A Master of Requests () is a

counsel A counsel or a counsellor at law is a person who gives advice and deals with various issues, particularly in legal matters. It is a title often used interchangeably with the title of ''lawyer''. The word ''counsel'' can also mean advice given ...

of the French ''Conseil d'État'' (Council of State), a high-level judicial officer of

administrative law Administrative law is the division of law that governs the activities of government agency, executive branch agencies of Forms of government, government. Administrative law concerns executive branch rule making (executive branch rules are gener ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. The office has existed in one form or another since the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

. The occupational title derives from two words. In jurisprudence and administration, the French term ''maître'' is an

honorific An honorific is a title that conveys esteem, courtesy, or respect for position or rank when used in addressing or referring to a person. Sometimes, the term "honorific" is used in a more specific sense to refer to an honorary academic title. It ...

for a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

who acts in proceedings before a court of law), and ''requêtes'' are "

appeal In law, an appeal is the process in which cases are reviewed by a higher authority, where parties request a formal change to an official decision. Appeals function both as a process for error correction as well as a process of clarifying and ...

s" or "

petition A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer called supplication. In the colloquial sense, a petition is a document addressed to some offici ...

s". (The legal term ''une requête civile'' is "a petition to an

appellate court A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of ...

against a judgement.")

Ancien Régime France

The Masters of Requests (Counsels of State), more fully ''maîtres des requêtes ordinaires de l'hôtel du Roi'', were originally, during the Middle Ages, judges of a council convened to examine petitions laid by

commoner A commoner, also known as the ''common man'', ''commoners'', the ''common people'' or the ''masses'', was in earlier use an ordinary person in a community or nation who did not have any significant social status, especially a member of neither ...

s before the Royal Household (''hôtel du roi''). A number of traditions from this time survived until the 18th century, such as the King's accompaniment by two Masters ordinarily on Sundays and festival days, on his way to and from church, and their close attendance upon him during mass, so as to better receive petitions from the public. The role of the Masters of Requests was greatly expanded during the Renaissance: their duties, as defined by the Edict of 1493, and subsequently modified during the reigns of

Francis I Francis I or Francis the First may refer to: * Francesco I Gonzaga (1366–1407) * Francis I, Duke of Brittany (1414–1450), reigned 1442–1450 * Francis I of France (1494–1547), King of France, reigned 1515–1547 * Francis I, Duke of Saxe-Lau ...

and Henry II, were to serve as deputies to and work closely under the Lord Chancellor of France and provide royal oversight of the judicial system at all levels. In this way, the Masters of Requests became key to expanding royal power into the provinces and in national unification, a role that would be taken over in the 17th century by royal

intendant An intendant (; pt, intendente ; es, intendente ) was, and sometimes still is, a public official, especially in France, Spain, Portugal, and Latin America. The intendancy system was a centralizing administrative system developed in France. In ...

s, who were recruited from among the ranks of the Masters of Requests. The Masters toured on circuits to inspect provincial courts, and could preside over

bailiwick A bailiwick () is usually the area of jurisdiction of a bailiff, and once also applied to territories in which a privately appointed bailiff exercised the sheriff's functions under a royal or imperial writ. The bailiwick is probably modelled on th ...

courts, at the

Grand Conseil The term Grand Conseil () or Great Council refers two different institutions during the Ancien Régime in France. It also is the name of parliaments in several Swiss cantons. Ancien Régime France Part of the King's Council Starting in the 13 ...

, and at sittings of

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 ...

where they sat on equal footing as Presidents of Court. They also received petitions against royal officers and intervened in cases of abuse.Salmon, p.68. In addition to their judicial duties, they were occasionally given temporary financial or diplomatic tasks. They participated in the King's judicial and financial decisions and sat on the King's ''conseil privé''. From their members were generally recruited other high-level royal officers and government officials, such as Councillors of State, provincial

s of commerce or finance, the Comptroller-General, Lieutenant-General of Police, and so forth. The Masters of Requests were chosen from among the best judges and members of the Parlements. As prestigious offices, they were sold and bought, although the King could also make appointments. Under

Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Vers ...

, Masters' offices were extremely expensive, but they conferred nobility on the holder. (see

French nobility The French nobility (french: la noblesse française) was a privileged social class in France from the Middle Ages until its abolition on June 23, 1790 during the French Revolution. From 1808 to 1815 during the First Empire the Emperor Napoléo ...

) Under

Louis XII Louis XII (27 June 14621 January 1515), was King of France from 1498 to 1515 and King of Naples from 1501 to 1504. The son of Charles, Duke of Orléans, and Maria of Cleves, he succeeded his 2nd cousin once removed and brother in law at the tim ...

, there were six Masters of Requests; Francis increased their number to eighteen; Henry II to thirty-two. In the 17th century, there were generally eighty Masters of Requests, with numbers reaching eighty-eight in 1723, but

Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reache ...

brought them back to eighty in 1752. They fell to sixty-seven members in 1787.Bluche, p.200.

Post-1799 France

The Masters of Requests (Counsels of State), or more fully ''maîtres des requêtes au Conseil d'État'', are members of the French

Council of State A Council of State is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head o ...

who fall between the rank of Senior Master and Councillor of State.

References

* Bluche, François. ''L'Ancien régime: Institutions et société.'' Collection: Livre de poche. Paris: Editions de Fallois, 1993. * Salmon, J.H.M. ''Society in Crisis: France in the Sixteenth Century.'' Methuen: London, 1975.

Notes

{{reflist Titles Political history of the Ancien Régime Legal history of the Ancien Régime Offices in the Ancien Régime

Ancien Régime France

Post-1799 France

See also

References

Notes