In Situ (Jan 2022)
Le présidial de Limoges : édifier une réforme de la justice à la fin de l’Ancien Régime
Abstract
As part of the transformation of the old présidial (judicial court of the Ancien Regime) of Limoges into a private residence, the Ministry of Culture, represented by the “service régional de l’Archéologie de Nouvelle-Aquitaine”, the Regional Archaeological Service of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, initiated an archaeological approach of the building, combining documentation review, monitoring of the work and elevations analysis. Carried out in partnership with a local association, Archéa, armed with a long experience in underground building, this study enabled to compare the materiality of the sites to the works of historians such as Christophe Blanquie or Vincent Meyzie. This research reveals an exemplary présidial, between legacy and innovation. The ancient topography and the historical sources confirm the sustainability of the présidial location as a judicial place, contributing to the making of the medieval city, complex syncretism of various political entities. It took part in the urban monumental landscape as proved by the old cartography featuring the enclosure of justice. The creation of Henri II's présidial on this plaza, in a former Presbyterian house, was therefore part of a longstanding civic tradition. The transformations of the building, as outlined by the historical and iconographical sources, echoed the mutations of Ancien Regime's justice and the assertion of the State in the provinces during the 17th century. The obsolescence of the building, during the next century, called for its reconstruction by a civil engineer whose project involved progressivism of the Enlightenment, the functionalities of a polysemous institution and the recommendations of local magistrates. The archaeological analysis sheds light on the evolution of these ambitions that were under way, taking into account the archaeological constraints or the ostentatious considerations of the occupants, leading to an archetype of the modern courthouse.
Keywords
