ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts

The Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts was a very important law that was made by a king named Francis I in France in the year 1539. The law said that people had to use the French language in written documents instead of other languages like Latin. Before this, only important people like priests and lawyers knew how to read and write in Latin, and that made it hard for normal people to understand important documents like laws and contracts.

The law also made it mandatory for people to have their children baptized right away after they were born. This helped the government keep track of everyone and made sure that there were no secret marriages or illegitimate babies. The Ordinance also made some changes to the law about women and marriage. It said that women could only get married when they were a certain age, and that they had to have permission from their parents or guardians.

Overall, the Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts was really important because it made French the official language of the French government and helped common people understand important documents. It also helped regulate marriages and the birth of babies.