Schedule of Villers-Cotterêts

The ordinance (or, improperly the edict ) of Villers-Cotterêts is a signed document with Villers-Cotterêts between the 10 and on August 15th 1539 by the king de France François Ier.

Strong of 192 articles, it carries reform of the ecclesiastical, reduced jurisdiction certain prerogatives of the Ville S and makes compulsory the behavior of the registers of Baptême S. It is especially known to be the founding document of the primacy and the exclusiveness in the French in the document concerning with the public life; indeed, to facilitate the good comprehension of the acts of the administration and the Justice, it forces to them to be written in this Langue. The French becomes thus the Official language Droit and administration, instead of the Latin and others Langue S of the country.

This ordinance, entitled exactly “ general Ordinance on the fact of justice, organizes and finances ” was written by the Chancelier Guillaume Poyet, lawyer and member of the Private Council of the king. It was called a long time Guillemine or Guilelmine in reference to its author. Out of the Public records, there exist only two original specimens on Parchemin: one with the Files of Aix-en-Provence, the other with the Departmental records of the Isere.

History

As of the 13th century, the royal notaries wrote in French and it is between the 14th century and the XVIe that the French gradually was essential like administrative language in the royal charters, with the detriment certainly of Latin but also of the other vulgar languages. The ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts has done nothing but support one movement of centralization Linguistique already started for several centuries. One should not lose sight of the fact only at that time (and this until the 19th century, movement which ended only at the 20th century, during the First World War), French was primarily the language of the Cour, of the elite S (Noblesse and Clergé), of the tradesmen and part of the writers; French people practiced very many vernacular languages (primarily of the Langues of oil and of oc) often pejoratively called “Patois”.

The ordinance falls under a succession of royal decisions replacing the Latin gradually by the Native tongues in the acts of the Droit. An ordinance, that of Montils-the-Turns, promulgated in 1454 by Charles VII, had obliged to write the oral habits, which held place of Droit; these draftings were done in vulgar languages, that they are Langues of oil in north, of oc in the south. Other royal edicts recommended the vulgar languages, without making compulsory the French:

Ordinance of Mills, by Charles VIII in 1490: it obliges so that the vulgar and maternal languages, and not the Latin , are used at the time of the interrogations and in the statements;
in 1510 by Louis XII: this ordinance imposes that the legal language for all the acts of justice is that of the people, and not the Latin ; of kind, the Droit was to be known as in the multitude of the Langue S present in France at that time;
Ordinance of Is-sur-Tille by François Ier in 1531: the ordinance of Louis XII is extended to the Languedoc.

Contents of the ordinance

It was written in Moyen French; the Orthographe of origin is respected.

Concerning the behavior of the registers

Article 51. Aussi will be faict register in the form of proof of the baptesmes, which will contain the time of the hour of the nativity, and by the extraict dud. register will be able to prove the time of majority or minority and will make flat foy has ceste fine.

(Also register for proof of the baptisms will be held, which will contain the time and the hour of the birth, and whose extract will be used to prove the time of the majority or the minority and will be taken full for this purpose.)

Concerning the use of the French language in the instruments

Article 110. That the arretz are clers and entendibles

And so that it ayt does not cause a doubter there on the intelligence desdictz arretz. We want and order that ilz is faictz and escriptz so clerement that it ayt cannot there have aulcune ambiguity or uncertainty, place does not have to require interpretacion of it.

(That the stops are clear and comprehensible, and so that there is no reason to doubt on the direction of these stops, we want and order that they are made and written so clearly that there can be no ambiguity or uncertainty, nor of reason to ask an explanation of it.)

Article 111. to pronounce and dispatch all acts in langaige françoys

And for what such things are souventesfoys occurred on the intelligence of the Latin motz contenuz be dictz arretz. We want that doresenavant all arretz together all aultres procedeures, are run us sovereign or aultres subordinates and lower, is registers, enquestes, contractz, commissions, sentences, testamens and aultres quelzconques acts and exploictz of justice or who depend on it, are pronounce, record and deliver with the parts in maternal language francoys and not aultrement.

(to say and make all the acts in French language

And because such things arrived very often, in connection with the comprehension of the Latin words used in the stops, we want that henceforth all the stops and other procedures, that they are our courses sovereign or different, subordinates and lower, or that it is on the registers, investigations, contracts, commissions, sentences, wills and all the other legal provisions and exploits of justice or, that all these acts are said, written and given to the parts in French native tongue , and not differently.)

maternal Language francoys

As there was much more only one maternal language francoys in the kingdom of 1539, certain lawyers could interpret that the royal edict was not limited to the only French language and that its protection extended to all the native tongues from the kingdom.

The interpretation of the royal decree which prevailed thereafter in the republican courts considered that the language of State was the only native tongue. It is on this interpretation of the XXe century that is based the modification of 1992 of article 2 of the Constitution, and not on the text of the ordinance itself.

Another legal provision

The ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts contains also a provision which could be seen like the appearance of the self-defense in the French Droit. Indeed, it specifies that which acted to be defended is exonerated by the grace of the king:

Article 168. We defend with all Ministers of Justice of our sovereign chancelleries and course, not to yawn aucunes graces or remissions, fors those of justice; it is to be sçavoir with the homicidaires, which would have esté constrained to make homicides for safety and defense of their people, and other cases where he is said by the law, which the délinquans can or must be withdrawn to the sovereign prince to have grace of it.

(We defend with all not to grant any remission pains, except those of justice; namely: in the case of fatal which would have been constrained to kill for the safety and the defense of their people)

See too

External bonds

Article on the ordinance on the site Herodote.net
a short article on the less known consequences of this text
the original text with the National Assembly
the ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts, legal framework of the linguistic policy of kings de France?

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