How Did Louis The Xiv Rule

Louis the XIV is often regarded as the epitome of absolute monarchy. His reign from 1643 to 1715 exemplified centralized power as he dictated laws, controlled military forces and controlled religious practices. However, no matter what laws he made, he could not ultimately control whether people listened to the laws he put into place. The term “absolute monarch” describes Louis the XIV rule to a notable extent because he controls legislation of his subjects' daily lives, but he cannot control people's thoughts and beliefs which ultimately lead to the loss of social and political power. Louis is often seen as a transcendent. He even said that God gave him the divine right to rule. He displayed this through his self portrait of him sitting on
This would have worked if he was able to control the actual minds of his subjects. Although they might have formally converted to Catholicism, that does not mean they no longer believe in their Protestant background. Along with that, Louis can not control his subjects from leaving France to pursue their religion elsewhere. Pierre Arnoul wrote a letter to King Louis, Pierre is writing to Louis to communicate that although he is trying he cannot “dare to promise success”. Louis was struggling in this region to actually stop his subjects from leaving France and going to places like the Netherlands where there was religious tolerance. Louis XIV was often referred to as the “sun king”. He wrote in a letter to his eldest son about the symbol saying it is “the noblest of all.by that good it does everywhere, constantly producing life,joy,and activity”. Louis wrote how the sun, being himself, gives life to all the people and in addition brings them happiness. While this source is biased because it came straight from Louis, it is well known that his subjects did in fact call him the “sun king”. Although Louis had a large amount of respect, he lost a substantial amount when the Parliament of Burgundy voiced its