A solemn decree by a sovereign on a matter of primary importance
Examples are: Pragmatic Sanction of Justinian I, promulgated in August 554, on the reorganisation of Italy following the Gothic War; Pragmatic Sanction of Bourges, issued on July 7, 1438 by King Charles VII of France, limited the authority of the pope over the Church within France; The Pragmatic Sanction of 1713 issued by Emperor Charles VI on April 19, 1713, by which the Habsburg hereditary possessions (Austria, Bohemia, Hungary, and various other smaller lands) were allowed to pass to a woman (specifically Maria Theresa) if Charles VI had no male heirs.
