Autore
Leuwers, Hervé

Titolo
Defence in writing. The end of the printed legal brief (France, 1788-1792)?
Periodico
Quaderni storici
Anno: 2012 - Volume: 141 - Fascicolo: 3 - Pagina iniziale: 723 - Pagina finale: 744

In the political and cultural history of France during the Age of Enlightenment,the interest aroused by printed factums appears to have come toa sudden end in 1789. While eighteenth century historians highlight the importanceof the legal brief in criminal or civil trials in transforming publicopinion and in the development of criticism of society or the state, this sourcehas barely been made use of during the decade of the French Revolution,only arousing interest once again in studies of the 19th century. We certainlyrecognise its existence, but its importance appears to have disappeared infavour of the spoken word in the courtroom and the press, pamphlets andthe national assembly debates or clubs in the public arena. Far from being aquestion of chance, this silence makes sense; it reveals the extent of changesto the legal brief and its place in defence strategies in the early days of theFrench Revolution and even in 1788. Through the examination of three corporaof sources (library collections, the experiences of lawyers and courtcases), this article takes stock and offers some initial reflections about thescale of the decline of the printed factum, its chronology and the reasons whyit happened, as well as changes in the use and form of this medium.



SICI: 0301-6307(2012)141:3<723:DIWTEO>2.0.ZU;2-7
Testo completo: http://www.mulino.it/download/article/10.1408/38807
Testo completo alternativo: http://www.mulino.it/doi/10.1408/38807

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