The 'personal rule' of Louis XIV witnessed a massive increase in the size of the French army and an apparent improvement in the quality of its officers, its men and the War Ministry. However, this is the first book to treat the French army under Louis XIV as a living political, social and economic organism, an institution which reflected the dynastic interests and personal concerns of the king and his privileged subjects. The book explains the development of the army between the end of Cardinal Mazarin's ministry and the outbreak of the War of the Spanish Succession, emphasising the awareness of Louis XIV and his ministers of the need to pay careful attention to the condition of the king's officers, and to take account of their military, political, social and cultural aspirations.
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Review of the hardback: 'This is an extraordinarily well-researched and important book which does much more than improve our understanding of the administration of the army under Louis XIV; it forces us to reconsider the very nature of the late seventeenth-century state.' The English Historical Review
Review of the hardback: 'This is an impressive study, founded on extensive research in the French army archives, one which throws important light on Louis XIV, his military and his nobility … Guy Rowlands has made an important contribution to the history of the armed forces of the Sun King, one with important implications for our understanding of army, government and society - and their interaction - elsewhere in ancien régime Europe.' Christopher Storrs, University of Dundee, , Journal of Continuity and Change
Review of the hardback: 'This is an impressive study, founded on extensive research in the French army archives, one which throws important light on Louis XIV, his military and his nobility … Guy Rowlands has made an important contribution to the history of the armed forces of the Sun King, one with important implications for our understanding of army, government and society - and their interaction - elsewhere in ancien régime Europe.' Christopher Storrs, University of Dundee, , Journal of Continuity and Change
Book Description
This book presents a new interpretation of the development of the French army during the 'personal rule' of Louis XIV. Based on massive archival research, it examines the army not just as a military institution but also as a living political, social and economic organism.
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The origins of ministerial government in the western world lay in the transformation of royal private secretaries from the personal aides of a prince into major political players in their own right running fully fledged, if small, departments of state. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index
The origins of ministerial government in the western world lay in the transformation of royal private secretaries from the personal aides of a prince into major political players in their own right running fully fledged, if small, departments of state. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
The reign of Louis XIV overshadows his century both in splendour and in length, and even this excellent book does not take us through to the very end of the reign. Although it is a pity that we do not visit the Spanish Succession it also means there is more time for the less well served (in English anyway) wars of the King.
It is difficult for us to think back to the era where the French army was not an instrument of the state but a form of public finance initiative mixed with elements of charitable gifts with tax breaks. Louis had to re-educate his nobility away from the high inflation rate in honours demanded from Cardinal Mazarin to one where service, kingdom and class were broadly congruent. At times reading Guy Rowlands' book is like reading the Forsyth Saga or a Trollope novel as these exotic "grands" engage in the sordid business of social status. Soames Forsyth would have been well able to grasp the elements.
Although the military element is necessarily less than the organisational I found the detailing of the practical use of ranks and commands very enlightening for a more traditional military history. I was especially interested in the positive comments on the military skills of Monsieur, who so often appears as a wife-beater surrounded by vicious mignons.
This is good thick detailed academic history, but it is never boring.
It is difficult for us to think back to the era where the French army was not an instrument of the state but a form of public finance initiative mixed with elements of charitable gifts with tax breaks. Louis had to re-educate his nobility away from the high inflation rate in honours demanded from Cardinal Mazarin to one where service, kingdom and class were broadly congruent. At times reading Guy Rowlands' book is like reading the Forsyth Saga or a Trollope novel as these exotic "grands" engage in the sordid business of social status. Soames Forsyth would have been well able to grasp the elements.
Although the military element is necessarily less than the organisational I found the detailing of the practical use of ranks and commands very enlightening for a more traditional military history. I was especially interested in the positive comments on the military skills of Monsieur, who so often appears as a wife-beater surrounded by vicious mignons.
This is good thick detailed academic history, but it is never boring.
2 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Following his 1999 contribution to "French History" which was entitled "Louis XIV, Aristocratic Power and the Elite Units of the French Army", Mr Rowlands has expanded his subject somewhat to examine the growth of the French Army from Louis XIV taking over full control, in his "personal rule" of France, up to the start of the War of the Spanish Succession.
Obviously this book will be contrasted to the recent books by John Lynn, and , in particular, "Giant of the Grand Siecle". From a personal stand-point, I found Mr Rowlands' book easier to read, with a wealth of anecdotal illustrations in the text. Of course, his book does not cover such a large area as Mr Lynn's book, but I found the narrative more compelling.
The section of the book which really interested me was the second half which covers the command structures and, in particular, the high command, of the French Army. The characters and rivalries of the Marshals of France are somewhat reminiscent of the Napoleonic period. The other sections of the book cover the administration of the regiments and the careers and changing circumstances of the Le Tellier family who were Ministers of War during the period in question.
If there is a criticism, it is that the period covered by the book ends at 1701 (when Barbezieux was replaced - and shortly afterwards died), which means that the seemingly constant ebb and flow of careers of the high command during the remaining few years of Louis's reign are not included. It would be interesting to know if a further book could be in the offing which covered that period.
Having said that, the areas on which the writer concentrates are very fully covered. He explains, in his introduction, that he disagrees with some of Mr Lynn's conclusions, whilst acknowledging his immense contribution to the somewhat sparse literature on the subject of Louis' Army (in English). This book is, perhaps more a social history than a specifically military history, and, on that basis, it is well worth reading for those persons interested in one of the more interesting, and, even, exotic eras of French history.
4 of 15 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Hardcover
Unfortunately, the work under review has little to offer to those of us who have not been part of the military elite. Perhaps if one had failed in a career in the elite corps would one be interested in such a tied interpretation of the old regime army. However, those of us interested in real history can be consoled with reading J. Lynn's monumental Giant of the Grand Siecle to learn the truth of Louis XIV's army.
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