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

This bull suspended, excommunicated, menaced with loss of temporal possessions, civil or ecclesiastic, the French prelates, and even lay lords, who should re-demand or regret the pragmatic sanction of Charles VII.

From Project Gutenberg

St. Louis IX., in 1269, declared in a pragmatic sanction, that the temporal power of France was independent of the jurisdiction of Rome.

From Project Gutenberg

His father had guaranteed the pragmatic sanction, but as the conditions on which the guarantee had Frederick the Great.

From Project Gutenberg

No two words," says Smedley, "convey less distinct meaning to English ears than 'pragmatic sanction.'

From Project Gutenberg

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 Project Gutenberg