Curia. The Royal Households of the French Court in the 17th and 18th centuries
With several thousand nobles, officers and servants, the royal households formed the stable nucleus of the court. In the same way, a staff, whose size and status reflected the rank and authority of the master, attended each adult member of the royal family.
These households left a wealth of documentation: descriptions, lists of staff (the “household audit”) and financial accounts. Foremost amongst these were the États de la France, books published in the 17th and 18th century, giving a detailed view of the royal households and how they were run.
The Curia research project, directed from 2007 to 2011 by Caroline zum Kolk, deputy to the scientific director of the CRCV, offers researchers useful scientific tools and documentation for studying the court and its members.
The Database
This database lists the members of the royal households, indicating their office and their wages. To date, 2,979 curial offices and 9,582 individuals have been listed:
État de la France, 1663 edition:
King’s household: 833 persons
Queen Mother’s household: 820 persons
Queen’s household: 443 persons
État de la France, 1674 edition:
King’s household: 1,139 persons
Queen’s household: 559 persons
État de la France, 1683 edition:
King’s household: 1,866 persons
Queen’s household: 610 persons
État de la France, 1702 edition:
King’s household: 2,620 persons
The data in this database have been taken from extracts transcribed from the États de la France.
Transcriptions
The État de la France books published in the 17th and 18th century provide a detailed account of the royal households and how they were run. The chapters on the households of the King, the Queen and the Queen Mother (if appropriate) for the years 1663, 1674, 1683 and 1702 are available for online consultation in PDF format:
État de 1663
Besongne (Nicolas), L’Éstat de la France, nouvellement corrigé et mis en meilleur ordre (...), Paris, publ. Estienne Loyson, 1663, 2 vol.
King’s household (250 pages): pdf document
Queen Mother’s household (51 pages): pdf document
Queen’s household (45 pages): pdf document
État de 1674
Besongne (Nicolas), L’Éstat de la France ou l’on voit tous les Princes, Ducs et Pairs (...), Paris, publ. Augustin Besongne, 1674, 2 vol.
The King’s household (350 pages): pdf document
The Queen’s household (55 pages): pdf document
État de 1683
Besongne (Nicolas), L’État de la France où l’on voit tous les princes, ducs et pairs, marêchaux de France, et autres officiers de la couronne (...), Paris, publ. Augustin Besongne, 1683, 2 vol.
The King’s household (399 pages): pdf document
The Queen’s household (54 pages): pdf document
État de 1702
Trabouillet (Louis), L’État de la France, contant tous les Princes, Ducs & Pairs & Marêchaux de France (...), Paris, publ. Charles Osmont, 1702, 3 vol.
The King’s household (668 pages): pdf document
Contributors in the Centre de recherche du château de Versailles
Élodie Thomas, Doctoral Student, Université de Versailles-Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines
Marion Müller, Doctoral Student, Johann Wolfgang Goethe University of Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Éloïse Rocher, Doctoral Student Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne
Agnieszka Samsel, Doctoral Student, Université de Versailles-Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznan, Poland
