This vol., while encompassing the entire reign of Louis XIV & all the parlements of the realm, has the narrow focus of investigating the impact of royal policy on the judicial authority of the parlements as revealed in their relations with the king’s councils, notably the one that specialized in judicial affairs, the Conseil Prive. This is above all a study of the evolution of conciliar jurisprudence & judicial procedure, as much an exercise in what the French call “l’histoire du droit” as an opportunity to observe in a novel way the resolution of some of the most pressing political problems in the Age of Louis XIV. But the overall aim is to understand the practical consequences of royal absolutism for the kingdom’s highest judicial institutions.