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.

Magical Splendours of Paris and France

Magical Splendours of Paris and France

 Pictures of Chateau of Chantilly
from wikipedia:

I often wonder what it is which draws me back

to France, as a beautiful drawing on the other side

of the world.

One time in Paris I remember thinking I had forgotten

how beautiful France really is, as it had been seven years since

I had last been in Paris. This was as the sun was setting over the banks

of the River Seine. It was a beautiful scene. A golden delight with the reflecting

light glimmering in the distance over the architectural landscape of Paris;

I remember often watching the pigeons by Notre Dame, watching by the river bank,

wandering around the narrow streets, noticing cobbles and unusual signs, lamposts

enhancing the scenery. I loved the little book stalls selling water colour prints of images

of Paris, the River Seine and Notre Dame. I have seen the artists drawings at Montparnasse and the colourful scenes of Montmartre, the windmill a land mark picture post card scene. Little restaurants and tables and chairs,

it is all a flowery theme. Very beautiful in many ways. There are also sellers of flowers

on the streets, also selling orchids.

There were also colourful scarves being sold on a street corner for only one euro. This stall seemed to attract many customers.

Charming, exotic, different. I loved the waffles in the park of

the Luxembourg Palace and gardens, the way the leaves would fall to the ground,

loved the colour of the trees in autumn, golden and scarlet, painting colours on the scene.

The autumn colours of the leaves of the trees and the fresh breezes by the banks of the River Seine are quite beautiful. This setting is quite magical, beautiful to look at from the windows of a bus,

driving along the banks of the river Seine.

Louis XVI mentioned the leaves when the royal family was held in captivity,

and they were walking amongst the colourful leaves in a park one day.

The Palace of Luxembourg gardens was a favourite place, families and people

would enjoy the day. Would go in grace and sail their boats upon the

little pond. A Sunday afternoon was a busy time.

On a recent visit to Paris last year I remember so clearly the moon shining over the hotel and

buildings at night in a narrow street. I could see this from my window and it looked

so magical shining its luminous orb, looking down on Paris from the night sky.

The left Bank of Saint-Germain

des Pres is also interesting to wander around. It was at a palace of St Germaine-en-Laye

that Louis XIV was born, and apparently now is a restaurant, as I was once informed on Louis XIV

group.

The Metro helps in getting from place to place and often is not too far away, distinctive

with a colourful Metro sign.

The shops of delicacies of fruit sweets and also mystical themes, as with crystals

and playing cards appealed also.

Paris, a city of light, a city of splendour. There is a saying that if one becomes bored with London,

they are tired of life. Paris is just as exciting. Many places of interest to visit.

The Louvre, which was once a palace, now a marvellous museum,

holds people in thrall with the famous painting of “Mona Lisa” by Leonardo da Vinci.

It is here also that there is a portrait of the three dogs, Nonne, Pomme and Bonne, in a gilded frame. The artist, Desportes, was commissioned by the king, Louis XIV, to paint the portraits of the dogs,

often with a rustic beautiful background showing the beauties of nature.

It is nice to wander around the streets and along the banks of the River Seine. These are pleasures

not forgot. Timeless wonder with stories of the past, I recall The Thirty Nine Steps, which was

filmed in Paris.

The colours of the leaves, so sweet and fine, splendour of a marvellous time.

Autumn in Paris a thrilling time, the beauty and magic all around!

As I recall more thoughts and memories of Paris, I will write them down.

I once caught a train to Fontainebleau, a magical place with a garden view;

Trees shimmering in the distance, all clipped to a triangular shape, the tops of the trees a differing colour, of rusts and greens, from memory they seemed;

Fontainebleau is beautiful to see and I must return to this place again,

as on the day which I visited, the palace was not open. A palace which was given its name from a hunting dog named Bleu where he was found at a stream and also was seen the Nymph of Fontainebleau; This is the place where

Napoleon said farewell, the royal party, Queen Anne of Austria, Louis XIV, Princess Henriette, (Madame and

the king's brother, Monsieur) and the court set

out to visit Vaux-le-Vicomte; Nicholas Fouquet hosting his fantasy show

of magical enchantments at his new chateau; Creating amusements and setting the

scenes for an ultimate downfall; visions of wonder, but not a king,

he lived for beauty and a dream; A Minister of Finance, came to see the very best;

Did he also like La Valliere? This a question not really determined, but the king

may have seen him as competition. (Nicholas Fouquet's emblem was a squirrel and his motto was to what heights could he not ascend? His wife also had mirrors in her room, which would have been unusual for the time. )

In Margaret Irwin's book of “Royal Flush” Monsieur, the king's brother in the carriage

with the royal party returning to Fontainebleau taunted the king that Louise de la Vallierre's face appeared in

the decorations of the murals at the chateau!

The Prince de Conde also had a wonderful Chateau of Chantilly,

where the king visited and marvelled at the fountain displays, which he would imitate, though

Chantilly was different with the ability to acquire water more easily; Vatel, a famous chef,

was also resident at this chateau and there was a film made “Vatel.” This film was a splendour

for the magnificent decorative visual effects.

The seventeenth century, a Splendid century, full of hope and promise with

a new and vibrant king; the magnificence and splendour of the gardens

seemed to match the spirit of the times.

With plays and entertainments,

literature, the arts and tapestries , perhaps these were the best years of the king's

reign. The vibrant flowers of yesterday, today and tomorrow blossom still,

giving forth a radiant glow of what was past and is still hope for the future.

The world has moved on from the time of Louis XIV, but still the beauty of the time

lingers still, the Hallway of Mirrors, a showpiece resplendent with candlelabra,

glittering candle light overlooking a magnificent garden setting would have been quite magical,

a palace of dreams, a beautiful landscape of gardens

designed by Le Notre and decorative art works of the times.

Goodness about the king in all of his ways,

was beauty seen. He admired Nature and fell under its timely spell.

After the king's visit to Vaux-le-Vicomte, it did not take long for the king to start work on his own marvellous

vision of Versailles.

I will return to Versailles, in another post

and also Carcassonne, Lourdes and Nice,

and Azay-le-Rideau,

which I have also enjoyed visiting.

Something magical about France in the air.

It seems to me to be a kaleidosope of colours,

especially in the magic season of autumn.

Poetry seems only natural to describe some of the wonderful beauties to be seen

in Paris and France.

I think of the beautiful poetry of the early poets, the times of Eleanor of Aquitaine,

the colours and splendours of her court, the ancient rolls of the kings, the beauty of the arts and Book of Hours of the Duke de Berry,

and all manner of things.

My best wishes,

These pictures are from wikipedia of Notre Dame and of the Luxembourg Palace and

gardens.  Also Notre Dame illuminated by night.