Charles IX

Here is a typical document countersigned by Claude II de Laubespine, an attempt to enforce gun control in Paris. King Charles IX had attained his majority just a few weeks before, and this was one of his first official acts. He instructs the aldermen to gather up firearms and deposit them in the Hôtel de Ville for safekeeping. No one was to be seen on the street carrying a pistol, dagger, or harquebus. Although the aldermen tried to maintain law and order, gangs roamed the city at night singing psalms and brandishing their weapons. This is one of several royal documents in the Morgan collection signed by or addressed to members of the Laubespine family.