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# Louis XIV's Control over the Court in the Books of Norbert Elias and Nicholas Henshall
- URL: https://theparnassian.com/en/nashel-interesnyi-vzgliad-na-rol-versalia-i-lichnoi-voli-liudovika-xiv-v-zhizni-frantsuzskogo-dvora/
- Published: 2017-01-12T10:29:24.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-02T19:09:32.000Z
- Author: Alexandr Radayev
- Tags: Aristocracy, Books, Monarchies, Observations, Mores

Found an interesting take on the role of Versailles and Louis XIV's personal will in the life of the French court.

Many authors, with varying degrees of skill, describe how the monarch arranged the daily lives of his courtiers, how he meddled in their private affairs and strove to control every aspect of aristocratic existence.

All this rigmarole is described in great detail and with great verve by Norbert Elias in "The Court Society": the courtiers' laments about tight doublets and the necessity of keeping up with fashion, a detailed account of how the dwellings of the different estates were laid out, the peculiarities of court etiquette and vocabulary in different periods, and above all a demonstration of how the French kings gradually subdued the feudal lords, drawing them closer to court and regulating their lives. And of course, much attention is paid to the refinements and ingenuity of Louis XIV, who settled his courtiers at Versailles, deprived them of their freedom and made them dress him and wipe his arse, turning them, quite literally, into his servants.

Historians write about this often and skilfully. In truth, one need not drown in dusty pages to catch this whiff of absolutism. You can simply watch the series "Versailles": the line of life at the palace and its political significance for the country is drawn there beautifully. All the more so as the show is seasoned with sex, murder and suspense.

But there is also a less popular point of view, sceptical, as always. And some researchers hold that all these tales are no more than a myth, picked up by gawkers and tour guides who for some reason have been swept onto university chairs.

The alternative position interested me far more. In his book "The Myth of Absolutism: Change and Continuity in Early Modern European Monarchy", Nicholas Henshall debunks the conjectures about the King-Sun's supposedly momentous influence and the nobles' unconditional dependence on him. This, of course, will make much more interesting reading, since most works on the early modern period do not even mention Henshall's arguments.

In brief, he has, for instance, counted the number of courtiers in France at various times and shown that Versailles could under no circumstances have housed within its walls as many members of noble families as is commonly supposed.