michel de l’hôpital & christophe de thou and make observed” the ordinances precisely, “without violating them . . . under the pretext of equity, or whatever it may be.” The message was clear: the parlements should mind justice, not legislation. L’Hôpital’s admonishment to theparlementaires that they only should mind their judicial, not legislative, functions, presented a new optic in the understanding of the term “justice.” The usual definition of justice was fairly broad in the sixteenth century: it designated not just justice rendered on the differences between the parties but also preventive justice, which consisted in allowing people to live in peace and avoid litigations.79 When the parlements insisted on their right of remonstrances on the one hand, and when the crown asserted its full and undivided prerogatives to make law on the other, each invoked the notion of justice. When he tried to reframe the function of royal legislation, L’Hôpital felt it necessary to separate la justice from la législation and to relegate the law courts to uniquely judicial – narrowly defined – duties. Constitutional and political debates during the religious wars were not detached from political and social situations. One issue that critically shaped the relationship between the crown and the law courts was the sale of offices. Starting with Francis I (1515–1547), the French kings created and sold public offices in earnest.80 A quintessential French phenomenon, the venality of offices affected the development of law in the early modern period. When Chancellor L’Hôpital launched the effort to “discipline” the courts, his main target was the practice of selling public offices. The state-sponsored sale of offices was a curious feature in the formation of a professional judiciary in early modern Europe. Venality of offices allowed the kings to recruit royal officials without depending on the traditional aristocratic patronage system and, more important, to generate revenue without directly taxing richer subjects. By mortgaging public 79 Reulos, Michel 1963 p. 130. 80 See Mousnier, Roland 1968; Doyle, William 1996. 150 Judicial Hierarchy and the Discipline of the Courts
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