Magistrates and Municipal Politics: The Bordeaux parlementaires during the Reign of Louis XIV Público

Powell, Douglas Craig (2009)

Permanent URL: https://etd.library.emory.edu/concern/etds/wd375w805?locale=pt-BR
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Abstract

Abstract
Magistrates and Municipal Politics: The Bordeaux parlementaires during the Reign of Louis XIV
By Douglas C. Powell


Historians of early modern France have long debated the role of the king's sovereign magistrates in local and royal politics. Some have portrayed these powerful judges as a provincial defense against the monarchy's absolutist tendencies, while others have argued in favor of a more collaborative relationship between the robe nobility and king. This long-term study of the Bordeaux parlementaires contends that neither of these models accurately reflects the attitudes and experiences of these individuals during the reign of Louis XIV. It demonstrates that far from protecting their fellow citizens from the growing demands of the crown, the parlementaires were largely ambivalent toward the needs of the Bordelais. Moreover, they were equally unsure of their relationship with their sovereign who could often be abusive and exploitative.

The reign of Louis XIV represented considerable change to the political, social, and economic structures of French society. Beginning with the instability of the Fronde and ending with a dramatic expansion of venal office holding, Louis's reign compelled the Bordeaux parlementaires to articulate and defend their own understanding of their power and authority. Throughout this challenging period, the magistrates were primarily concerned with maintaining their own conception of order, stability, and hierarchy, all of which they understood could be threatened by those above and below them in French society. From this perspective, we can begin to reconcile the often inconsistent behavior of these magistrates, and more importantly, we can posit framework for understanding the oppositional politics of the eighteenth century.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents
Introduction...1
Chapter One: The Parlement of Bordeaux and Municipal Politics...19
Chapter Two: The Origins of the Fronde in Bordeaux...40
Chapter Three: Magistrates and Municipal Politics in the Fronde...85
Chapter Four: The Ormée: Corrupt Magistrates and a City's Betrayal?...138
Chapter Five: The Revolt of 1675 and the Parlement's Painful Exile...185
Chapter Six: Office Prices and the End of Louis XIV's Reign...213
Conclusion...270

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