author

Monsieur Freydier

An 18th-century lawyer from Nîmes, he is remembered for a striking legal plea that argued against the use of chastity belts and similar restraints. His surviving work stands out for turning a curious historical case into a forceful defense of dignity and common sense.

1 Audiobook

Plaidoyer de M. Freydier contre l'introduction des cadenas et ceintures de chasteté, précédé d'une notice historique.

Plaidoyer de M. Freydier contre l'introduction des cadenas et ceintures de chasteté, précédé d'une notice historique.

by Monsieur Freydier

About the author

Very little confirmed biographical information appears to survive about Monsieur Freydier. Library and archival records identify him as a lawyer in Nîmes, France, active in the 18th century, and some records list the name Antoine Freydier.

He is chiefly known for Plaidoyer de monsieur Freydier, avocat à Nismes, contre l'introduction des cadenats ou ceintures de chasteté, first published in 1750. The work is a legal argument against the use of chastity belts, written in response to a case that later readers found both sensational and revealing about ideas of control, morality, and bodily autonomy.

Because so little else is firmly documented, Freydier is remembered less as a fully known public figure than as the author of one unusual and memorable text. Even so, that single surviving work has kept his name alive in library catalogs, rare-book records, and modern reprints.