The Chamber of Peers () was the upper house of the
French parliament
The French Parliament (, ) is the Bicameralism, bicameral parliament of the French Fifth Republic, consisting of the Senate (France), Senate (), and the National Assembly (France), National Assembly (). Each assembly conducts legislative sessi ...
from 1814 to 1848.
History
The
Peerage of France
The Peerage of France () was a hereditary distinction within the French nobility which appeared in 1180 during the Middle Ages.
The prestigious title and position of Peer of France () was held by the greatest, highest-ranking members of the Fr ...
was recreated by the
Charter of 1814
The French Charter of 1814 was a constitutional text granted by King Louis XVIII of France shortly after the Bourbon Restoration, in the form of a royal charter. The Congress of Vienna demanded that Louis bring in a constitution of some form b ...
at the same time as the
Bourbon Restoration Bourbon Restoration may refer to:
France under the House of Bourbon:
* Bourbon Restoration in France (1814, after the French revolution and Napoleonic era, until 1830; interrupted by the Hundred Days in 1815)
Spain under the Spanish Bourbons:
* Ab ...
, albeit on a different basis from that of the
ancien regime
''Ancien'' may refer to
* the French word for "ancient, old"
** Société des anciens textes français
* the French for "former, senior"
** Virelai ancien
** Ancien Régime
''Ancien'' may refer to
* the French word for " ancient, old"
** Socié ...
before 1789. A new Chamber of Peers was created which was similar to the British
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...
, and it met at the
Palais du Luxembourg
The Luxembourg Palace (, ) is at 15 Rue de Vaugirard in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, France. It was originally built (1615–1645) to the designs of the French architect Salomon de Brosse to be the royal residence of the regent Marie de' Med ...
. This new Chamber of Peers acted as the
upper house
An upper house is one of two Legislative chamber, chambers of a bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house. The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smaller and often has more restricted p ...
of the French parliament.
Like the House of Lords, the Chamber of Peers also had a judicial function, being authorized to judge peers and other prominent people. As such, it sentenced
Marshal Ney
Michel Ney, 1st Prince de la Moskowa, 1st Duke of Elchingen (; 10 January 1769 – 7 December 1815), was a French military commander and Marshal of the Empire who fought in the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars.
The son of ...
to death.
To begin with, the Chamber had 154 members, including the holders of all surviving pre-Revolutionary ecclesiastical (Reims, Langres, and Châlons) and lay peerages, except for the
Duchy of Aubigny
Duke of Aubigny () is a title that was created in the Peerage of France in 1684. It was granted by King Louis XIV of France to Louise de Kérouaille, the last mistress of King Charles II of England, and to descend to Charles's illegitimate issue ...
, which was held by a foreigner, the British
Duke of Richmond
Duke of Richmond is a title in the Peerage of England that has been created four times in British history. It has been held by members of the royal Tudor and Stuart families.
The current dukedom of Richmond was created in 1675 for Charles ...
. Thirteen peers were also
prelate
A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Minister (Christianity), Christian clergy who is an Ordinary (church officer), ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which me ...
s.
New members were appointed by the
French king
France was ruled by monarchs from the establishment of the kingdom of West Francia in 843 until the end of the Second French Empire in 1870, with several interruptions.
Classical French historiography usually regards Clovis I, king of the Fra ...
, without limit on their numbers.
[{{Cite web , title=1814-1830 : La Chambre des Pairs de la Restauration , url=https://www.senat.fr/connaitre-le-senat/lhistoire-du-senat/1814-1830-la-chambre-des-pairs-de-la-restauration.html , access-date=2024-01-23 , website=Sénat , language=fr-FR] Such a peerage was either granted for life or was heritable, at the king's will. All men of the royal family and all descendants in the male line of previous kings (''princes du sang'') were members of the chamber by birth (''pairs-nés''), but nevertheless needed explicit permission from the king to sit at each session of the chamber.
At the outset comprising only hereditary peers and certain prelates of the church, the Chamber became a body to which men were appointed for life following the
July Revolution
The French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution (), Second French Revolution, or ("Three Glorious ays), was a second French Revolution after French Revolution, the first of 1789–99. It led to the overthrow of King Cha ...
of 1830. In the
Revolution of 1848
The revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the springtime of the peoples or the springtime of nations, were a series of revolutions throughout Europe over the course of more than one year, from 1848 to 1849. It remains the most widespre ...
, the Chamber of Peers was disbanded and the peerage of France was abolished.
Famous members
File:Victor Hugo by Étienne Carjat 1876 - full.jpg, Victor Hugo
Victor-Marie Hugo, vicomte Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romanticism, Romantic author, poet, essayist, playwright, journalist, human rights activist and politician.
His most famous works are the novels ''The Hunchbac ...
(1802–1885), novelist
File:Heim - Sacre de Charles X, un pair de France.jpg, Coronation of Charles X
The coronation of Charles X of France, Charles X took place on 29 May 1825 in Reims, where he was crowned King of France and Navarre. The ceremony was held at the Reims Cathedral, Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Reims in Reims, the traditional site for ...
of France, a peer of France (by François Joseph Heim
François Joseph Heim (16 December 1787 – 29 September 1865) was a French painter known especially for his history paintings and portraits.
Biography
He was born at Belfort. His father, Joseph Heim, was a drawing professor.Grunchec, Philippe ...
)
File:Louis de La Forest Divonne, pair de France (1765-1838).jpg, Louis-Marie-François de La Forest Divonne.
File:Laroche - François Marie d'Aboville.jpg, Count François Marie d'Aboville
François Marie, comte d'Aboville (23 January 1730 – 1 November 1817) was a French people, French ''général de division'' (major general). He was the father of Augustin Gabriel d'Aboville and Augustin-Marie d'Aboville. He was born in Brest, Fr ...
(by Ferdinand de Laroche)
File:Claude-Pierre Dédelay d'Agier (1750-1827).JPG, Claude-Pierre de Delay d'Agier
File:Général Pierre-Jacques Orillard de Villemanzy.jpg, Jacques-Pierre Orillard de Villemanzy
Jacques-Pierre Orillard, comte de Villemanzy (; 5 January 1751 – 3 September 1830) was a French military commissary, responsible for arranging army supplies.
Before the French Revolution he served in the French expedition that supported the Ame ...
(1751–1830) (by Antoine-Jean Gros
Antoine-Jean Gros (; 16 March 177125 June 1835) was a French painter of historical subjects. He was granted the title of Baron Gros in 1824.
Gros studied under Jacques-Louis David in Paris and began an independent artistic career during the ...
)
File:François XII de La Rochefoucauld (1747-1827).jpg, '' (1747–1827)
File:Jules Auguste Armand Marie de Polignac (1780-1847).jpg, Jules de Polignac
Jules Auguste Armand Marie de Polignac, Count of Polignac (; 14 May 178030 March 1847), then Prince of Polignac, and briefly 3rd Duke of Polignac in 1847, was a French statesman and ultra-royalist politician after the Revolution. He served as pr ...
(1780–1847)
File:Portrait of Francois Rene Vicomte de Chateaubriand, 1828.jpg, François-René de Chateaubriand
François-René, vicomte de Chateaubriand (4 September 1768 – 4 July 1848) was a French writer, politician, diplomat and historian who influenced French literature of the nineteenth century. Descended from an old aristocratic family from Bri ...
(1768–1848) (by Pierre Louis Delaval)
File:Anne Victor Denis Hurault de Vibraye 2.jpg, Anne-Victor-Denis Hurault (1767–1843), 7th Marquis of Vibraye
File:Louis-Charles-Bonaventure-Pierre de Mesnard, pair de France.jpg, Louis Charles Pierre Bonaventure, Count of Mesnard (1769–1842)
File:David (peinture attribuée à ) - Gabriel d'Arjuzon en pair de France.jpg, Gabriel d'Arjuzon (attributed to Jacques-Louis David
Jacques-Louis David (; 30 August 1748 – 29 December 1825) was a French painter in the Neoclassicism, Neoclassical style, considered to be the preeminent painter of the era. In the 1780s, his cerebral brand of history painting marked a change in ...
)
File:Raymond de Seze.jpg, Raymond Desèze
Raymond is a male given name of Germanic origin. It was borrowed into English from French (older French spellings were Reimund and Raimund, whereas the modern English and French spellings are identical). It originated as the Germanic ᚱᚨᚷá ...
(1748–1828)
File:Louis-de-Bonald.png, Louis Gabriel Ambroise, Vicomte de Bonald (1754-1840)
See also
*
Chamber of Most Worthy Peers
The Chamber of Peers of Portugal, alternatively translatable as the House of Lords and formally styled the Chamber of the Most Worthy Peers of the Realm (Portuguese: ''Câmara dos Pares'' or ''Câmara dos DignÃssimos Pares do Reino''), was the u ...
*
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...
References
External links
French Senat , La Chambre des Pairs de la Restauration*
Institution French Chamber of Peers
Defunct upper houses
Government of France
French monarchy
1814 establishments in France
1848 disestablishments in France
*
Historical legislatures in France