The culture of merit : nobility, royal service, and the making of absolute monarchy in France, 1600-1789 /

Bibliographic Details
Main Author:	Smith, Jay M., 1961-
Format:	Book
Language:	English
Published:	Ann Arbor : University of Michigan Press, [1996]
Series:	Studies in medieval and early modern civilization.
Subjects:	France > Civilization > 17th century. Louis > XIV, > King of France, > 1638-1715 > Influence. France > Civilization > 18th century. Monarchy > France > Moral and ethical aspects. France > Kings and rulers > Conduct of life. France. > Armée > History.

Table of Contents:

Merit and the personal modality of service
Family and the personal modality
State formation and the culture of royal service in the age of Louis
Through the eyes of the king : merit, service, and the state in the age of Louis XIV
Extending the sovereign's gaze in the eighteenth century : merit, nobility, and the army
Military reform in the later eighteenth century : birth, merit, and the gaze of absolute monarchy
Conclusion : from the sovereign's gaze to the gaze of sovereignty.