ABSTRACT
French nobles had vexed the reign of Henri IV, and they were prepared to limit the authority of the young Louis XIV, but this did not come to pass. After roughly twenty-ve years on the throne, Louis XIV was ruling a system of state “absolutism”. He was so powerful that many people characterized him as a tyrant. And French families of the highest ranks of the nobility established residency at Versailles, taking their place on the public stage the king had established and ruled. What happened?
