Conseil du Roi
Encyclopedia
The Conseil du Roi or King's Council is a general term for the administrative and governmental apparatus around the king of France
during the Ancien Régime
designed to prepare his decisions and give him advice. It should not be confused with the role and title of a "Conseil du Roi", a type of public prosecutor in the French legal system at the same period.
One of the established principles of the French monarchy was that the king could not act without the advice of his council. Under Charles V
, it was put forward that the king made decisions only after "good and careful deliberation" , and this principle was maintained by his successors; the closing formula of royal acts "le roi en son conseil" expressed this deliberative aspect. Even during the period of French absolutism
, the expression "car tel est notre bon plaisir" ("because such is our pleasure") applied to royal decisions made with consultation.
The administration of the French state in the early modern period
went through a long evolution, as a truly administrative apparatus — relying on old nobility, newer chancellor nobility ("noblesse de robe") and administrative professionals — substituted the feudal clientel system. The exact divisions and names of these councils varied over time.
s, clerics, etc.) before making important decisions (in the early Middle Ages, this entourage was sometimes called the familia), but only in the 12th century did this deliberation take the form of a specific institution called the King's Court (Latin: the "Curia Regis"). In addition to the King's Council, the consultative governing of the country also depended on other intermittent and permanent institutions, such as the States General
, the Parlement
s and the Provincial Estates. The Parliament of Paris — as indeed all of the sovereign courts of the realm — was itself born out of the King's Council: originally a consultative body of the Curia Regis, later (in the thirteenth century) endowed with judicial functions, the Parliament was separated from the King's Council in 1254.
The composition of the King's Council changed constantly over the centuries and according to the needs and desires of the king. Medieval councils frequently excluded:
On the other hand, medieval councils generally included:
The feudal aristocracy would maintain great control over the king's council up until the 14th and 15th centuries. The most important positions in the court were those of the Great Officers of the Crown of France
, headed by the connétable
(chief military officer of the realm; position eliminated in 1627) and the chancellor. Certain kings were unable to reduce their importance (Louis X
, Philip VI
, John II
, Charles VI
), while others were more successful (Charles V
, Louis XI
, Francis I
). In the 16th century, those "grands" with administrative or governmental competencies (religious dignitaries, presidents of provincial courts, etc.) were called to the council by a special certificate (or "brevet") and were termed "conseillers à brevet".
Over the centuries, the number of jurist
s (or "légistes"), generally educated by the université de Paris
, steadily increased as the technical aspects of the matters studied in the council mandated specialized counsellers. Coming from the lesser nobility or the bourgeoisie, these jurists (whose positions sometimes gave them or their heirs nobility, as the so-called "noblesse de robe" or chancellor nobles) helped in preparing and putting into legal form the king's decisions, and they formed the early elements of a true civil service and royal administration which would — because of their permanence — provide a sense of stability and continuity to the royal council, despite its many reorganizations. These counsellors, called conseillers d'État
from the reign of Henry III
on, were aided in their tasks by the maître des requêtes
.
In their attempts at greater efficiency, the kings tried to reduce the number of counsellors or to convoke "reduced councils". Charles V
had a council of 12 members. Under Charles VIII
and Louis XII
the king's council was dominated by members of twenty or so noble or rich families. Under Francis I
the total number of councillors increased to roughly 70 individuals (the old nobility was proportionally more important than in the previous century), but the most important matters of state were discussed in a smaller council of 6 or fewer members (3 members in 1535, 4 in 1554), while the larger council was consulted for judicial or financial affairs. Francis I was sometimes criticized for relying too heavily on a small number of advisors, while Henry II
, Catherine de' Medici
and their sons found themselves frequently unable to negotiate between the opposing Guise
and Montmorency families in their council. In periods of crisis, the number of members of the Council tended to increase: 100 councellors under Charles IX
, during the worst moments of the Wars of Religion
.
The Council had only a consultational role: the final decision was always the king's. Although jurists frequented praised (especially in the 16th century) the advantages of consultative government (with the agreement of his counsellors, the king could more easily impose the most severe of his decisions, or he could have his most impopular decisions blamed on his counsellors), mainstream legal opinion never held that the king was bound by the decisions of his council; the opposite was however put forward by the States General
of 1355–1358, and by the Huguenot
s and by the Catholic League
in the second half of the 16th century.
The Council's purview concerned all matters pertaining to government and royal administration, both in times of war and of peace. In his council, the king received ambassadors, signed treaties, appointed administrators and gave them instructions (called, from the 12th century on, mandements), elaborated on the laws of the realm (called ordonnances). The council also served as a supreme court and rendered royal justice on those matters that the king reserved for himself (so-called "justice retenue") or decided to discuss personally.
Council meetings, initially irregular, took on a regular schedule which became daily from the middle of the 15th century.
From 1661 to the French Revolution
, royal administration was divided between the various sections of the King's Council (roughly 130 people) and a small group of ministers and secretaries of state. The royal governmental councils (see below) were the most important and were presided by the king personally. Despite popular opinion, the king did in fact listen to his counsellors and often adopted the opinion of the majority: according to Saint-Simon
(whose distrust of Louis XIV makes this statement all the more believable), Louis XIV
only went against the advice of his council six times.
Under Charles VII
, a subcouncil appeared to handle particularly contentious judicial affairs. An ordinance by Charles VIII
in 1497, and reaffirmed by Louis XII
in 1498, removed this body from the king's council and established it as an autonomous court with the institutional name Grand Conseil
. The Grand Conseil became thus a superior court of justice (that the king did not attend) with its own legal and judicial personnel and with a purview over contentious affairs submitted directly to the king (affairs of "justice retenue", or "justice reserved" for the king). This removal of the Grand Conseil from the council apparatus permitted the remaining sections of the council to focus on political and administrative affairs, but the need for further subsections continued.
Francis I
created a Conseil des Affaires — a small informal group reuniting the chancellor, a secretary of commandements and several other close confidants – to deal with political and diplomatic issues, including war. The remaining large council (of 50-60 members) took the name of "Conseil ordinaire" ("Regular Council") or "Conseil d'État" ("Council of State"), but lost in its prestige, all the more so given that the king no longer regularly attended its sessions; in his absence the large council was presided by the chancellor. After 1643, the "Conseil des Affairs" was generally known as the "Conseil d'en haut" ("Upper Council"), due to its rooms on the second floor of Versailles.
Beginning in 1560, a separate council was created to handle financial affairs: the "Conseil des finances"; around 1600 this council was reunited with the state council as "Conseil d'État et des finances". The "Conseil d'État et des finances" lost in its prestige during the reign of Louis XIII
and ended as a supreme court for legal disputes concerning royal administration and appeals on decisions from sovereign courts concerning finances and taxation. By the late 17th century, the council's role as adjudicator in administrative disputes was subsumed by the "Conseil d'État privé" and its financial oversight was largely taken over by the later "Conseil royal des finances" and by the Controller-General of Finances.
In the 16th century, with the Grand Conseil being a completely autonomous court of justice separated from the king's council, the need was seen for certain judicial affairs to be discussed and judged within the council. These special session trials gave rise to a new section of the Council of State overseeing legal disputes, which took the name "Conseil d'État privé" ("Privy Council
of State") or "Conseil des parties" ("Council of Parties", i.e. the party in a legal suit). In theory, the king exercised justice in this council with his regular counsellors, but in fact the council was presided by the chancellor and was furnished with a corps of legal personnel who dealt with Privy Council matters (the five presidents of the Parlement
of Paris, the maîtres des requêtes who brought affairs before the court, lawyers and prosecutors who represented the parties). The Privy Council acted as a supreme court, pronouncing judgements on the various sovereign courts of the realm (including the parlements and the Grand Conseil), and provided final judicial review and interpretation of law (the request for which was called "évocation"), oversight of the judicial corps, and judged disputes on royal offices, church benefices and problems between Catholics and portestants. In this way, the Conseil privé was roughly the predecessor of the present-day Conseil d'État.
Before the late 17th century, the "Conseil privé" was solely a judicial council, but at that time it took over affairs of administrative disputes from the "Conseil d'État et des finances" (which ceased to exist as such). This new council, called the "Conseil d'État privé, finances et direction", was divided into three sections which met separately: the "Conseil des parties", the "Grande direction des finances" and the "Petite direction des finances."
From 1630, the "Conseil des Dépêches" was created to deal with notices and administrative reports from the provinces sent by the governor
s and intendant
s.
Despite these divisions into subcouncils, from a judicial point of view these various sections were all aspects of the same Council, and the decisions of the various sections were all considered to reflect the king's wishes. Even when the king was not in fact present as his councils, there were still considered to be presided over by him, and only the closing formula of their decisions changed: the expression "le Roi en son Conseil" was used when the king was not present at the meeting, the expression "le Roi étant en son Conseil" when he was.
The subcouncils of the King's Council can be generally grouped as "governmental councils", "financial councils" and "judicial and administrative councils". With the names and subdivisions of the 17th - 18th century, these subcouncils were:
Governmental Councils:
Financial Councils:
Judicial and Administrative Councils:
The King's Council also included various commissions and bureaus. In addition to the above administrative institutions, the king was also surrounded by an extensive personal and court retinue (royal family, valets, guards, honorific officers), regrouped under the name "Maison du Roi
".
At the death of Louis XIV, the Regent Philippe II, Duke of Orléans
abandoned several of the above administrative structures, most notably the Secretaries of State, which were replaced by councils. This system of government, called the Polysynody
, lasted from 1715-1718.
These councils met in the King's Apartment, in a room called the "Cabinet du Conseil" (present in all royal residences). Members were informed of meeting times by the king and the cabinet bailiffs, and at the beginning of the session the doors of the cabinet were closed and were guarded from outside, to prevent any interruptions or spies, as the meetings were secret. The meetings took place around an oval table with the king at one end, seated in an armchair; all other members were seated on folding stools (these folding chairs were symbolic of the council's itinerant nature, as the council was held to follow the king wherever he went). The king opened sessions by raising questions or by giving the floor to one of the members. Each member added to the discussion in the ascending order of their rank. Discussions concluded with a vote of the council's opinion (in the same ascending order; the vote was called "aller aux opinions"). In the end, the king made the final decision. Louis XIV
very rarely went against the majority opinion of the council. Louis XV
followed the same general rules, but frequently interrupted discussion when it seemed to be going in a direction he disagreed with, rather than choose to go against the final opinion of the council. Meetings were typically longer than two hours, and could go far longer.
Before the reign of Louis XIV
, it was an extremely small council bringing together the first minister (when one existed), the chancellor, the superintendent of finances, one secretary of state and the ministers of state (counsellors appointed by the king). The council's purview was very large. At the beginning of Louis XIV's reign, the number of members was increased: in addition to the ministers of state, the council included members of the royal family, princes of the royal bloodline ("prince du sang") and dukes with peerage ("duc et pair").
From 1661 on, Louis XIV reorganized the council and eliminated the use of regular or open membership to its meetings. Henceforth, no one, not even the crown prince (the "dauphin") could attend without an invitation, and attendance to the council meetings was given on a per-meeting basis with members needing to be reinvited to attend any subsequent meetings. The most frequent members of the council were the secretaries of state. In the beginning, Louis XIV admitted only three members regularly to the council (Michel le Tellier
, Hugues de Lionne
, Jean-Baptiste Colbert
), then he increased this to 5 members. Louis XV
increased it to 7 members and Louis XVI
increased it to 8 members.
During the reign of Louis XV
, the council, commonly called the Conseil d'État, was generally focused on foreign affairs, naval and military affairs and, during times of war, military operations. At this time, the Council of Messages ("Conseil des Dépêches") took over direction of domesic politics.
The council was held on Sundays and Wednesdays, but additional meetings were frequent, especially in times of war. In all, the council met on an average 120 to 130 times a year, and more in some years.
s and intendant
s, and thus dealt with domestic affairs coming under the purview of all four Secretaries of State. Created in 1650, it was originally presided by the Chancellor, but the King began to preside it himself from 1661 on. This council was made up of ten to twelve members: the first minister (when one existed), the crown prince, the chancellor, the ministers of state and the secretaries of state, the contrôleur général des finances. Other councillors of state or maîtres des requêtes attended according to the issues discussed.
The council met originally twice a week. Under Louis XIV the schedule was slowed down, the king having gotten into the habit of discussing these matters with his one-on-one meetings with his ministers; decisions taken were presented as "arrêts en commandement", even though they had not been officially deliberated in council.
Under Louis XV, the Conseil des Dépêches was very active and became -- for domestic affairs -- the equivalent of the "Conseil d'En-haut" for foreign affairs. The council met every Saturday, and sometimes on Friday, but also came together for additional meetings, some for several days in a row, as was the case during the Fronde parlementaire under Louis XV. In this way, the council met fifty times a year, and upwards of seventy times a year during periods of crisis.
to oversee implementation of the clauses of the papal bull
Unigenitus
. The council was kept after 1723 and met on Thursdays. Very busy until 1730, this council saw its influence decrease with the rise to power of cardinal de Fleury, and the council disappeared finally in 1733. Presided by the king, it brought together the first minister (when one existed) and several cardinals and bishop
s, but no other ministers.
in September 1661 to help the king oversee the functions of Superintendent of Finances
after the removal from power of Nicolas Fouquet
. Before 1661, fiscal matters were treated in the "Conseil de direction des finances", created in 1615, under Louis XIII
.
The Council of Finances' purview was large; it dealt with the royal budget, taxation, industry, commerce, money, contracts to the Farmers General, etc. In this council, the overall size of the taille
was set, and financial and taxation disputes were judged.
The council was made up of the king, the "chef du conseil des finances" (an honorary, but well-paid, post), the crown prince, occasionally the chancellor, the contrôleur général des finances and (generally) two of his consellors, and the intendant
s of finance.
Until 1715, the council met twice a week. After this date, financial decisions were made by the king in one-on-one meetings with the contrôleur général des finances, and the council merely rubber-stamped their decisions without much debate. Under the Regent Philippe II, Duke of Orléans
and then under Louis XV, the council met every Tuesday. From around 1728-1730, its rhythm slowed to less than once a week, and during the years 1730-1740, it met only once every two weeks.
In the early 17th century, legal disputes concerning financial matters were overseen by the "Conseil d'État et des finances" (see Judicial and Administrative Councils below), although from 1665 on its financial purview was reduced as the chancellor was gradually excluded from financial decisions.
and ended as a supreme court for legal disputes concerning royal administration and appeals on decisions from sovereign courts concerning finances and taxation. The council had the same members as the "Conseil privé" (see below), but the "contrôleur général des finances" played a greater role.
The council began to fall out of use in 1665 and it disappeared entirely between 1680 and 1690. With the chancellor removed from the direction of financial affairs, Colbert
was able to replace the maîtres des requêtes in the council by his own intendants of finances, and financial decisions were de facto decided in the collegial atmosphere at the Control General and in the "Conseil des finances", thus dispensing of debates in the "Conseil d'État et des finances".
By the late 17th century, the council's rola as adjudicator in administrative disputes was subsumed by the "Conseil d'État privé" (see below).
It was first created in 1557. With the "Grand Conseil" being a completely autonomous court of justice separated from the king's council, the need was seen for certain judicial affairs to be discussed and judged within the king's council, especially those in which the impartiality of the courts was called into question. These special session trials gave rise to a new section of the king's council overseeing contentious issues, which took the name "Conseil privé" ("Privy Council") or "Conseil des parties" ("Council of Parties", i.e. the party in a legal suit). The main area of jurisdiction of the "Conseil privé" was civil trials between individuals (especially in cases involving the presigious families and possible conflicts of interest among parlementary judges) and conflicts of judicial or administrative jurisdiction. Like the "Grand Conseil", the Privy Council acted as a supreme court, pronounced judgements on the various sovereign courts of the realm (including the parlements and the "Grand Conseil"), and provided final judicial review and interpretation of law (the process of so-called "évocation), oversight of the judicial corps, and judged disputes on royal offices, church benefices and problems between Catholics and Protestants.
Before the late 17th century, the "Conseil privé" was the solely a judicial council, but at that time it took over affairs of administrative disputes from the "Conseil d'État et des finances" (which ceased to exist as such). This new council, called the "Conseil d'État privé, finances et direction", was divided into three sections which met separately: the "Conseil des parties", the "Grande direction des finances" and the "Petite direction des finances."
The king rarely attended the Privy Council. Louis XIV came occasionally at the start of this reign, but Louis XV only attended two meetings (in 1762 and 1766). The king's empty armchair symbolized his presence. The council was presided by the chancellor seated to the right of the royal chair. The council was the largest of the royal councils, and was composed of the chancellor, princes of the royal bloodline ("princes du sang"), dukes with peerage
("ducs et pairs"), the ministers and secretaries of state, the contrôleur général des finances, the 30 councillors of state
, the 80 maître des requêtes
and the intendant
s of finance. In general however, only the counsellors of state, the maîtres des requêtes and (at times) the intendants of finances attended regularly. Meetings were composed of generally 40 or so members, and rarely more than 60 members.
The Privy Council met on Mondays in a special room, the "salle du Conseil" which was outside the King's apartment. At Versailles, this room was on the ground floor of the "Old Wing" and gave out on to the Marble Courtyard "(Cour de Marbre") and the Prince's Courtyard. Counsellors sat on armchairs of black leather, while the maîtres des requêtes remained standing. After each session, the chancellor dined with the counsellors (called "Messieurs du Conseil"). The Privy Council was on vacation from October to the feast of Saint Martin
. It held roughly 40 to 45 sessions per year and issued 350 to 400 acts.
Before coming before a judicial session, affairs were submitted to the council by a maître des requêtes and studied by a group of state counsellors. Special offices were created according to the matters discussed (there was thus a bureau of ecclesiastical affairs) or the type of judicial action requested (there was a bureau of "cassation" or appeals). In the case of matters concerning the acts of sovereign courts, the council generally began by asking the parlementary prosecutor or judge who had written the lower court decision to first present his reasons before the council.
and maîtres des requêtes. The "Grand Direction" was overseen by the chancellor and the "Petite Direction" by the "chef du conseil des finances".
The "Grande Direction" was the direct successor to the "Conseil de direction des finances" (supra), but had a minor role and only met 6 to 12 times a year.
The "Petite Direction" consisted of roughly ten people and was created to prepare the work of the "Grand Direction" and to reduce its case load by judging the simplest of cases. It met irregularly, and disappeared around 1767.
Louis XV
knew the risk of this committee, and in 1747 he mandated that the committee could not meet without his express permission, and generally to prepare decisions already decided on in council. In this way, meetings of the committee of ministers became far less frequent.
and Louis XIII
the administrative apparatus of the court and its councils was expanded and the proportion of the "noblesse de robe" increased, culminating in the following positions during the 17th century:
Royal administration in the provinces had been the role of the bailli
ages and sénéchaussées in the Middle Ages, but this declined in the early modern period, and by the end of the 18th century, the bailliages served only a judicial function. The main source of royal administrative power in the provinces in the 16th and early 17th centuries fell to the gouverneurs
(who represented "the presence of the king in his province"), positions which had long been held by only the highest ranked families in the realm. With the civil wars of the early modern period, the king increasing turned to more tractable and subservient emissaries, and this was the reason for the growth of the provincial intendant
s under Louis XIII and Louis XIV. Indendants were chosen from among the maître des requêtes
. Intendants attached to a province had jurisdiction over finances, justice and policing.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
during the Ancien Régime
Ancien Régime in France
The Ancien Régime refers primarily to the aristocratic, social and political system established in France from the 15th century to the 18th century under the late Valois and Bourbon dynasties...
designed to prepare his decisions and give him advice. It should not be confused with the role and title of a "Conseil du Roi", a type of public prosecutor in the French legal system at the same period.
One of the established principles of the French monarchy was that the king could not act without the advice of his council. Under Charles V
Charles V of France
Charles V , called the Wise, was King of France from 1364 to his death in 1380 and a member of the House of Valois...
, it was put forward that the king made decisions only after "good and careful deliberation" , and this principle was maintained by his successors; the closing formula of royal acts "le roi en son conseil" expressed this deliberative aspect. Even during the period of French absolutism
Absolute monarchy in France
France's political system of absolute monarchy was first initiated in the 16th century. After the period of the reformation monarchy which was mainly based on the political consensus between monarch, social classes and the submissive’s league, absolute monarchy slowly emerged in the 16th century...
, the expression "car tel est notre bon plaisir" ("because such is our pleasure") applied to royal decisions made with consultation.
The administration of the French state in the early modern period
Early Modern France
Kingdom of France is the early modern period of French history from the end of the 15th century to the end of the 18th century...
went through a long evolution, as a truly administrative apparatus — relying on old nobility, newer chancellor nobility ("noblesse de robe") and administrative professionals — substituted the feudal clientel system. The exact divisions and names of these councils varied over time.
Overview
The kings of France traditionally always sought the advice of their entourage (vassalVassal
A vassal or feudatory is a person who has entered into a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. The obligations often included military support and mutual protection, in exchange for certain privileges, usually including the grant of land held...
s, clerics, etc.) before making important decisions (in the early Middle Ages, this entourage was sometimes called the familia), but only in the 12th century did this deliberation take the form of a specific institution called the King's Court (Latin: the "Curia Regis"). In addition to the King's Council, the consultative governing of the country also depended on other intermittent and permanent institutions, such as the States General
French States-General
In France under the Old Regime, the States-General or Estates-General , was a legislative assembly of the different classes of French subjects. It had a separate assembly for each of the three estates, which were called and dismissed by the king...
, the Parlement
Parlement
Parlements were regional legislative bodies in Ancien Régime France.The political institutions of the Parlement in Ancien Régime France developed out of the previous council of the king, the Conseil du roi or curia regis, and consequently had ancient and customary rights of consultation and...
s and the Provincial Estates. The Parliament of Paris — as indeed all of the sovereign courts of the realm — was itself born out of the King's Council: originally a consultative body of the Curia Regis, later (in the thirteenth century) endowed with judicial functions, the Parliament was separated from the King's Council in 1254.
The composition of the King's Council changed constantly over the centuries and according to the needs and desires of the king. Medieval councils frequently excluded:
- the queen (both as queen consort or as queen mother) — the influence of the queen lost direct political control as early as the 13th century, except in periods of regency; the queen thus only exceptionally attended the Council.
- close relations to the king, including younger sons, grandsons and princes of the royal bloodline ("prince du sang") from junior branches of the family — these individuals were often suspected of political ambition and of plotting.
On the other hand, medieval councils generally included:
- the crown prince (the "dauphin") — if he was of age to attend the council
- the "grands" — the most powerful members of the church and of the nobility.
The feudal aristocracy would maintain great control over the king's council up until the 14th and 15th centuries. The most important positions in the court were those of the Great Officers of the Crown of France
Great Officers of the Crown of France
The Great Officers of the Crown of France, known as the Grand Dignitaries of the Empire during the French Empire, were the most important officers of state of the royal court in France during the Ancien Régime and Bourbon Restoration. They were appointed by the French monarch, with all but the...
, headed by the connétable
Constable of France
The Constable of France , as the First Officer of the Crown, was one of the original five Great Officers of the Crown of France and Commander in Chief of the army. He, theoretically, as Lieutenant-general of the King, outranked all the nobles and was second-in-command only to the King...
(chief military officer of the realm; position eliminated in 1627) and the chancellor. Certain kings were unable to reduce their importance (Louis X
Louis X of France
Louis X of France, , called the Quarreler, the Headstrong, or the Stubborn was the King of Navarre from 1305 and King of France from 1314 until his death...
, Philip VI
Philip VI of France
Philip VI , known as the Fortunate and of Valois, was the King of France from 1328 to his death. He was also Count of Anjou, Maine, and Valois from 1325 to 1328...
, John II
John II of France
John II , called John the Good , was the King of France from 1350 until his death. He was the second sovereign of the House of Valois and is perhaps best remembered as the king who was vanquished at the Battle of Poitiers and taken as a captive to England.The son of Philip VI and Joan the Lame,...
, Charles VI
Charles VI of France
Charles VI , called the Beloved and the Mad , was the King of France from 1380 to 1422, as a member of the House of Valois. His bouts with madness, which seem to have begun in 1392, led to quarrels among the French royal family, which were exploited by the neighbouring powers of England and Burgundy...
), while others were more successful (Charles V
Charles V of France
Charles V , called the Wise, was King of France from 1364 to his death in 1380 and a member of the House of Valois...
, Louis XI
Louis XI of France
Louis XI , called the Prudent , was the King of France from 1461 to 1483. He was the son of Charles VII of France and Mary of Anjou, a member of the House of Valois....
, Francis I
Francis I of France
Francis I was King of France from 1515 until his death. During his reign, huge cultural changes took place in France and he has been called France's original Renaissance monarch...
). In the 16th century, those "grands" with administrative or governmental competencies (religious dignitaries, presidents of provincial courts, etc.) were called to the council by a special certificate (or "brevet") and were termed "conseillers à brevet".
Over the centuries, the number of jurist
Jurist
A jurist or jurisconsult is a professional who studies, develops, applies, or otherwise deals with the law. The term is widely used in American English, but in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth countries it has only historical and specialist usage...
s (or "légistes"), generally educated by the université de Paris
Sorbonne
The Sorbonne is an edifice of the Latin Quarter, in Paris, France, which has been the historical house of the former University of Paris...
, steadily increased as the technical aspects of the matters studied in the council mandated specialized counsellers. Coming from the lesser nobility or the bourgeoisie, these jurists (whose positions sometimes gave them or their heirs nobility, as the so-called "noblesse de robe" or chancellor nobles) helped in preparing and putting into legal form the king's decisions, and they formed the early elements of a true civil service and royal administration which would — because of their permanence — provide a sense of stability and continuity to the royal council, despite its many reorganizations. These counsellors, called conseillers d'État
Conseiller d'État
A French Councillor of State is a high-level government official of administrative law in the Council of State of France.-Under the Old Regime:...
from the reign of Henry III
Henry III of France
Henry III was King of France from 1574 to 1589. As Henry of Valois, he was the first elected monarch of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth with the dual titles of King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1573 to 1575.-Childhood:Henry was born at the Royal Château de Fontainebleau,...
on, were aided in their tasks by the maître des requêtes
Maître des requêtes
Masters of Requests are high-level judicial officers of administrative law in France and other European countries that have existed in one form or another since the Middle Ages.-Old Regime France:...
.
In their attempts at greater efficiency, the kings tried to reduce the number of counsellors or to convoke "reduced councils". Charles V
Charles V of France
Charles V , called the Wise, was King of France from 1364 to his death in 1380 and a member of the House of Valois...
had a council of 12 members. Under Charles VIII
Charles VIII of France
Charles VIII, called the Affable, , was King of France from 1483 to his death in 1498. Charles was a member of the House of Valois...
and Louis XII
Louis XII of France
Louis proved to be a popular king. At the end of his reign the crown deficit was no greater than it had been when he succeeded Charles VIII in 1498, despite several expensive military campaigns in Italy. His fiscal reforms of 1504 and 1508 tightened and improved procedures for the collection of taxes...
the king's council was dominated by members of twenty or so noble or rich families. Under Francis I
Francis I of France
Francis I was King of France from 1515 until his death. During his reign, huge cultural changes took place in France and he has been called France's original Renaissance monarch...
the total number of councillors increased to roughly 70 individuals (the old nobility was proportionally more important than in the previous century), but the most important matters of state were discussed in a smaller council of 6 or fewer members (3 members in 1535, 4 in 1554), while the larger council was consulted for judicial or financial affairs. Francis I was sometimes criticized for relying too heavily on a small number of advisors, while Henry II
Henry II of France
Henry II was King of France from 31 March 1547 until his death in 1559.-Early years:Henry was born in the royal Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, near Paris, the son of Francis I and Claude, Duchess of Brittany .His father was captured at the Battle of Pavia in 1525 by his sworn enemy,...
, Catherine de' Medici
Catherine de' Medici
Catherine de' Medici was an Italian noblewoman who was Queen consort of France from 1547 until 1559, as the wife of King Henry II of France....
and their sons found themselves frequently unable to negotiate between the opposing Guise
House of Guise
The House of Guise was a French ducal family, partly responsible for the French Wars of Religion.The Guises were Catholic, and Henry Guise wanted to end growing Calvinist influence...
and Montmorency families in their council. In periods of crisis, the number of members of the Council tended to increase: 100 councellors under Charles IX
Charles IX of France
Charles IX was King of France, ruling from 1560 until his death. His reign was dominated by the Wars of Religion. He is best known as king at the time of the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre.-Childhood:...
, during the worst moments of the Wars of Religion
French Wars of Religion
The French Wars of Religion is the name given to a period of civil infighting and military operations, primarily fought between French Catholics and Protestants . The conflict involved the factional disputes between the aristocratic houses of France, such as the House of Bourbon and House of Guise...
.
The Council had only a consultational role: the final decision was always the king's. Although jurists frequented praised (especially in the 16th century) the advantages of consultative government (with the agreement of his counsellors, the king could more easily impose the most severe of his decisions, or he could have his most impopular decisions blamed on his counsellors), mainstream legal opinion never held that the king was bound by the decisions of his council; the opposite was however put forward by the States General
French States-General
In France under the Old Regime, the States-General or Estates-General , was a legislative assembly of the different classes of French subjects. It had a separate assembly for each of the three estates, which were called and dismissed by the king...
of 1355–1358, and by the Huguenot
Huguenot
The Huguenots were members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France during the 16th and 17th centuries. Since the 17th century, people who formerly would have been called Huguenots have instead simply been called French Protestants, a title suggested by their German co-religionists, the...
s and by the Catholic League
Catholic League (French)
The Catholic League of France, sometimes referred to by contemporary Roman Catholics as the Holy League, a major player in the French Wars of Religion, was formed by Duke Henry of Guise in 1576...
in the second half of the 16th century.
The Council's purview concerned all matters pertaining to government and royal administration, both in times of war and of peace. In his council, the king received ambassadors, signed treaties, appointed administrators and gave them instructions (called, from the 12th century on, mandements), elaborated on the laws of the realm (called ordonnances). The council also served as a supreme court and rendered royal justice on those matters that the king reserved for himself (so-called "justice retenue") or decided to discuss personally.
Council meetings, initially irregular, took on a regular schedule which became daily from the middle of the 15th century.
From 1661 to the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
, royal administration was divided between the various sections of the King's Council (roughly 130 people) and a small group of ministers and secretaries of state. The royal governmental councils (see below) were the most important and were presided by the king personally. Despite popular opinion, the king did in fact listen to his counsellors and often adopted the opinion of the majority: according to Saint-Simon
Louis de Rouvroy, duc de Saint-Simon
Louis de Rouvroy commonly known as Saint-Simon was a French soldier, diplomatist and writer of memoirs, was born in Paris...
(whose distrust of Louis XIV makes this statement all the more believable), Louis XIV
Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...
only went against the advice of his council six times.
Royal Councils
Over time, the Council began progressively to divide intself into separate subcouncils according to the affairs to be discussed. As early as the 13th century, one can distinguish a small council of a few members — the Conseil étroit ("narrow council") or Conseil secret — and a much larger council which came thus to be called the Grand Conseil.Under Charles VII
Charles VII of France
Charles VII , called the Victorious or the Well-Served , was King of France from 1422 to his death, though he was initially opposed by Henry VI of England, whose Regent, the Duke of Bedford, ruled much of France including the capital, Paris...
, a subcouncil appeared to handle particularly contentious judicial affairs. An ordinance by Charles VIII
Charles VIII of France
Charles VIII, called the Affable, , was King of France from 1483 to his death in 1498. Charles was a member of the House of Valois...
in 1497, and reaffirmed by Louis XII
Louis XII of France
Louis proved to be a popular king. At the end of his reign the crown deficit was no greater than it had been when he succeeded Charles VIII in 1498, despite several expensive military campaigns in Italy. His fiscal reforms of 1504 and 1508 tightened and improved procedures for the collection of taxes...
in 1498, removed this body from the king's council and established it as an autonomous court with the institutional name Grand Conseil
Grand Conseil
The term Grand Conseil or Great Council refers two different institutions during the Ancien Régime in France. It also is the name of parliaments in several Swiss cantons.-Part of the King's Council:...
. The Grand Conseil became thus a superior court of justice (that the king did not attend) with its own legal and judicial personnel and with a purview over contentious affairs submitted directly to the king (affairs of "justice retenue", or "justice reserved" for the king). This removal of the Grand Conseil from the council apparatus permitted the remaining sections of the council to focus on political and administrative affairs, but the need for further subsections continued.
Francis I
Francis I of France
Francis I was King of France from 1515 until his death. During his reign, huge cultural changes took place in France and he has been called France's original Renaissance monarch...
created a Conseil des Affaires — a small informal group reuniting the chancellor, a secretary of commandements and several other close confidants – to deal with political and diplomatic issues, including war. The remaining large council (of 50-60 members) took the name of "Conseil ordinaire" ("Regular Council") or "Conseil d'État" ("Council of State"), but lost in its prestige, all the more so given that the king no longer regularly attended its sessions; in his absence the large council was presided by the chancellor. After 1643, the "Conseil des Affairs" was generally known as the "Conseil d'en haut" ("Upper Council"), due to its rooms on the second floor of Versailles.
Beginning in 1560, a separate council was created to handle financial affairs: the "Conseil des finances"; around 1600 this council was reunited with the state council as "Conseil d'État et des finances". The "Conseil d'État et des finances" lost in its prestige during the reign of Louis XIII
Louis XIII of France
Louis XIII was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1610 to 1643.Louis was only eight years old when he succeeded his father. His mother, Marie de Medici, acted as regent during Louis' minority...
and ended as a supreme court for legal disputes concerning royal administration and appeals on decisions from sovereign courts concerning finances and taxation. By the late 17th century, the council's role as adjudicator in administrative disputes was subsumed by the "Conseil d'État privé" and its financial oversight was largely taken over by the later "Conseil royal des finances" and by the Controller-General of Finances.
In the 16th century, with the Grand Conseil being a completely autonomous court of justice separated from the king's council, the need was seen for certain judicial affairs to be discussed and judged within the council. These special session trials gave rise to a new section of the Council of State overseeing legal disputes, which took the name "Conseil d'État privé" ("Privy Council
Privy council
A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a nation, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the monarch's closest advisors to give confidential advice on...
of State") or "Conseil des parties" ("Council of Parties", i.e. the party in a legal suit). In theory, the king exercised justice in this council with his regular counsellors, but in fact the council was presided by the chancellor and was furnished with a corps of legal personnel who dealt with Privy Council matters (the five presidents of the Parlement
Parlement
Parlements were regional legislative bodies in Ancien Régime France.The political institutions of the Parlement in Ancien Régime France developed out of the previous council of the king, the Conseil du roi or curia regis, and consequently had ancient and customary rights of consultation and...
of Paris, the maîtres des requêtes who brought affairs before the court, lawyers and prosecutors who represented the parties). The Privy Council acted as a supreme court, pronouncing judgements on the various sovereign courts of the realm (including the parlements and the Grand Conseil), and provided final judicial review and interpretation of law (the request for which was called "évocation"), oversight of the judicial corps, and judged disputes on royal offices, church benefices and problems between Catholics and portestants. In this way, the Conseil privé was roughly the predecessor of the present-day Conseil d'État.
Before the late 17th century, the "Conseil privé" was solely a judicial council, but at that time it took over affairs of administrative disputes from the "Conseil d'État et des finances" (which ceased to exist as such). This new council, called the "Conseil d'État privé, finances et direction", was divided into three sections which met separately: the "Conseil des parties", the "Grande direction des finances" and the "Petite direction des finances."
From 1630, the "Conseil des Dépêches" was created to deal with notices and administrative reports from the provinces sent by the governor
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
s and intendant
Intendant
The title of intendant has been used in several countries through history. Traditionally, it refers to the holder of a public administrative office...
s.
Despite these divisions into subcouncils, from a judicial point of view these various sections were all aspects of the same Council, and the decisions of the various sections were all considered to reflect the king's wishes. Even when the king was not in fact present as his councils, there were still considered to be presided over by him, and only the closing formula of their decisions changed: the expression "le Roi en son Conseil" was used when the king was not present at the meeting, the expression "le Roi étant en son Conseil" when he was.
The subcouncils of the King's Council can be generally grouped as "governmental councils", "financial councils" and "judicial and administrative councils". With the names and subdivisions of the 17th - 18th century, these subcouncils were:
Governmental Councils:
- Conseil d'en haut ("High Council", concerning the most important matters of state) - composed of the king, the crown prince (the "dauphin"), the chancellor, the contrôleur général des finances, and the secretary of state in charge of foreign affairs.
- Conseil des dépêches ("Council of Messages", concerning notices and administrative reports from the provinces) - composed of the king, the chancellor, the secretaries of state, the contrôleur général des finances, and other councillors according to the issues discussed.
- Conseil de Conscience
Financial Councils:
- Conseil royal des finances ("Royal Council of Finances") - composed of the king, the "chef du conseil des finances" (an honorary post), the chancellor, the contrôleur général des finances and two of his consellors, and the intendants of finance.
- Conseil royal de commerce
Judicial and Administrative Councils:
- Conseil d'État et des Finances or Conseil ordinaire des Finances - by the late 17th century, its functions were largely taken over by the three following sections.
- Conseil privé or Conseil des parties or Conseil d'État ("Privy Council" or "Council of State", concerning the judicial system, officially instituted in 1557) - the largest of the royal councils, composed of the chancellor, the dukes with peeragePeerage of FranceThe Peerage of France was a distinction within the French nobility which appeared in the Middle Ages. It was abolished in 1789 during the French Revolution, but it reappeared in 1814 at the time of the Bourbon Restoration which followed the fall of the First French Empire...
, the ministers and secretaries of state, the contrôleur général des finances, the 30 councillors of stateConseiller d'ÉtatA French Councillor of State is a high-level government official of administrative law in the Council of State of France.-Under the Old Regime:...
, the 80 maître des requêtesMaître des requêtesMasters of Requests are high-level judicial officers of administrative law in France and other European countries that have existed in one form or another since the Middle Ages.-Old Regime France:...
and the intendantIntendantThe title of intendant has been used in several countries through history. Traditionally, it refers to the holder of a public administrative office...
s of finance. - Grande Direction des Finances
- Petite Direction des Finances
The King's Council also included various commissions and bureaus. In addition to the above administrative institutions, the king was also surrounded by an extensive personal and court retinue (royal family, valets, guards, honorific officers), regrouped under the name "Maison du Roi
Maison du Roi
The Maison du Roi was the name of the military, domestic and religious entourage around the royal family in France during the Ancien Régime and Bourbon Restoration; the exact composition and duties of its various divisions changed constantly over the Early Modern period...
".
At the death of Louis XIV, the Regent Philippe II, Duke of Orléans
Philippe II, Duke of Orléans
Philippe d'Orléans was a member of the royal family of France and served as Regent of the Kingdom from 1715 to 1723. Born at his father's palace at Saint-Cloud, he was known from birth under the title of Duke of Chartres...
abandoned several of the above administrative structures, most notably the Secretaries of State, which were replaced by councils. This system of government, called the Polysynody
Polysynody
Polysynody was the system of government in use in France between 1715 and 1718 and in which each minister was replaced by a council....
, lasted from 1715-1718.
Governmental Councils
Governmental councils were always presided by the King in person. Decisions made in these councils were called "arrêts en commandement".These councils met in the King's Apartment, in a room called the "Cabinet du Conseil" (present in all royal residences). Members were informed of meeting times by the king and the cabinet bailiffs, and at the beginning of the session the doors of the cabinet were closed and were guarded from outside, to prevent any interruptions or spies, as the meetings were secret. The meetings took place around an oval table with the king at one end, seated in an armchair; all other members were seated on folding stools (these folding chairs were symbolic of the council's itinerant nature, as the council was held to follow the king wherever he went). The king opened sessions by raising questions or by giving the floor to one of the members. Each member added to the discussion in the ascending order of their rank. Discussions concluded with a vote of the council's opinion (in the same ascending order; the vote was called "aller aux opinions"). In the end, the king made the final decision. Louis XIV
Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...
very rarely went against the majority opinion of the council. Louis XV
Louis XV of France
Louis XV was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1 September 1715 until his death. He succeeded his great-grandfather at the age of five, his first cousin Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, served as Regent of the kingdom until Louis's majority in 1723...
followed the same general rules, but frequently interrupted discussion when it seemed to be going in a direction he disagreed with, rather than choose to go against the final opinion of the council. Meetings were typically longer than two hours, and could go far longer.
Upper or State Council
Known variously as the "Conseil des affaires", "Conseil d'en haut" ("Upper Council") or "Conseil d'État" ("State Council"), this was the most important of the royal councils and discussed the most important affairs of state. It was more or less the equivalent of today's Council of Ministers. The name "Conseil d'en haut" by which it was known from 1643 on (replacing the "Conseil des Affaires" of the 16th century) came from the fact that the council met in the "Cabinet of Council" on the second floor of the Château of Versailles next to the king's chamber.Before the reign of Louis XIV
Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...
, it was an extremely small council bringing together the first minister (when one existed), the chancellor, the superintendent of finances, one secretary of state and the ministers of state (counsellors appointed by the king). The council's purview was very large. At the beginning of Louis XIV's reign, the number of members was increased: in addition to the ministers of state, the council included members of the royal family, princes of the royal bloodline ("prince du sang") and dukes with peerage ("duc et pair").
From 1661 on, Louis XIV reorganized the council and eliminated the use of regular or open membership to its meetings. Henceforth, no one, not even the crown prince (the "dauphin") could attend without an invitation, and attendance to the council meetings was given on a per-meeting basis with members needing to be reinvited to attend any subsequent meetings. The most frequent members of the council were the secretaries of state. In the beginning, Louis XIV admitted only three members regularly to the council (Michel le Tellier
Michel Le Tellier
Michel Le Tellier, marquis de Barbezieux, seigneur de Chaville et de Viroflay was a French statesman.-Biography:...
, Hugues de Lionne
Hugues de Lionne
Hugues de Lionne was a French statesman.He was born in Grenoble, of an old family of Dauphiné. Early trained for diplomacy, he fell into disgrace under Cardinal Richelieu, but his remarkable abilities attracted the notice of Cardinal Mazarin, who sent him as secretary of the French embassy to the...
, Jean-Baptiste Colbert
Jean-Baptiste Colbert
Jean-Baptiste Colbert was a French politician who served as the Minister of Finances of France from 1665 to 1683 under the rule of King Louis XIV. His relentless hard work and thrift made him an esteemed minister. He achieved a reputation for his work of improving the state of French manufacturing...
), then he increased this to 5 members. Louis XV
Louis XV of France
Louis XV was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1 September 1715 until his death. He succeeded his great-grandfather at the age of five, his first cousin Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, served as Regent of the kingdom until Louis's majority in 1723...
increased it to 7 members and Louis XVI
Louis XVI of France
Louis XVI was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre until 1791, and then as King of the French from 1791 to 1792, before being executed in 1793....
increased it to 8 members.
During the reign of Louis XV
Louis XV of France
Louis XV was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1 September 1715 until his death. He succeeded his great-grandfather at the age of five, his first cousin Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, served as Regent of the kingdom until Louis's majority in 1723...
, the council, commonly called the Conseil d'État, was generally focused on foreign affairs, naval and military affairs and, during times of war, military operations. At this time, the Council of Messages ("Conseil des Dépêches") took over direction of domesic politics.
The council was held on Sundays and Wednesdays, but additional meetings were frequent, especially in times of war. In all, the council met on an average 120 to 130 times a year, and more in some years.
Council of Messages
The "Conseil des Dépêches" ("Council of Messages") oversaw the notices and administrative reports from the provinces sent by the governorGovernor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
s and intendant
Intendant
The title of intendant has been used in several countries through history. Traditionally, it refers to the holder of a public administrative office...
s, and thus dealt with domestic affairs coming under the purview of all four Secretaries of State. Created in 1650, it was originally presided by the Chancellor, but the King began to preside it himself from 1661 on. This council was made up of ten to twelve members: the first minister (when one existed), the crown prince, the chancellor, the ministers of state and the secretaries of state, the contrôleur général des finances. Other councillors of state or maîtres des requêtes attended according to the issues discussed.
The council met originally twice a week. Under Louis XIV the schedule was slowed down, the king having gotten into the habit of discussing these matters with his one-on-one meetings with his ministers; decisions taken were presented as "arrêts en commandement", even though they had not been officially deliberated in council.
Under Louis XV, the Conseil des Dépêches was very active and became -- for domestic affairs -- the equivalent of the "Conseil d'En-haut" for foreign affairs. The council met every Saturday, and sometimes on Friday, but also came together for additional meetings, some for several days in a row, as was the case during the Fronde parlementaire under Louis XV. In this way, the council met fifty times a year, and upwards of seventy times a year during periods of crisis.
Council of Conscience
The "Conseil de Conscience" was created in 1720 by the Regent Philippe II, Duke of OrléansPhilippe II, Duke of Orléans
Philippe d'Orléans was a member of the royal family of France and served as Regent of the Kingdom from 1715 to 1723. Born at his father's palace at Saint-Cloud, he was known from birth under the title of Duke of Chartres...
to oversee implementation of the clauses of the papal bull
Papal bull
A Papal bull is a particular type of letters patent or charter issued by a Pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the bulla that was appended to the end in order to authenticate it....
Unigenitus
Unigenitus
Unigenitus , an apostolic constitution in the form of a papal bull promulgated by Pope Clement XI in 1713, opened the final phase of the Jansenist controversy in France...
. The council was kept after 1723 and met on Thursdays. Very busy until 1730, this council saw its influence decrease with the rise to power of cardinal de Fleury, and the council disappeared finally in 1733. Presided by the king, it brought together the first minister (when one existed) and several cardinals and bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
s, but no other ministers.
Council of Finances
The "Conseil royal des finances" was created by Louis XIVLouis XIV of France
Louis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...
in September 1661 to help the king oversee the functions of Superintendent of Finances
Superintendent of Finances
The Superintendent of Finances was the name of the minister in charge of finances in France from 1561 to 1661. The position was abolished in 1661 with the downfall of Nicolas Fouquet, and a new position was created, the Controller-General of Finances....
after the removal from power of Nicolas Fouquet
Nicolas Fouquet
Nicolas Fouquet, marquis de Belle-Île, vicomte de Melun et Vaux was the Superintendent of Finances in France from 1653 until 1661 under King Louis XIV...
. Before 1661, fiscal matters were treated in the "Conseil de direction des finances", created in 1615, under Louis XIII
Louis XIII of France
Louis XIII was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1610 to 1643.Louis was only eight years old when he succeeded his father. His mother, Marie de Medici, acted as regent during Louis' minority...
.
The Council of Finances' purview was large; it dealt with the royal budget, taxation, industry, commerce, money, contracts to the Farmers General, etc. In this council, the overall size of the taille
Taille
The taille was a direct land tax on the French peasantry and non-nobles in Ancien Régime France. The tax was imposed on each household and based on how much land it held.-History:Originally only an "exceptional" tax The taille was a direct land tax on the French peasantry and non-nobles in Ancien...
was set, and financial and taxation disputes were judged.
The council was made up of the king, the "chef du conseil des finances" (an honorary, but well-paid, post), the crown prince, occasionally the chancellor, the contrôleur général des finances and (generally) two of his consellors, and the intendant
Intendant
The title of intendant has been used in several countries through history. Traditionally, it refers to the holder of a public administrative office...
s of finance.
Until 1715, the council met twice a week. After this date, financial decisions were made by the king in one-on-one meetings with the contrôleur général des finances, and the council merely rubber-stamped their decisions without much debate. Under the Regent Philippe II, Duke of Orléans
Philippe II, Duke of Orléans
Philippe d'Orléans was a member of the royal family of France and served as Regent of the Kingdom from 1715 to 1723. Born at his father's palace at Saint-Cloud, he was known from birth under the title of Duke of Chartres...
and then under Louis XV, the council met every Tuesday. From around 1728-1730, its rhythm slowed to less than once a week, and during the years 1730-1740, it met only once every two weeks.
In the early 17th century, legal disputes concerning financial matters were overseen by the "Conseil d'État et des finances" (see Judicial and Administrative Councils below), although from 1665 on its financial purview was reduced as the chancellor was gradually excluded from financial decisions.
Council of Commerce
The "Conseil royal de commerce" was created in 1664 as an equivalent to the Council of Finances, but it disappeared in 1676, and reappeared in 1730. This council was never fully able to stand out from the other councils and its influence was minor. In 1787, it was reunited with the Council of Finances.Judicial and Administrative Councils
The divisions of the King's Council concerning contentious legal, administrative and judicial affairs were generally presided by the Chancellor of France, and the king himself rarely attended their meetings, although all acts of these councils were considered to derive from him and the chancellor was considered the "king's mouthpiece" ("la bouche du Roi").Conseil d'État et des finances
The Council of State and Finances ("Conseil d'État et des finances" or "Conseil ordinaire des finances") was created in the beginning of the 17th century with various governmental oversight functions, including over financial matters. The council lost in its prestige during the reign of Louis XIIILouis XIII of France
Louis XIII was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1610 to 1643.Louis was only eight years old when he succeeded his father. His mother, Marie de Medici, acted as regent during Louis' minority...
and ended as a supreme court for legal disputes concerning royal administration and appeals on decisions from sovereign courts concerning finances and taxation. The council had the same members as the "Conseil privé" (see below), but the "contrôleur général des finances" played a greater role.
The council began to fall out of use in 1665 and it disappeared entirely between 1680 and 1690. With the chancellor removed from the direction of financial affairs, Colbert
Jean-Baptiste Colbert
Jean-Baptiste Colbert was a French politician who served as the Minister of Finances of France from 1665 to 1683 under the rule of King Louis XIV. His relentless hard work and thrift made him an esteemed minister. He achieved a reputation for his work of improving the state of French manufacturing...
was able to replace the maîtres des requêtes in the council by his own intendants of finances, and financial decisions were de facto decided in the collegial atmosphere at the Control General and in the "Conseil des finances", thus dispensing of debates in the "Conseil d'État et des finances".
By the late 17th century, the council's rola as adjudicator in administrative disputes was subsumed by the "Conseil d'État privé" (see below).
Conseil privé or Conseil des parties
Known variously as the "Conseil privé" or "Conseil d'État privé", or "Conseil des parties", the Privy Council was the main body for decisions on France's judicial system, and as such it was roughly the equivalent of today's Conseil d'État.It was first created in 1557. With the "Grand Conseil" being a completely autonomous court of justice separated from the king's council, the need was seen for certain judicial affairs to be discussed and judged within the king's council, especially those in which the impartiality of the courts was called into question. These special session trials gave rise to a new section of the king's council overseeing contentious issues, which took the name "Conseil privé" ("Privy Council") or "Conseil des parties" ("Council of Parties", i.e. the party in a legal suit). The main area of jurisdiction of the "Conseil privé" was civil trials between individuals (especially in cases involving the presigious families and possible conflicts of interest among parlementary judges) and conflicts of judicial or administrative jurisdiction. Like the "Grand Conseil", the Privy Council acted as a supreme court, pronounced judgements on the various sovereign courts of the realm (including the parlements and the "Grand Conseil"), and provided final judicial review and interpretation of law (the process of so-called "évocation), oversight of the judicial corps, and judged disputes on royal offices, church benefices and problems between Catholics and Protestants.
Before the late 17th century, the "Conseil privé" was the solely a judicial council, but at that time it took over affairs of administrative disputes from the "Conseil d'État et des finances" (which ceased to exist as such). This new council, called the "Conseil d'État privé, finances et direction", was divided into three sections which met separately: the "Conseil des parties", the "Grande direction des finances" and the "Petite direction des finances."
The king rarely attended the Privy Council. Louis XIV came occasionally at the start of this reign, but Louis XV only attended two meetings (in 1762 and 1766). The king's empty armchair symbolized his presence. The council was presided by the chancellor seated to the right of the royal chair. The council was the largest of the royal councils, and was composed of the chancellor, princes of the royal bloodline ("princes du sang"), dukes with peerage
Peerage of France
The Peerage of France was a distinction within the French nobility which appeared in the Middle Ages. It was abolished in 1789 during the French Revolution, but it reappeared in 1814 at the time of the Bourbon Restoration which followed the fall of the First French Empire...
("ducs et pairs"), the ministers and secretaries of state, the contrôleur général des finances, the 30 councillors of state
Conseiller d'État
A French Councillor of State is a high-level government official of administrative law in the Council of State of France.-Under the Old Regime:...
, the 80 maître des requêtes
Maître des requêtes
Masters of Requests are high-level judicial officers of administrative law in France and other European countries that have existed in one form or another since the Middle Ages.-Old Regime France:...
and the intendant
Intendant
The title of intendant has been used in several countries through history. Traditionally, it refers to the holder of a public administrative office...
s of finance. In general however, only the counsellors of state, the maîtres des requêtes and (at times) the intendants of finances attended regularly. Meetings were composed of generally 40 or so members, and rarely more than 60 members.
The Privy Council met on Mondays in a special room, the "salle du Conseil" which was outside the King's apartment. At Versailles, this room was on the ground floor of the "Old Wing" and gave out on to the Marble Courtyard "(Cour de Marbre") and the Prince's Courtyard. Counsellors sat on armchairs of black leather, while the maîtres des requêtes remained standing. After each session, the chancellor dined with the counsellors (called "Messieurs du Conseil"). The Privy Council was on vacation from October to the feast of Saint Martin
St. Martin's Day
St. Martin's Day, also known as the Feast of St. Martin, Martinstag or Martinmas, the Feast of St Martin of Tours or Martin le Miséricordieux, is a time for feasting celebrations. This is the time when autumn wheat seeding is completed. Historically, hiring fairs were held where farm laborers...
. It held roughly 40 to 45 sessions per year and issued 350 to 400 acts.
Before coming before a judicial session, affairs were submitted to the council by a maître des requêtes and studied by a group of state counsellors. Special offices were created according to the matters discussed (there was thus a bureau of ecclesiastical affairs) or the type of judicial action requested (there was a bureau of "cassation" or appeals). In the case of matters concerning the acts of sovereign courts, the council generally began by asking the parlementary prosecutor or judge who had written the lower court decision to first present his reasons before the council.
Grande and Petite Direction of Finances
These two regular commissions (commissions ordinaires) took over the purview of the "Conseil d'État et des finances" on fiscal legal disputes. they were composed of consellors of stateConseiller d'État
A French Councillor of State is a high-level government official of administrative law in the Council of State of France.-Under the Old Regime:...
and maîtres des requêtes. The "Grand Direction" was overseen by the chancellor and the "Petite Direction" by the "chef du conseil des finances".
The "Grande Direction" was the direct successor to the "Conseil de direction des finances" (supra), but had a minor role and only met 6 to 12 times a year.
The "Petite Direction" consisted of roughly ten people and was created to prepare the work of the "Grand Direction" and to reduce its case load by judging the simplest of cases. It met irregularly, and disappeared around 1767.
Committee of ministers
Meetings of the King's Council were first planned by ministerial services, and then by the king with his secretaries and ministers. But for a time in the 18th century, adjendas and meetings came to be planned in a committee called the "Committee of ministers", consisting of the members of the "Conseil d'En-haut" or of the "Conseil des Dépêches" meeting without the king. Although there had been antecedents of this committee during the reign of Louis XIV and the Regency, it became a regular institution in 1737 under the cardinal de Fleury. These committees were held every Monday until the death of Cardinal Fleury.Louis XV
Louis XV of France
Louis XV was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1 September 1715 until his death. He succeeded his great-grandfather at the age of five, his first cousin Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, served as Regent of the kingdom until Louis's majority in 1723...
knew the risk of this committee, and in 1747 he mandated that the committee could not meet without his express permission, and generally to prepare decisions already decided on in council. In this way, meetings of the committee of ministers became far less frequent.
Administrative Personnel
Under Henry IVHenry IV of France
Henry IV , Henri-Quatre, was King of France from 1589 to 1610 and King of Navarre from 1572 to 1610. He was the first monarch of the Bourbon branch of the Capetian dynasty in France....
and Louis XIII
Louis XIII of France
Louis XIII was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1610 to 1643.Louis was only eight years old when he succeeded his father. His mother, Marie de Medici, acted as regent during Louis' minority...
the administrative apparatus of the court and its councils was expanded and the proportion of the "noblesse de robe" increased, culminating in the following positions during the 17th century:
- First Minister: ministers and secretaries of state — such as SullyMaximilien de Béthune, duc de SullyMaximilien de Béthune, first Duke of Sully was the doughty soldier, French minister, staunch Huguenot and faithful right-hand man who assisted Henry IV of France in the rule of France.-Early years:...
, Concini (who was also governor of several provinces), Richelieu, Mazarin, Jean-Baptiste ColbertJean-Baptiste ColbertJean-Baptiste Colbert was a French politician who served as the Minister of Finances of France from 1665 to 1683 under the rule of King Louis XIV. His relentless hard work and thrift made him an esteemed minister. He achieved a reputation for his work of improving the state of French manufacturing...
, Cardinal de Fleury, TurgotAnne Robert Jacques Turgot, Baron de LauneAnne-Robert-Jacques Turgot, Baron de Laune , often referred to as Turgot, was a French economist and statesman. Turgot was a student of Francois Quesnay and as such belonged to the Physiocratic school of economic thought...
, etc. — exerted a powerful control over state administration in the 17th and 18th century. The title "principal ministre de l'état" was however only given six times in this period and Louis XIV himself refused to chose a "prime minister" after the death of Mazarin. - Chancellor of France (also called the "garde des Scéaux", or "Keeper of the Seals")
- Controller-General of FinancesController-General of FinancesThe Controller-General of Finances was the name of the minister in charge of finances in France from 1661 to 1791. The position replaced the former position of Superintendent of Finances , which was abolished with the downfall of Nicolas Fouquet.- History :The term "contrôleur général" in...
(contrôleur général des finances, formerly called the surintendant des finances). - Secretaries of StateSecretary of State (Ancien Régime)The Secretary of State was the name of several official governmental positions – supervising war, foreign affairs, the navy, the king's household, the clergy, Paris, and Protestant affairs – during the Ancien Régime in France, roughly equivalent to the positions of governmental...
: created in 1547 by Henry IIHenry II of FranceHenry II was King of France from 31 March 1547 until his death in 1559.-Early years:Henry was born in the royal Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, near Paris, the son of Francis I and Claude, Duchess of Brittany .His father was captured at the Battle of Pavia in 1525 by his sworn enemy,...
but of great importance after 1588, generally 4 in number, but occasionally 5:- Secretary of State for Foreign AffairsSecretary of State for Foreign Affairs (France)The Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs was one of the four or five specialized secretaries of state in France during the Ancien Régime. The Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs became a Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1791.-See also:...
- Secretary of State for WarSecretary of State for War (France)The Secretary of State for War was one of the four or five specialized secretaries of state in France during the Ancien Régime. The position was responsible for the Army and for overseeing French border provinces...
, also oversaw the border provinces. - Secretary of State of the NavySecretary of State of the Navy (France)The Secretary of State of the Navy was one of the four or five specialized secretaries of state in France during the Ancien Régime. This Secretary of State was responsible for the French navy and for French colonies...
- Secretary of State of the Maison du RoiSecretary of State of the Maison du RoiThe Secretary of State of the Maison du Roi was the secretary of state in France during the "Ancien Régime" and Bourbon Restoration in charge of the Département de la Maison du Roi...
(the king's royal entourage and personal military guard), who also oversaw the clergy, the affairs of Paris and the non-border provinces. - Secretary of State for Protestant AffairsSecretary of State for Protestant AffairsThe Secretary of State for Protestant Affairs , was the secretary of state in France during the "Ancien Régime" and Bourbon Restoration in charge of overseeing French Protestant affairs...
(combined with the secretary of the Maison du Roi in 1749).
- Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
- Councillors of stateConseiller d'ÉtatA French Councillor of State is a high-level government official of administrative law in the Council of State of France.-Under the Old Regime:...
(generally 30) - Maître des requêtesMaître des requêtesMasters of Requests are high-level judicial officers of administrative law in France and other European countries that have existed in one form or another since the Middle Ages.-Old Regime France:...
(generally 80) - IntendantIntendantThe title of intendant has been used in several countries through history. Traditionally, it refers to the holder of a public administrative office...
s of finance (6) - Intendants of commerce (4 or 5)
- Ministers of State (variable)
- Treasurers
- Farmers-General
- Superintendent of the postal system
- Directeur général of buildingsBâtiments du RoiThe Bâtiments du Roi was a division of Department of the household of the Kings of France in France under the Ancien Régime. It was responsible for building works at the King's residences in and around Paris.-History:...
- Directeur général of fortifications
- Lieutenant General of Police of ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
(in charge of public order in the capital) - Archbishop of ParisArchbishop of ParisThe Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Paris is one of twenty-three archdioceses of the Roman Catholic Church in France. The original diocese is traditionally thought to have been created in the 3rd century by St. Denis and corresponded with the Civitas Parisiorum; it was elevated to an archdiocese on...
- Royal confessor
Royal administration in the provinces had been the role of the bailli
Bailli
A bailli was the king’s administrative representative during the ancien régime in northern France, where the bailli was responsible for the application of justice and control of the administration and local finances in his baillage...
ages and sénéchaussées in the Middle Ages, but this declined in the early modern period, and by the end of the 18th century, the bailliages served only a judicial function. The main source of royal administrative power in the provinces in the 16th and early 17th centuries fell to the gouverneurs
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
(who represented "the presence of the king in his province"), positions which had long been held by only the highest ranked families in the realm. With the civil wars of the early modern period, the king increasing turned to more tractable and subservient emissaries, and this was the reason for the growth of the provincial intendant
Intendant
The title of intendant has been used in several countries through history. Traditionally, it refers to the holder of a public administrative office...
s under Louis XIII and Louis XIV. Indendants were chosen from among the maître des requêtes
Maître des requêtes
Masters of Requests are high-level judicial officers of administrative law in France and other European countries that have existed in one form or another since the Middle Ages.-Old Regime France:...
. Intendants attached to a province had jurisdiction over finances, justice and policing.
See also
- Early Modern FranceEarly Modern FranceKingdom of France is the early modern period of French history from the end of the 15th century to the end of the 18th century...
- Maison du RoiMaison du RoiThe Maison du Roi was the name of the military, domestic and religious entourage around the royal family in France during the Ancien Régime and Bourbon Restoration; the exact composition and duties of its various divisions changed constantly over the Early Modern period...
- Ancien Régime in FranceAncien Régime in FranceThe Ancien Régime refers primarily to the aristocratic, social and political system established in France from the 15th century to the 18th century under the late Valois and Bourbon dynasties...
- Conseil d'État
- Privy councilPrivy councilA privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a nation, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the monarch's closest advisors to give confidential advice on...