Whilst looking online into background for my post about King Louis XVIII I came upon these articles which may interest readers. They not only illustrate specific aspects of French political life in the King’s reign but help to indicate the tensions that ran through France at so many levels. Maintains national cohesion was no mean achievement.
Wikipedia has a good entry about the 1814 Charter granted by the King. The article gives a good introduction to its provisions, .points to its similarity to the British constitutional arrangements at the time, and its status as a document - was it a Fundamental Law or a description of how the legislative life of the country was to be conducted? The article can be read at Charter of 1814
There is a short piece about a real risk to the survival of the main Royal House caused by the assassination of the Duc de Berry, nephew to King Louis, and third in line to the throne in 1820, and the pregnancy of his widow. It is from Elena Maria Vidal’s Tea at Trianon blog and can be seen at The Murder of the Duc de Berry and the Miracle Child
The third is an excellent article, the transcript of a podcast from The Siècle 1814-1914 and looks at the underground opposition to the Restoration in the early 1820s and the reaction to that of the government. Entitled ‘Charbonnerie’ it is a well researched and balanced account of the secret radical groups, imitating contemporary Italian examples, and which sought to overthrow the Restoration. It describes the response of the government to their discovery, and their signal failure to incite revolt in those years. Being in print rather than just a sound broadcast it boasts those academic desiderata of having both illustrations and footnotes. It is well worth reading and can be seen at Episode 23: Charbonnerie
No comments:
Post a Comment