In France under the Ancien Mode, the noblesse de robe gathered all the noble ones which occupied of the functions of government and justice, mainly in justice and finances. These people had, in particular in the case of the lawyers, to have made academic works and thus to adorn the dress or toga of graduated university. They were called robins, legal men, and the noble group whom they formed " nobility of robe".

The expression of " nobility of robe" be opposed to that " nobility of épée" , i.e. with noble occupying the traditional functions soldier of their social group. Often, one attaches the noblesse de robe to the recent nobility (created since the 16th century) and the old nobility to the nobility of extraction (i.e. without trace of annoblissement), but this fastening is sometimes abusive.

In its major part, the noblesse de robe consisted of descendants of people who had acquired subject to payment a Office anoblissant in finances or justice. These offices, or loads, were in practice transmissible and saleable freely, even if that were officialized only in 1604 by the edict of the Paulette. This transmission of the offices, often of wire father, supported a very strong conscience of group. Thus the elite of the noblesse de robe, the members of the Parliament S, although often noble of long time, highly asserted their place in the State vis-a-vis the old nobility.

Although in the beginning the noblesse de robe was rather accessible thanks to venality from the offices, it tended to be closed as from the 17th century, the descendants of anoblis refusing the entry of commoners in their group. Massive creations of offices carried out by monarchy, always in the search of money re-entries, had to face the protests of the noblesse de robe.

The opposition between noblesse de robe and old nobility was not however distinct and it was not rare to see the son junior by noble a dress to enter the army when his/her older brother succeeded the paternal office. Certain families of dress agrègérent themselves completely with the old nobility and adopted the behavior of it. The behavior of the marshal of Belle-Ile, going down from famous the Fouquet, is in this respect particularly conclusive.

Among the noble ones of dress the most known, one can quote Montesquieu, Descartes or the of Ormesson.

Sources

• historical Dictionary of Dominique Vallaud