obedience, and just war. Before the 13th century, loyalty to the king was often
conditional and formal defiance possible; customary law assigned treason the meaning of
“treachery.” By the second half of the century, however, Roman ideas of treason and
lèse-majesté (literally, to “injure majesty”) had been resurrected. Unlike the English, who
in 1352 received their Statute of Treason, there was no such single enactment for the
French. Legislation was constructed as circumstances required, often against the
pretensions of seigneurs, towns, and church, all of which claimed degrees of legal
autonomy. Though the principal features of treason law were in place by the early 14th
century, it was not until the outbreak of the Hundred Years’ War that earnest prosecution
began. By the reign of Louis XI (r. 1461–83), the charge of treason could be a serious
political weapon.
Treason law itself, as a means to punish and deter, embodied a wide definition.
Virtually all treason came under the heading of lèse-majesté: crimes against the king, the
crown, or the kingdom. Among the offenses were regicide, attempted assassination, war
against the king, consorting with the enemy, breaches of loyalty, crimes disregarding the
king’s sovereignty, and treason by word.
Treasonable offenses could be tried in a number of ways, most commonly by the king
and his council, or, by the late 14th century, the Parlement de Paris. The 15th century saw
the creation of the Grands Jours and provincial parlements, courts that were also
competent to try treason.
The penalties for treason included fines, the confiscation of all movable and
immovable property by the crown, and the capital punishments of decapitation, hanging,
and drawing and/or quartering. It was possible to receive a royal pardon for treasonable
offenses, though it could be challenged and did not necessarily provide for a full
restitution.
Through the middle of the 17th century, French treason law remained heavily based
on late-medieval precedents, and was an important part in the consolidation of royal
authority.
Robert A.Bennett
Beaumanoir, Philippe de. Coutumes de Beauvaisis, ed. Amédée Salmon. 2 vols. Paris: Picard,
1899–1900.
Bellamy, John G. The Laws of Treason in England in the Later Middle Ages, Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 1970.
Cuttler, Simon H. The Laws of Treason and Treason Trials in Later Medieval France. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 1981.
TRÉMOILLE, LA
. The lordship of La Trémoille (Vienne) in Poitou produced one of the longest-lived
noble houses in France. A lord of La Trémoille is first attested in the mid-11th century,
but the family passed through twelve generations before achieving national prominence
with Gui VI and his brother Guillaume, both of whom were important 14th-century royal
commanders and chamberlains of Philip the Bold, duke of Burgundy. They both died on
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