A sinecure ( / ˈ s ɪ n ɪ k j ʊər / or / ˈ s aɪ n ɪ k j ʊər / ; from the Latin sine , 'without', and cura , 'care') is a position with a salary or otherwise generating income that requires or involves little or no responsibility, labour, or active service. The term originated in the medieval church, where it signified a post without any responsibility for the " cure [care] of souls ", the regular liturgical and pastoral functions of a cleric , but came to be applied to any post, secular or ecclesiastical, that involved little or no actual work. Sinecures have historically provided a potent tool for governments or monarchs to distribute patronage , while recipients are able to store up titles and easy salaries.
13-454: The Abbé Jean-Paul Bignon, Cong.Orat. ( French pronunciation: [ʒɑ̃ pɔl biɲɔ̃] ; 19 September 1662, Paris – 14 March 1743, Île Belle ) was a French ecclesiastic, statesman, writer and preacher and librarian to Louis XIV of France . His protégé, Joseph Pitton de Tournefort , named the genus Bignonia (Virginia jasmine) after him in 1694. Born in Paris, Bignon was the grandson of
26-446: A degree that he refused to attend its meetings thereafter. Bignon was a patron of Antoine Galland , the first European translator of One Thousand and One Nights . He was also the author of Les aventures d'Abdalla, fils d'Hanif (The adventures of Abdalla, son of Hanif) , published in 1712–1714, a novel framed as the title character's search for the fountain of youth and composed of "stories of adventure and love" in which "great stress
39-463: A legal excuse for resigning from Parliament . Sinecure , properly a term of ecclesiastical law for a benefice without the cure of souls , arose in the English Church when the rector had no cure of souls nor resided in the parish , the work of the incumbent being performed by a vicar . Such sinecure rectories were expressly granted by the patron. They were abolished by Parliament under
52-570: A small collar, and they were tonsured . Since such abbés only rarely commanded an abbey , they often worked in upper-class families as tutors , spiritual directors , etc.; some (such as Gabriel Bonnot de Mably ) became writers. Clerical oblates and seminarians of the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest also have the honorific title of abbé . Sinecure A sinecure can also be given to an individual whose primary job
65-850: Is in another office, but requires a sinecure title to perform that job. For example, the Government House Leader in Canada is often given a sinecure ministry position so that they may become a member of the Cabinet . Similar examples are the Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal and the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster , whose holders are ex officio members of the Privy Council and therefore may be given admitted to
78-543: Is laid upon the 'horrid,' the grotesque, the fantastic." His fame as a preacher is exemplified by two completely different panegyrics he gave on the same day, for the feast day of St. Louis IX . He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1734. Bignon also contributed to the Médailles du règne de Louis le Grand , Sacre de Louis XV . From 1706 to 1714, he presided over the committee of men of letters who edited
91-766: The Journal des sçavans , which position he took again in 1724, with the Abbé Pierre Desfontaines . Abb%C3%A9 Abbé (from Latin abbas , in turn from Greek ἀββᾶς , abbas , from Aramaic abba , a title of honour, literally meaning "the father, my father", emphatic state of abh , "father") is the French word for an abbot . It is also the title used for lower-ranking Catholic clergy in France who are not members of religious orders . A concordat between Pope Leo X and King François I of France (1516) gave
104-646: The Cabinet of the United Kingdom (which is formally the executive committee of the Privy Council). The minister without portfolio is a frequent example of this sinecure, often employed to give cabinet-level positions to enough members of all partners in a coalition government . Other sinecures operate as legal fictions , such as the British office of Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Chiltern Hundreds , used as
117-557: The Ecclesiastical Commissioners Act of 1840. Other ecclesiastical sinecures were certain cathedral dignities to which no spiritual functions attached or incumbencies where by reason of depopulation and the like, the parishioners disappeared or the parish church was allowed to decay. Such cases eventually ceased to exist. The term is also used of any office or place to which salary, emoluments , or dignity , but no duties, are attached. The British civil service and
130-604: The following century as the Descriptions of the Arts and Trades . He organized the bureaux de la librairie and the committee of expert censors in 1699. Bignon worked with his uncle to prepare a new set of rules for the Academy, allowing for honorary membership, which were signed by the king in January 1699. The new rules, however, were rejected by its members. The rejection shocked him to such
143-621: The lawyer and statesman, Jérôme Bignon , and, though older, the nephew of the Count Jérôme Phélypeaux . He did his elementary studies at the school of the famed Abbey of Port Royal in Paris, then studied at the Collège d'Harcourt , following which he entered the Oratory of Paris, and did theological studies at the Seminary of Saint Magloire attached to it. In 1691 he completed his studies and
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#1732851438808156-429: The monarchs of France the right to nominate 255 commendatory abbots ( abbés commendataires ) for almost all French abbeys , who received income from a monastery without needing to render service, creating, in essence, a sinecure . From the mid-16th century, the title of abbé has been used in France for all young clergy, with or without consecration . Their clothes consisted of black or dark violet robes with
169-524: Was ordained to the priesthood. In 1693 he was made commendatory abbot of Saint-Quentin-en-l'Isle and preacher to King Louis; he was also appointed to succeed to Seat 20 in the French Academy . He was charged by the minister Colbert to head the Bignon Commission , which investigated the feasibility and then began the compilation of a guide to French artistic and industrial processes, published in
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