Absolutism and Society in Seventeenth-Century France: State Power and Provincial Aristocracy in Languedoc

Description

Why was Louis XIV successful in pacifying the same aristocrats who had been troublesome for Richelieu and Mazarin? What role did absolutism play in reinforcing or changing the traditional social system in seventeenth-century France? This analysis of the provincial reality of absolutism argues that the answers to these questions lie in the relationship between the regional aristocracy and the crown. Starting with a critical examination of current approaches to state and society by institutional, social "Annales," and Marxist historians, the author calls for a new class analysis based on the findings of all these schools.

'A new generation of political historians would do well to follow William Beik's admirable model of investigation.' The Times Literary Supplement ' ... Beik's work is a tour de force. The erudition, probing questions, and subtlety of this study will assure its place among the outstanding works published by an American in french history.' Renaissance Quarterly ' ... one of the outstanding works on early modern France produced in the last decade ... It will be a most influential work, one with which all scholars of the period should be familiar.' American Historical Review ' ... this is an important book, which redefines the terms in which seventeenth-century politics need to be understood. In achieving this, Beik has raised new questions about seventeenth-century society as well.' Social History