Suppliques et Requêtes. Le Gouvernement par la Grâce en Occident (XIIe-XVe Siècle) (review)

The product of a conference held in Rome in 1998, this superb collection epitomizes both the pan-Europeanism which has long characterized French exploitation of the Vatican Archives and the multidisciplinary approach to which French historiography has given such productive stimulus. The object of a comparative study of supplications to the pope with analogous requests to other rulers is magisterially achieved by the collaboration of a distinguished international body of experts tackling the various branches of diplomatic and placing it in its broader cultural context. So, after the editor's introductory review, Geoffrey Koziol traces the Carolingian origins of the later medieval rite of supplication, in which sophisticated legal elaboration rests on enduring conventions of prayer and beneficence. These conventions are graphically expanded on by Jean-Marie Moeglin in a re-examination of a much-discussed miniature, argued as showing Pandolph IV of Capua before Henry II, and by Jean-Claude Schmitt, on the basis of illustrations in manuscripts of Gratian's Decretum. Charles Vulliez examines the rhetorical underlay of supplication. Regarding papal petitions, Patrick Zutshi's careful sifting of evidence for the commencement of their enregistration suggests that the practice in the form of the surviving series may be due to the reforming zeal, otherwise marked, of Benedict XII (1334-1342). Javier Serra Estellés presents Clement VII's secretary Egidius Iuvenis maintaining his own register of particular business. Ludwig Schmugge lucidly delineates the scope and legal reference of the business processed by the Papal Penitentiary, while recalling to the historian's attention the spiritual dynamic (apt to be overlooked in concentration on bare procedure) in the relationship of supplicant and pontiff. From the 20,408 supplications to Urban V in 1362-1366, Anne-Marie Hayez surveys the approximately 12,000 over benefices. Élisabeth Lalou presents the special case of Philip VI's household and quasi-household officers. Such studies of actual supplication complement and are complemented by Pascal Montaubin's depiction of the earlier development of curial techniques adequate to the extent of recourse. If grace was in theory unlimited, not so the stock of benefices and in the resulting competition influence counted, whether available on an individual basis, as in Nathalie Gorochov's cases of Paris university supplicants c.1340-1420, or through the well-known university roll, as represented by Charles Vulliez's account of that of the Picard nation from 1414-1415. As regards secular government, three papers deal directly with France. Olivier Mattéoni presents the requests for official appointments made to Louis XI as an illustration of the dialogue between prince and subject which (cf. Koziol and despite the criticisms of reformers) was integral to their relationship. Claude Gauvard, in a lengthy and nuanced excursus, examines the exercise of royal grace in criminal cases, and Jean Hilaire the civil context. Timothy S. Haskett considers bill process in England, offering in course interesting observations on the rôle of conscience underlying the Court of Chancery's jurisprudence. José Manuel Nieto Soria reflects on the king of Castile's contact with the papal court in the fifteenth century and its implications. Andrea Barlucchi describes the character of the Archivio di Stato di Siena's holding of petitions to the city's government. At a theoretical level, Antonio García y García's analysis of the juridico-political dimension and Christian Trottmann's of the theology of government by grace are thought-provoking.

The production is handsome, with thirteen plates. Misprints are few for a multilingual volume. Documentation is copious. This is a well-executed and integrated contribution to the study of governmental process.