REVOCATION OF THE EDICT OF NANTES, 1685 A.D.
As long as Colbert lived, he kept on good terms with the Huguenots, who formed such useful and industrious subjects. But Louis hated them as heretics and suspected them of little love for absolute monarchy. To Louis religious unity in the state seemed as necessary as political unity. Accordingly, he revoked in 1685 A.D. the Edict of Nantes, [8] after the French for almost a century had enjoyed religious toleration. The Huguenots were allowed to keep their Protestant faith, but their freedom of worship was taken away and was not restored till the time of the French Revolution. The Protestants in France to-day are about as numerous, in proportion to the Roman Catholic population, as they were under Louis XIV.
EMIGRATION OF THE HUGUENOTS
The revocation of the Edict of Nantes resulted in a considerable emigration of Huguenots from France. What was a loss to that country was a gain to England and Holland, where the Huguenots settled and where they introduced their arts and trades. Prussia, also, profited by the emigration of the Huguenots. Many of them went to Berlin, and that capital owed the beginning of its importance to its Huguenot population. Louis by his bigotry thus strengthened the chief Protestant foes of France.
ART UNDER LOUIS XIV
Louis was a generous patron of art. French painters and sculptors led the world at this time. One of his architects, Mansard, invented the mansard roof, which has been largely used in France and other European countries. This architectural device makes it possible to provide extra rooms at a small expense, without adding an additional story to the building. Among the monuments of Louis's reign are the Hôtel des Invalides, [9] now the tomb of Napoleon, additions to the Louvre, [10] perhaps the masterpiece of all modern architecture, and the huge palace of Versailles. Louis also founded the Gobelins manufactory, so celebrated for fine carpets, furniture, and metal work.
LITERATURE UNDER LOUIS XIV
The long list of French authors who flourished during the reign of Louis includes Molière, the greatest of French dramatists, La Fontaine, whose fables are still popular, Perrault, now remembered for his fairy tales, and Madame de Sévigné, whose letters are regarded as models of French prose. Probably the most famous work composed at this time is the Memoirs of Saint-Simon. It presents an intimate and not very flattering picture of the "Grand Monarch" and his court.
LEARNING UNDER LOUIS XIV
Louis and his ministers believed that the government should encourage research and the diffusion of knowledge. Richelieu founded and Colbert fostered the French Academy. Its forty members, sometimes called the "Immortals," are chosen for their eminent contributions to language and literature. The great dictionary of the French language, on which they have labored for more than two centuries, is still unfinished. The academy now forms a section of the Institute of France. The patronage of Colbert also did much to enrich the National Library at Paris. It contains the largest collection of books in the world.