Becoming a French Aristocrat: The Education of the Court Nobility, 1580-1715

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Focusing on the highest-ranking segment of the nobility, Mark Motley examines why a social group whose very essence was based on hereditary status would need or seek instruction and training for its young. As the "warrior nobility" adopted the courtly life epitomized by Versailles--with its code of etiquette and sensitivity to language and demeanor

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"This fine study of aristocratic education fits well into the larger debate among historians concerning the fate of noble power, prestige, and wealth in seventeenth-century France... [Motley's] conclusions and astute use of diverse sources will positively influence future work on early modern education in particular and aristocratic life in general."--The Historian