The History of the Parliament

For most of the period, the main representative bodies in france were regional assemblies of nobles that met in each province called the parliament. The kings of france had little incentive to ever call the estates and for over a century, they decided it wasn't worth the risk. There really is no good modern equivalent of the parliament. They had all kinds of unusual powers and practices you wouldn't expect from today's legislature or court. These weren't institutions governed by any single rationally developed constitution or set of procedures.