Counties of France in the Middle Ages map. Medieval France. The social system of France during the period of absolute monarchy

Under Clovis, Aquitaine was conquered (507), and under his successors, Burgundy (534); The Ostrogoths ceded Provence to the Franks in 536. By the middle of the 6th century. Frankish state included almost the entire territory of the former Roman province of Gaul. Franks They also subjugated a number of Germanic tribes living beyond the Rhine: the Thuringians, Alamanni and Bavarians recognized the supreme power of the Franks; the Saxons were forced to pay them an annual tribute. Frankish state lasted much longer than all the other barbarian kingdoms of continental Europe, many of which (first part of the Visigothic and Burgundian, then Lombard) it included in its composition.

History of the Frankish State allows us to trace the development of feudal relations from the very early stage until it is completed. The process of feudalization took place here in the form of a synthesis of decaying late Roman and Germanic tribal relations. The ratio of both was not the same in the north and south of the country.

North of the Loire, where francs with their rather primitive social system, they occupied continuous territories and made up a significant part of the population; late antique and barbarian elements interacted in approximately the same proportions. Since the Franks settled here isolated from the Gallo-Roman population, they retained the social order they brought with them longer than in the south, in particular the free community.

In areas south of the Loire the Franks were few in number , and the Visigoths and Burgundians who settled here earlier remained in the minority. These latter, long before the Frankish conquest, lived in constant and close contact with the Gallo-Roman population. Therefore, the influence of late antique relations played a much more significant role in the synthesis process here than in the north of the country, and the decomposition of barbarian social orders occurred faster.

The growth of large landownership and the private power of large landowners already under the sons of Clovis led to a weakening of royal power. Having lost, as a result of generous land distributions, a significant part of their domain possessions and income, Frankish kings turned out to be powerless in the fight against the separatist aspirations of large landowners.

After the death of Clovis, fragmentation began Frankish state .

From the end of the 6th century. it is planned to separate three independent regions within Frankish state : Neustria - Northwestern Gaul with its center in Paris; Austrasia - the northeastern part of the Frankish state, which included the original Frankish regions on both banks of the Rhine and Meuse; Burgundy is the territory of the former kingdom of the Burgundians. At the end of the 7th century. Aquitaine stood out in the southwest. These four regions differed among themselves in the ethnic composition of the population and the characteristics of the social system, and the degree of feudalization.

In Neustria, which by the time Frankish conquest was heavily Romanized, the Gallo-Romans, who made up a significant part of the population even after the conquest, merged with the conquering Franks earlier than in other areas of the kingdom. Here, by the end of VI- beginning of VII V. great importance acquired large church and secular landownership and the process of disappearance of the free peasantry was rapidly underway.

Austrasia, where the bulk of the population was francs and other Germanic tribes subject to them, and the influence of the Gallo-Roman order was weak until the beginning of the 8th century. retained a more primitive system; here the mark community decomposed more slowly; allodist landowners, who were part of the mark communities and formed the basis of the military militia, continued to play a large role. The emerging class of feudal lords was mainly represented by small and medium feudal lords. Church land ownership was less represented here than in Neustria.

In Burgundy and Aquitaine, where the Gallo-Roman population was also mixed with the Germanic (first with the Burgundians and Visigoths and then with the Franks), small free peasant and average land ownership also persisted for a long time. But at the same time there were large land holdings there, especially church ones, and a free community already in the 6th century. disappeared almost everywhere.

These areas were weakly connected with each other economically (at that time natural-economic relations dominated), which prevented their unification in one state. Kings from the House of Merovingians who headed these areas after fragmentation Frankish state , fought among themselves for supremacy, which was complicated by continuous clashes between kings and large landowners within each region.

Unification of the country by the mayors of Austrasia

At the end of the 7th century. actual power in all areas Frankish Kingdom ended up in the hands of the mayors. Initially, these were officials who headed the royal palace administration (majordomus - senior at home, managing the household of the court). Then the mayors became the largest landowners. All administration of each of the named regions of the kingdom was concentrated in their hands, and the majordomo acted as the leader and military leader of the local landed aristocracy.

Kings from the House of Merovingians , having lost all real power, were appointed and removed at the will of the mayors and received from their contemporaries the disparaging nickname of “lazy kings.”

After a long struggle in the environment Frankish nobility in 687, Pepin of Geristal became majordom of all Frankish state . He succeeded because in Austrasia, where the process of feudalization proceeded more slowly than in other parts of the kingdom, the mayors could rely on a fairly significant layer of small and medium-sized feudal lords, as well as free allodists of the peasant type, interested in strengthening the central government to combat oppression large landowners, suppression of the enslaved peasantry and to conquer new lands. With the support of these social strata, the mayors of Austrasia were able to reunite under their rule all Frankish state .

The French kingdom arose after the collapse of the Carolingian Empire and went through the stages of feudal fragmentation (9th-13th centuries), estate-representative monarchy (XVI-XV centuries) and absolute monarchy (XVI-XVIII centuries).

During the period of feudal fragmentation, the kingdom consisted of many fiefs (duchies, counties, baronies, etc.), which were formally considered part of it, but in fact represented practically independent political entities. Accordingly, the king’s local power was either very weak or completely absent. Only in his personal domain - the "royal domain" - did he completely control the situation.

The entire structure of the state of this period was determined by the structure of feudal land relations, expressed in the system of vassalage.

The king was nominally considered the supreme owner of all land in the state. But most of the land was in the hands of feudal lords as fief (conditional hereditary land ownership). They were considered the king's vassals, and he was their lord. The king's vassals (dukes and counts), leaving the domain for themselves, transferred a significant part of their possessions as fiefs to a lower group of feudal lords, becoming lords in relation to their vassals. And so on up to the largest group of “single-shield” knights. But in reality, the vassal's submission was conditioned only by the lord's ability to force the vassal to obey.

The head of state, the king, was elected during this period. He was elected by representatives of the nobility and former church hierarchs. As already noted, the king's power in many territories was nominal. This was facilitated by the rule established in France: “The vassal of my vassal is not my vassal.”

Under these conditions, essentially the only body that had the opportunity to influence the state of affairs in most of the country was the Royal Curia, or Great Council. By its nature, it was a congress of the country's largest feudal lords.

Local government was in many ways similar to the system of government during the Frankish monarchy. Central management was carried out by ministerials, local - by provost.

The judicial power was not yet separated from the administrative power. The judiciary has not organizationally separated itself from other management systems. The principle of the “court of equals” prevailed, when everyone could sue only those equal to him in the social hierarchy.

The unfree population, the peasants, were judged by their feudal lords or their officials - ministerials and provosts.

Since the 13th century. In France, the tendency to strengthen royal power is intensifying and the preconditions are being created to overcome the fragmentation of the country. As a result, the election of the king is abolished and the royal domain grows. By the end of the 13th century. the royal domain became the largest fief in France. On the way to strengthening royal power, the reforms of Louis IX were important. First of all, this is a judicial reform, which made the resolution of disputes between feudal lords the exclusive prerogative of the king or the judges appointed by him. A special court was created - the Paris Parliament. As part of the financial reform, the royal gold coin is introduced as the only means of payment in the king's domain, and then throughout the country.

In the XIV century. The unification of the country is completed. The state takes the form of an estate-representative monarchy. Relatively strong power is combined with representation from the estates - the Estates General.

There are three main reasons for strengthening royal power and overcoming fragmentation. This is the support of cities, small and middle nobility and the need to fight the enemy.

The beginning of the work of representative assemblies from the estates made it possible to consolidate all social forces advocating the unification of the country. Kings were able to turn to the estates for support, bypassing the rulers of the largest seigneuries. At these meetings, issues of internal and foreign policy, but above all the introduction of new taxes. The introduction of permanent national taxes allowed the royal power to create a permanent professional army to replace the knightly militia and a bureaucratic administrative apparatus.

In 1302, an all-French meeting of estates was convened for the first time, called the Estates General.

The first chamber consisted of the highest clergy. In the second, elected representatives of the nobility sat. Moreover, the most notable were not included in the chamber, but took part in the work of the royal curia. The third estate, as a rule, consisted of representatives of city councils (eshvens). Each chamber had one vote, and since decisions were made by majority vote, the privileged classes had an advantage.

The Estates General were convened on the initiative of the king, and he had the opportunity to impose the decision they needed.

But in 1357, during a period of deep political crisis, the royal government was forced to issue a decree called the Great March Ordinance. According to it, the Estates General met twice a year without the prior sanction of the king, had the exclusive right to introduce new taxes and control government spending, gave consent to declare war or make peace, and appointed advisers to the king.

After the end of the Hundred Years' War, the importance of the Estates General fell, and from the 15th century. they stop convening.

To the organs central control during this period included the State Council, which exercised direction and control of individual parts of the state apparatus, and the Accounts Chamber, a financial management body.

Locally, the country was divided into bailies and prevotages, led by bailies and provosts, who carried out day-to-day administration, collection of taxes and supervision of the judiciary.

By the beginning of the 16th century. In France, an absolute monarchy is basically established. It is characterized by the fact that all legislative, executive and judicial power is concentrated in the hands of the hereditary head - the king. Accordingly, the entire centralized state mechanism was subordinate to him: the army, the police, the administrative and financial apparatus, the court. And all the French, including the nobility and aristocracy, were considered as subjects of the king, obliging him with unquestioning obedience.

The system of public administration included: the Council of State - the highest advisory body under the king, which was supplemented by the Council of Finance, the Council of Dispatches, etc., the Comptroller General of Finance and the secretaries of state for military, foreign, naval and court affairs. In addition, there was a local government apparatus and police.

MAIN FEATURES OF FRENCH LAW

Sources of law: in the IX-XI centuries. in France, the principle of territorial validity of the law that has developed in the territory of his residence is established. This situation contributed to the replacement of tribal customs with local customs - kutyums.

During the period of feudal fragmentation, customs were the main source of law.

The peculiarity of France was that, until the elimination of feudalism, the country did not know a unified legal system.

Depending on the sources of law, the country was divided into two parts: south of the Loire River - the “country of written law”, since Roman law was in force there, adapted under the influence of customs to new conditions. The north of France was considered a “country of customary law”, since the main source there was local customs - kutyums.

Written sources of law were acts of royal power: decrees, edicts, and ordinances.

The source of law that introduced uniformity was Roman law. If in the “South” it acted as the main source of law, then in the “North” it filled in the gaps of customary law. Throughout France, Roman law was perceived as the source of “written reason.”

Property right. The main object of property rights was land. In feudal law, there were two main types of real rights to land: ownership and right of tenure.

Allod is a form of land ownership that is not subject to any obligations; land was freely alienated and passed on by inheritance. It was typical only for the early Middle Ages.

With the development of feudalism, the main form of land rights became a tenancy received from a superior owner and bound by a number of conditions. There were free and unfree powers, noble and ignoble.

The first noble (noble) holdings were in the form of benefices. Benefice was understood as property that was only for the use of the owner. The benefit was given on the terms of service, was not inherited and was returned to the owner upon the death of the owner. In the 9th century. The benefices become a hereditary holding, named in the 10th century. fief, fief, fief. In the X-XI centuries. The process of infoodation has become widespread, i.e. transfer of allods by their owners to the king or large feudal lords and receiving them back in the form of fiefs.

A fief is a noble (noble) holding of land obtained on the basis of vassal connections. The vassal, freely owning and using the fief, was limited in its disposal due to the feudal rights of the lord. Without the consent of the lord, he could not alienate the fief, transfer part of it as a fief to his vassal, and when entering into an inheritance, it was necessary to pay a special duty - relief.

There were also peasant (ignoble) free holdings - censorship. Census is a hereditary ownership of a plot of land with the obligation to bear duties strictly fixed by customary law in favor of the lord. It was provided both to an individual and to communities, its alienation required the consent of the lord, and upon transfer by inheritance a certain tax was paid.

The main difference between a censorship and a fief is that the holder of the fief was the recipient of land rent, and the holder of the censorship was its payer and was called a villan.

The holder of the census had to periodically recognize the dependence of his plot on the lord, pay certain duties in favor of the lord - qualification, the lord had the right to 1/10 of the income from the land, corvee for 3-12 days a year, the right to rent, i.e. . a certain tax from each new owner, which he received in addition to qualifications, the right to hunt on peasant lands, etc.

When the owner changed, all duties falling on the censive passed to the new person.

The land holdings of personally unfree peasants (servs) were only for their use.

Family and inheritance law

Family and marriage relations were mainly regulated by the norms of canon law, kutyums and royal ordinances.

To get married, you had to reach a certain age: men from 13 to 15 years, women - 12 years. The consent of the parties, as well as their parents, was required. Only when sons reached 30 years of age, and daughters reached 25 years of age, the latter was not required.

The daughter of a deceased vassal had to obtain the consent of the lord, who could indicate to her a groom capable of serving. She had the right to demand a choice of three candidates.

For serfs, there was a rule prohibiting marriage with freemen or serfs of another master without the consent of the masters. When concluding a marriage, a special fee was paid to the lord - formalization, which compensated for the renunciation of the right to the "first night".

Initially, to enter into a marriage, the consent of the parties and actual marital cohabitation were sufficient, then the church achieved mandatory church consecration of the marriage. A marriage concluded without a church ceremony was recognized as invalid. Marriages between minors, not baptized, relatives, those concluded under the influence of violence or mistake, and marriages of the clergy were also recognized as invalid.

Divorce, according to canon law, was not allowed. The head of the family was the husband, and the wife was obliged to obey her husband and follow him everywhere.

Customary law established the community of movable and acquired immovable property from the date of marriage. In the south of France, where Roman law was in force, community of property did not arise. Nevertheless, in all cases, the wife did not have the right to alienate property without the consent of her husband, including donation and exchange, enter into contracts and appear in court. There were only two exceptions: the wife could only enter into agreements to ransom her husband from captivity and give a dowry to her daughters in the absence of her husband.

The husband controlled his wife's dowry while the marriage lasted. After the death of the husband, the dowry passed to the wife, and after the death of the wife, to her heirs.

Inheritance took place in a descending line, by closest relatives, and only in their absence, in an ascending line. Moreover, the property of fathers went to the heirs on the paternal side, the property of mothers - on the maternal side.

Criminal law and procedure

In the field of criminal law until approximately the 16th century. customary law rules prevailed. According to the "Kutyums Bovezi" there were distinguished: crimes punishable by death, 2) crimes punishable by long-term imprisonment with confiscation of property and 3) crimes entailing confiscation of property without the death penalty, without mutilation and imprisonment. It was emphasized that the strength of the punishment should depend on the offense, as well as who committed it and who suffered the damage.

The emergence of absolutism contributed to the formation of a unified system of crimes and punishments. The entire set of crimes provided for by the law of this period can be divided into three categories:

1) crimes against religion: blasphemy, atheism, heresy, witchcraft, etc.;

2) crimes against the state: attack on the king and members of his family, treason against the king, attack on the security of the state;

3) crimes against private individuals.

Punishments during this period have the express purpose of elimination and are extremely cruel. Types of punishment were divided into:

1) grave punishments: various types of death penalty, eternal exile, lifelong hard labor, etc.;

2) self-harm and corporal punishment: cutting off the tongue, ears, nose, etc., scourging;

3) imprisonment and hard labor;

4) disgraceful punishments: a fine with a pillory, not accompanied by a pillory, and others.

During the period of feudal fragmentation, the judicial process continues to be accusatory, the case is initiated at the initiative of the plaintiff (victim), and the negotiation takes place in the form of a dispute between the parties who have equal procedural rights. Representation was initially not allowed, but from the 13th century. Lawyers begin to appear.

Confession was considered the best type of evidence. Until the 13th century. Torture with water or iron (ordeals) was actively used. When testifying, two witnesses were required. Relatives, servants or dependents could not testify.

A unique type of evidence was a judicial duel. The nobles fought on horseback and in full armor, while the commoners fought with sticks. Clerics, women, children and men over 60 years of age could nominate special fighters in their place.

With the establishment of absolutism, the right to initiate a criminal case passes to state bodies, which, on their own initiative, conduct an investigation and search for the criminal. The process is divided into two stages: a secret search for the criminal and his exposure, and then a public and open trial, which, however, soon also becomes secret.

A system of formal evidence is established, where the law determines the weight and significance of each evidence. Torture is used as a means of confessing the accused.

In the 17th century there is a separation of criminal and civil processes.

The formation of an independent state in France was a consequence of the collapse of the Frankish Empire, which was formalized legislatively in 843 by the Treaty of Verdun. Under this treaty, Charles the Bald received lands west of the Rhine. He actually became the first French king, although the term “France” itself appeared only in the 10th century. It should be noted here that after the collapse of the Frankish Empire, France inherited all the processes of feudal fragmentation that took place in recent years in the Frankish Empire. Therefore, speaking about the lands of Charles the Bald as some kind of centralized state can only be conditional, for they were a conglomerate of a huge number of free seigneurial possessions.

The most important prerequisite for the increasing role of royal power was the victory of King Philip IV in a long conflict with the popes for political supremacy, as a result of which the popes were directly dependent on the French kings (the so-called Avignon captivity of the popes 1309-1378).

The victory of the French crown over the papacy and the gradual elimination of the significant rights of feudal lords were accompanied in the XIV-XV centuries. the steady increase in the authority and political weight of royal power.

There was a change happening legal status a king who had power throughout the entire country.

In 1302, a new highest class representative body was created - Estates General.

At the beginning of the 14th century. Representatives of the estates of all regions of the royal domain were convened several times, and each time the reason for the convening was of a political nature. But as a generally recognized state institution, the Estates General was established mainly in connection with the Hundred Years' War with England, when regular financial assistance from the entire country was required.

Around the middle of the 14th century. the structure of the Estates General became a unique reflection of not only the social composition of France, but also the different political weight of the estates. All three classes received seats in this body. The first chamber consisted of the clergy. The second chamber was made up of the nobility, which sent its elected representatives. Deputies from the “good cities” were called to the third chamber (the term “third estate” appeared only at the end of the 15th century). These were mainly mayors and members of municipalities, i.e. again, ex officio representatives of the wealthy part of the urban population.

Gradually, the order of work of the three estates was developed. Initially, the king sought the opinion of each class separately. Subsequently, each chamber retained only one vote, but a majority vote was required to make a decision within the chamber.

The frequency of convening the Estates General was not established. Each convocation was individual, and the issues on the agenda were determined exclusively by the king. Most often, the reason for the convocation was the lack of finances, and the kings turned to the estates with a request for one-time financial assistance or permission for the next tax, which could be collected only within one year.

The importance of the Estates General greatly increased in 1357, when there was an uprising of the townspeople in Paris and the capture of the king. The Dauphin (heir to the throne) turned to the Estates General with a request to allocate money for the king's ransom. In response to this request, representatives of the third estate put forward an entire program of reforms, called the “Great March Ordinance.” Its full text included 67 articles, which provided for a significant strengthening of the power of the Estates General in government, financial, judicial and administrative fields. The Great Ordinance of March was highest point development of the Estates General during the period of the estate-representative monarchy in France, but it operated for only a year and a half.

Central and local government. Changes in the organization of power were reflected in the fact that the apparatus of the royal administration turned from a domain one into a national one. Of the previous court positions, only the chancellor retained its importance. The rest passed into the category of court titles. On the basis of the royal curia, a Great Council was created, which included legalists and 24 representatives of the highest secular and spiritual nobility. It met once a month and its powers were purely advisory.

As royal power strengthened, local government centralized. Large administrative districts in the north of France, as before, they were called balyages, headed by baileys. However, since the end of the 15th century, kings have directly appointed lieutenants to these districts. Many court cases come under their jurisdiction. In the south, similar districts were headed by seneschals.

In an effort to centralize local government, the kings introduced new positions of governors with broader powers, which often replaced the bailiffs. Since the 14th century the positions of lieutenant generals appeared, heading several balyages, which at the end of the 15th century. began to be called a province.

Absolute monarchy

The strengthening of private entrepreneurial activity in the city and countryside left its mark on the economic and political life of France. Trade increased significantly; in addition to guild enterprises, capitalist manufactories appeared. In new conditions economic strength The nobility weakened, the classes of the bourgeoisie and the proletariat were formed. The French nation was taking shape. The disintegration of the old feudal estates and the formation of the bourgeois class were the main prerequisites for the establishment of an absolute monarchy. During the period of absolutism, the third estate finally took shape, in which the bourgeoisie played the main role. But as before, the formula was applied: “The clergy serves as prayer, the nobility as a sword, the third estate as property.”

The first estate was considered the clergy, who “prayed for everyone.” Their number reached 130 thousand, of which more than 20 thousand were monks and nuns. The Church was a large land owner. The total amount of income that she received from the lands that belonged to her was several times higher than the state budget of France. The clergy had a number of privileges. It was exempt from a number of obligations: recruitment into the army, payment of taxes, and had the right to its own court and its own administration. The supreme ruler of the priests and nuns of the Catholic Church was the Pope. Clergymen could not marry, and nuns could not marry.

The clergy was divided into two groups. The highest of them included archbishops, bishops, and rectors of cathedrals. The other group was the parish urban and rural clergy.

The second estate was considered the nobility, which “fought for everyone.” This class was not homogeneous and consisted of large, medium and small nobles. The former occupied the highest positions at court, as well as in the military and civil services. The small and middle nobility were the support of the monarchy. All nobles did not pay taxes, and received estates (flax) for their service. In addition, they were given salaries, gifts, and pensions. They were called nobles of the sword, i.e. well-born nobility. In addition to the noble nobility since the 15th century. the so-called “nobility of the robe” was formed. The third estate included townspeople and peasants who were obliged to “work for everyone.” They made up the overwhelming majority of the French population. This class was very heterogeneous. A significant part of the third estate was the peasantry. During the period of absolute monarchy, the differences between the serfs and the villans were erased. With the penetration of commodity-money relations into the villages, wealthy farmers, tenants, and agricultural workers emerged from the peasants.

Political system. The establishment of absolutism in France occurred under the kings Henry IV (1589-1610) and Louis XIII (1610-1643), and reached its peak during the reign of Louis XIV (1643-1715). All these kings paid great attention to improving the system of supreme and local authorities, the main result of which was the strengthening of royal power and increased centralization of government bodies.

The general idea of ​​royal power also changed. In 1614, at the proposal of the Estates General, the French monarchy was declared divine, and the power of the king was considered sacred. Here the ideas about the sovereignty and unlimited power of the king are finally established.

From the 16th century the kings practically stopped convening the Estates General. In the 17th century they were convened only once in 1614. During the period of absolutism, kings did not need a representative body, because usurped all their powers.

The government of the country was concentrated in the palace. In the 16th century there was an increase in the role of the secretaries of state for military, naval, foreign and internal affairs. Under Louis XIV, they approached the king's person and became his ministers. Under the same king, the Council for Finance was created, and the post of Comptroller General of Finance appeared. A prominent political figure in France during the time of Louis XIV, J. B. Colbert, holding this position, became in fact the first minister of the state. At this time, the system of central sectoral government bodies is usurped.

In the local government system, the most important reforms were carried out by Cardinal Richelieu (1624-1642), who served as first minister and actually ruled the country under Louis XIII. He placed at the head of the provinces “quartermasters of police, justice and finance”, into whose hands were the collection of taxes and taxes for the benefit of the treasury, command of the local armed forces, recruitment into the army and management of the local police.

Thus, France was the country in which all stages of feudalism received the most complete form. Here we can see the emergence of feudal relations, their rise and fall, which led to the 18th century. to the bourgeois revolution.

Law of France during the period of feudalism

Before the Great French bourgeois revolution of the 18th century. diversity reigned in France, and there was a clear lack of uniformity in law itself. According to the nature of the sources, the entire territory of the country was divided into two parts - southern and northern. The border between them ran south of the Loire River. The southern part was a country of written law, because it applied Roman law. The northern part was dominated by customary law and was therefore called the land of customary law.

Roman law was studied at universities, and complex legal cases were resolved taking into account its general norms. The University of Orleans was considered the center of propaganda of Roman law, where at the end of the 11th and beginning of the 12th centuries. A short guide to Roman law was published.

Until the revolution of 1789, the right of feudal ownership of land was also combined with elements of communal peasant land use. In civil law, such a sub-branch as the law of obligations has developed intensively. The feudal character was inherent in all contracts that took place during that period.

In a subsistence economy, there was no urgent need to develop economic relations. With the development of commodity-money relations, the importance of contracts increased. Land occupied a special place in the purchase and sale agreement. Feudal customary law provided for the right of landowners and their relatives to redeem what was sold real estate. Until the 12th century. It was impossible to alienate family property without the consent of relatives, except in cases of extreme need. However, in this case, relatives could redeem the family property by paying the agreed price. In the 13th century the consent of relatives is no longer required for the sale of ancestral property, but they retain the right to redeem it within a year and one day. The lord had the right to redeem the fief sold by his vassal within 40 days if he was informed, and within 30 years if he knew nothing about it.

Over time, in order to avoid subsequent feudal strife, notaries began to require the presence of members of the seller’s family, including children over 14 years of age, when drawing up a contract for the sale of real estate.

Marriage and family law. Issues of marriage and family in France were governed mainly by canon law. The condition for marriage was reaching a set age: for men it ranged from 13 to 15 years, and for women - 12 years.

To enter into marriage, the consent of the parties and parents was required. The Edict of 1556, supported by Louis XIII's Ordinance of 1639, provided that parental consent was required only until sons reached the age of 30 and daughters 25. Marriages between minors were recognized as invalid; persons who have not received baptism; relatives.

The husband was considered the head of the family. The wife was required to obey her husband, who was even allowed to beat her, but “reasonably,” i.e. not to death and without mutilation. Adultery gave the offended spouse the right to demand separation, but divorce was not allowed. The wife's legal capacity was limited: she could not enter into transactions without the consent of her husband. In the north, community of joint property was recognized, but it was managed by the husband, and in the south, community of property did not exist. In addition, the south retained the power of the lord over children, which had its origins in Roman law. The acquisitions of the children were included in the property of the landlord. In the north, parental authority was seen as guardianship over children.

Criminal law. It is quite clear that the concept of “crime” from the 9th to the 18th centuries. undergoes significant changes. Thus, if at the initial stage of the formation of the French state actions that affected the interests of individuals were considered a crime, then by the 12th century. crime ceases to be a private matter and acts as a violation of the established feudal order.

Legal proceedings. In the field of legal proceedings, there was also arbitrariness, corruption of judges, red tape and other abuses, which greatly irritated people belonging to the third estate.

Until the 15th century In France, there were two types of process: adversarial and inquisitorial. The first of them was based on a judicial duel. Peasants fought with sticks, and knights fought with a spear and sword. A nobleman could challenge a judge to a duel if he did not agree with the verdict. Ordeals were also used here, which, according to canon law, were allowed to be carried out with bread and cheese. It was believed that the culprit would certainly choke.

The Ordinance of 1498 of Louis XII and the Edict of Francis I of 1539 completely abolished the adversarial process. Its place was taken by the inquisition (search process). It differed from the adversarial one in the procedure for initiating a criminal case, as well as in the types of evidence. Its procedure was determined by the ordinance of 1670. According to it, the preliminary investigation was divided into two stages: general and special investigation. In the first stage, evidence was collected and the culprit was identified; in the second, evidence was verified and interrogated. The investigation was secret, written, using a formal theory of evidence and torture. The latter was sometimes carried out twice: once - in order to obtain the accused’s own confession during the investigation, and another time - before the execution was carried out in order to identify accomplices in the crime who were not identified during the process. The trial was held behind the scenes, without an indictment and without calling witnesses questioned during the preliminary investigation. The verdicts were divided into guilty, acquittal and remaining under suspicion.

Thus France, like others European countries during the period of absolute monarchy, moves to more rigid forms of judicial process, which becomes state-owned and is widely used in legal proceedings.

The Frankish state was initially a kingdom on the territory of the Roman province of Gaul (modern France, Western Switzerland, Belgium), then - during the era of the empire - on the territory of almost all of Western and part of Central Europe.

481-511 Reign of the Frankish king Clovis I of the Merovingian dynasty. He conquered almost all of Gaul and united all the Franks under his rule, which laid the foundation for the Frankish state, which after the death of the king was divided among himself by his sons.

507 At the Battle of Poitiers, Clovis I defeated the Visigoths and captured the entire southwest of Gaul (Aquitaine).

534-536 The Franks conquered Burgundy and Provence.

613-629 Reign of Lothar II. Under him, the Frankish state again became unified.

714-741 Reign of the last Merovingians. Actual power is concentrated in the hands of the mayordomo (highest official at court) Charles Martel. Suppressed military unrest in the kingdom. He confiscated part of the church lands and distributed them to feudal lords, strengthened the military forces of the state.

732, October 4 In the battle of Poitiers, the Frankish army under the command of Charles Martel defeated the Arabs invading from Spain. The further advance of the Arabs into Western Europe was stopped.

741–768 Reign of King Pepin the Short, son of Charles Martell. In fact, as mayor, he ruled the country from 741. He founded the Carolingian dynasty. He united the entire country under his rule - from the English Channel to the shores of the Mediterranean Sea.

768-814 Reign of King Charlemagne (Charlemagne), from 800 - Emperor of the West. His conquests (in 773-774 of the Lombard kingdom in Italy, in 772-804 of Saxony, etc.) led to the formation of a vast empire. The policies of Charlemagne (church patronage, judicial and military reforms) contributed to the formation of feudal relations in Western Europe. Charlemagne's empire collapsed shortly after his death.

788 Charlemagne abolished the ducal power in Bavaria and divided this region into counties,

801 The Franks took Barcelona from the Arabs.

814-840 Reign of Louis the Pious. He tried unsuccessfully to preserve the integrity of the empire inherited from his father (Charlemagne). Once he divided its management between his sons in 817 (retaining supreme power); redivided the empire in 829.

843 Division of Charlemagne's empire by the Treaty of Verdun. Formation of the West Frankish state on the territory of modern France, led by King Charles II the Bald. Reigned until 877 as the first king of France.

855 Formation of the kingdoms of Lorraine and Provence.

870 Transfer of part of the territory of Lorraine under the control of the West Frankish kingdom.

898–923 Reign of Charles III the Simple. Conceded the territory of Normandy to the Normans (911). In the same year he took possession of all of Lorraine. Captured by the nobility, who rebelled against him, he was imprisoned from 923.

Capetian Dynasty

987–996 Reign of Hugo Capet. Founder of the Capetian dynasty, which ruled France until 1792.

1031-1060 Reign of Henry I. Fought for the throne with his brother Robert, gave him the Duchy of Burgundy to rule. He experienced strong pressure from vassals and fought unsuccessfully (1054) with Duke William I the Conqueror, the future king of England. In 1049 he married Anna, daughter Prince of Kyiv Yaroslav the Wise. After her husband's death, she effectively ruled the country under her young son, King Philip I.

1108-1137 Reign of Louis VI Tolstoy. Strengthening the central government, putting an end to the resistance of the feudal lords in the royal domains.

1152 The kingdom lost territory in southwestern France - the Duchy of Aquitaine, with its capital Bordeaux, which fell under English influence. The beginning of a long territorial struggle between France and England.

1180–1223 Reign of Philip II Augustus. He successfully pursued a policy of centralizing the state and limited the independence of the feudal nobility. Conquered French territories (Normandy, etc.) from England. Transformed France into a leading European power.

1215 The University of Paris, one of the oldest in the world, is founded.

1226–1270 Reign of Saint Louis IX. Conducted centralization reforms state power. Led the 7th (1248–1254) and 8th (1270) crusades. He concluded the Treaty of Paris in 1259, according to which England renounced its claims to all French territories except Guienne (Aquitaine).

1257 Founding of the Sorbonne, a theological college in the Latin Quarter of Paris. Since 1554 - theological faculty of the University, since the 17th century. - a common name for the entire university complex.

1285-1314 Reign of Philip IV the Fair. Expanded the territory of royal possessions. Made the papacy dependent on the French kings. . Convened the first Estates General (1302). He obtained from the pope the abolition of the Catholic spiritual-knightly order of the Templars in 1312.

1328–1350 Reign of Philip VI, first king of the Valois dynasty, a side branch of the Capetians. Elected king despite the claims to the French throne of King Edward III of England (grandson of the French king Philip IV), which was the reason for the start of the Hundred Years' War with England (1337).

1358 Jacquerie - a peasant uprising in France, caused mainly by exorbitant war taxes. Suppressed by royal troops.

1412-1431 Years of life of Joan of Arc (Maiden of Orleans) - the national heroine of France. She came from a peasant family. She led the fight of France against the British during the Hundred Years War, in 1429 she liberated Orleans from the siege. She was captured, accused of heresy and burned 30 May 1431 at the stake in Rouen by the verdict of a church court.

1422–1461 Reign of Charles VII. Crowned in Reims in 1429 with the assistance of Joan of Arc. Under him, the Hundred Years' War ended. He contributed to the French Church gaining a certain independence from the papacy (1438).

1477 Defeat of the Duchy of Burgundy at the Battle of Nancy and the death of Duke Charles the Bold. Burgundy became part of France.

1483-1498 Reign of Charles VIII. As a result of his marriage to Anne of Brittany, he annexed Brittany to the French crown (1491). In 1494 the Italian Wars began.

1498-1515 Reign of Louis XII. With a campaign in 1499 he resumed the Italian Wars of 1494-1559. He carried out reforms to reorganize the army, streamline the court, taxation, and coinage system.

1515-1547 Reign of Francis I. Sought to turn France into an absolute monarchy. In 1516 he concluded the Bologna Concordat with the pope, which made the Church in France a state institution, and church revenues a means of remunerating the nobility.

1532 Final annexation of the Duchy of Brittany to France. Completion of the country's unification.

1547-1559 Reign of Henry II. In 1547 he established an extraordinary tribunal at the Parisian parliament, which tried heretics (Huguenots). His troops occupied the duchies of Metz, Toul, and Verdun in 1552 (in the “Holy Roman Empire”). In 1559 he signed a peace that ended the Italian Wars.

1558 French troops under the command of Duke Francois of Guise took the fortress-port of Calais - the last stronghold of the British in France.

1560-1574 Reign of Charles IX. In fact, the country was ruled by his mother Catherine de Medici.

1562-1598 Religious wars between Catholics and Huguenots, the active force is the petty nobility. Both camps were headed by the feudal nobility, who sought to place their protege on the royal throne. With the accession of Henry IV to the French throne in 1594, hostilities largely ended.

1572, August 24 St. Bartholomew's Night - massacre of Huguenots by Catholics in Paris, organized by Catherine de' Medici and the king's cousin Henry of Guise.

1574–1589 Reign of Henry III, the last king of the Capetian-Valois dynasty. Fought with Henry of Navarre and Guise. In May 1588, due to a popular uprising in Paris, he fled to Chartres. Killed by a monk who was a supporter of the Guises.

Bourbon Dynasty

1589-1610 Reign of Henry IV (actually from 1594), first of the Bourbon dynasty. From 1562 King of Navarre (Henry of Navarre). During the religious wars - head of the Huguenots. After his conversion to Catholicism in 1593, he was recognized by the king of France (“Paris is worth a mass”). Henry Gu issued the Edict of Nantes (1598), which ended the religious wars; contributed to the strengthening of absolutism. Killed by a Catholic fanatic.

1624-1642 The actual reign of Cardinal Richelieu in France during the era of Louis XIII. Contributed to the strengthening of absolutism. Deprived the Huguenots of political rights; carried out administrative, financial, military reforms; suppressed feudal revolts and popular uprisings. Involved France in the Thirty Years' War.

France has existed as an independent state since the division of the Frankish Empire under the Treaty of Verdun (843) and the separation of the West Frankish Kingdom, which received lands west of the Rhine. The country began to be called “France” only in the 10th century.

Conventionally, the history of the medieval state in France can be divided into the following periods:

· period of feudal fragmentation (seigneurial monarchy)- IX-XIII centuries;

· period of estate-representative monarchy- XIV-XV centuries;

· period of absolute monarchy- XVI-XVIII centuries.

(IX-XIII centuries) the kingdom was actually divided into many independent fiefs, and in the 11th century. fragmentation also continued within individual duchies and counties.

By the 10th century, the formation of the two main social strata of feudal society was completed - seniors And dependent peasantry. By this time the lords - the beneficiaries achieved the transformation of the beneficiary from a lifelong grant into hereditary feudal property - feud. A feudal hierarchy took shape, headed by a king, with its characteristic system vassalage.

The vassalage relationship was based on the hierarchical structure of land ownership: nominally, the king was considered the supreme owner of all land in the state - the supreme lord, or overlord, and large feudal lords, receiving lands from him, became his vassals. They, in turn, also had vassals - smaller feudal lords who were granted land holdings.

This staircase consisted of the following steps:

· the king-senior stood at the top;

· vassals and sub-vassals of different levels - arrier-vassals;

· at the bottom level - simple knights, chevaliers, who did not have their own vassals (Table 2).

Table 2.

Vassalage was established:

Dependent peasantry consisted of serfs and villans. However, according to a medieval proverb, “if the serf’s duties lay on his person, then the villan’s duties lay on his land.”

Original position personally dependent servers was close to late antique slaves - some of the serfs were used as landless courtyard workers, some worked on the small plots of land allocated to them. The serfs were subordinate to the judicial-administrative authority of the same lord, paid him a poll tax and quitrent, performed corvée and were limited in their following civil and economic rights. So, for example, they did not have the right to move from seigneury to seigneury, alienate land holdings, freedom of inheritance, or choose a marriage partner.

For Villanov, which were considered personally free land holders, which belonged to the feudal lord, are characterized by the absence of hereditary personal duties (their duties related not to the individual, but to the land plot), wider possibilities for the alienation of land holdings, as well as the possibility of relocating to another estate, to free lands or to the city.

Starting from the 10th century, the development of agriculture, the separation of crafts from it and population growth contributed to the emergence of new and the revival of old cities founded by the Romans as centers of crafts and trade. The legal status of the townspeople was still little different from the position of the rest of the feudal dependent people. Although, according to another medieval French proverb, “the air of the city made a man free,” it was enough for a runaway serf to live one year and one day within the city commune for him to acquire the status of a free citizen.

During the period of feudal fragmentation king, the nominal head of the state, elected by large landowners - vassals of the king and the highest hierarchs of the church.

IN central government bodies The palace-patrimonial system was combined with management based on vassal relations:

· the palace system, as before, was represented by ministerials (seneschal - head of the royal court, constable, royal treasurer, chancellor);

· governance, based on vassal relations, was carried out in the form of a congress of the largest feudal lords of the country, called the Royal Curia or the Great Council.

Local government characterized by the fact that the power of the king was recognized only in his own domain, and the land holdings of large feudal lords had their own systems of local government.

IN judicial system Under the seigneurial monarchy, seigneurial justice operated - judicial power was divided among the seigneurs, and the scope of their judicial powers was determined by the level of the hierarchical ladder on which they were located.

Army consisted of a knightly militia of vassals performing military service, the performance of which they were obliged to their lords. During wars, people's militia were convened.

The social system of France during the period of the estate-representative monarchy.

The development of cities and the expansion of interregional economic ties, as well as the establishment of strong economic ties between city and countryside, created favorable conditions for overcoming feudal fragmentation, for the formation of a single national market and the further economic and social development of the country. A specialization of agricultural and handicraft production in certain regions and cities arises, which leads to the strengthening of trade ties between different regions of the kingdom. Under these conditions, the population of cities increased and their influence in the country increased.

With the end of the period of feudal fragmentation, the state took shape estate-representative monarchy.

This became possible due to the fact that:

· the socio-economic foundations of the union of royal power and cities were strengthened: thanks to the growth of urban industry and trade, cities were able to provide financial assistance to monarchs;

· the main groups of the middle and minor nobility rallied around the royal power in the hope of obtaining protection of their privileged position by the forces of the royal army, as well as for the sake of obtaining profitable positions.

The events of this era are presented schematically in Table. 3.

Table 3.

In the XIV-XV centuries. The formation of hereditary classes was almost completed. French society was divided into three classes:

· class of clergy;

· class of nobility;

· « third" estate, which included merchants, artisans, and free peasants.

The first two estates were privileged, since they were exempt from state taxes and duties, they enjoyed preferential access to government positions. The third estate was taxable

Under the influence of the development of commodity-money relations, significant changes occurred in the legal situation peasants Feudal lords replace part of natural duties and payments with cash rent. By the 14th century the form of peasant land use is changing - servage is being replaced censive.

Census was called a hereditary land holding, the holder of which (censitor) paid annually to his master qualification- a firmly fixed monetary, less often in kind, rent, and also performed certain duties. Subject to these conditions, the censitary had the right to inherit his censiva, mortgage, lease and even sell it - with the consent of the lord and with the payment of a special duty.

The state system of France during the period of the estate-representative monarchy.

Usually the beginning of the period of estate-representative monarchy in France (XIV-XV centuries) is considered to be the convocation in 1302. States General - supreme body class representation.

The predecessors of the Estates General in France were extended meetings of the royal council (with the involvement of city leaders), as well as provincial assemblies of estates, which marked the beginning of the implementation of the idea of ​​estate representation in the localities. The all-French Estates General was an advisory body convened at the initiative of royal power at critical moments to assist the government; Their main function was voting taxes. Each estate sat in the Estates General separately from the others. The members of the first chamber were senior clergy; the second - deputies from nobility; in the third, elected deputies from the top sat townspeople, the "third estate".

The importance of the Estates General increased in the 14th century, during the Hundred Years' War, when royal power was especially in need of money.

In this period Central authorities were:

1. State Council, carried out, on the instructions of the king, leadership and control over individual levels of management;

2. Accounts Chamber, created in the 13th century. reforms of Louis IX, in charge of finances.

The most important officials were:

· chancellor, whose functions included current management and control over activities officials. During the absence of the king, he presided over the State Council, under the leadership of the chancellor draft ordinances were drawn up;

· constable- commander of the cavalry knightly army, later commander of the royal army;

· chamberlain- treasurer;

· daddy's- royal advisors who carried out individual assignments for the king.

Some changes have occurred in the system judicial institutions, for example, royal justice supplanted seigneurial and ecclesiastical justice: the jurisdiction of the royal courts expanded significantly; they could reconsider any decision of the seigneurial court. At the same time, the judicial authorities were not yet separated from the administrative ones; their isolation and, accordingly, the formation of a centralized judicial system were outlined.

During the reign of King Louis IX (XIII century), a reform was carried out aimed at strengthening the power of the monarch and a special judicial body was created - the Parisian Parliament. It later became the kingdom's highest court of appeal. Parliament considered the most important criminal and civil cases at first instance, and could also review the decisions and sentences of lower courts with a new check of all previously considered or newly presented evidence, thus exercising control over local courts (Table 4).

Table 4.

Justice on the ground officials acted on behalf of the king - lords, seneschals and provosts who considered the bulk of criminal and civil cases.

Around the same time church court turned into a special court for cases of special subject and personal jurisdiction and formed an instance system that included:

1) lower authority - the court of officials, special representatives of the bishop;

2) second instance - the archbishop's court;

3) court of the cardinal;

4) the highest authority - the court of the Roman Curia, which considered the most important cases.

By the 14th century includes the creation of a special body for criminal prosecution and prosecution - - prosecutor's office, whose members were called royal procurators and acted in courts as prosecutors in cases affecting the interests of the monarchy (“interests of the crown”).

Second half of the 14th century. and the first half of the 15th century. were marked by the fact that during the military reforms the royal army becomes regular, significant in number, with centralized leadership and clear organization. By this time, the government, after introducing permanent taxes, had at its disposal significant funds, which were used to recruit mercenaries, mostly foreigners (Germans, Scots, etc.). Officer positions were occupied by the nobility.

The social system of France during the period of absolute monarchy.

Scientists date the emergence of the absolute monarchy in France to the 16th century. The emergence of this new form monarchical rule due to the fact that from the end of the 15th century. started in the country formation of the capitalist system in industry and agriculture.

The development of the capitalist system accelerated the decomposition of feudal relations, but did not destroy them (Table 5)

Table 5.

In the 16th century the French monarchy had already lost the previously existing representative institutions, but retained its class nature . The first two classes - the clergy and the nobility - completely retained their privileged position. With a population of 15 million in the 16th-17th centuries. approximately 130 thousand people belonged to the clergy, and about 400 thousand people belonged to the nobility. The overwhelming majority of the population in France was the third estate (which included the peasantry).

Clergy, was very heterogeneous and showed unity only in the desire to maintain class and feudal privileges. Conflicts intensified between the top of the church and the parish priests.

The dominant place in the public and state life of French society was occupied by Nobility, however, important changes have occurred. A significant part of the well-born " nobility swords"went bankrupt; their place in land ownership and in all levels of the royal apparatus was taken by people from the city elite, who bought judicial-administrative positions (which gave noble privileges) on the basis of property rights, passed them on by inheritance and became the so-called " nobility mantle"Noble status was also granted as a result of an award by a special royal act.

Third Estate it was also heterogeneous, there was social and property differentiation. As a result of this, at its lower levels there were peasants, artisans, unskilled workers, the unemployed, and at the top - those from whom the bourgeois class was formed: financiers, traders, guild foremen, notaries, lawyers.

The state system of France during the period of absolute monarchy.

French absolutism reached its highest stage of development during the reign of Louis XIV (1661-1715). The peculiarity of absolutism in France was that king- the next head of state - possessed full legislative, executive, military and judicial power. The centralized state mechanism, the administrative and financial apparatus, the army, the police, and the court were subordinate to him. All residents of the country were subjects of the king, obliged to obey him unquestioningly.

However, from the 16th century. to the first half of the 17th century. absolute monarchy played progressive role, because it fought against the split of the country, thereby creating favorable conditions for its subsequent socio-economic development. Moreover, in need of new additional funds, promoted the growth of capitalist industry and trade - encouraged the construction of new manufactories, introduced high customs duties for foreign goods, waged wars against foreign powers competing in trade, founded colonies - new markets.

By the second half of the 17th century, capitalism reached such a level that its further favorable development in the depths of feudalism became impossible, the absolute monarchy lost its previously inherent relatively progressive features .

The further development of productive forces was hampered by: the privileges of the clergy and nobility; feudal order in the village; high export duties on goods, etc.

With the strengthening of absolutism, all government concentrated in the hands of the king.

The activities of the Estates General practically ceased: they met very rarely. The last convocation was in 1614, the next one was on the eve of the revolution in May 1789.

From the beginning of the 16th century. secular power in the person of the king strengthened its control over the church .

As the bureaucratic apparatus grew, its influence increased. Central government bodies during the period under review were divided into two categories:

1) institutions inherited from the estate-representative monarchy, positions in which they were sold. They were partially controlled by the nobility and were gradually pushed into the secondary sphere of government;

2) institutions created by absolutism, in which positions were not for sale, but were mixed up by officials appointed by the government. Over time, they formed the basis of management. State Council actually turned into the highest advisory body under the king. The State Council included both the “nobility of the sword” and the “nobility of the robe” - representatives of old and new institutions.

At the same time, there were special councils, positions in which were occupied by nobility and which practically did not function. Privy Council, Chancellor's Office, Council of Despatches etc. The bodies created during absolutism were headed Comptroller General of Finance(essentially the first minister) and four Secretary of State- on military affairs, foreign affairs, maritime affairs and court affairs. Farmers of indirect taxes acquired a greater role and influence, they are also state creditors.

IN local government, as in the central authorities, there were two main categories:

1) who have lost a significant part of their real powers seneschals, magnates, provosts, governors, whose positions were rooted in the past and were replaced by well-born nobility;

2) those who actually led the local administrative department and court quartermasters justice, police and finance - special local representatives of the royal government, to whose posts persons of humble origin were usually appointed. The commissaries were divided into districts, the real power in which was vested subdelegates, appointed by the intendant and subordinate to him.

The king himself headed judicial system, and he could accept for his personal consideration or entrust any matter to his authorized representative. In legal proceedings, there were several types of courts: royal courts; seigneurial courts; city ​​courts; church courts, etc.

During the period of absolute monarchy, the strengthening continued royal courts. In accordance with the Ordnance of Orleans (1560) and the Ordinance of Moulins (1566), most criminal and civil cases became subject to royal jurisdiction.

Edict of 1788 left seigneurial courts in the field of criminal proceedings only the functions of preliminary inquiry bodies. In the field of civil proceedings, they had jurisdiction only over cases with a small amount of claim, but these cases could, at the discretion of the parties, be immediately transferred to the royal courts. Are common the royal courts consisted of three instances: courts of prevotage, court of law and courts of parliament.

They also functioned special courts, where cases involving departmental interests were considered: the Accounts Chamber, the Chamber of Indirect Taxes, and the Mint Administration had their own courts. In France there were maritime, customs and military courts.

Creating a permanent army how the king's support under absolutism actually ended. They gradually abandoned the recruitment of foreign mercenaries and moved on to staffing the armed forces by recruiting soldiers from the lower strata of the “third estate,” including criminal elements. Officer positions were still held only by the nobility, which gave the army a pronounced class character. The French army of the era of absolutism was the largest in Europe and numbered more than 600 thousand people (Table 6).

Table 6.

Law of medieval France. By the 11th century. the most characteristic form of land property in France it becomes feud. However, the right of feudal ownership of land was combined with the remains communal land use. Free peasant property completely disappeared to the ground.

Feudal ownership of land was inextricably linked with the ownership rights of peasants. For the feudal lord, land was valuable not in itself, but only in conjunction with the worker cultivating it. The peasant could not alienate his land plot without the consent of the lord, but the latter could not arbitrarily drive the peasant off the land. When from the XIII century. the form of peasant land use changes, and servage is replaced by censorship, the peasant-censitary is freed from personal duties and receives greater freedom to dispose of land. With the consent of the owner and upon payment of a special duty, the peasant had the right to sell, donate, mortgage and otherwise assign his qualification, provided that the qualification is regularly paid.

During the period of feudal fragmentation contractual relationship in France they developed slowly. When buying and selling land, the lord was always recognized with the right of preemption to purchase the fief sold by the vassal. In addition, he and the seller’s relatives had the right to repurchase the sold land within a specified period.

In the X- -XI centuries, when the purchase and sale of property was a rare occurrence, has been developed gift agreement. Often this agreement disguised the purchase and sale transaction. The recipient of the gifted property assumed the obligation to transfer certain property to the donor as a sign of gratitude. The deed of gift was also used to circumvent restrictions on wills.

Large purchase and sale transactions from the 12th century. begin to be drawn up in writing, and subsequently approved by notaries. Since the 13th century, with the development of trade, a sales contract arose from the moment it was concluded by the parties. Its object could be things that had not yet been manufactured.

During the period of absolutism, it became widespread land lease agreement. This form of exploitation of the peasants gave the nobility great benefit, since the amount of rent was not determined by custom and could be increased arbitrarily. In addition, unlike the census, the land leased was returned to the disposal of the lord at the end of the contract.

Marriage and family in France until the 16th century. were regulated exclusively by church rules. Only in the XVI-XVII centuries. The royal power, in an effort to strengthen state influence on marriage and family relations, deviated from church norms relating to marriage. Marriage began to be viewed as an act of civil status. The rule was revised according to which parental consent was not required when entering into marriage. In the 17th century parents received the right to appeal to the Paris Parliament with a complaint against the actions of the priest who entered into a marriage without their consent.

Personal relationships between spouses were determined mainly canonical law, which meant the leadership of the husband in the family, the subordination of his wife to him, cohabitation, etc. Children could not perform legal acts without the consent of their parents. The father had the right to ask the royal administration to imprison disobedient children.

At inheritance by law the most characteristic institution in France was lordship, that is, the transfer by inheritance of an entire land plot of the deceased to the eldest son, which made it possible to avoid the fragmentation of feudal lordships and peasant farms. The heir had the responsibility to help his minor brothers and marry off his sisters. Inheritance by will first became widespread in the south of France. Under the influence of the church, wills began to penetrate into common law.

At the beginning of the period of feudal fragmentation, in the 9th - 11th centuries, crime in France it was considered as an action affecting the interests of individuals.

Punishments were limited to compensation for harm caused to individuals. By the end of this period, in the 11th-12th centuries, when seigneurial jurisdiction reigned, crime ceased to be a private matter, but acted as a violation of the established feudal legal order. Such negative phenomena of criminal law as liability without guilt, excessive cruelty of punishment, and uncertainty of crimes are developing.

During the period of estate-representative monarchy and especially during the period of absolutism, with the centralization of the state and the strengthening of royal power, seigneurial jurisdiction is weakened and the role of legislation of kings in the development of criminal law. In royal legislation, penalties were not clearly defined; their application largely depended on the discretion of the court and on the class status of the accused.

The purpose of punishment was retribution and intimidation. Sentences were carried out publicly so that the suffering of the convicted person would cause fear in all those present.

Species punishments were: the death penalty in various forms (torn to pieces by horses, quartering, burning, etc.); self-harm and corporal punishment; imprisonment; confiscation of property - as a primary and additional punishment.

Interrogation of the Heretic Fig. 3.

Trial until the end of the 12th century. wore accusatory character. Ordeals were widespread, including judicial duels, which were carried out with the mutual consent of the parties or in the case when one of them accused the enemy of lying. From the 13th century approved investigative, inquisitorial form of the process(Fig. 3).

The court case was initiated on the basis of the accusations of the royal prosecutor, as well as denunciations and complaints. The first stage of the search process was inquiry, that is, the collection of preliminary and secret information about the crime and the criminal. Then the forensic investigator collected written evidence, interrogated witnesses and the accused, and conducted confrontations.

The trial of the case took place in closed session; decisive importance was attached to the materials collected during the investigation. Evidence of the guilt of the accused was, in addition to his own confession, testimony of witnesses, letters from the accused, protocols drawn up at the crime scene, etc.

During the search process, the guilt of the accused was implied, so the testimony of one witness was enough to use torture. Its purpose was to obtain a confession from the accused.

Control questions

How was the state of France formed?

What periods can statehood in medieval France be divided into?

What was the essence of the reforms of King Louis IX in the 13th century?

What are the French "Estates General"?

Name the distinctive features of absolutism in France.

List the main sources of medieval law in France.