Untitled - Monoskop

SEEKING AND GRANTING PRIVILEGES
grants (e.g. PA 1509, i) and it never had a consistent policy about price
regulation in them. I have noticed fourteen examples of imposing a maximum
price, and five of them are in 1516. Possibly some of the conseillers attached
more importance to price control than others.
The maximum price, when specified, is expressed in terms of the livre
tournois (l.t.) or of the livre parisis (l.p.). These pounds were made up of 20 solidi
or sous, each of these worth 1 2 denarii or deniers. The livre tournois was worth
sixteen sous parisis, while the livre parisis was traditionally twenty-five sous
tournois.
The question first arose when the greffiers of Orleans petitioned for a
privilege to have the Coutumes of the bailliage of Orleans printed (PA 1510, 2).
They themselves proposed that the court should determine a reasonable
price. It was decided that each copy should be sold at five s.t. ('pourveu
qu'ils ne les pourront vendre que V s.ts. piece'). Subsequently the Parlement
standardised on a maximum price of three s.t. unbound and four s.t. bound
for the Coutumes of Auvergne (PA 1511, i), Chaumont (PA 1511, 4), Paris
(PA 1513, 2), Vitry (PA 1516, i), and Troyes (PA 1516, 7). In the case of the
Coutume of Paris, the Parlement thought the matter of sufficient importance to
depute two conseillers to examine the printed copies, and only on receiving their
report and recommendation ten days later did the court fix the price. We see
from this case too that anyone disregarding the maximum price was liable to
confiscation of the books and an amende arbitraire the same penalty as
threatened anyone infringing the privilege. No mention is made of a
maximum price in the grant given for the Coutume of Bourbonnais (PA 1522,
6), but the Coutume of Blois was to be sold 'a prix raisonnable' (PA 1524, 1 1).
It is evident that a great many people had to buy these Coutumes, and the
temptation to overcharge was very real. The same sort of preoccupation no
doubt explains the trouble that the Parlement took over the synodal statutes of
Orleans, which the clergy of the diocese would have to buy. Chevallon's requete
was granted, to be allowed to sell them, with privilege, but only 'oy le rapport
de certains commissaires commis a visiter ledit livre et s'enquerre du pris
auquel il devrait estre vendu', as a result of which the price was fixed at a
maximum of twelve d.p. (PA 1525, 6). The certified copy of the privilege
which Chevallon obtained, and which he printed, did not include these
particulars, but they are known from the entry in the register of the Parlement.
The earliest non-official work to be assigned a maximum price was Olivier
de La Marche, Leparement des dames de honneur (PA 1510,3). This was to be sold
at not more than three s.t. More substantial publications, which obviously
cost more to print, were allowed a higher maximum price. A work of
scholastic philosophy could be charged at six s.t. (PA 1514, 2), a legal
commentary at eight s.t. (PA 1514, 3), a critical edition of Quintilian with
commentary at sixteen s.t. (PA 1516, 2). Other maximum prices, fixed in
terms of livres parisis, are two s.p. for a slim volume of Latin verse (PA 1514, 5),
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