{{Infobox legislature , name = Chamber of Peers , native_name = Chambre des Pairs , native_name_lang = French , transcription_name = , legislature = , coa_pic = Coat_of_Arms_of_the_July_Monarchy_(1831-48).svg , coa_res = , coa_alt = , coa_caption = , logo_pic = , logo_res = , logo_alt = , logo_caption = , house_type = Upper house , body = French Parliament , jurisdiction = , houses = , term_limits = , foundation = {{Start date, 1814, 6, 4 , disbanded = {{End date, 1848, 2, 24 , preceded_by =

Sénat conservateur The (from French language, French: "Conservative Senate") was an advisory body established in France during the French Consulate, Consulate following the French Revolution. It was established in 1799 under the Constitution of the Year VIII f ...

, succeeded_by =

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

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Ultra-royalists The Ultra-royalists (french: ultraroyalistes, collectively Ultras) were a French political faction from 1815 to 1830 under the Bourbon Restoration. An Ultra was usually a member of the nobility of high society who strongly supported Roman Cathol ...

Liberal royalists
Republicans
Independents

Doctrinaires During the Bourbon Restoration (1814–1830) and the July Monarchy (1830–1848), the Doctrinals (french: doctrinaires) were a group of French royalists who hoped to reconcile the monarchy with the French Revolution and power with liberty. Hea ...

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Luxembourg Palace The Luxembourg Palace (french: Palais du Luxembourg, ) is at 15 Rue de Vaugirard in the 6th arrondissement of Paris. It was originally built (1615–1645) to the designs of the French architect Salomon de Brosse to be the royal residence of th ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

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Charter of 1814 The French Charter of 1814 was a constitutional text granted by King Louis XVIII of France shortly after the Bourbon Restoration, in form of royal charter. The Congress of Vienna demanded that Louis bring in a constitution of some form before he ...

Charter of 1815

Charter of 1830 The Charter of 1830 (french: Charte de 1830) instigated the July Monarchy in France. It was considered a compromise between constitutional monarchists and republicans. History After three days of protests in July 1830 – the July ...

, footnotes = The Chamber of Peers (french: Chambre des pairs) was the upper house of the

French parliament The French Parliament (french: Parlement français) is the bicameral legislature of the French Republic, consisting of the Senate () and the National Assembly (). Each assembly conducts legislative sessions at separate locations in Paris: ...

from 1814 to 1848.

History

The

Peerage of France The Peerage of France (french: Pairie de France) was a hereditary distinction within the French nobility which appeared in 1180 in the Middle Ages. The prestigious title and position of Peer of France (french: Pair de France, links=no) was ...

was recreated by the

at the same time as the Bourbon Restoration, albeit on a different basis from that of the

ancien regime ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for "ancient, old" ** Société des anciens textes français * the French for "former, senior" ** Virelai ancien ** Ancien Régime ** Ancien Régime in France ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word fo ...

before 1789. A new Chamber of Peers was created which was similar to the British

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

, and it met at the

Palais du Luxembourg The Luxembourg Palace (french: Palais du Luxembourg, ) is at 15 Rue de Vaugirard in the 6th arrondissement of Paris. It was originally built (1615–1645) to the designs of the French architect Salomon de Brosse to be the royal residence of the ...

. This new Chamber of Peers acted as the

upper house An upper house is one of two Debate chamber, chambers of a bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house.''Bicameralism'' (1997) by George Tsebelis The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smalle ...

of the French parliament. Like the House of Lords, the Chamber of Peers also had a judicial function, being authorized to judge peers and other prominent people. As such, it sentenced

Marshal Ney Michel Ney, 1st Duke of Elchingen, 1st Prince of the Moskva (; 10 January 1769 – 7 December 1815), was a French military commander and Marshal of the Empire who fought in the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He was one o ...

to death. To begin with the Chamber had 154 members, including the holders of all surviving pre-Revolutionary ecclesiastical (Reims, Langres, and Châlons) and lay peerages, except for the

Duchy of Aubigny Duke of Aubigny (french: Duc d'Aubigny) is a title that was created in the Peerage of France in 1684. It was granted by King Louis XIV of France to Louise de Kérouaille, Duchess of Portsmouth, Louise de Kérouaille, the last mistress of King Cha ...

, which was held by a foreigner, the British Duke of Richmond. Thirteen peers were also

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pref ...

s. New members were appointed by the

French king France was ruled by monarchs from the establishment of the Kingdom of West Francia in 843 until the end of the Second French Empire in 1870, with several interruptions. Classical French historiography usually regards Clovis I () as the firs ...

, without limit on their numbers. Such a peerage was either granted for life or was heritable, at the king's will. All men of the royal family and all descendants in the male line of previous kings (''princes du sang'') were members of the chamber by birth (''pairs-nés''), but nevertheless needed explicit permission from the king to sit at each session of the chamber. At the outset comprising only hereditary peers and certain prelates of the church, the Chamber became a body to which men were appointed for life following the

July Revolution The French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution (french: révolution de Juillet), Second French Revolution, or ("Three Glorious ays), was a second French Revolution after the first in 1789. It led to the overthrow of King ...

of 1830. In the

Revolution of 1848 The Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Springtime of the Peoples or the Springtime of Nations, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe starting in 1848. It remains the most widespread revolutionary wave in Europe ...

, the Chamber of Peers was disbanded and the peerage of France was abolished.

Famous members

File:Victor Hugo by Étienne Carjat 1876 - full.jpg,

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...

(1802–1885), novelist File:Heim - Sacre de Charles X, un pair de France.jpg, Coronation of Charles X of France, a peer of France (by

François Joseph Heim François Joseph Heim (16 December 1787 - 29 September 1865) was a French painter. Biography He was born at Belfort. He early distinguished himself at the École Centrale of Strassburg, and in 1803 entered the studio of Vincent at Paris. He was ...

) File:Louis de La Forest Divonne, pair de France (1765-1838).jpg, Louis-Marie-François de La Forest Divonne. File:Laroche - François Marie d'Aboville.jpg, Count

François Marie d'Aboville François Marie d'Aboville (January 23, 1730 – November 1, 1817) was a French ''général de division'' (major general). He was the father of Augustin Gabriel d'Aboville and Augustin-Marie d'Aboville. He was born in Brest. He fought in the Se ...

(by Ferdinand de Laroche) File:Claude-Pierre Dédelay d'Agier (1750-1827).JPG, Claude-Pierre de Delay d'Agier File:Général Pierre-Jacques Orillard de Villemanzy.jpg,

Jacques-Pierre Orillard de Villemanzy Jacques-Pierre Orillard, comte de Villemanzy (5 January 1751 – 3 September 1830) was a French military commissary, responsible for arranging army supplies. Before the French Revolution he served in the French expedition that supported the Americ ...

(1751–1830) (by Antoine-Jean Gros) File:François XII de La Rochefoucauld (1747-1827).jpg, ''

François Alexandre Frédéric, duc de la Rochefoucauld-Liancourt François Alexandre Frédéric de La Rochefoucauld-Liancourt (11 January 1747 – 27 March 1827) was a French social reformer. Early life He was born at La Roche Guyon, the son of François Armand de La Rochefoucauld, duc d'Estissac, g ...

(1747–1827) File:Jules Auguste Armand Marie de Polignac (1780-1847).jpg, Jules de Polignac (1780–1847) File:Portrait of Francois Rene Vicomte de Chateaubriand, 1828.jpg,

François-René de Chateaubriand François-René, vicomte de Chateaubriand (4 September 1768 – 4 July 1848) was a French writer, politician, diplomat and historian who had a notable influence on French literature of the nineteenth century. Descended from an old aristocrati ...

(1768–1848) (by Pierre Louis Delaval) File:Anne Victor Denis Hurault de Vibraye 2.jpg, Anne-Victor-Denis Hurault (1767–1843), 7th Marquis of Vibraye File:Louis-Charles-Bonaventure-Pierre de Mesnard, pair de France.jpg, Louis Charles Pierre Bonaventure, Count of Mesnard (1769–1842) File:David (peinture attribuée à) - Gabriel d'Arjuzon en pair de France.jpg, Gabriel d'Arjuzon (attributed to

Jacques-Louis David Jacques-Louis David (; 30 August 1748 – 29 December 1825) was a French painter in the Neoclassicism, Neoclassical style, considered to be the preeminent painter of the era. In the 1780s, his cerebral brand of history painting marked a change in ...

) File:Raymond de Seze.jpg,

Raymond Desèze Raymond Romain, Comte de Sèze or Desèze (26 September 17502 May 1828) was a French advocate. Together with François Tronchet and Malesherbes, he defended Louis XVI, when the king was brought before the Convention for trial. Life Raymond de S� ...

(1748–1828) File:Louis-de-Bonald.png, Louis Gabriel Ambroise, Vicomte de Bonald (1754-1840)

External links

French Senat , La Chambre des Pairs de la Restauration

* Institution French Chamber of Peers Defunct upper houses Government of France French monarchy 1814 establishments in France 1848 disestablishments in France * Historical legislatures in France

History

Famous members

See also

External links