The Parliament of Aix-en-Provence was the provincial ''

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 ...

'' of

Provence Provence (, , , , ; oc, Provença or ''Prouvènço'' , ) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bor ...

from 1501 to 1790. It was headquartered in

Aix-en-Provence Aix-en-Provence (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Ais de Provença in classical norm, or in Mistralian norm, ; la, Aquae Sextiae), or simply Aix ( medieval Occitan: ''Aics''), is a city and commune in southern France, about north of Marseille. ...

, which served as the ''de facto'' capital of Provence.

History

The region of Provence became a member of the Kingdom of France in 1481.Monique Cubells
Le Parlement de Provence
Cite du Livre Two decades later, in 1501, King

Louis XII of France 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 ...

(1462–1515) established the Parliament of Provence in Aix-en-Provence.Archives 13
/ref> By 1535, the powers of the

seneschal The word ''seneschal'' () can have several different meanings, all of which reflect certain types of supervising or administering in a historic context. Most commonly, a seneschal was a senior position filled by a court appointment within a royal, ...

of Provence were given to the Parliament of Aix. It was modeled after the

Parliament of Paris The Parliament of Paris (french: Parlement de Paris) was the oldest ''parlement'' in the Kingdom of France, formed in the 14th century. It was fixed in Paris by Philip IV of France in 1302. The Parliament of Paris would hold sessions inside the ...

. It set administrative and regulatory guidelines for Provence. It was also in charge of police and healthcare, as well as the oversight of boarding houses, prostitution, religious freedom, etc. At times, the Parliament was closer to the King of France or the

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

, depending on its wishes. For example, in 1590, when it refused to follow

Henry IV of France Henry IV (french: Henri IV; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry or Henry the Great, was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 1610. He was the first monarc ...

(1553–1610), the King established another parliament in

Pertuis Pertuis (; oc, Pertús) is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. Located south of the Luberon, this town is also near Aix-en-Provence, a famous town. Pertuis has existed since at ...

. It comprised first presidents, présidents à mortier, advisors, general advocates, advocates for the poor, etc. By 1604, it became legal to purchase a hereditary position and pass it on to one's male heirs. By 1789, only 6% were

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, the rest of which were aristocrats. A third were only recently ennobled, even though by 1769 it became practically impossible to join the Parliament if one failed to have four aristocratic ancestors. It was dismantled in September 1790, during the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

. Charles de Ribbe, ''Pascalis - Étude sur la fin de la Constitution provençale, 1787-1790'', Dentu, 1854, p. 241

First Presidents

*1501-1502:

Michel Riccio Michel Riccio (1445–1515) was an Italy, Italian-born France, French lawyer, public official and historian. He was known in Italian also as Michele Riccio / Rizzo or Ricci, in Latin Michael Ritius, and in the French form Michel de Ris or de Rys. ...

(1445-1515) *1502-1507: Antoine Mulet *1507-1509: Accurse Maynier *1509-1530:

Gervais de Beaumont Gervais may refer to: People * Gervais (name), list of people with the given name or surname Places * Gervais, Oregon * Gervais Lake, a lake in Minnesota * Gervais Township, Minnesota * Gervais Road, part of 170 Street, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada ...

*1530-1531: Thomas Cuisinier *1531-1541: Barthélemy de Chasseneuz *1541-1544:

Guillaume Garçonnet Guillaume may refer to: People * Guillaume (given name), the French equivalent of William * Guillaume (surname) Other uses * Guillaume (crater) See also * '' Chanson de Guillaume'', an 11th or 12th century poem * Guillaume affair, a Cold War espi ...

*1544-1557:

Jean Maynier Jean Maynier, baron d'Oppède (1495 – 1558) was a French public official. He served as the First President of the Parliament of Aix-en-Provence in 1543. Biography Early life Jean Maynier was born in 1495. His father, Accurse Maynier (1450-1 ...

*1557-1564:

Jean-Augustin de Foresta Jean-Augustin de Foresta (1520-1588) was a French aristocrat, landowner and lawyer. He served as the Président à mortier of the Parliament of Aix-en-Provence in 1554, and as its First President from 1557 to 1564. Biography Early life Jean-Augus ...

(1520-1588) *1564-1590:

Bernard Prévot Bernard (''Bernhard'') is a French and West Germanic masculine given name. It is also a surname. The name is attested from at least the 9th century. West Germanic ''Bernhard'' is composed from the two elements ''bern'' "bear" and ''hard'' "brav ...

*1590-1599:

Artus de Prunières Artus or Arthus is a Breton surname or name which means "bear" (cf. arth), and may refer to: * Amédée Artus (1815–1892), French conductor and composer of operettas * Alexandre Artus (1821–1911), French conductor and composer of classical musi ...

*1599-1616:

Guillaume du Vair Guillaume du Vair (7 March 1556 – 3 August 1621) was a French author and lawyer. Life He was born in Paris. After taking holy orders, he exercised only legal functions for most of his career. However, from 1617 till his death he was Bishop ...

*1616-1621:

Marc-Antoine d'Escalis Marc Antoine may refer to: Personal name *Marc Antoine, French version of Mark Antony (Marcus Antonius, 83–30 BC) *Marc Antoine (musician) (born 1963), French jazz fusion guitarist * Marc Antoine (singer) (born 1977), Haitian-Canadian singer Giv ...

*1621-1632: Vincent-Anne de Forbin-Maynier *1632-1636: Hélie Lainé *1636:

Guillaume de Fieubet Guillaume may refer to: People * Guillaume (given name), the French equivalent of William * Guillaume (surname) Other uses * Guillaume (crater) See also * '' Chanson de Guillaume'', an 11th or 12th century poem * Guillaume affair, a Cold War espi ...

*1636-1642:

Joseph de Bernet Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...

*1644-1655: Jean de Mesgrigni *1665-1671: Henri de Forbin-Maynier *1674-1690: Arnoul Marin *1690-1710: Pierre-Cardin Lebret *1710-1735: Cardin Lebret (1675-1734) *1735-1747: Jean-Baptiste des Gallois de La Tour *1748-1771: Charles Jean-Baptiste des Gallois de La Tour *1775-1790: Charles Jean-Baptiste des Gallois de La Tour

Président à mortier

*1542:

Jean Maynier d'Oppède Jean Maynier, baron d'Oppède (1495 – 1558) was a French public official. He served as the First President of the Parliament of Aix-en-Provence in 1543. Biography Early life Jean Maynier was born in 1495. His father, Accurse Maynier (1450-1 ...

*1543: François de La Fonds (also Lafont) *1553: Rémy Ambroix *1554:

*1554: Louis Puget de Fuveau *1558: François de Pérussis de Lauris *1559: Gaspard Garde de Vins *1568: Louis de Coriolis *1573: Boniface de Pellicot *1575: Claude de Pérussis *1575: Robert de Montcalm *1585: François d'Estienne de Saint-Jean *1585: Louis Chaine (also Chène) *1587: Raimond de Piolenc *1595: Marc-Antoine Escalis *1600: Laurent de Coriolis de Corbières *1604: Joseph Aimar de Montlaur *1610: Honoré Aimar de Montsallier (also Aymar) *1613: Jean-Baptiste Chaine *1615: Vincent-Anne de Forbin-Mainier d'Oppède *1616: Jean-Louis Monier de Châteaudeuil *1621: Gabriel Estienne de Saint-Jean *1622: Antoine Séguiran de Bouc *1624: Jean-Baptiste Forbin de la Roque-d'Anthéron *1630: Jean-Augustin Foresta de la Roquette *1632: Louis de Paule *1643: Charles de Grimaldi-Régusse (1612-1687) *1625: Honoré de Coriolis *1644: Lazare du Chaine de la Roquette *1645L Henri de Forbin-Maynier d'Oppède *1645: Melchior de Forbin de la Roque *1650: Louis de Cormis de Bregançon *1651: Pierre de Coriolis de Villeneuve d'Espinouse *1655: Henri d'Escalis de Sabran de Bras *1662: Auguste Thomas de la Garde *1662: Jean de Simiane de la Cepède de la Coste *1673: Jean-Baptiste de Forbin-Maynier d'Oppède *1674: Gaspard Grimaldy de Régusse *1674: Claude Milan de Cornillon *1686:

Joseph-Anne de Valbelle de Tourves Joseph-Anne de Valbelle de Tourves (1648–1722) was a French aristocrat, landowner and public official. Early life Joseph-Anne de Valbelle de Tourves was born in 1648 in Tourves. His father, Jean-Baptiste de Valbelle de Tourves (1610-1695), was ...

*1690: Jean-Baptiste-Joseph de Coriolis de Villeneuve d'Espinouse *1694: Silvy Raousset de Boulbon *1694: Antoine Albert du Chaine de Saint-Martin-d'Alignosc *1694: Pierre-Joseph de Laurens de Saint-Martin de Pallières *1699: François Boyer de Bandol *1702: Jean-Baptiste Thomassin de Saint-Paul *1702: Jean-Baptiste de Maliverny *1702: Honoré-Henri de Piolenc *1705: Jean-Estienne de Thomassin de Saint-Paul *1709: Pierre-Joseph de Laurent de Saint-Martin de Pallières *1712: Pierre de Coriolis d'Espinouse *1718: Cosme-Maximilien-Marcelin-Louis-Joseph de Valbelle de Sainte-Tulle *1718: Zacharie de Raousset de Boulbon *1720: Charles de Grimaldi-Régusse *1724: Charles-Louis-Sextius de Grimaldi-Régusse *1731: Joseph-Claude de Maliverny *1731: Jean-Louis-Gabriel de Thomassin de Saint-Paul *1733: Jean-Baptiste Bruny d'Entrecasteaux *1736: François-Charles-Xavier de Coriolis de Villeneuve d'Espinouse *1740: André-Elzéard d'Arbaud de Jouques (1676-1744) *1740:

Gaspard de Gueidan Gaspard de Gueidan (de Valabre) (1688–1767) was a French aristocrat and lawyer. He served as the Président à mortier of the Parliament of Aix-en-Provence. Biography Early life Gaspard de Gueidan was born on 10 April 1688 in Aix-en-Provence.M ...

(1688-1767) *1742: Louis de Thomassin de Peynier *1746: Jules-François-Paul Fauris de Saint-Vincens *1747: Alexandre-Jean-Baptiste de Boyer d'Eguilles *1748: Jean-Luc de Thomassin de Peynier *1756: Joseph-Étienne de Thomassin de Saint-Paul *1756: Bruno-Paul-Théodore Bruny d'Entrecasteaux (also Pierre-Paul-Théodore) *1766: Pierre de Laurens de Peyrolles *1767: Michel-Antoine d'Albert de Saint-Hippolyte *1768: André-Elzéard d'Arbaud de Jouques II (1737-1793) *1776: Jean-Louis-Martin Arlatan de Montaud *1776: François-Marie-Jean-Baptiste de Cabre *1777: Jean-Baptiste Jérome Bruny de la Tour-d'Aigues *1782: Alexandre de Fauris de Saint-Vincens (1750-1815) *1782: Jean-Baptiste-Joseph-Guillaume-Bruno Bruny d'Entrecasteaux *1782: Michel-Gabriel-Albert d'Albert de Saint-Hippolyte

Counsellors

* Jean-François-Marie d'Arquier (1782)

References

{{Authority control Ancien Régime 1501 establishments in France 1790 disestablishments in France Aix-en-Provence