The "Coutumes de Beauvaisis" of Philippe de Beaumanoir 9781512800029

Citation preview

The Coutumes de Beauvaisis of Philippe de Beaumanoir

The Coutumes de Eetmvaisis of Philippe de Beaumanoir Translated by F. R. P. Akehurst

The University of Pennsylvania Press Philadelphia

University of Pennsylvania Press MIDDLE AGES SERIES Edited by Edward Peters Henry Charles Lea Professor of Medieval History University of Pennsylvania

Copyright © 1992 by the University of Pennsylvania Press All rights reserved Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Beaumanoir, Philippe de Remi, sire de, ca. 1250-1296. [Coutumes de Beauvaisis. English] The coutumes de Beauvaisis of Philippe de Beaumanoir / translated by F. R. P. Akehurst. p. cm. — (Middle Ages series) Translation of: Coutumes de Beauvaisis. Included bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-8122-3105-8 i. Customary law—France—Beauvais. 2. Law—France—Beauvais—Sources. I. Title. II. Series. KJV264-B433B43I3 1992 349.44—dc20 [344.4] 9I-3I497 CIP FRONTISPIECE: The first page of a Paris manuscript of the Coutumes de Beauvaisis. Paris, Bibliotheque Nationale, MS fr. 18671. Reproduced by permission of the Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris (Phot. Bibl. Nat. Paris).

To the memory of my Mother and Father

This page intentionally left blank

Contents

List of Abbreviations Introduction Map Prologue 1. Judges 2. Summonses 3. Permissible Delays 4. Attorneys 5. Advocates 6. Complaints 7. Answers 8. Latecomers 9. Inspections 10. Superior Jurisdiction 11. Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction 12. Wills 13. Dower 14. Inherited Real Property 15. Custodianship 16. Minors 17. Tutors 18. Illegitimacy 19. Consanguinity 20. Good-Faith Holders 21. Partnerships 22. Corporations 23. Property 24. Customs 25. Highways 26. Measurements 27. Prices

xi xiii xxxiii 3 14 33 47 57 69 76 92 103 106 112 118 133 155 165 180 194 201 204 216 219 223 23 244 249 263 273 279

viii Contents 28. Horses 29. Services 30. Offenses 31. Larceny 32. Novel Disseisin 33. Fraud 34. Contracts 35. Writings 36. Safekeeping 37. Loans 38. Rentals 39. Proofs 40. Auditors 41. Arbitrators 42. Liquidated Damages 43. Sureties 44. Redemption 45. Avowa 46. Religious Houses 47. Subinfeudation

288 291 30 334 34O 351 35 381 395 400 405 418 443 458 470 474 48 506 52 530

48. Freehold

536

49. Necessity 50. Communes 51. Seizures 52. Trespass 53. Reclamation 54. Creditors' Remedies I 55. Creditors' Remedies II 56. Incompetents 57. Marital Maintenance 58. Jurisdiction 59. Private War 60. Truces 61. Appeals 62. Default of Judgment 63. Defenses 64. Judicial Battles 65. Jurors' Delays 66. Recusal

540 543 551 560 571 576 585 589 593 599 610 619 627 652 659 670 677 684

Contents

ix

67. Judgment 68. Usury 69. Misadventure 70. Unenforceable Gifts Conclusion

689 704 710 720 725

Glossary Index

727 735

This page intentionally left blank

Abbreviations

The following works are cited in the notes by the short form indicated: Beugnot. Les coutumes du BeauvoisisparPhilippe de Beaumanoir, jurisconsulte fran^ais du Xnie siecle^ ed. le comte Beugnot. 2 vols. Societe de 1'Histoire de France. Paris: Renouard, 1842. Bordier. Bordier, Henry-Leonard. Philippe deRemi, sire de Beaumanoir:Jurisconsulte et poete national du Beauvaisis 1246-1296. 1869. Reprint. Geneva: Slatkine Reprints, 1980. De Lauriere. Ragueau, Francois and Eusebe de Lauriere, eds. Glossaire du droit franfois. New ed. Niort: Favre, 1882. De Lepinois. De Lepinois, Eugene. Recherches historiques et critiques sur I'ancien comte et les comtes de Clermont en Beauvoisis du Xle au Xnie siecle. Beauvais: Pere, 1877. Est. LesEtablissements de Saint Louis^ ed. Paul Viollet. 4 vols. Societe de 1'Histoire de France. Paris: Renouard, 1881. Glanvill. Ranulf de Glanvil(le) (supposed author). The treatise on the laws and customs of England commonly catted Glanvill^ ed. and trans. G. D. G. Hall. Medieval Texts. London: Nelson, 1965. Olim. Beugnot, le comte, ed. Les olim ou registre des arrets renduspar la cour du roi, sous les regnes de Saint Louis, de Philippe le Hardi, de Philippe le Bel, de Louis le Hutin et de Philippe le Long. 4 vols. Paris: Imprimerie Royale, 1839—44. Ord. Ordonnances des rots de France de la troisieme race, ed. Eusebe de Lauriere et al. 21 vols. Paris: Imprimerie Royale, 1723-1849. Salmon. Philippe de Beaumanoir: Coutumes de Beauvaisis^ ed. Am[edee] Salmon. 2 vols. 1899-1900. Reprint. Paris: Picard, 1970.

This page intentionally left blank

Introduction

The esteem in which modern scholars hold Philippe de Beaumanoir's Coutumes de Beauvaisis is evidenced in such descriptions as admirable,1 significant,2 most important,3 the best,4 Toeuvre juridique la plus originale et la plus remarquable du moyen age fran