Louis XIV of France

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Tim Blanning, Solar Power; Louis reigned in solitary eminence, socially distanced by rigid etiquette and devotion to his work. Wall Street Journal, Oct 17, 2020 (under the quotation: "There is little that can withstand a man who can conquer himself." -- Louis XIV)
https://www.wsj.com/articles/kin ... r-power-11602860424
http://content.the-omj.com/News/StoryText/1672951
(book review on Philip Mansel, King of the World; The life of Louis XIV. University of Chicago Press, 2020)

Note:
(1)
(a) Louis XIV
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_XIV
(1638-1715; King of France 1643-1715; table: Predecessor Louis XIII, Successor Louis XV, Religion  Roman Catholicism; "At the time of his birth, his parents had been married for 23 years. His mother had experienced four stillbirths between 1619 and 1631. Leading contemporaries thus regarded him as a divine gift and his birth a miracle of God")
(i) Regarding the quotation: The en.wikipedia.org page on Louis XIII (XIV's father) speculates XIII was gay, though it acknowledged lack of any evidence. XIII and his wife (queen) had a second son in 1640 -- the only two adult children the royal couple ever had.
(ii) Louis XV (reign 1715 (age 5) – 1774) was great grandson of Louis XIV. Born in 1710, Louis XIV's heir (the oldest and only surviving son; future Louis XV's grandfather) died of smallpox in 1711. In February and March, 1712 future Louis XV's mother, father (grandson of Louis XIV) died in quick succession of measles and its treatment of blood-letting.
(b) He belonged to
House of Bourbon
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Bourbon
(1272-present; "The royal Bourbons originated in 1272, when the youngest son [or sixth son, 'Robert' in both French and English] of King Louis IX married the heiress ['Béatrice' in French and 'Beatrice' in English; her father's only child] of the lordship of Bourbon [hence Robert got the lordship , established House of Bourbon, whose 10th-degree descendant became Henry IV of france (reign 1589 – 1610)]")
(i) Latin-English dictionary:
* beatus (adjective masculine): "happy"
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/beatus  
(ii) Bourbon
https://www.etymonline.com/word/Bourbon
("its name is from Bourbon l'Archambault, chief town of a lordship in central France")
(iii) The town's present name is Bourbon-l'Archambault
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bourbon-l%27Archambault

Archambault was a given name in France, later a series of aristocrats based in the town of Bourbon.

(2) "an epigraph penned by one of Louis's many fawning courtiers * * * The 36-year-old queen's [Queen Anne, from Austria] conception was seen as a miracle, a divine reward for King Louis XIII's dedication of his kingdom to the Virgin Mary the previous year. When the child turned out to be a boy, his ecstatic parents named him 'Louis Dieudonné' (Louis God-given). * * * The infant king was born into exciting times. The Thirty Years' War was still raging across Central Europe; his childhood was disrupted by five years of civil disorder; and the age-old struggle between France and Spain was still meandering along its murderous path. It was only when those interrelated conflicts were settled, in 1648, 1653 and 1659 respectively, that Louis could begin to make his mark."
(a)
(i) epigraph (n; etymology)  
https://www.lexico.com/definition/epigraph
(ii) English dictionary:
* epi- (prefix; "from Ancient Greek epí on top of")
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/epi-

Compare epitaph (n; from Ancient Greek táphos tomb)  墓志铭
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/epitaph
(b) courtier (n)
https://www.lexico.com/definition/courtier
(c) French-English dictionary:
* dieu (noun masculine, from Latin Noun masculine deus (male) god; plural dieux): "(male) god"
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/dieu

In French, goddess is déesse -- from Latin noun feminine dea goddess.
* donné: "past participle of donner [to give]"
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/donné
(d) Thirty Years' War
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thirty_Years%27_War
(1618 – 1648; ("Estimates of the total number of military and civilian deaths which resulted range from 4.5 to 8 million, the vast majority from disease or starvation [in Holy Roman Empire, which is largely present-day Germany]. * * * The conflict can be split into two main phases. The first, from 1618 to 1634, was primarily a German civil war [origin in 1618 was intertwined with conflict between Catholic and Protestants AND rival claims to thrones, when holders died childless]  * * * After [1635] * * * the war became a continuation of the French–Habsburg rivalry, fought between Sweden and France on one side, the Spanish and Austrian Habsburgs on the other")
(i) The War ended with the signing of
Peace of Westphalia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peace_of_Westphalia
("Talks took place in two cities, because each side wanted to meet on territory under its own control. [section 2 Locations:] The main peace negotiations took place in Westphalia, in the neighboring cities of Münster and Osnabrück. Both cities" German territories, with Münster Catholic and Osnabrück mostly Lutheran); section 6.1 Westphalian sovereignty)
(ii) For Westphalia, see Eastpjalia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastphalia
(section 1 Etymology)
(e) "his childhood was disrupted by five years of civil disorder * * * settled * * * 1653"
(i) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_XIV
("An adherent of the concept of the divine right of kings, Louis continued his predecessors' work of creating a centralised state governed from the capital. * * * by compelling many members of the nobility to inhabit his lavish Palace of Versailles, succeeded in pacifying the aristocracy, many members of which had participated in the Fronde rebellion during his minority. * * * As the Thirty Years' War came to an end, a civil war known as the Fronde (after the slings used to smash windows [you will see it is figure of speech, a metaphor. See next]) erupted in France. * * * The Frondeurs, political heirs of the disaffected feudal aristocracy, sought to protect their traditional feudal privileges from the increasingly centralized royal government")  

So Frondeurs (a French, not English, word) are nobles, not poor mass. But The en.wikipedia.org does no explain more in detail.
(ii) The Fronde
https://www.britannica.com/event/The-Fronde
("The Fronde, French La Fronde, series of civil wars in France between 1648 and 1653, during the minority of Louis XIV. The Fronde (the name for the 'sling' [French noun feminine; from Lain noun feminine funda of the same meaning] of a children's game played in the streets of Paris in defiance of civil authorities) was in part an attempt to check the growing power of royal government; its failure prepared the way for the absolutism of Louis XIV's personal reign")

The same French noun feminine fronde has a second etymology (Latin noun feminine frons leaves, foliage) and definition (meaning frond in English: leaf of fern).
(f) Franco-Spanish War (1635–1659)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franco-Spanish_War_(1635–1659)   
(ended in "1659 Treaty of the Pyrenees. The war is generally viewed by historians as inconclusive")

(3) "Taking personal control of the French state in 1661 [Louis XIV was 13], when his mentor Cardinal Mazarin [who had served as chief minister] died * * * The reasons [of French hegemony under Louis XIV] were partly structural: France had more people * * * his most important minister, Colbert."
(a) Early modern France
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_modern_France   
(section 2 Demography: "The Black Death ['resulting in deaths of up to 75–200 million  people in Eurasia and North Africa, peaking in Europe from 1347 to 1351': en.wikipedia.org for Black Death] had killed an estimated one-third of the population of France from its appearance in 1348. The concurrent Hundred Years' War [1337 - 1453; with England] slowed recovery. It would be the early 16th century before the population recovered to mid-14th-century levels.  With an estimated population of 11 million in 1400, 20 million in the 17th century, and 28 million in 1789, until 1795 France was the most populated country in Europe (even ahead of Tsardom of Russia and twice the size of Britain or the Dutch Republic) and the third most populous country in the world, behind only China and India")
(i) Dutch Republic did not officially gain independence from Spain until 1648, in Peace of Münster, part of Peace of Westphalia -- following Eighty Years' War (against Spain).
(ii) estimates of historical world population
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Es ... al_world_population
(section 3.1 World Population Estimates, 20 Countries and Regional Totals, 0–1998 AD (in thousands) )

The above is based on present-day boundaries of nations. Germany vastly surpassed France only in 1913, because France population barely grew in the nineteenth century.
(iii) list of regions by past GDP (PPP) per capita
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_regions_by_past_GDP_(PPP)_per_capita   
(section 2.2  1–2008 (Maddison)
shows that in 1700 AD, Austria, France and Germany were the same, that England was higher, and That China and Japan were lower.
(b)  "his most important minister, [Jean-Baptiste] Colbert."

chief minister of France
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chief_minister_of_France  
("After 1661, Louis XIV and his descendants refused to allow one of their ministers to be more important than the others, so the terms were not in use")

(4) "Unlike his two indolent successors (there were only three kings of France between 1643 and 1793), he was a tireless traveler. Among the many examples provided by Mr Mansel, perhaps the best concerns the port of Dunkirk, bought from Charles II of England in 1662. Charles had never bothered to go there, but Louis set out at once, defying the rigors of a 300-mile journey in winter."
(a) indolent (adj; etymology)
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/indolent      
(b) Dunkirk
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunkirk  (section 1 Etymology
("It has the third-largest French harbour [Marseille > Le Havre (French meaning 'the harbor;' at mouth of the river Seine on English Channel) > Dunkirk]. The population of the commune at the 2016 census was 91,412. * * * it was captured after a siege by Franco-English forces following the battle of the Dunes [1658, during Franco-Spanish War (1635–1659)]; Spain had ruled Dunkirk as part of the Spanish Netherlands]")
(i) Strapped for cash, Charles II of England sold Dunkirk, which he had acquired three years earlier as a spoil of Franco-Spanish War (1635–1659).
(ii) Dunkirk
https://www.Dunkirk (etymonline.com/word/dunkirk  
(the place name is "in reference to the 7c. church of St. Eloi")
(iii) Saint Eligius
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Eligius  
(588 – 660; French: Éloi [Eligius is Latin spelling])

In his lifetime, he built several monasteries, which were long gone. The present-day Church of Saint-Éloi, Dunkirk
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_Saint-Éloi,_Dunkirk
had its construction that started in 1559 and ended in 1567 (many a change in structure since.

(5) "One self-inflicted wound was the persecution of Protestants after 1685, when he deported tens of thousands of France's most prosperous and enterprising subjects to the benefit of France's enemies. The Versailles project quickly began to show signs of decay. By the turn of the century, Louis himself was spending more and more time away from the great palace, preferring the less strenuous intimacy of his nearby estate at Marly. In one of the many arresting turns of phrase that make this book such a delight to read, Mr. Mansel observes: 'From being the cynosure of Europe, Louis XIV was becoming as outdated as his full-bottomed wigs.' * * * A crucial date proved to be 1688, when the 'Glorious Revolution' put the Dutch Protestant William III on the English throne and began the fateful 'Second Hundred Years War' between Britain and France that was to end only at Waterloo in 1815. So Louis's long reign ended in disaster, with defeat in the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-14)"
(a) Edict of Fontainebleau
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edict_of_Fontainebleau
(1685)

Quote: "The lack of universal adherence to his religion did not sit well with Louis XIV's vision of perfected autocracy. * * * The Edict of Nantes had been issued on 13 April 1598 by Henry IV of France. It had granted the Calvinist Protestants of France (also known as Huguenots [might have come from Swiss politician Besançon Hugues (died 1532)] ) substantial rights in the predominantly Catholic state. * * * By the Edict of Fontainebleau, Louis XIV revoked the Edict of Nantes and ordered the destruction of Huguenot churches, as well as the closing of Protestant schools. * * * many Protestants — estimates range from 210,000 to 900,000 — left France over the next two decades. * *  * On 17 January 1686, Louis XIV himself claimed that out of a Huguenot population of 800,000 to 900,000, only 1,000 to 1,500 had remained in France.

(b) Fontainebleau
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fontainebleau  
("is located 55.5 kilometres (34.5 mi) south-southeast of the centre of Paris. * * * the name comes from the medieval compound noun of fontaine [Modern French noun feminine fontaine, from Late Latin Fontana, from Latin noun masculine fōns [spring, fountain], meaning spring (fountainhead) and fountain, and blitwald, consisting of the Germanic personal name Blit and the Germanic word for forest [Modern German noun masculine Wald forest] * * * [in] 1685, Louis XIV signed the Edict of Fontainebleau there [ie, Palace of  Fontainebleau]")

In US, the last three letter eau is pronounced as ou (so bleau is same as blow), in accordance with French pronunciation.
(d) cynosure (n; Did You Know?  etymology)
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cynosure
(i) Ursa Minor
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ursa_Minor     
(Ursa Minor has traditionally been important for navigation, particularly by mariners, because of Polaris being the north pole star
(ii) The English noun cynicism also came from Ancient Greek, the first syllable is "dog."
(e) "as outdated as his full-bottomed wigs"
(i) court dress
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Court_dress
(In England presently: "On ceremonial occasions, all Judges of the Court of Appeal wear the full-bottomed wig, together with a black silk damask gown, trained and heavily embellished with gold embroidery, over court coat, lace cuffs and jabot, black breeches, stockings and buckled shoes [photo]")
(ii) Full Bottom Wig. LegalTailor.com, undated
https://www.legaltailor.com/inde ... t&product_id=53   
("It is a sought after wig by the most senior barristers and Judges. The wig is completely handmade, and takes over 12 weeks to make by a senior artisan. 100% Horsehair")
Is longer than George Washington's.
(f) Second Hundred Years War
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Hundred_Years%27_War        
(section 2 Wars, section 2.1 Beginning: 1688–1714)
(f) War of the Spanish Succession
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_the_Spanish_Succession   
("triggered by the death in November 1700 of the childless Charles II of Spain * * * Charles named Philip of Anjou, a grandson of Louis XIV, as his heir * * * [In the end,] Philip was confirmed as king [of Spain]in return for accepting the principle of France and Spain being permanently separate [France and Spain together would have been too powerful in Europe] * * * [section 8 Aftermath:] Britain is usually seen as the main beneficiary of [Treaty of] Utrecht, which marked its rise to becoming the dominant European commercial power.[72] It established naval superiority over its competitors, acquired the strategic Mediterranean ports of Gibraltar" from Spain)





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