Louis de Rouvroy, duc de Saint-Simon

(1675 - 1755)

Saint-Simon’s father, who had been made a duke by Louis XIII, enrolled him at the age of sixteen in the service of the Gray Musketeers in 1691. It was around this time that he began keeping a diary, which would provide the basis for his Mémoires, considered a classic of the genre. Saint-Simon fell out of favor with Louis XIV, who had ascended the throne in 1643, when he opposed a policy of the king that limited the power of the nobility. He returned to the court in 1715, serving the regent of Louis XV, and retired from royal service in 1723.