The French nobility was an aristocratic social class in France from the Middle Ages until its abolition on 23 June 1790 during the French Revolution.
Pierre d'Hozier (1592–1660), genealogist and juge d'armes of France, employed to verify the French nobility
The abolition of privileges, relief by Léopold Morice at the "Monument to the Republic", Paris
A signet ring with coat of arms
Louis XIV, also known as Louis the Great or the Sun King, was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the longest of any sovereign. Although Louis XIV's France was emblematic of the Age of Absolutism in Europe, the King surrounded himself with a variety of significant political, military, and cultural figures, such as Bossuet, Colbert, Louvois, Le Brun, Le Nôtre, Lully, Mazarin, Molière, Racine, Turenne, Condé, and Vauban.
Portrait of Louis XIV, 1701
Louis XIV as a young child, unknown painter
Baptismal certificate, 1638
Louis XIV in 1643, just before becoming king, by Claude Deruet