French Literature Reviews - 2026
A. Jouanna, Le Prince absolu. Apogée et déclin de l'imaginaire monarchique
History, Politics and Society
Review published in the critical dossier of Acta Fabula "Conceptions of Power in the 17th Century" (January 2017, Vol. 18, No. 1): "Power is not born absolute, it becomes so" by Caroline Labrune.
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Arlette Jouanna, Le Prince absolu. Apogée et déclin de l'imaginaire monarchique
Paris: Gallimard, "L'esprit de la cité" series, 2014
EAN 9782070147137
333p.
Price: 22.50 EUR.
Publisher's presentation:
Le Prince absolu follows Pouvoir absolu (2013). Shifting her focus to the France of Richelieu and Louis XIV, Arlette Jouanna examines the distinctive features of absolutist ideology as a system of legitimacy. She explores, over the longue durée, the intellectual, theological, and philosophical constructions of the concept of power, its manifestations, shifts, excesses, and tribulations.
In the seventeenth century, after the terrible rift of the Wars of Religion, the belief in the sacredness of the prince made him the sole source of law, tending to equate legitimacy with legality. Once seen as extraordinary and dangerous, absolute power became ordinary and beneficial; the art of governing thereby gained unprecedented temporal autonomy, giving rise to the novel concept of the impersonality of the State. Resistance to this political model, which wedded divine right and raison d'état, failed to establish itself during the Fronde.
Louis XIV magnificently embodied the majesty of the absolute State; yet his very power of embodiment ultimately obscured the link between power and justice, leaving it open to accusations of arbitrariness. His reign marked both the zenith and the beginning of the decline of the monarchy's sacred imaginary.
Arlette Jouanna contributes significantly to early modern French historical studies by examining how the trauma of the Wars of Religion shaped the rise of absolute power. Moving from the legacy of divine right to the emergence of raison d'état, the work explores how seventeenth-century thinkers reframed the legitimacy and legality of the crown. It connects the political philosophies of Richelieu and Louis XIV to broader intellectual shifts, illustrating how the monarchy sought to transcend personal rule through the abstract concept of the State.
This scholarly overview will particularly interest historians, literature scholars, and students of political theory investigating the cultural imaginary of the Ancien Régime. By analyzing both the apogee of royal majesty and the seeds of its decline, the book addresses enduring questions regarding sovereignty, justice, and resistance. It serves as a valuable resource for understanding the complex ideological mechanisms that sustained the French monarchy before the dramatic transformations of the Enlightenment.