Conseil Du Roi - Overview

Overview

The kings of France traditionally always sought the advice of their entourage (vassals, clerics, etc.) before making important decisions (in the early Middle Ages, this entourage was sometimes called the familia), but only in the 12th century did this deliberation take the form of a specific institution called the King's Court (Latin: the "Curia Regis"). In addition to the King's Council, the consultative governing of the country also depended on other intermittent and permanent institutions, such as the States General, the Parlements and the Provincial Estates. The Parliament of Paris – as indeed all of the sovereign courts of the realm – was itself born out of the King's Council: originally a consultative body of the Curia Regis, later (in the thirteenth century) endowed with judicial functions, the Parliament was separated from the King's Council in 1254.

The composition of the King's Council changed constantly over the centuries and according to the needs and desires of the king. Medieval councils frequently excluded:

• the queen (both as queen consort or as queen mother) – the influence of the queen lost direct political control as early as the 13th century, except in periods of regency; the queen thus only exceptionally attended the Council.
• close relations to the king, including younger sons, grandsons and princes of the royal bloodline ("prince du sang") from junior branches of the family – these individuals were often suspected of political ambition and of plotting.

On the other hand, medieval councils generally included:

• the crown prince (the "dauphin") – if he was of age to attend the council
• the "grands" – the most powerful members of the church and of the nobility.

The feudal aristocracy would maintain great control over the king's council up until the 14th and 15th centuries. The most important positions in the court were those of the Great Officers of the Crown of France, headed by the connétable (chief military officer of the realm; position eliminated in 1627) and the chancellor. Certain kings were unable to reduce their importance (Louis X, Philip VI, John II, Charles VI), while others were more successful (Charles V, Louis XI, Francis I). In the 16th century, those "grands" with administrative or governmental competencies (religious dignitaries, presidents of provincial courts, etc.) were called to the council by a special certificate (or "brevet") and were termed "conseillers à brevet".

Over the centuries, the number of jurists (or "légistes"), generally educated by the université de Paris, steadily increased as the technical aspects of the matters studied in the council mandated specialized counsellers. Coming from the lesser nobility or the bourgeoisie, these jurists (whose positions sometimes gave them or their heirs nobility, as the so-called "noblesse de robe" or chancellor nobles) helped in preparing and putting into legal form the king's decisions, and they formed the early elements of a true civil service and royal administration which would – because of their permanence – provide a sense of stability and continuity to the royal council, despite its many reorganizations. These counsellors, called conseillers d'État from the reign of Henry III on, were aided in their tasks by the maître des requêtes.

In their attempts at greater efficiency, the kings tried to reduce the number of counsellors or to convoke "reduced councils". Charles V had a council of 12 members. Under Charles VIII and Louis XII the king's council was dominated by members of twenty or so noble or rich families. Under Francis I the total number of councillors increased to roughly 70 individuals (the old nobility was proportionally more important than in the previous century), but the most important matters of state were discussed in a smaller council of 6 or fewer members (3 members in 1535, 4 in 1554), while the larger council was consulted for judicial or financial affairs. Francis I was sometimes criticized for relying too heavily on a small number of advisors, while Henry II, Catherine de' Medici and their sons found themselves frequently unable to negotiate between the opposing Guise and Montmorency families in their council. In periods of crisis, the number of members of the Council tended to increase: 100 councillors under Charles IX, during the worst moments of the Wars of Religion.

The Council had only a consultational role: the final decision was always the king's. Although jurists frequented praised (especially in the 16th century) the advantages of consultative government (with the agreement of his counsellors, the king could more easily impose the most severe of his decisions, or he could have his most unpopular decisions blamed on his counsellors), mainstream legal opinion never held that the king was bound by the decisions of his council; the opposite was however put forward by the States General of 1355–1358, and by the Huguenots and by the Catholic League in the second half of the 16th century.

The Council's purview concerned all matters pertaining to government and royal administration, both in times of war and of peace. In his council, the king received ambassadors, signed treaties, appointed administrators and gave them instructions (called, from the 12th century on, mandements), elaborated on the laws of the realm (called ordonnances). The council also served as a supreme court and rendered royal justice on those matters that the king reserved for himself (so-called "justice retenue") or decided to discuss personally.

Council meetings, initially irregular, took on a regular schedule which became daily from the middle of the 15th century.

From 1661 to the French Revolution, royal administration was divided between the various sections of the King's Council (roughly 130 people) and a small group of ministers and secretaries of state. The royal governmental councils (see below) were the most important and were presided by the king personally. Despite popular opinion, the king did in fact listen to his counsellors and often adopted the opinion of the majority: according to Saint-Simon (whose distrust of Louis XIV makes this statement all the more believable), Louis XIV only went against the advice of his council six times.