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13. **Pragmatic Sanction of Bourges 1438-** After the 100 years’ war, France was depopulated, commercially ruined and agriculturally weak. Charles VII, the French king at that time, believed that reviving a strong and powerful monarchy would strengthen France and bring them out of chaos. To revive the supremacy of the monarchy, Charles issued the pragmatic sanction of Bourges which asserted the superiority of a general council over the papacy. This also gave the crown the power to appoint bishops, and it deprived the Pope of French ecclesiastical revenues. The Pragmatic Sanction of Bourges basically gave the French Crown power over the church. McKay, John P. __History of Western society__. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2003.