ABSTRACT
Convincing as the traditional view of the Concordat may appear, it does leave certain questions unanswered. State control of the church was not necessarily a safeguard against schism. The English kings controlled episcopal appointments long before the Reformation, yet this did not prevent the breach with Rome. From 1438 until 1516 the church in France was governed in theory according to the Pragmatic Sanction of Bourges, which embodied twenty-four of the decrees of the Council of Basle. In particular, it restored to chapters the right of electing bishops and abbots, in an attempt to remedy the confusion that existed in the system of appointing to benefices. Royal control of the French church before 1516 was not confined to episcopal or monastic elections. The condition of the French church was chaotic by the end of the fifteenth century; but amidst all the confusion the Crown enjoyed a substantial measure of control over all ranks of the clergy.
