The Sword and the Flesh: The Incarnation of Power in the Time of the Last Valois@@@Le glaive et la chair : le pouvoir et son incarnation au temps des derniers Valois

Was it possible for anyone in the sixteenth century to imagine that monarchy could exist as an abstract institution separate from society ; especially from the military nobility ? The king needed to appear as its companion. In this respect Henri II served as a model, being both king and knight. Unlike his father, Charles IX exhausted his strength by hunting endlessly. As a youth, Henri III commanded the royal army, but, as king, he tried to establish a lasting peace. He thought of the prince’s body as a kind of Imago Mundi reflecting the virtues and vices of his subjects. Both needed to be controlled and purified. Could an anointed king accomplish such a task ?