Fr 1.2 59-59 Culture: La famille royale

 LA FAMILLE ROYALE
LES BOURBONS

A neo-classical painting of Louis XIV and his family, all dressed up like the Greek and Roman gods of antiquity. Louis XIV liked to pretend he was either Jupiter or Apollon, the Sun God. That is why he is called le roi soleil. His wife is the light-skinned woman sitting under him - Queen Marie Thérèse. The paon (peacock) on her right says that she is Junon (wife of Jupiter... Louis is playing both parts in this painting!) Between them is the dauphin (literally the "dolphin") the crown prince. He is depicted as Amour, the god of Love. Louis, the Queen, and the Dauphin form a tight triangle. The children in the frame are those royal babies who died as infants. Infant mortality was common in the XVIIe siècle, even among kings.

Here is the paon or peacock. Can you find it in the painting?

Is the woman on his left his mother? No. His mother is exactly in the center of the painting holding the globe of the world. She is the Queen Mother Anne d'Autriche, portayed as Cérès. The woman standing on the right is Louis's eldest sister. She is portrayed as Diane, the Moon Goddess, la fille ainée de la famille. 

On the far left of the painting we see a pale but princely-looking man; he is Philippe, the Duc d'Orléans, Louis's younger brother; here, a weaker version of the Sun God. On his right is his domineering wife, Henriette-Anne d'Angleterre as Flora, goddess of Spring.

The obsession with Greek and Roman gods started in the Renaissance, and peaked in the Baroque period - which was the height of Louis XIV's unifying power in France.

Louis XIV's regal signature

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L'ARBRE GÉNÉALOGIQUE
DU ROI LOUIS XIV

 Are you up to a challenge?

Try to write at least five sentences that show family relationships. I will give you plenty of examples so you can get started:

A. Louis de France, le Grand Dauphin est le fils de Louis XIV et Marie Thérèse d'Autriche.

B. Marie-Thérèse d'Autriche est la mère de Louis de France, le Grand Dauphin.

C. Louis XIII est le grand-père de Louis de France, le Grand Dauphin.

(1)..........................................................................................................

(2)..........................................................................................................

(3)..........................................................................................................

(4)..........................................................................................................

(5)..........................................................................................................

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LA FAMILLE DE DIEUX

The French use a different spelling system for both the Greek and Roman gods. Most of the differences between English and French are pretty consistent. For example, the gods in the English language that end with -o will end with -on in French: Juno becomes Junon; Apollo becomes Apollon, etc. The spelling may be identical for certain gods and goddesses, but the pronunciation is quite different. Mars is Mars in French and English, but if we write it in the IPA, we'll get different results:  British English /ma:z/; American /marz/; French /maʀs/.  

HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW
YOUR GREEK AND ROMAN GODS?
HOW ABOUT YOUR I.P.A.?

The following table is not in order. Rewrite the entries below. Try to pronounce each entry correctly by using the International Phonetic Alphabet.

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LOUIS XIV, THE TEENAGE KING

Dancing as the God Apollon

Louis XIV was a teenage king. He used to throw elaborate parties and dance for his guests. He would dress up as a Greek god, his favorite, the role of Apollo, the Sun God. While he danced, a poet would praise him out loud. One of his court musicians, an Italian named Lully, used to compose all the music for his ballets. Because of his close relationship with the king, Lully had many jealous enemies at court. One day, Louis had an accident while he was dancing, and was not able to dance any more. At that point in his life, he decided to turn away from music and concentrate on the affairs of state. Lully fell into disfavor from the king and went into oblivion. The association that Louis had with the Apollo did not die, he was called the Sun King. To this day in the Palace of Versailles, you can see the emblem of the sun everywhere.

The following video is a trio of the best dance scenes from the movie "Le Roi Danse". Enjoy!

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