Untitled - Monoskop

THE SOVEREIGN COURTS
Major, published by Poncet le Preux, who was about to become one of the
libraires jures of the University, and Jean Granjon, who already was one
(PA 1509, 3).
Rembolt, who was himself a university graduate, had evidently represented
in his application or requete that the editing of the Expositio had been
commissioned by the university itself from certain doctors of theology. It may
be conjectured that the initiative had come from St Bruno's own order, the
Carthusians. At any rate the importance of the publication and the high
standing of its sponsors and of its publisher satisfied the Parliament, and it
became the first of many purely scholarly books to obtain a privilege in
France. The privilege itself ran as follows (see Plate 2):
1f Extraict des registres
de Parlement.
If Veue par la court la requeste a elle baillee par maistre Berthole Rembolt maistre
libraire de 1'universite de Paris. Par laquelle / et pour les causes contenues en icelle il
requeroit inhibicions et defenses estre faictes a tous libraires et imprimeurs tant de
ceste ville de Paris que d'ailleurs: de ne imprimer ou faire imprimer jusques a six ans le
livre compose par ung nomme maistre Bruno premier prieur de 1'ordre chartreuse sur
les epistres de sainct Paul: veu et corrige par plusieurs docteurs en theologie a ce
commis par ladicte universite: et par icelluy Rembolt fait imprimer. Veuz aussi aucuns
arrestz de ladicte court donnez en pareil cas / Et tout considere ladicte court a ordonne
et ordonne inhibicions et defenses estre faictes a tous libraires et imprimeurs et aultres
quelzconques de ne imprimer ou faire imprimer de buy jusques a trois ans ledict livre
et exposicion des epistres saint Paul / sur peine de confiscation desditz livres et
d'amende arbitraire. Faict en parlement / le
.xij. jour de Janvier 1'an Mil cinq cens
huit.
Collacion est faicte.
Robert.
The words 'veuz aussi aucuns arrestz de ladicte court donnez en pareil cas'
show that precedents were already building up. The form of the grant made to
Poncet Le Preux and Jean Granjon for Mair's Quartus sententiarum four months
later (PA 1509, 3) is in fact almost identical. Two other book-privileges in
1509 extended the scope of the system in a direction much more closely
connected with the Parlement's own operations: the publication of the
Coutumes, the customary law which governed most of northern France, which
it was one of the great tasks of the monarchy and of the Parlement in the
fifteenth and sixteenth century to revise and codify, province by province. To
print them was to bring them within the reach of all who needed them:
magistrates, advocates, royal officers, administrators of institutions and
religious orders, landowners and private citizens.
A moment came when the printing of the Coutumes was recognised as a
possible source of profit. It occurred to thcgreffieror head clerk of the bailliage
of Chartres, where an inquiry had recently been held by the Parlement
commissioners to revise the Coutume,
to ask the Parlement as a suitable
perquisite, in view of the extra work he had been obliged to undertake while
on duty during these proceedings, for the exclusive right at least for a limited
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