Traditional virtues, feudal ties and Royal Guards: the culture of service in the eighteenth-century "Maison Militaire du Roi".
Recent discussions of French army reform before the Revolution have revived interest in the more general topic of military culture in the ancien régime. One account of this period speaks of an evolution in criteria for military merit, one in which professional efficiency came to overshadow traditional martial virtues, such as fidelity and courage. But a review of the evidence, both archival and published, from the Maison militaire du Roi reveals that here, at least, old virtues continued to be central until the end, serving as expressions of a relationship with the king in which royal grâces were their natural complement. Viewed historically, this conception of service continued a feudal tradition. The milieu of the Maison was distinctive in the encouragement it gave to such traditions, but the function of the institution as a pépinière of officers for the army gave it a potentially wide influence in balancing the tendencies towards professionalism.
O'Brien
David C
DC
Department of History, Toronto, Ontario.
D003466:Cultural Characteristics; D005602:France / Q000208:ethnology; D049671:History, 18th Century; D054526:Men's Health / Q000208:ethnology / Q000266:history; D008889:Military Personnel / Q000193:education / Q000266:history / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000523:psychology; D008891:Military Science / Q000266:history; D012924:Social Conditions / Q000191:economics / Q000266:history / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D012933:Social Identification; D012945:Social Values / Q000208:ethnology; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D028722:Virtues