Les Valets de Chambre de Louis XIV

Les Valets de Chambre de Louis XIV. By MATHIEU DA VINHA (Paris: Perrin, 2004; pp. xv + 515. Eur 24.50). THE four premiers valets and thirty-two valets ordinaires, serving in rotation for three months of each year, were the most intimate servants of Louis XIV. They had unrestricted access to his private apartments, and were regularly present at times of the day when other courtiers were excluded. They served their master devotedly and he treated them generously, even affectionately, in return. As some premier valets were in post for more than twenty-five years, the king came to regard them as trusted friends. They undertook sensitive personal missions for him, notably to his mistresses, and he could rely on their total discretion. Thus one of them acted as a witness at the secret marriage of Louis and Mme de Maintenon. More generally, he used them as spies around his court, where intrigue flourished

Art · Art history · Discretion · Humanities · Political science · St louis · Witness · European Political History Analysis · Historical Art and Culture Studies · Historical Studies and Socio-cultural Analysis · History · Law

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