Bulletin du Centre de Recherche du Château de Versailles (Apr 2018)
Avignon 1701
Abstract
After leaving their brother, the Duke of Anjou, who became king of Spain, at Saint-Jean-de-Luz, the dukes of Burgundy and Berry made a solemn entry into Avignon, reported by numerous sources. Chapter registers, accounts of consuls holding municipal power, published accounts, travellers’ letters and diplomatic correspondence have been conserved and recall the independence of the capital of Comtat Venaissin from the Kingdom of France. Seconded by the vice-legate, Pope Clement XI wanted to take advantage of this situation to strengthen his authority in Avignon. For his part, should Louis XIV not have secured the Vatican’s support of the on the eve of the War of Spanish Succession in order to rally as many European powers as possible to his cause? At the heart of these concerns, the Jesuit Bontous, coordinator of the celebrations, played a pivotal role by favouring the Roman Catholic religion as defended by the House of Bourbon as a central theme. The subject of the revocation of the Edict of Nantes is even more developed than that of Philip V’s accession to the Spanish throne. In urging Pierre Peru to create an equestrian statue of Louis XIV slaying a hydra, which symbolized Calvinism, was he not opposing any challenges from the other side of the Rhône, which the next year would be the site of the Camisards revolt? The artistic dimension of this royal reception cannot be forgotten: in addition to the influence of ancient and papal Rome, the undeniable originality of the creators of Avignon and Provence, it is worth mentioning the choice of John Cotelle the Younger, the references to the painting of Charles Le Brun and the music of Michel Richard Delalande, all helping evoke the splendour of Versailles to better welcome the Sun King’s descendants to the papal city.
