Louis XIV - The Sun King
With recent TV series' and movies
depicting the differing reigns at the French Court, from the action adventures
of The Three Musketeers, the Palace of the Louvre, other, to the glories of Versailles,
all have graced our screens from the reign of Louis XIV’s father, to
the sun king himself. We've thrilled and chilled to the realities of ambitious courtiers to the blood curdling reality of the French
Revolution and the Napoleonic era. Thus novels with French settings are becoming
popular within the historical romance genre. But, when writing historical
romance novels set within France, whether in the feudal 13th century,
the years of Louis XIV (the sun king), or later post French Revolution, there
are aspects of the aristocracy across the centuries that has changed, as did the hierarchy
of the nobles. Even knowing the difference between “Noblesse militaire” (of the
Sword – granted for military prowess) and “Noblesse d’épée”
(of the Robe – granted for service or relationship to the royal household) is
vital in depiction of an aristocratic family.
In short, it helps to know one’s
history, and helps even more in understanding the French aristocracy and it’s
lineage, so in summary:
Titles
in the French aristocracy:
duc (duke)
marquis (marquis)
comte (earl)
vicomte (viscount)
baron (baron)
Chevalier (knight)and écuyer (rider)
were not titles.
They were merely ranks within the lower
realms of the nobility, with a few exceptions, namely members of the knighthood
of the king. All lesser noblemen no matter how recent in elevation to noble
status were referred to as écuyer (rider).
Chevalier de Lorraine
A popular character in the series Versailles.
The definition of a chevalier, in
legal terms, was unclear for centuries. For some it was a matter of ancestry or
a matter of eminence. It was found that legal documents, those whose nobility
traced to 1410 or earlier – they were referred to as haut et puissant seigneur,
while those whose families were connected by marriage to the royal house were
très haut et très puissant seigneur. But, by Louis XIV the sun king’s reign, after
the Baron’s Revolt, Noblesse militaire was considered of lesser nobility by the
Noblesse d’épée - the latter with
secure royal ties, either by blood or by marriage to members of the royal
household.
It is worth noting "chevalier"
was also used to refer to French Knights within the “Order of Saint John” (Order
of Malta) as well as those within the French royal court: the use of the term
makes it similar to a title such as monsieur le chevalier d'Lorraine - though not
so; for it simply indicated membership in such an order, in general for younger
sons of the nobility.
Lord (seigneur) was not a title, either. A lordship could be
that of mere commoner and owner of land and property, inclusive tenanted
property holdings. The term "lord" in the feudal system was a mixture
of actual real estate and rights over people - rents and fees collected from
them, certain obligations could be imposed on them. All lordships and the majority
of aristocratic titles were abolished in 1789, until Napoleon became emperor and
established a new common realm of aristocracy befitting his reign.
Forms
of address at the French court of Louis XIV -when the “Church of France”
came to fruition by Louis’ edict and his rebellion against the Vatican, thus the old feudal Seigneur of the former
barons and knights was dropped in favour of Monsieur by aristocrats seeking
closer favour with Louis. It was a direct kickback at the Holy Roman Church.
Monsieur le duc (duke)
Monsieur le marquis (marquis)
Monsieur le comte (earl)
Monsieur le vicomte (viscount)
Monsieur le baron (baron)
Monsieur le Chevalier (knight)
Forms
of Address Prior to Louis XIV
Seigneur .........
As would be expected each fief,
landed title bore more weight than mere lordly title in the days of the old
barons: large or small. And yet, post the Baron’s Revolt, many great châteaux
and the occasional castle soon fell into disrepair when they were not sequestered
by the crown and awarded to newly titled favourites of the French court. But as
courtiers were expected to reside within the walls of Versailles and attend
upon the king – as and when, often their estates were badly neglected or merely
mothballed within the hands of trusted retainers and a handful of minions.
