Glossary
The Vocabulary of the Court
Please find below an ever-expanding alphabetical list of terms and titles in use at the Court of Versailles between 1682 and 1789, with brief definitions and explanations. They are usually signalled in the body of a post by italics and in verbatim translations or image captions by bold italics; if a term or title occurs more than once in a post, it is italicized only the first time. I have created the entries of this glossary by observation and/or deduction from the writings of our core authors, or by reference to relevant articles in the French wikipedia, which are usually comprehensive and well-sourced. This glossary is a work in progress, so please be patient if the term or title you seek is not yet included. If you find an error, please give gentle correction in the comments. Feedback and questions are of course welcome, too.
A.
Antichambre: antechamber; usually the second room in the customary sequence of rooms in a royal apartment, after the salle des gardes (see below) and before the cabinet or grand cabinet (see below); there may be more than one antichambre, in which case they are adjacent, but still within the usual sequence; sometimes they have a special name, for instance the antichambre du grand couvert (see below); an antichambre is essentially a kind of waiting room — there is even a verb, faire antichambre, meaning to while away time waiting in an antechamber before getting in to see a royal personage or a great minister, sometimes for hours; at Versailles, the greatest antechamber of them all is the Oeuil-de-Boeuf (see below).
Antichambre du grand couvert: the second room in the grand appartement de la Reine (see below), where the King dines in state. He eats there because it is the usage (see below) for him to eat with the first lady of the land in her apartment; if there is no queen, he eats with the dauphine, who occupies the appartement de la Reine if there is no queen.
Appartement: literally, apartment; the name of the evening gathering of the court, it is so named because it takes place in the grand appartement du Roi (see below); there are refreshments, music, dancing, cards, and other games in different rooms; anyone who has been presented at court may attend; taking place several times a week in Louis XIV’s reign, it takes place only now and then by Louis XVI’s reign.
Appointement(s) (faire un/des): literally, (to make) an appointment or some appointments; this expression is used when the King assigns pensions from his privy purse to favoured courtiers, members of his household, artists, musicians, etc.; these annual pensions may range from hundreds to tens of thousands of livres (see below).
Aumonier: almoner; a priest in the King’s ecclesiastical household.
B.
Baron: baron; the fifth highest, which is to say lowest, grade of titled nobility in France, often used as a courtesy title for the sons of a vicomte.
Baronne: baroness; usually the wife or widow of a baron (see above), but a few women hold a baronnie, or barony, in their own right.
Bouche: literally, mouth; the department of the maison du Roi (see below) or maison de la Reine that is responsible for the preparation and serving of food and drink; at the grand couvert (see below), the King and Queen are each served by their own bouche; on these occasions, other members of the royal family are served by the one or the other depending on whether they sit nearer the King or Queen.
Bourgeois(ie): burgher(s) or townsman/men; the bourgeoisie are essentially the middle classes; members of the top layer of the bourgeoisie may be very rich, richer even than most nobles; this category includes merchants, bankers, government officials, lawyers, notaries, physicians, etc.; no matter how rich, bourgeois are excluded from most positions at court, which is why the advent of Madame de Pompadour, the daughter of what we would now call an entrepreneur and the wife of the nephew of a fermier-général (see below), causes outrage among the courtiers; aristocrats, particularly the noblesse d’épée (see below), normally avoid marrying bourgeois, but they can be persuaded for a big enough dowry; for example, the Duc de Choiseul, Louis XV’s great minister, is married to a lady from the Crozat family, the richest bankers in France.
Brelan: a card game for 2 to 5 players played with only 20 to 36 cards by removing the 7s, 8s, and/or 9s; it dates from the 17th century and is also called berlan and berlenc.
C.
Cabinet: cabinet, a room; there are 2 kinds of cabinets, namely public ones and private ones. The main public one is usually called the cabinet or grand cabinet; it is usually at least the third room in the customary sequence of rooms in a royal apartment, after the antichambre(s) and before the chambre; it is where the royal personage who lives in the apartment entertains his/her visitors and grants audiences; a private cabinet is called a cabinet intérieur; it is usually the last room in the sequence, beyond the chambre, and it is where the royal personage receives his/her intimates and conducts confidential business; few people have access to it, unlike the more public rooms earlier in the sequence; there may be more than one cabinet intérieur.
Cabinets (du Roi): an early name for the most private rooms of the petit appartement du Roi (see below); Louis XV has them created in the 1730s on the attic floor of the north side of the cour de marbre (see below) at Versailles; in his diary entries of the 1730s, for example, the Duc de Luynes often refers to them simply as les cabinets; they continue to evolve until the end of the period.
Carreau: cushion; also called a coussin, it is a cushion for the knees to be used in the royal chapel; since not everyone may use one, it is a sign of rank; the royal family and princes may use a carreau, of course, but otherwise one must have the honneurs (see below) to use one.
Cavagnole: from the Italian, cavagnolo; a game of chance that is a sort of cross between roulette and bingo.
Cent-Suisses: an elite infantry company often called just les Suisses; recruited from the Swiss cantons, they are a mercenary company employed by the King for his personal protection and that of the royal family within the royal residences; they are separate from the gardes du corps (see below), who escort the King and the royal family when they leave their residences; they are commanded by a colonel-general, usually a prince du sang (see below); day-to-day command is exercised by a captain, usually a Frenchman; the Cent-Suisses are not to be confused with Swiss regiments in the regular army.
Chambre: bedchamber; usually the fourth room in the customary sequence of rooms in a royal apartment; the King’s state bedchamber is referred to as la chambre du Roi, or simply la chambre; the Queen’s state bedchamber is similarly called la chambre de la Reine or simply la chambre. Louis XV has another bedroom created in his petit appartement, in which he actually sleeps, only going to the state bedchamber for the lever and the coucher (see below for each of these ceremonies).
Chancelier (de France): chancellor (of France); this high official of the crown is essentially Minister of Justice in modern terms; he is usually the garde des sceaux (see below) as well.
Chapelle: chapel; every royal residence contains at least one chapelle, where the King worships daily; only on certain special occasions does he to go to his parish church (see paroissiale below); the chapelle at Versailles is completed in 1710; Fontainebleau has 2 chapelles, but the Trinité is the one used by the King and the royal family in this period.
Château: castle or country house; strictly speaking, a fortified castle of the medieval type is a château-fort, while a country house is commonly referred to simply as a château; a château can be anything from a gentleman’s country house to a royal palace such as Versailles, Compiègne, or Fontainebleau; Versailles, for all its size and splendour, and its semi-urban location, is always referred to as le château de Versailles, never le palais de Versailles; in contrast, the Louvre is le palais du Louvre.
Chevalier: knight; a member of the Ordres du Roi (see below), or a member of another chivalric order, such as the Order of Malta; also often used as a courtesy title for younger sons of noble families or for legitimated sons of a member of the royal family, for example the Chevalier d’Orléans, the son of the Regent-Duc d’Orléans by one of his mistresses.
Chevalier d’honneur (de la Reine): literally, knight of honour; a position in the Queen’s household held by a nobleman whose duty is stand behind the Queen’s chair during meals and audiences, to give her his hand when she walks out, and to help her in and out of carriages; princesses also have a chevalier d’honneur.
Chevau-Légers: light cavalry; one of the units of the King’s maison militaire (see below).
Comte: count; the third highest grade of titled nobility in France.
Comtesse: countess; usually the wife or widow of a comte (see above), but a few women hold a comté, or countship, in their own right.
Conseil: council; the Kings of France in this period govern through a system of councils, the meetings of which take place on different days of the week; in Louis XIV’s reign, the council meetings usually take place between morning mass and dinner, which is served in the early afternoon; they are more irregularly scheduled in the following reigns; at Versailles, the salle du conseil (see below) is adjacent to the chambre du roi (see above); the different councils are listed below.
Conseil des dépêches: the council of dispatches, in which the King and his ministers deal with business arising from the dispatches sent from provinces and cities around the kingdom.
Conseil des finances: the council of finances, in which the King, the Controleur-Général des Finances (see below), and other ministers deal with the finances of the kingdom.
Conseil d’état: the council of state; the supreme council attended only by the King, the dauphin (see below) if he is of age, and the secrétaires d’état (see below), and officials appointed by the King.
Contrat de mariage: marriage contract; all people of property have one, negotiated by the families of the bride and groom with their respective notaries and advisors; court families set store by having one or more members of the royal family, if at all possible the King himself, witness the signing of the contract; the more members of the royal family that are present, the greater the honour.
Controleur-Général des finances: comptroller-general of finances; this high official of the crown is essentially Minister of Finance in modern terms; apart from overseeing his department, he has a seat on the conseil des finances (see above) and may have a seat on other conseils.
Couches (de la Reine/Dauphine): the Queen’s or Dauphine’s childbed, which is to say the period of her confinement shortly before and several weeks after giving birth; the delivery itself, the accouchement, is public; it is customary for the Queen/Dauphine to keep to her apartment during the following weeks to recover, a period called the relevailles; at the end of this period is the relever, when she resumes public life.
Coucher: no English equivalent; the nightly ceremony of the King’s or Queen’s going-to-bed, taking place in the chambre (see above), or state bedchamber. Only courtiers having the entrées (see below) can attend; the King or Queen is undressed and and dons his/her nightshirt or nightgown before saying a prayer and getting into the bed, after which the courtiers withdraw; those courtiers who the entrées (see below) may attend; the coucher takes place not only at Versailles but anywhere the King and Queen are in residence.
Cour: court or courtyard; the court is formally called la cour du Roi, more often simply la cour; informally, it is known as ce pays (see pays below); cour also means courtyard, of which there are 3 at Versailles: the cour d’honneur, the cour royale, and the cour de marbre.
D.
Dame d’atours: the middle rank among ladies-in-waiting; serving on a weekly rota, the role of a dame d’atours is to attend the Queen in her apartment at certain hours of the day or on certain occasions, for example at mealtimes, the lever (see below), and coucher (see above), during official audiences, and to accompany her when she goes out, in addition to fulfilling whatever requests she may make; other female members of the royal family and princesses du sang also have dames d’atours.
Dame d’honneur: chief lady-in-waiting; there is usually only one and she is in charge of the other ladies-in-waiting; since she is almost always on duty apart from brief leaves, she is one of the Queen’s closest companions; the wife of our diarist the Duc de Luynes is dame d’honneur to Queen Marie and is her closest friend; princesses also have dames d’honneur.
Dame du palais: the lowest rank of lady-in-waiting; there are more dames du palais than there are of the higher-ranking dames d’atours (see above); their main duty is to attend the Queen when she goes out in public, but they may also attend her within her apartment; generally speaking, they are less close to their mistress than the dames d’atours and the dame d’honneur (see above); Louis XV’s mistresses are all appointed to the Queen’s household at this rank; other princesses also have dames du palais.
Dauphin: the heir to the throne, usually but not always the eldest son of the King; in our period of 1682-1789, the dauphin is sometimes the eldest grandson or even great-grandson of the King if his eldest son has predeceased him. In this period, 8 princes hold the title.
Dauphine: the wife of the heir to the throne; one dauphine in our period retains the title as a widow because the new dauphin, her eldest son, remains unmarried for the remainder of her lifetime; otherwise, her daughter-in-law would displace her to dauphine douarière, or dowager dauphine; in this period, 4 princesses hold the title.
Débotter: no English equivalent; the name refers to the King’s boots (bottes), which are ceremonially removed when he returns from the hunt; since Louis XIV does not hunt on horseback after the late 1680s, the débotter is more significant in the reigns of Louis XV and Louis XVI, who both hunt on horseback several times a week; all courtiers who have the entrées (see below) may attend, or at least as many as space allows; it is another opportunity to see the King, optimally to be noticed by him and perhaps even to converse with him; we read in the journal of the Duc de Croÿ that military officers returning from the field customarily present themselves at the débotter; in addition to the removal of his boots, the King also changes out of his hunting attire; Louis XV has himself rubbed down head to foot with alcohol, presumably behind a screen.
Doyen des Maréchaux: the dean of the field marshals, or the most senior living field marshal as determined by the date of his promotion, whether or not he is still in active service; when he dies, he is immediately succeeded by the next most senior living maréchal (see below).
Duc: duke; the highest grade of titled nobility in France; most ducs are non-royal noblemen, but nearly all male members of the royal family hold a duché, or dukedom, sometimes more than one, as do some archbishops and bishops; the Archbishop of Paris, for example, is a duc and pair (see above and below) by right of his office.
Duchesse: usually the wife or widow of a duc (see above), but a few women hold dukedoms in their own right; for example, Louis XIV’s cousin, the so-called Grande Mademoiselle, is Duchesse de Montpensier in her own right, as was her mother before her; there are various privileges of this rank, such as the right to sit in the royal presence, albeit only on a stool.
E.
Ecu: a silver coin; in this period, an écu is worth between 3 and 6 livres (see below).
Ecurie: stable; the King has 2 écuries in Versailles, located opposite the courtyards of the château; the Grande Ecurie is to the north and the Petite Ecurie to the south, both easily identified by their half-circle courtyards; in this period, the Grande Ecurie houses the King’s hunting and racing horses while the Petite Ecurie is home to his draught horses and ordinary riding horses; other members of the royal family have their own écuries elsewhere in the town.
Ecuyer: equerry; the lowest and only untitled grade of nobility in France OR a middling position for male courtiers in the household of a member of the royal family; in other words, a gentleman of the minor nobility whose rank is écuyer might also hold an écuyer position in some royal or princely household; the highest écuyer positions in the King’s household are Grand Ecuyer (see below) and Premier Ecuyer (see below)
Enfants de France: literally, ‘Children of France,’ in other words, the children of a King of France (see Gouvernante des Enfants de France below).
Entrées (de la chambre du Roi/de la Reine): literally, entries; a distinction granted to some courtiers; there are entrées and grandes entrées; holders of all entrées are entitled to enter the King’s or Queen’s chambre (see below) at certain hours of the day; les grandes entrées have greater access than the regular entrées; in practice, this means the grandes entrées may be admitted some time, perhaps just a quarter hour, before the entrées.
Escalier de la Reine: the Queen’s Staircase; accessed from the south side of the cour de marbre at Versailles, this marble clad staircase leads to the grand appartement de la reine (see below); after the demolition of the equivalent Escalier des Ambassadeurs on the opposite side of the courtyard, it is the main staircase of the centre block of the château.
Escalier des Ambassadeurs: the Ambassadors’ Staircase; accessed from the north side of the cour de marbre at Versailles, it leads to the grand appartement du roi; it is demolished in 1753 to make way for new royal apartments; before that, it is the staircase used by visiting diplomats, hence the name.
F.
Fermier(-général): literally, a farmer(-general); a fermier-général is a tax farmer, which is to say the holder of a licence to collect taxes on behalf of the government in exchange for the right to keep a portion of the revenue; needless to say, the fermiers are the richest and most hated men in the kingdom; they are members of the bourgeoisie (see above), but thanks to their wealth they can often marry into the nobility and/or purchase seigneuries (see below); the fermier tax collection system was introduced by Louis XIV’s minister Colbert and lasted until the Revolution; by that time there were over 200 fermiers.
Fille de France: literally, ‘Daughter of France,’ in other words, a daughter of a King of France; the wife of a Fils de France (see below) also counts as a Fille de France; she has the style of Altesse Royale (Royal Highness) and the direct form of address is Madame (see below).
Fille (d’honneur): a maid of honour, a young unmarried noble lady in attendance on the Queen or Dauphine or a princess, often simply referred to as “fille,” as in “Mlle de Duras, fille de la Dauphine.”
Fils de France: literally, ‘Son of France,’ in other words, a son of a King of France; he has the style of Altesse Royale (Royal Highness) and the direct form of address is Monseigneur (see below).
Français: French actors; often referred to as les Français in court parlance, they are a troupe of the Comédie française attached to the court, where they usually perform 1 comedy and 1 tragedy per week; the main company of the Comédie française is based in Paris.
G.
Galerie: sometimes called la grande galerie, but often simply la galerie, it is the largest room at Versailles; in English, we call it the Hall of Mirrors.
Garde des sceaux: literally, keeper of the seals; this high official of the crown is the highest administrator of justice if there is no chancelier (see above).
Gardes du corps (du Roi): bodyguards or Life Guards; they are a cavalry unit of the maison militaire du Roi (see below); they are the most prestigious unit, as well as the largest at around 1,500 men in this period; they are divided into 5 companies that take turns serving quarterly; the 1st company is called the gardes écossaises (Scots Guards) and the others are called the gardes françaises (French Guards); sub-units are assigned to members of the royal family.
Gendarmes (du Roi): one of the 4 units of the maison militaire du Roi (see below); they are an infantry unit.
Gentilhommes à bec de corbin: gentlemen halberdiers, so named for their weapon, the bec de corbin or halberd; they are a purely ceremonial unit of maison militaire du roi (see below); by Louis XIV’s reign, there are only 2 companies, one commanded by the Comte du Charmel and the other by the Duc de Lauzun; Dangeau records that Charmel’s company is disbanded on his retirement in November, 1687; Lauzun’s company is disbanded on his death in 1724.
Gondole: gondola; not a boat but an extra-large carriage seating up to 10 passengers; gondoles are used by Louis XV to transport his hunting guests to an assembly point where the passengers then transfer to horseback or calèches (see above).
Gouverneur: at court, the governor of an underaged prince, in other words the male equivalent of a gouvernante (see below); a gouverneur has charge of a prince from age 7 until he comes of age; the keeper of a royal château is also called a gouverneur; elsewhere, provinces, cities, and fortresses have a military gouverneur.
Gouvernante (des Enfants de France): governess; the gouvernante des Enfants de France (see Enfants de France below) is the governess of the King’s children, or the children of the dauphin (see above) if the King’s children are grown up; the governess of other princes or princesses is simply called gouvernante; a gouvernante is in charge of a prince only until he reaches 7 years of age, but keeps charge of a princess until she marries or comes of age.
Grand appartement de la reine: the Queen’s state apartment; every official royal residence has a sequence of rooms with this designation; at Versailles, it is on the first floor of the south side of the cour de marbre (see above) and is accessed by the escalier de la Reine (see above); it consists of the salle des gardes (see below), the antichambre du grand couvert (see above), the salle des nobles (see below), or grand cabinet, and the chambre (see above).
Grand appartement du roi: the King’s state apartment; every official royal residence has a sequence of rooms with this designation; at Versailles, it is the rooms mostly named for Roman gods and goddesses on the first floor on the north side of the cour de marbre (see above) between the salon d’Hercule and the grande galerie (see below); the grand appartement du Roi is larger and has more rooms than other royal apartments because it is used to entertain the whole court.
Grand Aumonier: grand almoner; the head of the King’s ecclesiastical household, usually a cardinal; his role is to oversee all aspects of the King’s religious observances and to manage the chapels in the royal residences; there may be up to a dozen lesser aumoniers under his supervision, not to mention dozens of administrative staff and musicians; during this period, the position is held for several generations in a row by members of the powerful Rohan family.
Grand Chambellan (de France): literally, great chamberlain; this high official of the King’s household is charge of services to the King in his chambre, supervising a staff of dozens; the main perk of this office is constant access to the King.
Grand(e) d’Espagne: Grandee of Spain; Louis XIV and his grandson Philip V agree to recognize the honours of each other’s kingdoms, which means that Grandees of Spain may claim the same privileges at the French court as they do at the Spanish one; these privileges include keeping their hats on and being able to sit in the royal presence; grandesses or grandeeships, are hereditary and shared by spouses.
Grand Ecuyer: grand equerry; he is in charge of the King’s horses and everything related to them; he is based in the grande écurie, while his deputy, the premier écuyer (see below), is based in the petite écurie (see below).
Grand habit: full court dress; it is customary to wear grand habit for court functions, such as an audience, ball, or presentation, but also when appearing before a member of the royal family — in other words, most of the time; for ladies, grand habit consists of a dress with a train; gloves and fans are compulsory accessories; in contrast, a normal dress is called a robe de jour (see below), or day dress.
Grand Maître (de France): literally, grand master; the grand maître is in charge of day to day services in the King’s household other than the chambre, supervising a staff of hundreds; he presides over the grand couvert (see above) and also organizes coronations; grand maître is also the term for the grand master of a chivalric order; the King himself is the grand maître of the Ordres du Roi (see below).
Grand’Messe: grand mass; a grand’messe is celebrated on the most important church holidays, such as Christmas Day and Easter Sunday, but also every day during Advent and Lent; a grand’messe is celebrated by a bishop or archbishop invited for the purpose; at Versailles, the King and the royal family sit on the ground floor of the chapel during a grand’messe, whereas they worship from their tribunes on the upper floor during ordinary messes.
Gratification(s) (donner un/des): literally, to give a gratification or some gratifications; this expression is used when the King gives a one-time gift of cash, essentially a tip, to someone; recipients may include favoured courtiers, but also officers in the armed forces who have performed some feat of valour, an artist whose work has won the King’s admiration, etc.; we also read of Queen Marie giving gratifications to junior officers during the summer manoeuvres at Compiègne.
H.
Hombre: a card game for 3 players, customarily 1 man and 2 women; it is an ancestor of bridge; also spelled ombre.
Honneurs (de la Cour): honours of the court; a distinction adopted in the reign of Louis XV to favour the noblesse d’épée (see below); holders of the honneurs de la Cour may be presented to the King, ride in the King’s carriages and follow him to the hunt; to be eligible, one must be able to demonstrate noble ancestry going back to before the year 1400; only after the court genealogist has examined a candidate’s preuves, or documents of proof such as marriage contracts, wills, deeds, etc., and found them satisfactory, may s/he be accorded the honneurs; the King may of course waive the preuves for individuals.
Honneurs (du Louvre): honours of the Louvre; they belong by right to princes, cardinals, pairs (see below) certain high officers of the crown, ducs and duchesses (see above) and grand(e)s d’Espagne (see above); the main privileges are to be addressed as mon cousin/ma cousine, or “my cousin”, by the King, to arrive by carriage or sedan chair in the cour royale (see above) of a royal residence, to use a carreau (see above) in the royal chapel, and, for ladies, to sit on a tabouret (see below) in the grand appartement de la Reine (see above).
Hôtel particulier: not a hotel, but a private townhouse or mansion in the city; an aristocratic house of this kind, when owned by a single family, is referred to as the hôtel de _____, for example the hôtel de Luynes; courtiers who can afford it, like our diarist the Duc de Luynes, purchase an hôtel in every town where the court spends significant time, namely Versailles, Fontainebleau, and Compiègne, and also in Paris.
Huguenot: French protestant; an adherent of the Reformed Religion, or, from the Catholic point of view, the so-called reformed religion (la religion prétendue reformée); also used as an adjective, as in “ a Huguenot aristocrat”; between the issuance of the Edict of Nantes in 1598 by Henri IV and its revocation by his grandson Louis XIV in 1685, the Huguenots enjoyed relative official tolerance in France, being able to hold office in government and the King’s commission in the armed forces, and permitted to worship in their own churches in designated towns and cities; by the terms of the Edict of Fontainebleau, following shortly after the Revocation, all Huguenot churches and institutions were closed, and Huguenots were given the choice of either converting to Catholicism or facing the confiscation of their property, dismissal from their positions in the government or armed forces, and the loss of custody over their children; most chose to flee to Protestant countries, leading to an exodus of up to a quarter million people from France.
I.
Italiens: Italian actors; often referred to as les Italiens in court parlance, they are a troupe of the Comédie italienne attached to the court, where they usually perform 1 Italian comedy per week; the main company of the Comédie italienne is based in Paris.
J.
Jeu: literally, game; le jeu in court parlance means principally the playing of card games or other games for money, essentially gambling; it is one of the chief entertainments of the court; it is matter of general interest and personal importance to join the King’s jeu, or that of another member of the royal family, each of whom may preside over a table; if a courtier is not invited to sit at the table, s/he may watch, but since the biggest crowds will be around the tables of the King and senior members of the royal family, the courtier must be quick to claim his/her spot; one or more rooms will be almost always be set aside for the jeu at balls and other evening gatherings; there is usually a jeu before and/or after supper, which is served at 10pm or later.
Juste-au-corps: a jerkin; a close-fitting jacket or coat for men, the successor to the earlier doublet/pourpoint; Louis XIV adopts in the 1660s and it remains the main male garment at court from then on although the cut evolves over time.
K.
L.
Lever: levee; the daily morning ceremony of the King’s or Queen’s getting-up, taking place in the chambre (see above); only courtiers having the entrées (see above) can attend; during the lever, the King or Queen is awakened, helped out of the state bed, dressed, prayed over, and served a light breakfast, after which the courtiers withdraw unless invited to follow the King or Queen wherever they are going afterwards; the lever takes place not only at Versailles but anywhere the King and Queen are in residence.
Lit de justice: literally, bed of justice, a ceremony in the parlement (see below) so named because the canopy of the throne in the parlement’s chamber resembles that of a bed; if the parlement (see below) refuses to register a royally signed decree, edict, or law, the King can compel registration by holding a lit de justice, which is to say by appearing in person before the parlement and orally commanding registration.
Livre: pound; the basic unit of currency in France during this period; it officially replaces the franc in the reign of Louis XIII, but in colloquial speech livre and franc are used interchangeably until the Revolution; most of our diarists and letter writers use both words to mean the same thing.
Louis d’or: a gold coin worth anything from 10 to 50 livres (see above) during this period, often referred to simply as the louis; there are other denominations of the louis, including the half-louis and the double-louis.
M.
Madame: the appellation in court parlance for the most senior princess at court, married or unmarried, after the Queen and/or Dauphine; the most famous Madame, one of our letter writers, is Louis XIV’s sister-in-law, but after her 5 other princesses are also known at court by that appellation; other royal princesses are known as Madame ________, for example Madame Victoire, a daughter of Louis XV; the plural is Mesdames, as Louis XV’s daughters/Louis XVI’s aunts are known collectively; Madame is also the direct form of address to the Queen, dauphine, and princesses, as in “Good evening, Madame.”
Madame la Duchesse: the appellation in court parlance for the wife of the Duc de Bourbon; for a while during Louis XV’s reign, there 2 Mesdames la Duchesse at the same time, the Duc de Bourbon’s wife and mother; they are referred to as the elder or younger Madame la Duchesse.
Madame la Princesse: the appellation in court parlance for the wife of the Prince de Condé.
Mademoiselle: the appellation in court parlance for the most senior unmarried princess at court who is not a descendant of the reigning king, in other words a niece or a female cousin; the most famous Mademoiselle is Louis XIV’s cousin, dubbed la Grande Mademoiselle, but she is displaced by the birth of his niece; in all, at least half a dozen princesses are known as Mademoiselle in this period.
Maison: household or house; the maison of a member of a royal family member or a prince(sse) du Sang (see below) mirrors the composition of the Maison du Roi (see below), but on a smaller scale; maison can also mean a royal, princely, or noble dynasty; for example, the family of the Prince de Condé might be referred to as the maison de Condé.
Maison de la Reine: the Queen’s household; its composition mirrors that of the maison du Roi (see below).
Maison du Roi: the King’s household; not merely a personal household, but a government department overseen by a Secretary of State; it has 3 parts: the maison civile (civil household), the maison militaire (military household, see below), and the maison écclésiastique (ecclesiastical household, see below); the maison civile, usually just referred to as la maison, is overseen by a Grand Chambellan (see above) and divided into a number of departments.
Maison écclésiastique: the King’s ecclesiastical household; overseen by the Grand Aumonier (see below), it is tasked with seeing to all aspects of the King’s devotions and religious observances; the principal task is to operate and maintain the royal chapels in the King’s various residences.
Maison militaire du Roi: the King’s military household; it is divided into 4 units: the chevau-légers (see above), the gardes du corps (see above), the gendarmes (see above), the mousequetaires (see below).
Maître d’hôtel: an upper servant, essentially butler or house manager.
Maîtresse-en-titre: official mistress; it is not a title, but a status; her relationship with the King is public knowledge, she lives in an apartment near his, and she travels with him openly; she is usually appointed a lady-in-waiting to the Queen as a sop to appearances; at the very beginning of the period, Louis XIV discards his last maîtresse-en-titre, Mme de Montespan, and secretly marries Mme de Maintenon, who, as a wife, even if not publicly acknowledged, does not count as a mistress; there is no other maîtresse-en-titre until the advent of Mme de Mailly, the first of Louis XV’s several maîtresses-en-titre, in the late 1730s, as chronicled by our diarist the Duc de Luynes; since Louis XVI has no mistresses, the last maîtresse-en-titre of the period is Mme du Barry.
Maréchal (de France): field marshal; the highest rank in the armed forces; a maréchal may be appointed for service on land or sea; the number of maréchaux is not restricted, but there are never more than a few dozen at any time; in precedence, a maréchal who is not also a duc (see above) comes after ducs but before all other grades of noblemen.
Maréchale: the wife or widow of a maréchal (see above); if she is not also a duchesse, she follows the duchesses in precedence, but precedes all other noblewomen; in other words, being a maréchale is almost as good as being a duchesse.
Marquis: marquis or marquess; the second highest grade of titled nobility in France.
Marquise: marchioness; usually the wife or widow of a marquis (see above), but a few women hold a marquisat, or marquisate, in their own right; the stellar example in this period is the Marquise de Pompadour, Louis XV’s longest-serving maîtresse-en-titre (see above).
Menin: a noble boy in the household of an underaged dauphin; his role is to serve as companion and playmate; a menin is essentially the male equivalent of maid of honour to a princess; a menin is often but not always appointed to an adult position in the dauphin’s household when the heir to the throne comes of age.
Menus plaisirs: literally, small pleasures; it is the department of the King’s maison civile (see above) that looks after the King’s private amusements; for example, it provides the budget and personnel for the private theatre organized by Mme de Pompadour for Louis XV.
Messe: mass; the first of the daily services offered in the chapelle; it is celebrated every day that is not a major holiday on the church calendar (see also grand’messe above).
Monseigneur: literally, my lord; Monseigneur is the appellation in court parlance for the dauphin, most strongly associated with Louis XIV’s son; Monseigneur is also the direct form of address to princes, as in “Good evening, Monseigneur.”
Monsieur: the appellation in court parlance for the King’s brother if he has only one; if he has more than one, then Monsieur is the brother closest in age; Louis XIV has only 1 brother, the most famous Monsieur; Louis XV has no brother; Louis XVI has 2 younger brothers, of whom Monsieur is the Comte de Provence, later Louis XVIII.
Monsieur le Duc: the appellation in court parlance for the Duc de Bourbon, the customary courtesy title of the Prince de Condé’s heir; the 7th Prince de Condé for some reason prefers his ducal title and continues to use it after his father’s death, and is consequently Monsieur le Duc for the rest of his life.
Monsieur le Prince: the appellation in court parlance for the Prince de Condé.
Mousquetaires (du Roi): musketeers; the mousquetaires are one of the units of the maison militaire du roi (see above); they are foot soldiers.
N.
Noblesse d’Epée: the nobility of the Sword, or the ancient nobility who were ennobled in the Middle Ages for their military service to the crown; only those families who have proof of their noble origins before the year 1400 are members of the noblesse d’Épée; they resist intermarrying with the noblesse de Robe (see below), to whom they consider themselves superior; nonetheless, they can be persuaded to marry a member of the noblesse de Robe or even a bourgeois(e) for a large enough dowry.
Noblesse de Robe: the nobility of the Robe, or the newer nobility ennobled for service in the parliaments of the kingdom; certain judicial positions come with noble status attached for the office holder; the noblesse de Robe do not generally hold high positions in royal households, but they may become high officers in the government.
O.
Oeuil-de-boeuf: literally, the Bull’s Eye; the great antechamber before the chambre du Roi (see above) is so named for the oval-shaped oculus in the wall that it shares with the chambre; it is in this room where courtiers wait for admittance to the chambre or the rooms beyond it or just to observe the comings and goings and trade gossip.
Ordres du Roi: literally, the King’s orders; this term refers jointly to the 2 highest orders of chivalry bestowed by the French crown, namely the Ordre du Saint-Esprit (see below) and the Ordre de Saint-Michel (see below); in this period, knights inducted into the former are automatically enrolled in the latter; the reverse is not true: members of the Saint-Michel live in hope of being inducted in the Saint-Esprit, but it does not always happen; there are also other orders that are less prestigious, for instance the Ordre de Saint-Louis (see below).
Ordre du Saint-Esprit: literally, the Order of the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost; founded in 1578 by Henri III, it is the highest chivalric order of the French crown; its members are entitled to wear the blue ribbon, called the cordon bleu, and the cross or star of the order; they call themselves chevaliers (see above) of the Ordres du Roi because they are automatically inducted in the Saint-Michel (see below) if they are not already members.
Ordre de Saint-Louis: literally, the Order of Saint Louis; properly called the Ordre royal et militaire de Saint-Louis, it is founded in 1693 by Louis XIV to be awarded only to officers in the armed forces; it is one of the few orders open to non-noble recipients; officers in the army or navy who are Catholic and have served for at least 10 years are eligible for membership. Members may wear the cross of the order on a red ribbon, called the cordon rouge.
Ordre de Saint-Michel: literally, the Order of Saint Michael; founded in 1461 by Louis XI, it is the oldest chivalric order of the French crown; its members call themselves chevaliers (see above) of the Ordre du Roi.
P.
Pair (de France): peer (of France); French peerages are are far more restricted than British ones; although they are attached to noble titles, e.g. duc-pair, relatively few noblemen are peers, which is an office of the crown rather than a title; most princes of the royal family have titles with peerages attached; princes du sang (see below) are pairs from the age of 15; some offices, such as the archbishopric of Paris, come with a pairie attached; pairs have the right to sit in the parliament (see below) and may only be tried for criminal offences by a special court of fellow pairs.
Parlement: parliament; it is a not a legislative body, but rather a judicial one; there is no one parlement for the whole country, but rather half a dozen of them in different parts of the kingdom; the Parlement de Paris has the widest jurisdiction, covering more than a third of France’s territory, essentially the centre and the north, and is therefore usually called simply le parlement; it is divided into several chambers, of which each serves as a different kind of court of law; no royally signed law, decree, or edict takes effect unless the parlement registers it; the parlement may withhold registration and submit one or more remonstrances to the King; the King can compel registration by holding a lit de justice (see above).
Pays: country; the court refers to itself at ce pays or ce pays-ci, “this country”; as in any country, it is important to know the customs; a newcomer who does not yet know how to behave is said to be unfamiliar with ce pays/ce pays-ci.
Petit Appartement (du Roi/de la Reine): literally, the small apartment (of the King/Queen); these private rooms at Versailles are parallel to the grand appartement (see above), which are state rooms; only those few courtiers in the King’s or Queen’s inner circles are ever admitted to the petit appartement; Louis XV’s petit appartement, also used by Louis XVI, is on the first floor of the north side of the cour de marbre (see above); it consists of a suite rooms that includes his private study and the first dedicated dining room ever created in the King’s apartment, where he hosts his after-hunt suppers.
Petite-Fille de France: literally, ‘Grand Daughter of France’; the legitimate daughters of a Fils de France (see above) are Petite-Filles de France; wives of Petit-Fils de France (see below) also rank as Petite-Filles de France; they are entitled to the style of Altesse Royale (Royal Highness); the direct form of address is Madame (see above).
Petit-Fils de France: literally, ‘Grandson of France’; the legitimate sons of a Fils de France (see above) are Petit-Fils de France; they are entitled to the style of Altesse Royale (Royal Highness); the direct form of address is Monseigneur (see above).
Petits paquets: literally, little packets, a card game; it is played by a banker against up to a dozen players; the banker places a ‘packet’ of cards in front of each player, hence the name.
Premier gentilhomme: First Gentleman of the Bedchamber, a position in the King’s maison civile (see above); there are 4 of them and they serve for 1 year in every 4; they are members of the high aristocracy, usually ducs (see above), and they may be in post for decades; the premier gentilhomme on duty is in charge of the menus plaisirs (see above), the department of the household that looks after the King’s private amusements.
Premier écuyer: a deputy of the grand écuyer (see above); referred to as M le Premier, he is in charge of the petite écurie and the school for pages within it; one of his duties is to ride with the King in his carriage and to help the King in and out if needed.
Premier prince du sang: literally, the first prince of the blood, or prince du sang (see below); the head of the most senior princely house; in the reign of Louis XIV the Prince de Condé is the premier prince du sang, but in Louis XV’s reign the Duc d’Orléans supersedes him; the premier prince du sang is the only prince du sang whose household is appointed and paid for by the King.
Preuves (de noblesse): proofs (of nobility); documents that prove one’s noble ancestry, such as marriage contracts, deeds, wills, patents, etc.; at court, one must present one’s preuves to the court genealogist for verification before one may receive the honneurs (see above); in aristocratic life more broadly, preuves are examined in marriage negotiations and in claiming family ties; the need for preuves may be waived by the King for individuals; they are also waived for certain categories of people, such as the family members of Maréchaux de France (see above) and high officers of the crown.
Prince(sse) du Sang: prince(ss) of the Blood; a prince(sse) du sang is a male-line descendant of Louis IX through his youngest son, the Comte de Clermont, whose descendants eventually acquire the duchy of Bourbon and the kingdom of Navarre; in 1589, when Henri IV becomes the first King of France of the house of Bourbon, his fellow Bourbons, namely his first cousins the Prince de Condé, the Prince de Conti, and the Comte de Soissons, are each recognized as the head of a princely house of the Blood; the princely house of Soissons expires in the male line before the beginning of our period, but the houses of Condé and Conti continue until the end; a new princely house of the Blood comes into being when the 2nd Duc d’Orléans has a son; the 3rd Duc d’Orléans and his descendants are princes of the Blood; the princely houses frequently inter-marry; a prince(sse) du sang enjoys the style of Altesse (Highness) if s/he is a great-grandchild of a King of France, or Altesse Sérénissime (Serene Highness) if more distantly descended; prince(sse)s du sang come after Petits-Fils/Petite Filles de France (see above) and before prince(sses) légitimé(e)s (see below) in precedence; amongst themselves, the Orléans take precedence of the Condé, who take precedence of the Conti.
Prince(sse) étranger/-ère: foreign prince(ss); a diverse group of families enjoy this rank at court; some of them rule tiny but independent states, such as the Princes of Monaco; some are princes of the Holy Roman Empire whose states are near or surrounded by France; some are junior members of foreign ruling dynasties who are settled in France; some are French families who have a genealogical claim to a throne that no longer exists, such as the Rohan family, who claim descent from the ancient Dukes of Brittany; prince(sse)s étranges/-ères enjoy the style of Altesse (Highness); they come after prince(sse)s légitimé(e)s (see below) and before ducs/duchesses (see above) in precedence.
Prince(sse) Légitimé(e): legitimated prince(ss); illegitimate children of a King of France who are legally acknowledged and authorized to use the Bourbon name by the parlement (see above) hold this rank and enjoy the style Altesse Sérénissime (Serene Highness), as do all the subsequent male-line descendants; in our period, apart from the Vendôme family, descendants of Henri IV and Gabrielle d’Estrées who die out in 1727, the légitimé(e)s are all descendants of Louis XIV by either Mlle de La Vallière or Mme de Montespan; they all die out before the end of the period, except for the descendants of the Comte de Toulouse, Louis XIV’s younger son by Mme de Montespan.
Q.
Quiétisme: Quietism, also known as Molinism after its Spanish founder, Luis de Molinos; a mystical strain of Catholic practice that emphasizes individual contemplation; its leading exponent in France is Mme Guyon, who is imprisoned from 1695 to 1703; Quietism gains considerable popularity in the last quarter of the 17th century but is declared a heresy by Innocent XI in 1687; in the late 1690s, a public controversy in France rages over Quietism between Fénelon, Archbishop of Cambrai, and Bossuet, Bishop of Meaux; the former publishes in defence of Mme Guyon and the latter against her; the latter has the support of the senior Catholic hierarchy, as well as the King, and of course prevails; Fénelon is obliged to retire to his archdiocese and Quietism is stamped out in France.
R.
Reine: Queen of France; simply la reine, or the Queen, in most contexts; there are only 3 in this period, namely the wives of Louis XIV, Louis XV, and Louis XVI; none of them outlived their husbands, so there was never a dowager queen; Louis XIV secretly married his second wife, Mme de Maintenon, so she was never queen.
Relevailles: no English equivalent; the period of weeks during which the Queen or Dauphine remains confined to her apartment after giving birth in order to recover; she does not receive during this period.
Relever: no English equivalent; the end of the period of confinement of the Queen or Dauphine after she has given birth.
Reversi: a card game for 4 players; popular since the reign of Henri IV, it is played after removing the four 10s from the deck; the aim is to get the lowest number of points, hence the name.
Robe de jour: a day dress; much less formal than grand habit (see above), a day dress has no train; the Queen dons a robe de jour in her leisure hours and when traveling between residences; her ladies-in-waiting follow suit and may be authorized to don robes de jour a day or two before the departure.
Roi: King of France; simply le roi, or the King, in most contexts; there are only 3 in this period, namely Louis XIV, Louis XV, and Louis XVI; Louis XV is the only one whose entire lifetime falls within the period and the only one whose birth and death both occurred at Versailles; Louis XIV died at Versailles, but he was born at the Château-Neuf de Saint-Germain in 1638, while Louis XVI was born at Versailles, but died in Paris in 1793.
S.
Saint-Esprit, Ordre du: see Ordre above.
Saint-Louis, Ordre de: see Ordre above.
Saint-Michel, Ordre de: see Ordre above.
Salle des gardes: quards’ room; usually the first room in the customary sequence of rooms in a royal apartment; as the name implies, it is where the royal guards are stationed round the clock to assure the safety of whichever royal personage lives in the apartment.
Salle du conseil: council chamber; a room next to the chambre du roi at Versailles; it is in this room that the King holds the various conseils (see above) through which he governs the kingdom; the footprint and decor of the room we see today date from the early 1750s.
Salon: drawing room; the grand appartement du roi (see above) contains several salons named for Roman gods and goddesses, for example the salon de Mars; the Queen’s grand cabinet (see above) at Versailles is also called the Salon des Nobles.
Salut: evensong; the last of the daily services offered in the chapelle.
Secret du roi: literally, the King’s Secret; Louis XV initiates a parallel program of diplomacy and espionage that he keeps secret even from his Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs; his contemporaries know little of it; for a time, Louis XV’s cousin the Prince de Conti helps him with it and he is seen coming and going from the King’s private apartment with maps and documents; the Secret du Roi is dismantled by Louis XVI.
Secrétaire d’état: Secretary of State; the highest officers of the French crown, each presiding over a government department, they are appointed by the King directly and serve at his pleasure; there are 4 secrétaires d’état: one for the Maison du Roi (see above); one for les Affaires Etrangères (Foreign Affairs), one for la Guerre (War), and one for la Marine (Navy); apart from the business implied by their names, these 4 departments divide between them the administration of the provinces of the kingdom; the kingdom’s finances are managed by the controleur-général des finances (see above) and its justice system by the chancelier (see above); the secrétaires d’état sit on various conseils (see above).
Seigneur(ie): literally, lord(ship); a seigneurie is a landholding with attached manorial rights; it can be inherited or purchased; a seigneur has feudal rights within the bounds of his seigneurie; the female form of seigneur is dame; becoming a seigneur is often the first step for rich bourgeois wishing to become noble, not least because they may take the name of their seigneurie.
Sire: direct form of address to the King, as in “Good evening, Sire.”
Surintendant(e): superintendant; a position that exists in the household of the Queen and other members of the royal family; surintendant if held by a man and surintendante if by a woman.
T.
U.
Usage: a custom in court etiquette that has been established by tradition and precedent; it can only be modified temporarily or permanently by order of the King.
Valet de chambre: a manservant.
Vêpres: vespers; the second last of the daily services offered in the chapelle.
Vicomte: viscount; the fourth highest grade of titled nobility in France. Often used as a courtesy title for the sons of a comte.
Vicomtesse: viscountess; usually the wife or widow of a vicomte, but a few women hold a vicomté, or viscountship, in their own right. Often used as a courtesy title for the daughters of a comte.
Voyage: literally, journey or trip; used specifically to mean not just the King’s journeys to and from his secondary residences, but also the time spent there; for example, if the King goes to Marly for 2 nights, the voyage is said to be for 3 days; the secondary residences are all the ones other than Versailles, regardless of size or how much time the King spends there.
W.
X.
Y.
Z.
Great work. Truly enjoy reading.
I just enjoyed learning what "cavagnole" was here.