highlighting the political climate in Europe, where there is a notable tightening of laws across many regions. Despite an ongoing series of territorial disputes, the emphasis shifts towards establishing a system known as absolute monarchy, where dissent against the king is suppressed. The narrative sets the stage to delve deeper into the concept and implementation of absolute monarchy, particularly focusing on its role in shaping the rule of Louis XIV, also known as the "Sun King".
• 10:01 - 15:00: Louis XIV's Strategies for Control The chapter explores the rise of absolute monarchy during the reign of Louis XIV, focusing on key theorists like Jacques Benin Bossuet, who supported and advocated for this form of government. It begins with a reference to Thomas Hobbes' "Leviathan" as an important work related to absolute monarchy, although the primary figure discussed is Bossuet, a French bishop, noted for his strong support of the French king and his influence as a popular subject of the realm.
• 15:01 - 20:00: Versailles: A Symbol of Power The chapter discusses the concept of absolute monarchy as advocated by Bossuet, who believed in the religious foundation for absolute obedience to the French king. Bossuet argued in favor of the divine right of kings, referencing biblical mentions of kings to support his ideas.
• 20:01 - 23:00: The Court Rituals of Versailles The chapter discusses the divine form of government upheld at the Court of Versailles, emphasizing the king's godlike status. Disagreeing with the king is equated to blasphemy, reflecting the deep-seated belief in the divine right of kings. The chapter highlights the extreme lengths to which reverence for monarchy was taken, beyond what had been seen before.

Absolute Monarchy: Intro and France Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 good morning so welcome to talking about absolutism uh we'll also call absolute monarchy and this is a new form of government in europe after the violence of the wars of religion so if you'll remember in our first classes we talked about how europe is starting to grow its population back how they've ended more than 100 years of violence following the reformation and
• 00:30 - 01:00 counter-reformation where they disagreed about religion rather violently and uh instead we're going to see this period in the late 1600s and in the 1700s where in some ways europeans are facing inwards and uh and tightening up government at home in particular because everyone's been running around uh prepared to revolt over things uh they're going to
• 01:00 - 01:30 see a lot of law tightening in many areas of europe and that doesn't mean there's complete peace in europe they're still going to get in a bunch of ridiculous squabbles about boundaries but um this new focus on cracking um heads together for disagreeing with the king in certain countries is what we will call absolute monarchy so let's discuss uh we're going to start
• 01:30 - 02:00 with the important theorists who are advocating for things like absolute monarchy this is the original frontis piece of hobbes leviathan which we'll talk about in a second here but the important one is uh most important advocate of absolute government is uh jacques benin bossue who was a french bishop who uh became one of the most popular subjects uh undoubtedly of the french king for
• 02:00 - 02:30 coming up with an advocates see of absolute monarchy because he believed that uh there was a religious foundation for absolute obedience to the french king so what does bosue believe well possibly wrote an important tract about the divine right of kings and he said that because there are kings mentioned in the bible
• 02:30 - 03:00 it is the only godly form of government he also apparently were in trouble in countries without kings um and he also said that disagreeing with the king is a sin it's like disagreeing with god in fact it's uh it's blasphemy um he really took this to an incredible place that hadn't been taken previously uh the
• 03:00 - 03:30 divine right of king sometimes means the right kings get from god to rule which is because they inherited the job obviously they were the person god wanted was the theory but boss away really takes this up a notch the same way we've had monarchy before but usually there were rowdy nobles to keep the king in check we're taking this up a notch to absolute monarchy an absolute divine right
• 03:30 - 04:00 thomas hobbs was an english thinker i'm not sure why we can't see the rest of his name and it's cut off but it should be h-o-b-b-e-s uh and thomas hobbs um ends up being a sort of different argument for giving much more power to a ruler thomas hobbs lives through the english civil war of the mid 1600s and thomas hobbes watches
• 04:00 - 04:30 what happens when the people revolt and cut the king's head off in fact he was a supporter of the king and he argues in his famous book the leviathan that even though he doesn't believe it's religion that makes you listen to the king he doesn't even believe it's nature that makes you listen to the king he says in a civilized society to be civilized what you do is you give up your rights
• 04:30 - 05:00 in order to stay safe this is his famous argument so he says sure sometimes the king is an idiot and sometimes you don't want to give up your rights but really it's safer that way and he argued this in part because he lived through a massive civil war and he was like oh man i saw what happened and it got crazy so um his famous quote is that in a state of nature life is nasty brutish
• 05:00 - 05:30 and short basically uh if you do whatever you want anarchy ensues so just give it up to the king it's easier and like i said that book the leviathan here we have that original uh illustration from an early publication of it it's also a link here if you go to the powerpoint to a reading by boss way if you're interested well if absolute monarchies the new fancy government of the 1600s the rock star of
• 05:30 - 06:00 absolute monarchy is the french king louis xiv and just like botsway and hobbes were shaped by what they lived through louis became a pioneer of absolute monarchy because of what he lived through louis xiv of france who you see here on the right was uh shaped by his childhood like most of us and louie's father died when he was very very young
• 06:00 - 06:30 so his mother and a french cardinal cardinal mazaram ran the government for him nobles after the wars of religion did not like settling down and listening to the king they wanted to march off into battle and loot things some more so they revolted with a revolt known as lafrond and the violence against the king's mother and cardinal his guardians got so bad
• 06:30 - 07:00 that in the heart of paris they had to smuggle him out dressed as a milkmaid apparently um and having this happen as a child meant that louis was a bit of a paranoid adult and he was paranoid about the very people that had revolted in the frowned he was paranoid about his nobles you don't have to worry about the peasants their lives are miserable and they aren't armed but the nobles
• 07:00 - 07:30 they are the ones to watch out for and this was the lesson louis took away from the situation so louis is going to spend an incredible amount of time practicing that wonderful uh slogan keep your friends close but your enemies closer louis is going to build uh as part of this strategy uh the incredible palace at versailles which is uh in
• 07:30 - 08:00 the south of uh paris and it takes probably 45 minutes to an hour by metro rer to get out of the center of paris to versailles even today you can imagine it took rather longer to get out to this southwestern corner of versailles in louie's day it had been a remote hunting lodge but he turns it into a mega palace not
• 08:00 - 08:30 just because he has a thing about building and he does he loves to spend money and he has this monster ego but louis realizes that by creating a palace where all the parties happen where all the royal favors are taking place in fact he makes this place a little bit like las vegas there's constant gambling there's available shall we say um people uh shady ladies
• 08:30 - 09:00 um hook cheap hookups i don't know what else to call this um but uh that sounds like i'm shaming people um but there were um assorted high-end sex workers were going to say and male and female for being honest let's not be sexist so so louis xiv has quite the party going on at versailles there's ballets there's operas
• 09:00 - 09:30 um there's all sorts of activities he's the most fashionable man and versailles where everyone wants to be and by creating this huge palace where everyone wants to be he's able to keep an eye on his nobles they're busy attending his parties not planning revolt and louis is able to party with the best of them and then when he is up early in the morning because he's ridiculously strong um everyone else is sleeping off
• 09:30 - 10:00 their hangover he's doing government paperwork uninterrupted and ready to go again so he's the center of everything his nickname uh was the sun king and if you can picture like a kid's drawing of a sun where it's a circle with all the lines coming out from the center this is in part what he meant by the sun king he's the center of everything in fact he famously writes a stupid cheesy little poem which enfrenches
• 10:00 - 10:30 right the state it's me um which is not funny but he thought it was clever so mega palace great way to keep an eye on your nobles and keep them partying so they don't revolt he's also making mad money because we all know with gambling the house has the advantage oh dear i'm going to give you later a primary source that looks at
• 10:30 - 11:00 the duke de san simon describing versailles so you can see absolute monarchy at its best but here are some interior shots of the palace uh notice how much money louis is spending on this the money is not just an ego thing and it's not just because it's fun um but things like the hall of mirrors when one mirror was a luxury object he has this huge hallway facing the gardens with these wall length or wall height mirrors again
• 11:00 - 11:30 and again and again and again um and these ridiculous monster chandeliers and everything's covered in gold and little mythological paintings uh this is showing that the person with the money controls the power in fact when one of his subjects uh at the palace of olivier compt famously said i'm gonna build a cool house too come see it louis uh louis put him in prison and took the
• 11:30 - 12:00 house away because the guy with the best toys is the king don't challenge that you'll notice that the bedrooms have these funny rails in front of the beds and that's the big thing i want you to take away here these were designed for the le vee and the couche uh the waking up and the going to bed of the king and in this case uh queen's bedroom as well and louie's time it was all about lui
• 12:00 - 12:30 this became a tradition at versailles what do you do well when the king is officially ready to wake up okay he's done with his morning paperwork he calls in his servants and they let in all the nobles who stand on the other side of this little rail and they watch him do this giant fake stretch and wash his face and change his clothes and prepare for his day and they fight over things like who gets to hand him the
• 12:30 - 13:00 water pitcher to wash his face even who gets to hold the chamber pot right this is where the king's potty goes and uh how do you get people to do that well louise strategically handing out favors so if you're the guy who's close enough to be holding the king's poo in a pot then you are in fact sometimes going to be the person where he says you know i hear your son wants a military promotion i'll get the paperwork done this afternoon and by handing out favors
• 13:00 - 13:30 bribing people to follow him all the time this is part of how louis has such absolute power he's crazy but he crazy like a fox