Research Catalog

Details

Description

1. xxv, 288 pages : illustrations; 24 cm

Summary

1. This book is an 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. Rejecting the notion that the activities of the Parlement can be defined simply as "political" or "judicial," the book challenges traditional views about the nature of absolutism and also demonstrates that it is possible to write a history of the constitutional debates without reference to social conflict. Attention is given to the role of factions and intrigues at court and elsewhere, and debates inside the Parlement are analysed for the first time, using the newly discovered reports of highly placed government spies and agents. New light is shed on the part played by Louis XV himself in exacerbating the disputes or in resolving the crisis by means of the "Law of Silence" of 1754.

Series statement

1. Studies presented to the International Commission for the History of Representative and Parliamentary Institutions = Etudes présentées à la Commission internationale pour l'histoire des assemblées d'Etats ; 74

Uniform title

1. Etudes présentées à la Commission internationale pour l'histoire des assemblées d'Etats ; 74.

Alternative title

1. Louis the Fifteenth and the Parlement of Paris, 1737-1755

Subject

1. Despotism
2. France > Parlement (Paris)
3. Despotism > France > History > 18th century
4. Louis > XV, > King of France, > 1710-1774
5. Religion and politics
6. France > Parlement (Paris) > History > 18th century
7. 1700-1799
8. France > Politics and government > 1715-1774 > Religious aspects
9. History

Genre/Form

1. History.

Contents

1. The background: the Parlement and the King -- Issues and intrigues, 1741-1747 -- Prelude to crisis: the vingtième and the affair of the Hôpital général, 1748-1751 -- Denial of sacraments: the conflict of 1752 -- A decision for the King -- The crisis of 1753 -- The transfer of the Parlement to Pontoise and the exile of the enquêtes and requêtes, 1753 -- 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.

Call number

1. JFE 95-8010

Bibliography (note)

1. Includes bibliographical references and index.

Language (note)

1. English text with French extracts.

Author

1. Rogister, John, author.

Title

1. Louis XV and the Parlement of Paris, 1737-1755 / John Rogister.

Publisher

1. Cambridge ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 1995.

Type of content

1. text

Type of medium

1. unmediated

Type of carrier

1. volume

Series

1. Studies presented to the International Commission for the History of Representative and Parliamentary Institutions = Etudes présentées à la Commission internationale pour l'histoire des assemblées d'Etats ; 74
2. Etudes présentées à la Commission internationale pour l'histoire des assemblées d'Etats ; 74.

Bibliography

1. Includes bibliographical references and index.

Language

1. English text with French extracts.

Connect to:

1. Sample text
2. Table of contents
3. Book review (H-Net)
4. Publisher description

Chronological term

1. 1700-1799

LCCN

1. 94010668

ISBN

1. 0521403952 (hardback)
2. 9780521403955 (hardback)

Research call number

1. JFE 95-8010