Nobles of the Robe

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Nobles of the Robe were French aristocrats who had acquired their titles and rank by assuming judicial or administrative posts—often bought outright for high sums. These aristocrats made up the Second Estate in pre-revolutionary France. Their counterparts in the second estate were the Nobles of the Sword.

These nobles, since they had no long-standing or royal ties to their positions, were often looked down upon by higher-ranking nobles and the First Estate. Many of the key figures of the French Revolution were Nobles of the Robe, as these lower nobles both sympathized with the oppressed Third Estate and had the power and clout needed to further the Revolution. When the National Assembly was created by the Third Estate shortly before the French Revolution, the Second Estate voted to join them on June 19, 1789. The King responded by locking the Assembly out of their meeting place. The assembly headed to a nearby squash court and prodouced the Tennis Court Oath, which committed the Assembly to meet until they had produced a constitution.