Salic Law

The death of Louis X in 1316 triggered a succession crisis that had a longterm effect on history of France and its neighbours. The king left behind a pregnant wife and a young daughter, Jeanne. The subsequent death of her posthumous
brother left Jeanne as the only remaining offspring of the late king and yet her claim to the throne was denied, setting a precedent that effectively barred women from inheriting the French crown. The succession crisis of 1316 was
especially significant as it marked the first time that the Capetian dynasty was confronted with the possibility of a female on the throne of France. Despite common belief, at that time there was no citation of ‘Salic Law’ to specifically
prohibit her accession to the throne. There was ample precedent for women to succeed to fiefdoms and even kingdoms; Louis’ mother was Queen of Navarre
in her own right. Given that the succession of females to the throne of France was a valid possibility at that moment in time, this paper will focus on why Jeanne’s claim to the throne was denied, the ensuing succession crises of 1322
and 1328 and Jeanne’s eventual coronation as Queen of Navarre in 1329.

PhD-dissertation Leiden University 2018

In this dissertation, I have reviewed the historical and sociolinguistic implications of some of the linguistic data that have been preserved from Merovingian Gaul. The data that was investigated here mainly consisted of Romance and Germanic lexis. More precisely, Romance and Germanic lexis that is the outcome of earlier lexical exchange (borrowing) between Germanic, Romance and Celtic. The central aim of this dissertation was to provide an overview of the linguistic and extra-linguistic factors that were involved in this lexical exchange, and thereby contribute to our knowledge of the Merovingian vernaculars in particular and Merovingian society in general.
On a more general level, this study provides an overview of how linguistic data might complement the archaeological and historical frameworks that are used to understand the transition from Roman to Merovingian Gaul. Special attention is paid to the Merovingian redactions of the Salic Law, both as a unique historical witness to everyday life in post-Roman Gaul as well as being a unique linguistic witness in its preservation of the Old Frankish Malberg glosses. Additionally, this dissertation provides an overview of Pre-French sound change and its relation to Merovingian Latin, thereby trying to specify what the vernacular Romance language of Merovingian Gaul actually looked like.

Mes premières réflexions sur l’interprétation des corpus manuscrits concernent les six manuscrits copiés à l’époque carolingienne qui comprennent des extraits de la loi salique sous le nom d’Extraits des livres des Romains et des Francs. Mon enquête relevait la circulation des textes de part et d’autre de la Manche dont ces corpus témoignent, mais aussi l’assignation systématique, contre le témoignage des manuscrits, d’une identité ethnique aux différents textes concernés. Les Extraits des livres des Romains et des Francs ont ainsi été édités dans les Canones Wallici, aussi bien qu’appelés Ancienne Loi des Bretons d’Armorique. Le témoignage des manuscrits soutient l’inadaptation de tels raisonnements face aux communautés textuelles du Haut Moyen Âge

Mes premières réflexions sur l’interprétation des corpus manuscrits concernent les six manuscrits copiés à l’époque carolingienne qui comprennent des extraits de la loi salique sous le nom d’Extraits des livres des Romains et des Francs. Mon enquête relevait la circulation des textes de part et d’autre de la Manche dont ces corpus témoignent, mais aussi l’assignation systématique, contre le témoignage des manuscrits, d’une identité ethnique aux différents textes concernés. Les Extraits des livres des Romains et des Francs ont ainsi été édités dans les Canones Wallici, aussi bien qu’appelés Ancienne Loi des Bretons d’Armorique. Le témoignage des manuscrits soutient l’inadaptation de tels raisonnements face aux communautés textuelles du Haut Moyen Âge

"De lance en quenouille" : The Place of the French Queen in the Modern State (14 -17th centuries). COSANDEY. Although the role of the queen has always been acknowledged in French historiography, few studies have examined the specific judicial and historical circumstances that established the queen as an essential person in the institutional history of the Ancien Régime. Following chronological perspective imposed by the successive threats to succession beginning of the fourteenth century, this article examines how these crises led to redefinition of the legal statute for the queen. Jurists, wanting to stabilize the lines of succession, formed specific law, known as the Salic law, that prohibited women from rule; however, the laws devised for governing the regency, specifically the ordinance of 1407, paradoxically integrated the queen to the center of power. The ordinance of 1407, often misunderstood by historians, emerges as one of the key documents because it establishes the role of the queen in the monarchical system by linking the Salic law to the Regency. The Salic law prohibited direct succession and thus assured women could not usurp the throne; the ordinance of 1407 demonstrates the women could weld power and were therefore essential to the functioning of the monarchical system. Specifically, the queen assured passage of power from one king to another while simultaneously assuring the continuity of the dynasty.