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

Louis xiv The Greatest Leader of France The Days of Elegance The term splendid is one that most English speaking people argonfamiliar with. To most of those people it has a meaning related to theoverall appearance or feeling of what ever is being described. Webstersdictionary defines the term as 1. magnificent and sumptuous. 2.distinguished or glorious. Splendor is more that that. It is an adjectivethat could be used to describe something so great and breath taking thatone is leftover awed. The word splendid is often associated with the palace ofVersailles, which was built Louis XIV. In the production of this grandstructure there was no cost spared. It became a symbol of France, and amodel by which all another(prenominal) palaces would be judged. Louis XIV received 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 good investment. It hasbeen argued that the money could have gone(p) to the poor or needy. Thepalace of Versailles was controversial, but in high insight, it is clearthat Louis XIV made a sound decision in its erection. As Louis XIV took the throne, he was faced with several problems. Heknew that he did not want to reside and rule in Paris, so against the willof his advisors he chose a inquisition chateau as the site of his new palace.He also knew from history that the nobles of his domain had in the pastand would continue to cause trouble in the form of uprisings and otherconflicts. Louis XIV sought absolute power, and he knew that he would notbe able to obtain this if preoccupied by civil conflicts. His solution tothis problem was expression Versailles and inviting all of the nobles toreside there. This was a brilliant scheme to keep the nobles out of thepolitics 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 leave their homes and pretend 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 means by which he achieved those