Politics: Louis XV (original) (raw)
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Hardman details the history of Louis' successive governments. This book is, nevertheless, an important piece of political history that brings to light sources often undervalued by historians-such as the Mémoires of the Comte d'Angiviller-and poses some important questions. Hardman also presents a good analysis of the policies developed by Louis' ministers, and pays close attention to their relationships with other members of government. His emphatic rejection of "the conventional stereotype of the stupid, lazy and impassive king" (442) is curious, as few scholars continue to espouse this opinion.
2006
Historians regard Louis IX of France, canonized by the papacy in 1297, as a religious king. Some historians present this religiosity as constant throughout his life, despite the fact that the source materials indicate changes after certain traumatic events: his near death from illness at Pontoise in 1244, the devastation during and after the Battle of Mansurah in 1250, and several incidents that almost sank his ship during the return journey to France in 1254. By mapping his expressions of religiosity before and after these traumatic events, we can see changes in the king’s behaviors. Because the king turned to his faith after each incident and adopted new mannerisms to show his love for his God, we can determine that he used his religious faith to determine how he interacted with the world. The changes he made were often extreme. In 1244, he decided he needed to show more religiosity, and became a crusader. When he failed as a crusader in 1250, believing that it was because of his sins and those of the other crusaders, he determined that his level of religiosity was insufficient, and became penitent. With the return journey in 1254, he faced death three more times, and resolved to increase his level of penitence. From this, we can deduce that Louis enacted various reforms after his return to France as part of this enhanced atonement. With these reforms, the king attempted to end administrative abuses; to render justice by making parlement more available, and by evening the scales between rich and poor, as well as between native and foreigner; to stamp out vices, such as prostitution, gambling, blasphemy and usury, throughout the kingdom; and to abolish the use of Moslem coinage in the French realm by issuing a new gold coin, the gros. These changes were not popular among all of his subjects, something that is occasionally acknowledged by his hagiographers. Louis’ objective, though, was to ensure his eternal salvation through that of his subjects’.