Comprehensive Notes on the Decree Abolishing the Feudal System (August 11, 1789)

Document Title: The Decree Abolishing the Feudal System.
Date of Final Decree: August 11, 1789.
Historical Source: J.H. Robinson, ed., Readings in European History 2 vols. (Boston: Ginn, 1906), 2: 404-409.
Digital Credits: Scanned by Brooke Harris (October 1996); proofread by Angela Rubenstein (February 1997); additional proofreading and pages by Jonathan Perry (March 2001) for the Hanover Historical Texts Project.
The "Night of August 4": Though the final decree is dated August 11, the abolition took place during the night session of August 4-5, 1789.
Catalyst for Action: The Assembly was prompted by a report detailing widespread misery and disorder in the provinces. Reports indicated property was subject to criminal violence, chateaux were burned, convents were destroyed, and farms were pillaged. Taxes and feudal dues were essentially extinct because the laws had lost their force and magistrates had lost their authority.
Motivation: The National Assembly aimed to pacify and encourage the populace by abolishing ancient abuses amidst a fervor of enthusiasm and excitement.

General Abolition (Article I): The National Assembly completeley abolishes the feudal system.
Serfdom: All rights and dues originating in or representing real or personal serfdom are abolished without indemnification. This includes both feudal and censuel (referring to the cens, a perpetual due similar to English copyhold).
Redeemable Dues: All other dues not explicitly abolished are declared redeemable. The National Assembly is responsible for fixing the terms and modes of this redemption. These dues must continue to be collected until indemnification (payment) is completed.

Pigeon Houses (Article II): The exclusive right to maintain pigeon houses and dovecotes is abolished. Pigeons must be confined during seasons fixed by the community; during these times, they are considered game, and any landowner has the right to kill them on their own land.
Hunting and Warrens (Article III): The exclusive right to hunt and maintain uninclosed warrens is abolished. Landowners have the right to kill or destroy all kinds of game on their own property, provided they follow police regulations for public safety.
Capitaineries: All hunting capitaineries, including the royal forests and all other hunting rights, are abolished.
The King's Pleasures: Provisions must be made to maintain the personal pleasures of the King in a way that respects property and liberty.
Legal Amnesty: The President of the Assembly is commissioned to ask King Louis XVI for the recall of individuals sent to the galleys or exiled for hunting violations, the release of current prisoners for such offenses, and the dismissal of pending cases.

Manorial Courts (Article IV): All manorial courts are suppressed without indemnification. However, existing magistrates must continue their functions until the Assembly establishes a new judicial system.
Venality of Offices (Article VII): The sale of judicial and municipal offices is abolished immediately. Justice is to be dispensed gratis (free of charge). Current magistrates will continue their roles and receive emoluments until the Assembly provides for their indemnification.

Tithes (Article V): Tithes of every description and their substitutes are abolished. This applies to tithes held by:
- Secular or regular congregations.
- Holders of benefices.
- Members of corporations (including the Order of Malta and other religious/military orders).
- Those devoted to church maintenance or impropriated to lay persons.
- Dues substituted for the portion congrue (the minimum remuneration fixed for priests).
Maintenance Contingency: Abolition is conditional upon the creation of a new system to fund:
- Divine worship and the support of officiating clergy.
- Assistance for the poor.
- Repairs and rebuilding of churches and parsonages.
- Maintenance of seminaries, schools, academies, asylums, and organizations currently funded by these sources.
Interim Collection: Until new provisions are established, current tithes will continue to be collected according to law.
Priestly Fees (Article VIII): Fees paid to country priests are abolished once the portion congrue is increased for parish priests and curates. New regulations will determine the status of urban priests.

Fiscal Privileges (Article IX): All pecuniary (monetary) privileges in tax payments, whether personal or real, are abolished forever. Taxes are to be collected from all citizens and property in the same manner. Plans will be made for all citizens to pay taxes proportionally, effective even for the last six months of the current year.

Provincial Privileges (Article X): All peculiar privileges (pecuniary or otherwise) of provinces, principalities, districts, cantons, cities, and communes are abolished and absorbed into the common law of France. This surrender is seen as essential for the intimate union of the realm.
Equality of Eligibility (Article XI): All citizens, regardless of birth, are eligible for any ecclesiastical, civil, or military office or dignity. No profession shall imply any derogation (loss of status).

International Remittances (Article XII): Payments for annates or other purposes to the court of Rome, the vice legation at Avignon, or the nunciature at Lucerne are forbidden.
Local Authority: Clergy must apply to their local bishops for benefices and dispensations, which are to be granted for free (gratis). Reservations, expectancies, and "papal months" are ignored, as all French churches are to enjoy the same freedom.

Abolition of Ecclesiastical Dues (Article XIII): Various specific ecclesiastical dues are abolished.
Pluralities (Article XIV): Holding multiple benefices is prohibited if the total revenue exceeds $3000\,\text{livres}$ . Individuals cannot receive both a pension and a benefice or multiple pensions if the total exceeds $3000\,\text{livres}$ .
Pension Reform (Article XV): The Assembly and the King will review a report on pensions and salaries to suppress undeserved funds and reduce excessive ones. The Assembly will fix the specific amount the King may disburse for future pensions.

Commemoration (Article XVI): A medal will be struck to remember the deliberations for the welfare of France. A Te Deum (liturgical hymn of praise) will be chanted in all French parishes and churches.
Title of the King (Article XVII): The National Assembly solemnly proclaims King Louis XVI as the "Restorer of French Liberty."
Formal Presentation (Article XVIII): The Assembly will meet the King in a body to present these decrees, express gratitude, and request his presence at the Te Deum in his chapel.

Development of Laws (Article XIX): After completing the constitution, the Assembly will immediately draft laws to develop the principles of this decree. The decree, along with the decree of August 10, is to be transmitted to the provinces to be printed, published, posted, and read from parish pulpits.