6. The Thieves Were a Highly Organized Slum Group
In a structure that may sound familiar to fans of fantasy novels or games like Skyrim, the Court of Miracle’s thieves had an extremely organized structure bordering on the idea of a thieves’ guild. Anyone who wanted to operate as a thief within Paris had to be inducted into the group of thieves through two purse-cutting rituals. It is unclear if the thieve’s group doled out punishments to anyone who stole outside of their supervision.
Young or new thieves inducted into the ranks would serve as the equivalent of an apprentice to a more experienced thief. These apprentices earned a wage, which was unheard of for many of the rural refugees fleeing to Paris at the time. Becoming a thief would have provided a surprisingly stable lifestyle compared to what many of the slum’s residents were used to.
The rigid structure of the thieve’s group served an eminently practical purpose: ensuring no part of the city was over-robbed to avoid attracting undue police attention. The group of thieves worked to ensure that each portion of the town had the correct number of active thieves. It must have been a tricky balance to keep apprentices and master thieves employed while also ensuring they didn’t steal enough to trigger a significant law enforcement crackdown.