Guillaume Poyet
Encyclopedia
Guillaume Poyet was a French
magistrate born in Angers
. After practising successfully as a barrister at Angers and Paris
, he was instructed by Louise of Savoy, mother of the king Francis I
, to uphold her rights against the constable de Bourbon in 1521. This was the beginning of his fortunes. Through the influence of the queen-mother he obtained the posts of advocate-general (1530) and president of the parliament of Paris (1534), and became chancellor of France in 1538. He was responsible for the legal reform contained in the Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts
(1539), the object of which was to shorten procedure. This ordered the keeping of registers of baptisms and deaths, and enjoined the exclusive use of the French language in legal procedure. With the constable de Montmorency he organized an intrigue to ruin Admiral Chabot, and procured his condemnation in 1541; but after the admiral was pardoned, Poyet was himself thrown into prison, deprived of his offices, and sentenced to a fine of 100,000 livres.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
magistrate born in Angers
Angers
Angers is the main city in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France about south-west of Paris. Angers is located in the French region known by its pre-revolutionary, provincial name, Anjou, and its inhabitants are called Angevins....
. After practising successfully as a barrister at Angers and Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, he was instructed by Louise of Savoy, mother of the king Francis I
Francis I of France
Francis I was King of France from 1515 until his death. During his reign, huge cultural changes took place in France and he has been called France's original Renaissance monarch...
, to uphold her rights against the constable de Bourbon in 1521. This was the beginning of his fortunes. Through the influence of the queen-mother he obtained the posts of advocate-general (1530) and president of the parliament of Paris (1534), and became chancellor of France in 1538. He was responsible for the legal reform contained in the Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts
Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts
The Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts is an extensive piece of reform legislation signed into law by Francis I of France on August 10, 1539 in the city of Villers-Cotterêts....
(1539), the object of which was to shorten procedure. This ordered the keeping of registers of baptisms and deaths, and enjoined the exclusive use of the French language in legal procedure. With the constable de Montmorency he organized an intrigue to ruin Admiral Chabot, and procured his condemnation in 1541; but after the admiral was pardoned, Poyet was himself thrown into prison, deprived of his offices, and sentenced to a fine of 100,000 livres.