Book Description

When Cardinal Richelieu became Louise XIII's chief minister in 1624, France was in danger of becoming a vassal state. By strengthening the power of the state and pressing the whole nation into its service, Louis and Richelieu helped to liberate France from its medieval shackles and opened wider horizons for every Frenchman. Richelieu is generally regarded as the architect of French unity who perceived better than any of his contemporaries the historical trend toward the modern nation-state. In this book, Victor-L. Tapie refutes those who have attempted to detach Richelieu from the age in which he lived; Richelieu from the age in which he lived; Richelieu's greatness, he argues, resided precisely in his being a man of his time, who in all his work never lost sight of realities but sought to merge them with France's needs and aspirations. Yet, however responsible Richelieu was for the achievements of his ere, it would be unjust to discount the contribution of Louise XIII. Inspired by a sense of his mission as ruler, the King was capable of speaking and acting in ways that compelled obedience and lent authority to the cardinal's domestic and foreign policies. The imposing administrative structure that the two men erected-though incomplete and precarious-provided the foundation for the glorious years of Louise XIV. This important work by an eminent French historian develops these themes as it traces the reign of Louis XIII from its ominous beginning in 1610 to its profoundly moving close thirty-three years later. Although Louis and Richelieu are the main protagonists of his stirring account, Professor Tapie never loses sight of the French people. This wise and compassionate book brings to life the entire society that inspired Alexandre Dumas's classic The Three Musketeers