ital, and
guarded the city, the suburbs, and the surrounding districts, whereas the
mounted sergeants had "to watch over the safety of the rural parishes, and
to act throughout the whole extent of the provost's jurisdiction, and of
that of the viscount of Paris."

In the midst of the changes of the Middle Ages, especially after the
communes became free, all those kings who felt the importance of a strict
system of justice, particularly St. Louis, Philippe le Bel, and Charles
VIII., had seen the necessity of compiling a record of local customs. An
edict of 1453 orders that "the custom shall be registered in writing, so
as to be examined by the members of the great council of the Parliament."
Nevertheless, this important work was never properly carried out, and to
Louis XII. is due the honour of introducing a customary or usage law, and
at the same time of correcting the various modes of procedure, upon which
customs and usages had been based, and which had become singularly
antiquated since the edict of 1302.

No monarch showed more favour to Parliament than Louis XII. During his
reign of seventeen years we never find complaints from the magistracy for
not having been paid punctually. But in contrast with this, on the
accession of Francis I., the court complained of not having been paid its
first quarter's salary. From that moment claims were perpetually being
made; there were continually delays, or absolute refusals; the members
were expecting "remuneration for their services, in order absolutely to
enable them to support their families and households." We can thus judge
of the state of the various minor courts, which, being less powerful than
the supreme tribunals, and especially than that of Paris, were quite
unable to get their murmurings even listened to by the proper authorities.
This sad state of things continued, and, in fact, grew worse, until the
assembly of the League, when Mayenne, the chief of the leaguers, in order
to gratify the Parliament, promised to double the salaries, although he
was unable to fulfil his promise.

[Illustration: Fig. 311.--Inferior Court in the Great Bailiwick. Adoption
of Orphan Children.--Fac-simile of a Woodcut in J. Damhoudere's "Refuge et
Garand des Pupilles, Orphelins:" Antwerp, J. Bellere, 1557.]

Towards the end of the sixteenth century the highest French tribunal was
represented by nine superior courts--namely, the Parliament of Bordeaux,
created on the 9th of June, 1642;