michel de l’hôpital & christophe de thou lition of venality, the king tried to impose a tighter supervision on the system. Chancellor L’Hôpital was the main force behind the effort to curtail and control the practice.84 Known as “Solon of France,” he was determined to tackle the legal system and judicial breakdown which he believed were responsible for disorder in society.85 In his view, the multiplication of judgeships caused the decline of the quality of the magistracy as many new judges were simply incapable. It also resulted in the degradation of morality of the judges who sought to reimburse themselves quickly for the price they had paid for their offices. They were prone to take excessive épices and interested only in lucrative cases. L’Hôpital deplored: “these days judges do not want to do anything without money.”86 In amore practical approach, the chancellor raised the salary of the judges in January 1563 to reduce their reliance onépices.87 But his attempt to establish a broad foundation for the responsibility of royal officials was received with suspicion and wariness from the magistrates. What was at core was the investment consideration. The venality system was subject to the laws of market force. In general, the prices rose sharply until 1635, before it began to drop toward the end of the century, continuing the slide in the next century.88 During the sixteenth century, demand was strong, especially for a high judicial office, because of the immense power, privileges, and prestige that came with it. In this context, any reform was feared because the prospect of losing offices or other encumbrance would damp the enthusiasm of potential buyers. The parlementaires perceived the chancellor’s attack on venality as intrusive innovations that must be resisted to preserve their own privileges and in84 Kim, Seong-Hak Kim 1993 p. 1-29. 85 François Hotman called L’Hôpital “our Solon.” Hotman, François and Duranton, Henri 1980 p. 36. See Kim, Marie Seong-Hak 2010a p. 791-826. 86 17 August 1563, Parlement de Rouen, in L’Hospital, Michel de 2013 p. 53. L’Hôpital denounced the profit-chasing tendency of judges: “when it concerned the matter of adjudicating a case inwhich a lot of money was involved, everyone was there; but when it concerned a public case, no judge wanted to get involved.” 7 September 1560, Parlement of Paris, in L’Hospital Michel de and Petris, Loris 2002 p. 375. 87 Lettres patentes of January 1563. See Maugis, Édouard 1913 vol. 1 p. 464. 88 Barbiche, Bernard 1999 p. 81. But the price of certain offices kept going up, such as those of the secrétaire du roi. 152
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