Great Ordinance

{{unreferenced, date=April 2022 :''The phrase "Great Ordinance" was also an early term for

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...

, more usually spelt "Great Ordnance".'' In French political history, a great ordinance or grand ordinance (French – Grande ordonnance) was an important royal

ordinance Ordinance may refer to: Law * Ordinance (Belgium), a law adopted by the Brussels Parliament or the Common Community Commission * Ordinance (India), a temporary law promulgated by the President of India on recommendation of the Union Cabinet * ...

decree A decree is a legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state (such as the president of a republic or a monarch), according to certain procedures (usually established in a constitution). It has the force of law. The particular term used for ...

. The

French Estates-General In France under the Ancien Régime, the Estates General (french: États généraux ) or States-General was a legislative and consultative assembly of the different classes (or estates) of French subjects. It had a separate assembly for each of ...

might also adopt one to, for example, grant the king the exclusive right to raise troops, and establish the taxation measure known as the taille in support of a standing army. Examples included: * the ''Grande ordonnance pour la réforme du royaume'' (the Great Ordinance for the reform of the kingdom):

Louis IX Louis IX (25 April 1214 – 25 August 1270), commonly known as Saint Louis or Louis the Saint, was King of France from 1226 to 1270, and the most illustrious of the Direct Capetians. He was crowned in Reims at the age of 12, following the d ...

forbade

blasphemy Blasphemy is a speech crime and religious crime usually defined as an utterance that shows contempt, disrespects or insults a deity, an object considered sacred or something considered inviolable. Some religions regard blasphemy as a religiou ...

, gaming, prostitution,

tourney A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

s, and

trial by ordeal Trial by ordeal was an ancient judicial practice by which the guilt or innocence of the accused was determined by subjecting them to a painful, or at least an unpleasant, usually dangerous experience. In medieval Europe, like trial by combat, tri ...

, made the circulation of the royal coin compulsory, and delegated the administration of royal justice to jurists (the origin of the French parliament). * the

Great Ordinance of 1357 The Great Ordinance of 1357 was an edict through which Étienne Marcel attempted to impose limits on the French monarchy, in particular in fiscal and monetary matters. Historical context Since the year 1000 and the Cluny renaissance, medieval socie ...

, intended to curb royal power, but in the end never applied * the Grande ordonnance which put in place the

compagnies d'ordonnance The compagnie d'ordonnance was the first standing army of late medieval and early modern France. The system was the forefather of the modern company. Each ''compagnie'' consisted of 100 ''lances fournies'', which was built around a heavily ar ...

, the first permanent units of the

French army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed For ...

; * the Grande ordonnance des Eaux et Forêts (Grand Ordinance of the Waters and Forests) of 1516, by which

Francis I Francis I or Francis the First may refer to: * Francesco I Gonzaga (1366–1407) * Francis I, Duke of Brittany (1414–1450), reigned 1442–1450 * Francis I of France (1494–1547), King of France, reigned 1515–1547 * Francis I, Duke of Saxe-Lau ...

regulated the management of his domain and of the hunt – this ordinance was revived in 1669. Colbert also took several other ordinances to be '' Great Ordinances'' : * the ''Grande ordonnance de procédure civile'' (Grand Ordinance on civil procedure) signed at

Saint-Germain-en-Laye Saint-Germain-en-Laye () is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris, from the centre of Paris. Inhabitants are called ''Saint-Germanois'' or ''Saint-Ge ...

, called the ''

Code Louis In communications and information processing, code is a system of rules to convert information—such as a letter, word, sound, image, or gesture—into another form, sometimes shortened or secret, for communication through a communication ...

'', making it compulsory to record baptisms, marriages and burials in the registers of the civil state (as opposed to the registers of the church); * the ''

Grande ordonnance criminelle The Criminal Ordinance of 1670 (french: Ordonnance criminelle de 1670, a.k.a. ''Ordonnance criminelle de Colbert'') was a Great Ordinance dealing with criminal procedure which was enacted in France under the reign of King Louis XIV. Made in Sa ...

'' (Grand Ordinance on criminal law) in 1670 ; * the ''Grande ordonnance de la marine'' (Grand Ordinance on the fleet) in 1681 : * the ''Grande ordonnance sur les colonies'' (Grand Ordinance on the colonies), also known as the ''

Code noir The (, ''Black code'') was a decree passed by the French King Louis XIV in 1685 defining the conditions of slavery in the French colonial empire. The decree restricted the activities of free people of color, mandated the conversion of all e ...

'' (1685). Laws and ordinances of the Ancien Régime Legal history of France