Louis XIV “The Sun King” — Signed Royal Letters Patent, Versailles, 1702
Monumental Vellum Document Signed by Louis XIV and Chancellor Phélypeaux During the War of the Spanish Succession
An imposing original royal manuscript signed by Louis XIV, King of France, issued at Versailles on June 14, 1702. Written in French in a formal chancery hand across an exceptionally large sheet of vellum, the document concerns a royal financial judgment involving an office within France’s historic administration of waters and forests.
The manuscript begins with the celebrated monarch’s formal title:
“Louis, by the grace of God, King of France and Navarre…”
The document discusses the financial obligations and rights attached to an office of garde-marteau within the Eaux et Forêts. The garde-marteau was a royal forest official charged with inspecting woodlands and marking, with an official hammer, the trees authorized for cutting. The position was significant in a kingdom that depended upon carefully managed forests for building timber, military fortifications and naval construction.
References within the manuscript to an earlier ruling of the royal council indicate that these letters formally executed a judgment releasing or restoring funds associated with the office. A contemporary endorsement on the reverse summarizes it as:
“Letters issued upon a judgment ordering the release of his funds.”
Prominently signed “Louis” in the king’s characteristic hand and countersigned “Phélypeaux” by Louis Phélypeaux, comte de Pontchartrain, chancellor of France and one of the most influential ministers of Louis XIV’s government. A separate chancery endorsement at lower right records the document’s registration.
The document was issued at Versailles in 1702, in the sixtieth year of Louis XIV’s reign and during the opening phase of the War of the Spanish Succession. France was then struggling to secure the Spanish throne for the king’s grandson, Philip of Anjou, while confronting a European alliance determined to prevent the union of French and Spanish power.
Louis XIV reigned from 1643 until 1715—the longest reign of any sovereign in French history. His court at Versailles became the political and cultural center of Europe, and his rule came to embody the absolute monarchy of the ancien régime.
Condition
The large vellum sheet remains substantially complete, with the text, royal signature, Phélypeaux countersignature and registration endorsement all present. The vellum exhibits extensive original and later folding, pronounced creasing and wrinkling, scattered staining and surface soiling, edge wear and small holes or losses, including old mounting holes near the upper corners. Some portions of the text are faint, although much remains decipherable. The original applied or pendant seal is no longer present. The king’s large “Louis” signature remains bold, dark and visually impressive.
A dramatic royal document offering the autograph of the Sun King, the authority of Versailles and a tangible connection to the government of France at the height of the Bourbon monarchy.
Monumental Vellum Document Signed by Louis XIV and Chancellor Phélypeaux During the War of the Spanish Succession
An imposing original royal manuscript signed by Louis XIV, King of France, issued at Versailles on June 14, 1702. Written in French in a formal chancery hand across an exceptionally large sheet of vellum, the document concerns a royal financial judgment involving an office within France’s historic administration of waters and forests.
The manuscript begins with the celebrated monarch’s formal title:
“Louis, by the grace of God, King of France and Navarre…”
The document discusses the financial obligations and rights attached to an office of garde-marteau within the Eaux et Forêts. The garde-marteau was a royal forest official charged with inspecting woodlands and marking, with an official hammer, the trees authorized for cutting. The position was significant in a kingdom that depended upon carefully managed forests for building timber, military fortifications and naval construction.
References within the manuscript to an earlier ruling of the royal council indicate that these letters formally executed a judgment releasing or restoring funds associated with the office. A contemporary endorsement on the reverse summarizes it as:
“Letters issued upon a judgment ordering the release of his funds.”
Prominently signed “Louis” in the king’s characteristic hand and countersigned “Phélypeaux” by Louis Phélypeaux, comte de Pontchartrain, chancellor of France and one of the most influential ministers of Louis XIV’s government. A separate chancery endorsement at lower right records the document’s registration.
The document was issued at Versailles in 1702, in the sixtieth year of Louis XIV’s reign and during the opening phase of the War of the Spanish Succession. France was then struggling to secure the Spanish throne for the king’s grandson, Philip of Anjou, while confronting a European alliance determined to prevent the union of French and Spanish power.
Louis XIV reigned from 1643 until 1715—the longest reign of any sovereign in French history. His court at Versailles became the political and cultural center of Europe, and his rule came to embody the absolute monarchy of the ancien régime.
Condition
The large vellum sheet remains substantially complete, with the text, royal signature, Phélypeaux countersignature and registration endorsement all present. The vellum exhibits extensive original and later folding, pronounced creasing and wrinkling, scattered staining and surface soiling, edge wear and small holes or losses, including old mounting holes near the upper corners. Some portions of the text are faint, although much remains decipherable. The original applied or pendant seal is no longer present. The king’s large “Louis” signature remains bold, dark and visually impressive.
A dramatic royal document offering the autograph of the Sun King, the authority of Versailles and a tangible connection to the government of France at the height of the Bourbon monarchy.
