Sénéchaussée de Lyon – Rente au profit des prêtres de Saint-Symphorien-le-Château - Grand parchemin vélin notarié - 1540

This large parchment on vellum dates from the Renaissance. It is a remarkable testimony to the legal and religious life of the Lyonnais under the reign of Francis I. It is issued in the name of Jean du Peyrat, Doctor of Laws, royal adviser and lieutenant general in the seneschalty of Lyon. It brings together in a single document two acts: a Latin rent contract of February 1523 and its public form of expeditions written in French twenty years later.

The original act is a sale of annuity. The sellers transfer to the priests of the church of Saint-Symphorien an annual and perpetual pension of twenty tournois sols. It is payable each year on the feast of Saint Matthias and guaranteed on their houses, meadows and lands, notably located in the parish of Pomeys. These foundations, granted for the salvation of souls, funded the masses and services carried out by the community of priests. The act details the pledged properties and the clauses of obligation. It thus constitutes a valuable source for rural history, toponymy and the genealogy of the Monts du Lyonnais.

In 1544, the lieutenant general of Lyon authorizes Master Estienne Paparin, notary and royal tabellion of Saint-Symphorien-le-Château (now Saint-Symphorien-sur-Coise), to expel/issue this contract. He had been received by a previous notary, Master Martin [Thimon ?], whose records had been handed over to Paparin. The document illustrates the transmission of minutes between notaries and the role of the royal sénéchaussée in the authentication of acts.

The act is validated at the bottom by the signature and initial of the notary, accompanied by a note of expedition. The verso bears an old archive shelfmark (“N° 37”) and the name of Claude M[aucenay ?], presumably a later debtor of the annuity. These mentions show that this title served for generations.

The cursive notarial handwriting, dense and regular, opens on a large “We” calligraphed. It testifies to the mastery of Lyonnais practitioners of the sixteenth century. The brown ink has remarkably endured through the centuries.

- Dimensions: 72 x 67 cm
- Condition: Good state of preservation for a document of this era, missing the lower right corner, a few small holes at the folds. See photos for more details.

Careful shipment in a rigid and watertight box.