lettre de cachet

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lettre de cachet

lettre de cachet , formerly in French law, private, sealed document, issued as a communication from the king. Such a letter could order imprisonment or exile for an individual without recourse to courts of law. Of very early origin, the lettre de cachet came into common use in the 17th cent. as an instrument of the new monarchy. Although its actual use was restrained, the issuance to local officials of lettres de cachet with the space for the name left blank inspired great fear. The occasional invocation of them against leaders of opinion, including Voltaire, became a symbol of arbitrary royal power and tyranny. They were abolished by the Constituent Assembly in the French Revolution. Napoleon I briefly renewed use of the lettres de cachet.

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lettre de cachet

The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable | 2006 | | Â© The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable 2006, originally published by Oxford University Press 2006. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

lettre de cachet a warrant issued in the France of the ancien régime for the imprisonment of a person without trial at the pleasure of the monarch.

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ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "lettre de cachet." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. Oxford University Press. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 29 Nov. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "lettre de cachet." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. Oxford University Press. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (November 29, 2009). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-lettredecachet.html

ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "lettre de cachet." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. Oxford University Press. 2006. Retrieved November 29, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-lettredecachet.html

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