The office is a "dignity with public function" according to the definition given by Charles Loyseau in 1610. It is a part of the public function delegated by the king, who creates and distributes the offices. The owner of an office is only its usufructuary. An officer, in modern times, is therefore the holder of an office, that is to say a public office defined by an edict (which creates the office) and a letter of provision issued by the king enabling the function to be performed. The question of the office and the officers is central under the Old Regime. It is linked to the progress of the monarchical State, but engenders profound upheavals in French society from the 17th century onwards by favoring the emergence of a very diverse group:that of the officers, who are found at all levels of society, from the nobility to the lower echelons.
Characteristics of the office under the Old Regime
The offices cover a wide spectrum of various functions, in order to best administer the kingdom. There are thus offices of judicature, finance, linked to the Royal House, to the Parliaments, in short:a diversified set which, moreover, does not necessarily confer the same dignity. The offices of judicature have a greater prestige than those of finance. When they correspond to very high functions, offices can give access to nobility.
The role of the office is to be compared with the development and modernization of the state, in which the king seeks to strengthen his hold on the territory. The monarchy then constitutes in office more and more public functions in a complex framework, which gradually covers the whole kingdom, at all administrative levels. The officers are therefore the civil servants of the time, and with the progress of the State, their number increases considerably. From 4000 in 1515 to the advent of François 1 st , there were more than 50,000 in 1771 under Louis XV.
This growth in the number of officers is also linked to another characteristic:the venality and heredity of offices, an important dimension that gradually came into place in the 16th century. Thus in the 17th and 18th centuries, the offices were made up of venal and transferable charges. In fact, the officer who is appointed takes an oath and pays the duty of the marc d'or. He then exercises a permanent function. Thus, even if it is the king who creates the office and distributes it, once he has granted it, the office only becomes vacant if its holder dies or if he resigns it, thus falling back into the royal purse. Thus the officer is the owner of his office but the function he represents remains in the hands of the monarch. But gradually, the officers become irremovable. From the 17th century, at the beginning of each reign, all officers were confirmed in their office, to which fixed (pledges) or variable (spices) incomes were attached.
In theory, the king concedes offices for free. However, it was customary, from the late Middle Ages, for the beneficiary of an office to lend a certain sum to the sovereign, as a sign of recognition, the pledges received constituting the interest on the loan, which gradually led to the venality of the offices. One becomes the owner of an office by paying the sum corresponding to the finance of the office, considered as a perpetual loan to the monarchy. Thus, more and more the king sells offices to individuals, and a specific trade is set up between individuals. To capture subsidies on this market, the monarchy established the Office of Casual Parties in 1522.
Thus, the venality of offices transforms the office into a patrimonial good, which leads to the problem of the transmission of office to his descendants. The transmission of the office to a person is possible and accepted by the monarchy. Generally, this resignation is made for the benefit of the son or a person of the family of the officer in order to keep the office in the bosom of the family patrimony. Theoretically free, the resignation is subject to the 40-day clause, i.e. a survival period of 40 days for the person who resigns is necessary for the transmission to be valid. Otherwise, the office returns to the hands of the king, without the family recovering the sum paid when purchasing the office. The king therefore has every interest, for financial reasons, in ensuring that the 40-day clause does not come to an end, which leads to numerous disputes, some families sometimes conceal deaths...
Under Henri IV in 1604, by the Edict of La Paulette (by Charles Paulet), offices became hereditary. Upon payment of an annual fee of 1/60 of the value of the office, its holder may transfer his office without the 40-day clause intervening. From now on, the offices are venal and hereditary, and the consequences are multiple.
Evolution of offices in the 17th and 18th centuries
La Paulette is a great success. Offices multiplied to meet the kingdom's administrative needs, but also because they represented a significant tax windfall, allowing significant funds to be channeled into the kingdom's coffers:approximately 45% of tax revenue between 1600 and 1633. This policy represents a good expedient during periods of crisis or war. Thus the king multiplies and duplicates the offices:the holders of already existing offices redeem those which are created in order to avoid sharing their function and maintain their position. The king takes advantage of the annual renewal to impose an increase in wages, forcing the officer to pay an additional sum to collect these wages. The creation of offices is going well and the authorities are showing imagination:for example, offices are being created for binder-hay baler, inspector-visitor of butter, cheese and beer entering Paris. The financial dimension of the offices is all the more important as they are often accompanied by privileges. Thus the establishment of the Paulette leads to a significant increase in the prices of the offices, generally they are multiplied by 5 between the end of the XVIth century and 1635. A strong speculation is set up, and the State lets it go because it finds its account . It was not until 1665 that Colbert put an end to it and set ceiling prices.
The diversity of the offices and their value leads to an attachment of the officers to their offices, who are keen to preserve their capital, the income, the privileges, the prestige and the prerogatives which are there. linked, willingly assimilating them to the defense of the general interest. This allows the king to play on the desire for social advancement of officers wishing to distinguish themselves, a sign of an effective social dynamic. But the king wanted to have servants under his direct control:he surrounded himself with commissioners, whom he appointed and could revoke when he saw fit, in order to counterbalance the independence of the officers. He benefits there from zealous servants because in a precarious situation:their maintenance depends only on the royal will. Hence the many conflicts of precedence and permanent tensions between commissioners and officers.
In the 18th century, the number of offices continued to increase, while a significant drop in prices took place. primer. Local strategies are being put in place to limit the arrival of new officers. Some provinces purchase new boards to avoid the depreciation of existing ones. In reality, the office is less and less attractive because of the low pledges and spices that accompany it. The sums invested are hardly amortized, especially since the Paulette weighs heavily and is calculated on the official price and not on the real price. As a result, there are charges that remain vacant, not finding takers. The group of officers tends to close in order to avoid the arrival of new people taking advantage of the lower prices of offices, which are now within their reach.
Nevertheless, the market for offices remains abundant and corresponds to the needs of the kingdom. Prices range from a few thousand pounds for a modest charge, to a million for prestigious charges. The offices still enjoy great prestige, especially since certain positions allow you to quickly reach nobility, such as the office of Counselor Secretary to the King, nicknamed "the naughty soap" because it allows you to clean up your its commonness in one generation.
Hierarchy of officers
At the base, we find the mass of petty junior officers, carrying out duties corresponding to the multitude of petty trades in France under the Ancien Régime, which constitute the administrative framework of the kingdom and founds the preponderance of the small local notability. These offices, despite the low income they provide, often remain several generations in the same family. They make it possible to release their holder from anonymity and sometimes serve as a starting point for another career.
At the top, we find the small world of the high robe of those who hold the superior offices of judicature, ennobled in one or two generations, enjoying great prestige. Finance charges are less well considered and ennoble more slowly. A dozen cities ennobled their aldermen (more or less equivalent to our current municipal council) as in Paris, Toulouse, Tours, Angers... This led to the emergence of a parliamentary nobility who pursued their careers according to a "cursus honorum" in well-organized framework but which can vary from one city to another. In addition to the rights to be discharged, there are age limits for certain functions. Theoretically foreigners are not admitted, but some cities like Rouen accept 50%. You have to be of good character and morals, but there are many exemptions.
In the middle, it is the very numerous "average" officers who occupy middle positions in the finance offices, the salt cellars, the bailiwicks and seneschalses, in the towns without a parliament. They are not noble and their offices do not ennoble. They are found in the urban and provincial elite, who take advantage of the fall in the price of utilities to enter the world of offices. It is therefore a relatively new group, relying on its skills to forge its own identity by valuing their provincial roots, often constituting small fortunes throughout a working life.
Sources
- Dictionary of the Old Regime by Lucien Belly. Phew, 2009.
- La France de la Renaissance by Arlette Jouanna. Tempus, 2009.
- Absolutism and Enlightenment by Joël Cornette. Upper hatchet, 2008.