Punishing the Parlements

The power to disgrace was not limited to individuals and it formed an essential part of the king’s strategy for managing the great corporations of the realm. The episcopate, cities, and provincial estates were all examples of institutions or corps that felt the effects of royal displeasure, but nothing better illustrated the phenomenon than the treatment of the parlements. This chapter explains the structure of judicial politics under the Bourbon monarchy, and looks at the many ways in which the king could use imprisonment, the internal exile or transfers of individuals or groups of magistrates from one city to another, disciplinary edicts, and many other often subtle techniques to impose his authority. It also considers the limitations of disgrace, how it could sometimes rebound to the disadvantage of the crown and the obstacles to the settlement of political crises resulting from the act of disgrace.