Versailles

Along with the Eiffel tower and Notre-Dame cathedral, Versailles is one of the key iconic sites of French history and culture. This course will examine ancient régime court culture through the history of the château de Versailles from Louis XIV’s assumption of power in 1661, when he began building what twenty years later became the seat of the monarchy and center of power, through the reigns of Louis XV to 1789, the end of Versailles as Louis XIV had conceived it. We will concentrate on literature from that period, while also taking a multidisciplinary approach to cultural history through the examination of social, architectural, and artistic aspects of the château de Versailles as concept, mythology, and lived reality. Readings will include memoirs, letters, plays and other contemporary literary accounts of life at Versailles, and we will also watch film treatments from Sacha Guitry’s 1954 “Si Versailles m’était conté” to the recent television series “Versailles.” Students may choose to concentrate on any aspect of the topic for their final project. Authors read will include Sévigné, Saint-Simon, Molière, Racine, La Fontaine, Montesquieu, and Voltaire.