Decadence, Radicalism, and the Early Modern French Nobility

The Enlightened and Depraved

Nonfiction, History, Modern, 17th Century, 18th Century, France
Cover of the book Decadence, Radicalism, and the Early Modern French Nobility by Chad Denton, Lexington Books
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Chad Denton ISBN: 9781498537278
Publisher: Lexington Books Publication: December 1, 2016
Imprint: Lexington Books Language: English
Author: Chad Denton
ISBN: 9781498537278
Publisher: Lexington Books
Publication: December 1, 2016
Imprint: Lexington Books
Language: English

The image of the debauched French aristocrat of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries is one that still has power over the international public imagination, from the unending fascination with the Marquis de Sade to the successes of the film Ridicule. Drawing on memoirs, letters, popular songs and pamphlets, and political treatises, The Enlightened and Depraved: Decadence, Radicalism, and the Early Modern French Nobility traces the origins of this powerful stereotype from between the reign of Louis XIV and the Terror of the French Revolution. The decadent and enlightened noble of early modern France, the libertine, was born in a push to transform the nobility from a warrior caste into an intelligentsia. Education itself had become a power through which the privileged could set themselves free from old social and religious restraints. However, by the late eighteenth century, the libertine noble was already falling under attack by changing attitudes toward gender, an emphasis on economic utility over courtly service, and ironically the very revolutionary forces that the enlightened nobility of the court and Paris helped awaken. In the end, the libertine nobility would not survive the French Revolution, but the basic idea of knowledge as a liberating force would endure in modernity, divorced from a single class.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

The image of the debauched French aristocrat of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries is one that still has power over the international public imagination, from the unending fascination with the Marquis de Sade to the successes of the film Ridicule. Drawing on memoirs, letters, popular songs and pamphlets, and political treatises, The Enlightened and Depraved: Decadence, Radicalism, and the Early Modern French Nobility traces the origins of this powerful stereotype from between the reign of Louis XIV and the Terror of the French Revolution. The decadent and enlightened noble of early modern France, the libertine, was born in a push to transform the nobility from a warrior caste into an intelligentsia. Education itself had become a power through which the privileged could set themselves free from old social and religious restraints. However, by the late eighteenth century, the libertine noble was already falling under attack by changing attitudes toward gender, an emphasis on economic utility over courtly service, and ironically the very revolutionary forces that the enlightened nobility of the court and Paris helped awaken. In the end, the libertine nobility would not survive the French Revolution, but the basic idea of knowledge as a liberating force would endure in modernity, divorced from a single class.

More books from Lexington Books

Cover of the book Grief and Romantic Relationship Dissolution by Chad Denton
Cover of the book The Santa Marija Convoy by Chad Denton
Cover of the book The Normalization of War in Israeli Discourse, 1967–2008 by Chad Denton
Cover of the book The Illusion of the Post-Colonial State by Chad Denton
Cover of the book Frames and Connections in the Governance of Global Communications by Chad Denton
Cover of the book Finite Transcendence by Chad Denton
Cover of the book Freedom and the Rule of Law by Chad Denton
Cover of the book Tourism and Language in Vieques by Chad Denton
Cover of the book Migration and Xenophobia by Chad Denton
Cover of the book Roth after Eighty by Chad Denton
Cover of the book The History of Futurism by Chad Denton
Cover of the book Social Exclusion, Power, and Video Game Play by Chad Denton
Cover of the book Anthropology of Tourism in Central and Eastern Europe by Chad Denton
Cover of the book Retrospective by Chad Denton
Cover of the book Language, Literacy, and Social Change in Mongolia by Chad Denton
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy