La « mécanique » de Marly sous le règne de Louis XIV : les modalités techniques du logement et leurs conséquences sur l’ordre social

Just over three hundred years ago, Louis XIV decided to build a small domain for both himself and his entourage’s pleasure. The king constantly showed interest in the developments and the embellishment of this castle and its gardens, ideally situated between Saint-Germain and Versailles, until the end of his reign. Two centuries after its destruction, and maybe more than ever (as this colloquium proves) the Château de Marly continues to inspire curiosity and admiration. Two questions still need to be raised: What was the lifestyle of the occupants of Marly? How did the social rules fit within the building layout?Although the architectural structure has disappeared, we can answer these questions through the analysis of some physical data, that is relics in situ, either from excavations or “exiled” in other places or museums. A substantial amount of written and iconographic data allows us to reconstitute the lifestyle of the occupants of Marly, including the king, his family and his guests as well the guards and the servants. Marly incorporated a technical system of several structures, fixed and movable, covered and open-air, long-lasting and short-lived designs. The question is to understand how the occupants evolved and settled into this environment. In a new light we can allude to the fact that Marly’s mechanical environment produced a specific social organization.This article presents some concrete examples to illustrate those questions