Jean de Blanot
Jean de Blanot[1] (Latin: Johannes de Blanosco; 1230 – 1281) was a French jurist of the thirteenth century. He was a doctor of civil and canon law at the University of Bologna and then in the service of the Dukes of Burgundy. Blanot was the author of the Libellus super Institutionum, titulum De actionibus, a commentary on Book IV of the Institutes of Justinian.
Biography
He was the son of Durand (or Duran) de Blanot, owner of an allod at the foot of Mount Saint-Romain in the Blanot valley, and on the other hand "chacipol" (i.e. provost, manager of the domain[2]) of the nearby Cluny Abbey; Durand was himself the holder of the "chacipolerie" of Villars,[3] and his wife the heiress of that of Blanot. In the 1220s, Durand de Blanot led an armed force that attacked, captured and beat Jean de Neublans, a local squire accused of abuses, which caused a great stir locally. In April 1259, Jacques de Blanot, Durand's son and Jean's brother, is reported as the new "chacipol"; the following August, this Jacques signs a contract with the abbey of Cluny before the bishop of Mâcon, by which his freehold land is transformed into a fief lige of the abbey under conditions that are advantageous for him in material terms, but also in terms of social rank.
Jean de Blanot was sent to study law at the University of Bologna, where he stayed for several years in the 1250s, was a pupil of Odofredus, and gained an important reputation as a jurist. He is cited as a reference by Italian law professors of the following century, such as Cino da Pistoia and Bartolus, but it is not known whether he held a school in Bologna, although it is very likely.
Returning to Burgundy in 1259, he entered the service of Duke Hugh IV as legal advisor (jurisperitus). On the Friday before Christmas 1263, the duke gave his "féal" Jean de Blanot and his descendants born of legitimate marriage the Château d'Uxelles and its outbuildings, the castellany, the high and low justice, the men and the rights except for the tribute of the noble vassals. This last point was conceded by letters patent of the Duke on the Friday after Easter 1268, and other letters were sent to the noble vassals concerned on the Thursday after the Decollation of Saint John the Baptist (August 29) to notify them of the new situation. The transfer was renewed by the duke on the Monday after St. Michael's Day 1272 and confirmed again in his will a few days later. Then, when he became duke, his successor Robert II renewed the donation in writing.
Jean married Isabelle de Montmoyen and had four surviving children by her: Pierre, Agnès, Jean and Fauquette. He was still alive in October 1278, when he settled a dispute with the Cluny Abbey, but in March 1281, his wife Isabelle appears as a widow in court documents. His son Pierre de Blanot is mentioned as lord of Uxelles in 1310; he was also bailiff of Macon and seneschal of Limoges and Poitiers.
Writings
Jean de Blanot's main work, the Libellus super titulo Institutionum de actionibus, published in Bologna in 1256, was widely read: it is found in a dozen manuscripts throughout Europe (among others in Paris, Cambrai, Chartres, Tours, Basel, Rome, Leipzig) and was printed five times in the sixteenth century (and a sixth time in 1603).
The Tractatus super feudis et homagiis is in fact a part of the preceding work.[4] It contains a formula often cited by historians as a new affirmation of the sovereignty of the King of France, who was not only the apex of the feudal pyramid, but held a special position: "Rex Franciæ in regno suo princeps est, nam in temporalibus superiorem non recognoscit", "The king of France is emperor in his kingdom, because he does not recognize himself as superior in temporal matters". Consequently, vassals at all levels were obliged to respond directly to the king's call whenever the public good was at stake, unless they incurred the crimen læsæ majestatis. It is, in the name of a Roman conception of the State, the negation of the feudal brocade "The man of my man is not my man".
Notes
- ↑ Also known as Jean de Blanosque or by mistake Blanasque.
- ↑ A document from the Cluny Abbey also says "serviens noster", "our sergeant".
- ↑ The hamlet of Villars is located in the commune of Donzy-le-Pertuis, neighboring Blanot.
- ↑ The Tractatus was published by Jean Acher, see "Notes sur le Droit savant au Moyen Âge", Nouvelle Revue Historique de Droit Français et Étranger, Vol. XXX (1906), pp. 125–78.
References
- Boulet-Sautel, Marguerite (1976). "Jean de Blanot et la Conception du Pouvoir Royal au Temps de Louis IX." In: Septième Centenaire de la Mort de Saint Louis (1970). Paris: Les Belles Lettres, pp. 57–68.
- Jeanton, Gabriel & Jean Martin (1908). Le château d'Uxelles et ses seigneurs. Paris: A. Picard.
- Jeanton, Gabriel (1910). Les Deux Jean de Blanot. Mâcon: Protat frères.
- Richard, Jean (1954). Les Ducs de Bourgogne et la Formation du Duché du XIe au XIVe Siècle. Paris: Les Belles Lettres.
