The Secretary of State for War and the dynastic interests of the Le Tellier family

Abstract

The reign of Louis XIV was conspicuous for the growth in power and prestige of the secretaries of state, a process which was at its strongest in the cases of the army and navy. The secretaries had always been ambitious since their foundation in 1547, but the caution they exhibited under Mazarin had all but dissipated with their successors by the 1680s. As the king showered support and favours upon them their confidence grew until by the end of the century some of them had achieved an importance akin if not superior to all but the most trusted of Louis's courtiers. The development of the authority of the marquis de Louvois was most marked of all: by the 1680s he expected to be addressed as ‘Monseigneur’ in correspondence by all save dukes and the highest office-holders. His father had been happy with the simple ‘Monsieur’, but the king himself encouraged this widening of psychological distance between soldiers and secretary. Louis indeed was instrumental in so many ways in providing the Le Tellier and his other secretaries of state with the power they exercised on his behalf, as he consciously sought to boost the political and social status of the men who occupied these posts, as well as their families. Why he did so, how he did so and what the effect was on the Le Tellier's fortunes are the subjects of this chapter.