| | Alongside official images and the discourse emanating from the court, Frenchmen followed a nonofficial discourse comprised mainly of clandestine publications, popular songs, and rumors, which provided an alternative interpretation of the king and his government. They focused the miseries caused by bad government, but also carried the hope for a better future in the event that the king escaped the influence of his ministers and mistresses and took the government into his own hands. On the other hand, petitions addressed either directly to the king or to his ministers exploited the traditional imagery and language of the monarchy and king, while the numerous denouncers of fake conspiracies against the king sought to manipulate the weaknesses of the monarchical system for their own ends. These varying images of the king abounded in self-contradictions that reflected the people's amalgamation of their everyday experiences with the ideal of the monarchy.<ref>Jens Ivo Engels, "Denigrer, Esperer, Assumer La Realite. Le Roi de France perçu par ses Sujets, 1680-1750" ["Disparaging, Hoping, Taking on Reality: the French King as Perceived by His Subjects, 1680-1750"]. ''Revue D'histoire Moderne et Contemporaine'' 2003 50(3): 96-126.</ref> | | Alongside official images and the discourse emanating from the court, Frenchmen followed a nonofficial discourse comprised mainly of clandestine publications, popular songs, and rumors, which provided an alternative interpretation of the king and his government. They focused the miseries caused by bad government, but also carried the hope for a better future in the event that the king escaped the influence of his ministers and mistresses and took the government into his own hands. On the other hand, petitions addressed either directly to the king or to his ministers exploited the traditional imagery and language of the monarchy and king, while the numerous denouncers of fake conspiracies against the king sought to manipulate the weaknesses of the monarchical system for their own ends. These varying images of the king abounded in self-contradictions that reflected the people's amalgamation of their everyday experiences with the ideal of the monarchy.<ref>Jens Ivo Engels, "Denigrer, Esperer, Assumer La Realite. Le Roi de France perçu par ses Sujets, 1680-1750" ["Disparaging, Hoping, Taking on Reality: the French King as Perceived by His Subjects, 1680-1750"]. ''Revue D'histoire Moderne et Contemporaine'' 2003 50(3): 96-126.</ref> |
| | * Ashley, Maurice P. ''Louis XIV And The Greatness Of France'' (1965) [https://www.amazon.com/Louis-Greatness-France-Maurice-Ashley/dp/0029010802/ref=sr_1_22?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1202467644&sr=1-22 excerpt and text search] | | * Ashley, Maurice P. ''Louis XIV And The Greatness Of France'' (1965) [https://www.amazon.com/Louis-Greatness-France-Maurice-Ashley/dp/0029010802/ref=sr_1_22?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1202467644&sr=1-22 excerpt and text search] |