Pilfering Apples

after putting nearly everything into an annuity providing an income of fifteen thousand francs, three-quarters of which would terminate with his own demise. He had not hesitated, little concerned about leaving any legacy.

(LM 3.2.5)

So I have done a lot of research in the not so distant past about inheritance laws in France! Please correct me if I'm wrong - and maybe somebody else has already talked about this, and possibly talked about it better than I will, and if someone else has already been over this, I'd love a link! - but at this time, the law meant that everything was to be divided up equally between the children, and if they had no children there was this whole order of who it went to (the wife was so much farther down in the list than she should've been and didn't get much 💀 unless the husband wrote something into his will to make sure she got more, which thankfully, it sounds like was pretty common because a lot of people wanted to keep to the old way of doing things rather then just letting the current and somewhat newer laws take place upon their possessions).

Before I continue, I want to add that everything I've read about has only talked about estates, I don't know if this includes other assets.

Continuing on: One could also get around the equal split in order to continue favoring the eldest by bequeathing upon them land and money prior to the person's death (though there was a limit, to ensure that other kids would get something after death), or, for some nobles, they could actually bestow a bit more to an eldest son upon their death regardless with a special law for them (Majorat). But at least any of the other kids would get something, and even included illegitimate children as long as the father had legally recognized them at some point (albeit less for them).

That aside, there was also the option of giving part of what you had away instead of leaving as an inheritance. As I mentioned before, it could be written up to go to a spouse, or it could go to a friend, charity - whatever it was you wished. Thus, less would go to their kids, grandkids, parents, siblings, grandparents, spouse, or other relatives (yes, that was the order of precedence for inheritance - see how far down the spouse is? Crazy).

Now here's the weird thing... According to law, the amount that could be used in this way was specific and depended on the number of children you had. You had to leave behind a portion as an inheritance (called the résèrve légale). If you had one child, like Gillenormand had, half of the estate was to go to that child. And then the number continued to grow if you had more kids.

So how the heck was he getting away with disposing of 3/4 of his finances? Because, from what I understand, rente (aka the annuity he's living on) comes from property. That property should still be part of the inheritance, and half of that should go to his daughter by law. So????

That aside, continuing on:

Besides, he had noticed that unexpected things happened to patrimonies, for instance they became ‘national assets’.

So initially I had figured he just meant he was going to let the government take 3/4 of his assets after he died instead of providing more for his daughter (female children were equally as entitled to inheritance as long as they were not married!) Though again, this makes no sense by law, that he can get rid of 3/4 of it.... Legal limitations should mean she gets 1/2... Unless the Majorat law came into play?

So remember how I said some nobles could get away with giving more to their eldest son? If Gillenormand had a noble title attached to some land given to him by Napoleon or Louis XVIII, that could go to his eldest son directly. But he doesn't have an eldest son. Maybe that meant he could do whatever he wanted with that property?? Maybe that's 1/4 of his assets, which means "half" of the rest would be... Another 1/4, if I'm a mathing correctly (bad at math sorry), Which means 3/4 of his total assets could be up to him as to how he wants to dispose of them... That is if whatever he has under Majorat could be done away without ever he chooses since he doesn't have an eldest son. I don't know how that works. Does anyone else know?

Anyway, the really buckwild thing to me about this is it sounds like he's not giving it to anything at all. He doesn't want the government to have it even? He's just.... Like completely dissolving the existence of it I guess??? He could let his daughter have it (or even give part of it to Marius), but instead he'd rather just. Destroy it entirely. Dang. This guy. 💀

EDIT: From what I can find, it seems that if there were no male relatives to take the Majorat, it became extinct. So that might be our answer! Except... He had Marius?? 🤔 Geez, I dunno LOL

Refs:

https://www.placedauphine.net/projects/inheritancelaw.html

Page 679-689: https://digitalcommons.law.lsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1182&context=lalrev

https://tontinecoffeehouse.com/2023/01/16/revolution-rentes/

https://tontinecoffeehouse.com/2024/01/29/wealth-in-fin-de-siecle-france/

https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/oa_edited_volume/chapter/2476298

https://jerripedia.org/wiki/Rentes

Basically: as long as he's alive, his property is of course his own. The law couldn't force someone to , like, declare the specific amount of an estate and lock it down as the inheritance before they died, because both bankruptcies and profits happen,you know? And he's chosen to sell, cash out, or trade most of it to put into a Lifetime Annuity-- that is, a kind of investment that will pay off to him through his lifetime , like a modern pension or retirement fund might. That payout is what's accounting for 3/4 of his wealth while he lives. And when he dies, it's gone.

The question of being required to leave a portion of the inheritance is about the inheritance, that is , after a person dies. That means you can't write in your will "btw give it all to my cat Eponine" . You'd have to set aside the reserve legale and THEN say "give the rest to my cat Eponine".

So Gillenormand isn't leaving much behind (relatively speaking,for the way someone like him lives) for his only daughter or any other heirs. They'll be stuck with the 1/4 to divide among them.

Illustrated by Renato Guttuso (Italian edition, 1966)

I know illustrations might not be entirely accurate many times but like…WHY? It doesn't even suit him.

“since he had got his six shillings, feeling that he had no further interest in the matter, drove away at once, and paid no more attention to it whatever”

Relationship: Bahorel & Enjolras Wordcount: 4,942 Chapters: 1/1 Summary: Before Bahorel knew it, going climbing with Enjolras became a regular fixture in his life. He and Enjolras would go to the gym at least once a week, twice if Bahorel was successful in convincing Enjolras away from his other duties—a feat which he achieved more often than not, owing to Enjolras being a person just like the rest of them, who sometimes had tasks he did not want to do and so put them off in favour of other things. For Bahorel, who had always considered Enjolras strict in his self-discipline, this came as a surprise. A lot of things about Enjolras surprised him, now that they were hanging out regularly.

The modern AU where Bahorel & Enjolras develop their friendship alongside their bouldering skills, accompanied by a healthy dose of political praxis.

"An Aspiring Centenarian"?

What if we didn't let him live that long actually. What if we didn't do that.

Ohhh myyyy gooooodddddd can we stop praising this guy. Hugo can we just like. Stop trying to make him sound smart and amazing and talented and cool. It's not gonna work. It's never gonna work. You will never sell me on this man, you already set him up for permanent failure. I am doubtful there's anything that you could do that would make me like him at this point so how about we just move on.

HAHA okay actually I don't even think he's trying to make me like him. "He got some awards and still thinks the guy who gave them to him, Duc de Nevers, is a Great Man despite him becoming Absolutely Nothing during and after the Revolution. Also, he thought Catherine II deciding to try and wipe an entire country and it's people off the map by joining in the partitioning of Poland was no biggie because she also bought and published the ingredients of 'the elixir of gold', a publication he clearly never read or else he'd have known it was, basically snake oil; merely ferric chloride in alcohol, which, depending on the amount of ferric chloride that was mixed into the alcohol, could have been harmful. But he was such a fanboy of the stuff that he clearly never looked into what it was made of, and simply supported anyone who supported the tincture, no matter what terrible crimes they might have committed."

Also, Gill, happy to break it to ya, but: "He [Duc de Nevers] wrote a great deal and with great facility; but his writings nowadays are generally considered to be of little value, his Fables being his best work." (Off Wikipedia) No one cares about this guy anymore and they definitely don't think of him as a great man. There's actually not that much information on him when I search. He's just not that interesting.

If any young man ventured to acclaim the Republic in his presence, he would turn blue and almost faint in his fury.

Guys we could weaponize this information

Richmond Palladium, 9 November 1911

Part 4 of A Hat Which Barely Missed Becoming Historic G, 1.5k words / AO3 Version

The Musain is dark when he returns, but there is a lamp burning in the back room, still. Courfeyrac ascends the staircase and enters through the back way. He is not surprised to find Combeferre still inside, and he’s even less surprised to find Enjolras, sitting with his pale head bent over a map of Paris’s heart.

“Courfeyrac,” Enjolras says, without looking up. “I thought you’d gone on to drink with the others.”

Combeferre does raise his head to look at him, and smiles; the corners of his eyes crease behind his spectacles.

“I had, but it seems I’ve forgotten my hat again.” He looks around at the empty tables, hoping to catch sight of it. The back room is full of shadows, where it had recently been so full of light. Only the table his friends still sit at radiates any warmth. “It’s in here somewhere, I’m certain of it,” he says, shrugging, and draws back a chair to sit with them. He’ll go round with the lamp to look for it when they’re done here; it can’t have grown legs and wandered out into the night alone. “What are you two plotting, sitting up so late?”