Sacral Kingship in Bourbon France: The Cult of Saint Louis, 1589–1830

Description

Historians of the ancien régime have long been interested in the relationship between religion and politics, and yet many issues remain contentious, including the question of sacral monarchy. Scholars are divided over how - and, indeed, if - it actually operated. With its nuanced analysis of the cult of Saint Louis, covering a vast swathe of French history from the Wars of Religion through the zenith of absolute monarchy under Louis XIV to the French Revolution and Restoration, Sacral Kingship in Bourbon France makes a major contribution to this debate and to our overall understanding of France in this fascinating period. Saint Louis IX was the ancestor of the Bourbons and widely regarded as the epitome of good Christian kingship. As such, his cult and memory held a significant place in the political, religious, and artistic culture of Bourbon France. However, as this book reveals, likenesses to Saint Louis were not only employed by royal flatterers but also used by opponents of the monarchy to criticize reigning kings. What, then, does Saint Louis’ cult reveal about how monarchies fostered a culture of loyalty, and how did sacral monarchy interact with the dramatic religious, political and intellectual developments of this era? From manuscripts to paintings to music, Sean Heath skilfully engages with a vast array of primary source material and modern debates on sacral kingship to provide an enlightening and comprehensive analysis of the role of Saint Louis in early modern France. Title Page Copyright Page Contents Figures Acknowledgements Note on proper names and translations Abbreviations Archives and libraries Periodicals Introduction Sacral kingship The politics of memory Early modern sanctity The historiography of the cult of Saint Louis Chapter 1: Patron and protector of France: Saint Louis and his cult up to 1618 From Louis IX to Saint Louis Henri IV and the establishment of Bourbon legitimacy The restoration of the cult in 1618 Conclusion 2: The saint of kings and the king of saints: Perceptions of Saint Louis, 1618–1715 Saint Louis in seventeenth-century historiography The panegyrics of Saint Louis Saint Louis and the crusading ideal Conclusion Chapter 3: Ruling France under the shadow of Saint Louis, 1610–1715 Saint Louis and Louis the Just Saint Louis during the Fronde Saint Louis and the Sun King Royal devotion to Saint Louis Conclusion Chapter 4: The spread of the cult, 1618–1789 The feast in Paris The feast in the dioceses The feast in the provinces Dedications across France Saint Louis in the French colonies Saint Louis in foreign capitals Conclusion Chapter 5: Patterns of devotion Relics and miracles Liturgy A saint for the grands Conclusion Chapter 6: Saint Louis in the age of Enlightenment and Revolution, 1715–92 Patron of the monarchy The legislator king Controversial crusades The decline and fall of Saint Louis Conclusion Chapter 7: Saint Louis from exile to restoration, 1792–18301 A counter-revolutionary saint Saint Louis and the Charte The feast of Saint-Louis during the Restoration Conclusion Conclusion Notes Introduction Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Conclusion Bibliography Manuscripts Primary sources printed before 1830 Primary sources printed after 1830 Secondary sources Theses Index