Calottistes

Calottistes (Le Régiment de la Calotte), a society of witty and satirical men in the time of Louis XIV., who were headed by two officers in the king's bodyguard, named Torsac and Aimon. Their name was taken from the word calotte (a 'small cap,' worn by monks over the tonsure), and their amusement consisted in sending to any public character who had exposed himself to ridicule, a 'patent,' authorising him to wear the calotte, as a covering for the weak part of his head. As the society became audacious, and did not spare even royalty itself, it was dissolved by the minister Fleury. The Mémoires pour servir à l'Histoire de la Calotte (Basel, 1725) is an amusing little book. After the Restoration, the title Régime de la Calotte was applied to the priestly administration of affairs.