History 102 with WhatifAltHist's Rudyard Lynch and Austin Padgett Explaining Europe's L'Ancien Regime
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Nov 1, 2025 Dive into 18th-century Europe as the hosts unravel the opulent world of L'Ancien Régime. Explore how Louis XIV transformed French nobility and the cultural phenomenon of Baroque life. Delve into the revolution’s roots in bureaucratic power and emerging Enlightenment ideals. Discover the shift from mercenaries to national armies and how elite boarding schools shaped Britain's aristocracy. The dynamics of literacy and religion across Europe reveal stark contrasts, while the impacts of major wars set the stage for monumental change.
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The Lancien Regime As A Cultural Plateau
- The L'Ancien Régime spans roughly 1648–1789 and represents a distinct aristocratic cultural plateau in Europe.
- It combined high cultivation, cosmopolitan elites, and institutional stability that also sowed seeds of its own demise.
Medieval Bars And Thousand-Year Houses
- Rudyard recounts visiting centuries-old buildings and medieval cellars in France to illustrate Europe's deep material culture.
- He contrasts that with modern American wealth that often avoids investing in historic aesthetic quality.
Aristocratic Culture Built Human Capital
- Aristocratic living aimed to cultivate human capital through manners, art, and governance across generations.
- Baroque artistic highs permeated daily life and rivaled Renaissance cultural achievements.
