Louis XIV (1638 – 1715), born Louis-Dieudonné de France and also known as Louis the Great or the Sun King, was King of France and Navarre from 1643 until his death. He was the son of Louis XIII.
Biography[]
Becoming king when he was still a child, Louis XIV witnessed the Paris revolt of the Fronde.[1]
In around 1661, Louis XIV had his portrait painted by his court painter, Charles Le Brun.[2]
In 1665, Louis XIV left Paris to be subject to the fervor of city crowds. In the village of Versailles, the king decided to expand his father's hunting lodge to create a monumental palace and showcase his power over nature. During the following fifteen years, 25 000 men worked on the construction. To ensure the courtiers continued presence in Versailles, Louis XIV determined that all buildings erected in Versailles be non-liable to seizure for debt, which made the village particularly attractive.[1]
During the construction of Versailles, Louis XIV continued to sponsor the construction of buildings in Paris. As a patron of poets and scholars, he promoted the construction of the Observatory.[3] To finance a hospital for the invalid soldiers, Louis XIV taxed France's abbeys. On 30 November 1671, he laid the first stone. Five years later, the hospital was occupied by 6 000 soldiers.[4]
During his reign, Louis XIV had an illegitimate daughter with the Marquise of Montespan. He later legitimized her.[5]
In May 1685, Louis XIV passed a decree dictating how slaves were to be treated and further details of the trade. It was enacted in March 1687 and remained in effect until 1789.[6]
Around 1699, Louis XIV bought the Hôtel Vendôme and a part of the convent des Capucines to create the Place Vendôme. He sold the land behind the housefronts to prominent financiers of the Parisian society. At the center of the place, a statue of Louis XIV in Roman attire was inaugurated on 13 August 1699.[7]
An unidentified prisoner held in various French prisons during his reign was rumored to be Louis XIV's illegitimate son.[8] Also during his time as king, he composed and compiled a set of memoirs.[9]
Louis' reign of 72 years and 110 days is the longest of any monarch of a major country in European history.
Legacy[]
By 1794, his memoir had been stolen by a cult dedicated to his alleged son. It was hidden underground in Franciade where the cult awaited the return of the King. In August, the Assassin Arno Dorian infiltrated the cult, killing its members. Finding the memoirs, Arno surmised that Louis XIV would not be returning any time soon and left the memoirs.[9]
In 2012, the Assassin Clay Kaczmarek included the painting of Louis XIV by Charles Le Brun in one of the Glyphs inside the Animus for Desmond Miles to find. Desmond solved this puzzle, which was part of a set titled "Instruments of Power" where Louis XIV was excluded from the list of historical individuals revealed by Clay to have wielded a Staff of Eden.[2]
Appearances[]
- Assassin's Creed II (Glyphs only)
- Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag – Freedom Cry (mentioned in Database entry only)
- Assassin's Creed: Unity (mentioned in Database entry only)
- Dead Kings (mentioned only)
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Assassin's Creed: Unity – Database: Village de Versailles
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Assassin's Creed II – Glyph #5: "Instruments of Power"
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Unity – Database: Observatoire de Paris
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Unity – Database: Les Invalides
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Unity – Database: Palais Bourbon
- ↑ Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag – Freedom Cry – Database: The Code Noir
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Unity – Database: Place Vendôme
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Unity – Database: The Iron Mask
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Assassin's Creed: Unity – The Eyes of the King