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Dangeau’s Diary, February 1686
2nd. — The King refused to sign the marriage-contract of Mademoiselle de Tonnerre, saying that he would confer that honour upon those only with whom he was satisfied. 13th. — l am informed that Monsieur Dacier, a gentleman celebrated for his erudition and literary productions, and who has married Mademoiselle Lefevre of still greater literary celebrity, has had a pension…
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Versailles Season Two…. what can we expect to see?
It is still quite a while until we will finally see Season Two of Versailles on the screens, but there are some hints already about what we might see. Until now, there are no set airing dates yet. We know from Canal+ that the show will air March 27 in France and Ovation confirmed it for fall 2017 for the…
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How to walk….
If you would meet a courtier of Versailles, pretty much the first thing you would notice would be their odd way to walk. Just like with everything else, there were actual rules on how to walk and it was quite the art. Compared to today, where we set one foot in front of the other, the 17th century walk looks…
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Recipes from the time of Louis XIV
Here are two, not too complicated, recipes for some of Louis XIV’s favourite things to eat. Both are meant for six persons, and both have two of the Sun King’s favoured ingredients, asparagus and pears. L’Omelette d’asperges 500 g green asparagus 1 small onion 12 eggs 20 cl liquid cream 50 g butter 1 bunch fresh chives 2 sprigs of thyme…
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Dining with the Sun King….. Table Etiquette
Etiquette, those terribly complicated rules of how to do basically anything, ruled the French court just like the Sun King in person. There was a rule for everything and every rule had some sort of exception. Learning all of this would be for us today like preparing for some sort of exam one’s life depends on, but back then the…
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Dining with the Sun King….
Louis XIV enjoyed to eat. A lot. Although, as he said himself, he never really felt such a thing as hunger and could go the whole day without eating anything, once the first drop of broth made contact with his royal tongue, he developed an appetite that was hard to satisfy. The King was one of very few people…
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La Bouche du Roi
The Bouche du Roi, or Service de Bouche, was a part of the Maison du Roi -the King’s Household- which consisted of the military, domestic and religious entourage of the King. The members of the Bouche du Roi oversaw and were responsible for the Sun King’s meals and their preparation. It was the largest department within the Maison du Roi and lead…
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Dangeau’s Diary, January 1686
January 2d. — There was a kind of sedition at Saint Germain. The inhabitants having risen to demand that their curate should not be dismissed. Seditious expressions were uttered, several persons were imprisoned by order of the King, many priests have been interdicted and the curate is exiled to Rouen. 5th. — The King and Monseigneur went to dine at…
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Adieu 2016….
2016 is nearly over, I presume it is already in some parts of the world as I write this, and I want to take a moment to thank all my readers for their support. Party Like 1660 is a bit over a year old now and steadily growing. I have to admit it grows a little slower at times than…
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In bed with the Sun King….
Looking at what is searched for on my blog, this one topic seems to be the one with the most appeal. Not a week passes without countless searches involving the words sex and Louis XIV. The Sun King is famous for having an army of long and short-time mistresses, but this shan’t be our focus here. All of them will,…
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Nicolas Fouquet
Born in Paris into a wealthy family on January 27, 1615, Nicolas Fouquet made it to the heights of political power and fell very deep. His father, François Fouquet, was a member of the noblesse de robe and as such was a Maître des requêtes, a high-level judicial officer of administrative law, as well as Counsellor to the Parliament of Paris and…
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Court Mourning
The colours of mourning followed Louis XIV during his long reign of seventy-two years and especially in the last years of his reign, the court hardly got out of mourning. Court mourning followed strict rules of etiquette as well as strict rules of fashion, the latter so much that fabric merchants all over France suffered great losses whenever the court went…
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Dangeau’s Diary, December 1685
5th. — This evening, the King in formed the Duc de Beauvilliers that he had chosen him to fill the situation of President of the Chamber of Finance. Monsieur de Beauvilliers represented that he had no acquaintance whatever with that business and that perhaps his Majesty would repent his choice, and begged him again to reflect upon it. The King…
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Versailles Season One, What Happened And What Not….
If you watched Versailles, you probably did ask yourself what of all the things shown on the show actually happened and what not. Is it more fact of fiction? It is both. Most of the things we see on the show have their roots in historical events or gossip of the time, but not everything happened as it was shown……
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17th Century Hygiene Or The Many Smells Of Versailles…
The definition of cleanliness has changed over the centuries. Today we know about germs and how diseases can spread, we have things like antibacterial soaps and sprays, in some households there is both a shower and a bathtub and we have machines that do our laundry. If you think of the 17th Century in that perspective, you might be glad…
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Marie Mancini, Princesse Colonna
Anna Maria Mancini, adopted, like her sisters and cousins, the French version of her name, Marie, as she came to France. Born on August 28, 1639, to the Italian aristocrat and necromancer Lorenzo Mancini and Geronima Mazzarini, sister of Cardinal de Mazarin, Marie was the sister of Laure, Olympe, Hortense, Marie Anne and the first love of Louis XIV. Marie spent…
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Laure Martinozzi, Duchesse de Modène
Born as Laura Martinozzi on May 27, 1639, Laura adopted the French version of her name, Laure, when setting foot on French soil. She was the oldest daughter of Laura Margherita Mazzarini, sister of Cardinal de Mazarin, and the Italian noble Girolamo Martinozzi da Fano, majordomo to Cardinal Francesco Barberini, nephew of Pope Urban VIII. Laure came to France…
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Mademoiselle Has Been Interviewed
Oui. I am as surprised as you are. Or was as surprised, as the lovely Kate Braithwaite, whose book Charlatan we reviewed here, asked me if I would be up for a little interview. Here it is. I hope I did not talk too much nonsense. Meet the blogger: “Party Like 1660”
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Antoine Coëffier de Ruzé d’Effiat, Marquis d’Effiat
Antoine Coëffier de Ruzé d’Effiat comes from family with a prominent status at court. One of his ancestors, Martin Ruzé de Beaulieu, served as Secretary of State of the Maison du Roi, or King’s Secretary, under three Kings of France. Henry III, the last Valois King, Henry IV, the first Bourbon King, and his son Louis XIII. As he…
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Dangeau’s Diary, November 1685
1st. — The Prince de la Roche-sur-Yon has written a letter to his Majesty, which was delivered to him by Bloin, but which his Majesty would not read. The Prince de la Roche-sur-Yon informs his Majesty, that finding himself in dis grace, he conceives it his duty to absent himself from court, and that he should go to Isle-Adam, there…
