France & the Revolution essays

France & the Revolution essays The primary issue that plagued France during the period leading up to the Tennis Court Oath and the Oath Abolishing Feudalism was the disparity between the different social classes in French society. One driving force of this disparity was the amount of monies spent by the monarchy and the first two estates of France that were funded by taxes levied, tithes demanded and rents imposed upon the Third Estate. Another was the lack of respect that the nobility showed towards the middle class of the Third Estate, the bourgeoisie. This group of about a million people consisted of doctors, lawyers, merchants, manufacturers and entrepreneurs who were the wealthiest demographic group in France; yet were still classified as members of the Third Estate and thus treated as inferior by the first two. Finally were the desperate conditions endured by the peasants; twenty-five million people held down with no hope or means of improving their lives. Louis XIVs reign truly exemplified the concept of an absolute monarch who only had God to answer to. It was only on his deathbed that he that expressed regrets about his life as advice to his heir, Louis XV. He encouraged his great-grandson to do more for the people of France than he had done. "My child, you will soon be the king of great realm... Try to preserve peace with your neighbors. I have been too fond of war. Do not imitate me in that, nor in the too great expenditures I have made. Lighten the burdens of your people as soon as you can, and do that which I have had the misfortune not to accomplish myself." The reign of Louis XV clearly shows that he did not pay much attention. Even though he was able to avoid the costs of wars until 1740; Louis XVs appetite for opulence, plus the lack of a proper banking system and the lack of fiscal support from the nobility created a financial disaster in France. In light of the failures of his grandfather,...

A Blessing in Blood

A Blessing in Blood A Blessing in Blood A Blessing in Blood By Maeve Maddox The English words blessing and blood are closely related. Old English blod came from P.Gmc *blodam, a word that in a still earlier form may have meant to swell, gush, spurt, or that which bursts out. The English word blood has cognates in several other languages: German: Blut Dutch: bloed Swedish: blod Danish: blod Norwegian: blod Yiddish: blut Old English bletsia, bledsian, bloedsian, meant to consecrate, make holy, give thanks. The P.Gmc form of the word was *blothisojan, mark with blood. The word bless is unique to English. Originally used for the act of sprinkling a pagan altar with blood, the word was adopted by Christian translators to render into English Latin benedicere and Greek eulogein which had been used to translate Hebrew brk, to bend (the knee) in the act of worship. Towards the end of the OE period, bledsian took on the meaning make happy because of the words resemblance to OE blià °s, bliss, merriment, happiness, grace, favor. Bliss comes from a P.Gmc. word meaning gentle, kind, as does blithe. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Good At, Good In, and Good With50 Idioms About Roads and PathsHow Verbs Become Adjectives