Giant of the Grand Siècle: The French Army, 1610-1715 [Hardcover]

John A. Lynn (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 13, 1997 | ISBN-10: 0521572738 | ISBN-13: 978-0521572736

An "invisible giant," the seventeeth-century French army was the largest and hungriest institution of the Bourbon monarchy; yet it has received incomplete treatment and is poorly understood. Combining social and cultural emphases with more traditional institutional and operational concerns, this book examines the army in depth, studying recruitment, composition, discipline, motivation, selection of officers, leadership, administration, logistics, weaponry, tactics, field warfare, and siegecraft. The portrait that emerges differs from what current scholarship might have predicted. Instead of claiming that a "military revolution" transformed warfare, Lynn stresses evolutionary change. Questioning widely-held assumptions about state formation and coercion, he argues that this standing army was primarily devoted to border defense, and only rarely to internal repression.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"John Lynn's Giant of the Grand Siecle is a giant of a book..." M.J. Carley, H-France Review of Books

"A valuable work for anyone interested in the Age of Louis XIV or the French Army going into the eighteenth century." A.A. Noft, The NYMAS Newsletter

"...a masterful work which will serve as a landmark for future military historians." Paul Sonino, H-France Review of Books

"John Lynn's Giant of the gRand Siecle is a giant of a book, not only in length but also in substance." Paul Sonnino, H-Net Reviews

"...this work is encyclopedic, unfailingly interesting, and beautifully researched and written. Indispensable for all modern European collections." G.P. Cox, Choice

"...a useful reference tool for those of us in French language and literature." Joseph L. Allaire, The French Review

"This book is a comprehensive study of the French army during the seventeenth century and its place in the history of state-building....Lynn offers carefully nuanced revisions of many standard views concerning the military origins of absolutism, the nature of the military revolution, and the alleged modernity of Louis XIV's army...this book...admirably achieves its goal of forcing us to confront directly the massive significance of the army." William Beik, Journal of Interdisciplinary History

"...this is a fine, thick book with clear organization and exhaustive use of the manuscript and printed sources that will allow historians to refer to it with confidence for many years." The Historian

Every historian of the seventeenth century who attempts to understand the entirety of that turbulent time must have this book on his bookshelf or suffer the consequences of incomplete knowledge and a crippling blind spot." Army History

"This is a valuable book...highly recommended for both the scholar and the novice." Frederick C. Schneid, American Historical Review

Book Description

The seventeenth-century French army was the largest Bourbon institution; yet it has received incomplete treatment. Combining social and cultural emphases with institutional and operational concerns, this book provides a detailed analysis. The portrait that emerges differs from what current scholarship might have predicted. Instead of claiming that a "military revolution" transformed warfare, Lynn stresses evolutionary change. Questioning widely-held assumptions about state formation and coercion, he argues that this standing army was primarily devoted to border defense, and only rarely to internal repression.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 672 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (June 13, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521572738
• ISBN-13: 978-0521572736
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 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: #3,584,066 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fine Example of the "New Military History", February 12, 2005

By 

Gregory Canellis "Student of military history... (Tuckerton, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Giant of the Grand Siècle: The French Army, 1610-1715 (Hardcover)

John A. Lynn, preeminent scholar of French military history, and logistics, prior to the nineteenth century, offers a follow-up to his classic: _Bayonets of the Republic:..._ (1984). Here he argues the French Army of the Grand Siecle (seventeenth century) was the catalyst for state formation. Reminiscent of the tail wagging the dog, Lynn argues, it was military expansion, and reforms that formed a model for the state. However, he emphasizes that this expansion was not revolutionary. Instead, development grew incrementally out of older practices. As a result, there remained a continuity of "absolutism" during this period, not a break from it, as is the common belief among some historians. Essentially, Lynn shows how the French monarchy raised regiments, without regard for how they would be fed or supplied. They were then turned loose on the rural French countryside with sometimes disastrous results.The author utilizes a thematic approach to take the reader on what he calls a "journey of understanding." The author devotes substantial coverage to economics and finance. In fact, the majority of the book focuses on economic and social history of the Army of the Grand Siecle with heavy emphasis on logistics and supply. These topics takes precedence over the standard fare of strategy, tactics, campaigns and battles. Even the section devoted to weapons tends to stress supply above technology. Throughout this intricate tapestry of subject matter, Lynn challenges arguments laid down by other military historians. For example, it is not surprising that Lynn, who has written widely on the topic of logistics, has harsh criticisms levelled at Martin Van Creveld, author of _Supplying War: Logistics from Wellington to Patton_ (Cambridge: 1977). Other themes covered include: "The Tax of Violence," and the raping of civilian women by French soldiers as a form of extortion from being under-paid and inadequately supplied; "The Culture of Command," recruitment, desertion, discipline, morale and motivation, round out the book nicely. Along the way, the author has consulted an impressive array of French archival resources gleaned from The Archives Nationales, Service Historique de l'Armee de Terre, Bibliotheque Nationale and the Archives de Guerre, which he then confusingly abbreviates in copious footnotes. He also culls various primary documents, letters and memoirs. For the most part, however, Lynn refers to secondary source material from a host of French scholars, arranged in an impressive bibliography. As professor of history at University of Illinois at Urbana-Campaign, Lynn even consults dissertation material from his own Ph.D students.Although the book is short on military campaigning, a major weakness is its lack of maps and illustrations. This is especially apparent when Lynn utilizes a visual illustration as source material. For instance, the author consults an engraving in the text (p. 321) yet, in an accompanying footnote, refers the reader to a plate in another historian's [Philippe Contamine, ed. Histoire militaire de la France vol.1 (Paris, 1992)] work. Geoffrey Parker's (_The Military Revolution: Military Innovation and the Rise of the West, 1500-1800_...see my Amazon review) strength in period illustrations is Lynn's weakness. For such an immense undertaking, Lynn's writing style is clear and concise. Every section has a clean introduction, and conclusion, with easy transitions from section to section, and topic-to-topic. This friendly writing style makes the development of the narrative flow easily. Overall, the book is a handsome package, though, perhaps a bit pricey. Lynn has made a significant contribution to the field by stressing the social aspect of the French army from king right on down to the common rank and file. This book is certainly a splendid example of the "new military history," and could serve as a model for similar studies of other armies from other time periods.