Editing Abbot (section)

==Modern abbots not as superior==
The title [[abbé]] (French; Ital. ''abate''), as commonly used in the Catholic Church on the European continent, is the equivalent of the English "Father" (parallel etymology), being loosely applied to all who have received the [[tonsure]].  This use of the title is said to have originated in the right conceded to the king of France, by the [[concordat]] between [[Pope Leo X]] and [[Francis I of France|Francis I]] (1516), to appoint [[commendatory abbot]]s (''{{lang|fr|abbés commendataires}}'') to most of the abbeys in France.  The expectation of obtaining these [[sinecure]]s drew young men towards the church in considerable numbers, and the class of abbés so formed{{snd}}''{{lang|fr|abbés de cour}}'' they were sometimes called, and sometimes (ironically) ''{{lang|fr|abbés de sainte espérance}}'' ("abbés of holy hope; or in a [[jeu de mots]], "of St. Hope"){{snd}}came to hold a recognized position.  The connection many of them had with the church was of the slenderest kind, consisting mainly in adopting the title of abbé, after a remarkably moderate course of theological study, practising [[celibacy]] and wearing distinctive dress, a short dark-violet coat with narrow collar.  Being men of presumed learning and undoubted leisure, many of the class found admission to the houses of the French nobility as tutors or advisers. Nearly every great family had its abbé. The class did not survive the [[French Revolution|Revolution]]; but the [[courtesy title]] of abbé, having long lost all connection in people's minds with any special ecclesiastical function, remained as a convenient general term applicable to any clergyman.