Praemunire, Statute of.
A statute passed in 1392, finally confirming the Statute of Provisors of the previous reign, and declaring the realm of England to be free of all earthly subjection. The procuring of any Bull or other Papal instrument was made punishable by outlawry and forfeiture.
Pragmatic Sanction of Bourges.
A proclamation of Charles VII of France in 1438, declaring that the authority of a General Council was superior to that of the Pope. It further followed the terms of the Concordat of Aschaffenburg, proclaiming that annates were abolished, and that the election of the Bishops was to be free of Papal control.
Pragmatic Sanction of Charles VI.
The fundamental law issued in 1724, settling the succession to the Austrian throne on Maria Theresa and her descendants. This, the most famous of the various Pragmatic Sanctions, was the cause of the War of the Austrian Succession, and was not finally accepted by the European Powers till the Peace of Aix La Chapelle in 1748.
Pragmatic Sanction of Frankfort.
A manifesto issued in 1338 by the Electors of the German Empire, in reply to the anathemas of Boniface XII, maintaining the Emperor’s independence of Papal control.
Pragmatic Sanction of Louis IX.
A decree issued in 1269, against the privileges of the clergy and the Papal usurpations. It forbade the sale of benefices and the levy of any tax by the Pope.