The influence of the king and building a monument

Introduction:
In 16th century France, the French wWars of rReligions1 happened during
the reign of Henry IV, and during that period a lot of men would go to war for
their honor. Since it was a monarchial society, it was important to earn the
Kings trust if a person wanted to gain power and position in society. The
Duke of Longueville was a good example of a successful warrior that who
fought alongside Henry IV and successfully gained a title. His son built this
monument after his death, in order to leave a legacy and commemorate his
father. In this essay, we will look at this statue, and how it represents the
importance of status in 16th century France. By looking at the monument
itself, we will discuss how the importancet of is building a relationship with
the kKing and what kind of political implication it suggests for the persons
future career in the royal court.

Description:
This monument is a very detailed object, as it consists of different parts
that represent different things, and it is very well preserved. It is very large
compared to other objects in the same room, which makes it more significant
and suggests its importance. Perhaps it is a monument for a very important
royalty or nobility, because it would have cost a lot to commission such a big
and expensive piece.
The monument is mainly made of stone and marble, with parts of it
painted gold. The delicate details and attention paid in making it, suggests
that it was made by a very skillful, attentive or respectable artist, who was
likely and that person might have been a very prominent artist of that
period.
The four painted parts of the monument depicts horses and soldiers in
the process of a war perhaps , maybe it was the most famous victory for
the deceased. It consists of horses and soldiers, so that implies war. The four
statues maybe be goddesses or spiritual figures from that period. They are
dressed in drapes, with very curvy bodies, which was the beauty standard
then.
The column obelisk is very tall, and it is impossible for the human eye to
see every detail clearly, suggesting it was intentionally unreadable. The
patterns may only be for decorative purposes, including religious symbols
like angels, or patterns that reflected the arts during that period.
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Many patterns used in the monument are related to religion, like the
wings, and anglesangels. Also there are cultural patterns, like the horn,
perhaps an instrument of that time, and the hourglass. There is also a ring of
plants, which is usually presented for the decease, and thatwhich suggests
that the object to bewas intended to be a monument.

Deduction:
Because of its size, there may be a body buried inside. It may also act as
a grave in that case. It may or may not fit a body in the bottom. I imagine it
being a monument for people to pay their respect, for the deceased to leave
a mark in history, or to commemorate the war that was depicted.
I find the monument to be slightly intimidating, mainly because of its
size, and intriguing details. I wonder what other people thought of this piece
when it was first built , maybe they did not even like the person being
commemorated. Or maybe he was a beloved person, therefore it was built.
Now that it is placed in the museum, it just becomes a piece that stands out
from its crowd. It is merely a description of history, with no political or
religious value to its present day audience.
After observing the object, I have confirmed that the object is a
monument built for the Duke of Longueville, a close friend of King Henry IV of

France. It was used to bury his heart. It was commissioned by his son after
his death, where he was also buried alongside the heart of his father.

Speculation:
The culture that made thisThis monument was created within had a
monarchy system, making all royalty and upper class family more important
than the others. The closer they arepeople were to the king, the more
benefits they can could get. Their form of respect is was paid by making a
mark for the deceased, and they go towent great lengths to do so. It also
suggests that they are were rich, since they can could pay for art
commissions for such an extravagant piece. The angel patterns suggest the
culture is was religious and believeds in heaven. To go there, they may need
to build up a record of good deeds, or bravery, ergo the wars. It The
monument may also show depict how men are were always fighting during
that period, since it brings them glory.
The Duke of Longueville must have done something significant for the
king, like winning wars, since he was not technically royalty, and but still had
built a monument built for himself after his death. Since it is such a detailed
monument, he might have planned it before he died. Or maybe his family
was rich, so they could afford it after his death. I also conjecture that the war
depicted in the image was the changing point to his success later in life.
Without a status in society, I highly doubt they can could actually put a
monument like this anywhere in public.
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Final interpretation:
A good strong relationship with Henry IV was an important key to
succeeding in the royal court as it can would secure a position in the
monarchial society, and validates a person in society all reasons that would
justify to build a significant monument upon death for theirto commemorate
a persons achievements. When looking at the monument, we have a
glimpse into the history of the religious wars during the reign of Henry IV,
which gave the Duke of Longueville a chance to gain the Kings trust and the
title of Grand Chamberlain of France.2 .
Henry IV engaged in the French Wars of Religion, during his life time,
mostly between the Protestant and Catholic churches, during his lifetime.
Though he was baptized as a Catholic, he was raised a pProtestant. He had
changed his sides a few times during his life time, but the war that was
depicted in the relic monument was the battle of Arques, where he was
fighting for the Protestant church. The Duke of Longueville engaged in the
battle of Arques, which was depicted in the monument, along with the battle
of Senlis (1589). During the battle of aArques, the Duke acted as one of the
three commanders that who led the 8,000 soldiers to fight against the
Catholic army. The Duke was a key to the victory, as he consulted the King to
move from Dieppe to Arques for a more tactical battle.

2 A person in charged of the kings chamber and who acts as a personal assistant

Henry IVs army was greatly outnumbered, causing him to reconstruct

his strategiecs. He moved from his original camp site in the port of Dieppe to
the city of Arques, and reconstructed the entire army. By building a better
foundation, the Duke increased the chances of victory by a stretch. On
September 15th, 1589, the Catholic army, which was led by the Duke of
Mayenne, attacked the city of Arques. Though Henry IVs army was much
smaller at first, Queen Elizabeth sent reinforcements on the 23rd September
23, 1589,3, which helped Henry IVand successfully defeated the Catholic
army. Without the Duke of Longuevilles advise, this victory may have never
happened, and Henry IV would not have taken back Normandy and
continued to invade Paris.
After the victory, the Duke was granted the title of Grand Chamberlain
of France, which included the duty of overseeing the Kings chamber and
signing royal documents. The position held much political importance, as it
gave the Duke full access to the kKings private quarters. The chamber keys
that he owned were the symbol of his success, as it opened the doors to the
kKings personal life, allowing him to have more intimate contact with the
kKing. Because of his new found position, he was able to update his coat of
arms and added two golden keys to the back, while he was also entitled to
carry a fFrench banner. The coat of arms was a sign of status, the

3 Queen Elizabeth was of Protestant faith, and therefore showed support during this
war

achievements that one aimed for in the royal court. Moreover, during the Lit
de Justice,4, he was able to sit right by the kKing. The closeness of the
position, showed that the the Duke had earned the Kings trust. Even though
his role resembles what we refer asconsider a secretary or personal assistant
in the modern days, it was still a powerful status. He became includedsive
of in the monarchial political system, and none of it would have happened if
he did not win the Battle of Arques. Therefore, that battle was the most
important achievement of his life, and ultimately became part of the
monument.

The battle of Arques was indeed a great conquest, it became a great

example of men serving Henry IV in order to gain political power. Why else
would it be important to place this description into a monument, if the
deceased did not fight for glory and honor? According to the Oxford
dictionaries, a monument is a building, column, statue, etc. built to remind
people of a famous person or event.. This monument is a living prove proof
that men would fight to build a better relationship with the kKing, as it gave
them power and built up their own reputation. Even after they died, they can
could remind people of their status by depicting it through a relic monument
on their tomb.

4 Equivaelent to a modern day parliament

After researching about the history of the Duke of Longueville, I have

discovered that the tomb was built by his son, Henri II dOrleans. So
contradicting Contrary to my speculations, the Duke did not prearrange the
monument before his death. However, it still proved that a good relationship
with the kKing was a key to building this monument, as the depiction of the
war remained the major part of itthe monument. It The battle of Arques was
the biggest achievement to the Duke and his son, so much that they would
wanted people to remember its importance forever.
The four women statues not only act as a decoration, but there is
actually meaning behind each oneof them. They represent prudence, justice,
temperance and fortitude. Not only were those positive characteristics, they
also idolized the Duke of Longueville as an immortal figure for people to
commemorate. It These statues compleiments the depiction of battlerelic on
the tomb and creates a positive image for the Duke. Without the depiction of
the war, the four statues may not work as effectively as they did.
My speculation on religion was also correct, since he the Duke thfought
in a religious war. Both Catholics and ProtestantsAnd in those religions they
do believe in the idea of heaven. Also, not only was the family aristocratic
and rich, the Duke also worked closely with the kKing. The sons gesture of
commissioning this statue monument showed that the building a statue
piece was a way to pay respect in the 16th century France.

More

importantly, the good relationship with the kKing was indeed the key that led

him the Duke to success, and enabled him his family to build this exact
monument with the relics and statues.
In conclusion, winning the war was the key element that led to the
Dukes success and ultimately, to this monument being built , without a
good relationship with the kKing, the Duke of Longueville may not have
gained achieved as much achievement as he did to be entitled for such an
impressive big monument. Therefore, the monument stands as This
monument is a living proof of the Dukes achievements, but also the
considerable status he gained in society thanks to his how important it is to
build a goodpositive relationship with the kKing, in order to build a
monument.

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