inhabitants because, in times of war, they maintained and repaired local transportation
routes. They also appointed deputies to present special grievances to the crown and to
defend their interests before king and council.
The origins of French provincial Estates were multiple. They appear to have
developed from the gradual blending of several main concepts to meet changing
conditions. Feudalism, with its network of reciprocal relationships, gave the lord the right
to summon his vassals to his court to give him aid and counsel. Many vassals soon saw
advantages in attending and claimed the right to be summoned. A feudal council,
gradually enlarged to include other men of influence, provided the framework for many,
but not all, of the provincial Estates.
Also, the concept was growing throughout medieval Europe that one or more
individuals could legally represent and commit their constituents. This depended on the
organization of society into corporate groups, such as towns, monastic orders, cathedral
chapters, and estates. The representative principle by which individuals could defend the
rights of these corporate bodies and represent them at the court of lord or king was
derived from Roman and canon law and their use of the power of attorney, through which
a person could appoint someone to act for him in a court of law. The new corporate
groups gradually obtained the same right and began to appoint proctors (procuratores) to
act in their name.
By the 11th century, some ecclesiastical writers were describing French society in
terms of three functional groups: those who worshiped, those who fought, and those who
worked, reflecting roughly the social situation at the time. Thus emerged the belief that
there were three estates: the clergy, the nobility, and the third estate. With the subsequent
growth of towns and lay education, the third estate became a large conglomerate of
diverse groups, chiefly inhabiting the towns. This concept of three estates led to the
tripartite division of many of the assemblies that emerged.
In the case of provincial Estates that developed from the feudal council, only direct
vassals of the lord were originally summoned. As a class of wealthy burghers emerged
whose aid and counsel became valuable, lords gradually began inviting their
representatives to attend as well. Delegates from other corporate bodies, such as cathedral
chapters and monasteries, were also included.
In the 13th century, the French kings greatly enlarged the royal domain and extended
their powers of suzerainty. As they were also fighting larger domestic and foreign wars,
their expenses for government and warfare had increased substantially. They could no
longer obtain sufficient revenue from the royal domain.
The outbreak of the Hundred Years’ War placed even greater demands on the royal
treasury. In the mid-14th century, the Estates General, or the regional Estates of
Languedoil and Languedoc, were summoned several times to consider taxation. The
experiment was unsuccessful because local Estates refused to accept their decisions. The
crown then normally imposed and collected taxes without consent until the death of
Charles VI. Then the dauphin, seeking recognition as legitimate heir to the throne,
resorted once again to the use of Estates General and provincial Estates. Over a fifteen-
year period beginning in 1421, he summoned the Estates General or the Estates of
Languedoil almost every year. They voted financial assistance, but to collect the money
locally usually required negotiating with the provincial and local Estates. After 1439,
Medieval france: an encyclopedia 618