Il droit de joyeux avènement

ABSTRACT: This research considers the interference of the princeps’ power in relation to the ecclesiastical benefices and how it has developed in France. The “droit de joyeux avènement” was based on an ancient possession by the ancient kings, i.e. on the property of the Prince throughout the kingdom. The conditions of the French Church and its independent administration in relation to the Roman see, make us think that this right came from the feudal lordship and it has been preserved through the centuries as a means to preserve this freedom. It was through the “droit de joyeux avènement” that the French kings could propose their clergy and faithful devotees in the various capitula of the kingdom, and it was through these ecclesiastics that the monarchs could more easily influence the decisions that the capitula could take even against the pope. And so they could continue to assert that relative independence of the French Church from the Holy See and its strong dependence from the regal power.