Court Presentation- Honors of the Court Part 5

The language in this section is really dense, hopefully I've managed to make it a little more understandable...

Law of 17^th April 1760

                Concerning the presentation of ladies of the court and those aspiring to the honor of going in the carriages of the King.

“In the future, no lady may be presented to His Majesty and no gentleman can any longer be permitted to go in the carriages, and follow there to the hunt, unless they have previously produced, before the genealogist of his orders, three titles establishing each degree of the family of the husband, like contracts of marriage, wills, division, act of guardianship, gifts, etc., for each one the affiliation will be established clearly since the year 1400. Forbids His Majesty the said genealogist to admit any of the judgments of its board and its superior courts, nor the judgments made ​​by its various commissioners, during the various searches made of ​​nobility of the kingdom, and not to receive any consideration that can be that of the original titles of families; and wishing by the example of his predecessor Kings, not only to give families who are from a noble race, the honor to be presented and to go in the carriages, His Majesty has also directed his genealogist not to issue any certificate when he has knowledge that nobility which we want to show makes his principle (money) in the exercise of any office of dress, and other similar offices, or by letters of ennoblement, always excepting in the latter case, those for whom such letters are to be accorded by reason of services singly rendered to the state, reserving, moreover, to except that this rule would be filled by those who supported the crown or in his house, as also by the male descendants of the knights of his orders, which will be required only to prove their connection with those who have been decorated by said orders of the King.”

Court Presentation- Honors of the Court Part 4

"However, soon these formalities became powerless against favor, intrigue, and ambition. The more one sought to restrict the number of admissions, and the more the difficulty given them of price, they did ardently seek it. The petitions for presentation followed an ever-increasing progression; they became so general and sometimes so surprising, that it was necessary to turn to a new remedy. Louis XV approved, the 31^st of December 1759, a settlement which would be implemented the following April. The original is conserved in the National Archives."

Court Presentation- Honors of the Court Part 3

In the last installment of Honors of the Court I started the translation of a document which helps to detail the process of being presented. Previously we learned about the history of why being presented was important, and also why it was made difficult to attain. Today we begin to find out the requirements for applying to the honor.

"The presentation, left until then to the arbiter and to a caprice of the prince, was, from the majority [adulthood] of Louis XV, submissive to a very regular form. To be admitted to the honors of the court, that is to say to the circles, the balls of the king and the queen, to ride in the carriage of his Majesty and accompany him on the hunt; it was necessary to occupy a high rung among the nobility and “make a pretense of proofs of one’s” ancient lineage. The court also held, since the year 1730, a registry of people who enjoyed these honors."