A provost is a government official and head of civil authorities, such as the police force, in certain areas. In Hugo’s novel, Robert d’Estouteville is the Provost of Paris and is responsible for overseeing legal trials there.
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Provost Term Timeline in The Hunchback of Notre Dame
The timeline below shows where the term Provost appears in The Hunchback of Notre Dame. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Book 1, Chapter 1
...hall. There is a din of voices and, at the edges of the crowd, the provosts use force to keep order—something the police in Paris still do today. If a Parisian...
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Book 6, Chapter 1
In 1482, Robert d’Estouteville has been Provost of Paris for seventeen years. He has clung valiantly to this position, even when Louis...
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...possible that his temper is due to the holiday the day before, after which the provosts are responsible for cleaning up, it is also possible that he is simply a mean,...
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Florian Barbedienne, the Provost’s Lieutenant, acts as judge in the trial instead. The hall is crowded; many spectators have...
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Book 10, Chapter 5
Olivier returns with the provost of Paris and the Captain of the Chevaliers, who both look very worried. Olivier looks...
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