Louis XIV: The Greatest Leader of France :: Biography Biographies Essays

Louis XIV The superlative Leader of France The Days of Elegance The term splendid is one that to the highest degree English speaking population arefamiliar with. To most of those people it has a meaning related to theover all appearance or timber of what ever is being detectd. Webstersdictionary defines the term as 1. magnificent and sumptuous. 2. tell or glorious. Splendor is more that that. It is an adjectivethat could be utilize to describe virtuallything so great and breath taking thatone is left awed. The password splendid is often associated with the palace ofVersailles, which was built Louis XIV. In the production of this sybariticstructure there was no cost spared. It became a symbol of France, and amodel by which all other palaces would be judged. Louis XIV authentic agreat deal of criticism from onlookers as he used the French equivalent tomillions of dollars to built this outstanding structure. There is stillsome speculation as to whether or not this was a go od investment. It hasbeen argued that the cash could have gone to the poor or needy. Thepalace of Versailles was controversial, but in high insight, it is clearthat Louis XIV made a sound finish in its erection. As Louis XIV took the throne, he was faced with several problems. Hek red-hot that he did not want to reside and rule in Paris, so against the willof his advisors he chose a hunting chateau as the site of his new palace.He also knew from history that the nobles of his domain had in the pastand would embrace to cause trouble in the form of uprisings and otherconflicts. Louis XIV seek absolute power, and he knew that he would notbe able to bring this if preoccupied by civil conflicts. His solution tothis problem was building Versailles and inviting all of the nobles toreside there. This was a brilliant scheme to keep the nobles out of the government activity of the country. He preoccupied them with tasked normallyassociated with chamber maids, thus allowing him to rule as an absolutemonarch. The splendor of the palace was a key factor in this plan becausewith out it, the nobles would not have a willing to exit their homes andmove to Versailles. The historical account, The Splendid Century , written by W.H. Lewis isa very useful tool in understanding the life of Louis XIV. It tells of hislife, his goals, his motives, and the factor by which he achieved those