The Age of Absolutism is one of the most well known periods in Europe’s history. One of the most interesting, and well known examples of an absolutist ruler is France’s King Louis XIV. He is still known as the longest reigning monarch in Europe’s history and helped lead France through an age of prosperity and ...
St-Germain l’Auxerrois is a gothic jewel in the heart of Paris that seems practically forgotten by tourists. Its dark and solemn interior make it a perfect place to escape the heat and crowds of a Parisian summer, or to take a break between museums. This church was once the Chapel of the Louvre, when that ...
Absolutism was the belief that the monarch of a country possessed unlimited authority that was granted him based on a theory known as the divine right of kings. The epitome of absolutism in both theory and execution took place in France under the aegis of King Louis XIV. It had become the practice to anoint ...
One of the autocrats of the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries was Louis XIV. He ruled over France from 1643 to 1715 and was a very powerful leader. During his reign Louis was focused on glorifying both his name and his country. His motto during his rule was one king, one law, one faith ...
In 2005, a research team led by Smithsonian Institute gem curator Jeffrey Post determined in a year-long study that the world famous Hope Diamond was once a famous diamond called “The French Blue”, part of King Louis XIV’s long lost crown jewels stolen during the French Revolution. The French Blue had originated as a 115-carat ...
The most difficult item to see at Washington’s Smithsonian’s Museum of National History is the Hope Diamond. It’s not that it is physically guarded, although a multitude of high tech security protects the world’s largest diamond in a glass case. It’s difficult to see the Hope Diamond because it is always surrounded by throngs of ...
Louis XIV of France, also known as the Sun King, is one of history’s most interesting figures. When he was born, it was considered a divine miracle. During his reign as King of France, he ruled as the sole authority and led a campaign of peace for many years. He was very interested in the ...
The Louvre in Paris, France has a long, rich history. Throughout its existence, the Louvre has been transformed into one of the most beautiful and historic pieces of architecture in the world. Today it also has the status of being one of the world’s largest museums. Because of the beauty of this building and the ...
It is clear to anyone that reads Tartuffe, that the speech given by the Officer in Act 5, Scene 7 toward the end of the play is a deus ex machina mechanism. Simply put, the speech is there to resolve the complications in the plot. There can be little doubt of this since the passage ...
Absolutism “means that the king derived his power from God and could exercise it without other constitutional bodies having the right to challenge him.”[1] However, absolutism is a purely retrospective term. Historians have assigned it to classify the style of government employed by Louis IVX during the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. In fact, ...
