Chapter 1 Definitions Flashcards
Council of State
the Kings cabinet of ministers
governors
otherwise known as intendants; chosen by the King to apply his policies in provincial France
absolute power/absolutism
gave the King ultimate control
arbitrary power/depotism
by which a King ruled badly, without respect for existing laws
highest courts of appeal
otherwise known as parlements; these 13 high courts checked and registered royal laws
remonstrance
a memo from the law courts of the King, pointing out a problem in the wording of a law
public perceptions
commonly accepted beliefs
representations
large, unified collection of paintings, statues, medallions and literary works
Versailles
the palace that housed French kings from 1682, when Louis XIV the royal seat of power from Paris, to early in the revolution in 1789. By then, Versailles had become a symbol of all that was wrong with the old regime.
dynasty
a sequence of monarchs going back hundreds of years
rule by divine right
the French king received his power directly from God and was considered infallible. To criticise the King was to criticise God. Traditional ceremonies displayed this divine nature.
benevolence
“the quality of being well meaning; kindness.”
the King was ‘father’ and protector of his people.
