Politics and Institutions in Capetian France Book

The nine essays in this volume by Elizabeth Brown deal with the development of representative institutions and monarchial power in Capetian France. One topic covered is that of the evolution of central assemblies, with case studies of the assemblies held between 1316 and 1321 illuminating the impact of theory on practice. A second topic is that of the moral implications of fiscality and of the attempts by French monarchs to regulate their policies by the teachings of moral philosophy. A particular theme is the Capetians' insistence on reform as a central theme of good government, and their successes and failures living up to their principles. The articles also examine the realm's reactions to the monarchy's ideals and principles, emphasizing and attempting to account for the differences in attitude to government on the part of the ruler and ruled that distinguished medieval France and England. Contents: 1. Representation and agency law in the later Middle Ages: the theoretical foundations and the evolution of practice in the 13th- and 14th-century Midi 2. Cessante Causa and the taxes of the last Capetians: the political applications of a philosophical maxim 3. Taxation and Royal commissioners and grants of privilege in Philip the Fair's France: Pierre de Latilli, Raoul de Breuilli, and the ordonnance for the Seneschalsy of Toulouse and Albi of 1299 4. Reform and resistance to royal authority in 14th-century France: the leagues of 1314-1315 5. Assemblies of French towns in 1316: some new texts 6. Royal necessity and noble service and subsidy in early 14th-century France: the assembly of Bourges of November 1318 7. Subsidy and reform in 1321: the accounts of Najac and the policies of Philip V 8. Customary aids and royal fiscal policy under Philip VI of Valois