Life+at+Versailles

Life at Versailles became a court ceremony, with Louis XIV at the center of it all. The king had little privacy. Only when he visited his wife, mother, or mistress or met with ministers was he free of the nobles who swarmed about the palace. Most daily ceremonies were carefully staged, such as the king’s rising from bed, dining, praying, attending mass, and going to bed. A mob of nobles competed to assist the king in carrying out these solemn activities. It was considered a great honor, for example, for a noble to be chosen to hand the king his shirt while dressing. Why did the nobles take part in these ceremonies? Louis had made it clear that anyone who hoped to obtain an office, title, or pension from the king had to participate. This was Louis XIV’s way of controlling their behavior. Court etiquette became very complex. Nobles and royal princes were expected to follow certain rules. Who could sit where at meals with the king was carefully regulated. Once, at a dinner, the wife of a minister sat closer to the king than did a duchess. Louis XIV became so angry that he did not eat for the rest of the evening. Daily life at Versailles included many forms of entertainment. Louis and his nobles hunted once a week. Walks through the Versailles gardens, boating trips, plays, ballets, and concerts were all sources of pleasure. One form of entertainment—gambling— became an obsession at Versailles. Many nobles gambled regularly and lost enormous sums of money. One princess described the scene: “Here in France as soon as people get together they do nothing but play cards; they play for frightful sums, and the players seem bereft of their senses. One shouts at the top of his voice, another strikes the table with his fist. It is horrible to watch them.” However, Louis did not think so. He was pleased by an activity that kept the Versailles nobles busy and out of politics.
 * I **n 1660, Louis XIV of France decided to build a palace at Versailles, near Paris. Untold sums of money were spent and tens of thousands of workers labored incessantly to complete the work. The enormous palace housed thousands of people.

1. How did Louis XIV attempt to control the behavior of his nobles?

2. In what way was the system of court etiquette another way in which Louis controlled his nobles?