Louis XIV of France, "L'État, c'est moi", and the royal 'we'

Upvote:0

I know that German does. When Francis Joseph became Austrian emperor in 1848, the year of revolutions, there was a joke that the "wir" or "we" in his proclamations stood for Windischgraetz, Jellac, and Radetsky, three generals fighting the rebels. But German is closer to English than French is. The Wikipedia article indicates the royal we is widespread in Europe.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_we 1

And here is a discussions that mentions its use in French, Spanish, German:

https://forum.wordreference.com/threads/majestic-plural-or-the-royal-we-pluralis-majestatis.1091632/2

And this site says:

Queen Elizabeth I certainly used it, as did many Russian rulers and French rulers.

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-royal-we.htm 3

Thus I think nous would be used as the royal we in French.

MAGolding 18717

📝 Was the Roman Empire based on a 'plunder economy'?
📝 Why was the Jay Treaty so hated by the American public?
📝 Was Pawiak prison in Warsaw originally for political or general prisoners?
📝 What tanks/armored vehicles are in these pictures?
📝 Why were nomadic tribes (like the Mongols) from the Eurasian steppes a much reduced threat from the 15th century onwards?
📝 Who was the first American woman to become a millionaire?
📝 Has a British peer ever come to live in a typically lower class way?
📝 When was the restaurant "invented" in Europe?
📝 Why didn't Gengis Khan invade India?
📝 What was the price of a horse around 1750?
📝 What turns a man into a tyrant?
📝 Was the country of Papua New Guinea a part of Indonesia ever?
📝 How did the French take the Republican Calendar?
📝 Historical examples of advanced societies that abruptly abandoned or changed religions?
📝 Is the Cypress of Kashmar on display in Baghdad?
📝 Authenticity of the Russian birch bark manuscripts
📝 Who is 'Ebinichibel' mentioned in the Borgia Map?
📝 Who decided on the name "Mexico"?
📝 What are the most recommended non-biased books on Egyptian History
📝 Orphism's alleged influence on Christianity
📝 Why didn't Native Americans have big sailing ships?
📝 Did indentured servants in British North America have job security?
📝 What happened to all the French guillotines?
📝 What happened to Muslim spouses who converted to Christianity during the 1923 Graeco-Turkish population exchange?
📝 What was the procedure for prosecuting criminals in England between the World Wars?
📝 How did Pancrace Royer die?
📝 Why did the US getting involved in the European theater in WW2?
📝 Why didn't the Hungarians help the battle of Kosovo?
📝 Did American slave holders typically give their slaves the names of Roman nobility?
📝 What were the rules of the migration to the Louisiana Territory in USA?

Source: stackoverflow.com

Travel Tips

Louis XIV of France, "L'État, c'est moi", and the royal 'we'

More post

Search Posts

Related post