The body of my e-mail contained a typo of "XV" for Louis XIV, which was in
the subject line. French nobles of the Ancien Regime numbered about 400,000,
but the court nobility numbered only a thousand. "By requiring the nobles to
attend his glittering court, Louis [XIV] retained them in an elegant prison
where they could be more easily controlled." ---Civilizations Past and
Present," Vol. 2, by T. Walter Wallbank, et al.
Jean