Le notariat parisien à la fin du 18e siècle

Jean-Paul Poisson : Parisian notaries at the end of the 18th century. A preliminary review for a socio-economic study of the Parisian legal profession. The author studies their education, ideas, life-style, professional activity, artistic and literary tastes, attitude towards the Revolution, and the political writings of some of them. He illustrates the important role they played in financial life, as intermediaries between the high aristocracy and business circles, and the general confidence they commanded despite criticisms of their wealth. Several of them, with their artistic and literary connections, their collections and libraries, resemble the great financiers of the century. The picture which emerges is that of a generally cultivated class, in sympathy with the Enlightenment, even at the beginning of the Revolution.Poisson Jean-Paul. Le notariat parisien à la fin du 18e siècle. In: Dix-huitième Siècle, n°7, 1975. pp. 105-127