Barnabé Brisson (Latinised: Barnabas Brissonius) (1531 – 15 November 1591) was a French jurist and politician.

Biography

Born as the son of the king's lieutenant in

Fontenay-le-Comte Fontenay-le-Comte (; Poitevin: ''Funtenaes'' or ''Fintenè'') is a commune and subprefecture in the Vendée department in the Pays de la Loire region of Western France. In 2018, it had a population of 13,302, while its functional area had a po ...

, Vendée, Brisson studied law in

Orléans Orléans (;"Orleans"
(US) and Bourges Bourges () is a commune in central France on the river Yèvre. It is the capital of the department of Cher, and also was the capital city of the former province of Berry. History The name of the commune derives either from the Bituriges, t ...

and finally

Poitiers Poitiers (, , , ; Poitevin: ''Poetàe'') is a city on the River Clain in west-central France. It is a commune and the capital of the Vienne department and the historical centre of Poitou. In 2017 it had a population of 88,291. Its agglomerat ...

, where he stayed on as an advocate. Between 1553 and 1556, he moved on to Paris, where he swiftly gained repute for his learning and rhetorical skills. Charles IX named him Advocate General of the

Parlement A ''parlement'' (), under the French Ancien Régime, was a provincial appellate court of the Kingdom of France. In 1789, France had 13 parlements, the oldest and most important of which was the Parlement of Paris. While both the modern Fre ...

in 1573. His successor, Henry III, put particular trust in Brisson, who was made first

Fiscal Fiscal usually refers to government finance. In this context, it may refer to: Economics * Fiscal policy, use of government expenditure to influence economic development * Fiscal policy debate * Fiscal adjustment, a reduction in the government ...

in 1573, promoted to

Président à mortier The ''président à mortier'' () was one of the most important legal posts of the French ''Ancien Régime''. The ''présidents'' were principal magistrates of the highest juridical institutions, the ''parlements'', which were the appeal courts. ...

in 1580, appointed Sixth President of the Parlement in 1588 and entrusted with several diplomatical missions. As the

French Wars of Religion The French Wars of Religion is the term which is used in reference to a period of civil war between French Catholic Church, Catholics and Protestantism, Protestants, commonly called Huguenots, which lasted from 1562 to 1598. According to estim ...

flamed up again, Brisson remained in Paris after the royalist judges on the Parlement fled the city on 16 January 1589, following the King, who had fled on May 13, 1588. Next day, the ''Seize'' ("sixteen"), a group of

League League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football Sports * Sports league * Rugby league, full contact footba ...

notables that now ruled Paris, installed Brisson as First President of the Parlement in replacement of

Achille de Harlay Achille de Harlay de Sancy, CO (1581, Paris26 November 1646), the son of Nicolas de Harlay, seigneur de Sancy, was a French diplomat and intellectual who was noted as a linguist and orientalist. He entered Church service, becoming the Bishop of S ...

. As a ''

politique During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, ''politiques'' () were those in a position of power who put the success and well-being of their state above all else. During the Wars of Religion, this included moderates of both religious faiths ( ...

'', Brisson sought to mediate between the warring factions. The Seize, however, soon began to mistrust him, because they considered him to remain loyal to Henry. Consequently, they had him sentenced to death by a special court and executed by

hanging Hanging is the suspension of a person by a noose or ligature around the neck.Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. Hanging as method of execution is unknown, as method of suicide from 1325. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' states that hanging i ...

in 1591.

Scholarly work

Brisson never held academic office. Despite this, he is – with Contius, Balduinus, Cujacius, Hotmannus and Donellus – among the group of 16th century French jurists that brought

Humanist Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "human ...

jurisprudence to its peak. His principal work is ''De Verborum Quae ad Jus Civile Pertinent Significatione'' (1559), a two-

folio The term "folio" (), has three interconnected but distinct meanings in the world of books and printing: first, it is a term for a common method of arranging sheets of paper into book form, folding the sheet only once, and a term for a book ma ...

dictionary of

Justinian Justinian I (; la, Iustinianus, ; grc-gre, Ἰουστινιανός ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was the Byzantine emperor from 527 to 565. His reign is marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovat ...

legal terminology that saw 17 reeditions (often much amended) up until 1805. ''De Verborum'' was the standard

legal dictionary A law dictionary (also known as legal dictionary) is a dictionary that is designed and compiled to give information about terms used in the field of law. Types Distinctions are made among various types of law dictionaries. Differentiating facto ...

of the time, and for centuries remained an authoritative source for

lexicographer Lexicography is the study of lexicons, and is divided into two separate academic disciplines. It is the art of compiling dictionaries. * Practical lexicography is the art or craft of compiling, writing and editing dictionaries. * Theoreti ...

s. Among his other works, the following warrant particular mention. The ''Code Henri III'' was an influential 1587 compilation of the laws of France. It saw numerous reeditions, as did Brisson's works on pre-Justinian

Roman law Roman law is the law, legal system of ancient Rome, including the legal developments spanning over a thousand years of jurisprudence, from the Twelve Tables (c. 449 BC), to the ''Corpus Juris Civilis'' (AD 529) ordered by Eastern Roman emperor J ...

. These include ''De formulis et solennibus populi Romani verbis'', a comprehensive compilation of Roman legal terminology.

External links

Le Code du Roy Henri III Roy de France et de Pologne
PDF scan online *

References

* * Tarlton Law Library, Jamail Center for Legal Research,

University of Texas School of Law The University of Texas School of Law (Texas Law) is the law school of the University of Texas at Austin. Texas Law is consistently ranked as one of the top law schools in the United States and is highly selective—registering the 8th lowest ac ...

Brisson, Barnabé
(accessed March 2007) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Brisson, Barnabe 1531 births 1591 deaths People from Fontenay-le-Comte 16th-century French lawyers French politicians French Renaissance humanists People executed by France by hanging Executed French people 16th-century executions by France Executed people from Pays de la Loire French male non-fiction writers