pragmatic sanction

American  

noun

1. any one of various imperial decrees with the effect of fundamental law.

2. (initial capital letters)

   1. any of several imperial or royal decrees limiting the power or privilege of the papacy, as the decree of Charles VII of France in 1438 or that of the Diet of Mainz in 1439.

   2. the imperial decree of Charles VI of Austria in 1713, by which his daughter, Maria Theresa, inherited his dominions.

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pragmatic sanction British  

noun

1. an edict, decree, or ordinance issued with the force of fundamental law by a sovereign

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

pragmatic sanction

It would even be superfluous to revert to the decrees of the councils of Constance and Basle; or to the pragmatic sanction of 1439: the Four Articles of 1682 are sufficient.

From The Power Of The Popes by Daunou, Pierre Claude Fran?ois

The question of the vitality of the alliance was settled by my suggesting to the King that the alliance should receive pragmatic sanction, i.e. be ratified by the Parliaments at Vienna, Budapest, and Bucharest.

From In the World War by Czernin von und zu Chudenitz, Ottokar Theobald Otto Maria, Graf

Louis IX, by a pragmatic sanction, resists the papal claim to nominate bishops in France.

From The Great Events by Famous Historians, Volume 06 (From Barbarossa to Dante) by Horne, Charles F. (Charles Francis)

It was a copy of the will of the first Bonbright Foote, and the basic law, a sort of Salic law, a family pragmatic sanction for his descendants, through time and eternity.

From Youth Challenges by Kelland, Clarence Budington

Charles VIII., of France, in a pragmatic sanction issued in 1433, asserted for France, in conformity with the canons of the Council of Basle, independence of Rome in all temporal matters.

From Monks, Popes, and their Political Intrigues by Alberger, John