An Alternative Genealogy of the Origins of French Free Soil: Medieval Toulouse
Sue Peabody
Since the fifteenth century, French lawyers and magistrates have upheld principle that ‘no one is a slave in France’ [nul n'est esclave en France], extending freedom to many slaves who set foot on soil. This article examines medieval antecedents for France's Freedom Principle, arguing Louis X's oft-cited 1315 ordinance did not free all France was primary source of soil tradition. Rather, municipal officers independent domain Toulouse were strong advocates slaves' claims there by virtue city's liberties. In late fourteenth centuries, as entered royal domain, this first resisted, but ultimately adopted, judicial until its foreign roots erased from legal memory.
Slavery & Abolition