6 - Clientage and clemency: the making of municipal officials

Summary

As we have seen, Henry wanted loyal clients in municipal office throughout France. Focusing his attention on border towns and on former Catholic League towns, he exercised royal authority in municipal affairs by intervening in elections and by ordering that elections be held in the presence of his representatives. This raises questions about the long-term impact of Henry's interventions. Social historians have shown that during this period, municipal governments were oligarchic and controlled by self-perpetuating elites. The nomination of candidates by incumbents and the restriction of candidates to kin caused most town governments to be dominated by a handful of elite families. As demonstrated in earlier chapters, Henry initially put royalists in municipal office in League towns after their capitulation. But what happened to the ousted officials? Were they banned forever from municipal politics? This chapter will explore the social composition of municipal governments and investigate trends in sixteenth-century municipal officeholding that influenced the configuration of town councils during Henry's reign. The ways Henry gathered information about electoral candidates and chose appointees will be examined.

THE SOCIAL BACKGROUND OF MUNICIPAL OFFICIALS

A profile of the men who held municipal offices during Henry's reign is not hard to compile. Municipal officials were usually either merchants, lawyers, officeholders, or bourgeois elites who lived off their rentes. They were citizens who possessed authority, had married well, and could loan the town or its governor money if necessary. They came from families with a tradition of municipal officeholding, and they used the prestige associated with municipal service to advance their careers. A sketch of the life of Jacques de Puget offers a glimpse at a typical magistrate who held municipal office during Henry's reign.