Tennis Court Oath
Topic: The Rise of Nationalism in Europe · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 4 "Framing the Constitution"
Meaning
The Tennis Court Oath was a promise made on 20 June 1789 at Versailles in France. The deputies of the Third Estate (the common people) found their meeting hall shut. So they gathered in a nearby indoor tennis court. There they swore not to separate until they had given France a constitution. It was one of the first steps of the French Revolution, because it claimed that power belonged to the nation's representatives, not to the king.
Example
Led by men such as Bailly, the deputies took the oath on 20 June 1789. Soon after, the body called the Estates General was renamed the National Assembly, which became the voice of the French nation.
Don't confuse with
- Storming of the Bastille: an attack by crowds on a royal prison in Paris on 14 July 1789. The Tennis Court Oath was a promise made by deputies, not a street uprising.