Ancien Régime
Bourbon-era French order
The Ancien Régime was the political and social system of France before the Revolution of 1789—the monarchy, nobility, and feudal structures that the revolutionaries overthrew.
The term literally means "old regime" in French: The Ancien Régime collapsed under the weight of debt and popular discontent. (Lowercase ancien régime describes any displaced old order.)
God-granted ruling authority
- sovereigntySupreme independent authority
- monarchyRule by crowned sovereign
- crownSovereign's ornamental headpiece
- throneCeremonial chair for sovereigns
centralization · Louis XIV · despotism · autocracy · regent · succession · court · palace
Violent governmental overthrow
- VersaillesFrench royal palace complex
- BourbonFrench ruling family
- EnlightenmentEra prioritizing reason over dogma
- VoltaireFrench Enlightenment satirist
Louis XIV · Louis XVI · Marie Antoinette · Rousseau · Montesquieu · Sun King · intendant · Diderot
Titled ruling class
- dukeHighest-ranking nobleman
- countessFeminine noble rank
- baronLow-ranking peer
- viscountMid-ranking British noble
marquis · peerage · gentry · seigneur · courtier · noblesse oblige · salon · privilege
Ordained religious officials collectively
- nobilityTitled ruling class
- commonersOrdinary citizens, untitled
- privilegeExclusive right or benefit
- inequalityUnequal distribution of resources
serfdom · peasantry · bourgeoisie · caste · stratification · birthright · primogeniture · tithe
divine right
God-granted ruling authority
- sovereigntySupreme independent authority
- monarchyRule by crowned sovereign
- crownSovereign's ornamental headpiece
throne · centralization · Louis XIV · despotism · autocracy · regent · succession · court · palace · Versailles
revolution
Violent governmental overthrow
- VersaillesFrench royal palace complex
- BourbonFrench ruling family
- EnlightenmentEra prioritizing reason over dogma
Louis XIV · Louis XVI · Marie Antoinette · Voltaire · Rousseau · Montesquieu · Sun King · intendant · Diderot · mercantilism
nobility
Titled ruling class
viscount · marquis · peerage · gentry · seigneur · courtier · noblesse oblige · salon · privilege · tax exemption
clergy
Ordained religious officials collectively
inequality · serfdom · peasantry · bourgeoisie · caste · stratification · birthright · primogeniture · tithe · manorialism
estates
Large property holdings
- serfdomFeudal bound labor
- vassalageSubordination to a lord
- manorialismMedieval estate labor system
fiefs · suzerainty · guilds · privilege · clergy · peasantry · tenant · tithe · lord · primogeniture
Ancien Régimerepublic
State with elected leaders
French Republic · democracy · constitutional government · popular sovereignty · republicanism
Ancien Régimemodernity
Being of present times
modern era · Napoleonic era · modern France · bourgeois society · nineteenth century
Ancien Régimeclassless society
System without social strata
civil equality · social mobility · bourgeois society · legal equality · meritocracy