Pragmatic Sanction of Bourges

1438

Charles VII of France issued a royal decree asserting the French church's autonomy from papal financial and appointive control, giving the king effective authority over French bishoprics, abbeys, and their substantial revenues. The Gallican church became, in practice, a department of the French state, its appointments subject to royal rather than Roman approval. The papacy protested loudly; France ignored the protests with increasing confidence for the next century.