Absolutism A form of government where the ruler has unlimited power and the
people of the country do not have a say in how they are governed.

Ancien Regime “Ancien” is the French for old. “Regime” is a French word, also used in English, that refers to a form of government or social order. The “Ancien Regime” was the social order in France before the Revolution. French society was divided into three orders or Estates. This created inequalities between the different classes or estates which caused tension and contributed towards the French Revolution near the end of the eighteenth century.

Autocratic Absolute. An autocratic ruler is the same as an absolute ruler.

Bastille A fortress in Paris that was used as a prison...MORE

Bourgeoisie A group of people who were part of the Third Estate but were educated, professional and rich, unlike the peasants and urban workers.

Constitution Basic laws for how a country should be ruled. A constitution puts limits on the ruler, as he or she cannot do anything that goes against these laws.

Consolidate To make stronger, to secure.

Counter-revolution Counter means against. A counterevolution is a revolution against the first revolution.

Democratic The opposite of autocratic. In a democracy, people have political freedoms and a say in how they are governed.

Economy Money matters – the supply of money and food.

Edict An official order by a ruler, such as a king.

Estate 1. A large piece of land owned by a noble family. 2. One of the three social classes in France under the Ancien Regime. In this lesson, Estate usually means such a class.

Estates General An official meeting called by the French king, with representatives
from all the Estates.

Feudal Registers Documents in which feudal relationships were recorded – which Peasants “belonged” to which lord, and in which village they lived.

Feudal System A medieval system that determined the division of land. It is closely related to Manorialism, a medieval economic system.

General A very senior army officer.

Guillotine A guillotine was a machine used for beheading people. Victims were placed face down on a bench, and then a very sharp and heavy blade was dropped unto his or her neck, beheading the person in far less than a second

Huguenots French Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries ...MORE

Irreconcilable Unable to solve a fight and make peace.

Jacobins A group from the Third Estate that ruled France during the Radical Stage of the Revolution. The name was taken from the men’s name “Jacques”, which is a common name in France and was supposed to mean that they represented the everyday people in the street, those belonging to the masses.

Manor A large piece of land in the countryside. Before the Revolution, such a manor and manor house would belong to a nobleman.

Medieval (Pronounced “med-evil”) Of or from the Middle Ages.

Middle Ages The period in Europe roughly between 500 and 1500AD..

Moderate Average, not extreme.

Monarch The highest ruler in a state, usually a king or emperor. In this lesson it means the king.

Noble Of the nobility or Second Estate.

Oppression Control by cruelty or force.

Parlement The French word for parliament ...MORE

Protestant Follower of one of the 16th century Christian churches that decided to split away from the Roman Catholic Church since the 16th century.

Radical Thorough, drastic, extreme.

Republic A state that is not governed by a monarch, but where citizens have a say in how they are governed.

Revolution The overthrow of a government, usually by violence; and a great change in a political, social or economic system.

Roman Catholic Church A Church of the Christian faith of which the pope is the highest human authority.

Royal Court The formal assembly (group that gets together) of a monarch. It should not be confused with a court of law, where people who broke the law are tried and judged.

Rural In or of the countryside.

Sans-culottes Sans-culottes” literally means “without knee breeches”. Before the Revolution, the aristocracy or noblemen wore these pieces of clothing. The term refers to people who did not wear and so were not part of the aristocracy.

Social order The way a society is ruled and divided into different groups or classes.

Tithe Ten percent of one’s income or produce paid to the Church, like tax.

Urban Of the city or town.

Voting rights Even though people from any group or Estate could have voting rights, they had to earn a certain amount of money to actually get these rights. This meant that if you were rich you could vote (like the bourgeoisie), but if you were poor like the masses, you still could not vote.

To explore some of these concepts and ideas further, click on the highlighted words.

 

BACK TO LESSON MENU