SPIFAME, Raoul.

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Dicaerchiae Henrici Regis Christianissimi progymnasmata. First edition of this pioneering argument for popular access to the justice system: an imaginary legal code which "led the way in the emerging literature of judicial reform" (Schneider, p. 448).Raoul Spifame (1500-1563), a lawyer later confined to a mental asylum, combined insanity and legal perceptiveness in equal measure. The Dicaerchiae attributes over 300 entirely imaginary laws to the reigning Henry II, a project apparently conceived after Spifame noticed his strong resemblance to the king. Despite his bizarre motivations, Spifame's Dicaerchiae outlines various incisive measures for the greater simplification, standardization, and accessibility of the justice system. Many of these proposals, including the abolition of seigneurial privileges and the standardization of weights and measures, were later implemented during the French Revolution.Unsurprisingly, the work was immediately proscribed and pursued by the French government. This copy is from the library of the College de Clermont in Paris, founded by the Jesuits in 1563 and later renamed the Lycee Louis-Le-Grand: the 17th-century "Coll. Paris Socty Jesu" inscription is at the head of the title page. This copy was not in the 1764 sale of Clermont books.

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