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Available in 22 languages" > <label id="p-lang-btn-label" for="p-lang-btn-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--action-progressive mw-portlet-lang-heading-22" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-language-progressive mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-language-progressive"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">22 languages</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-be mw-list-item"><a href="https://be.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%90%D1%80%D0%B4%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B0%D0%BD%D1%81_%D0%92%D1%96%D0%BB%D0%B5%D1%80-%D0%9A%D0%B0%D1%82%D1%80%D1%8D" title="Ардананс Вілер-Катрэ – Belarusian" lang="be" hreflang="be" data-title="Ардананс Вілер-Катрэ" data-language-autonym="Беларуская" data-language-local-name="Belarusian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Беларуская</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-br mw-list-item"><a href="https://br.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skrid-embann_Villers-Cotterets" title="Skrid-embann Villers-Cotterets – Breton" lang="br" hreflang="br" data-title="Skrid-embann Villers-Cotterets" data-language-autonym="Brezhoneg" data-language-local-name="Breton" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Brezhoneg</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ca mw-list-item"><a href="https://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edicte_de_Villers-Cotter%C3%AAts" title="Edicte de Villers-Cotterêts – Catalan" lang="ca" hreflang="ca" data-title="Edicte de Villers-Cotterêts" data-language-autonym="Català" data-language-local-name="Catalan" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Català</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-cs mw-list-item"><a href="https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Na%C5%99%C3%ADzen%C3%AD_z_Villers-Cotter%C3%AAts" title="Nařízení z Villers-Cotterêts – Czech" lang="cs" hreflang="cs" data-title="Nařízení z Villers-Cotterêts" data-language-autonym="Čeština" data-language-local-name="Czech" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Čeština</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-de mw-list-item"><a href="https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edikt_von_Villers-Cotter%C3%AAts" title="Edikt von Villers-Cotterêts – German" lang="de" hreflang="de" data-title="Edikt von Villers-Cotterêts" data-language-autonym="Deutsch" data-language-local-name="German" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Deutsch</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-el mw-list-item"><a href="https://el.wikipedia.org/wiki/%CE%94%CE%B9%CE%AC%CF%84%CE%B1%CE%B3%CE%BC%CE%B1_%CF%84%CE%BF%CF%85_%CE%92%CE%B9%CE%BB%CE%AD-%CE%9A%CE%BF%CF%84%CE%B5%CF%81%CE%AD" title="Διάταγμα του Βιλέ-Κοτερέ – Greek" lang="el" hreflang="el" data-title="Διάταγμα του Βιλέ-Κοτερέ" data-language-autonym="Ελληνικά" data-language-local-name="Greek" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Ελληνικά</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-es mw-list-item"><a href="https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ordenanza_de_Villers-Cotter%C3%AAts" title="Ordenanza de Villers-Cotterêts – Spanish" lang="es" hreflang="es" data-title="Ordenanza de Villers-Cotterêts" data-language-autonym="Español" data-language-local-name="Spanish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Español</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-eo mw-list-item"><a href="https://eo.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regularo_de_Villers-Cotter%C3%AAts" title="Regularo de Villers-Cotterêts – Esperanto" lang="eo" hreflang="eo" data-title="Regularo de Villers-Cotterêts" data-language-autonym="Esperanto" data-language-local-name="Esperanto" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Esperanto</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fa mw-list-item"><a href="https://fa.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%81%D8%B1%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%86_%D9%88%DB%8C%D9%84%D9%87-%DA%A9%D8%AA%D8%B1%D9%87" title="فرمان ویله-کتره – Persian" lang="fa" hreflang="fa" data-title="فرمان ویله-کتره" data-language-autonym="فارسی" data-language-local-name="Persian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>فارسی</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fr mw-list-item"><a href="https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ordonnance_de_Villers-Cotter%C3%AAts" title="Ordonnance de Villers-Cotterêts – French" lang="fr" hreflang="fr" data-title="Ordonnance de Villers-Cotterêts" data-language-autonym="Français" data-language-local-name="French" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Français</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-it mw-list-item"><a href="https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ordinanza_di_Villers-Cotter%C3%AAts" title="Ordinanza di Villers-Cotterêts – Italian" lang="it" hreflang="it" data-title="Ordinanza di Villers-Cotterêts" data-language-autonym="Italiano" data-language-local-name="Italian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Italiano</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-he mw-list-item"><a href="https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%A4%D7%A7%D7%95%D7%93%D7%AA_%D7%95%D7%99%D7%9C%D7%A8-%D7%A7%D7%95%D7%98%D7%A8%D7%94" title="פקודת וילר-קוטרה – Hebrew" lang="he" hreflang="he" data-title="פקודת וילר-קוטרה" data-language-autonym="עברית" data-language-local-name="Hebrew" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>עברית</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-hu mw-list-item"><a href="https://hu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Villers-cotter%C3%AAts-i_rendelet" title="Villers-cotterêts-i rendelet – Hungarian" lang="hu" hreflang="hu" data-title="Villers-cotterêts-i rendelet" data-language-autonym="Magyar" data-language-local-name="Hungarian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Magyar</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-nl mw-list-item"><a href="https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edict_van_Villers-Cotter%C3%AAts" title="Edict van Villers-Cotterêts – Dutch" lang="nl" hreflang="nl" data-title="Edict van Villers-Cotterêts" data-language-autonym="Nederlands" data-language-local-name="Dutch" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Nederlands</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ja mw-list-item"><a href="https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%B4%E3%82%A3%E3%83%AC%E3%83%BC%E3%83%AB%EF%BC%9D%E3%82%B3%E3%83%88%E3%83%AC%E3%81%AE%E5%8B%85%E4%BB%A4" title="ヴィレール＝コトレの勅令 – Japanese" lang="ja" hreflang="ja" data-title="ヴィレール＝コトレの勅令" data-language-autonym="日本語" data-language-local-name="Japanese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>日本語</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-oc mw-list-item"><a href="https://oc.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ordonan%C3%A7a_de_Villers-Cotter%C3%AAts" title="Ordonança de Villers-Cotterêts – Occitan" lang="oc" hreflang="oc" data-title="Ordonança de Villers-Cotterêts" data-language-autonym="Occitan" data-language-local-name="Occitan" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Occitan</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ro mw-list-item"><a href="https://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ordonan%C8%9Ba_de_la_Villers-Cotter%C3%AAts" title="Ordonanța de la Villers-Cotterêts – Romanian" lang="ro" hreflang="ro" data-title="Ordonanța de la Villers-Cotterêts" data-language-autonym="Română" data-language-local-name="Romanian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Română</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ru mw-list-item"><a href="https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9E%D1%80%D0%B4%D0%BE%D0%BD%D0%B0%D0%BD%D1%81_%D0%92%D0%B8%D0%BB%D0%BB%D0%B5%D1%80-%D0%9A%D0%BE%D1%82%D1%80%D0%B5" title="Ордонанс Виллер-Котре – Russian" lang="ru" hreflang="ru" data-title="Ордонанс Виллер-Котре" data-language-autonym="Русский" data-language-local-name="Russian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Русский</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sq mw-list-item"><a href="https://sq.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urdh%C3%ABresa_e_Villers-Cotter%C3%AAts" title="Urdhëresa e Villers-Cotterêts – Albanian" lang="sq" hreflang="sq" data-title="Urdhëresa e Villers-Cotterêts" data-language-autonym="Shqip" data-language-local-name="Albanian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Shqip</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sl mw-list-item"><a href="https://sl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odlok_iz_Villers-Cotter%C3%AAtsa" title="Odlok iz Villers-Cotterêtsa – Slovenian" lang="sl" hreflang="sl" data-title="Odlok iz Villers-Cotterêtsa" data-language-autonym="Slovenščina" data-language-local-name="Slovenian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Slovenščina</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-uk mw-list-item"><a href="https://uk.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A3%D0%BA%D0%B0%D0%B7_%D0%92%D1%96%D0%BB%D0%BB%D0%B5-%D0%9A%D0%BE%D1%82%D1%80%D0%B5" title="Указ Вілле-Котре – Ukrainian" lang="uk" hreflang="uk" data-title="Указ Вілле-Котре" data-language-autonym="Українська" data-language-local-name="Ukrainian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Українська</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-zh mw-list-item"><a href="https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%BB%B4%E8%8E%B1%E7%A7%91%E7%89%B9%E9%9B%B7%E6%B3%95%E4%BB%A4" title="维莱科特雷法令 – Chinese" lang="zh" hreflang="zh" data-title="维莱科特雷法令" data-language-autonym="中文" data-language-local-name="Chinese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>中文</span></a></li> </ul> <div class="after-portlet after-portlet-lang"><span class="wb-langlinks-edit wb-langlinks-link"><a href="https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Special:EntityPage/Q1118068#sitelinks-wikipedia" title="Edit interlanguage links" class="wbc-editpage">Edit links</a></span></div> </div> </div> </div> </header> <div class="vector-page-toolbar"> <div class="vector-page-toolbar-container"> <div id="left-navigation"> <nav aria-label="Namespaces"> <div id="p-associated-pages" class="vector-menu 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class="mw-content-ltr mw-parser-output" lang="en" dir="ltr"><div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none">Statute that mandated the use of French for all legal actions</div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1129693374">.mw-parser-output .hlist dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul{margin:0;padding:0}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt,.mw-parser-output .hlist li{margin:0;display:inline}.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul ul{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .hlist .mw-empty-li{display:none}.mw-parser-output .hlist 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//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/27/Flag_of_La_Francophonie.svg/200px-Flag_of_La_Francophonie.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="900" data-file-height="600" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-pretitle-with-top-image">Part of <a href="/wiki/Category:French_language" title="Category:French language">a series</a> on the</td></tr><tr><th class="sidebar-title-with-pretitle" style="border-bottom:1px solid #aaa;"><a href="/wiki/French_language" title="French language">French language</a></th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content" style="padding-top:0.4em;"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Langues_d%27o%C3%AFl" title="Langues d'oïl">Langues d'oïl</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Dialects_of_French" class="mw-redirect" title="Dialects of French">Dialects</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/French-based_creole_languages" title="French-based creole languages">Creoles</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Organisation_internationale_de_la_Francophonie" title="Organisation internationale de la Francophonie">Francophonie</a></li></ul></td> </tr><tr><th class="sidebar-heading" style="border-bottom:1px solid #aaa;font-size:110%;"> <a href="/wiki/History_of_French" title="History of French">History</a></th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Phonological_history_of_French" title="Phonological history of French">Phonological history</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Oaths_of_Strasbourg" title="Oaths of Strasbourg">Oaths of Strasbourg</a></li> <li><a class="mw-selflink selflink">Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Anglo-Norman_language" title="Anglo-Norman language">Anglo-Norman</a></li></ul></td> </tr><tr><th class="sidebar-heading" style="border-bottom:1px solid #aaa;font-size:110%;"> <a href="/wiki/French_grammar" title="French grammar">Grammar</a></th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/French_adverbs" title="French adverbs">Adverbs</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/French_articles_and_determiners" title="French articles and determiners">Articles and determiners</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/French_pronouns" title="French pronouns">Pronouns</a> (<a href="/wiki/French_personal_pronouns" title="French personal pronouns">personal</a>)</li> <li><div style="display:inline-block; padding:0.2em 0.4em; line-height:1.2em;"><a href="/wiki/French_verbs" title="French verbs">Verbs</a> <div class="hlist"><ul><li>(<a href="/wiki/French_conjugation" title="French conjugation">conjugation</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/French_verb_morphology" title="French verb morphology">morphology</a></li><li><br /><a href="/wiki/Pass%C3%A9_compos%C3%A9" title="Passé composé">passé composé</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Pass%C3%A9_simple" title="Passé simple">passé simple</a>)</li></ul></div></div></li></ul></td> </tr><tr><th class="sidebar-heading" style="border-bottom:1px solid #aaa;font-size:110%;"> <a href="/wiki/French_orthography" title="French orthography">Orthography</a></th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/French_alphabet" class="mw-redirect" title="French alphabet">Alphabet</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Reforms_of_French_orthography" title="Reforms of French orthography">Reforms</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Circumflex_in_French" title="Circumflex in French">Circumflex</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/French_Braille" title="French Braille">Braille</a></li></ul></td> </tr><tr><th class="sidebar-heading" style="border-bottom:1px solid #aaa;font-size:110%;"> <a href="/wiki/French_phonology" title="French phonology">Phonology</a></th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Elision_(French)" title="Elision (French)">Elision</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Liaison_(French)" title="Liaison (French)">Liaison</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Aspirated_h" title="Aspirated h">Aspirated h</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Help:IPA/French" title="Help:IPA/French">Help:IPA/French</a></li></ul></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-navbar"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239400231">.mw-parser-output .navbar{display:inline;font-size:88%;font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .navbar-collapse{float:left;text-align:left}.mw-parser-output .navbar-boxtext{word-spacing:0}.mw-parser-output .navbar ul{display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;line-height:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-brackets::before{margin-right:-0.125em;content:"[ "}.mw-parser-output .navbar-brackets::after{margin-left:-0.125em;content:" ]"}.mw-parser-output .navbar li{word-spacing:-0.125em}.mw-parser-output .navbar a>span,.mw-parser-output .navbar a>abbr{text-decoration:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-mini abbr{font-variant:small-caps;border-bottom:none;text-decoration:none;cursor:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-ct-full{font-size:114%;margin:0 7em}.mw-parser-output .navbar-ct-mini{font-size:114%;margin:0 4em}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .navbar li a abbr{color:var(--color-base)!important}@media(prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .navbar li a abbr{color:var(--color-base)!important}}@media print{.mw-parser-output .navbar{display:none!important}}</style><div class="navbar plainlinks hlist navbar-mini"><ul><li class="nv-view"><a href="/wiki/Template:French_language" title="Template:French language"><abbr title="View this template">v</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-talk"><a href="/wiki/Template_talk:French_language" title="Template talk:French language"><abbr title="Discuss this template">t</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-edit"><a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:French_language" title="Special:EditPage/Template:French language"><abbr title="Edit this template">e</abbr></a></li></ul></div></td></tr></tbody></table> <p>The <b>Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts</b> (<a href="/wiki/French_language" title="French language">French</a>: <i lang="fr">Ordonnance de Villers-Cotterêts</i>) is an extensive piece of reform <a href="/wiki/Legislation" title="Legislation">legislation</a> signed into law by <a href="/wiki/Francis_I_of_France" title="Francis I of France">Francis I of France</a> on August 10, 1539, in the city of <a href="/wiki/Villers-Cotter%C3%AAts" title="Villers-Cotterêts">Villers-Cotterêts</a> and the oldest French legislation still used partly by French courts. </p><p>Largely the work of Chancellor <a href="/wiki/Guillaume_Poyet" title="Guillaume Poyet">Guillaume Poyet</a>, the legislative edict had 192 articles and dealt with a number of government, judicial and ecclesiastical matters (<span title="French-language text"><i lang="fr">ordonnance générale en matière de police et de justice</i></span>). </p> <meta property="mw:PageProp/toc" /> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Articles_110_and_111">Articles 110 and 111</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Ordinance_of_Villers-Cotter%C3%AAts&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Articles 110 and 111"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Articles 110 and 111, the most famous, and the oldest still in use in the French legislation, called for the use of <a href="/wiki/French_language" title="French language">French</a> in all legal acts, <a href="/wiki/Notarized" class="mw-redirect" title="Notarized">notarized</a> <a href="/wiki/Contract" title="Contract">contracts</a> and official legislation to avoid any linguistic confusion: </p> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1244412712">.mw-parser-output .templatequote{overflow:hidden;margin:1em 0;padding:0 32px}.mw-parser-output .templatequotecite{line-height:1.5em;text-align:left;margin-top:0}@media(min-width:500px){.mw-parser-output .templatequotecite{padding-left:1.6em}}</style><blockquote class="templatequote"><p><span title="Middle French (ca. 1400-1600)-language text"><i lang="frm"><b>CX. Que les arrestz soient clers & entendibles.</b> Et affin quil ny ait cause de doubter sur lintelligence desdictz arrestz. Nous voulons & ordonnons quilz soient faictz & escriptz si clairement quil ny ait ne puisse auoir aulcune ambiguite ou incertitude ne lieu a en demander interpretation.</i></span> </p><dl><dd><b>110. That decrees be clear and understandable.</b></dd> <dd>And in order that there may be no cause for doubt over the meaning of the said decrees. We will and order that they be composed and written so clearly that there be not nor can be any ambiguity or uncertainty, nor grounds for requiring interpretation thereof.</dd></dl> <p><span title="Middle French (ca. 1400-1600)-language text"><i lang="frm"><b>CXI. De prononcer & expedier tous actes en langage francoys.</b> Et pource que telles choses sont souuentesfoys aduenues sur lintelligence des motz latins contenuz esdictz arrestz. Nous voulons que doresenavant tous arrestz ensemble toutes autres procedeures soyent de noz cours souueraines ou autres subalternes et inferieures, soyent de registres, enquestes, contractz, commissions, sentences, testamens et autres quelzconques actes et exploictz de justice, ou qui en dependent, soyent prononcez, enregistrez et deliurez aux parties en langage maternel francoys et non autrement.</i></span> </p> <dl><dd><b>111. On pronouncing and drawing up all legal documents in the French language.</b></dd> <dd>And because so many things often hinge on the meaning of Latin words contained in the said documents. We will that from henceforth all decrees together with all other proceedings, whether of our royal courts or others subordinate or inferior, whether records, surveys, contracts, commissions, awards, wills, and all other acts and deeds of justice or dependent thereon be spoken, written, and given to the parties in the French mother tongue and not otherwise.</dd></dl></blockquote> <p>The major goal of these articles was to discontinue the use of <a href="/wiki/Latin" title="Latin">Latin</a> in official documents (although Latin continued to be used in church registers in some regions of France), but they also had an effect on the use of the other <a href="/wiki/Languages_of_France" title="Languages of France">languages and dialects</a> spoken in many <a href="/wiki/Regions_of_France" title="Regions of France">regions of France</a>. </p> <ul class="gallery mw-gallery-packed"> <li class="gallerybox" style="width: 412px"> <div class="thumb" style="width: 410px;"><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Villers-Cot.jpg" class="mw-file-description" title="The first manuscript page of the Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts, 1539"><img alt="The first manuscript page of the Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts, 1539" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3d/Villers-Cot.jpg/615px-Villers-Cot.jpg" decoding="async" width="410" height="300" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3d/Villers-Cot.jpg/922px-Villers-Cot.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3d/Villers-Cot.jpg/1229px-Villers-Cot.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1479" data-file-height="1083" /></a></span></div> <div class="gallerytext">The first manuscript page of the Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts, 1539</div> </li> <li class="gallerybox" style="width: 282px"> <div class="thumb" style="width: 280px;"><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Ordonnance_du_25_ao%C3%BBt_1539_-_L%C3%A9gifrance_2021.png" class="mw-file-description" title="Articles 110 and 111 of the ordinance on Légifrance"><img alt="Articles 110 and 111 of the ordinance on Légifrance" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e7/Ordonnance_du_25_ao%C3%BBt_1539_-_L%C3%A9gifrance_2021.png/420px-Ordonnance_du_25_ao%C3%BBt_1539_-_L%C3%A9gifrance_2021.png" decoding="async" width="280" height="300" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e7/Ordonnance_du_25_ao%C3%BBt_1539_-_L%C3%A9gifrance_2021.png/630px-Ordonnance_du_25_ao%C3%BBt_1539_-_L%C3%A9gifrance_2021.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e7/Ordonnance_du_25_ao%C3%BBt_1539_-_L%C3%A9gifrance_2021.png/840px-Ordonnance_du_25_ao%C3%BBt_1539_-_L%C3%A9gifrance_2021.png 2x" data-file-width="1519" data-file-height="1628" /></a></span></div> <div class="gallerytext">Articles 110 and 111 of the ordinance on <a href="/wiki/L%C3%A9gifrance" title="Légifrance">Légifrance</a></div> </li> <li class="gallerybox" style="width: 218px"> <div class="thumb" style="width: 216px;"><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Ordonnance_de_Villers_Cotterets_August_1539.jpg" class="mw-file-description" title="Printed version of article 111 of the Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts, prescribing the use of French in official documents"><img alt="Printed version of article 111 of the Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts, prescribing the use of French in official documents" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/69/Ordonnance_de_Villers_Cotterets_August_1539.jpg/324px-Ordonnance_de_Villers_Cotterets_August_1539.jpg" decoding="async" width="216" height="300" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/69/Ordonnance_de_Villers_Cotterets_August_1539.jpg/486px-Ordonnance_de_Villers_Cotterets_August_1539.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/69/Ordonnance_de_Villers_Cotterets_August_1539.jpg/648px-Ordonnance_de_Villers_Cotterets_August_1539.jpg 2x" data-file-width="2047" data-file-height="2842" /></a></span></div> <div class="gallerytext">Printed version of article 111 of the Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts, prescribing the use of French in official documents</div> </li> </ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Registrations_of_births_and_deaths">Registrations of births and deaths</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Ordinance_of_Villers-Cotter%C3%AAts&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Registrations of births and deaths"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The ordinance was part of a wider legislation regarding the policing of <a href="/wiki/Benefice" title="Benefice">church benefices</a>, to keep vital records registers in the various church local institutions (mainly <a href="/wiki/Parish" title="Parish">parishes</a>). The ordinance ordered the creation of at least a register of <a href="/wiki/Baptism" title="Baptism">baptisms</a>, needed for determining the age of candidates for <a href="/wiki/Ecclesiastical" title="Ecclesiastical">ecclesiastical</a> office, as a proof of one's date of birth, and a register of <a href="/wiki/Burial" title="Burial">burials</a> of churchmen, as a proof of one's date of death. Though both registers were kept by religious authorities, they were authenticated by a <a href="/wiki/Notary_public" title="Notary public">public notary</a>, always a layman, and were kept in the local royal administration's archives. In fact, as the church kept <a href="/wiki/Parish_register" title="Parish register">parish registers</a> since the Middle Ages (the oldest one in France is <a href="/wiki/Giry,_Ni%C3%A8vre" title="Giry, Nièvre">Giry</a>'s, of 1303), these registers were used to meet the ordinance's dispositions.<sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The national registration was fully laicized in 1792 during the <a href="/wiki/French_Revolution" title="French Revolution">French Revolution</a> by order of the French Republic. These records have continued until the present and are kept at the departmental archives. The civil registration now includes birth, marriage, divorce, and death records. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Other_articles">Other articles</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Ordinance_of_Villers-Cotter%C3%AAts&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Other articles"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Another article prohibited <a href="/wiki/Guild" title="Guild">guilds</a> and trade federations (<span title="French-language text"><i lang="fr">toute confrérie de gens de métier et artisans'</i></span>) in an attempt to suppress workers' <a href="/wiki/Strike_action" title="Strike action">strikes</a> (although <a href="/wiki/Benefit_society" title="Benefit society">mutual-aid groups</a> were unaffected). </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Effects">Effects</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Ordinance_of_Villers-Cotter%C3%AAts&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Effects"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Many of these clauses marked a move towards an expanded, unified and centralized state and the clauses on the use of French marked a major step towards the linguistic and ideological unification of France at a time of growing national sentiment and identity. </p><p>Despite the effort to bring clarity to the complex systems of justice and administration prevailing in different parts of France and to make them more accessible, Article 111 left uncertainty in failing to define the <i>French mother tongue</i>. Many varieties of French were spoken around the country, to say nothing of sizeable regional minorities like <a href="/wiki/Occitan_people" class="mw-redirect" title="Occitan people">Occitans</a>, <a href="/wiki/Breton_people" class="mw-redirect" title="Breton people">Bretons</a> and <a href="/wiki/Basque_people" class="mw-redirect" title="Basque people">Basques</a> whose mother tongue was not French at all. </p><p>It was not until 1794 that the government decreed French to be the only language of the state for all official business,<sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> a situation still in force under Article 2 of the current French Constitution.<sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="See_also">See also</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Ordinance_of_Villers-Cotter%C3%AAts&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: See also"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1235681985">.mw-parser-output .side-box{margin:4px 0;box-sizing:border-box;border:1px solid #aaa;font-size:88%;line-height:1.25em;background-color:var(--background-color-interactive-subtle,#f8f9fa);display:flow-root}.mw-parser-output .side-box-abovebelow,.mw-parser-output .side-box-text{padding:0.25em 0.9em}.mw-parser-output .side-box-image{padding:2px 0 2px 0.9em;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .side-box-imageright{padding:2px 0.9em 2px 0;text-align:center}@media(min-width:500px){.mw-parser-output .side-box-flex{display:flex;align-items:center}.mw-parser-output .side-box-text{flex:1;min-width:0}}@media(min-width:720px){.mw-parser-output .side-box{width:238px}.mw-parser-output .side-box-right{clear:right;float:right;margin-left:1em}.mw-parser-output .side-box-left{margin-right:1em}}</style><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1237033735">@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .sistersitebox{display:none!important}}@media screen{html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .sistersitebox img[src*="Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg"]{background-color:white}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .sistersitebox img[src*="Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg"]{background-color:white}}</style><div class="side-box side-box-right plainlinks sistersitebox"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1126788409"> <div class="side-box-flex"> <div class="side-box-image"><span class="noviewer" typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/38px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png" decoding="async" width="38" height="40" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/57px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/76px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="410" data-file-height="430" /></span></span></div> <div class="side-box-text plainlist"><a href="/wiki/Wikisource" title="Wikisource">Wikisource</a> has original text related to this article: <div style="margin-left: 10px;"><b><a href="https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/fr:Ordonnance_de_Villers-Cotter%C3%AAts" class="extiw" title="wikisource:fr:Ordonnance de Villers-Cotterêts">Ordonnance de Villers-Cotterêts</a></b></div></div></div> </div> <ul><li><span title="French-language text"><i lang="fr"><a href="/wiki/La_D%C3%A9fense_et_illustration_de_la_langue_fran%C3%A7aise" title="La Défense et illustration de la langue française">La Défense et illustration de la langue française</a></i></span> (1549, English: The defense and illustration of the French language), a ten-year later text by <a href="/wiki/Joachim_du_Bellay" title="Joachim du Bellay">Joachim du Bellay</a> which call for the enrichment of the French language and promote its use in literary and scientific works instead of <a href="/wiki/Latin" title="Latin">latin</a>.</li> <li><span title="German-language text"><i lang="de"><a href="/wiki/Sachsenspiegel" title="Sachsenspiegel">Sachsenspiegel</a></i></span>, <abbr title="circa">c.</abbr><span style="white-space:nowrap;"> 1220</span>, first legal document written in German rather than Latin</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Pleading_in_English_Act_1362" title="Pleading in English Act 1362">Pleading in English Act 1362</a>, English law mandating use of English instead of French in oral argument in court</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Proceedings_in_Courts_of_Justice_Act_1730" title="Proceedings in Courts of Justice Act 1730">Proceedings in Courts of Justice Act 1730</a>, British law mandating use of English instead of Latin in court writing</li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Ordinance_of_Villers-Cotter%C3%AAts&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: References"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239543626">.mw-parser-output .reflist{margin-bottom:0.5em;list-style-type:decimal}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .reflist{font-size:90%}}.mw-parser-output .reflist .references{font-size:100%;margin-bottom:0;list-style-type:inherit}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:25em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns ol{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-alpha{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-roman{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-alpha{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-greek{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-roman{list-style-type:lower-roman}</style><div class="reflist"> <div class="mw-references-wrap"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-1">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><span title="French-language text"><span lang="fr">Delsalle, Paul (2009). <i>Histoires de familles: les registres paroissiaux et d'état civil, du Moyen Âge à nos jours : démographie et généalogie. Besançon</i>: Presses universitaires de Franche-Comté. p. 32</span></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-2">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238218222">.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free.id-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited.id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration.id-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription.id-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background-size:contain;padding:0 1em 0 0}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#085;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}</style><cite class="citation cs2"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20200820024818/http://www.axl.cefan.ulaval.ca/francophonie/HIST_FR_s8_Revolution1789.htm"><i>Décret du 2 thermidor, an II (20 juillet 1794)</i></a>, Article I, archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.tlfq.ulaval.ca/axl/francophonie/HIST_FR_s8_Revolution1789.htm">the original</a> on 2020-08-20<span class="reference-accessdate">, retrieved <span class="nowrap">2017-10-08</span></span>, <q><span title="French-language text"><i lang="fr">À compter du jour de la publication de la présente loi, nul acte public ne pourra, dans quelque partie que ce soit du territoire de la République, être écrit qu'en langue française.</i></span></q></cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=D%C3%A9cret+du+2+thermidor%2C+an+II+%2820+juillet+1794%29&rft.pages=Article+I&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tlfq.ulaval.ca%2Faxl%2Ffrancophonie%2FHIST_FR_s8_Revolution1789.htm&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AOrdinance+of+Villers-Cotter%C3%AAts" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-3">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation journal cs1 cs1-prop-long-vol cs1-prop-foreign-lang-source"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/Droit-francais/Constitution/Constitution-du-4-octobre-1958#ancre1_2_1_1">"Constitution du 4 octobre 1958, Article 2"</a>. <i><a href="/wiki/Journal_Officiel_de_la_R%C3%A9publique_Fran%C3%A7aise" class="mw-redirect" title="Journal Officiel de la République Française">Journal Officiel de la République Française</a></i> (in French). nº 0238. p. 9151. 5 October 1958. <q><span title="French-language text"><i lang="fr">La langue de la République est le français.</i></span></q></cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Journal+Officiel+de+la+R%C3%A9publique+Fran%C3%A7aise&rft.atitle=Constitution+du+4+octobre+1958%2C+Article+2&rft.volume=n%C2%BA+0238&rft.pages=p.+9151&rft.date=1958-10-05&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.legifrance.gouv.fr%2FDroit-francais%2FConstitution%2FConstitution-du-4-octobre-1958%23ancre1_2_1_1&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AOrdinance+of+Villers-Cotter%C3%AAts" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> </ol></div></div>    </div><noscript><img src="https://login.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:CentralAutoLogin/start?type=1x1" alt="" width="1" height="1" style="border: none; position: absolute;"></noscript> <div class="printfooter" data-nosnippet="">Retrieved from "<a dir="ltr" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ordinance_of_Villers-Cotterêts&oldid=1253151410">https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ordinance_of_Villers-Cotterêts&oldid=1253151410</a>"</div></div> <div 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