Memoirs of the Sun King

In the Memoirs of Louis XIV (1638–1715), we are presented with a text that offers a unique insight into the beginning of his long, seventy-two-year reign. This collection of historical reflections and descriptions was created between 1665 and 1671, retrospectively covering the year 1661, when Louis took power from his mother, the regent Anne of Austria, and the years 1662, 1666 to 1668. Louis was not the sole author (the authors and editors of the texts were primarily the historian Paul Pellisson, Louis's son's preceptor de Périgny, and the architect of Louis's economic policy, J.-B. Colbert), but the preparation of the memoirs took place under the king's direct supervision.
Louis dedicated the memoirs to his son, the Dauphin Louis (1661–1711), and addresses him directly in the text. He wants to leave him an exemplary image of a prudent and responsible monarch who cares for his country and people.
This is not primarily a historical source, but rather a profound reflection on the interplay of perspectives, influences, and interests, at the centre of which the monarch moves like an omnipresent light, which, thanks to its dazzling brilliance, can also remain opaque without hiding. Historical events are depicted only in a condensed selection, and the text focuses on the complex relationship between the “inner self” and the “image” of the king-politician, the monarch by the Grace of God.
The memoirs deserve comparison with Machiavelli's The Prince and other classic works of political philosophy, and in a remarkable way, they anticipate the problems of contemporary, inherently mediatised politics.