Genealogies of the «Coutume» in the Age of the Wars of Religion in France

Abstract

The writing of customs and their reform in France in the second half of Sixteenth century generate numerous comments by the jurists, concerning their content as well as their origin, their characteristics and their relations with other sources of law. This essay presents some definitions of the coutume and the comments that some of the greatest French jurists of the Sixteenth century, and especially Montaigne, propose of the customs and their normativity. It also tries to highlight the difficulties involved in solving a number of problems. The latter concern in particular the relationship of customs with time, with the laws issued by the King, with local communities and with the territory, during the rise of a precise spatial perspective and a specific temporality of the modern theory based on the function of law.