James R. FARR
Purdue University, Dept. of History, USA-West Lafayette, IN 47907-1358, 1358 University Hall

ABSTRACT
In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries royal judges in France increasingly imposed the penalty in criminal cases of the amende honorable, or "abject public apology." This article explores the rich meaning of this symbolic fine by situating it in the related contexts of first, a struggle between the kings of France and the royal magistracy over the definition and location of sovereignty, and second, of the system of honor. Central to this analysis is the fact that the amende honorable was seen as a linchpin between two rival rule-giving systems, the informal one of honor and the formal one of official law. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries the royal judges used this penalty as a way to bring together these rival systems, a union that was opposed by the king.

Key words: honor, law, sovereignty, amende honorable, punishment, jurisprudence, legislation, France, 16-17th centuries