Tennis Court Oath

The Tennis Court Oath (French: Serment du Jeu de Paume, pronounced [sɛʁmɑ̃ dy ʒø də pom]) was taken on 20 June 1789 by the members of the French Third Estate in a real tennis court on the initiative of Jean Joseph Mounier. Their vow "not to separate and to reassemble wherever necessary until the constitution of the kingdom is established" became a pivotal event in the French Revolution.

The Estates-General had been called to address the country's fiscal and agricultural crisis, but they had become bogged down in issues of representation immediately after convening in May 1789, particularly whether they would vote by order or by head (which would increase the power of the Third Estate, as it outnumbered the other two estates by a large margin). On 17 June the Third Estate began to call itself the National Assembly, led by Jean Sylvain Bailly and Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, Comte de Mirabeau, who took prominent roles in much of early stages of the Revolution.

On the morning of 20 June the deputies were shocked to discover that the door of the Salle des Menus-Plaisir was locked and guarded by soldiers. They immediately feared the worst and were anxious that an attack was imminent from King Louis XVI, so upon the suggestion of one of their members Joseph-Ignace Guillotin, the deputies congregated in a nearby indoor tennis court near the Palace of Versailles.

The 576 of the 577 members from the Third Estate took the oath. Bailly was the first one who signed; the only person who did not join was Joseph Martin-Dauch, who would only execute decisions that were made by the monarch. To prevent further sessions, the tennis court was rented on 21 or 22 June by the count of Artois, a brother of the king. Meanwhile, the Assembly moved to the Versailles Cathedral.