This book presents an eloquent account of the power, character, and mentalité of the French church under Louis XIV and of its relationship to the crown and other elite institutions as well as its critics and congregations. Prominent historian Joseph Bergin investigates the background, recruitment, and management of the episcopate, illuminating the process of trial and error by which the king developed a flexible and effective system for appointing qualified and worthy men as bishops.Bergin shows how bishops were appointed and promoted, how no single set of rules ever obtained, and what the inherent limitations of the system were. With balanced judgment throughout, he relates the evolution of the bishops’ selection process to a range of issues, bolstering the story with well-chosen examples and many details of human interest.