What does lettres de cachet mean?
Definitions for lettres de cachet
let·tres de ca·chet
This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word lettres de cachet.
Wikipedia
Lettres de cachet
Lettres de cachet (French: [lɛtʁ də kaʃɛ]; lit. '"letters of the sign/signet"') were letters signed by the king of France, countersigned by one of his ministers, and closed with the royal seal. They contained orders directly from the king, often to enforce arbitrary actions and judgments that could not be appealed. In the case of organized bodies, 'lettres de cachet’ were issued for the purpose of preventing assembly or accomplishing some other definite act. The provincial estates were convoked (called to assembly) in this manner, and it was by a lettre de cachet (in this case, a lettre de jussipri), or by showing in person in a lit de justice, that the king ordered a parlement to register a law despite that parlement's refusal to pass it. The best-known lettres de cachet, however, were penal, by which a subject was imprisoned without trial and without an opportunity of defense (after inquiry and due diligence by the lieutenant de police) in a state prison or an ordinary jail, confinement in a convent or the General Hospital of Paris, transportation to the colonies, or expulsion to another part of the realm, or from the realm altogether. The lettres were mainly used against drunkards, troublemakers, prostitutes, squanderers of family fortune, or insane persons. The wealthy sometimes petitioned such lettres to dispose of inconvenient individuals, especially to prevent unequal marriages (nobles with commoners), or to prevent a scandal (the lettre could prevent court cases that might otherwise dishonour a family). In this respect, the lettres de cachet were a prominent symbol of the abuses of the ancien régime monarchy, and as such were suppressed during the French Revolution. In 1789 and 1790, all cases were reviewed by a commission which confirmed most of the sentences. Historian Claude Quétel has interpreted these confirmations as indicating that the lettres were not as arbitrary and unjust as they have been represented after the Revolution, and he hence speaks of a Légende noire.
The Nuttall Encyclopedia
Lettres de Cachet
warrants of imprisonment, issued prior to the Revolution, sealed with the private seal of the king, in contradistinction from lettres patentées, which were sealed by the Great Seal of the kingdom. See Cachet, Lettre de.
Numerology
Chaldean Numerology
The numerical value of lettres de cachet in Chaldean Numerology is: 2
Pythagorean Numerology
The numerical value of lettres de cachet in Pythagorean Numerology is: 4
Translations for lettres de cachet
From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary
- lettres de cachetFrench
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"lettres de cachet." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/lettres+de+cachet>.
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