The “Tennis Court Oath” of 20 June, 1789

          The National Assembly, considering that it has been summoned to establish the constitution of the kingdom, to effect the regeneration of public order, and to maintain the true principles of monarchy; that nothing can prevent it from continuing its deliberations in whatever place it may be forced to established itself; and, finally, that wheresoever its members are assembled, there is the National Assembly; decrees that all members of this Assembly shall immediately take a solemn oath not to separate, and to reassemble wherever circumstances require, until the constitution of the kingdom is established and consolidated upon firm foundations; and that, the said oath taken, all members and each one of them individually shall ratify this steadfast resolution by signature.


The Oath as conceived by Jacques Louis David in a sketch of the dramatic moment. Note that the winds of change blow in from the left.