proclaimed by Charles VI in 1713, it stated that the Habsburg possessions were never to be divided and were always to be passed intact to a single heir, who might be female. (p. 573)

A decree that is accepted as fundamental law. The Pragmatic Sanction of 1438 issued by Charles VII reaffirmed the authority of the French king over the income and personnel of the French church and limited papal influences in France.";

A pragmatic sanction is a sovereign's solemn decree on a matter of primary importance and has the force of fundamental law. In the late history of the Holy Roman Empire it referred more specifically to an edict issued by the Emperor.