Untitled - Monoskop

SEEKING AND GRANTING PRIVILEGES
indeed says expressly 'soubz nostre seing manueP (PR 1520, 3, and PR 1520,
n).
The practice of printing a summary only of the privilege was however
common. The following example illustrates this practice:
II est permis de par monseigneur le lieutenant civil a Toussains Denis libraire
demourant a Paris de vendre et distribuer ce present livre. Et defend a tous marchans
libraires imprimeurs et aultres de ne imprimer ne vendre par trois ans a venir aultres
que ceulx dudit Toussains sur amende de dix livres commeplus (implement est contenu audit
privilege donne le .ii. iour de mars 1'an Mil cinq centz et seze. Ainsi (PR 1517, i)
signe Ruze.
The words which I have italicised show that a more elaborate form of
privilege lay behind the form which the beneficiary chose to print.
If the form in which book-privileges were issued by the Prevot seem, on the
available evidence, to be unstandardised, this may be partly due to a clientele
whose needs varied from full Letters Patent, on the same lines as those given
by the chancery, to the simplest authenticated statement that an exclusive
right had been duly conferred if only for a matter of weeks or even days.
We possess six specimens of the sort of requete which was submitted to the
Prevot by publishers. In these six instances, the privilege was issued to and
printed by the recipient in the form described above, that is, the Prevot or one
of his authorised representatives wrote the permission and privilege across the
bottom of the requete, adding the date and his signature. Publishers who
received and advertised their privilege in this form were Francois Regnault
(PR 1517, 7), Hemon Le Fevre (PR 1520, 3 and PR 1522, i), Pierre Le
Brodeur (PR 1520, 12 and PR 1525, i) and Gilles de Gourmont (PR 1523,3).
They had the whole transaction prominently displayed in the books con-
cerned, their requete in its entirety followed by the Prevot's reply. Possibly this
form of grant was more expeditious than the Letters Patent. It was certainly
cheaper, since it involved less clerical work at the Prevot's office. There was,
however, nothing perfunctory about it. Book-privileges in this form were
sometimes given even in the papal chancery. ' The earliest known to have been
issued by the Prevot of Paris includes the written consent of the king's procureur
in the court, signed Bouchier, as well as the Prevot's privilege given under his
signet and signed Corbie (PR 1517, 7). I give it here in full as a specimen:
A monseigneur le prevost de Paris ou son lieutenant.
Supplie humblement Fran^oys Regnault libraire jure / en 1'universite de Paris
Comme ledict suppliant puis naguieres ayt faict commencer a imprimer le grant
voyage de Jherusalem qui est ung beau livre auquel il a faict adjouster plusieurs
entreprinses guerres / et batailles faictes en la terre saincte par les Roys et princes
1
E.g. Guillaume Peraldus, Sermones, Avignon, 1519, 8" (BN Res. 0.46868) printed the text of the
petition to the Pope by the publisher Jean de Chenney, followed by the words, 'Concessum ut
peti.in presentia D. N. pape. J". Casertan. Datum Rome apud Sanctum Petrum pridie kal.
Octob4. Anno septimo', i.e. 30 September 1519.
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