I Am Louis XIV

   Chapter 11 First time back in Paris

  Since Paris has returned to calm, it is of course impossible for the king, the queen mother and the king to stay in Saint-Germain-en-Laye.

The Louvre in Paris was first built in the twelfth century as a small castle for defense. Later, Francois I, who started a "construction" battle with King Henry VIII of England, successively expanded Ambes. The Castle of Gas, after the new Chambord was built, turned his attention to Paris, but at that time neither his energy nor his money was enough. After the main tower of the castle was demolished, the progress of the project was greatly slowed down. Now, his "Caryatids Hall" (in imitation of ancient Greek architecture, with four armless goddesses as columns to support the stage) was taken over by his son Henry II, who also completed the square building The construction of the (late) left wing, but then the frequent rotation of François II, Charles IX and Henry III (three brothers) brought this huge project to a standstill - Henry III had no heirs, from Henri de Bourbon of Navarre became the new king, Henry IV, who married Henry II and Catherine's youngest daughter, Margaret, better known as Queen Margot.

The Queen of Henry II, Catherine de' Medici, left the Louvre after her late husband died, but she did not go too far, only rebuilding the palace at a distance of 1,500 feet from the Louvre , the palace was named the Tuileries Palace. In front of the palace, according to the practice of the Florentines, there are two square gardens, that is, the Tuileries Garden. Part of the central axis of Paris.

However, this new palace still had unfinished parts at the time of Catherine's death, and later Henry IV - here, I have to mention the identity of Henry IV, because as the king of Navarra, he believed in Protestantism, and He did not convert for many years, which made the French who are mostly Catholics very dissatisfied, and his coronation ceremony was not completed in Reims Cathedral, so although he converted later, there were still people To question his legitimacy, perhaps to prove it, he not only completed the project of the Tuileries, but also connected the Tuileries to the original Louvre with a long gallery—the Grand Gallery .

And when his son Louis XIII (later Henry IV and Margaret divorced on the grounds of having no children and married Marie de Medici of the Medici family) came to power, the square building of the Louvre was in power. The right wing was only finished, and the sprawling building finally had some vague rudiments.

Since François I, the kings of France have devoted themselves to collecting a large number of works of art, such as statues, paintings, books, etc. to show their financial strength and artistic appreciation ability, and the two queens from the Medici family It also brought the pompous and extravagant hobbies of the Italians into the strict court. When Louis XIII was alive, even without the splendor and splendor of later generations, the Louvre was still quite delicate and comfortable. , The king was young, and the queen mother and bishop were busy with government affairs. The servants and servants in the palace slowly slackened, and this huge palace gradually became decadent and desolate.

  Dust was accumulating, plants were growing everywhere, small animals were running around, and some people even saw foxes in the big gallery.

When the Queen Mother Mary and King Louis, as well as the king's younger brother and the bishops fled in a hurry under the persecution of the Frondists, the palace also became a carnival place for the mob, and all valuables were swept away, from the gold foil on the border of the portrait. To the drapery hanging from the windows, the statues toppled, the corners blackened, the pillars inscribed with unbearable slanted writing, full of blasphemous words, of course such a place could no longer be inhabited by a noble king, so they Moved to another palace.

Speaking of this palace, it was originally the mansion of an earl, very close to the Louvre. It was later bought and expanded by Cardinal Richelieu. Richelieu gave this mansion to Louis XIII when he died. , now logically owned by Louis XIV.

Because of the uncertainty of whether there were any mobs everywhere, the king and his party returned to Paris when the night fell, and the carriage swayed on the rough road. Louis looked at the queen mother, her face was not happy, There was only weariness and irritability, and it was obvious that, although Anne of Austria and Mary of the Medici were equally ignorant of political affairs, they also knew that returning to Paris was the beginning of the real battle.

There were already servants of Cardinal Mazarin in Richelieu's mansion. Although these servants were not as worthy as the servants in the palace, they were more loyal and responsible. As soon as Louis entered the mansion, he was in the room next to his bedroom. The fire was already burning in the fireplace, and in front of the fireplace was a white tin bathtub shaped like a boat, covered with precious silk, so that the possible spikes would not stab the king's skin, and the pots hung constantly on the fireplace. Bring clean water to a boil, mix it with cool water and pour it into the bathtub.

  The servants also meticulously placed medicine bags in the bath water, containing grated rosemary, lavender and myrrh. This is not Louis's request. When it comes to descaling and sterilization, he believes in olive oil soap, but now people trust these herbs recommended by doctors and astrologers... But he won't say much, after all, he is self-deprecating After the outbreak of the deadly disease, taking a bath has become a terrible thing to smell. To take a bath, you must have the doctor prove that you are sick, and you must take a medicated bath so that it will not make a fuss.

He had just entered the bathtub under the service of the servants - the boat-shaped bathtub is very shallow, but it is suitable for a child, and he will not worry about accidentally choking on the water, but after a while, the rare tranquility was passed by the prince's younger brother, the Duke of Anjou, Philip spoiled - he was one of the few people who could meet the king without notice, whether the latter was sleeping or taking a bath, and he could even presumptively put his hand into the hot bath water.

"If you want to wash too," Louis said helplessly, "then come in." The weather was still a little cold in April, and Philip had premeditatedly only wearing a linen robe, soaking his hands, and letting him go back like this would definitely be the case. Getting cold is no small thing.

Philip immediately became happy. In this era, people didn't like bathing very much. In addition to worrying about the invasion of the epidemic, there was also the fact that after the public bathrooms closed down, bathing in one's own home became a luxury. The raised spikes or the splintered silk is a big expense, the medicine bag is worth a lot, and the charcoal burning in the fireplace, the servants who serve—in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, only the king wants to bathe when Whenever he took a bath, the queen mother, the bishop and all the nobles who were influenced by him could only take a bath every few days depending on their rank and wealth. Usually they wiped their face and body with a clean linen cloth.

When Prince Condé came to the Château de Ang Lai, even if Fouquet had raised funds, their expenses were still very tight. Later, in order to satisfy Prince Condé's request, even the king had to succumb to the Seine. Luckily, bathing at this time is eye-catching, swimming is not a problem, and if you want, you can face nature as honestly as the ancient Greeks.

The noble brothers played with great interest in the bathing water for a while, until they were both tired, and the king sent Bontang, his headmaster, to tell the Queen Mother Anne that Philip rested with him tonight, and Bontang went to Now, bringing back Philip's servant, the king glanced at him: "Is mother still awake?"

   Bontang visibly hesitated, for he had seen not only Queen Anne, but Cardinal Mazarin, but he did not know whether he should let the king know.

  Fortunately, His Majesty the King did not care too much about this matter. He waved his hand, and Bontang came forward knowingly and pulled up the curtains in front of the bed for the king and his younger brother.

  ————

In fact, the Queen Mother Anne and Cardinal Mazarin had no personal relationship. The reason why they were still in the same room so late was because Charles, Duke of Cornwall, the son and heir of King Charles I of England, was coming. to Paris.

   "But he's a Protestant," Queen Mother Anne said.

   "Also a king," said the cardinal, funny because a bishop didn't care about faith, and a queen mother was pious enough: "Although he has not been officially crowned."

   "Then we shouldn't call him that," Anne said. "We should probably deny him entry to Paris."

   "He will be full of hatred."

   "So what?" Anne said angrily. "If Mary isn't my husband's sister, I don't even care about them."

Bishop    thought for a while: "Well, Your Majesty, wait until tomorrow, let's go and ask the king what he thinks."

  Annie raised her eyebrows in surprise, but she didn't say anything, just nodded.

   (end of this chapter)