Abstract

This article is based on the close analysis of the documentation issued from ordinary activities of one institution, the "Maréchaussée", in the Lyonnais region, during the years 1716-1731. The analysis uses a topographical scale, and aims to be faithful to the lived experiences of the historical actor. It shows how conflicted the judicial environment of the institution was at the time, and how this fragmented nature of the institutional context had a central role in shaping the activity of the Maréchaussée in the period under consideration. Having brought forward the centrality of these spatial questions, my essay looks at the different strategies the Maréchaussée adopted to take root in the territory, and the active role that the justiciables played in these processes.