DURET, Jean

Interesting and rare commentary on the Edict of Blois by Jean Duret, bound with the very rare Verification of the Edict by the Parlement of Bretagne of great social and legal interest. The States-General of Blois in 1576 declared itself against the Edict of Beaulieu, which had given Huguenots the right of public worship for their religion, throughout France, except at Paris and at Court, and thus began the Sixth War of Religion. The edicts are printed in full in a large Roman type and then followed by Duret s commentary in smaller Roman in which he comments on the intentions and meaning of each article. The edicts that resulted from the States-General of Blois are of great social interest as they deal with re-imposition of laws that clamped down on protestant practices which were reflected throughout society. They deal with such things as regulation of the universities, hospitals, prostitution, taverns, bookselling, banks, astrologers etc. There are many articles that treat with marriage, particularly clamping down on clandestine marriages, and inter-marriage between Catholics and Protestants. Along with the Catholic and reformed churches rules, royal edicts decreed by the French crown during the sixteenth century constituted a third set of laws concerning marriage. The Edict of Blois, issued by Henry III in 1579, echoed some of the council of Trent s provisions: couples were required to marry publicly, after the proclamation of banns and in the presence of four witnesses. According to the edict, however, the officiating priest was responsible for assuring that spouses had obtained their parents or guardians consent - something that was not required by canon law. The edict also forbade notaries to authorize any exchange of vows that took place without public ceremony or parental consent, on pain of bodily punishment. royal clerks were ordered to collect the parish records or marriages, births, and deaths annually, to swear the truth of their contents, and to provide information from those records on request. Diane Claire Margolf. Religion and Royal Justice in Early Modern France. An excellent copy of this rare and interesting legal commentary.