The Life Of King Louis XIV - Part 5 - Death And Legacy

Welcome to the final part of my five-part series about Louis XIV. In August 1715, doctors discovered a black spot on one of Louis XIV's legs. It turned out to be gangrene, a disease the court doctors could not treat. On August 25th, Louis XIV received the last sacraments and the day after, his great-grandson and heir to the throne, Louis XV, came to his bedside to whom the Sun King gave his final advice. Louis eventually fell into a coma and on September 1st, around 8 o'clock in the evening, the Sun King died. The monarch's last words were recorded by Voltaire and are said to have been, Why do you cry? Did you think I was immortal? His death was acknowledged all over Europe. King Frederick William I of Prussia called out to his government, My lords, le roi est mort. In France itself, the population reacted largely relieved to the death of their monarch. The successes of his early years had been forgotten by the people, but his absolutism was not. The adoration for their king had long since waned. The deceased king was embalmed and laid in state in Versailles. On September 6th, the body was taken to the Basilica de Saint-Denis in a funeral procession of about 800 musketeers, bodyguards and standard bearers. Only a few civilians came out for the funeral procession. On September 2nd, Louis XIV's will was opened and revealed during a meeting of the Paris Parliament on the same day. With the help of Parliament, Philippe d'Orléans succeeded in having the provisions in the will annulled one by one. Thus, Philippe II d'Orléans officially became the Regent of France until Louis XV came of age. For more information about Louis XV, please click the link in the upper right corner. During the French Revolution, the coffins of all French kings were desecrated and the body of Louis XIV was found almost intact, as was the body of his grandfather Henry IV. The remains of the French kings were thrown into a mass grave and the bones were not excavated until after the restoration in 1815. Because the remains could no longer be identified, they were laid to rest in an ossuary. The heart of Louis XIV, which was buried in the Eglise Saint-Paul-Saint-Louis, was looted during the French Revolution and eventually came into the possession of the painter Alexandre Pau, who donated it to the Count of Pradel in 1819. This ensured that the heart found its way back to the Basilica of Saint-Denis. Louis XIV had been extremely concerned with the question of how he would go down in history. Many documents referring to him as a common man have been systematically destroyed at his instruction and those of Madame de Maintenu. This has resulted in the historiography of the 17th and 18th century being very much in favour of the Sun King. From the 19th century on, more biographies about Louis appeared that were less positive. The absolutist character of Louis XIV's reign, in particular, had been the subject of historical debate for many years. Louis XIV, as monarch, rejected any form of shaded authority. Representative bodies and councils existed in his eyes only for consultation and not for checking or making laws. Also the government and administrators of the provinces and cities were in his eyes only executors of the royal authority, for only he could make just decisions. The king's power was absolute, unlimited, and he was answerable only to God. Louis, from birth called the Dieu donné or given by God, was also identified with God. He was an image vivante de Dieu, translated as the living image of God. Louis XIV's theory of his kingship brought him dangerously close to despotism. Louis therefore subscribed to the facets of divine law, namely divine consecration, the unlimited power he had received from God, the inviolability of hereditary law and the confirmation of the coronation. Louis XIV is said to have spoken the words l'état c'est moi, or the state that's me. But that's no more than a legend. It is however known that the king said on his deathbed, I am going, but the state remains. This ends the fifth and final part on Louis XIV. Of course, not all has been said about the Sun King. In later videos I will talk in more detail about Versailles, his patronage to the arts and his relationship with many of his courtiers. If you are interested in any of these topics, I hope to see you soon.