Les tentes de guerre de Louis XV : résidences royales éphémères aux armées (1744-1747)

Abstract

In 1744, during the War of the Austrian Succession, Louis XV left Versailles to take over command of his armies in Flanders. Following Louis XIV’s lead, and partly modelling itself on the layout of a military camp model used by the Ottomans, the Court of France then underwent a military transformation, which was transposed to each of the king’s districts. Luxurious surroundings marked by ceremony and etiquette were preserved during the campaign by the installation of an immense group of gilded, richly decorated tents, including tents hosting the king’s guard room, the antechamber, the dining room, the ambassadors’ hall and the king’s chapel, as well as the many tents of the royal household. The most spectacular were the Turkish tent, a magnificent gift from the Sublime Porte, and the majestic timber lodgings, surrounded by canvas screens, which constitute the king’s apartments: the king’s chamber, wardrobe, and council chamber. The courtiers, ministers and ambassadors set up their tents next to the monarch’s, under the supervision of the army intendant, the Grand Marshall of the Royal Household, the Provost of the Royal Residence, and that of the army, forming a sumptuous and vast camp, and a veritable ephemeral royal residence.

Keywords

• Louis XV
• tents
• timber lodgings
• War of the Austrian Succession
• court society
• Royal Household