How Lavish Was Louis XIV's Lifestyle?
1. Louis XIV's Ultra-luxurious Palace
The walls of the palace were adorned with crimson, golden, and purple canopies supported by gold rings. There were separate temples dedicated to Apollo, Mercury, Mars, Diana, and Venus. The gardens featured 14,000 fountains, and in the park with 25,000 trees, there was a 0.75-mile-long canal where the king enjoyed gondola rides. When the king rode in gondolas, musicians played music, and actors performed plays written by the king's poets.
"Sound the trumpets, beat the drums! The glorious Sun King of Versailles approaches! Greece has Homer, Rome has Virgil, England has Shakespeare, Italy has Dante, Germany has Goethe, and France has Louis XIV."
This is a prime example of Louis XIV's power and luxury. He reigned as King of France for 54 years, from 1661 to 1715. No other king in history had maintained the throne for so long. Louis XIV, the first monarch in modern Europe with divine right, was a figure who perfectly defined an era—so much so that surrounding absolute monarchs sent ambassadors to his court to learn how he lived and how people approached him, attempting to imitate his dignified manner. He spent winters at the Palace of Versailles and summers at the Palace of Marly. Versailles, in particular, wasn't merely a palace but France itself. Notable nobility followed the king wherever he went. Nobles, both men and women, strived to be in the king's presence as much as possible. Being distant from Louis XIV was considered equivalent to being deprived of sunlight, and leaving Versailles Palace felt like being banished from sunlight into darkness. Approximately 1,000 nobles stayed at the court day and night, accompanied by an astonishing 9,000 servants.
2. The Chef Who Hanged Himself After Adding Too Much Salt to Louis XIV's Food
The Palace of Versailles, which held such special significance, was located just a few miles from Paris and had extraordinary facilities, including 1,000 rooms just for the kitchen. Cooking for the king was an especially important and delicate task. One can imagine the significance that chefs at Versailles placed on food preparation by the fact that a chef who had added a little too much salt to the king's meat was so overcome with guilt that he went to his room and hanged himself.
Not only Louis XIV but also the nobles and his family enjoyed life at Versailles, eating, drinking, and taking walks in this enchanting environment. They kept each other in check and devoted themselves to pleasure-seeking activities. The nobles wore high shoes and powdered wigs, while ladies styled their hair in pyramid shapes. They conversed with excessive formality, their behavior was extremely artificial, and their highest form of entertainment was gambling. Their gambling stakes were so high that one of the king's servants, the Duke, reportedly lost about 500 million won (equivalent) in a single night playing cards and dice.
3. Louis XIV's Daily Routine
The king's day began precisely at 8:00 AM. However, the many nobles and servants attending to the king would all rise at 5:00 AM to prepare for the king's awakening at 8:00. They would all gather in front of the king's bedroom door, ready to assist with the ceremony of dressing the king.
When the chief chamberlain entered the king's bedroom, he was followed by four high nobles and sixteen servants, then twelve carrying clothes, two carrying swords, eight barbers, six pageboys, two chair bearers, and ten wardrobe carriers.
The chief chamberlain would open the royal curtains and announce that it was time to rise. In cold weather, a boy from the quartermaster's office would light a fire in the brazier; otherwise, pageboys would lift the shutters to let sunlight into the bedroom.
While the king was still in bed, high-ranking nobles wearing wigs were sometimes granted an audience with him—a privilege limited to special nobles, as others were not allowed to see the king at all before he removed his nightclothes.
Now came the ceremony of the Sun King rising. First, as the king slightly raised his upper body, the senior attendant would tilt a large wine bottle in his right hand to pour wine into the king's sacred hand. Then, the chief chamberlain would offer a bottle of holy water. After that, the first attendant would present slippers. The barber would then hand Louis his wig, and the chief chamberlain would offer his dressing gown. Now the king was ready to fully rise.
At this point, the first visitors were allowed to enter the bedroom—the princes. The second wardrobe attendant would hand stockings and garter belts to the first wardrobe attendant, who would present them to the king. Then the king would order breakfast.
After breakfast, the king would remove his dressing gown, with the chief wardrobe attendant holding the right sleeve and the first wardrobe attendant holding the left. At this time, 200 nobles with special entry permits were allowed to witness the "Grand Ceremony of Dressing."
After completing his dressing, the king would proceed to the chapel, passing between two lines of courtiers. This ceremony was repeated every morning. When Louis XIV ate dinner, 10,000 people watched him. Generally, he dined alone, though occasionally princes of royal blood were permitted to join him.
4. Louis XIV, the Vagabond of Europe
Before Louis XIV retired for the night, he would stand at the foot of his bed and receive greetings from all noble ladies. Then, the morning ceremony would be performed in reverse, and when the chief chamberlain lowered the bedroom curtains, the emperor would fall asleep. However, it is said that in winter, Louis XIV and his nobles had to freeze inside the vast palace made of marble and gold. Even large braziers could not keep them warm, and there are frequent stories of the emperor catching colds when changing his wigs.
In truth, Louis XIV was an incurable "vagabond" of Europe. He frequently invaded England, Poland, and Spain with his army. He supported and praised artists like Le Brun, sculptors like Mansart, and writers like Racine and Molière. He was both a complete absolute monarch and a king without the slightest error.
He was depicted by sculptors as Julius Caesar wearing a wig, showing his deep appreciation for sculpture. Poets wrote sonnets for him and referred to him as "the descendant of Apollo, the sun god."
Paradoxically, while there were groups who praised him, other segments of French society—the lower classes—declared a holiday when he died at the age of seventy-five.
The citizens who had to suffer because of Louis XIV's debauchery, extravagance, and excessive taxation for wars were exhausted, so his death meant liberation for them.
Thus, when his body was buried, farmers threw stones at his coffin and jeered, lamenting the long years they had to endure because of Louis XIV.
Such was the end of the great absolute monarch who had dominated modern Europe. The French bishop concluded the funeral service with these simple words:
"From dust to dust..."