Gloves

1680-1720, England	1720-40, France	1725-50, France
1750-70	1700-1780	Early 18th century, Spain
Italy	Leather, 1734, France	Back
1630	1680-1720, England	Russia
1700-10, England	1750, France	1750-75, Italy
17th century	Early 18th century, Hungary	Late 17th century, Spain

On the Toilette Table

Getting ready requires not only the make-up, wigs and clothing but also the equipment used to applying these things. Today, we have perfectly circular cotton pads, q-tips, colourful brushes etc. and similar items could be found on the toilette table of a courtier at Versailles. At the time it was very common to have small sets of the "nécessaire" made to match each other of luxurious materials - they were often delivered in practical cases or boxes ready to be carried with the owner.

Toiletries

"Bourdaloues"

A Bourdaloue is the French term for a chamber pot which would often be very decoratively carried out and in fine porcelain. It is almost a shame to think of what they were used for!

Corsets

1660-80, Spain	1671-80	1725-50
1730-40	1740-60, England	1750, France
1750, Spain	1750-60 (back)	1750-75
1755	1760s, France	1770, Italy
1770-80, France	1770-90, Belgium (Antwerp)	1775-89
1780	1785-89, England (back)	Late 17th century-early 18th century, France
	1750, Spain	Second half of the 18th century

Orders of Chivalry

As with all other royal houses the Bourbons were wont to hand out orders of chivalry as a symbol of gratitude - originally, most of the orders were  related to military services. Here are some of the most important orders of chivalry which were still greatly esteemed in the Ancien Regime.

Order of the Holy Spirit (L'Ordre de Saint-Esprit) 
Founded in 1578 the Order of the Holy Spirit was preserved for the nobility and eventually came to replace - or at least compete with - the Order of Saint Michael which had hitherto been the dominating order. Whereas the Order of Saint Michael had become so widespread that it became devalued in the eyes of the King and court, the Order of the Holy Spirit was to remain only for the nobility. To further enhance the order's prestige the number of knights were limited to 100.

To become a knight of this order you had to be at least 35 years old, be Catholic and be able to produce a noble lineage back at least three generations. However, there were some exceptions. The sons of the King were automatically knights of the Order of the Holy Spirit from birth but would first be initiated into the order at age 12. Princes of the blood could enter the order at 16 while foreign princes had to be at least 25.

The actual order is based on a cross with a white dove flying downwards. Surrounding the dove is a smaller green cross; between each wing of the cross is a fleur-de-lis.

Fun fact:
The Order of the Holy Spirit was permitted to use white wax on their correspondence which was allowed no other orders.

The order in portraits:

Charles Gaspard Guillaume de Vintimille de Luc,
Archbishop of Paris

Jean-Baptiste Colbert

Order of Saint Louis (Order de Saint-Louis)
The Order of Saint Louis was created in 1693 by Louis XIV. Every officer who had served 10 years in the French army would become a member of the Order of Saint Louis - here no noble lineage was required. The Dauphin was automatically a member. There were three ranks within the order: chevalier (no limited number), commandeur (limited to 24 people) and grand-croix (limited to 8 people). This could also only be awarded to Catholics.

Like the Order of the Holy Spirit, the Order of Saint Louis was set on a Maltese cross with Saint Louis in the centre holding a laurel crown in one hand and a crown of thorns in the other.

Fun fact: Axel Fersen was one of the foreigners who were awarded the Order of Saint Louis

Most chivalric orders were abolished during the revolution since it was thought that they brought back thoughts relating to the hierarchy of the old regime - which meant that they were dangerous.


The order in portraits:

Jean-Victor de Rouchechouart, Duc de Mortemart is wearing the
Order of Saint Louis

Orders as seen in portraits:

Louis XV wearing the star of the Order of the Holy Spirit and the Order of
the Star (L'ordre de l'etoile)

Jules-Hardouin Mansart wears the Order of Saint Michael

The Baron & Baronesse

Originally, a Baron was the vassal of the King but during the Ancien Regime a Baron had evolved into being a Lord in his own right. His duty was to administer a piece of land, albeit smaller than that of a Vicomte. The Barons did not enter the ranks of nobility before the 16th century when they were added as the lowest rank of the nobility. A barony could be sold off to anyone who aspired to advance in the world.

For members of the Noblesse d'épée and Noblesse de Robe the title of Baron offered an opportunity for the younger members of a large family to adopt a courtesy title, especially since these younger nobles often would not stand to inherit any title at all. Louis XIV eyed an opportunity to add to his treasury by creating a large number of baronies and then putting them up for sale. Since there were suddenly a lot more baronies to be had it became a lot cheaper to buy a Baron-title. While the old families frowned the addition of "new" nobles were a gift sent from heaven for the gene-pool. As with the other ranks of nobility it was common that a Baron married another Baron's daughter.

A Baron's crown

Rank: The Key to the Court

As is emphasized in "Madame Etiquette" precedence was a major part of the courtier's life at Versailles and consequently the rank you possessed was of vital importance. Rights, privileges and hope of further advancement all depended upon the rank you held; and they all came from one place: the King.

Here are the different ranks of nobility, (for further information of each title check the individual pages found on the front page) note that the titles mentioned beneath are not of the royal family:

• Duc (Duke)
• Marquis (Marquess)
• Comte (Count)
• Vicomte (Viscount) 
• Baron 
• Chevalier (Knight)

You might encounter other lists that name the title of Comte over that of Marquis but that is from the time of the French Empire, not the Ancien Regime.

At Versailles the hierarchy was not always so simple - quite the contrary. Questions such as where a foreign dowager Queen ranked or whether the children of a former King ranked lower than a present King was to be solved if the world of etiquette was to function. Eventually, this is how the final hierarchy of the French court looked:

Of these categories the first and the last contains so numerous positions that it is necessary to elaborate them further. First is the royal family:

Second, is the rest of the nobility. These were generally referred to as "non-titled" simply because they were not peers of the realm like the Ducs.

By birth, by office or by lettre?

There were three ways of becoming a part of the nobility:

First, by birth. Naturally, the children of nobles would themselves become nobles even though it was only the eldest son who would inherit the title. 

Second, by office. If the King appointed someone for an office it was not uncommon for the recipient to receive a title of nobility either immediately or after 20 years of service when he had proven himself.

Third, by letters patent. The King could grant anyone a title of the nobility through a letter patent.