King Louis

            The Life and Reign of King Louis XIV.
             In the past there have been many noble and honorable people who did great deeds, but none were as remarkable as King Louis's XIV of France. Today he is better known as Louis the Great, and great he was.
             Most people assumed that the life of the King Louis's parents were picture perfect, but like most marriages it was nothing near perfect. In fact the King and Queen loathed and detested one another. But after twenty loveless years together they had a son on September 5, 1638 at the royal chateau in Saint-Germain-en-Laye. (Jagger) To most people Louis's birth was an "event falling short of miraculous." The unhappy pair was very grateful to finally have an heir. So they christened him Louis Dieudonne, the gift of God. If not for his birth then the King's brother, Gaston d"Orleans would have inherited the French throne instead of King Louis XIV and history, as we know it would have been rewritten. (4).
             In 1643 tragedy struck. Louis's XIV father died. Being the heir young Louis took over his father's responsibilities at the very tender age of five. (Jagger) Since he was so young the new king couldn't claim his throne right away. So his mother, Anne of Austria, aided by their prime minister, Mazarin had authority over policy. This marked a period of rebellion that was led by nobility and the urban commoners. The rebellion, referred to as the "Fonde" lasted for five years. (Leon 218) This left Louis XIV humiliated by smug nobles and very susceptible to the people of Paris. However the rebellions did make Louis XIV realize the urgent need to bring order and reform to his country. His father's death did however spare Louis XIV many cruel beatings and abuse usually given to French princes. Since his tutors were kinder and gentler, they were only able to give him a feeble education. (2) His mother taught him about the rules of conscience and of a simple kind of Roman Catholicism that she combined with superstition.