A legend persistence wants that Louis XIV took only one bath during his lifetime… Nowadays, the Court of the Sun King is particularly decried for its deplorable hygiene . It is true that in the Middle Ages, we washed much more often than under the Ancien-Régime, a period which seems to show a regression in this area. Even if hygiene at Versailles seems light to us, the courtiers are far from being these dirt monsters those filthy, wiggly characters who relieve themselves in the hallways and over-perfume just to camouflage their body odor .
Water and cleanliness under Louis XIV
Contrary to popular belief, Versailles has running water supply from the reign of Louis XIII, when the castle was still only a modest hunting lodge. For his palace of marvels, Louis XIV demanded everything at the cutting edge of technology , including in terms of hygiene facilities. He spent colossal fortunes to bring water to the castle:water for the park and its countless fountains, but also for daily use , food and ablutions. The King did not forget his capital either, since in the years 1680/1685, he installed eleven fountains allowing the inhabitants to access what was then called “good to drink water .
Remember, however, that in the Louis-Quatorz period, the fear of water is very present:there are many treaties warning against water which, by dilating the pores, could penetrate inside the skin, contaminate the organs and transmit diseases … So we prefer the dry toilet:Louis XIV is rubbed regularly with a scented towel soaked in alcohol, which a courtier religiously presents to him at sunrise and sunset.
In addition, cleanliness does not have the same meaning as it does today. It is then closer to the notion of sharpness :a clean appearance that shows respect for those around you, an impeccable face, hands and feet.
What seems unhygienic to us nowadays is nevertheless intended at this time to be the must propriety :the monarch and his courtiers change their shirts up to five times a day! The people, who cannot afford this luxury, therefore wash more often than the courtiers...
On the other hand, we wash our teeth and mouth thoroughly:good breath is a sign of beauty! Louis XIV, for example, regularly rubs his teeth with an astringent mixture which is in fact the ancestor of toothpaste roots of rosewood, cypress, rosemary or myrtle, combined with opium-based pastes scented with aromatic plants such as anise, cinnamon, thyme or mint... Some courtiers, however, persisted in brush your teeth with tobacco (which is believed to be full of disinfectant properties!) or with urine essence , as Madame de Sévigné advises her daughter… We will remember the method of Louis XIV!
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Hygiene in Versailles:smelly hallways?
The supposed filth and vulgarity of courtiers are actually exceptions . While some greats, like the Princess of Conti, are known for their excessive cleanliness, others have carved out a solid reputation for being unclean unconcerned about their appearance. The Duke of Vendôme, grandson of Henri IV, receives on his commode as in the previous century, then his valets empty the basin and, (without washing it!) , fill it with water to shave…
These behaviors are exceptions, as they are considered very disrespectful . Thus, when François de Clermont-Tonnerre, Bishop of Noyon, is caught "pissing through the balustrade" of the chapel of Versailles, Bontemps, the King's first valet de chambre, is immediately notified. That is to say if we consider this attitude unacceptable!
Another myth:the received idea that Louis XIV relieved himself in public . Admittedly, a “business patent” sometimes gives access to this very intimate moment of the sovereign’s day, but invitations are rare . From 1672, Louis XIV installed his “chair cabinet” and retired there to go alone in his convenience chair. Public sessions then disappear almost completely.
Versailles is also equipped with nearly 350 commodes at the time of the Sun King:a number certainly still insufficient for the multitude of courtiers who walk the corridors of Versailles every day, but which allows us to put into perspective the nightmarish vision of hygiene at the castle... In reality, today, more than the hygiene of courtiers, it is the smells emanating from the palace that would disturb us:those of the stables mixed with the smell of food, to which we are no longer at all accustomed.
The baths of Louis XIV
From an early age, Louis XIV frequented bath establishments , which are more like places of pleasure, where he likes to be rubbed and perfumed. But the Sun King quickly becomes very sensitive to smells, which give him terrible migraines when they are too strong. The courtiers know it. In 1680, at the end of his relationship with Madame de Montespan, the monarch no longer hesitated to reflect on his mistress, who appreciated particularly strong perfumes. Louis XIV ended up taking a horror of them.
If the bathroom itself did not yet exist in the time of Louis XIV, the sovereign often bathed . He likes to take "river baths in the heart of nature, in the Seine at Saint-Germain. A habit contracted in his youth and which will follow him until the end of his life. The King likes to cool off , in summer, when the heat is overwhelming. The organization is meticulous , as with each move of the sovereign:all his officers of the wardrobe and the chamber follow the monarch and set up a tent in which he can undress and then get dressed at his ease.
Louis XIV also installed a superb bathroom apartment in Versailles, to live his love there with Madame de Montespan. It is above all a place of entertainment and prestige:multicolored marble paving, frescoes, monumental bathtub supplied with scented waters, rest room decorated with columns and a giant mirror… Nevertheless, the King bathes! To the disgrace of the Montespan, he had another bathhouse fitted out at the Château de Marly , which he is raising from the ground. He also takes "room baths », very often when returning from hunting or after a game of tennis, or on the recommendation of doctors.
The democratization of bathing under Louis XV and Louis XVI
In the 18th century, under Louis XV, we began to fit out bathrooms. The monarch has a bathtub for washing and another for rinsing , as well as a cold water supply and a hot water supply, thanks to the tanks and fireplaces installed above the room. As soon as he moved to Versailles in 1722, Louis XV demanded to be able to take baths in a copper bathtub , installed in a small functional room. The copper being hot, he often bathes sitting on a chair and not submerged.
In 1728, his wife Marie Leszczynska decided to enlarge his private apartments by adding an intimate room with a removable individual bath . Under Louis XV, almost every member of the royal family had their own bathtub, and even the reigning favorite and then friend of the King, Madame de Pompadour, requested the installation of a bathroom in her apartments.
It was really in the second half of the 18th century that the bath democratized and that courtiers also began to take it regularly. Under Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette, we rejected wigs, too powerful perfumes and the values of the Grand Siècle. We rediscover the benefits of water, light and delicate fragrances. Marie-Antoinette washes her legs every morning and every evening, and she also likes to take baths very much.
The Queen has a "hip bath with lid", which is brought to her room whenever she wishes. Very modest , she then bathes wearing a long flannel dress buttoned up to the neck, and again asks her women to stretch out a sheet, from the ground to above her head, to hide her from view. The water is often scented, with sweet almond, flax or marshmallow roots, and Marie-Antoinette likes to have a cup of hot chocolate while lounging in his bath.
On his example and that of the King, who also bathes regularly, courtiers no longer do things by halves. Princes and princesses, dukes and duchesses, aristocrats who sometimes have gigantic spaces in their sumptuous residences, magnificent bathrooms in marble and gilding were fitted out, with huge bathtubs at the cutting edge of technology… Bathrooms that were ultimately richer and more imposing than in Versailles, where space is very limited!
Find this article considerably reworked and enriched with many anecdotes as one of the key chapters of my new book :Unusual anecdotes of royalty!
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