The Reign of the Sun King

I thought it was time for a few more posts about Louis XIV and Versailles:

The Reign of the Sun King:

The sun set its golden shadows over distant hills

and the reign of the Sun King ceased to be;-

A reign spectacular for its magnificence and splendour:-

All this time the Sun King seemed to live his life upon a stage:-

a court revolving round a golden age;

the Grand Siecle;

Philippe d'Orleans,

son of Monsieur and the second Madame, Liselotte, a princess of the Palatinate,

governed as the Regent from 1715.

He is reputed to have introduced champagne to the royal court.

Louis XIV,

a king so young who came to the throne,

who made the court of Versailles his home;

So much drama in his young life,

The Fronde,

Fleeing palaces in stealth by night

Seeking safety in his flight;

An arranged wedding-

Infanta Marie Therese,

his wife:

Glinting in that golden sun

bedecked upon a glittering horse

And all of Paris seemed to shine

On that spring day of June summer time;

A new beginning from the old

And all the crowds cheered so bold:

“Louis, Louis”

A magnificent king,

the crowds seemed to sing

And were wont to say

Looking at the king that day;

So caring, kind, colourful and good,

A king, sometimes not always understood.

He strove for excellence and all good things

In dance, music, art and décor;

A king and court from before

Gives grace and understanding

Now, for history and the arts-

A model-

which echoes still in time.

Thinking of a glorious past

herein are treasures which do last.

Conceived on a night of a storm;-

the day Louis XIV was born

the fountains of Paris

flowed free with wine

People looking forward to a better time

Three days to spread the good news

to the south

With all good wishes for his health;

At St Jean de Luz

A wedding so fine;

Celebrations

and decorations-

Ostentations

the reasons why

occasioned by

the birth of a son,-

Louis's only royal one:

Quadrilles of horses trotted in time

Spectators formed in illustrious line

in the magnificent June springtime;

Tuileries and Louvre arena surrounds

and the stories do abound;

A roundabout of a Carousel

as later on the Bourbons fell

Imagining a lost Dingle Dell

Looking for dreams

in a Wishing Well:

For, as in an old-time nursery rhyme

the king, as Emperor

was dressed to shine,-

Looking back,

perhaps a sign
In a glimpse of time;

Pageantry-

wonderful to see

A spectacle-

remembered still:

And as the people went back to work

Recalling a Prince dressed as a Turk

rebel prince in his surrender

Holding aloft the Moon in Splendour
Gracing his presence
 displaying its crescent
in the shadow of the sun
Louis XIV's Apollo had won-

The Sultan- Prince of Conde;

And as the people went upon their way

prone merrily to say:

“What a wonderful display!”

Remembered for ever a day:

For later on,

a consul,- general

Napoleon

Did throw his hat into the ring

The status of Emperor did bring

With Josephine as his queen-

could this ever be foreseen?

Napoleon's army,
Had this ever been rehearsed
A dance across the universe?
Not until Waterloo reversed;

And I cannot forget

As a montage of images

from a film set

The Sun, The Moon

and the distant Stars

Reflecting a Universe

Saturn to Mars-

Did shine upon this princely court

Imagery which astronomy taught;

Themes which had always been

now could often be seen-

At Marly, a beautiful place

Versailles- The Sun's ace

Sun shadows and arrows

Sun-flowers bright yellow

Hornbeam which seemed

In nature so green

and mythical garden scenes:

“Le Roi Soleil” danced to music on a make-believe stage

Lived his life on a gilded stage

Created his world a golden age;

And now his life is reflected in song

A make-believe stage of a real age

This seventeenth century stage;

People turn the pages of time

Splendours and wonders achieved so fine

Passion in art and beauty sublime:

Brought up on stories of Alexander the Great,

Looked back to a time past

Of the Greeks and Romans

As though seeking truths and answers from stories

of long ago.

It is believed that Louis XIV did not allow himself to

be influenced in his decision making by women as regards

the governing of the country. However, the gardens may have

been a different matter at various times, depending upon who

was in favour and who the king was in love with. The gardens of Versailles

were designed with Louise de la Valliere as an inspiration for the king.

His priests may have influenced him in later years regarding the revocation

of the Treaty of Nantes, which reversed the freedom of religion which had

been put in place by Louis XIV's grandfather, Henri IV, which granted freedom

to the Huguenots. As a consequence many talented artisans did leave the country

which may have affected the economy.

Louis XIV's reign was a triumph in many respects with industry, arts and culture,

the tapestries of the Gobelins, the gardens and fountains of Versailles,

fashion, etiquette, manners (Louis XIV always dressed well, which befitted his royal role and acted with dignity and decorum)

engineering, science and technology.

He may have become a little subdued in later years and a little more religious

minded as he became older. He attended chapel services every day.

It was sad when his reign was nearing its end.

He was aware of speculation in the foreign press.

He did a great deal for the country and ruled at a time when it was not an unusual

occurrence for countries to be at war with one another.

A life of wonder,

full of joy,

He created beauty at Versailles.

The early years of the reign of the Sun King are recalled as the happiest times with the fetes

and celebrations, the gardens his joy.

In later years, with sorrow and sadness, the court of Versailles was not the happy place of

earlier times.

When Princess Marie-Adelaide of Savoy came on the scene the court of Versailles reflected some of its earlier gaiety and merriment of previous times with the many balls whch were given in honour of the new princess, who would eventually marry the king's grandson, the Duke of Bourgogne.

I wonder whether the king reflected upon the golden age of Elizabeth I of England.

He did enquire once of the plays of Shakespeare, however, Princess Henriette was not informed or did not seem to be aware of the great

playwright at the time. This was after one of her visits to England.

Louis XIV wrote his own madrigal or motet once though through of lack of encouragement from

a friend, he threw it away. This is described in Louis XIV by Vincent Cronin, a recommended

book, which details the achievements of his reign with a view to the arts, beauty and architecture.

There is a reference in the introduction of “The Sun King's Garden” by Ian Thompson that the gardener, Le Notre,

has been likened to Shakespeare. Very little known about him but his works well known. The gardens of seventeenth century Versailles were a show piece of the Sun King's domain and

remain a beautiful show piece even still today. The Sun King and his gardener, Le Notre, became friends and shared a wonderful vision for the gardens of Versailles which became a reality with the beautiful gardens and fountains which were created.