Le parfumeur Martial : réalité historique du parcours d’un marchand mercier sous Louis XIV

The work of historians on perfumery in the Ancien Régime has brought a number of figures to light. This article looks at one of them, Martial, described as perfumer to Louis XIV. Historiography records him as the Sun King’s personal perfumer. Contemporary literary sources, however, paint a different picture, that of an artisan renowned for the quality of his scented gloves, and make no mention of any connection to the king. The source behind Martial’s promotion to king’s perfumer is a perfume treatise published by Simon Barbe in 1693. But research into his true identity, using notarial archives, provides a clearer picture of his activities and suggests a quite different historical reality: Martial Parmentier was a marchand mercier – a seller of fancy goods – who had built up a solid network of representatives in parliament circles and the royal court. He was not a member of the guild of glovers and perfumers, and sources reveal no link whatsoever with Louis XIV. However, this portrait highlights the strong interaction between the glove and perfume and fancy goods trades, and consumers’ lively interest in their products.