Holograph draft of a passage of Siècle de Louis XIV concerning a deal made between Louis XIV of France and Emperor Leopold of Austria
Identifiers
CMV:
CMV32902
Repository:
Shelfmark:
MS 10, ‘Siècle de Louis XIV’
Title:
Holograph draft of a passage of Siècle de Louis XIV concerning a deal made between Louis XIV of France and Emperor Leopold of Austria
Collection(s):
Link to Archive Catalogue:
Link to Digital Resource:
OCLC Number:
Reproductions:
Content
People:
Incipit Diplomatic:
Cette raison detat fut bien extraordinaire.
Incipit Modernised:
Language(s):
In Own Hand:
Brief Summary:
Autograph draft of a passage at OCV, vol.13A, ch.8, p.136-37, l.26-62.
Detailed Summary:
The text recounts that Louis XIV was going to attack the sibling of his wife. All the brothers of Charles II, King of Spain, had died and Charles was weak and unhealthy. Louis XIV and Emperor Leopold of Austria had a treaty which decreed that Leopold would let Louis XIV take possession of Flanders on the condition that it would pass to the emperor upon the death of Charles II. Leopold regretted signing the treaty almost immediately and demanded that no court should know of it. No copies of the treaty were made and the only one in existence was placed in a metal cassette for which only Leopold and Louis XIV had keys. This cassette was given to the French ambassador in Vienna and Louis XIV sent sixteen of his bodyguards to accompany the courier in case the emperor changed his mind and tampered with the document whilst it was being transported. It was taken to Versailles. This, Voltaire proclaims, is how the emperor let the King of Spain be robbed.
Keyword(s):
Genre(s):
Status:
Physical Description
Material(s):
Extent:
1 f.
Format:
Dimensions:
245 x 185 mm
Hands:
1
Watermark:
Countermark:
Binding:
Additional Comments:
The paper features a faint horizontal fold line. There is a small area of discolouration to the right-hand side of f.1r and some of the ink has smudged in the centre of both f.1r and 1v.
Materiality Keywords:
Decorations:
Undecorated
Additions:
Voltaire has made revisions throughout. The phrase ‘etait ecoulée’ has been added by Voltaire in the top right-hand corner of f.1r.
Marginalia Keywords:
Inclusions:
A slip of paper in an unknown modern hand is included summarising the contents of the manuscript, providing a physical description of the manuscript, and locating the manuscript within Moland’s edition of the Œuvres complètes de Voltaire. The notes have been written in blue and red ink.
History
Date:
Ownership:
Origin (transcript):
Origin:
Provenance:
Bibliography
Bibliography:
J. Vidal-Mégret, Collection d’autographes littéraires, lettres et manuscrits des XVIIe, XVIIIe, XIXe et XXe siècles. 2ème partie. Catalogue de la vente aux enchères du 26 février 1969 à l’Hôtel Drouot (Paris, 1969), no.156 (4).
OCV Reference:
OCV Manuscript Reference: