Untitled - Monoskop

SEEKING AND GRANTING PRIVILEGES
in January 1508, and his brother Germain, later bishop of Orleans, was a
conseiller clerc in the Parlement of Paris. And so it is not hard to see how Josse
Badius, dedicating to Germain de Ganay his edition of Valerius Maximus,
came to thank him for having facilitated the grant of a royal privilege (the
first, in fact, which Badius obtained), in the words, 'quoniam tuo faustissimo
suffragio regia maiestas sic respexit ut privilegio et gratia in fronte praefixis
earn dignata sit' (CH 1510, i). And for that matter it may have smoothed the
way for Jean Petit, in obtaining a privilege from the Parlement for the treatise
Militaris disciplina enchiridion, by Jean Surgetus, in legibus licentiates, that the
author had dedicated it to Jean de Ganay (PA 1512, 2).
The death ofJean de Ganay in June 1512 left the great office of chancellor
vacant, and Louis XII did not fill it, contenting himself with appointing
Etienne Poncher, bishop of Paris, garde des sceaux. At least one privilege was
given during that interregnum for a book which was dedicated to Poncher,
and the author of it, Jean Randin, a canon lawyer, describes himself as
formerly the confessor and chaplain of Jean de Ganay when he was chan-
cellor, and now promoter and advocate in the bishop's court. Randin did not,
however, seek a privilege from the royal chancery, to which his association
with the late chancellor and with the present garde des sceaux would have given
him ready access. He and his publisher, the Paris bookseller Jacques
Guillotoys, applied instead to the Parlement (PA 1512, 10). This was
in December
probably for the simple reason that it was more convenient, as,
1512, when they wanted the privilege, Louis XII was at Blois.
At the accession of Francis I, in January 1515^ new chancellor was at once
appointed. This was Antoine Du Prat, the first president of the Parlement. Du
Prat had already received the dedication of the poem Cleopolis, in praise of
Paris, by Quinziano Stoa, which was granted a privilege by the Parlement
(PA 1514, 8), as well as complimentary verses and a dedication in the
Coustumes d'Auvergne (PA 1511, i) in the codification of which he had taken a
leading part. Nicole Bohier, quick off the mark as usual, dedicated his De
seditiosis to the new chancellor, and his publishers were given a royal privilege
for it by 26 April 1515 (CH 1515, 4). Dedications or complimentary verses to
Du Prat are to be found in a number of books enjoying privileges issued by the
royal chancery (CH 1516,2; 1518,6(2); 1519,5(1); 1519, 6; 1523, i; 1524, i;
1525, 3), in at least one issued by the Parlement (PA 1522, 3), and in several
published 'Cum privilegio' with no other details (C/> 1514, 4; 1517, i; 1525,
i). On other occasions, a book bearing a privilege from the Parlement proves
to be dedicated to one of the conseillers. Among these are the Regule
of Socinus
edited by B. de Fossombrone, for which Galliot Du Pre obtained a privilege
(PA 1513, i); the dedication, by Jean Gerlier, an advocate at the Chatelet, son
of Durand Gerlier the publisher, is addressed to Arnald L'Huillier, who had
been his tutor in law, and who was a conseiller. A later example is provided by
the Epitomata of Laziardus, or Le Jars, which Hemon Le Fevre (joint publisher
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