Absolutism and Society in Seventeenth-Century France: State Power and Provincial Aristocracy in Languedoc (Cambridge Studies in Early Modern History) [Paperback]

William Beik (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 27, 1989 | ISBN-10: 0521367824 | ISBN-13: 978-0521367820

Why was Louis XIV successful in pacifying the same aristocrats who had been troublesome for Richelieu and Mazarin? What role did absolutism play in reinforcing or changing the traditional social system in seventeenth-century France? This analysis of the provincial reality of absolutism argues that the answers to these questions lie in the relationship between the regional aristocracy and the crown. Starting with a critical examination of current approaches to state and society by institutional, social "Annales," and Marxist historians, the author calls for a new class analysis based on the findings of all these schools.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...one of the outstanding works on early modern France produced in the last decade...It will be a most influential work, one with which all scholars of the period should be familiar." American Historical Review

"...a tour de force...The erudition, probing questions, and subtlety of this study will assure its place among the outstanding works published by an American in French history." Renaissance Quarterly

"This well-written work carries considerable potential for use in the classroom. While it is a sophisticated piece of scholarship, it will also demonstrate for students the complexities of absolutism in the 17th and early 18th centuries." NIcholas Rowe, H-Net Reviews

Book Description

This analysis of the provincial reality of absolutism argues that the relationship between the regional aristocracy and the crown was a key factor in influencing the traditional social system of seventeenth century France.

Product Details

• Paperback: 396 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (January 27, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521367824
• ISBN-13: 978-0521367820
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #751,334 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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This review is from: Absolutism and Society in Seventeenth-Century France: State Power and Provincial Aristocracy in Languedoc (Cambridge Studies in Early Modern History) (Paperback)

Beik's Absolutism and Society in Seventeenth-Century France: State Power and Provincial Aristocracy in Languedoc is often considered the foundational text of a historiographical movement called "provincial revisionism." Nearly thirty years ago, historians began to question the reality of an "absolutist" state in seventeenth-century France. How was Louis XIV able to repress the power of the same nobility who had previously caused Mazarin and Richelieu before him so much difficulty? According to some historians, the answer was not in Louis XIV's ability to "lure [the nobility] to Versailles and tantalize them with status shorn of power," but instead it was in the relationship negotiated between the regional aristocracy and the crown. Known as "provincial revisionism" for the numerous case studies of specific French provinces such as Brittany, Languedoc, and Normandy which support this argument, this view of French absolutism stresses the "compromises, negotiations, and the sharing of resources" that occurred between the provincial elite and the monarch.

In this study, Beik argues that Louis XIV "placated formerly rebellious provincial elites by providing them with ideological support, by sharing privileged tax flows with them, and by consulting them about certain governmental projects which reflected favorably on their reputation for magnificence." Absolutism and Society spawned a plethora of further provincial case studies to determine if there were similarities in other pays d'état, or if the Languedoc was merely an exception to a rule. What resulted was an entire school of thought that centered on the idea of collaboration between Louis XIV and his nobility.