What Is A Tennis Court Oath?

A Tennis Court Oath is an oath or promise that is made by tennis players before they start a match.

Origins of the Tennis Court Oath

The Tennis Court Oath was taken by the deputies of the Third Estate on June 20, 1789 in the Tennis Court at the Palace of Versailles. This act is considered to be one of the most significant events in the French Revolution. The deputies pledged to not leave the Tennis Court until they had drafted a new constitution for France.

The Estates-General of 1789

In May of 1789, the Estates-General was called to order for the first time since 1614. The Third Estate, which represented the common people of France, boycotted the proceedings in an attempt to have their voice heard. After being locked out of their meeting hall on June 20th, they met in an indoor tennis court and took an oath not to disperse until they had drafted a new constitution. This event marked the beginning of the French Revolution.

The Third Estate

The Tennis Court Oath (Serment du Jeu de Paume) was a swear taken by the members of the National Assembly, in France, on 20th June 1789. It was a pledge by the representatives of the Third Estate to remain united until they had given France a constitution. The Tennis Court Oath was seen as one of the key events of the early stages of the French Revolution.

The Third Estate were the people who were not part of the First or Second Estates. The First and Second Estates were made up of the clergy and the nobility respectively. The Third Estate therefore represented everybody else in French society. Before the Revolution, the Third Estate paid most of the taxes but had very little say in how those taxes were used.

The Oath Itself

The Tennis Court Oath (Serment du Jeu de Paume) was a pledge signed by 576 of the 577 members from the Third Estate who were locked out of a meeting of the Estates-General on 20 June 1789.

The Text of the Oath

The text of the Tennis Court Oath, as recorded in Jacques Necker’s compte rendu, or record of proceedings, reads as follows:

“We swear never to separate, and to assemble whenever it may be necessary, so that we may not die without having defended the rights of man and the liberty of the people.”

The Significance of the Oath

The Tennis Court Oath (Serment du Jeu de paume) was a pivotal event during the first days of the French Revolution. The Oath was a solemn declaration made by 576 of the 577 members of the Estates-General who were locked out of their meeting hall at the Palais Royale in Paris on June 20, 1789. As they had no other place to meet, they gathered instead in an adjacent tennis court, where they took an oath not to disperse until they had agreed upon a new constitution for France. This constitution would establish France as a constitutional monarchy.

The Third Estate had been locked out of the Estates-General meeting hall because the King had wanted to prevent them from having too much influence on the proceedings. When they met in the tennis court, they swore not to dispersed until they had reached an agreement about how France would be governed. This event is seen as one of the most important turning points in the French Revolution because it showed that the people were willing to stand up for their rights and fight for change.

The Aftermath of the Oath

The Tennis Court Oath was taken by the deputies of the Third Estate on June 20, 1789. The deputies were gathered together in the tennis court because they had been locked out of a meeting of the Estates-General by the king. The Tennis Court Oath was a pledge to not leave until a new French constitution had been written. The deputies who took the oath became known as the National Assembly.

The Tennis Court Oath and the French Revolution

The Tennis Court Oath (Serment du Jeu de Paume) was a solemn declaration made by the representatives of the Third Estate on 20 June 1789, during the early stages of the French Revolution. The representatives of the Third Estate had been locked out of a meeting of the Estates-General by royal officials, and took an oath not to disperse until a new constitution had been adopted.

The Tennis Court Oath was one of the key events in the early days of the French Revolution, and is seen as an important turning point in the history of France. The Oath signalled the beginning of a new phase in the Revolution, when the representatives of the people (the Third Estate) began to take matters into their own hands and demand radical changes to France’s old way of doing things.

The Legacy of the Tennis Court Oath

On June 20, 1789, members of the French National Assembly took the Tennis Court Oath (Serment du Jeu de Paume), vowing “not to separate, and to reassemble wherever circumstances require, until the Constitution of the kingdom is established.” This act helped solidify the French Revolution and led to a new era of democracy in France. The Tennis Court Oath is considered one of the most important events in French history.

The legacy of the Tennis Court Oath can be seen in many ways. For example, it inspired other revolutions and movements for democracy around the world. It also helped shape the French Constitution, which is still in place today. And it gave rise to some of France’s most cherished values, such as liberty, equality, and fraternity.