Master of Requests

A Master of Requests is a counsel of the French Conseil d'État (Council of State), a high-level judicial officer of administrative law in France. The office has existed in one form or another since the Middle Ages. The occupational title derives from two words. In jurisprudence and administration, the French term maître is an honorific for a barrister (a lawyer who acts in proceedings before a court of law), and requêtes are "appeals" or "petitions". (The legal term une requête civile is "a petition to an appellate court against a judgement.") Ancien Régime France The Masters of Requests (Counsels of State), more fully maîtres des requêtes ordinaires de l'hôtel du Roi, were originally, during the Middle Ages, judges of a council convened to examine petitions laid by commoners before the Royal Household (hôtel du roi). A number of traditions from this time survived until the 18th century, such as the King's accompaniment by two Masters ordinarily on Sundays and festival days, on his way to and from church, and their close attendance upon him during mass, so as to better receive petitions from the public. The role of the Masters of Requests was greatly expanded during the Renaissance: their duties, as defined by the Edict of 1493, and subsequently modified during the reigns of Francis I and Henry II, were to serve as deputies to and work closely under the Lord Chancellor of France and provide royal oversight of the judicial system at all levels. In this way, the Masters of Requests became key to expanding royal power into the provinces and in national unification, a role that would be taken over in the 17th century by royal intendants, who were recruited from among the ranks of the Masters of Requests. The Masters toured on circuits to inspect provincial courts, and could preside over bailiwick courts, at the Grand Conseil, and at sittings of Parlement where they sat on equal footing as Presidents of Court. They also received petitions against royal officers and intervened in cases of abuse.