Lit De Justice
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In
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
under the
Ancien Régime ''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 Régime in France {{disambig ...
, the ''lit de justice'' (, "bed of justice") was a particular formal session of the
Parlement of Paris The ''Parlement'' of Paris () was the oldest ''parlement'' in the Kingdom of France, formed in the 14th century. Parlements were judicial, rather than legislative, bodies and were composed of magistrates. Though not representative bodies in the p ...
, under the presidency of the
King of France 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 ...
, for the compulsory registration of the royal edicts and to impose his sovereignty. It was named thus because the king would sit on a throne, under a
baldachin A baldachin, or baldaquin (from ), is a canopy of state typically placed over an altar or throne. It had its beginnings as a cloth canopy, but in other cases it is a sturdy, permanent Architecture, architectural feature, particularly over Alta ...
. In the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
, not every appearance of the King of France in ''parlement'' occasioned a formal ''lit de justice''.


Description

A ''lit de justice'' in Paris was normally held in the ''Grand'Chambre du Parlement'' of the royal palace on the
Île de la Cité The Île de la Cité (; English: City Island, "Island of the City") is one of the two natural islands on the Seine River (alongside, Île Saint-Louis) in central Paris. It spans of land. In the 4th century, it was the site of the fortress of ...
, which remains the Palais de Justice even today. The king, fresh from his devotions in
Sainte-Chapelle The Sainte-Chapelle (; ) is a royal chapel in the Gothic style, within the medieval Palais de la Cité, the residence of the Kings of France until the 14th century, on the Île de la Cité in the River Seine in Paris, France. Construction b ...
, would enter, accompanied by his chancellor, the '' princes du sang'', dukes and peers, cardinals and marshals, and take his place upon the cushions on a dais under a canopy of estate (the ''lit'') in a corner of the chamber. The records of a ''lit de justice'' of
Charles V Charles V may refer to: Kings and Emperors * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise Others * Charles V, Duke ...
, May 21, 1375, gives an impression of the panoply of personages: the Dauphin, the duc d'Anjou brother of the king, the
Patriarch of Alexandria The Patriarch of Alexandria is the archbishop of Alexandria, Egypt. Historically, this office has included the designation "pope" (etymologically "Father", like "Abbot"). The Alexandrian episcopate was revered as one of the three major epi ...
, 4
archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...
s, 7
bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...
s, 6
abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from ''abba'', the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ''ab'', and means "father". The female equivale ...
s, the rector and several members of the
University of Paris The University of Paris (), known Metonymy, metonymically as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, from 1150 to 1970, except for 1793–1806 during the French Revolution. Emerging around 1150 as a corporation associated wit ...
, the
Chancellor of France The Chancellor of France (), also known as the Grand Chancellor or Lord Chancellor, was the officer of state responsible for the judiciary of the Kingdom of France. The Chancellor was responsible for seeing that royal decrees were enrolled and ...
, 4 princes of the blood, several comtes and seigneurs, the Provost of Merchants and the ''echevins'' of the city of Paris, "several other wise and notable folk and a great crowd of people". Five cushions formed the ''lit'': the king sat on one, another formed a back, two more supported his arms and a cushion lay under his feet. Peers and prelates were ranged on benches at his right and left. Before the king, a large space was kept empty, that the king might discuss matters privately. To preserve order, it was forbidden for anyone to leave his seat or approach the ''lit'' without being called. The king needed only speak a few preliminary words, followed by the formula ''mon chancelier vous dira le reste'' ("my chancellor will tell you the rest"), whereupon the chancellor seated at his feet would read aloud the rest of the royal declaration, such as the declaration of a regency or of a king's majority, or declarations of war or peace. The ''lit de justice'' equally served to cow recalcitrant ''parlements'', imposing the sovereignty of the king.


Later practice

In the Middle Ages, a ''lit de justice'' was the setting for trials of great aristocrats for major crimes. From the 16th century onwards, it was used to enforce the registration of royal edicts. In the 17th century, it was a rare event but it was revived under
Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached maturity (then defi ...
, raising controversy among the parliamentary '' noblesse de robe'', mindful of their threatened prerogatives. The ''lit de justice'', as it was revived in 1527, was intended by the royal party as an expression of royal justice, with hazy and immemorial antecedents in the open-air gathering of nobles presided over by enthroned
Merovingian The Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from around the middle of the 5th century until Pepin the Short in 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the ...
kings. In the king's presence the ''parlements'' lost its usual quality of judge, to take the role of counsellor following the principle ''adveniente principe, cessat magistratus'' ("with the arrival of the king, magistratures cease"). As relations between Henry III and the Parlement of Paris became strained, the king used his presence in the ''lit de justice'' to enforce his will upon a recalcitrant court. Absolutist propaganda asserted that a ''lit de justice'' in its origins could take place before any ''parlement'' though, in practice, the appearance of Charles IX before the Parliament of Rouen to enforce the registration of his
Edict of Amboise The Edict of Amboise, also known as the Edict of Pacification, was signed at the Château of Amboise on 19 March 1563 by Catherine de' Medici, acting as regent for her son Charles IX of France. The Edict ended the first war of the French Wars ...
(1563) was an innovation intended to discount the legislative role of the Parlement of Paris. He and the Queen Mother
Catherine de' Medici Catherine de' Medici (, ; , ; 13 April 1519 â€“ 5 January 1589) was an Italian Republic of Florence, Florentine noblewoman of the Medici family and Queen of France from 1547 to 1559 by marriage to Henry II of France, King Henry II. Sh ...
made a tour of ''parlements''—Dijon, Bordeaux, Toulouse—to enforce the registration of the Edict throughout France. From the reign of
Louis XIII Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crown. ...
it was confined to the Parlement of Paris. In his ''Memoirs'', the Duc de Saint-Simon describes in detail a ''lit de justice'' held during the Regency of the Duke of Orléans on September 2, 1715. The ''lit'' was used to enact an edict overruling the testament of the deceased
Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...
, stripping the Duke of Maine of his control over the child King Louis XV's education and of the rank of ''prince du sang''. The last such session was in May 8, 1788, under
Louis XVI Louis XVI (Louis-Auguste; ; 23 August 1754 – 21 January 1793) was the last king of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. The son of Louis, Dauphin of France (1729–1765), Louis, Dauphin of France (son and heir- ...
, at
Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of ÃŽle-de-France, ÃŽle-de-France region in Franc ...
.


Notes


External links


''Encyclopédie'':
"Lit de justice" article in the '' Encyclopédie, ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers''. Numerous individual ''lits de justice'' are described, and many dates given.


Further reading

*Elizabeth A. R. Brown, Richard C. Famiglietti: ''The Lit de Justice.'' Semantics, Ceremonial, and the Parlement of Paris, 1300–1600 (Beihefte der Francia, 31), Sigmaringen (Thorbecke) 1994,
Online on perspectivia.net
*Sarah Hanley, ''The 'Lit de Justice' of the Kings of France: Constitutional Ideology in Legend, Ritual, and Discourse'' (1983); details corrected in Mack P. Holt, "The King in Parlement: The Problem of the Lit de Justice in Sixteenth-Century France" ''The Historical Journal'' 31.3 (September 1988:507-523). {{DEFAULTSORT:Lit De Justice French Revolution Law of the Ancien Régime