Coutumes de Beauvaisis
Encyclopedia
The Coutumes de Beauvaisis is a monument of medieval French law composed by Philippe de Beaumanoir at the end of 13th century in Old French
prose
. The text covers a wide range of topics both on procedural
and substantive law
and is quite voluminous, which explains its attractiveness to scholars. The bibliography of the Coutumes is large, although it contains mostly articles and only few subject-specific books. The latest edition has been prepared by Amédée Salmon and was published back in 1899-1900, respecting the original old French syntax. It has been no transcription into modern French, but translations exist in English and Japanese.
of the Gâtinais
, who was renowned for his 20,000 verses of poems including La Manekine, Jehan et Blonde and Salut d’amour. As a result, in XIX and at the beginning of 20th century Philippe was usually described as a prominent person capable both in poetry and law.
However, it is now a well-established fact that Philip the poet was Philippe de Beaumanoirs father
.
Old French
Old French was the Romance dialect continuum spoken in territories that span roughly the northern half of modern France and parts of modern Belgium and Switzerland from the 9th century to the 14th century...
prose
Prose
Prose is the most typical form of written language, applying ordinary grammatical structure and natural flow of speech rather than rhythmic structure...
. The text covers a wide range of topics both on procedural
Procedural law
Procedural law or adjective law comprises the rules by which a court hears and determines what happens in civil lawsuit, criminal or administrative proceedings. The rules are designed to ensure a fair and consistent application of due process or fundamental justice to all cases that come before...
and substantive law
Substantive law
Substantive law is the statutory or written law that defines rights and duties, such as crimes and punishments , civil rights and responsibilities in civil law. It is codified in legislated statutes or can be enacted through the initiative process.Substantive law stands in contrast to procedural...
and is quite voluminous, which explains its attractiveness to scholars. The bibliography of the Coutumes is large, although it contains mostly articles and only few subject-specific books. The latest edition has been prepared by Amédée Salmon and was published back in 1899-1900, respecting the original old French syntax. It has been no transcription into modern French, but translations exist in English and Japanese.
Authorship
During a long period of time the author of the text had been falsely identified with Philippe de Rémi, poet and bailliBailli
A bailli was the king’s administrative representative during the ancien régime in northern France, where the bailli was responsible for the application of justice and control of the administration and local finances in his baillage...
of the Gâtinais
Gâtinais
Gâtinais was a province of France, containing the area around the valley of the Loing, corresponding roughly to the northeastern part of the départment of Loiret, and the south of the present departments Seine-et-Marne. Under the Bourbons, the Gâtinais had already been divided between the...
, who was renowned for his 20,000 verses of poems including La Manekine, Jehan et Blonde and Salut d’amour. As a result, in XIX and at the beginning of 20th century Philippe was usually described as a prominent person capable both in poetry and law.
However, it is now a well-established fact that Philip the poet was Philippe de Beaumanoirs father
.
Text and translations
- Gaspard Thaumas de la Thaumassière's 1690 edition at the Internet ArchiveInternet ArchiveThe Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...