Pragmatic sanction
Encyclopedia
A pragmatic sanction is a sovereign's solemn decree on a matter of primary importance and has the force of fundamental law. In the late history of the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...

 it referred more specifically to an edict issued by the Emperor.

When used as a proper noun, and the year is not mentioned, it usually refers to the Pragmatic Sanction of 1713
Pragmatic Sanction of 1713
The Pragmatic Sanction of 1713 was an edict issued by Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI to ensure that the throne of the Archduchy of Austria could be inherited by a daughter....

, a legal mechanism designed to ensure that the Austrian throne and Habsburg lands would be inherited by Emperor Charles VI's
Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles VI was the penultimate Habsburg sovereign of the Habsburg Empire. He succeeded his elder brother, Joseph I, as Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia , Hungary and Croatia , Archduke of Austria, etc., in 1711...

 daughter, Maria Theresa
Maria Theresa of Austria
Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina was the only female ruler of the Habsburg dominions and the last of the House of Habsburg. She was the sovereign of Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Bohemia, Mantua, Milan, Lodomeria and Galicia, the Austrian Netherlands and Parma...

.

Pragmatic sanctions tend to be issued at times in which the theoretically ideal situation is untenable, and a change of the rules is called for.
  • The so-called Pragmatic Sanction of Louis IX
    Louis IX of France
    Louis IX , commonly Saint Louis, was King of France from 1226 until his death. He was also styled Louis II, Count of Artois from 1226 to 1237. Born at Poissy, near Paris, he was an eighth-generation descendant of Hugh Capet, and thus a member of the House of Capet, and the son of Louis VIII and...

    , purporting to have been issued in March 1269, regarding various clerical reforms, was a forgery fabricated in the 15th century.
  • The Pragmatic Sanction of Bourges
    Pragmatic Sanction of Bourges
    The Pragmatic Sanction of Bourges, issued by King Charles VII of France, on July 7, 1438, required a General Church Council, with authority superior to that of the pope, to be held every ten years, required election rather than appointment to ecclesiastical offices, prohibited the pope from...

    , issued on July 7, 1438 by King Charles VII of France
    Charles VII of France
    Charles VII , called the Victorious or the Well-Served , was King of France from 1422 to his death, though he was initially opposed by Henry VI of England, whose Regent, the Duke of Bedford, ruled much of France including the capital, Paris...

    , limited the authority of the pope over the Church within France.
  • The German Pragmatic Sanction of 1439, issued by German ruling princes March 26, 1439, accepted some of the decrees of the Council of Basel with modifications. It has been argued that the name Pragmatic Sanction is not properly applied to this document, as it was issued by princes subordinate to the emperor without the emperor's endorsement.
  • The Pragmatic Sanction of 1549
    Pragmatic Sanction of 1549
    The Pragmatic Sanction of 1549 was an edict, promulgated by Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, reorganizing the Seventeen Provinces.It was his plan to centralize the administrative units of Holy Roman Empire. The Pragmatic Sanction transformed this agglomeration of lands into a unified entity, of which...

    , issued by Charles V
    Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
    Charles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I, of the Spanish Empire from 1516 until his voluntary retirement and abdication in favor of his younger brother Ferdinand I and his son Philip II in 1556.As...

    , established the Seventeen Provinces
    Seventeen Provinces
    The Seventeen Provinces were a personal union of states in the Low Countries in the 15th century and 16th century, roughly covering the current Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, a good part of the North of France , and a small part of Western Germany.The Seventeen Provinces were originally held by...

     as an entity separate from the Empire and from France.
  • The Pragmatic Sanction of 1713
    Pragmatic Sanction of 1713
    The Pragmatic Sanction of 1713 was an edict issued by Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI to ensure that the throne of the Archduchy of Austria could be inherited by a daughter....

     issued by Emperor Charles VI
    Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor
    Charles VI was the penultimate Habsburg sovereign of the Habsburg Empire. He succeeded his elder brother, Joseph I, as Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia , Hungary and Croatia , Archduke of Austria, etc., in 1711...

     on April 19, 1713.
  • The Pragmatic Sanction voted by the Hungarian Parliament in 1723 in which the Kingdom of Hungary
    Kingdom of Hungary
    The Kingdom of Hungary comprised present-day Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia , Transylvania , Carpatho Ruthenia , Vojvodina , Burgenland , and other smaller territories surrounding present-day Hungary's borders...

     accepted female inheritance
    Inheritance
    Inheritance is the practice of passing on property, titles, debts, rights and obligations upon the death of an individual. It has long played an important role in human societies...

    , allowing Austrian empress Maria Theresa to become queen of Hungary
    Kingdom of Hungary
    The Kingdom of Hungary comprised present-day Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia , Transylvania , Carpatho Ruthenia , Vojvodina , Burgenland , and other smaller territories surrounding present-day Hungary's borders...

    .
  • The Pragmatic Sanction of Naples, issued October 6, 1759, by King Charles III of Spain
    Charles III of Spain
    Charles III was the King of Spain and the Spanish Indies from 1759 to 1788. He was the eldest son of Philip V of Spain and his second wife, the Princess Elisabeth Farnese...

    , governed the succession to the thrones of Naples, Sicily, and Spain, and forbade the union of Spain and the Two Sicilies.
  • The Spanish Pragmatic Sanction of 1830
    Pragmatic Sanction of 1830
    The Pragmatic Sanction of 1830 , issued March 29, 1830 by King Ferdinand VII of Spain, ratified a Decree of 1789 by Charles IV of Spain, which had replaced the semi-Salic system established by Philip V of Spain with the mixed succession system that predated the Bourbon monarchy .When Philip V,...

    , issued March 29, 1830 by King Ferdinand VII of Spain, ratified a Decree of 1789 by Charles IV of Spain
    Charles IV of Spain
    Charles IV was King of Spain from 14 December 1788 until his abdication on 19 March 1808.-Early life:...

    , which had replaced the semi-Salic
    Salic law
    Salic law was a body of traditional law codified for governing the Salian Franks in the early Middle Ages during the reign of King Clovis I in the 6th century...

     system established by Philip V with the mixed succession system that had characterized historically the Castilian monarchy (upon which the Spanish monarchy draws its traditions), as noted by the inheritance by queens regnant Urraca of Castile
    Urraca of Castile
    Urraca was Queen regnant of León, Castile, and Galicia, and claimed the imperial title as suo jure Empress of All the Spains from 1109 until her death in childbirth, as well as Empress of All Galicia.- Childhood :...

    , Isabella I of Castile
    Isabella I of Castile
    Isabella I was Queen of Castile and León. She and her husband Ferdinand II of Aragon brought stability to both kingdoms that became the basis for the unification of Spain. Later the two laid the foundations for the political unification of Spain under their grandson, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor...

    , and Joanna I of Castile. (See also Carlism
    Carlism
    Carlism is a traditionalist and legitimist political movement in Spain seeking the establishment of a separate line of the Bourbon family on the Spanish throne. This line descended from Infante Carlos, Count of Molina , and was founded due to dispute over the succession laws and widespread...

    .)

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