Notables

Notables. This means literally the most notable or important men in a state. In France, where alone the term was used, it meant the members of an extraordinary board of deputies, who were appointed and convoked by the king. The first important assembly was held in 1558, but the two most important were those in 1787 and 1788, which were convoked by Louis XVI. in view of the crisis then at hand. The assembly of 1787 consisted of 144 persons, mostly nobles and divines.