Disintegration and Reconstruction of France

Disintegration and Reconstruction of

FranceBy: Claire Solomon

The Wars of Religion in France

Almost 40 years of civil war (1562-1598) No more religious than political Caused France to fall into an advanced state of

decomposition Was a kind of feudal rebellion against a higher

central authority Involved towns, provinces, craft guilds, the

church, and nobles

New Monarchy in France

Resumed the work of medieval kings King made treaties & dealt with subordinate bodies of all kinds The country was 3x as large as England and 5x as populous

(about 18 million in the 16th century) Below the king there was almost as little unity as there was in

the Holy Roman Empire 300 areas with their own legal systems Had provinces as great as some European kingdoms (Brittany,

Burgundy, Provence, Languedoc) – ruled by the French King but each had its own identity, autonomy, laws, courts, tariffs, taxes, and parliament

Religion Calvinism had spread in France very rapidly – Calvin

was by birth & upbringing a Frenchman Was not attached to the papacy, Rome, or Catholicism

French clergy had long struggled for its national liberties French kings had dealt rudely with popes Ignored the Council of Trent Allied for political reasons with Lutherans & Turks Since 1516 the king of France had the right to nominate

the French bishops France had no middle-of-the-road Protestantism

Huguenots French Calvinists Always a minority but were neither small nor modest in

their demands More than 1/3 (and almost ½) of the French nobility was

Protestant in the 1560’s or 1570’s Frequently the seigneur (lord of one or more manors)

believed that he should have the ius reformandi (right to regulate religion on his own estates)

Peasants became Huguenots under the influence of their lords

Opposition to Calvinism

Francis I & Henry II opposed the spread of Calvinism Seemed to threaten not only the powers of monarchy but also the

very idea of a nationally established church Persecution of Huguenots, with burnings at the stake, began in

the 1550’s King Henry II was accidentally killed in a tournament in 1559

Left 3 sons – eldest was only 15 Their mother & his widow was Catherine de’ Medici – Italian

woman who brought to France some of the polish of Renaissance Italy

She attempted to govern a distracted country for her royal sons She didn’t have firm control – the country fell apart Various powerful factions tried to get control of the youthful

monarchs for their own purposes Huguenots and Catholics Huguenots were too strong a minority to go into hiding – took

naturally and aggressively to arms

Civil and Religious Wars

Fought in the absence of government Roving bands of armed men wandered about the country, fighting and

plundering Peasants formed protective leagues & some small towns maintained

diminutive armies Huguenot Leaders

Admiral de Coligny & Henry of Bourbon, king of Navarre, a small independent kingdom at the foot of the Pyrenees between Spain & France

Catholic Leaders Guise family – headed by the Duke of Guise & the Cardinal of Lorraine

Catherine de’ Medici was in the middle – opposed to Calvinism but unwilling to fall under the domination of the Guises

Guises wished to weed out heresy and govern France while Huguenots fought for local liberties and to drive out “idolatry” and “popery” from France

St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre & Renewal of War

Catherine feared the growing influence of Coligny over the king Led Huguenots in Paris to celebrate the marriage of Henry of Navarre Some thousands of Huguenots were dragged from their beds after

midnight and unceremoniously murdered Coligny was killed & Henry of Navarre escaped by temporarily changing his

religion Led to a renewal of civil war – mounting atrocities committed by both sides Both parties hired companies of mercenary soldiers, mainly from Germany Spanish troops invaded France at the invitation of the Guises England invaded from the appeal of Protestant towns – reminded Elizabeth

of England that kings of England had once reigned over their parts of France

Neither side could subdue each other

Politiques Concluded that too much was being made of religion Country needed civil order above all else Secular view Believed people lived primarily in the state Willing to overlook the religious ideas of people in

different churches if such persons would obey the king & go peaceably about their business

Jean Bodin – first thinker to develop the modern theory of sovereignty Held that in every society there must be one power

strong enough to give law to all others, with or without their consent

Played a part in developing the idea of royal absolutism and of the sovereign state

Henry IV Huguenot Henry of Navarre reigned after the assassination

of Henry III (the reigning king) & Henry of Guise (the Catholic party chief)

First of the Bourbon dynasty – lasted until the French Revolution

Catholic party refused to recognize him & called in the Spaniards

Paris especially refused to admit the heretic king Supposedly remarking that “Paris is well worth a Mass,”

Henry IV in 1593 left the Calvinistic faith & subjected himself to the elaborate processes of papal absolution

Edict of Nantes Huguenots were outraged and demanded positive guarantees for their

personal security & religious liberty Edict of Nantes – 1598

Granted to every seigneur (noble who was also a manorial lord) the right to hold Protestant services in his own household

Allowed Protestantism in towns where it was the prevailing form of worship Barred Protestantism from Catholic Episcopal towns Promised Protestants could enjoy the same civil rights as Catholic, same

chance for public office, and access to the Catholic universities Gave Protestants their own means of defense – 100 fortified towns to be

held by Protestant garrisons under Protestant command Huguenots were reassured an became less rebellious Majority of the French people viewed the Edict with suspicion The king forced its toleration & subdued Catholic opposition by doing

favors for the Jesuits

Recovery Henry IV’s ideal: “a chicken in the pot for every

Frenchman” Worked to put the ruined government back

together, collect taxes, pay officials, discipline the army, and supervise the administration of justice

Roads & bridges were repaired Never summoned the Estates General National government was to be conducted by and

through the king

Cardinal Richelieu Control of affairs in France came into the hands of an

ecclesiastic, Cardinal Richelieu He worked to further the interests of the state Prohibited private warfare & ordered the destruction of all

fortified castles not manned & needed by the king himself The Huguenots had become something of a state within the

state 1627: The Duke of Rohan led a Huguenot rebellion which

received military support from the English Richelieu suppressed the rebellion & amended the Edict of

Nantes 1629: Huguenots lost their fortified cities, Protestant armies, and

all their military and territorial rights

Cardinal Richelieu

References [Cardinal Richelieu]. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.girouard.org/cgi-

bin/ page.pl?file=richelieu Clouet, F. (n.d.). Henry II of France [Image]. Retrieved from http://

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_II_of_France Clouet, F. (n.d.). Portrait of Catherine de' Medici (1519-1589) [Image].

Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_de%27_Medici Dubois, F. (n.d.). St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre [Image]. Retrieved

from http:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Francois_Dubois_001.jpg Jean Bodin [Image]. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/

File:Jean_Bodin.jpg Palmer, R. R., Colton, J., & Kramer, L. S. (2002). A history of the

modern world (9th ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill.