# Tartuffe is first played at Versailles and immediately polarises dévots, king, and town

Date: 1664

## The fact

On 12 May 1664 Tartuffe was first played, in a court festival, and at once became a public quarrel about hypocrisy, religion, and the stage.

It is one event.

## Context

The later prohibition is the state’s. Split the 1669 authorised play as access and anti-hypocrisy gain.

[Molière](/people/moliere)’s documented role is bounded by other offices and collaborators named in the sources below. Sharing a field with them is not a reason to drop a documented act, and it is not a reason to assign later consequences done in the name after death.

Named person as heading of the dated public instrument. Later editors, museums, printers, or offices share publication. Complex where later carriers date the row.

## Evidence and sources

Versailles’ 1664 festival record and Britannica independently date the 12 May 1664 first performance.

Official or archival record: Château de Versailles (https://en.chateauversailles.fr/; Établissement public du château de Versailles).

## Significance

A planned religious-type comedy polarised Catholic publics into camps.

1664 is not 1667’s brief L’Imposteur attempt only.

A planned religious-type comedy polarised Catholic publics into camps.

## What is established and what is not

Established: 12 May 1664 first Tartuffe. Not established: a unique riot-casualty table.

What would change the picture: a contradictory original with a different date or name, or a measured series that can be argued, with lag and alternatives, as a consequence of this instrument rather than of later institutions.

The date is the date of this instrument, not a licence to back-date every later harm or benefit.

Established here: a sourced, dated public instrument with a named contribution by Molière.

What would change the picture: a contradictory original with a different date, signatory, or non-occurrence; a demonstrated forgery; or a measured series that can be argued, with lag and alternatives, as a consequence of this instrument rather than of other causes.

Contribution type is direct. They are not a public rating.

The attached driver is [political-polarization](/drivers/political-polarization). Later museums, UNESCO listings, Loeb reprints, and 2024–2025 COP or NATO rows are not this event. Responsibility 0.55 and influence 0.55 bound the path; they are not a personality score. If a number is not in the two records named above, it is not supplied here. Readers should open both named URLs.

## People

- Molière: https://factrail.ai/people/moliere

## Drivers

- Political Polarization: https://factrail.ai/drivers/political-polarization

## Sources

- https://www.britannica.com/biography/Moliere-French-dramatist
- https://en.chateauversailles.fr/

## Methodology

https://factrail.ai/methodology

Canonical: https://factrail.ai/facts/mol-tartuffe-querelle-1664