If we look back at history, we often find it is the lives of a few that shaped and influenced the lives of the many. Ordinary people, those without wealth, position or outstanding gifts, have for the most part been forgotten. But among the rich and titled, there are characters who shone so brightly and made such an impression, for good reasons or bad, that centuries later we still delight in reading their stories.
But if your history lessons were anything like mine, all too often the focus was on remembering names and years connected with important political events, without ever really getting to know the personalities behind the decisions that shaped the world we know today.
Well, I don't know about you, but to me the fascination of history isn't really in the dates and facts, or even the battles. I'm interested in people and how they lived. Who was the King really, when he took off his crown? What did the Queen do in her spare time, and was it a love-marriage or did they despise one another?
In Louis XIV, The Sun King I finally had my questions answered in relation to one of the most famous European monarchs of them all. The stories behind the life and loves of Louis XIV are presented by Dom (prosperity66), a Belgian woman who has been passionate about history since childhood. And she certainly knows how to bring it to life!
In her article, she takes us on a wonderful tour of the passions of this man who was looked upon as an earthly god. This is a spicy tale of an ambitious boy who became an amorous man. We learn about where the King held his business conversations (clue: a different kind of 'throne' than you might first imagine), what he ate for breakfast, what his pastimes were, and which contemporary talents enjoyed the King's patronage. We are also treated to a gallery of the women in the Sun King's life, and the stories behind each of these love affairs, including a secret marriage.
If you ever saw history as boring, pay this lively and meticulously-researched article a visit. It might just change your mind!
Visit: Louis XIV, The Sun King
Image Credit: King Louis XV as a Child by Hyacinthe Rigaud by Ladiebug
Wooops! Thank you Nicki for having featured my favourite King ever! When I'll have some time, I'll make a lens about my favourite Queen ever: Eleanor of Aquitaine :)
ReplyDeleteHope you'll like it too.
Dom.
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My pleasure! You wrote a fantastic history lens, Dom, and I can't wait to read the one about Eleanor of Aquitaine too. I think you missed your vocation as a history teacher. :)
ReplyDeleteWhat a thoroughly wonderful article about Louis XIV, the Sun King. Love how she describes his daily activities. Great piece to review!
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A fantastic review of a fantastic article, Nicki! Dom has made The Sun King much more interesting than the history books ever have. :)
ReplyDeleteOh, you really found a gem here. Dom does have a knack for teaching history. Loved it!
ReplyDeleteOh yes, I love my French history and I think Dom could do a great series. I love all the bloody doings of some of Louis XIV's ancestors, including Catherine De Medici who was married Henry II - she actually arranged the deaths of her first two sons so that her favorite third son would become King.
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