Featured 1770 French vellum document

We bought several boxes of old letters and autographs. Hard enough to decipher at best of times but this 1770 document has us stumped!

There is writing on the reverse, but I thought one side was more than enough!

 

It is from Auvergne in the volcanic region of the 'Massif Central' in southern France.

 

I think it starts "in the matter of Claude Etienne..."

 

Douze Sols = Twelve Floors = deuddeg lloriau

There, done already!

It has been proverbially p*****g down here for 3 days, you cross the border and just wait and see, the sun will start shining

Croeso i Cymru

 

Is it really blurred or is that the picture?
Tweaking the contrast and making it pin sharp may help make it readable.

 

I can read bits of it, but need as af says, sharper and more specific photos.

 

Hi, will post more photos shortly, hope they come out sharper but the writing is tiny and faded

 

Here goes

 

It's about some bloke called Claude Etienne from Pierrefont, who has a grievance against someone who has provoked him. Actually, it may be that he's suing the town itself. I'll see if I can pick some more out.

 

Instead of twelve floors, could "douze sols" translate to 12 sols, a French coin aka a sou. I have seen "douze sols" or any number of sols used in a mid 1800s publication as a payment for something.

Histoire des communautes des arts et metiers de l'Auvergne
History of Auvergne arts and crafts communities

Examples from the following link:
"Art. 94. Ceux qui manqueront a la messe le jour de la fete, paieront douze sols d'amende,..."
Translates:
Those who miss the mass on the day of the feast, will pay twelve sols of fine, ...

"Art. 97. Si un chevalier cassait son arc malicieusenent, il paiera trois livres; sa flèche, douze sols; et s'il la fait avec jurement, il sera exclu."
Translates:
If a knight broke his malicious bow, he would pay three pounds; His arrow, twelve sols; And if he does so with oath, he shall be excluded

Page 399, Art 94 and 97
https://books.google.com/books?id=JDIbAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA399&lpg=PA399&dq="douze+sols"+Auvergne&source=bl&ots=L3rstoqM9z&sig=pXKo8bohllErE6oaLwel4ce9F48&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiDuIDSzvnTAhVLqlQKHVuGC7MQ6AEIHjAB#v=onepage&q="douze sols" Auvergne&f=false

--- Susan

 

Susan, that makes much better sense!

 

cassait son arc malicieusement means break his bow maliciously( deliberately is a better word),, it's a rule to to rule on the bad tempered sportsmen of the day, like a golfer or tennis player smashing their bat in frustration,, do it with a bit of swearing and the penalty is exclusion. "You cannot be serious!!"

Accidental breakages are OK.