[Image: Detail from July 1789 page from Volume 1 in the ‘Journal of Louis XVI’ collection at the Archives Nationales; via the Archives Nationales.]
Volume 1 encompasses pages in which Louis XVI wrote a record of walks, trips, reviews, festivals, engagements, ceremonies, and similar noted events, particularly those that occasioned visits from others or visits to specific locations. In some cases, the entries appear to have been written on a daily basis; in others, written in larger batches later on.
On July 14th, 1789, the king wrote “rien,” or “nothing.”
Although much has been made in popular culture of this particular phrase, it should be noted that “rien” is the phrase used most often to indicate that there were no official engagements, not necessarily that nothing noteworthy had happened. Aside from especially personal or extraordinary events–such as the births and deaths of his children, and the royal family’s forcible move to Paris–Louis XVI rarely wrote down anything other than these official engagements within these particular pages.
