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What place did polyphony (organum) take up from the second half of the twelfth century onwards and what issues are revealed by its advent in the great liturgical feasts of Notre‑Dame de Paris cathedral? During the constant and subtle confrontation engaged by the spiritual authority and the temporal power in the City, the special promotion of polyphony in the newly rebuilt church of Paris shows an ecclesiastical hierarchy keen to enhance its prestige. It also tends to affirm the power of an episcopal authority weakened by the expansionist policy of the Roman Curia under Pope Innocent III. In a context of oppositions and tensions, the development of polyphony during services contributes to enhance the image of the bishop and to further strengthen its moral, spiritual and political authority in his diocese. Thus, in the new decor of Notre Dame, an unprecedented revelation of the sacred word takes shape in the second half of the twelfth century : organum... pro servitio divino multiplicando. The organa, virtuoso solo songs, are not only an illustration and a special beautification of the texts of the psalms, they are also « mirrors » that reflect the bishop's power through their liturgical function.In this regard, we will focus on the Viderunt omnes response sung in four voices which gives a reinforced image of the plenitudo potestatis – not the one that Innocent III hoped and prayed for but that of a bishop who is the legitimate multi‑secular custodian and who intends to preserve both his spiritual authority over the souls of his diocese and his podestat over the subjects of his field. The Sederunt principes response emphasizes the struggle of pure souls against « evil » ones : it is indeed the aberratio fidei which is here stigmatized – faith gone astray and more surely fought and stifled by the beauty in which souls are shrouded during divine services. In the fight against delinquency, the bishop does not intend to let the precedence of pastoral action in his own diocese be stolen. A pragmatic prelate, anxious to keep control over the affairs of his domain, Eudes de Sully shows its power via the organum and he gathers the community around him.If the organum held an important role in this perspective of cohesion of the « ecclesia Paris », we will then wonder whether the compositions were directed only at a highly restricted circle of clerics, the only ones to be able to taste all their subtlety? In the light of the conditions accompanying the promotion of polyphony in the church of Paris, we will raise the question of the audience: which « public » for this music? Was it only reserved to a small number of well‑informed listeners? All are invited to see and hear : the organum, relying on the senses, is part of the promotion and enhancement of the image of Notre Dame and his bishop and as such, the musical discourse is also measured in terms of efficiency and is involved in a true « communication strategy » conducted by the ministry of Eudes de Sully (1196‑1208).

Although Gérard Gobaille was elected as a bishop of Paris by the cathedral's chapter, on the 8th of august, in 1492, Jean Simon was appointed by the pope in october during the same year. Thus, a conflict is opened between the two men, wich ended by the victory of the appointed. Even if the death of his competitor brought the deal easyer, Jean Simon, adviser of the king and canon of Notre‑Dame, seems to have been, anyway, in a good position to win: the support of Charles VIII, of his family, well established in the world of royal offices or in episcopal entourage, and the support of the clientele of cardinal André d'Espinay. However, it is interesting to notice that, despite these supports, he was obliged to argue, two years long, with the chapter in front of both the royal and the ecclesiastical courts, before he succeeded and could take his see : it's a new proof that nets, even when powerful, cannot ignore society rules and kingdom institutions.

On July 11, 1497, Jean Le Fèvre, master of the hôtel‑Dieu of Paris, is sent to jail by the canons of Notre‑Dame, a decision that introduces an acute conflict between these two parties in the context of the reform which the chapter seeks to impose on the monastic community that is in charge of the hospital. In terms of other cases of detention, which are rare – even if they became more numerous by the end of the 15th century – this measure is exceptional, all the more because it touches the highest official of the institution. It is officially motivated by the misuse of his accounts, suspected by the canons of concealing frauds which are regarded as proofs of impropriety, a major indication of the « deformed monk », pursued by the reforming canons. The imprisonment of the master provokes anger among his fellow monks which lasts after his release by authority of the Parliament, because he nonetheless remains dismissed. The chapter's hostility towards him is not due to his personal behaviour, since the archives contain no mention of misbehaviour for the forty‑five years he served the hôtel‑Dieu. It is better explained by the conditions involved in his election as master : he was elected in 1482 by a huge majority of monks and nuns according to the system of voting elaborated and defined more precisely throughout the 14th and 15th centuries that accorded greater weight to the hospital community at the expense of the chapter's initiative ; the latter was the sole means of appointment in the statutes drafted at the beginning of the 13th century. He has thus become less the chapter's representative than the appointee of the hospital. Thanks to this support, he finally comes to embody his colleagues' resistance against the reforming measures, so much so that the canons are forced to restore him.

This paper aims to reconsider the relationships between the nobiles and the Princeps. While describing the principate traditionally as the rise of a new regime, a part of the republican nobilitas was still pertaining to the circle of power, like the Valerii Messallae, an old patrician stirps. Here, we focus on M. Valerius Messalla Messallinus (cos. 3), a member of the gens Valeria, son of Messalla Corvinus (cos. 31), whose career took place above all during Augustus' principate. The two parts of this great career are examined: the cursus honorum on the one hand, the priesthoods on the other. We can wonder if he served the Princeps or the res publica. The principate has indeed changed the political practices and the senators have sometimes been considered as supporters of the adulatio Principis. And yet, Messallinus, like many others, served both res publica and the emperor, because the most important thing was the perpetuation of the gens.

Was Nicolas Desmarets, last Controller‑General of Louis XIVth's reign, a weak and powerless minister, like many of his predecessors or did he play a crucial role in the decision‑making ? To answer this question, it is necessary to look into the reasons which induced the king to promote this formerly disgraced man. Whereas most ministers were chosen according to the king's taste, Colbert's nephew owed his come back to his well-known financial expertise, at a time when the State was on the brink of bankruptcy. His reputation was further consolidated by the way he reorganised his administration and by his sense of duty. This gave him authority in the Conseil d'en haut at a time when it was becoming again an essential organ of decision. Desmarets's expertise was crucial since it forced the king to change some political decisions and to adapt them to the financial realities of the State. Our man epitomizes a form of rationality which forced itself upon the king to the point of allowing him – or not – to enforce a project. Therefore Desmarets played an essential role in the decision‑making. His example proves that the line between administration and politics is much more porous than the usual opposition would have us believe.