Richelieu's Army: War, Government and Society in France, 1624-1642

Cambridge Studies in Early Modern History

by Parrott

It is assumed widely that "war made the state" in seventeenth-century France. Yet this study challenges the traditional interpretations of the role of the army as an instrument of the emerging absolutist state, and shows how the expansion of the French war effort contributed to weakening Richelieu's hold on France and heightened levels of political and social tension. This is the first detailed account of the French army during this formative period of European history. It also contributes more generally to the "military revolution" debate among early modern historians.

Genres: History, France

628 pages, Paperback

First published September 6, 2001

Reviews

[Anton Tomsinov · Rating 5 out of 5]

David Parrott is my favourite historian alive and this is one of the very best books on Early Modern warfare, a welcome thorough investigation of a failed French attempt to go for a state-controlled army instead of a private enterprise. Apart from the military side the monograph is also very useful in touching issues of the contemporary patronage system, the evolution of nobility, the myth of nascent absolutism and bureaucracy, the myth of a great Richelieu. In fact, this book makes me wonder whether Richelieu was actually the worst ‘ruler’ of the seventeenth century France, rather than the best as older books presented him.

[Stephen Lockett · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am a general reader of history for broad overview rather than detail, so this book was too technical for my particular interest and I suspect my 3 star rating does not do the book justice. Parrot certainly is an expert in this narrow period.