French Historians and the Challenge to Louis XIV's Absolutism

Abstract

The latter part of the reign of Louis XIV (ca. 1680-1715) was characterized by growing opposition to the king's policies and philosophy of governance. Historians of this period participated in this steady erosion of traditional political and social assumptions. Their role in this intellectual process has not been adequately noted. Instead of writing to support the pretentions of divine-right absolutism, as had many authors of the earlier seventeenth century,' historians sought to develop a philosophy of history and a supporting methodology which would enable them to analyze the nation's strengths and weaknesses. This article will demonstrate that such diverse authors as Pere Gabriel Daniel and Louis Le Gendre (both considered royalists), Henri le comte de Boulainvilliers (a noble parlementaire), and Henri Philippe de Limiers, Isaac de Larrey, and Michel Le Vassor (Huguenot exiles) all used similar methodologies to challenge the assumptions of le Roi Soleil. Writing with vastly different expectations and from diverse circumstances, they all ultimately helped to popularize the need for reform of the monarchy in France. Historical evidence had long been used to criticize the French monarchy. In particular, constitutionalist writings from Hotman's FrancoGallia through the Mazarinades used historical evidence in support of political ideology, generating an extensive literature of