Saint-Simon ou o Sistema da Corte

by Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie

Verdadeiro teórico da hierarquia, obcecado pela idéia de categorias sociais, Saint-Simon tece um intrincado esquema para explicar o funcionamento da Corte e defender a idéia de pureza em relação a um grupo restrito da sociedade dos séculos XVII e XVIII. Nascido em 1675 e de origem não tão humilde como já foi afirmado — o que explica a obsessão com as categorias de duque e par —, Saint-Simon se tornou duque em 1693 e foi contemporâneo e amigo pessoal de Filipe d’Orleans, escritor que tornou-se chefe do governo da França e até chefe de Estado por designação no tempo da Regência.[…]

Genres: History, France, Biography, 18th Century, 17th Century, Research

Paperback

First published November 5, 1997

About the author

Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie was a French historian whose work is mainly focused upon Languedoc in the ancient regime, particularly the history of the peasantry.

Emmanuel Ladurie was professor at the Collège de France and, since 1973, chair, department of history of modern civilization. He has had a distinguished career, serving as Administrateur Général of the Bibliothèque Nationale de France (1987-94); member of the Institute (Academy of Moral and Political Sciences); Agrégé of the University, Doctor of Letters; Commander of the Legion of Honor (1996); and has taught at the universities of Montpellier, the Sorbonne, and Paris VII. Dr. Ladurie is the author of many historical works, including Les Paysans de Languedoc (1966), Histoire du Climat depuis l'An Mil (second ed., 1983), Montaillou, village occitan (1975), Le Territoire, de l'Historien (2 vols., 1973, 1978), Le Carnaval de Romans, 1579-1580 (1980), L'Etat royal (1987), L'Ancien Regime (1991), Le Siècle de Platter (1995), and Saint-Simon, le systeme de la Cour (1997).

Reviews

[Rianne Werring · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just so we're clear: this is not a novel, but rather a study of the circles of people present at and influencing the royal court during the later reign of Louis XIV and the regency of Philip, Duke of Orleans on behalf of the young Louis XV. It is a truly very interesting read and I personally recommend this book for anyone wanting to know more about the life of the French nobility, just know it won't be an easy read. And you may want to keep Wikipedia handy to fill you in on some terms and historical events.

[M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the real life gossip account.

[Lauren Albert · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an odd duck. I really enjoyed the first two chapters “Hierarchy and Race” and “The Sacred and the Profane.” The craziness of hierarchy at the French court has a certain humorous side. How can one not laugh at the chart Le Roy Ladurie gives of the “System of Seating.” Who could sit at all in the presence of a royal (depending on what level of royalty, of course)? And what could they sit on? Could they sit in an armchair, or only a chair with a back? Or, could they only sit on a stool? Of course, even this was better than not being high enough in rank to sit at all. The length of mourning veils is another fun topic—when a new “rank” in this area was added, all the ranks “above” had to have 2 aunes (or such) added to their “allowed” length to keep things in order.

Chapter three “Cabals, Lineages, and Power” might have been more interesting if he had made it clearer. I found myself confused by the piles of names in each “cabal.” The little details of life at court were the parts of this chapter that I liked—who could gamble with who, etc.

Chapter four, “Saint-Simonian Demography and Female Hypergamy” becomes something of a quantitative bore. The author analyzes first the life spans and positions of the people mentioned in Saint-Simon’s memoires and then the marriage arrangements of the same people by class (who married higher or lower).

The last chapter in this section, “Renouncers and Jesuits” was simply too repetitive. Le Roy Ladurie feels compelled to give example after example of people who felt the need to retreat from court and/or the non-religious life.

The section on the Regency really is, as others have pointed out, a separate book, though he sadly returns to listing his confusing “cabals.” It was a little tedious and I think it could have been made much clearer and more interesting as the summary quotes I noted at the end show (below).

“In taking up this challenge, Philippe and his aides followed four distinct courses, which for the sake of convenience we shall associate with the names of four individuals: Saint-Simon, Law, Dubois, and Cardinal de Noailles./The name “Saint-Simon” stands for the call…for more upper-class participation in government and some form of government by consensus. Of course, in Saint-Simon’s case, “upper classes” meant the aristocracy and nothing but…naturally at the expense of the robe…Out of this idea came polysynody, which in some ways was a reactionary development…but at the same time raised hopes for government by consensus and, even more, participation of the elite (in this case a very select elite, to be sure). The name “Law” stands for stimulation of economy and therefore relief for the masses. Both the bank and the government purposely set out to improve the lots of humble folks by reducing the twin burdens of debt and taxes. “Dubois,” of course, represents the reorientation of French foreign policy vis-à-vis the liberal powers of Europe—maritime, capitalist, Protestant nations that were not only liberal but also open societies. In 1715, the leading liberal powers were England and Holland. Finally, “Cardinal de Noailles” stands for openness in another sense, toward nonconformism in religious matters, meaning Jansenism and huguenoterie.” 336

“The Regency can be described in metaphorical terms as a period of thaw….[T]he regime learned to live with its contradictors (dissidents, Protestants, Jansenists, aristocrats, parlementaires). It learned how to tolerate or control its opponents (as one might endure an itch) rather than crush them as the previous regime had done. Change was not valued for itself, and the goal was not so much to transform the regime as to adapt, adjust, and “regulate” it in such a way as to preserve the privileges of the elite to the maximum extent possible.” 337

[Sherwood Smith]

Ladurie's scholarship derives from the Braudel "quantifier" school of the fifties through seventies. A great deal of excellent stuff has come from these scholars, who combed records and statistics pretty much ignored until the second half of the twentieth century, in favor of yet again another bio of the high ranking people and their politics. Because of them the life of the ordinary person begins to emerge into view, as well as the landscape of the past.

The downside is that this book, which I got hoping it would discuss Saint-Simon's thousands of pages of memoir, really doesn't. Ladurie puts out some interesting ideas, especially about the court cabals, and while he goes into excruciating detail, footnoting heavily from Saint-Simon's journal and memoir, he gets so bogged in the details a clear picture of personalities and motivations never coalesces out of the minutae. He is also too busy debunking fellow scholars to delve into his actual subject.

Further, the cabals Ladurie goes into to such an extent formed late in Louis XIV's life, and fell apart at his death, and they took place at a time when nothing much was going on in France compared to the dynamic earlier years, and the years of the Regency and Sceaux and Law, etc. Moreover, there isn't enough cross-sectioning from Dangeau's journals, and only scant attention paid to Liselotte von der Pfalz's letters.

The translation is adequate, the copyediting leaves a whole lot to be desired.

In short, unless you find it used, like I did, get it from the library.