THE BUSINESS OF THE COURT OF PARIS

In the late fourteenth century Paris was the largest city in Europe north of the Alps. It may have been the largest city in Europe. Its population was more than an order of magnitude greater than that of York or Cambridge. It was the center of the French royal government, the seat of the largest university in northern Europe, and a bustling commercial center. It was, however, the see of only a bishop. The metropolitical see was at Sens. Because of the large population of Paris (and of the large number of clergy that were resident in the town), the ecclesiastical courts of Paris probably had more business than any of the other ecclesiastical courts in France. There were three archidiaconal courts in addition to the court of the bishop's official. Two exempt jurisdictions within the city have also left a few surviving records.

Time has not been kind to the medieval records of the Paris officiality. There does, however, survive one remarkable register containing entries dating from November of 1384 to September of 1387, 319 folios in the original and 538 columns in the modern edition, approximately 3,250 entries all told. Despite the fact that the register has been in print since 1919, relatively little use has been made of it by modern scholars. The reasons are not hard to find.