Palace Activity:
Philip of Spain (1556-1598) built the Escorial and Louis XIV of France (1643-1715) built Versailles. Starting with the pictures of these palaces shown below, analyze the similarities and differences in the conception and practice of monarchy between these two kings. (Remember to respond to the question in 6-8 sentences (yes it can be longer) and to respond to two of your classmates answers in 4-6 sentences. Do not just agree or disagree without defending or justifying your argument.) Think above and beyond the common answers that you may see. Be sure to challenge your classmates with controversial tactics, actions or selections. Good Luck!!!! Go Mustangs!!!
Philip of Spain (1556-1598) built the Escorial and Louis XIV of France (1643-1715) built Versailles. Starting with the pictures of these palaces shown below, analyze the similarities and differences in the conception and practice of monarchy between these two kings. (Remember to respond to the question in 6-8 sentences (yes it can be longer) and to respond to two of your classmates answers in 4-6 sentences. Do not just agree or disagree without defending or justifying your argument.) Think above and beyond the common answers that you may see. Be sure to challenge your classmates with controversial tactics, actions or selections. Good Luck!!!! Go Mustangs!!!
10 comments:
The palace of Versailles was built by Louis XIV of France and the Escorial was built by Philip II of Spain. By examining these two palaces, it may be seen that there were many similarities and differences between the two kings' perception and practice of monarchy.Louis XIV and Philip II were both absolutists, and believed that they should be the supreme rulers of France and Spain, respectively. However, Louis XIV did not want to be a national symbol serving no legitimate purpose. He wished to control the military, economy, foreign affairs, and the administration of the kingdom and of justice.He believed that the king of France should be the best that France has to offer- being served by even the most powerful lords of France. Philip II thought of himself as Catholic first, and king of Spain second. Opposite to Louis XIV, Philip II preferred to sit in the Escorial and pray, pour over records, and live more as a monk than as Louis XIV's conception of a king.Philip II never wanted to take much of an active part in the administration of his kingdom,
Phillip of Spain decided to design the Escorial as a monument recognizing the role of Spain as the center of the Christian world. Phillip loved the location. He also intended the place to be the tomb of his parents, Isabella and Charles, himself, and his descendents. The escorial palace has many interior courtyards. It has many interior towers. It also has enclosed passageways, courtyards, and chambers. The Escorial palace serves as a monastery, pantheon, a basilica, a convent, a school, a library, and a royal palace. Each corner has a square tower with a round dome.The Escorial Palace is identified as a gothic palace. The domes are supported by columns.The palace also has many rectangular windows.
The court of Versaille was a symbol of political power, thus emphasizing the system of absolute monarchy. Louis loved the location. It started out as hunting lodge. Then Louis XIV began to expand it. There is a marble court.It also has many fountains around the gardens. It is also known as the Baroque palace. it has rectangular towers. it has interior passageways, just like the Escorial. It also has gardens and courts like Escorial. Versailles doesnt have the domes however. Both have towers.
Both monarchs obviously wanted to hold luxurious palaces because both monarchs received funds to expand and improve it. This may also represent how these monarchs wanted to expand their empires.
When i saw these two palaces, it was easy to see they had one simularity, their size, although luis XIV is larger, they are both of larg size. A diffrence that one could notice in reguards to monarchy is that Louis XIV was willing to spend money to house nobles. another simmularity one could notice is that both believed in absolutism one can notice by the size of both the Escorial and the Versailles. One can also notice the type of ruling and daily life the two kings preffered. Philip preffereed religiouse activetys such as praying. louis the XIV prefrered battle and governing to prayer. although both had diffrent view on how they should rule, they both believed that they are suppream, which is evident in the arctetchiture of their palaces.
The Palace of Versailles and The Escorial are both big and beautiful palaces but they were built for different reasons. The Escorial, butlt by Philip II of Spain, was built between 1563-1684.
Philip wanted the palace to be built to be a symbol of Christianity in response to the Protestant reformation. He also intended this palace to be a burial ground for his family. Many Spanish kings are buried there, both Bourbons and Hapsburgs. The Escorial looks more like a fortress with a forbiding look then a palace. There are many sections to the Escorial, such as the library, the basilica, Palace of Philip II, Pantheon of the Princes, etc. The palace of Versailles, built by Louis XIV of France, was built between 1669-1682. The palace was originally built as a hunting lodge for Louis because he liked the hunting grounds aronud the area. Versailles was eventually built to be one of the largest palaces in the wourld. With the building of the palace Louis hope to keep an eye on nobilty to keep control of them. the palace of Versailles has many fountains and gardens, as well as a hall of mirrors, napoleans bedroom, etc. Both palaces are great but the reason for each being built was different.
Both Philip of Spains Escorial and Louis XIV of Frances Versailles had one major thing in common, the size. Both are huge palaces with several rooms, and nothing but space, hallways, and gardens. The escrorial was built to help Spain in their atempt to aid the Counter-Reformation. It is the smaller of the two palaces, just as phillip had a smaller reign.Versailles was a center for political power and is known as a building that symbols absolutism. This reflects Louis XIV because he was an absolute monarch ruler, who loved war. The escrorial and versailles were both palaces of magnificent size and structure, however they both represent two different things.
IN RESONSE TO
stephie_ruiz
You went into great detail of why the palaces were built, and how they were designed. You also maentioned that they loved the location, even though they wouldnt be typical locations for palaces. I also liked how you tied the expansion of the empires into the expansion of the palaces. Both were inevitable and needed.
Jordan Alexis
You broke up how each ruler reigned and how it went with the palaces and that helped answer the question. Although i do not agree with your statement that, "Philip II never wanted to take much of an active part in the administration of his kingdom." He led the way to the Netherlands being almost completely reconquered and he uniting Portugal and Spain, if he didn not take part in ruling, he would not have been able to accomplish these things.
The pictures of the very beautiful palaces show the Escorial of Philip of Spain and the palace of Versailles built by Louis XIV. The reason for the building of the Escorial was to honor St. Lawrence, and the victory over the Frence. Also, it was Phillip's reaction to the Protestant Reformation. It showed the power of the Spanish crown. The Escorial also was a burial site, for bodies of kings, including himself, and parents Charles I and Isabell. It had interior courtyards and was also used as a basilica. On the other hand the palace of Verasailles was where the kings of France would live from 1682 to 1790. Its physical features included the Latona basin, which had gardens and fountains; the halll of mirrors, where the king would use his power; and the baroque palace which served as a symbol of civilization and pleasure. Similarities are that both had to do something with nobility, for example the Escorial with representing the Spanish Crown and the palace of Versailles with it being the residence of French Kings. A difference was the reason for building Philip of Spain's intentions were to Honor French victory and recognize the Protestant reformation. While Louis XIV wanted to impress the people of France to show how much power he had.
In response to stephie_ruiz...
I agree with your statement, that both monarchs wanted to build a better monarch than what they already had. And that, that is the reason why both palaces were very extravegant and luxurious. You also added that the monarchs wanted to expand their empires, which I also agree with.
In response to beccaxlynn...
I agree with your statement and admire the point you brought up that Louis could, in a way, watch nobility. This is to keep them in control and not let them get more power than himself. Also, I do agree that the reason for building each was indeed very different. As I stated in my own response.
The palaces shown are similar and different in ways that can be explained. One of the Palaces, Versailles was built by Loius XiV as a superioirty complex and to have his royal meeting in lavish, absolute pleasure and power. He wanted Versailles to reflect how h governs his territory which told a lot about the people that would stay at Versailles. Phillip of Spain built the Escorial more for pragmatic reasons. He wanted for it to reflect his reverence of Christianity and his family members posthumous welfare. The palaces have diffent appearances which may be a reflection the way they governed their state. The Palace of Versailles was a more grandeur lavish looking building which seemed the kind of place that conceited upitty first estate people interact. However, the Escorial is a more austere and more formal look which seems to hold prestigious and practical meeting s for the welfares of the state rather than the people who govern it.
Brittany:
I loved your succinct and clear descriptions of the palaces and I love how you go straiught to the point. Although I wish you could have elaborated a bit more on possibly how the palaces affected the rulers in the people's perspective.
beccaxlynn
good job on describing everything in detail although their were some points that you made that could use some backup.
The palace of Versailles built by Louis XIV and the Escorial built by Philip of Spain have many similarities and differences. Louis XIV wanted a palace to rule in and show that he was believed in absolutism very much. He wanted people to know that he controlled pretty much everything like the military, foreign affairs, and the economy. He also housed nobles at the palace. The Escorial was a religious palace. Even Philip of Spain put his religion before everything. Many Spanish kings or monarchs were even buried there. Both placed were someone you could learn very much from. They were both large and beautiful in different ways.
STEPHIE_RUIZ
I liked how much details you put into describing the two palaces. You also showed what Louis and Philip wanted from the palaces and how they organized them. We had similar ideas about the palaces and what they liked about them.
AKILAHRA
You used many details as to why the palaces were built and the similarities and differences between them. That was very good. I liked how you put dates in there also so whoever reads it will know exactly what is going on.
The palace of Versailles was built by Louis XIV of France and the Escorial was built by Philip II of Spain. These two palaces were built for some similarities and differences between the two kings' perception and glory. Each king set his own goals for his reign, and to set the bar for all the other monarchs to follow. Both Louis XIV and Philip II had religious issues to pay attention to, organized their power in their kingdoms, raised militaries, and made plans for the expansion of their own beliefs. Aside from these aspects of the two kings' beliefs and practices of monarchy, the architecture of their palaces reflected their ideals, or personal beliefs, and the interpretation made by the painters of the palaces reflects the attitudes of the two kings toward life. The Escorial was more closed off than the Versailles. Like Philip he was a private person, and he was close to God. Louis was all about expanding his kingdom.
in response to akilah
i agree that the Escorial was built for religious reasons, and you said that the kings lived in the Versailles? but didn't Philip live in his palace for a while such as Louis? i'm impressed that you put alot of details on why the palaces are similar and how the are different from each other.
jordan
when you said the Philip II thought of himself as Catholic First, i think it would have been better if you would go on to say that the palace holds a church in the middle that is the biggest part of the whole palace. i think your arguement would have been stronger if you connected the two. but other than that i think you had alot of explaination on why the kings wanted to build the palaces.
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