The phrase ‘concernant le XVIe siècle en France’ is written in Voltaire’s hand.

The book opens with a preface entitled “avertissement”, that can be translated as follows: “this collection volume contains the elite of the best anecdotical songs from the ministry of the Cardinal de Richelieu until now: attention was paid to the accuracy of the names; to the order and faithfulness of periods, and of interesting facts; to the correctness of the marginalia […].” The collection covers mostly the reign of Louis XIV of France and the beginning of the reign of Louis XV of France. The songs seem to mock a wide range of subjects, but focus predominantly on the aristocracy, the court, the government, and the clergy, and refer to many current scandals, military events, and political affairs. Many songs are quite bawdy, especially the songs relating to ladies of the court – the three mistresses of Louis XIV (Louise de La Vallière, Madame de Montespan, and Madame de Maintenon) are well represented there. At pp. 510-515 there is also a song entitled “Autres Mirlitons” on the subject of homosexuality, with marginal notes explaining that it is “about the young lords of the court”. Some other noteworthy songs include:
– songs about John Law (1671-1729), the Scottish economist who was a minister under Louis XV; the annotator notes how he was apparently hanged in effigy in London after he was condemned for murder.
– a song at pp. 525-531 that has a reference to Mississipi, and one at pp. 381-388 to the Goa Inquisition (the Portuguese Inquisition in India).
– a song at pp. 553-554 about the philosopher Voltaire relating to his altercation with the Chevalier de Rohan in 1726.
– songs about Jansenism, and (at pp. 557-559, 565-567, 579-582) on the recent Cadière affair (1730-31), the scandalous case of a Jesuit confessor who was accused of sexually abusing a young female penitent, whom he in retaliation accused of witchcraft.

The earlier songs are of the “Mazarinade” variety, with a large portion of the later 17th-century examples directed against the court of young Louis XIV, presided over by Cardinal Mazarin. Later songs include satires on John Law and his disastrous speculation in the Mississippi project, on the religious cult of the Convulsionnaires in Paris, on the morality of the clergy and of the women of the Paris theatre, and one on Voltaire, condemned for his Lettres philosophiques.

Reichardt begins by raising his objections to Goethe’s last note concerning the representation of Voltaire in Rameaus Neffen, a text after Diderot. He objects to the selection, sequence, and formulation of the characteristics and then questions whether Louis XIV represented the French royal character more that Henry IV. He concludes by mentioning the very active ministerial governments under Mazarin and Richelieu.