European University Institute Library

The dream of absolutism, Louis XIV and the logic of modernity, Hall Bjørnstad

eng

Includes bibliographical references and index

illustrations

index present

non fiction

The dream of absolutism

bibliography

1238128718

Hall Bjørnstad

Louis XIV and the logic of modernity

"How seriously should we take the notion of absolute monarchy during the reign of Louis XIV? Was its excessiveness-reinforced by outlandish artworks and buildings-mere propaganda or satire? Not at all, argues Hall Bjørnstad in this meticulous work of political and cultural history. Bjørnstad revisits the world of seventeenth-century France and the team of ministers, secretaries, artists, and writers surrounding Louis XIV to uncover the logic at work at the heart of the image-making of the Sun King. Bjørnstad looks at some well-known artifacts-the monumental opulence of Versailles, for example, and Charles Le Brun's symbolic paintings depicting the grand exploits of the king, as well as at court histories and the king's secret Mémoires-to argue that these seeming absurdities are driven by a deeper, internal logic: a dream of absolute power that defies modern standards of political rationality. Bjørnstad cautions us not to approach categories such as "royal glory" and "royal exemplarity" anachronistically while also suggesting that they are part of a collective political imaginary that is still at work today"--, Provided by publisher

Introduction. The problem with absolutism ; Beyond mere propaganda ; Approaching absolutism differently: royal glory and royal exemplarity ; The dream of absolutism -- The grammar of absolutism. The dream of a book like no other ; Taking Louis XIV's Mémoires seriously ; Absolutism, explained to a child : "The first and most important part of our entire politics" ; The utility of "These Mémoires" ; The paradoxes of absolutist exemplarity ; Conclusion : "So many ghastly examples" -- Mirrors of absolutism. Introduction : Our body in this space ; An age of mirrors ; A gallery celebrating greatness ; Making the king see what he felt ; A mirror for one ; In lieu of conclusion : Mirrors for a future without a past -- Absolutist absurdities. Exhibit A : The royal historiographer and the unparalleled greatness of Louis XIV ; Exhibit B: Absolutism from the cabinet of fairies to the cabinet of the king ; Conclusion : Seven theses on the dream of absolutism