Journal of Louis XVILouis XVI

In his private journal, begun as dauphin in 1766, Louis XVI briefly noted hunts, ceremonies, and daily activities. For 14 July 1789, the day of the Bastille’s fall, he recorded only “rien.” This laconic entry, likely meaning no hunt took place, was later read as a symbol of the king’s blindness to revolution. Preserved at the Archives Nationales, it remains one of the most cited documents of his reign.