Louis XV and the Parlement of Paris, 1737–55
Louis XV and the Parlement of Paris, 1737–55
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GBPThis is a lively narrative account, based on previously unused material, of the events that marked the troubled relationship between Louis XV, the clergy of France, and the Parlement of Paris in the mid-eighteenth century. The author shows how religious disputes drove a wedge between the King and the leading magistrates of his kingdom, leading to the exile of the Parlement in 1753–4. He describes the way in which legal and procedural conflicts gave rise to a debate about the nature of the Monarchy itself, the exercise of royal authority, and the rights of the subject under the protection of law. Debates inside the Parlement are analysed, using the reports of highly placed government spies and agents, and new light is shed on the part played by the King.
- A stylish, lively, and well-illustrated account of complex issues, with a challenging interpretation of the role of 'absolutism'
- Based on research in private archives, with much new material from spies and secret agents
- Makes an original contribution to our knowledge of the events which led up to the Revolution
Reviews & endorsements
'This is a book to make slothful humanity tremble and to stir historians out of complacency … a book to be savoured.' John McManners, The Times Literary Supplement
Product details
March 1995Hardback
9780521403955
316 pages
229 × 152 × 22 mm
0.64kg
15 b/w illus.
Available
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Table of Contents
- List of plates
- List of figures
- List of tables
- List of abbreviations
- Preface
- A note on names
- 1. The background: the Parlement and the King
- 2. Issues and intrigues, 1741–1747
- 3. Prelude to crisis: the vingtième and the affair of the hôpital général, 1748–1751
- 4. Denial of sacraments: the conflict of 1752
- 5. A decision for the King
- 6. The crisis of 1753
- 7. The transfer of the Parlement to Pontoise and the exile of the enquêtes and requêtes, 1753
- 8. The exile of the grand'chambre and the return of the Parlement, 1753–1754
- Conclusion: the 'law of silence', 2 September 1754
- Appendix A. Note on the Comte d'Argenson's informants
- Appendix B. Two letters of Louis XV on the crisis of 1753.
