This article is about the medieval bailiffs who served the kings of France. For the modern French officers sometimes translated as 'bailiff', see Huissier de justice.
A bailiff (French: bailli, French pronunciation:[baji]) was the king's administrative representative during the ancien régime in northern France, where the bailiff was responsible for the application of justice and control of the administration and local finances in his bailiwick (baillage).
Bailli is first noted in the 12th century and comes the same word in Old French which means to govern or administer.[1] One 17th Century author credits the Old French word as meaning at the time "guardian" or "protector."[2] This word derives from the Vulgar Latin term bajulivus meaning "official in charge of a castle" (i.e., a royal castellan[citation needed] or "porter."[1]
Historyedit
"The Bailiff" from Guyot Marchand's Danse Macabre (14th century): Death, who has summoned me Without right of appeal, casts down my joys. I see no more moves nor routes to take; Against Death there are no appeals.
In the late 12th and early 13th century, King Philip II, an able and ingenious administrator who founded the central institutions on which the French monarchy's system of power would be based, prepared the expansion of the royal demesne through his appointment of bailiffs in the king's northern lands (the domaine royal),[3] based on medieval fiscal and tax divisions (the "baillie") which had been used by earlier sovereign princes such as the Duke of Normandy. In Flanders, the count appointed similar bailiffs (Dutch: baljuw). The equivalent agent in the king's southern lands acquired after the inheritance of the County of Toulouse was the seneschal.
Over time, the role of the baillages would be greatly extended as extensions of royal power, administration and justice. With the office of Great Seneschal vacant after 1191, the bailies became stationary and established themselves as powerful officials superior to provosts. A bailie's district included about half a dozen provostships. When appeals were instituted by the Crown, appeal of provost judgments, formerly impossible, now lay with the bailie. Moreover, in the 14th century, provosts no longer were in charge of collecting domainal revenues, except in farmed provostships, having instead yielded this responsibility to royal receivers (receveurs royaux). Raising local army contingents (ban and arrière-ban) also passed to bailies. Provosts therefore retained the sole function of inferior judges over vassals with original jurisdiction concurrent with bailies over claims against nobles and actions reserved for royal courts (cas royaux). This followed a precedent established in the chief feudal courts in the 13th and 14th centuries in which summary provostship suits were distinguished from solemn bailiary sessions.
Unlike the local administration of Norman England through sheriffs drawn from the great local families, the bailiff was a paid official sent out by the government, who had no power network in the area to which he had been assigned, and, in the way of a true bureaucrat, owed his income and social status wholly to the central administration that he represented. "He was therefore fanatically loyal to the king," Norman Cantor observes, "and was concerned only with the full exercise of royal power."[4] The cathedral schools and the University of Paris provided the clerks and lawyers who served as the king's bailiff.
^ ab"Centre National de Ressources Textuelles et Lexicales" [National Center of Textual and Lexical Resources]. CNRTL.fr (in French). 2012. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
^de la Mare, Nicolas (1705). "Titre 5, Chapitre 2 Troubles arrivez en France sur la fin de la seconde Branche de nos Rois. Abolition et oubli total de l'ancien Droit. Changemens que cela causa dans la Magistrature, et dans la Police. Origine des Prevosts, Vicomtes, Viguiers, Baillis et Seneschaux," [Problems come to France at the end of the second Branch of our Kings. Abolition and total loss of the old law. Changes that this caused in the Magistracy, and in the Police. Origin of Provosts, Viscounts, Viguiers, Bailiffs and Seneschaux]. In Barnard, Philip; Shapiro, Stephen (eds.). Traité de la police (in French). Vol. 1. Paris: Jean et Pierre Cot. p. 30.
^Norman F. Cantor, The Civilization of the Middle Ages 1993:412f, discusses the institution of the bailli.
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This article is about the medieval bailiffs who served the kings of France For the modern French officers sometimes translated as bailiff see Huissier de justice This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Bailiff France news newspapers books scholar JSTOR July 2010 Learn how and when to remove this template message A bailiff French bailli French pronunciation baji was the king s administrative representative during the ancien regime in northern France where the bailiff was responsible for the application of justice and control of the administration and local finances in his bailiwick baillage Contents 1 Name 2 History 3 See also 4 ReferencesName editBailli is first noted in the 12th century and comes the same word in Old French which means to govern or administer 1 One 17th Century author credits the Old French word as meaning at the time guardian or protector 2 This word derives from the Vulgar Latin term bajulivus meaning official in charge of a castle i e a royal castellan citation needed or porter 1 History edit nbsp The Bailiff from Guyot Marchand s Danse Macabre 14th century Death who has summoned me Without right of appeal casts down my joys I see no more moves nor routes to take Against Death there are no appeals In the late 12th and early 13th century King Philip II an able and ingenious administrator who founded the central institutions on which the French monarchy s system of power would be based prepared the expansion of the royal demesne through his appointment of bailiffs in the king s northern lands the domaine royal 3 based on medieval fiscal and tax divisions the baillie which had been used by earlier sovereign princes such as the Duke of Normandy In Flanders the count appointed similar bailiffs Dutch baljuw The equivalent agent in the king s southern lands acquired after the inheritance of the County of Toulouse was the seneschal Over time the role of the baillages would be greatly extended as extensions of royal power administration and justice With the office of Great Seneschal vacant after 1191 the bailies became stationary and established themselves as powerful officials superior to provosts A bailie s district included about half a dozen provostships When appeals were instituted by the Crown appeal of provost judgments formerly impossible now lay with the bailie Moreover in the 14th century provosts no longer were in charge of collecting domainal revenues except in farmed provostships having instead yielded this responsibility to royal receivers receveurs royaux Raising local army contingents ban and arriere ban also passed to bailies Provosts therefore retained the sole function of inferior judges over vassals with original jurisdiction concurrent with bailies over claims against nobles and actions reserved for royal courts cas royaux This followed a precedent established in the chief feudal courts in the 13th and 14th centuries in which summary provostship suits were distinguished from solemn bailiary sessions Unlike the local administration of Norman England through sheriffs drawn from the great local families the bailiff was a paid official sent out by the government who had no power network in the area to which he had been assigned and in the way of a true bureaucrat owed his income and social status wholly to the central administration that he represented He was therefore fanatically loyal to the king Norman Cantor observes and was concerned only with the full exercise of royal power 4 The cathedral schools and the University of Paris provided the clerks and lawyers who served as the king s bailiff See also editBailiff VidameReferences edit a b Centre National de Ressources Textuelles et Lexicales National Center of Textual and Lexical Resources CNRTL fr in French 2012 Retrieved 1 March 2023 de la Mare Nicolas 1705 Titre 5 Chapitre 2 Troubles arrivez en France sur la fin de la seconde Branche de nos Rois Abolition et oubli total de l ancien Droit Changemens que cela causa dans la Magistrature et dans la Police Origine des Prevosts Vicomtes Viguiers Baillis et Seneschaux Problems come to France at the end of the second Branch of our Kings Abolition and total loss of the old law Changes that this caused in the Magistracy and in the Police Origin of Provosts Viscounts Viguiers Bailiffs and Seneschaux In Barnard Philip Shapiro Stephen eds Traite de la police in French Vol 1 Paris Jean et Pierre Cot p 30 Norman F Cantor The Civilization of the Middle Ages 1993 412f discusses the institution of the bailli Cantor 1993 loc cit Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Bailiff France amp oldid 1181264878, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
