The Tennis Court Oath
The History and Legacy of the National Assembly’s Pivotal Meeting at the Beginning of the French Revolution
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Narrated by:
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Gregory T. Luzitano
About this listen
As one of the seminal social revolutions in human history, the French Revolution holds a unique legacy, especially in the West. The early years of the Revolution were fueled by Enlightenment ideals, seeking the social overthrow of the caste system that gave the royalty and aristocracy decisive advantages over the lower classes. But history remembers the French Revolution in a starkly different way, as the same leaders who sought a more democratic system while out of power devolved into establishing an incredibly repressive tyranny of their own, once they acquired it.
The French Revolution was a turbulent period that lasted several years, and one of the most famous events of the entire revolution came near the beginning with the Tennis Court Oath. By July of 1788, King Louis XVI agreed to call the Estates-General, a large, traditional legislative body, for the first time since 1614. The country's finances, already quite tenuous, reached a crisis stage in August 1788 as France faced bankruptcy.
In March 1789, the electoral method was set. While the nobility and clergy would hold direct elections, the much larger Third Estate would elect representatives from each district, who would then attend larger assemblies to elect their official representatives to the Third Estate of the Estates-General.
Finally, in the spring of 1789, Louis XVI summoned the Estates-General. They were to convene at Versailles on April 27, but did not do so until May 5. Late elections continued into the summer as conditions around the country delayed many elections. At the same time, bread prices reached an all-time high, leading to riots throughout the country, particularly in Paris.
During the formal ritual that welcomed the Estates-General on May 4, 1789, in a precursor of things to come in the following months, the Third Estate refused to kneel before the king. The deputies of the Third Estate came before the king, walking two at a time, and bowed before Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. Not surprisingly, those witnessing the parade of the Estates-General had hoped for reform, but came to expect that the Estates-General would serve as a tool of the administration.
Unaware of why the National Assembly was closed off and faced with the loss of their usual meeting place, the National Assembly laid claim to an unused indoor tennis court at Versailles for their meetings, which continued throughout the weekend of June 20, 1789. The king’s actions were viewed as an act of despotism, renewing the spirit of the Assembly. Together, all of the deputies of the National Assembly took an oath, commonly referred to as the Tennis Court Oath, in which they vowed to remain in session until "the constitution of the Realm and public regeneration are established and assured".
On June 22, the Royal Session was postponed, and the Assembly met again in the tennis court. They welcomed the clergy to the National Assembly, as decided on June 19. With some joy, they also greeted three noblemen from the Estates-General who had chosen to join the National Assembly. The stage was set for a confrontation between the king and the National Assembly, and within a month, the Bastille would be stormed, leading to widespread riots. The French Revolution had begun in earnest.
The Tennis Court Oath: The History and Legacy of the National Assembly’s Pivotal Meeting at the Beginning of the French Revolution analyzes the history and legacy of one of the French Revolution’s seminal events.
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Story
The French Revolution casts a long shadow, one that reaches into our own time and influences our debates on freedom, equality, and authority. Yet it remains an elusive, perplexing historical event. Its significance morphs according to the sympathies of the viewer, who may see it as a series of gory tableaux, a regrettable slide into uncontrolled anarchy - or a radical reshaping of the political landscape. In this riveting new book, Ian Davidson provides a fresh look at this vital moment in European history. He reveals how it was an immensely complicated and multifaceted revolution....
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superficial; trite
- By David Hart on 04-25-19
By: Ian Davidson
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The Birth of Classical Europe
- A History from Troy to Augustine
- By: Simon Price, Peter Thonemann
- Narrated by: Don Hagen
- Length: 14 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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To an extraordinary extent we continue to live in the shadow of the classical world. At every level, from languages to calendars to political systems, we are the descendants of a “classical Europe,” using frames of reference created by ancient Mediterranean cultures. As this consistently fresh and surprising new audio book makes clear, however, this was no less true for the inhabitants of those classical civilizations themselves, whose myths, history, and buildings were an elaborate engagement with an already old and revered past - one filled with great leaders and writers....
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Excellent overview of the Classical World
- By David I. Williams on 01-12-14
By: Simon Price, and others
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A Concise History of Spain
- By: William Phillips Jr., Carla Rahn Phillips
- Narrated by: Luis Soto
- Length: 12 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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This audiobook traces Spain's development from prehistoric times to the present, focusing particularly on culture, society, politics, and personalities. It introduces listeners to key themes that have shaped Spain's history and culture, including its varied landscapes and climates; the impact of waves of diverse human migrations; the importance of its location as a bridge between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean and Europe and Africa; and religion, particularly militant Catholic Christianity and its centuries of conflict with Islam and Protestantism.
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Underwhelmed
- By Anonymous User on 02-20-20
By: William Phillips Jr., and others
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The French Revolution: A Captivating Guide to the Ten-Year Revolution in France and the Impact Made by Napoleon Bonaparte
- By: Captivating History
- Narrated by: Colin Fluxman
- Length: 3 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Few historical events are as greatly revered and entirely misunderstood as the French Revolution that began in 1789. The memory of this complicated and lengthy political, violent uprising has been generally painted in broad - and oversimplified - strokes. While the French Revolution was certainly centered around two lavish monarchs and an enlightened common class, there was so much more going on behind the scenes.
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Good, but in a Non-chronological Format.
- By Christian on 05-13-19
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A Concise History of Italy
- By: Christopher Duggan
- Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
- Length: 11 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Since its formation in 1861, Italy has struggled to develop an effective political system and a secure sense of national identity. Christopher Duggan's acclaimed introduction charts the country's history from the fall of the Roman Empire in the West to the present day, and surveys the difficulties Italy has faced during the last two centuries in creating a unified country. Duggan successfully weaves together political, economic, social and cultural history, and stresses the alternation between materialist and idealist programs for forging a nation-state.
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Concise indeed
- By nikex on 03-22-21
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Twelve Who Ruled
- The Year of the Terror in the French Revolution
- By: R. R. Palmer, Isser Woloch - foreword
- Narrated by: David Stifel
- Length: 17 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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The Reign of Terror continues to fascinate scholars as one of the bloodiest periods in French history, when the Committee of Public Safety strove to defend the first Republic from its many enemies, creating a climate of fear and suspicion in revolutionary France. R. R. Palmer's fascinating narrative follows the Committee's deputies individually and collectively, recounting and assessing their tumultuous struggles in Paris and their repressive missions in the provinces.
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A Warning
- By Josh Rowe on 03-20-21
By: R. R. Palmer, and others
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Heart of Europe
- A History of the Holy Roman Empire
- By: Peter H. Wilson
- Narrated by: Napoleon Ryan
- Length: 34 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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The Holy Roman Empire lasted 1,000 years, far longer than ancient Rome. Yet this formidable dominion never inspired the awe of its predecessor. Voltaire quipped that it was neither holy, Roman, nor an empire. Yet as Peter H. Wilson shows, the Holy Roman Empire tells a millennial story of Europe better than the histories of individual nation-states.
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Mixed feelings on this one.
- By Stuart Seymour on 09-19-17
By: Peter H. Wilson
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The English and Their History
- By: Robert Tombs
- Narrated by: James Langton
- Length: 43 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Robert Tombs' momentous The English and Their History is both a startlingly fresh and a uniquely inclusive account of the people who have a claim to be the oldest nation in the world. The English first came into existence as an idea, before they had a common ruler and before the country they lived in even had a name. They have lasted as a recognizable entity ever since, and their defining national institutions can be traced back to the earliest years of their history.
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Should be called, The English and their politics
- By Mary Elizabeth Reynolds on 08-24-16
By: Robert Tombs
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Blood and Iron
- The Rise and Fall of the German Empire; 1871-1918
- By: Katja Hoyer
- Narrated by: Natasha Soudek
- Length: 8 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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Before 1871, Germany was not yet a nation but simply an idea. Its founder, Otto von Bismarck, had a formidable task at hand. How would he bring 39 individual states under the yoke of a single Kaiser? How would he convince proud Prussians, Bavarians, and Rhinelanders to become Germans? Once united, could the young European nation wield enough power to rival the empires of Britain and France - all without destroying itself in the process?
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Misleading title/subtitle
- By Ethan Brown on 12-15-21
By: Katja Hoyer
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The Story of Russia
- By: Orlando Figes
- Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
- Length: 12 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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The Story of Russia is about how the Russians defined themselves―and repeatedly reinvented such definitions along the way. Moving from Russia’s agrarian beginnings in the first millennium to subsequent periods of monarchy, totalitarianism, and perestroika, all the way up to Vladimir Putin and his use of myths of Russian history to bolster his regime, celebrated historian Orlando Figes examines the ideas that have guided the country’s actions.
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Almost perfect…
- By Samantha Dispenzieri on 02-21-23
By: Orlando Figes
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A Short History of Russia
- How the World's Largest Country Invented Itself, from the Pagans to Putin
- By: Mark Galeotti
- Narrated by: Mark Galeotti
- Length: 4 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Russia is a country with no natural borders, no single ethnic group, no true central identity. At the crossroads of Europe and Asia, it has been subject to invasion by outsiders, from Vikings to Mongols, from Napoleon’s French to Hitler’s Germans. In order to forge an identity, it has mythologized its past to unite its people and to signal strength to outsiders. In A Short History of Russia, Mark Galeotti explores the history of this fascinating, glorious, desperate, and exasperating country.
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Wonderful short history
- By Tad Davis on 01-19-21
By: Mark Galeotti
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Heaven on Earth
- The Rise, Fall, and Afterlife of Socialism
- By: Joshua Muravchik
- Narrated by: Bob Souer
- Length: 16 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Socialism was man's most ambitious attempt to supplant religion with a doctrine claiming to ground itself in "science". Each failure to create societies of abundance or give birth to "the New Man" inspired more searching for the path to the promised land: revolution, communes, social democracy, communism, fascism, Arab socialism, African socialism. None worked, and some exacted a staggering human toll. Then, after two centuries of wishful thinking and bitter disappointment, socialism imploded in a fin de siecle drama of falling walls and collapsing regimes.
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A biased yet informative masterpiece
- By CodyPeacock12349 on 04-04-21
By: Joshua Muravchik