HIS244H1 Lecture : HIS244 Louis XIV
Document Summary
Absolutism: the king/monarch has supreme power over the kingdom/state, his word is final and law. The king or queen was bound however by law and tradition: thomas hobbes (1588-1679) was an early favourite of this theme to prevent early modern europe for falling into chaos. Only absolutism could a state be ruled by a monarch. Nobody was under the illusion that kings could rule without the monarch. Theory of absolutism: henry iv of france (1553-1610) was born in raised protestant in a catholic nation. He was a tolerant king towards protestants and he had to sooth an ongoing conflict between the two, the edict of nantes- giving the huguenots real power in france. He aimed to make france the most powerful state in all of europe. Unfortunately, he died in 1610, murdered by francois ravaillac, a catholic extremists: louis xiii of france (1601-1643) took the reign of france at the age of nine.
