AYRAULT, Pierre - L'Ordre, formalité et instruction... Lot 330

AYRAULT, Pierre - L'Ordre, formalité et instruction judiciaire, dont les anciens Grecs et Romains ont usé és accusations publiques, conferé au stil & usage de nostre France. Revue, corrigée et augmentée de la dernière main de l'autheur. Edition quatriesme. Paris, Michel Sonnius, 1610. in-4, (6) ff, 646 pp, (15) ff, some light spotting, contemporary ivory vellum, small loss on spine. The author, criminal lieutenant in Angers, dedicated his work to Guillaume Ruzé, bishop of Angers. Last edition much enlarged compared with the first (1576), which included only the first book in 88 leaves. Reissued in 1881, this work contains numerous quotations and anecdotes in the style of Montaigne. He opposes the criminal ordinances of 1498 and 1539, and the exorbitant power of the examining magistrate. He makes frequent use of Roman law to fill in the gaps in the criminal law of his day. No one defended better than he some of the major principles that were to govern criminal procedure. 17th c. ms. bookplate of Jacques D'Estaing, lawyer in civil and canon law.