Ferriere, Claude Joseph de, ca. 1680-ca. 1748.

Ferriere's Dictionnaire : (French Law, 1762)

Dictionnaire, 1762

Dictionnaire, 1762

Ferriere was a well known French jurisconsult, dean of the Faculty of Law in Paris, who wrote for publication often. This work, originally published in 1717, was republished as this 1771 copy, edited by Boucher d'Argis who revised, corrected, and enlarged it. The work includes the etymology of several terms, as well as the origins of several laws and customs. The definitions in the two-volume work are almost always long and quite detailed, often subdivided into complicated categories.

Legal and judicial concerns were mounting in France during this time. There is no doubt that Ferriere, and d'Argis as well, were embroiled in the political tension of the century. Legal reforms took on new significance as tensions grew between traditional and more modern measures of reform. A passionate dialogue soon developed between the primary legal reformers of the century, reflected in each others' works. In many cases, Ferriere's own political opinions are woven throughout his definitions: for example, in his discussion of Juge Ecclésiastique, he complained of the vast power once given to these judges and the Church courts, and concludes, "Mais, graces au Ciel, il y a longtemps que ces troubles sont dissipez, et que les causes qui avoient alors augmenté si fort la Juridiction Ecclésiastique, n'ont plus lieu" (or, "But, thanks be to Heaven, these difficulties dissipated long ago, and the reasons why, at that time, the ecclesiastical jurisdiction had increased so much, are no longer present").

Bibliography