In your opinion, is Louis XIV one of the greatest kings in European history?

[Julie4]

[RebelinSteel]

He was one of the best monarchs France had, admittedly one of the reasons was England had a succession of poor monarchs and a civil war, this meant there was pretty much no meddling by those pesky English. Louis was doing well until the idiot put in place the Edict of Fontainebleau, barking mad and set the scene for Englands Glorious Revolution and the 9 Years war. As time went on during his reign, the Spanish Succession and acknowledgment of James II son started to put the nails in his coffin. While he did overhaul the French legal system from the mess it was previously, he left too much power in the wrong hands, it was more luck than design that civil war did not start earlier), he was too eager to embroil France in expensive wars, the rich got cash, the poor gave blood and bodies. Also there was a complete lack of imagination in naming French kings.

[Julie4]

The kings of France are not called Louis compared to Louis XIV lol.

You have to judge the reign by its overall record, and overall it's not bad.

[RebelinSteel]

Yes as I said at the start, he was one of the best monarchs France had, I do think a lot was down to the C’s, Charles 1, Civil War, Cromwell, Charles II. We had a lot of things going on internally and the Stuarts were a bit too close and friendly with the French. As with most wars in Europe, religion was the major problem. Imagine how much he could have done for France without the external wars, possibly Frances own Civil War that avoided having a revolution.

[Julie4]

Well, let's just say that we can always do better, but in the end, despite the great coalitions he underwent during his last two wars, he left a France that was greater than when he took power, with an empire, and above all, thanks to his reign, this will be the beginning of France's cultural influence in Europe.

But the problem is that Louis XIV put his power at too high a level, and his successors were incapable of assuming such power, which led to the end of the monarchy. Unfortunately, Louis XV and Louis XVI were not strong enough to manage power as Louis XIV did. It could be said that Louis XIV indirectly contributed to the end of the monarchy.

[RebelinSteel]

Your last comment, relates to what I had originally put on my first reply but deleted. The rich getting richer, the poorer giving blood and bodies led in part to the revolution, as nothing changed to improve life for the poor and middle classes.

[ZackBan]

Reigning for 72 years over one of the most populated countries in the world at the time is definitely a sign he was one of the greatest kings out there.

But then what makes a king great? It all depends on how you see things.
Is it providing for his kingdom?
Conquering in it's name?
Economic dominion?

The whole thing is a matter of perspective.

[Julie4]

The reign must be judged in its entirety: economic, conquest, influence, etc.

At the end of Louis XIV's reign, the economy was in a very bad state, but comparatively speaking, the English and Dutch economies had also suffered greatly, and contrary to popular belief, the Dutch and English had been taxed more than the French. He indirectly contributed to the ruin of the French monarchy by increasing its power to such a level that his successors would not be able to cope with it.

But Louis XIV left a great influence on Europe, and many rulers wanted to imitate him. He left a greater France, with an empire and a cultural influence that France exercised throughout the 18th and early 19th centuries, thanks to the reign of Louis XIV...

[ZackBan]

He definitely did bite off more than his sons could chew.

But I like your take it. It's true that France is still remembered as a large powerhouse of that era in large part thanks to him

[4ngelic]

dont think so. even though he was king for like 70 years or something and was super into arts and put france in a golden age, he was apparently a totalll asshole who had very very disgusting habits. like eating like a pig on purpose (adding to the fact he had a hole in his mouth or throat so food came out of it) and spitting food on onlookers, and would force people to watch him eat like that everyday. he also made people watch him go to the bathroom, and he'd fart everywhere and stuff like that. he didn't wash very much and smelled very bad too, and had multiple stds and stuff like that. and he knew it and liked making people uncomfortable and stuff

for the greatest king in euro history, maybe charlemagne instead of him?

[RavVid]

Louis XIV is one of the greatest kings in European history. It is not sensible to ask who is the greatest because history is not a level playing field but with the question being who were the greatest kings it is a fairly short list and Louis XIV is certainly on it.

[Julie4]

Thank you for understanding the wording of my question, because I did not mean the greatest but one of the greatest, which many comments do not seem to have understood here lol

[RavVid]

I'm fresh off two large mugs of coffee so I am probably batting above my normal level :)

[Drewtate]

Probably George III. We know him as a tyrant here in the US and as the mad King in Britain but as monarchs go he wasn't too bad.

Defeated the French and spainish in the 7 years war, won the Napoleonic war, oversaw the agricultural and industrial revolution. Promoted great advances in science and medicine. In his reign the British empire became the most powerful in history.

[AviatorTom]

https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ep9fG_ji7T8

The string of Louis's got worse as time went on, with the last one Louis XVI losing his head in the French Revolution.

[Anonymous]

I don't know.