Louis XIV was the king of France from 1643 to 1715. Many thought his birth was a miracle1. This is because King Louis XIII and his wife had been married for 23 years without having a child. When Louis was finally born, he was named Louis-Dieudonné, which means "given by God." The whole nation of France was
relieved that there was an heir2 to
take over the country, and they celebrated his birth.
Louis became king of France at the age of four after his father passed away. When he was young, his mother and a cardinal3 helped him rule. During this time, there were several rebellions4 against the government, but they failed. When the cardinal died, Louis XIV
declared that he would
govern France all by himself. He was only 23 years old.
Louis XIV thought he was very special. When he became king, he used pictures of the sun to represent himself. He believed that, like the sun, everything
centered around him. He was called the Sun King and Louis the Great because he was so
powerful.
Louis XIV
路易十四是1643到1715年間的法國國王。許多人都將他的誕生視為奇跡。這是因為國王路易十三和他的妻子結褵二十三年來一直都膝下無子。當路易終於出生時，他被取名為Louis-Dieudonné，意指『上帝所賜』。全法國對有繼位者來掌管國家一事皆感寬慰，大家更一起歡慶他的誕生。
年僅四歲的路易在他父王過世後，便即位成為法王。當他年紀尚輕時，他的母親和一位紅衣主教在旁輔政。在這段期間，反抗政府的叛亂活動頻頻發生，不過都終告失敗。紅衣主教過世時，路易十四便宣佈他會自力統馭法國。當時的他年僅二十三歲。
路易十四覺得自己很特別。他在成為國王時，就用太陽的圖案來象徵自己。他相信自己就像太陽一樣，萬物都以他為中心。他是如此有權有勢，因而被稱為『太陽王』和『路易大帝』。
