French Revolution: Oath Of Allegiance Of Abbot Guy Bouillotte (1790)

This copy of the Oath of Allegiance is a unique document dating from the French Revolution and contains the seal of the Legislative Assembly, France's first modern parliamentary institution, which was active from October 1, 1791, to September 20, 1792.

On November 27, 1790, the revolutionary Legislative Assembly ordered all priests in France to take the constitutional oath, formalizing their adherence to the civil constitution. Almost all bishops and more than half of the priests did not want to break with apostolic succession and refused to sign the constitutional oath. The priests who did so, the Red Curates, were often part of the Legislative Assembly. This document confirms the oath-taking of Guy Bouillotte (1724-1800), parish priest of Arnay-le-Duc and former member of the Estates General (1789). Bouillotte himself having been a member of the legislative assembly, it is not surprising that, unlike many other clergymen, he took the constitutional oath. On the document, we recognize, among others, the signatures of Antoine d'André (1759-1825), president of the legislative body, Joseph Lancelot-Dubourg (1749-1806), secretary of the legislative body and clergymen Pierre-Vincent Varin de la Brunelière (1752-1794), Jean-Paul Marie Latyl (1747-1794) and Louis-Charles Martineau (1754-1835). The originality of this document lies in the presence of an intact seal of the Assembly.

State of preservation: This document is in good condition.