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{| align=right <!-- {{lts|Infobox_Monarc
}} this is 280 px wide --->
| {{Infobox French Royalty|monarch
| name =Louis XIV
| title =King of France and Navarre
| image =Louis XIV of France.jpg|200px
| caption =Louis XIV (1638–1715), by [[Hyacinthe Rigaud]] (1701)
| reign =[[May 14]], [[1643]] – [[September 1]], [[1715]]
| coronation =[[June 7]], [[1654]]
| titles =''HM'' The King<br>''HRH'' The Dauphin of Viennois
| full name = Louis-Dieudonné
| predecessor =[[Louis XIII of France|Louis XIII]]
| successor =[[Louis XV of France|Louis XV]]
| spouse =[[Maria Theresa of Spain]]<br />[[Françoise d'Aubigné, marquise de Maintenon]]
| issue =[[Louis, Dauphin of France (1661-1711)|Louis of France]]<br />[[Princess Marie-Therèse of France|Marie-Thérèse of France]]<br />[[Philippe-Charles de France]]
| royal house =[[House of Bourbon]]
| royal anthem =
| father =[[Louis XIII of France|Louis XIII]]
| mother =[[Anne of Austria]]
| date of birth ={{birth date|1638|9|5|mf=y}}
| place of birth =[[Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye]], [[Saint-Germain-en-Laye]], [[France]]
| date of death ={{death date and age|1715|9|1|1638|9|5|mf=y}}
| place of death =[[Palace of Versailles|Château de Versailles]], [[Versailles]], [[France]]
| date of burial =
| place of burial =[[Saint Denis Basilica]], [[Saint-Denis]], [[France]]
|}}
|-bgcolor="transparent" float="center
|
{{House of Bourbon(France)|width=300px}} <!-- alignment=center| --->
|}
'''Louis XIV''' (baptised as ''Louis-Dieudonné'', "Louis-God-given") ([[September 5]], [[1638]] &ndash; [[September 1]], [[1715]]) ruled as [[List of French monarchs|King of France]] and of [[King of Navarre|Navarre]]. He acceded to the throne a few months before his fifth birthday, but did not assume actual personal control of the government until the death of his prime minister (''[[prime minister|Premier ministre]]''), the [[Italians|Italian]] [[Jules Cardinal Mazarin]], in 1661.<ref name=CatEn>{{cite web|url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09371a.htm|title=Louis XIV|publisher=Catholic Encyclopedia|date=2007|accessdate=2008-01-19}}</ref> Louis would remain on the throne till his death just prior to his seventy-seventh birthday in 1715. His reign thus spanned seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days, the longest documented of any European monarch to date.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761572792/Louis_XIV.html|title=Louis XIV|publisher=MSN Encarta|date=2008|accessdate=2008-01-20}}</ref>

Louis XIV is also known as '''Louis the Great''' (in [[French language|French]] ''Louis le Grand'' or, alternatively, ''le Grand Monarque'', "the Great Monarch"), because, following his initial success in the [[Franco-Dutch War]] and the [[Treaty of Nijmegen]], the ''Parlement de Paris'' decreed that all public inscriptions and statues of the king should carry that epithet attached to his name.{{Fact|date=August 2008}}

He is also popularly known as '''The Sun King''' (in French ''le Roi Soleil'') because of the idea that, just as the planets revolve around the Sun, so too should France and the court revolve around him. As a result, he was commonly associated with [[Apollo|Apollo Helios]], the Greco-Roman god of the Sun. As a patron of the arts, this association was fitting because Louis was, like [[Apollo|Apollo Musagetes]], the "leader of the Muses".{{Fact|date=August 2008}}

During his reign, he increased the power and influence of France in Europe, engaging in three major [[war]]s&mdash;the [[Franco-Dutch War]], the [[Nine Years War|War of the League of Augsburg]], and the [[War of the Spanish Succession]]&mdash;and two minor conflicts&mdash;the [[War of Devolution]], and the [[War of the Reunions]].

The political and military scene in France during his reign was filled with such illustrious names as [[Jules Cardinal Mazarin|Mazarin]], [[Nicolas Fouquet|Fouquet]], [[Jean-Baptiste Colbert|Colbert]], [[Michel Le Tellier]], Le Tellier's son [[François-Michel le Tellier, Marquis de Louvois|Louvois]], ''[[Louis II de Bourbon, Prince de Condé|le Grand Condé]]'', [[Henri de la Tour d'Auvergne, Vicomte de Turenne|Turenne]], [[Vauban]], [[Claude Louis Hector de Villars|Villars]] and [[Anne Hilarion de Tourville|Tourville]]. Under his reign, France achieved not only political and military pre-eminence, but also cultural dominance with various cultural figures such as [[Molière]], [[Jean Racine|Racine]], [[Nicolas Boileau-Despréaux|Boileau]], [[Jean de La Fontaine|La Fontaine]], [[Jean-Baptiste Lully|Lully]], [[Charles Le Brun|Le Brun]], [[Hyacinthe Rigaud|Rigaud]], [[Louis Le Vau]], [[Jules Hardouin Mansart]], [[Claude Perrault]] and [[André Le Nôtre|Le Nôtre]]. The cultural achievements accomplished by these figures contributed to the prestige of France, its people, its language and its king.{{Fact|date=August 2008}}

Louis XIV worked successfully to create a [[Centralized government|centralized state]] governed from the capital in order to sweep away the fragmented [[feudalism]] which hitherto persisted in France, thus giving rise to the modern state. As a result of his efforts, which seemed [[political absolutism|absolutist]], Louis XIV became the archetypal [[Absolute monarchy|absolute monarch]]. The phrase "''L'État, c'est moi''" ("I am the State") is frequently attributed to him, though considered an inaccuracy by historians.{{Fact|date=July 2008}} Quite contrary to that [[apocryphal]] quote, Louis XIV is actually reported to have said on his death bed: "''Je m'en vais, mais l'État demeurera toujours.''" ("I depart, but the State shall always remain").<ref>{{fr icon}} {{cite web|url=http://gallica.bnf.fr/Catalogue/noticesInd/FRBNF30298192.htm| title=Mémoire sur la mort de Louis XIV (on page 24)| author=[[Philippe de Dangeau|Marquis de Dangeau]]| accessdate=2007-10-05}}</ref>

==Early years==
===Birth and ancestry===
{{Refimprove|section|date=August 2008}}
Louis XIV was born in the ''[[château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye]]'' on [[September 5]] [[1638]] and bore the [[heir apparent]]'s traditional title of ''[[Dauphin of France|Dauphin]]''.<ref>{{cite book|title=Louis XIV|author=François Bluche (translated by Mark Greengrass|date=1990|publisher=New York: Franklin Watts|page=p. 11}}</ref> His birth came after the almost twenty-three years of childlessness of his estranged parents, [[Louis XIII]] and [[Anne of Austria]]. As a result, contemporaries regarded him as a divine gift and his birth as a miracle,<ref>{{fr icon}} [[Henri Bremond]]. [http://books.google.com/books?id=cWEaAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA381 ''La Provence mystique au XVIIe siècle'']. [[Paris]]: Plon-Nourrit, 1908. pp. 381, 382.</ref><ref>{{fr icon}} [[René Laurentin]]. ''Le Vœu de Louis XIII''. [[Paris]]: FX de Guibert, 1988. pp. 62, 63.</ref><ref>{{fr icon}} [http://www.herodote.net/histoire/evenement.php?jour=16380905 ''September 5, 1638 - The birth of the future "Sun King"''] and [http://www.herodote.net/almanach/jour.php?jour=0815#saint ''This happened on&nbsp;... August 15 - The feast of Assumption''], [http://www.herodote.net/ the website Herodote.net]. Retrieved on 2008-02-19;<br />{{cite web|url=http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761572792/Louis_XIV.html|title=Louis XIV|publisher=MSN Encata|date=2008|accessdate=2008-01-20}}</ref> and, in a show of gratitude to God for the long-awaited arrival of an heir, he was named Louis-''Dieudonné'' ("God-given").{{Fact|date=August 2008}}

His ancestors were figures from some of Europe's most noteworthy ruling houses.<ref>Genealogist C. Carretier calculated Louis XIV's ancestry to the eighth generation, with his blood being approximately 28% French, 36% Spanish, 11% German and 8% Italian, the rest being Slavic, English, Savoyard and Lorrainer. ({{fr icon}} {{cite book|title=Les Cinq Cent Douze Quartiers de Louis XIV|author=Carretier, Christian|publisher= Angers-Paris|date= 1980}})</ref> His paternal grandparents were [[Henry IV of France|Henri IV of France]] and [[Marie de' Medici]], who were French and Italian respectively; while both his maternal grandparents were [[Habsburg]]s, [[Philip III of Spain]] and [[Margarita of Austria|Margaret of Austria]]. In this manner, he counted as his ancestors various historical figures, including [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles V]] and [[Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick Barbarossa]], both [[Holy Roman Emperor]]s. He also found himself descended from the founder of [[Rurik Dynasty|Russia's first dynasty]], [[Rurik|Rurik the Viking]], as well as [[Charles the Bold|Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy]], the poet [[Charles, Duke of Orléans]], and [[Giovanni dalle Bande Nere|Giovanni de' Medici]], last of the great [[condottieri]]. Most importantly, he traced his paternal lineage, and hence his and his descendants' right to the throne, in unbroken [[illegitimacy|legitimate]] male succession from [[Louis IX of France|Saint Louis, King of France]], and through him, from [[Hugh Capet]].

Louis XIII and Anne had a second child, [[Philippe I, Duke of Orleans|Philippe I, duc d'Orléans]] in 1640. Unsure of Anne as [[regent]], Louis XIII decreed that a regency council, of which she was named head, should rule in Louis' name in the event he succeeded to the throne before the [[age of majority]], intending, by its existence, to prevent her from ruling as sole regent.{{Fact|date=August 2008}}

===Minority and the ''[[Fronde]]''===
{{Refimprove|section|date=August 2008}}
Nevertheless, on [[May 14]], [[1643]], after Louis XIII died and his young son became Louis XIV, Anne had her husband's will [[annul]]led by the ''[[Parlement]]'', did away with the regency council and became sole [[Regent]]. She entrusted power to Cardinal Mazarin, who was despised in most French political circles because of his foreign origin, despite having already become a [[naturalization|naturalized]] French subject.{{Fact|date=August 2008}}

[[Image:Europe map 1648.PNG|thumb|left|Europe after the [[Peace of Westphalia]] in 1648]]

The [[Thirty Years' War]], which had commenced in the previous reign, ended in 1648 with the [[Peace of Westphalia]], made up of the Treaties of Münster and Osnabrück, the work of Mazarin. This Peace ensured [[Dutch Revolt|Dutch independence]] from [[Spanish Empire|Spain]], awarded a degree of autonomy to the various German [[Fürst|princes]] and granted Sweden territories which gave her control of the mouths of the [[Oder River|Oder]], [[Elbe]], and [[Weser River|Weser]], as well as seats on the ''[[Reichstag (institution)|Reichstag]]''. It marked the [[apogee]] of Swedish power and influence in German and European affairs. However, it was France which had the most to gain from the terms of the Peace. Austria ceded to France all [[Habsburg Dynasty|Habsburg]] lands and claims in [[Alsace]]; and the petty German states eager to dislodge themselves from Habsburg domination placed themselves under French protection, paving the way for the formation of the [[League of the Rhine]] in 1658 and leading to the further diminution of Imperial power. The [[Peace of Westphalia]] humiliated Habsburg ambitions in Europe and laid to rest any notion that the Empire held secular dominion over all of [[Christendom]].{{Fact|date=August 2008}}

[[Image:LouisXIV-child.jpg|thumb|left|Louis XIV as a young child]]

In the closing years of the [[Thirty Years' War]], a [[civil war]], the ''[[Fronde]]'', which effectively curbed France's ability to make good the advantages gained in the Peace of Westphalia, broke out. The ''Frondeurs'' originally sought to protect traditional feudal "liberties" from an increasingly [[centralization|centralized]] and centralizing royal government. On the other hand, Cardinal Mazarin had continued and would continue to follow the policies of centralization pursued by his predecessor, [[Cardinal Richelieu]], seeking to augment the power of the [[The Crown|Crown]] at the expense of the nobility and the ''[[Parlement]]s''. In 1648, he sought to levy a tax on the members of the ''[[Parlement of Paris|Parlement de Paris]]'', a judicial body composed mostly of [[nobility|nobles]] and high [[clergy]]men. The members of the ''Parlement'' not only refused to comply, but also ordered all of Cardinal Mazarin's earlier financial [[edict]]s burned. When Mazarin, strengthened by the news of the victory of [[Louis II de Bourbon, prince de Condé]] (''le Grand Condé'') at the [[Battle of Lens]], arrested certain members of the ''Parlement'' in a show of force, [[Paris]] erupted in [[riot]]ing and [[insurrection]]. A mob of angry Parisians broke into the royal palace and demanded to see their king. Led into the royal bedchamber, they gazed upon Louis XIV, who was feigning sleep, and quietly departed. Prompted by the possible danger to the [[royal family]] and the [[monarchy]], Anne fled Paris with the king and his courtiers. Shortly thereafter, the signing of the [[Peace of Westphalia]] allowed the French army under Condé to return to the aid of Louis XIV and his [[noble court|royal court]]. By January 1649, Condé had started to besiege rebellious Paris; the subsequent [[Peace of Rueil]] temporarily ended the conflict.{{Fact|date=August 2008}}

After the first ''Fronde'' (''Fronde parlementaire'', 1648-1649) ended, the second ''Fronde'', that of the nobles (''Fronde des princes'', 1650-1653) began. This second phase of upper-class insurrection, unlike that which preceded it, was characterized by tales of sordid intrigue and half-hearted warfare. It was conducted by aristocrats for whom it represented a protest against and an attempt to reverse the centralisation of France and their consequent demotion from [[vassal]]s to [[courtier]]s. This ''Fronde'' was led by France's highest-[[rank]]ing nobles, from Louis' uncle [[Gaston, Duke of Orléans|Gaston, duc d'Orléans]], and first cousin, [[Anne, Duchess of Montpensier|Anne d'Orléans, duchesse de Montpensier]] (known as ''la Grande Mademoiselle''); to more distantly-related ''[[prince du sang|princes du sang]]'' such as Condé, his brother [[Armand de Bourbon, prince de Conti]], and their sister [[Anne Genevieve of Bourbon-Condé|Anne-Geneviève, duchesse de Longueville]]; to dukes of [[bastardy|legitimated]] royal descent, like [[Henri II d'Orléans, duc de Longueville]], and [[Francis of Vendome, Duke of Beaufort|François de Bourbon-Vendôme, duc de Beaufort]]; and to princelings descended from foreign [[dynasty|dynasties]] (known as ''[[Foreign Prince|princes étrangers]]''), such as [[Frédéric Maurice de La Tour d'Auvergne, duc de Bouillon]], and his brother, the famous [[Marshal of France]], [[Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne, vicomte de Turenne|Henri, vicomte de Turenne]], as well as [[Marie de Rohan-Montbazon, duchesse de Chevreuse]]; and [[scion]]s of France's oldest families, like [[François de La Rochefoucauld (writer)|François VI, duc de La Rochefoucauld]]. Even the clergy was represented by [[Jean François Paul de Gondi, cardinal de Retz|Jean François Paul de Gondi, Cardinal de Retz]].{{Fact|date=August 2008}}

With the coming of age of Louis XIV and his subsequent [[coronation]], the ''Frondeurs'', who could hitherto have claimed to have been acting on his behalf and in his real interests against his Regent-mother and her first minister, had lost their pretext for revolt. The ''Fronde'' thus gradually lost steam until it ended in 1653, when Mazarin returned triumphant from abroad after having fled into exile on several occasions. The result of these tumultuous times, when the Queen Mother reputedly sold her jewels to feed her children, was a king filled with a permanent distrust for the nobility and the mob.{{Fact|date=August 2008}}

==End of war and marriage==
{{Refimprove|section|date=August 2008}}
Despite the end of the Thirty Years' War and the ''Fronde'', war with [[Spain]] continued. The French received aid in this military effort from [[England]], then governed by [[Lord Protector#Cromwellian republican Commonwealth|Lord Protector]] [[Oliver Cromwell]]. The Anglo-French alliance achieved victory in 1658 with the [[Battle of the Dunes (1658)|Battle of the Dunes]].{{Fact|date=August 2008}}

The subsequent [[Treaty of the Pyrenees]], signed in 1659, fixed the border between France and Spain at the [[Pyrenees]]; according to its terms, Louis XIV pardoned Condé, who had gone into the service of Spain, against his king, while Spain ceded to France the whole of [[Roussillon]], the [[French Cerdagne|northern half of Cerdanya]] and various provinces and towns in the [[Spanish Netherlands]]. The treaty signalled a change in the [[Balance of power in international relations|balance of power]] in Europe with the decline of Spain and the rise of France.{{Fact|date=August 2008}}

By the terms of the treaty, Louis XIV became engaged to marry the daughter of [[Philip IV of Spain]], his double first cousin, [[Maria Theresa of Spain|Maria Theresa]] (''Marie-Thérèse d'Autriche''). The Spanish had understandably been ill-disposed to the idea of such a marriage since Marie-Thérèse had been [[heir presumptive]] for many years. Moreover, she appeared likely to return to that position since the latest heir apparent, her brother [[Philip Prospero, Prince of Asturias|Philip Prospero]] (ultimately to die in 1661), was a toddler in an age of high infant mortality. The possibility of Marie-Thérèse's acceding to the Spanish throne therefore loomed large. This made the prospect of an eventual [[personal union]] between the two countries, resulting from a royal marriage, all too probable, and it was, in the eyes of Spanish diplomats, to be avoided.{{Fact|date=August 2008}}

To get around Spanish hesitation and intransigence, Mazarin, in the words of [[Roger de Rabutin, Comte de Bussy|Bussy-Rabutin]], "invited the [[Christine Marie of France|Duchess of Savoy]] to meet Louis and his Court at [[Lyon]] and to bring the princesses her daughters with her, ostensibly for the purpose of marrying her eldest (Marguerite of Savoy) to the King".<ref>Dunlop, Ian (2001). ''Louis XIV''. Pimlico London, p.48</ref> According to Bluche, on hearing the news of the meeting at Lyon and the possibility of an impending Franco-Savoyard union, Philip IV reputedly exclaimed, "''Esto no puede ser, y no será''" ("This cannot be, and will not be").<ref>Lavisse, Ernest (1911). ''Histoire de France illustrée...,'' vol. VII (1st and 2nd parts) and vol. VIII (1st part). Paris</ref> The marquis de Pimentel was thus promptly dispatched to Lyon to commence negotiations for a Franco-Spanish marriage.{{Fact|date=August 2008}}

[[Image:Louis XIV wedding.jpg|thumb|left|The wedding of Louis XIV and Marie-Thérèse at [[Saint-Jean-de-Luz]]]]

This resulted in a marriage contract and treaty stipulating an immense [[dowry]] of 500,000 gold [[écu]]s, to be paid in three installments; its non-payment would later serve as a pretext for the [[War of Devolution]]<ref name=bartleby>{{cite web|url=http://www.bartleby.com/65/lo/Louis14Fr.html|title=Louis XIV, king of France|author=Columbia Encyclopedia|date=2007|accessdate=2008-01-19}}</ref> as well as that of [[War of the Spanish Succession|the Spanish Succession]]. According to the terms of the marriage contract, as translated by Ian Dunlop, "that on condition (''que moyennant'') that the sums are made over to His Most Christian Majesty (Louis XIV)... the said most serene Infanta (Marie-Thérèse) will rest content with the said dowry and not thereafter sue for any other of her rights", and thus she would renounce for herself and her descendants all claims to the territories of the Spanish Monarchy.<ref>{{fr icon}} {{cite web|url=https://pastel.diplomatie.gouv.fr/choiseul/ressource/pdf/D16590004.pdf|title=Contrat de mariage entre Louis XIV, roi de France, et Marie-Thérèse, infante d'Espagne (Ile des Faisans)|publisher=Base Choiseul, Archives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, France|date=1659}}</ref> Since the dowry was not fully paid, Spain being at the time bankrupt, the renunciation was theoretically [[void (law)|void]] and was not recognized as binding by the French Crown.

Louis and Marie-Thérèse were married by proxy on [[June 3]], [[1660]] at [[Hondarribia]], on the [[Basque Country (autonomous community)|Spanish side of the Basque Country]], [[Don Luis de Haro]] representing Louis. On [[June 9]], the actual marriage ceremony, officiated over by the [[Bishop of Bayonne]], took place in Saint Jean-Baptiste Church in [[Saint-Jean-de-Luz]] on the [[Northern Basque Country|French side of the Basque Country]].<!--delspacex--><ref>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basque_Country_%28historical_territory%29</ref><ref>Philippe Erlanger, ''Louis XIV'', translatated from the French by Stephen Cox, Praeger Publishers, New York, 1970, pp. 88-90.</ref>

==Personal reign and reforms==
{{Refimprove|section|date=August 2008}}
Within France, upon the death of Cardinal Mazarin, his first minister, in 1661, Louis XIV assumed personal control of the reins of government. He was able to exploit the widespread public yearning for peace and order, which had resulted from the long foreign wars and domestic civil strife, caused by events such as the ''Fronde'' and abuses of the people perpetrated by some nobles, to consoliate central authority at the feudal aristocracy's expense. Trials such as the ''Grands Jours d'Auvergne'' were used to impose order by punishing some of the most outrageous abuses by nobles, to "lift the people up from the oppression of the powerful" in the words of the ''Procureur-Général'' Denis Talon, and to increase public support for Louis' policies.{{Fact|date=August 2008}}

At the same time, the French treasury stood close to [[bankruptcy]]. Louis XIV eliminated [[Nicolas Fouquet]], the ''[[Superintendent of Finances|Surintendant des Finances]]'', commuting the sentence of banishment, passed by the ''Parlement'', to imprisonment for life, and abolished Fouquet's office. [[Jean-Baptiste Colbert]] was appointed as ''[[Controller-General of Finances|Contrôleur-Général des Finances]]'' in 1665. To be sure, Fouquet had committed no financial indiscretions which Mazarin had not committed before him and which Colbert would not commit afterward. Moreover, Fouquet had competently and loyally discharged his duties, but his growing ambition to succeed Richelieu and Mazarin in power was such that Louis had to rid himself of him if he was to rule alone.{{Fact|date=August 2008}}

The commencement of Louis' personal reign was marked by a series of administrative and fiscal reforms. Colbert reduced the national debt through more efficient taxation. His principal taxes included the ''[[aides]]'', the ''[[douane]]s'', the ''[[gabelle]]'', and the ''[[taille]]''. The ''aides'' and ''douanes'' were customs duties, the ''gabelle'' a tax on salt, and the ''taille'' a tax on land. While Colbert did not abolish the historic tax exemption enjoyed by the nobility and clergy, he did improve the methods of tax collection then in use.{{Fact|date=August 2008}}

Colbert also had wide-ranging plans to strengthen France through commerce and trade. His administration ordained new industries and encouraged manufacturers and inventors, such as the [[Lyon]] silk manufacturers and the ''[[Gobelins manufactory|Manufacture des Gobelins]]'', which produced and still produces tapestries. He also brought professional manufacturers and artisans from all over Europe, such as glassmakers from [[Murano]], ironworkers from [[Sweden]], and shipbuilders from the [[Dutch Republic|United Provinces]]. In this manner, he sought to decrease French dependence on foreign imported goods while increasing French exports, and hence to decrease the flow of gold and silver out of France. Outside of France, Colbert supported and encouraged the development of colonies in the Americas, Africa and Asia not only to provide markets for French exports, but also to provide resources for French industries.{{Fact|date=August 2008}}

Colbert also made improvements to the navy to increase French naval prestige and to gain control of the high seas in times of war and of peace, improvements to the merchant marine to remove, at least partially, control of French commerce from Dutch hands, and improvements to the highways and the waterways of France which decreased the costs and time of transporting goods around the kingdom.{{Fact|date=August 2008}}

<!-- EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: The Wikipedia: Manual of Style (text formatting) states, “Wikipedia prefers italics for phrases in other languages and for isolated foreign words that do not yet have common use in the English language.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style_(text_formatting) -->
{{Coin image box 1 double
| header = Silver coin of Louis XIV, dated 1674
| image = Image:Louis XIV Coin.jpg
| caption_left = Obverse. The Latin inscription is <small>''LVDOVICVS XIIII D[EI] GRA[TIA]''</small> ("Louis XIV, by the grace of God").
| caption_right = Reverse. The Latin inscription is <small>''FRAN[CIÆ] ET NAVARRÆ REX 1674''</small> ("King of France and of Navarre, 1674").
| width = 250
| position = right
| margin = 0
}}

While Colbert, his family, clients and allies at court, focused on the economy and maritime matters, another [[faction]], led by [[Michel Le Tellier]] and his son [[François-Michel le Tellier, Marquis de Louvois|François-Michel Le Tellier, marquis de Louvois]], turned their attention to military matters.{{Fact|date=August 2008}}

Louis XIV sought to play these factions off against one another and thus create [[checks and balances]], ensuring that no one group would attain such power and influence at court as to destabilize his reign.{{Fact|date=August 2008}}

Le Tellier and Louvois had an important role to play in government, curbing the independent spirit of much of the nobility at court and in the army. Gone were the days when army generals, without regard to the bigger political and diplomatic picture, protracted war at the frontiers and disobeyed orders coming from the capital, while quarrelling and bickering with each other over precedence. Gone too were the days when positions of seniority and rank in the army were the sole possession of the old military aristocracy (the ''noblesse d'épée''). Louvois, in particular, pledged himself to modernizing the army, organizing it into a new professional, disciplined and well-trained force out of the old. He sought to contrive and direct campaigns and devoted himself to providing for the soldiers' material well-being and morale, and he did so successfully. Like Colbert and Louis XIV, Louvois was hardworking. {{Fact|date=August 2008}}

[[Image:Louis-xiv-lebrunl.jpg|thumb|left|Louis XIV, King of France]]
Louis also instituted various legal reforms. This is reflected in the sheer number of [[Great Ordinances]] enacted during his reign. The ''Grande Ordonnance de Procédure Civile'' of 1667, also known as ''[[Code Louis]]'', was a comprehensive legal code regulating [[civil procedure]] in all of France in a uniform manner. It made it compulsory to record baptisms, marriages and burials in the registers of the State (as opposed to the registers of the Church). The ''Code Louis'' played an important part in France's legal history as it was the basis for [[Napoleon I]]'s ''[[Napoleonic code|Code Napoléon]]'', which is itself the basis for many of [[Western Europe]]'s modern legal codes. It sought to provide France with a single system of law where there were two: [[Custom (law)|customary law]] in the north, and [[Roman law]] in the south. Another important Great Ordinance was the ''[[Criminal Ordinance of 1670|Ordonnance Criminelle de 1670]]'', which was an early attempt at the [[codification]] of [[criminal procedure]] in France.{{Fact|date=August 2008}}

One of Louis XIV's more infamous decrees was the ''Grande Ordonnance sur les Colonies'' of 1685, also known as ''[[Code Noir]]''. It granted sanction to [[slavery]], although it did extend a measure of humanity to the practice by prohibiting the separation of families. However, no person could own a slave in the French colonies unless he were a member of the Roman Catholic Church, and a Catholic priest had to [[baptism|baptise]] each slave. Another important legal text enacted under Louis XIV was the ''Code Forestier'', which sought to control and oversee the forestry industry in France, protecting [[forests]] from destruction.{{Fact|date=August 2008}}

==Patronage of the arts==
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The Sun King proved a generous spender, dispensing large sums of money to finance the [[Noble court|royal court]], and supported those who worked under him. He brought the [[Académie Française]] under his [[patronage]], and became its "Protector". It was under his reign and indeed his patronage that [[French literature|Classical French literature]] flourished with such writers as [[Molière]], [[Jean Racine]] and [[Jean de La Fontaine]] whose works still hold great influence to this day. The visual arts also found in Louis XIV their patron for he funded and commissioned various artists, such as [[Charles Le Brun]], [[Pierre Mignard]], [[Antoine Coysevox]] and [[Hyacinthe Rigaud]] whose works became famed throughout Europe. In music, composers and musicians like [[Jean-Baptiste Lully]], [[Jacques Champion de Chambonnières]] and [[François Couperin]] thrived and influenced many others. Even in the art of gardening did Louis prove a patron with his support of [[André Le Nôtre]].{{Fact|date=August 2008}}

[[Image:Louvre Kolonnaden.JPG|thumb|The colonnade of the Louvre]]

Louis XIV ordered the construction of the military complex known as the "''[[Les Invalides|hôtel des Invalides]]''" to provide a home for the officers and soldiers who had served him loyally in the army, but who had been rendered infirm by either injury or age. While the practice of [[pharmacy]] was still quite elementary, ''les Invalides'' pioneered new treatments and set new standards for hospice treatment. Louis considered its construction one of the greatest achievements of his reign, which, along with the [[Palace of Versailles]], is one of the largest and most extravagant monuments in Europe.{{Fact|date=August 2008}}

He also improved the [[Palais du Louvre|Louvre]], as well as many other royal residences. Originally, when planning additions to the Louvre, Louis XIV had hired [[Gian Lorenzo Bernini]] as architect. However, his plans for the Louvre would have called for the destruction of much of the existing structure, replacing it with an Italian summer [[villa]] in the centre of Paris. In Bernini's place, Louis chose the French architect [[Claude Perrault]], whose work on the "Perrault Wing" of the Louvre is widely-celebrated.{{Fact|date=August 2008}}

In 1685, on the instruction of (his secret wife?) Madame de Maintenon, he created the Saint-Cyr college for the ''filles pauvres de la noblesse'' (poor noble girls), commonly known as ''les demoiselles de Saint-Cyr''. This school took noble but poor children from the ages of 7-20, put them into 4 different coloured groups; red for the youngest, green for the early teens, yellow for the middle teens and blue for the almost adult late teens to 20. The School was not a convent, in fact some of the lessons were to prepare the girls for married life. Madame de Maintenon took great pleasure in this school and was to finally die there. {{Fact|date=August 2008}}

{{Infobox French Monarchical Styles|
royal name=King Louis XIV<br /><small>Par la grâce de Dieu, Roi de France et de Navarre</small>|
dipstyle=His [[Most Christian Majesty]]|
offstyle=Your Most Christian Majesty|
altstyle=Monsieur Le Roi|}}

==Early wars in the [[Low Countries]]==
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{{main|War of Devolution}}
{{main|Franco-Dutch War}}
After Louis XIV's [[father-in-law]] and uncle, [[Philip IV of Spain]], died in 1665, Philip IV's son (by his second wife) became [[Charles II of Spain]]. Louis XIV claimed that [[Duchy of Brabant|Brabant]], a territory in the [[Low Countries]] ruled by the King of Spain, had "devolved" to his wife, Marie-Thérèse, Charles II's elder half-sister by their father's first marriage. He argued that the custom of Brabant required that a child should not suffer from his or her father's remarriage, hence having precedence in inheritance over children of the second or subsequent marriages. Louis personally participated in the campaigns of the ensuing [[War of Devolution]], which broke out in 1667.{{Fact|date=August 2008}}

Problems internal to the [[Dutch Republic|Republic of the Seven United Provinces]] (the Netherlands) aided Louis XIV's designs on the Low Countries. The most prominent political figure in the United Provinces at the time, [[Johan de Witt]], [[Grand Pensionary]], feared the ambition of the young [[William III of England|William III, Prince of Orange]], who in seeking to seize control might thus deprive De Witt of supreme power in the Republic and restore the House of Orange to the influence it had hitherto enjoyed until the death of [[William II, Prince of Orange]]. Therefore, with the United Provinces in internal conflict between supporters of De Witt and those of William III, the "States faction" and the "Orange faction" respectively, and with England preoccupied in the [[Second Anglo-Dutch War]] with the Dutch, who were being supported, in accordance with the terms of the treaties signed between them, by their ally, Louis XIV, France easily conquered both [[Flanders]] and [[Franche-Comté]].{{Fact|date=August 2008}}

Shocked by the rapidity of French successes and fearful of the future, the United Provinces turned on their former friends and put aside their differences with England and, when joined by Sweden, formed a [[Triple Alliance of 1668|Triple Alliance]] in 1668. Faced with the threat of escalation and having signed a secret treaty partitioning the Spanish succession with the Emperor, the other major claimant, Louis XIV agreed to make peace. Under the terms of the [[Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1668)|Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle]] (1668), France retained Flanders, including the great fortress of [[Lille]], but returned Franche-Comté to Spain.{{Fact|date=August 2008}}

[[Image:Louis le Grand; Harnas.jpg|thumb|left|Louis XIV in 1673]]

The Triple Alliance did not last very long. In 1670, Charles II, lured by French bribes and pensions, signed the secret [[Treaty of Dover]], entering into an alliance with France; the two kingdoms, along with certain Rhineland German princes, declared war on the United Provinces in 1672, sparking off the [[Franco-Dutch War]]. The rapid invasion and occupation of most of the Netherlands precipitated a coup, which toppled De Witt and allowed William III to seize power. William III entered into an alliance with Spain, the Emperor and the rest of the Empire; and a [[Treaty of Westminster (1674)|treaty of peace with England]] was signed in 1674, the result of which was England's withdrawal from the war and the marriage between William III and Lady [[Mary II of England|Mary]], niece of the English King [[Charles II of England|Charles II]]. Facing a possible Imperial advance on his flank while in the Low Countries in that year, Louis XIV ordered his army to withdraw to more defensible positions.{{Fact|date=August 2008}}

Despite these diplomatic and military reverses, the war continued with brilliant French victories against the overwhelming forces of the opposing coalition. In a matter of weeks in 1674, the Spanish territory of Franche Comté fell to the French armies under the eyes of the king; while Condé defeated a much larger combined army, with Austrian, Spanish and Dutch contingents, under the Prince of Orange, at the [[Battle of Seneffe]], preventing them from descending on Paris. In the winter of 1674–1675, the outnumbered Turenne, through a most daring and brilliant campaign, inflicted defeat upon the Imperial armies under [[Raimondo Montecuccoli]], drove them out of Alsace and back across the [[Rhine]], and recovered the province for Louis XIV. Through a series of feints, marches and counter-marches towards the end of the war, Louis XIV led his army to besiege and capture [[Ghent]], an action which dissuaded Charles II and his English Parliament from declaring war on France and which allowed Louis, in a very superior position, to force the allies to the negotiating table. After six years, Europe was exhausted by war, and peace negotiations commenced, being accomplished in 1678 with the [[Treaty of Nijmegen]]. While Louis XIV returned all captured Dutch territory, he gained more towns and associated lands in the Spanish Netherlands and retained Franche-Comté, which had been captured by Louis and his army in a matter of weeks. As he was in a position to make demands which were much more exorbitant, Louis' actions were celebrated as evidence of his moderation in victory.{{Fact|date=August 2008}}

[[Image:Geromeconde.jpg|thumb|350px|''Reception of [[Le Grand Condé]] at [[Versailles]]'', by [[Jean-Léon Gérôme]] (1878)]]

The Treaty of Nijmegen further increased France's influence in Europe, but did not satisfy Louis XIV. The King dismissed his foreign minister [[Simon Arnauld, marquis de Pomponne]] in 1679, viewed as timorous and as having compromised too much with the allies. Louis XIV also kept up his army but, instead of pursuing his claims through purely military action, utilised judicial processes to accomplish further territorial aggrandizement. Thanks to the ambiguous nature of treaties of the time, Louis was able to claim that the territories ceded to him in previous treaties ought to be ceded along with all their dependencies and lands which had formerly belonged to them, as had in fact been stipulated in the peace treaties, but had separated over the years. French [[Chambers of Reunion]] were appointed to ascertain which territories formally belonged to France; French troops later occupied them. The annexation of these territories was designed to give France a more defensible frontier, the ''pré carré'' suggested by [[Vauban|Sébastien Le Prestre, seigneur de Vauban]].{{Fact|date=August 2008}}

Louis sought to gain cities and territories such as [[Luxembourg]], for its strategic offensive and defensive position on the frontier, as well as [[Casale]], which would give him access to the [[Po river]] valley in the heart of Northern Italy. Louis also desired to gain [[Strasbourg]], an important strategic outpost through which various Imperial armies had in the previous wars crossed over the Rhine to invade France. Strasbourg was a part of Alsace, but had not been ceded with the rest of Habsburg-ruled Alsace in the Peace of Westphalia. It was nonetheless occupied by the French in 1681 under Louis' new legal pretext, and, along with other occupied territories, such as Luxembourg and Casale, was ceded to France for a period of twenty years by the [[Treaty of Ratisbon|Truce of Ratisbon]].{{Fact|date=August 2008}}

==Height of power in the 1680s==
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[[Image:Portrait louis xiv.jpg|thumb|left|Louis XIV in [[1684]]]]
By the early 1680s, Louis XIV had greatly augmented his and France's influence and power in Europe and the world. Louis XIV's famous minister, Colbert, who died in 1683, exercised a tremendous influence on the royal treasury and coffers, with royal revenue tripling under his supervision.{{Fact|date=August 2008}}

The princes of Europe began to imitate France and Louis XIV in everything from taste in art, food and fashion to political systems; many even took "''[[Mistress (lover)|maîtresses-en-titre]]''" simply because it was done at [[Palace of Versailles|Versailles]].{{Fact|date=August 2008}}

In the sphere of [[foreign affairs]] outside Europe, [[French colonial empire|French colonies]] were multiplying in the Americas, Asia and Africa, while diplomatic relations had been initiated with countries as far afield as Siam (through the embassy of [[Alexander, Knight of Chaumont|Chaumont]]), India and Persia. For example, the explorer [[René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle|René Robert Cavelier, sieur de La Salle]] claimed and named, in 1682, the basin of the [[Mississippi River]] in [[North America]], "''[[Louisiana (New France)|Louisiane]]''", in honour of Louis XIV, while French Jesuits and missionaries could be seen at the court of the [[Qing Dynasty|Manchu]] [[Kangxi Emperor|Emperor Kangxi]] in [[China]]. In France, Louis XIV received the visit of a Chinese Jesuit named [[Michael Shen Fu-Tsung]] as early as 1684,<ref>''The Meeting of Eastern and Western Art''Page 98 by Michael Sullivan (1989) ISBN 0520212363 [http://books.google.com/books?id=8pLhEWdaMvEC&pg=PA98&dq=Louis+XIV+Couplet+Michel&sig=x4USX2wQ6&nbsp;lbhEx2pQMX8QCATkoU]</ref> and a few years later he had a Chinese librarian and translator at his court, named [[Arcadio Huang]].<ref>Barnes, Linda L. (2005) ''Needles, Herbs, Gods, and Ghosts: China, Healing, and the West to 1848'' Harvard University Press ISBN 0674018729, p.85</ref><ref>Mungello, David E. (2005) The Great Encounter of China and the West, 1500-1800 Rowman & Littlefield ISBN 074253815X, p.125</ref>

[[Image:SiameseEmbassyToLouisXIV1686NicolasLarmessin.jpg|thumb|[[History of Thailand|Siamese]] embassy of [[Narai|King Narai]] to [[Louis XIV]] in 1686, led by [[Kosa Pan]]. Painting by Nicolas Larmessin.]]

Domestically, Louis XIV succeeded in establishing and increasing the influence and central authority of the King of France at the expense of the Church and aristocracy. He sought to reinforce traditional [[Gallicanism]], a doctrine limiting the authority of the [[Pope]] in France, and convened an assembly of clergymen (the ''[[Assemblée du Clergé]]'') in November 1681. Before it was dissolved in June 1682, it had agreed to the [[Declaration of the Clergy of France]]. The power of the King of France was increased in contrast to the power of the Pope, which was reduced. The Pope was not allowed to send [[papal legate]]s to France without the king's consent; such legates as could enter France, furthermore, required further approval before they could exercise their power.{{Fact|date=August 2008}}<ref name=CatEn/> Bishops were not to leave France without royal approval; no government officials could be excommunicated for acts committed in pursuance of their duties; and no appeal could be made to the Pope without the approval of the king. The king was allowed to enact ecclesiastical laws, and all regulations made by the Pope were deemed invalid in France without the assent of the monarch. The Declaration was not accepted by the Pope, which is not surprising given the infringements of the document upon papal authority.<ref name=CatEn/>

Louis also achieved immense control over the Second Estate, that is of the nobility, in France by attaching much of the higher nobility to his orbit at his palace at Versailles. He expected them to spend the majority of the year under his close watch instead of on their own estates and in their regional power-bases, where historically nobles waged local wars with neighbors or plotted resistance to royal authority. Only by being in constant attendance upon him were they able to gain the pensions and privileges necessary to lead lives considered appropriate to their rank. Louis entertained his permanent visitors with extravagant luxury and other distractions which helped him awe and domesticate his hitherto unruly nobility. Thus, Louis continued and perfected the work of the Cardinals Richelieu and Mazarin.{{Fact|date=August 2008}}

As a result of the ''Fronde'', Louis believed that his power would prevail only if he filled high executive offices with commoners, or at least members of the relatively newer bureaucratic aristocracy (the ''noblesse de robe''), because, he believed, while he could reduce a commoner to a nonentity by simply dismissing him, he could not destroy the entrenched influence of a great nobleman of ancient lineage as easily. Thus Louis XIV half-forced, half-seduced the ''noblesse d'épée'' into serving him ceremonially as courtiers, whilst he appointed commoners or newer nobles as ministers and regional [[intendant]]s. As courtiers, the power of the great nobles grew ever weaker. The diminution of the power of the high aristocracy could be witnessed in the lack of such rebellions as the ''Fronde'' after Louis XIV.{{Fact|date=August 2008}}

In fact, the victory of the Crown over the nobles, finally achieved under Louis XIV, ensured that the ''Fronde'' was the last major civil war to plague France until the Revolution and the Napoleonic Age. Indeed, John A. Lynn has calculated that after Louis XIV there was a significant drop in years with internal civil war. The number of years dropped from a high of around 50 years out of 101 between 1560 and 1660 (50%), to six years out of 55 during Louis' personal reign from 1661 to 1715 (11%), to no civil wars till the Revolution in 1789.<ref>John A. Lynn (1999). ''The Wars of Louis XIV (1667-1714)''. Longman New York. p.364.</ref> Not until the Revolution, about a hundred years later, did civil war once again trouble France.

[[Image:Chateau-de-versailles-cour.jpg|left|thumb|The ''Cour royale'' and the ''Cour de marbre'' of the ''château de Versailles'']]

Louis XIV had the [[Palace of Versailles]], outside Paris, originally a hunting lodge built by his father, converted into a spectacular royal palace in a series of four major and distinct building campaigns. By the end of the [[Palace of Versailles|third building campaign]], the ''château'' had taken on most of the appearance that it retains to this day, except for the current chapel built in the last decade of the reign. He officially moved there, along with the royal court, on [[May 6]], [[1682]]. Louis had several reasons for creating such a symbol of extravagant opulence and stately grandeur, and for shifting the seat of the monarch. The assertion that he did so because he hated Paris, however, is flawed as he did not cease to embellish his capital with glorious monuments while improving and developing it. On the other hand, contemporary writers such as [[Louis de Rouvroy, duc de Saint-Simon|Saint-Simon]] speculated that Louis viewed Versailles as an isolated power center where treasonous [[cabal]]s could be more readily recognized.<ref name=fordham>{{cite web|url=http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/17stsimon.html|title=Historical Memoirs of the Duc de Saint-Simon, volume 1 1691-1709: The Court of Louis XIV|author=Louis de Rouvroy, duc de Saint-Simon|accessdate-2008-01-19}}</ref>

Versailles served as a dazzling and awe-inspiring setting for state affairs and for the reception of foreign dignitaries, where the attention was not shared with the capital and the people, but was assumed solely by the person of the king. Court life centered on munificence; courtiers lived lives of expensive luxury, appareled in suitable magnificence and constantly attended balls, dinners, performances, and celebrations.{{Fact|date=August 2008}} Thus, many noblemen had perforce either to give up the ''[[prestige (sociology)|cachet]]'' and opportunites associated with sharing in the king's company, or to depend entirely on the king for the grants and subsidies necessary to do so in proper style.<ref name=fordham/> Instead of exercising power and potentially creating trouble, the nobles vied for the honour of dining at the king's table or the privilege of carrying a candlestick as the king retired to his bedroom.

[[Image:Louis14-Versailles1685.jpg|thumb|The [[Doge of Genoa]] at [[Versailles]] on the [[15 May]] [[1685]]<Br />''Reparation faite à Louis XIV par le Doge de Gênes.15 mai 1685'' by [[Claude Guy Halle]], [[Château de Versailles]]]]

By 1685, Louis XIV stood at the apogee of his power. One of France's chief rivals, the [[Holy Roman Empire]], was occupied in fighting the [[Ottoman Empire]] in the [[Great Turkish War]], which began in 1683 and lasted till 1699. The Ottoman [[Grand Vizier]] had almost captured [[Vienna]], but at the last moment [[John III Sobieski|John III Sobieski, King of Poland]] led an army of Polish and Imperial forces to victory at the [[Battle of Vienna]] in 1683. In the meantime, Louis XIV, by the Truce of Ratisbon, had acquired control of several territories which covered the frontier and protected France from foreign [[invasion]]. After repelling the Ottoman attack on Vienna, the Emperor was no longer in imminent danger from the Turks, nevertheless he did not attempt to regain the territories annexed by Louis XIV. Rather, he acquiesced to the ''fait accompli'' of the Truce.{{Fact|date=August 2008}}

After having his city bombarded by the French in 1685 from the sea as punishment for having supported the Spanish and having granted them use of [[Genoese Republic|Genoese]] ships in the Franco-Dutch War, the [[Doge of Genoa]] travelled to Versailles where he was received amidst courtly magnificence and made his apologies to and peace with Louis XIV.{{Fact|date=August 2008}}

Louis XIV's Queen, Marie-Thérèse, died in 1683. He remarked on her demise that on no other occasion had she ever caused him unease. Although he was said to have performed his marital duties nightly, he had not remained faithful to her for long after their union in 1660: his mistresses included [[Louise de la Vallière|Louise de la Vallière, duchesse de Vaujours]]; [[Françoise-Athénaïs, Marquise de Montespan|Françoise-Athénaïs de Rochechouart-Mortemart, marquise de Montespan]]; and [[Angélique de Fontanges|Marie-Angélique de Scoraille, duchesse de Fontanges]]. As a result, he produced many illegitimate children, most of whom were joined in marriage with members of [[cadet branch]]es of the [[royal family]] itself. These children, as well as their descendants, would go on to claim positions of power and influence in the next century.{{Fact|date=August 2008}}

He proved, however, more faithful to his second wife, [[Françoise d'Aubigné, marquise de Maintenon]]. The secret marriage between Louis XIV and Madame de Maintenon, which probably occurred in late 1685,<ref name=bartleby/> was an "open secret" as it was generally known but was never discussed or announced pubicly, and would last to his death. The marriage is sometimes described as an [[morganatic marriage]] but this is incorrect as morganatic marriages are not defined under French Law.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.heraldica.org/topics/france/morganat.htm| title=Morganatic and Secret Marriages in the French Royal Family |accessdate=2008-07-10}}</ref>

===Revocation of the Edict of Nantes===
La Maintenon, once a [[Protestant]], had converted to [[Roman Catholicism]]. It was once believed that she vigorously promoted the persecution of the Protestants, and that she urged Louis XIV to revoke the [[Edict of Nantes]] (1598), which granted a degree of religious freedom to the [[Huguenot]]s. However, this view of her participation is now being questioned. It has been suggested that Marie-Thérèse, on her deathbed, had urged Louis on the subject, which, given her Spanish Catholic upbringing, is not surprising. Whatever the truth of such a proposition, Louis XIV himself clearly supported such a plan; he believed, along with the rest of Europe, Catholic or Protestant, that, in order to achieve national unity, he had to first achieve a religiously unified nation&mdash;specifically a Catholic one in his case. This was enshrined in the principle of "''[[cuius regio, eius religio]]''", which defined religious policy throughout Europe since its establishment, by the [[Peace of Augsburg]], in 1555. He had already begun the persecution of the Huguenots by quartering soldiers in their homes, though it must be said that it was theoretically within his feudal rights, and hence legal, to do so with any of his subjects.

Louis continued his attempt to achieve a religiously united France by issuing an edict, in March 1685, which affected the French colonies, and expelled all [[History of the Jews in France|Jews]] from them. The public practice of any religion except Roman Catholicism became prohibited. In October 1685, Louis XIV issued the [[Edict of Fontainebleau]], revoking that of Nantes, on the pretext that the near-extinction of Protestantism and Protestants in France made any edict granting them privileges redundant.<ref name=CatEn/> The Edict decreed that "liberty is granted to the said persons of the Pretended Reformed Religion [[Protestantism]]&nbsp;... on condition of not engaging in the exercise of the said religion, or of meeting under pretext of prayers or religious services." Thus, it precluded individuals from publicly practising or exercising the religion, but not from merely believing in it. It banished from the realm any Protestant minister who refused to convert to Roman Catholicism. Protestant schools and institutions were banned. Children born into Protestant families were to be forcibly baptised by Roman Catholic priests, and Protestant places of worship were demolished.

Although the Edict formally denied Huguenots permission to leave France, about 200,000 of them left in any case, taking with them their skills in commerce and trade. The Edict proved economically damaging to France,<ref name=bartleby/> though not ruinous; and while Vauban, one of Louis XIV's most influential generals, publicly condemned the measure, its proclamation was celebrated by many Catholics throughout the realm.

==The League of Augsburg==
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{{main|War of the Grand Alliance}}
===Causes and conduct of the war===
The wider political and diplomatic result of the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, however, was to provoke increased anti-French sentiment in Protestant countries. In 1686, both Catholic and Protestant rulers joined in the [[Grand Alliance|League of Augsburg]], ostensibly a defensive pact to protect the Rhine, but really designed as an offensive alliance against France. The coalition included the Holy Roman Emperor and several of the German states that formed part of the Empire — most notably the [[Electoral Palatinate|Palatinate]], [[Bavaria]], and [[Brandenburg]]. The United Provinces, Spain and Sweden also adhered to the League.{{Fact|date=August 2008}}

In 1685, [[Charles II, Elector Palatine]], the brother of Louis XIV's sister-in-law, [[Liselotte von der Pfalz|Charlotte-Elizabeth, duchesse d'Orléans]], had died. The palatine crown had gone, not to her, but to the junior [[Neuburg]] branch of the family. Louis had sought, through an ultimatum to the German princes, to have his sister-in-law's claims recognised. However, the expiry of this ultimatum and another to the German princes to ratify the Truce of Ratisbon and confirm Louis' possession of annexed territories, along with disputes over the succession to the [[Electorate of Cologne]], lead to his sending troops into the Palatinate in 1688. Ostensibly, the army had the task of supporting the claims of [[Liselotte von der Pfalz|Charlotte-Elizabeth]] to the Palatinate. The real aim, however, of the invasion was to apply pressure and force the Palatinate to leave, and thus weaken, the League of Augsburg. The troops under the command of [[Ezechiel du Mas, Comte de Melac|Melac]] eventually executed Louis' order ("''brûlez le Palatinat!''") and devastated large areas of South Western Germany. This was done as a sort of [[Scorched earth|scorched earth policy]] with the aim of preventing the larger gathering Imperial army from reaching the frontiers of France and invading Lorraine and Alsace.{{Fact|date=August 2008}}

Louis XIV's actions united the German princes behind the Holy Roman Emperor. Louis had expected that England, under the Catholic [[James II of England|James II]], would remain neutral. In 1688, however, the "[[Glorious Revolution]]" resulted in the deposition of James II and his replacement by his daughter, Mary II, who ruled jointly with her husband, William III, now King of England. As William III had developed an enmity against Louis XIV during the Franco-Dutch War, he pushed England into the League of Augsburg, which then became known as the [[Grand Alliance]].{{Fact|date=August 2008}}

[[Image:Equestrian portrait louis xiv 1692.jpg|thumb|Louis XIV at the siege of Namur]]

The campaigns of the [[Nine Years War|War of the Grand Alliance]] (1688–1697) generally proceeded favorably for France. The forces of the Holy Roman Emperor proved ineffective, as many Imperial troops were still occupied in the [[Balkans]] with the Great Turkish War, and because the Imperials generally took to the field much later than the French. Thus, France could accumulate a string of victories from Flanders in the north, to the Rhine valley in the east, to Italy and Spain in the south, as well as on the high seas and in the colonies.{{Fact|date=August 2008}}

Louis XIV aided James II in his attempt to regain the British crown, but the Stuart king was unsuccessful and was defeated at the [[Battle of the Boyne]] in 1690. A year later, the last [[Jacobitism|Jacobite]] stronghold, [[Limerick]], fell to [[Williamite]] forces after the [[Battle of Aughrim]], and James' dreams of returning to the throne dissipated. Williamite England could then devote more of her funds and troops to the war on the Continent.{{Fact|date=August 2008}}

Nonetheless, despite the size of the opposing coalition, which encompassed most of Europe, French forces in Flanders under the famous pupil of Condé, [[François Henri de Montmorency-Bouteville, duc de Luxembourg]], nicknamed "''le tapissier de Notre-Dame''" for the number of captured enemy standards which he sent to decorate the Cathedral, crushed the allied armies at the [[Battle of Fleurus]] in the same year as the Battle of the Boyne, as well as at the [[Battle of Steenkerque]] two years later and the [[Battle of Landen]] a year after that.

Under the personal supervision of Louis XIV, the French army captured [[Mons]] in 1691 and the hitherto impregnable fortress of [[Namur (city)|Namur]] in 1692; and with the capture of [[Charleroi]] by Luxembourg in 1693 after his victory at Landen, France gained the forward defensive line of the [[Sambre]]. At the Battles of [[Battle of Marsaglia|Marsaglia]] and of [[Battle of Staffarda|Staffarde]], France was victorious over the allied forces under [[Victor Amadeus II of Sardinia|Victor Amadeus, Duke of Savoy]], overrunning [[Duchy of Savoy|his dominion]] and reducing the territory under his effective command to merely the area around [[Turin]]. In the southeast, along the Pyrenees, the [[Battle of Torroella]] opened Catalonia to French invasion. The French naval victory at the [[Battle of Beachy Head]] in 1690, however, was offset by the Anglo-Dutch naval victory at the [[Battles of Barfleur and La Hougue]] in 1692; but neither side was able to entirely defeat the opposing navy.{{Fact|date=August 2008}}

The war continued for four more years, until the Duke of Savoy signed a separate peace and subsequent alliance with France in 1696, the Treaty of Turin, undertaking to join with French arms in a capture of the Milanese and allowing French armies in Italy to reinforce others; one of these reinforced armies, that of Spain, captured [[Barcelona]] and hastened the arrival of peace.{{Fact|date=August 2008}}

===Treaty of Ryswick===
[[Image:Marshal luxembourg.jpg|thumb|Marshal de Luxembourg]]
The War of the Grand Alliance eventually ended with the [[Treaty of Ryswick]] in 1697. Louis XIV surrendered Luxembourg and most of the other ''Réunion'' territories he had seized since the end of the Dutch War in 1679, but retained Strasbourg, assuring the Rhine as the border between France and the Empire. He also gained ''[[de jure]]'' recognition of his hitherto ''[[de facto]]'' possession of [[Saint-Domingue]], as well as the return of [[Pondicherry]] and [[Acadia]]. Louis undertook to recognise William III and Mary II as joint sovereigns of Great Britain and Ireland, and assured them that he would no longer assist James II; at the same time he renounced intervention in the Electorate of Cologne and claims to the Palatinate, in return for financial compensation. Louis XIV returned Lorraine to her duke, but on terms which allowed French passage at any time and which severely restricted his political manoeuvrability. The Dutch were allowed to garrison forts in the Spanish Netherlands, the "''Barrier''", to protect themselves against possible French aggression. Spain recovered Catalonia and the many territories lost, both in this war and the previous one (War of the Reunions), in the Low Countries.{{Fact|date=August 2008}}

Of similar note, Louis secured the dissolution of the Grand Alliance by manipulating the rivalries and suspicions of its member states; in so doing, he divided his enemies and broke their power since no single state on its own was capable of taking on France. The generous terms of the treaty were seen as concessions to Spain designed to foster pro-French sentiment, which would eventually lead Charles II, King of Spain to declare as his heir, Louis' grandson [[Philip V of Spain|Philippe, duc d'Anjou]]. Moreover, despite such seemingly disadvantageous terms in the Treaty of Ryswick, French influence was still at such a height in all of Europe that Louis XIV could offer his cousin, [[François Louis, Prince of Conti|François Louis de Bourbon, prince de Conti]], the Polish crown, duly have him elected by the [[Sejm]] and proclaimed as King of Poland by the [[Michał Stefan Radziejowski|Polish primate]]. However, Conti's own tardiness in proceeding to Poland to claim the throne allowed a rival, [[Augustus II the Strong|Augustus II the Strong, Elector of Saxony]] to have himself crowned king instead.{{Fact|date=August 2008}}

==The Spanish Succession==
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{{main|War of the Spanish Succession}}
[[Image:Europa 1700 en.jpg|thumb|Europe on the eve of the War of the Spanish Succession (1700)]]
===Causes and build-up to the war===
The great matter of the succession to the Spanish throne dominated European foreign affairs following the Peace of Ryswick. The Spanish King [[Charles II of Spain|Charles II]], severely incapacitated, could not father an heir. The Spanish inheritance offered a much sought-after prize, for Charles II ruled not only Spain, but also [[Kingdom of Naples|Naples]], [[Kingdom of Sicily|Sicily]], the Milanese, the Spanish Netherlands and a vast [[Spanish Empire|colonial empire]]—in all, twenty-two different realms and dominions, many of which were on the periphery of France.{{Fact|date=August 2008}}

France and Austria were the main claimants to the throne, both of which had close family ties to the Spanish royal family. Anjou (later Philip V of Spain), the French claimant, was the great-grandson of the eldest daughter of [[Philip III of Spain]], Anne of Austria, and the grandson of the eldest daughter of Philip IV of Spain, Marie-Thérèse. The only bar to inheritance lay in their renunciations of claims to the throne, which in the case of Marie-Thérèse, however, was considered legally null and void as other terms of the marriage treaty had not been fulfilled by Spain.{{Fact|date=August 2008}}
[[Image:Felipe V; Rey de España.jpg|thumb|left|Philip V, King of Spain]]
[[Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles, Archduke of Austria]] (later Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor) and younger son of [[Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor]] by his third marriage (with [[Eleonore-Magdalena of Neuburg]]), claimed the throne through his paternal grandmother, [[Maria Anna of Spain]], who was the youngest daughter of Philip III; this claim was not, however, tainted by any renunciation. Purely on the basis of the laws of [[primogeniture]], however, France had the best claims since they were derived from the eldest daughters in each generation.{{Fact|date=August 2008}}

Many European powers feared that if either France or the Emperor came to control Spain, the balance of power in Europe would be threatened. Thus, both the Dutch and the English preferred another candidate, the Bavarian prince [[Duke Joseph Ferdinand of Bavaria|Joseph Ferdinand]], who was the grandson of Leopold I, through his first wife [[Margaret Theresa of Spain]], younger daughter of Philip IV. Under the terms of the [[Treaty of The Hague (1698)|First Partition Treaty]], it was agreed that the Bavarian prince would inherit Spain, with the territories in Italy and the Low Countries being divided between the Houses of France and Austria. Spain, however, had not been consulted, and vehemently resisted the dismemberment of its empire. The Spanish court insisted on their empire indivisible. When the Treaty became known to Charles II in 1698, he settled on Joseph Ferdinand as his sole heir, assigning to him the entire Spanish inheritance.{{Fact|date=August 2008}}

The entire issue opened up again when [[smallpox]] claimed the Bavarian prince six months later. The Spanish court, seeking to keep the inheritance undivided, acknowledged that they could only succeed in doing so by granting the crown to a member from either the House of France, or of Austria. Charles II, under pressure from his German wife [[Maria Anna of Neuburg]], chose the House of Austria and her nephew, settling on the Emperor's younger son, the Archduke Charles. Ignoring this, Louis and William III signed a second treaty, that of [[Treaty of London (1700)|London]], allowing the Archduke Charles to take Spain, the Low Countries and the Spanish colonies, whilst Louis XIV's eldest son and heir, ''le Grand Dauphin'', would inherit the territories in Italy, with a mind to exchange them for Savoy or Lorraine.{{Fact|date=August 2008}}

===Acceptance of the will and consequences===
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In 1700, as he lay upon his deathbed, Charles II unexpectedly interfered in the affair. He sought to prevent Spain from uniting with either France or the Empire, but, based on his past experience of French superiority in arms, considered France as more capable of preserving his empire in its entirety. The whole of the Spanish inheritance was thus offered to Anjou, the Dauphin's second son, on condition he kept it undivided. In the event of his refusal or inability to accept the inheritance, it would be offered to the Dauphin's youngest son, [[Charles de Bourbon, Duc de Berry|Charles, duc de Berry]], and thereafter to the Archduke Charles. If all these princes refused the Crown, it would be offered to the [[House of Savoy]], distantly related to the Spanish royal family.{{Fact|date=August 2008}}

Louis XIV thus faced a difficult choice: he could have agreed to a partition and to possible peace in Europe, or he could have accepted the whole Spanish inheritance but alienated the other European nations. Louis originally assured William III that he would fulfill the terms of their previous treaty and partition the Spanish dominions. However, [[Jean-Baptiste Colbert, marquis de Torcy]], the nephew of Colbert, advised Louis that even if France accepted a portion of the Spanish inheritance, a war with the Empire would almost certainly ensue; and William III had made it very clear that he had signed the Partition Treaties to avoid war, not make it, and hence would not assist France in a war to obtain the territories granted her by those treaties. Louis agreed that if a war had to occur, it would be more profitable to accept the whole of the Spanish inheritance and to fight a defensive war. Consequently, when Charles II died on [[November 1]], [[1700]], Philippe, duc d'Anjou became Philip V, King of Spain.{{Fact|date=August 2008}}

Most of the rest of Europe accepted Philip V as King of Spain, albeit reluctantly. Louis, however, acted too precipitously. In 1701, he transferred the ''[[Asiento]]'', a permit to sell slaves to the Spanish colonies, to France, with potentially damaging consequences for British trade. Moreover, Louis ceased to acknowledge William III as King of Great Britain and Ireland upon the death of James II, instead acclaiming as King James II's son, [[James Francis Edward Stuart]] (the "Old Pretender"). Furthermore, Louis sent forces into the Spanish Netherlands to secure its loyalty to Philip V and to garrison the Spanish forts, which had been garrisoned by Dutch troops as part of the "''Barrier''" protecting the United Provinces from potential French aggression. The result was the further alienation of both Britain and the United Provinces, both then ruled by William III. Consequently, another Grand Alliance was formed between Great Britain, the United Provinces, the Emperor and many of the petty states within the Holy Roman Empire. French diplomacy, however, secured Bavaria, Portugal and Savoy as allies for Louis and Philip.{{Fact|date=August 2008}}

===Commencement of fighting===
The subsequent [[War of the Spanish Succession]] continued for most of the remainder of the reign and proved costly for Louis. It began with Imperial aggression in Italy even before war was officially declared. France had some initial success, nearly capturing Vienna, but the victories of [[John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough|Marlborough]] and [[Eugene of Savoy]] showed that the myth of French invincibility was broken.{{Fact|date=August 2008}}

===Defeat of French invincibility===
Following Marlborough and Eugene of Savoy's victory at the [[Battle of Blenheim]], Bavaria was flung out of the war, being partitioned between the Palatinate and Austria, and her elector, [[Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria|Maximilian II Emanuel]], forced to flee to the Spanish Netherlands. Another consequence of Blenheim was the subsequent defection of Portugal and Savoy to the opposing side. With the [[Battle of Ramillies]] and that of [[Battle of Oudenarde|Oudenarde]], Franco-Spanish forces were driven ignominiously out of the Spanish Netherlands; while the [[Battle of Turin]] forced Louis to evacuate what few forces remained to him in Italy.{{Fact|date=August 2008}}

Such military defeats, coupled with famine and mounting debt, forced France into a defensive posture. By 1709, Louis' position was grievously weakened, and he was willing to sue for peace at nearly any cost, even to return all lands and territories ceded to him during his reign and to return to the frontiers of the Peace of Westphalia, signed more than sixty years prior. Nonetheless, the terms dictated by the allies were so harsh, including demands that he attack his own grandson alone to force the latter to accept the humiliating peace terms, that war continued.{{Fact|date=August 2008}}

===Turning point===
Whilst it became clear that France could not retain the entire Spanish inheritance, it also seemed evident that its opponents could not overthrow Philip V in Spain after the definitive Franco-Spanish victory of the [[Battle of Almansa]], and those of [[Battle of Villaviciosa|Villaviciosa]] and [[Battle of Brihuega|Brihuega]], which drove the allies out of the central Spanish provinces. Furthermore, the [[Battle of Malplaquet]] in 1709 showed that it was neither easy nor cheap to defeat and invade France, for while the allies gained the field, they did so at an abominable cost, losing 25 000 men, twice that of the French, led by their capable general, [[Claude Louis Hector de Villars|Claude Louis Hector, duc de Villars]]. The [[Battle of Denain]] in 1712 turned the war in favour of Louis XIV, when Villars led French forces to a decisive victory over the allies under Eugene of Savoy, recovering much lost territory and pride.{{Fact|date=August 2008}}

[[Image:Philippe Buache Carte de France divisee suivant les quatre departements de Messieurs les secretaires dEtat 07710637.jpg|thumb|Map of France after the death of Louis XIV]]
The death of [[Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor]], who had succeeded his father Leopold I in 1705, made the prospect of an empire as large as that of Charles V being ruled by the Archduke Charles, now the Emperor, dangerously possible. This was, to Great Britain, as undesirable as a union of France and Spain.{{Fact|date=August 2008}}

===Road to and conclusion of peace===
Thus, preliminaries were signed between Great Britain and France in the pursuit of peace. Louis XIV and Philip V eventually made peace with Great Britain and the United Provinces in 1713 with the [[Treaty of Utrecht (1713)|Treaty of Utrecht]]. Peace with the Emperor and the Holy Roman Empire came with the [[Treaty of Rastatt]] and that of [[Treaty of Baden|Baden]] in 1714 respectively. The crucial interval between Utrecht and Rastatt-Baden allowed Louis XIV to capture Landau and Freiburg, permitting him to negotiate from a comparatively better position, if not from one of strength, with the Emperor and the Empire.{{Fact|date=August 2008}}

The general settlement recognised Philip V as King of Spain and ruler of the Spanish colonies. Spain's territory in the Low Countries and Italy were partitioned between Austria and Savoy, while Gibraltar and Minorca were retained by Great Britain.{{Fact|date=August 2008}}

Louis XIV, furthermore, agreed to end his support for the Old Pretender's claims to the throne of Great Britain. France was also obliged to cede the colonies and possessions of [[Newfoundland (island)|Newfoundland]], [[Rupert's Land]] and Acadia in the Americas to Great Britain, while retaining Île-Saint-Jean (now [[Prince Edward Island]]) and Île Royale (now [[Cape Breton Island]]); however, most of those Continental territories lost in the devastating defeats in the Low Countries were returned to her, despite allied persistence and pressure to the contrary, and she also received further territories to which she had a claim such as the [[Orange, Vaucluse|Principality of Orange]], as well as the [[Ubaye Valley]], which covered the passes through the Alps from Italy.{{Fact|date=August 2008}}

The efforts of the allies to curb and diminish French power in Europe came to naught. Moreover, France was shown to be able to protect her allies with the rehabilitation and restoration of the Elector of Bavaria, Maximilian II Emanuel, to his lands, titles and dignities.{{Fact|date=August 2008}}

==Death==
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[[Image:DrugstoreOfLouisXIVWithDetails.jpg|thumb|Drugstore of Louis XIV, with details. [[Muséum national d'histoire naturelle]], Paris.]]
Louis XIV died on [[September 1]], [[1715]], of [[gangrene]], a few days before his seventy-seventh birthday. Almost all of Louis XIV's legitimate children had died during childhood. The only one to survive to adulthood, his eldest son, [[Louis, Dauphin of France (1661-1711)|Louis de France]], known as "''Le Grand Dauphin''", had predeceased Louis XIV in 1711, leaving three children. The eldest of these children, [[Louis, Dauphin of France (1682-1712)|Louis, duc de Bourgogne]], had died in 1712, soon to be followed by Bourgogne's elder son, [[Louis, Dauphin of France (1707-1712)|Louis, duc de Bretagne]]. Thus, at Louis XIV's death, his five-year-old great-grandson [[Louis XV of France|Louis, duc d'Anjou]], the youngest son of Bourgogne, and the ''Dauphin'' upon the death of his grandfather, father and elder brother, succeeded to the throne as Louis XV.

It was to this young child that Louis XIV was alleged, according to [[Philippe de Dangeau|Philippe de Courcillon, marquis de Dangeau]] in his ''Memoirs'', to have said, in the manner of baroque piety: <blockquote>"Do not follow the bad example which I have set you; I have often undertaken war too lightly and have sustained it for vanity. Do not imitate me, but be a peaceful prince, and may you apply yourself principally to the alleviation of the burdens of your subjects".</blockquote> This same Dangeau noted of his death that "he yielded up his soul without any effort, like a candle extinguishing". Louis died while saying the words of the psalm ''Domine, ad adjuvandum me festina'' (O Lord, make haste to help me).{{Fact|date=August 2008}}

[[Image:Nicolas de Largillière 003.jpg|thumb|left|Louis XIV with Louis le Grand Dauphin, Louis, duc de Bourgogne, and Louis, duc de Bretagne]]

Louis XIV, noting his own old age and the youth of his heir, had anticipated a regency and had sought to restrict the power of his nephew, [[Philip II, Duke of Orléans|Philippe II, duc d'Orléans]], who as closest surviving legitimate relative in France would become Regent for the prospective Louis XV. Thus, he transferred some power to his illegitimate son by Madame de Montespan, [[Louis-Auguste de Bourbon, Duke of Maine|Louis-Auguste de Bourbon, duc du Maine]] and created a regency council like that established by Louis XIII in anticipation of Louis XIV's own minority.{{Fact|date=August 2008}}

Louis XIV's will provided that Maine would act as the [[guardian]] of Louis XV, superintendent of the young king's education and Commander of the Royal Guards.{{Fact|date=August 2008}}

Orléans, however, obtained the annulment of Louis XIV's will in the ''Parlement de Paris'' after the latter's death. Maine was stripped of the rank of "''[[prince du Sang|prince du sang]]''", which had been given him and his brother, [[Louis-Alexandre de Bourbon, comte de Toulouse]], by Louis, and of the command of the Royal Guards, but retained his position as superintendent, while Orléans was to rule as sole Regent. Toulouse, by remaining aloof from these court intrigues, managed to retain his privileges (save that of "''prince du sang''"), unlike his brother.{{Fact|date=August 2008}}

Louis XIV's body lies in the [[Saint Denis Basilica]] in Saint Denis, a suburb of Paris. He reigned for 72 years, making his the longest reign in the recorded history of Europe.

==Legacy==
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Louis XIV placed a member of the House of France on the throne of Spain, effectively ending the centuries-old threat and menace that had arisen from that quarter of Europe since the days of Charles V. The [[House of Bourbon]] retained the crown of Spain for the remainder of the eighteenth century, but experienced overthrow and restoration several times after 1808. Nonetheless, to this day, the [[Juan Carlos I of Spain|Spanish monarch]] is descended from Louis XIV.

Louis' numerous wars effectively bankrupted the State (though it must also be said that France was able to recover in a matter of years), forcing him to incur large State debts from various ''financiers'' and to levy higher taxes on the peasants as the nobility and clergy had exemption from paying these taxes and contributing to public funds. Yet, it must be emphasized that it was the State and not the country which was impoverished. The wealth and prosperity of France, as a whole, could be noted in the writings of the social and political thinker and commentator [[Charles de Secondat, baron de Montesquieu|Montesquieu]] in his satirical [[epistolary novel]], ''[[Persian Letters|Lettres Persanes]]''. While the work mocks and ridicules French political, cultural and social life, it also portrays and describes the wealth, elegance and opulence of France between the end of the War of the Spanish Succession and Louis XIV's death.{{Fact|date=August 2008}}

[[Image:France 1552-1798.png|right|thumb|Growth of France under Louis XIV (1643&ndash;1715)]]

On the whole, nevertheless, Louis XIV strengthened the power of the Crown relative to the traditional feudal elites, marking the beginning of the era of the modern State, and placed France in the predominant and preeminent position in Europe, giving her ten new provinces and an overseas empire, as well as cultural and linguistic influence all over Europe. Even with several great European alliances opposing him, he continued to triumph and to increase French territory, power and influence. As a result of these military victories as well as cultural accomplishments, Europe would admire France, her power, culture, exports, values and way-of-life. The French language would become the ''[[lingua franca]]'' for the entire European elite as faraway as [[House of Romanov|Romanov Russia]]; various German princelings would seek to copy his mode of life to their great expense. Europe of the [[Enlightenment]] would look to Louis XIV's reign as an example, studying his strategic use of power, emulating his elegance, and admiring his successes.{{Fact|date=August 2008}}

[[Louis de Rouvroy, duc de Saint-Simon|Saint-Simon]], who felt slighted by Louis XIV, offered the following assessment: <blockquote>"There was nothing he liked so much as flattery, or, to put it more plainly, adulation; the coarser and clumsier it was, the more he relished it&nbsp;... His vanity, which was perpetually nourished&ndash;for even preachers used to praise him to his face from the pulpit&ndash;was the cause of the aggrandisement of his Ministers".</blockquote> However, even the German philosopher [[Leibniz]], who was a Protestant and had no cause for flattery, could call him "one of the greatest kings that ever was"; and [[Napoléon I of France|Napoleon]], hardly a friend of the Bourbons, would describe Louis XIV as "the only King of France worthy of the name" and "a great king."<ref>Napoleon Bonaparte, ''Napoleon’s Notes on English History made on the Eve of the French Revolution'', illustrated from Contemporary Historians and referenced from the findings of Later Research by Henry Foljambe Hall. New York: E. P. Dutton & Co., 1905, 258.</ref> [[Voltaire]], the apostle of the Enlightenment, compared him to [[Augustus]] and called his reign an "eternally memorable age", dubbing the Age of Louis XIV "''le Grand Siècle''" (the "Great Century").{{Fact|date=August 2008}}

==Style and arms==
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Louis XIV had the formal style: "''Louis XIV, par la grâce de Dieu, roi de France et de Navarre''", or "Louis XIV, by the Grace of God, King of France and of Navarre". He bore the [[Coat of arms|arms]] ''Azure three fleurs-de-lis Or (for France) impaling Gules on a chain in cross saltire and orle Or an emerald Proper (for Navarre)''.{{Fact|date=August 2008}}

==Order of Saint Louis==
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The [[Order of Saint Louis|Royal and Military Order of Saint Louis]] ({{lang-fr|Ordre Royal et Militaire de Saint-Louis}}) was a military [[Order (decoration)|Order of Chivalry]] founded on [[April 5]], [[1693]] by Louis XIV<ref>Hamilton, Walter. "Dated Book-plates (Ex Libris) with a Treatise on Their Origin", P37. Published 1895. A.C. Black</ref><ref>Edmunds, Martha. "Piety and Politics", P274. Published 2002. University of Delaware Press. ISBN 0874136938</ref> and named after Louis IX. It was intended as a reward for exceptional officers, and is notable as the first decoration that could be granted to non-nobles. It is roughly the forerunner of the ''[[Légion d'honneur]]'', with which it shares the red ribbon (though the ''Légion d'honneur'' is awarded to military personnel and civilians alike).

==Ancestors==
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<div style="background: #ccddcc; text-align: center; border: 1px solid #667766" class="NavHead">'''Ancestors of Louis XIV of France'''
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|1= 1. '''Louis XIV,<br />King of France and of Navarre'''
|2= 2. [[Louis XIII of France|Louis XIII,<br />King of France and of Navarre]]
|3= 3. [[Anne of Austria|Anne of Austria,<br />Infanta of Spain and of Portugal,<br />Queen of France and of Navarre]]
|4= 4. [[Henry IV of France|Henri IV,<br />King of France and of Navarre]]
|5= 5. [[Marie de' Medici|Marie de' Medici,<br />Queen of France and of Navarre]]
|6= 6. [[Philip III of Spain|Philip III/II,<br />King of Spain and of Portugal]]
|7= 7. [[Margaret of Austria (1584-1611)|Margarita of Austria,<br />Archduchess of Austria,<br />Queen of Spain and of Portugal]]
|8= 8. [[Antoine of Navarre|Antoine de Bourbon,<br />Duke of Vendôme,<br />King of Navarre]]
|9= 9. [[Jeanne III of Navarre|Jeanne III d'Albret,<br />Queen of Navarre]]
|10= 10. [[Francesco I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany|Francesco I de' Medici,<br />Grand Duke of Tuscany]]
|11= 11. [[Johanna of Austria|Johanna of Austria,<br />Archduchess of Austria,<br />Grand Duchess of Tuscany]]
|12= 12. [[Philip II of Spain|Philip II/I,<br />King of Spain and of Portugal]]
|13= 13. [[Anna of Austria (1549-1580)|Anna of Austria,<br />Archduchess of Austria,<br />Queen of Spain and of Portugal]]
|14= 14. [[Charles II of Austria|Charles II,<br />Archduke of Austria,<br />Archduke of Inner Austria]]
|15= 15. [[Maria Anna of Bavaria (1551-1608)|Maria Anna of Bavaria,<br />Archduchess of Inner Austria]]
|16= 16. [[Charles de Bourbon, Duke of Vendôme|Charles de Bourbon,<br />Duke of Vendôme]]
|17= 17. Françoise d'Alençon,<br />Duchess of Vendôme
|18= 18. [[Henry II of Navarre|Henri II d'Albret,<br />King of Navarre]]
|19= 19. [[Marguerite de Navarre|Marguerite d'Angoulême,<br />Queen of Navarre]]
|20= 20. [[Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany|Cosimo I de' Medici,<br />Grand Duke of Tuscany]]
|21= 21. [[Eleonora di Toledo|Eleonora di Toledo,<br />Grand Duchess of Tuscany]]
|22= 22. [[Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor|Ferdinand I,<br />Archduke of Austria,<br />King of Bohemia and of Hungary,<br />Holy Roman Emperor]]
|23= 23. [[Anna of Bohemia and Hungary|Anna Jagellonica of Bohemia and Hungary,<br />Queen of Bohemia and of Hungary,<br />Holy Roman Empress]]
|24= 24. [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles V,<br />King of Spain,<br />Holy Roman Emperor]]
|25= 25. [[Isabella of Portugal|Isabel of Portugal,<br />Queen of Spain,<br />Holy Roman Empress]]
|26= 26. [[Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor|Maximilian II,<br />King of Bohemia and of Hungary,<br />Holy Roman Emperor]]
|27= 27. [[Maria of Spain|Maria of Spain,<br />Infanta of Spain,<br />Queen of Bohemia and of Hungary,<br />Holy Roman Empress]]
|28= 28. [[Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor|Ferdinand I,<br />Archduke of Austria,<br />King of Bohemia and of Hungary,<br />Holy Roman Emperor]]
|29= 29. [[Anna of Bohemia and Hungary|Anna Jagellonica of Bohemia and Hungary,<br />Queen of Bohemia and of Hungary,<br />Holy Roman Empress]]
|30= 30. [[Albert V, Duke of Bavaria|Albert V,<br />Duke of Bavaria]]
|31= 31. [[Anna of Austria (1528-1590)|Anna of Austria,<br />Duchess of Bavaria]]
|32= 32. [[François, Count of Vendôme]]
|33= 33. [[Marie de Luxembourg]]
|34= 34. [[René of Alençon]]
|35= 35. [[Marguerite of Lorraine]]
|36= 36. [[John III of Navarre]]
|37= 37. [[Catherine I of Navarre]]
|38= 38. [[Charles, Count of Angoulême]]
|39= 39. [[Louise of Savoy]]
|40= 40. [[Giovanni dalle Bande Nere]]
|41= 41. [[Maria Salviati]]
|42= 42. [[Pedro Álvarez de Toledo]]
|43= 43. Maria Osorio Pimentel
|44= 44. [[Philip I of Castile]]
|45= 45. [[Joanna I of Castile]]
|46= 46. [[Vladislaus II of Bohemia and Hungary]]
|47= 47. [[Anne de Foix]]
|48= 48. [[Philip I of Castile]]
|49= 49. [[Joanna I of Castile]]
|50= 50. [[Manuel I of Portugal]]
|51= 51. [[Maria of Aragon]]
|52= 52. Ferdinand I,
Archduke of Austria,
King of Bohemia and of Hungary,
Holy Roman Emperor
|53= 53. Anna Jagellonica of Bohemia and Hungary,
Queen of Bohemia and of Hungary,
Holy Roman Empress
|54= 54. Charles V,
King of Spain,
Holy Roman Emperor
|55= 55. Isabel of Portugal,
Queen of Spain,
Holy Roman Empress
|56= 56. [[Philip I of Castile]]
|57= 57. [[Joanna I of Castile]]
|58= 58. [[Vladislaus II of Bohemia and Hungary]]
|59= 59. [[Anne de Foix]]
|60= 60. [[William IV, Duke of Bavaria]]
|61= 61. [[Marie of Baden-Sponheim]]
|62= 62. Ferdinand I,
Archduke of Austria,
King of Bohemia and of Hungary,
Holy Roman Emperor
|63= 63. Anna Jagellonica of Bohemia and Hungary,
Queen of Bohemia and of Hungary,
Holy Roman Empress
}}</center>

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==Issue==
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<div style="background: #ccddcc; text-align: center; border: 1px solid #667766" class="NavHead">'''Legitimate Children of Louis XIV of France'''
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{{Main|Descendants of Louis XIV of France}}

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|colspan=4|'''''By [[Maria Theresa of Spain|Marie-Thérèse d'Autriche, Infanta of Spain, Queen of France and of Navarre]] (20 September 1638 - 30 July 1683)'''''
|-
| [[Louis, Dauphin of France (1661-1711)|Louis de France, ''le Grand Dauphin'']] || [[November 1]], [[1661]] || [[April 14]], [[1711]]||[[Fils de France]]. [[Dauphin of France]] (1661-1711). Had issue. Father of [[Louis, Dauphin of France (1682-1712)|Louis, duc de Bourgogne (later Dauphin of France)]], [[Philip V of Spain|Philippe, duc d'Anjou (later King of Spain)]] and [[Charles, Duke of Berry (1686-1714)|Charles, duc de Berry]]. Grandfather of [[Louis XV of France|Louis, duc d'Anjou (later Dauphin, and then King of France)]]
|-
| Anne-Élisabeth de France||[[November 18]], [[1662]]||[[December 30]], [[1662]]||[[Fille de France]]. Died in infancy.
|-
| [[Princess Marie-Therèse of France|Marie-Thérèse de France]]||[[January 2]], [[1667]]||[[March 1]], [[1672]]||[[Fille de France]]. Known as [[Madame Royale]] and ''la Petite Madame''
|-
| [[Philippe-Charles de France|Philippe-Charles de France, duc d'Anjou]]||[[August 5]], [[1668]]||[[July 10]], [[1671]]||[[Fils de France]].
|-
|Louis-François de France, duc d'Anjou||[[June 14]], [[1672]]||[[November 4]], [[1672]]||[[Fils de France]]. Died in infancy.
|}
</div></div>


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<div style="background: #ccddcc; text-align: center; border: 1px solid #667766" class="NavHead">'''Illegitimate Children of Louis XIV of France'''
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{{Main|List of descendants of Louis XIV of France}}

'''''Note: This is an incomplete list of the illegitimate children of Louis XIV (he is known to have had more) due to the difficulty in fully documenting all such births. As such, the list only notes those who are better known or were legitimated.'''''

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Name!!Birth!!Death!!Notes
|-
|colspan=4|'''''By [[Louise de la Vallière|Louise-Françoise de La Baume Le Blanc, duchesse de La Vallière et de Vaujours]] (6 August 1644 - 6 June 1710)'''''
|-
|Charles||[[December 19]], [[1663]]||[[July 15]], [[1665]]||Not legitimated.
|-
|Philippe||[[January 7]], [[1665]]||[[1666]]||Not legitimated.
|-
|[[Marie Anne de Bourbon|Marie-Anne de Bourbon, ''Mlle de Blois'', duchesse de La Vallière, princesse de Conti]] || [[October 2]] [[1666]]|| [[May 3]] [[1739]]||Legitimated on 14 May 1667. Married [[Louis Armand I, Prince of Conti|Louis-Armand I de Bourbon-Conti, prince de Conti]].
|-
| [[Louis de Bourbon, comte de Vermandois]]||[[October 3]] [[1667]]||[[November 18]] [[1683]]||Legitimated on 20 February 1669. Held the office of [[Admiral of France]].
|-
|colspan=4|'''''By [[Françoise-Athénaïs, marquise de Montespan|Françoise-Athénaïs de Rochechouart de Mortemart, marquise de Montespan]] (5 October 1641 - 27 May 1707)'''''
|-
| Louise Françoise de Bourbon || at the end of [[March]], [[1669]] || [[February 23]], [[1672]] ||
|-
| [[Louis-Auguste de Bourbon, duc du Maine]] || [[March 31]] [[1670]]||[[May 14]] [[1736]]|| Legitimated on 20 December 1673. Held numerous offices, of which: [[Maison du Roi|Colonel-Général des Suisses et des Grisons]], Governor of [[Languedoc]], Général des [[Galley|Galères]], and [[Grand Master of Artillery|Grand-Maître de l'Artillerie]]. Was also duc d'Aumale, comte d'Eu and prince de Dombes. Had issue. Founder of the [[Bourbon du Maine|House of Bourbon du Maine]].
|-
| Louis-César de Bourbon, comte de Vexin, abbé de Saint-Denis et de Saint-Germain-des-Prés|| June 20, 1672 || January 10, 1683 ||Legitimated on 20 December 1673.
|-
| [[Louise-Françoise de Bourbon|Louise-Françoise de Bourbon, ''Mlle de Nantes'', duchesse de Bourbon, princesse de Condé]]||[[June 1]] [[1673]]||[[June 16]] [[1743]]||Legitimated on 20 December 1673. Married [[Louis III, Prince of Condé|Louis III de Bourbon-Condé, duc d'Enghien, (later duc de Bourbon, and then prince de Condé)]]. Had issue.
|-
| [[Louise Marie Anne de Bourbon|Louise-Marie-Anne de Bourbon, ''Mlle de Tours'']] ||[[November 12]] [[1674]]||[[September 15]] [[1681]] ||Legitimated in January 1676.
|-
| [[Françoise-Marie de Bourbon|Françoise-Marie de Bourbon, ''Mlle de Blois'', duchesse d'Orléans]]||[[February 9]] [[1677]]||[[February 1]] [[1749]]||Legitimated in November 1681. Married [[Philippe II, Duke of Orléans|Philippe II d'Orléans, duc de Chartres, (later duc d'Orléans)]], the [[Régence|Regent of France]] under Louis XV. Had issue.
|-
| [[Louis-Alexandre de Bourbon, comte de Toulouse]] ||[[June 6]] [[1678]]||[[December 1]] [[1737]]||Legitimated on 22 November 1681. Held numerous offices, of which: [[Admiral of France]], Governor of [[Guyenne]], Governor of [[Brittany]], and [[Grand Huntsman of France|Grand-Veneur de France]]. Was also duc de Damville, de Rambouillet et de Penthièvre. Had issue. Founder of the [[Bourbon-Penthièvre|House of Bourbon-Toulouse]].
|}
</div></div>

== In fiction ==

Louis XIV is depicted in two of [[Alexandre Dumas]]' novels, first as a child in [[Twenty Years After]], then as a young man in [[The Vicomte de Bragelonne]], in which he is a central character. French academic Jean-Yves Tadié has argued that the beginning of Louis XIV's personal rule is the latter novel's real subject<ref>J-Y Tadié's annotations to The Vicomte de Bragelonne, Gallimard, 1997</ref>. Most [[The Man in the Iron Mask (film)|film versions]] of the [[Man in the iron mask]]'s story are based on the legend that the mysterious prisoner was actually Louis XIV's twin brother. This legend is also depicted in Dumas' novel, on which most film versions are loosely based.

==See also==
*[[List of French monarchs]]
*[[French Baroque and Classicism]]
*[[Gallican Church]]
*[[Autocracy]]
*[[Mazarin]]

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Acton, J. E. E., 1st Baron. (1906). [http://oll.libertyfund.org/ToC/0028.php ''Lectures on Modern History.''] London: Macmillan and Co.
* Beik, William. "The Absolutism of Louis XIV as Social Collaboration: Review Article", ''Past and Present'', no.&nbsp;188 (Aug 2005), pp.&nbsp;195–224.
* Bluche, François, ''Louis XIV'', Paris: Hachette Littératures, 1986. (English translation by Mark Greengrass; published in 1990 by Franklin Watts.)
* [[Peter Burke|Burke, Peter]] ''En kung blir till'' (Swedish translation of ''The fabrication of a king'', 1992)
* [http://www.uni-mannheim.de/mateo/camenaref/cmh/cmh.html ''Cambridge Modern History''] vol 5 The Age of Louis XIV (1908)]
* Carretier, Christian, "''Les cinq cent douze quartiers de Louis XIV''", Angers-Paris, 1980
* Church, William F. (ed.). ''The Greatness of Louis XIV''. London: D.C. Heath and Company, 1972.
* [[Vincent Cronin|Cronin, Vincent]]. ''Louis XIV''. London: HarperCollins, 1996 (ISBN 0002720728)
* Dunlop, Ian. ''Louis XIV''. New York: St. Martin's Press, 2000 (hardcover, ISBN 0312261969)
* Erlanger, Philippe, ''Louis XIV'', Librairie Arthème Fayard, Paris 1965, reprinted by Librairie Académique Perrin, Paris, 1978, (French).
* Erlanger, Philippe, ''Louis XIV'', translated from the French by Stephen Cox, Praeger Publishers, New York, 1970, (English).
* Fraser, Antonia. ''Love and Louis XIV: The Women in the Life of the Sun King''. London: Weidenfeld&nbsp;& Nicolson, 2006 (hardcover, ISBN 0-297-82997-1); New York: Nan A. Talese, 2006 (hardcover, ISBN 0385509847)
* Goyau, G. (1910). [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09371a.htm "Louis XIV".] ''The Catholic Encyclopedia.'' (Volume IX). New York: Robert Appleton Company.
* Holt, Mack P., "Louis XIV." The New Book of Knowledge. [http://nbk.grolier.com Scholastic Library Publishing], 2005.
* Jordan, David. ''The King's Trial: Louis XVI vs. the French Revolution''. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2004 (paperback, ISBN 0520236971)
* Lynn, John A., "The Wars of Louis XIV, 1667-1714", New York: Longman, 1999
* Rubin, David Lee, ed. ''Sun King: The Ascendancy of French Culture during the Reign of Louis XIV''. Washington: Folger Books and Cranbury: Associated University Presses, 1992.
* Steingrad, E. (2004). [http://www.louis-xiv.de/ "Louis XIV."]
* Thompson, Ian. ''The Sun King's Garden: Louis XIV, André Le Nôtre And the Creation of the Gardens of Versailles''. London: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2006 (hardcover, ISBN 1582346313).
* Wolf, J. B. (1968). ''Louis XIV.'' New York: Norton.

==External links==
{{commons|Louis XIV of France}}
* [http://www.datesofhistory.com/Louis-XIV-France.biog.html Chronology Louis XIV]
* List of films dedicated to Louis XIV and period<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.louis-xiv.de/index.php?t=films&a=films |title=Louis XIV - the Sun King: Louis XIV - the Sun King |publisher=Louis-xiv.de |date= |accessdate=2008-08-31}}</ref> Of particular interest: Documentary on Versailles—The Visit.
*[http://www.asiaing.com/memoirs-of-louis-xiv-and-his-court-and-of-the-regency.html Memoirs of Louis XIV and His Court and of the Regency]
*[http://www.smae.diplomatie.gouv.fr/choiseul/ressource/pdf/D16590004.pdf Full text of marriage contract] ([[PDF]]), France National Archives transcription {{fr icon}}
*[http://www.voltaire-integral.com/Html/00Table/14Loui14.html "''Le siècle de Louis XIV''"] by [[Voltaire]], 1751
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{{s-hou|[[House of Bourbon]]|September 5|1638|September 1|1715|[[Capetian dynasty]]}}
{{s-reg|}}
|-
{{s-bef|before=[[Louis XIII of France|Louis XIII]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[List of French monarchs|King of France]] and [[List of Navarrese monarchs|Navarre]]|years=[[May 14]], [[1643]] – [[September 1]], [[1715]]}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Louis XV of France|Louis XV]]}}
|-
{{s-roy|fr}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Louis XIII of France|Louis XIII]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Dauphin of France]]|years=[[September 5]], [[1638]] – [[May 14]], [[1643]]}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Louis, Dauphin of France (1661-1711)|Louis<br /><small>"le Grand Dauphin"</small>]]}}
{{end}}
{{Kings of france}}
{{List of Kings were named the Great of the World}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Louis 14 of France}}
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|NAME=Louis XIV of France
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|PLACE OF BIRTH=[[Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye]], [[Saint-Germain-en-Laye]], [[France]]
|DATE OF DEATH={{death date|1715|9|1|mf=y}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Louis 14}}
[[Category:Louis XIV of France|Louis XIV of France]]
[[Category:House of Bourbon]]
[[Category:Kings of France]]
[[Category:Dauphins of Viennois]]
[[Category:Dauphins of France]]
[[Category:Roman Catholic monarchs]]
[[Category:Anti-Protestantism]]
[[Category:People from Ile-de-France]]
[[Category:1638 births]]
[[Category:1715 deaths]]
[[Category:Princes of Andorra]]
[[Category:Modern child rulers]]
[[Category:People of the Nine Years' War]]
{{Link FA|ca}}
{{Link FA|de}}
{{Link FA|eo}}
{{Link FA|es}}

[[ang:Hloþwig XIV Franclandes]]
[[ar:لويس الرابع عشر]]
[[be:Людовік XIV]]
[[bs:Luj XIV Francuski]]
[[br:Loeiz XIV (Bro-C'hall)]]
[[bg:Луи XIV (Франция)]]
[[ca:Lluís XIV de França]]
[[cs:Ludvík XIV.]]
[[cy:Louis XIV, brenin Ffrainc]]
[[da:Ludvig 14. af Frankrig]]
[[de:Ludwig XIV.]]
[[et:Louis XIV]]
[[el:Λουδοβίκος ΙΔ΄ της Γαλλίας]]
[[es:Luis XIV de Francia]]
[[eo:Ludoviko la 14-a (Francio)]]
[[eu:Frantziako Louis XIV.a]]
[[fa:لوئی چهاردهم]]
[[fr:Louis XIV de France]]
[[ga:Laoiseach XIV na Fraince]]
[[gl:Luís XIV de Francia]]
[[ko:프랑스의 루이 14세]]
[[hr:Luj XIV., kralj Francuske]]
[[io:Louis 14ma]]
[[id:Louis XIV dari Perancis]]
[[is:Loðvík 14.]]
[[it:Luigi XIV di Francia]]
[[he:לואי הארבעה עשר, מלך צרפת]]
[[ka:ლუი XIV (საფრანგეთი)]]
[[sw:Louis XIV wa Ufaransa]]
[[la:Ludovicus XIV]]
[[lv:Luijs XIV]]
[[lb:Louis XIV. vu Frankräich]]
[[lt:Liudvikas XIV]]
[[hu:XIV. Lajos francia király]]
[[mk:Луј XIV]]
[[ms:Louis XIV dari Perancis]]
[[nl:Lodewijk XIV van Frankrijk]]
[[ja:ルイ14世 (フランス王)]]
[[no:Ludvig XIV av Frankrike]]
[[nn:Ludvig XIV av Frankrike]]
[[oc:Loís XIV de França]]
[[pms:Luis XIV]]
[[pl:Ludwik XIV]]
[[pt:Luís XIV de França]]
[[ro:Ludovic al XIV-lea al Franţei]]
[[qu:Louis XIV]]
[[ru:Людовик XIV]]
[[scn:Luiggi XIV di Francia]]
[[simple:Louis XIV of France]]
[[sk:Ľudovít XIV.]]
[[sl:Ludvik XIV. Francoski]]
[[sr:Луј XIV]]
[[sh:Luj XIV]]
[[fi:Ludvig XIV]]
[[sv:Ludvig XIV av Frankrike]]
[[th:พระเจ้าหลุยส์ที่ 14 แห่งฝรั่งเศส]]
[[vi:Louis XIV của Pháp]]
[[tr:XIV. Louis]]
[[uk:Людовик XIV (король Франції)]]
[[vls:Lodewyk XIV]]
[[bat-smg:Liodvėks XIV]]
[[zh:路易十四]]

Revision as of 17:02, 12 September 2008

he was a man of many names his name was peter griffin

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