Untitled - Monoskop

THE ROYAL CHANCERY: LETTERS PATENT
Jacques Colin was not only one of the royal secretaries but also a favoured
member of the royal household, in which he held the position of valet de
chambre, aumonier et lecteur du roi, and was entrusted with various diplomatic
missions. He was also a man of letters and translator in his own right, author
(among other works) of the first French version of Castiglione's The Courtier.
Moreover, the works of Seyssel were lying in manuscript in the royal libary
since they had been presented to the king. This unusual grant did not create a
precedent.
The Letters Patent by which Louis XII and Francis I granted book-
privileges were most commonly addressed to the Prevot of Paris in the first
instance and then to all the other royal magistrates and officers. Thus the first
privilege granted to an author by Louis XII begins, 'Loys par la grace de dieu
Roy de France au prevost de Paris et a tous noz aultres justiciers ou a leurs
lieuxtenanssalutetdilection' (CH 1508, i). Sometimes however the applicant,
or his legal adviser, had one or more of the provincial Senechaux or Baillis
expressly included, as well as the Prevot of Paris, in this opening sentence.
The officer most frequently mentioned in this way is the Senechal of Lyon, e.g.
'Aux prevost de Paris, seneschal de Lyon, et a tous noz aultres justiciers et
officiers . . .' (CH 1514, 4). In the event of the privilege being infringed,
it was
in the local court that the privilege-holder would have to prosecute the
offender: in the case of an alleged pirating in Lyon, the action would be
brought in the court of the Senechal of Lyon, whether the plaintiff was in Lyon
or elsewhere in France. If the Letters Patent were addressed specifically to the
Senechal, it would probably make the action easier to bring, especially if the
privilege-holder had taken the precaution of having the Letters Patent
registered in the Senechal's court immediately on obtaining them. The
variations in the form of address thus reflect the applicant's estimate of the
quarter from which possible infringements of his privilege were most likely to
come. Normally the Prevot of Paris, is named first, not only because he took
precedence over all the other royal officers, but because Paris was the most
important city in the French book-trade. If the Senechal of Lyon follows, it is
occasionally in company with others: in one privilege the Bailli of Berry is
mentioned (CH 1515, 4), in another the Senechal of Poitou (CH 1515, 9), the
latter privilege being to an applicant from Poitiers. In special circumstances
the provincial official may even be addressed first. The privilege given to Jean
Lemaire de Beiges (CH 1509, 2), granted by Louis XII at Lyon for a book
printed at Lyon and immediately registered by Lemaire with the Senechal's
court, begins, 'Aux Senechal de Lyon, Bailly de Mascon, Prevost de Paris et a
tous noz autres justiciers . . .' (cf. CH 1511, 3; CH 1515, 7). The privilege
obtained by Jean Lode, a schoolmaster of Orleans,
is addressed to the Bailli of
Orleans, the Prevot of Paris, and the Senechal of Lyon, in that order
(CH 1513, 2): 'Aux bayllif d'Orleans, prevost de Paris, seneschal de Lion, et a
tous nos aultres justiciers . . .'.