Chapter 12
The Age of Religious Wars
French Wars of Religion
(1562-1598)
Catholics v. Huguenots (Calvinists)
Catherine de Medicis v. the Guises
Political/Social/Religious Thought
Introduction & Background
 1st
½ 16th Century—Central Europe
Lutherans
 2nd ½ 16th Century—Western
Europe Calvinists
 Peace of Augsburg—Lutherans &
HRE
Cuius regio eius religio
IMPORTANT!
Calvinists
 Presbyterian
– Church boards
represent
individual
churchES
 Restrained art
– Wren
– Rembrandt
Roman Catholic
 Episcopal
– Hierarchical
– PopePriest
– One King/One
Church/ One Law
– Baroque art
 Rubens
 Bernini
Popepriest
–One King/One Church/One Law
 Baroque art
– Rubens
– Bernini
*French—Anti Protestant
(until Henry IV)
*Francis I captured
by Charles V
(curry favor &
releasedprotestant
persecution)
*Shift in power from France to
Spain
*Internal conflict—3 families
Guise
 Strongest
 Militant
Catholicism
 Firm control
 Connection to crown through
Francis II wife—Mary Stuart (we’ll
learn about her later)

you can’t swing a dead cat in Europe
without hitting somebody’s royal relative!
Bourbon
 Huguenot
(Protestant) for
political reasons
 Louis I (Conde) –political leaders
of French protestant resistance
 Eventually rises to top (Louis XIV,
etc)
Montmorency-Chatillon
Huguenot
(Protestant) for
political reasons
Coligny—political leader of
French protestant resistance
Appeal--Huguenots:
Many
aristocrats and
townspeople joined the
Huguenots in opposition to
Guise-dominated French
monarchy.
Indirectly served forces of
political decentralization.
 1561
– more than 2,000 Huguenot
congregations existed
 1/15 total population
–Majority of population in:
Dauphine
Languedoc
Over
2/5 aristocracy became
Huguenots
Calvin & Beza
curried favor w/ aristocrats
 Beza
- Converted Jeanne
d’Albert, future mother to Henry
of Navarre (Henry IV)
 Calvinism used as aids to
achieve long-sought political
goals
– Benefited both political & religious
dissidents
Calvinism gave political
resistance justification &
inspiration, and the forces of
political resistance made
Calvinism a viable religious
alternative in Catholic France.
KOT 391
Religious conviction was
neither the only nor always
the main reason for becoming
a Calvinist in France in the
second half of the 16th
century.
KOT 391
Catherine de Médicis and
the Guises
Who was Catherine?
•Florence 1519-Blois 1589
•Power behind the throne 3 sons
Francis II (r. 1559-1560)
Charles IX (r. 1560-1574)
Henry III (r. 1574-1589)
January Edict
 1562
 Influenced
by
Beza & Coligny
 Granted
protestants
freedom to
worship publicly
outside town
and hold
synods
However….
March
1562
Duke of Guise ordered
massacre of a Protestant
congregation
Beginning of French wars of
Revolution
Protestants—fear of
annihilation
 International measure of
struggle
– Hesse & Palatinate fought w/ Huguenots
 1st
war (1562-1563) Duke of Guise
assassinated
 2nd war (1567-1568)resumption of
hostilities
 3rd war (Sept 1568-Aug 1570)
BLOODIEST of all conflicts
rd
3
war
•Condè was killed
•Leadership was passed to
Colignya blessing in disguise
•Colignybetter military strategist
Peace of Saint-Germain-En-Laye
Ended the 3rd war
The crown acknowledged the power
of the Protestant nobility
Granted the Huguenots religious
freedoms within their territories and
the right to fortify their cities
Catherine….
Plot w/ Guise faction to
assassinate Coligny???
 Coligny struck (not
killed) by assassin’s
bullet
 Fear King’s reaction to
her complicity &
Huguenot response to
assassination attempt

Peace? Yeah, right!
St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre
 24 August 1572—Paris
 Coligny & 3,000 Huguenots butchered
 20,000 slaughtered in next 3 days
throughout France
 Pope Gregory II & Philip II (Spain)
celebrated—why?

– France internal civil war no French resistance
in Netherlands
Catherine?
a politique
 Uneven balance
between Catholics &
Huguenots
 Wanted CATHOLIC
France
 Thwart Guise
attempt at
 NOT
6º of separation
Catherine
flip-flopped
–Bourbon faction grew in
influence
–Called on Guise to suppress
Protestant support
International concerns
 REAL
FEAR:
 Louis of Nassau—Netherlands—
Protestant
– Coligny influenced King Charles IX
 Invade Netherlands  assist
protestants
 FRANCE
v. SPAIN
Controlled
Netherlands
Meanwhile
 Henry
III (r1574-1589)
 Steer course between 2 factions
–Catholic League
–Vengeful Huguenots
–Therefore: gain support from
moderates in both
 Save France—compromise
religious creeds
 POLITIQUE
The Peace of Beaulieu
 May
1576
 “Granted the Huguenots almost
complete religious and civil freedom”
 Less than seven months later, the
Catholic League objected!!
 In order to maintain his political
power, it was necessary for Henry III
to revoke the Peace of Beaulieu in
October 1577.
Results of the Peace of
Beaulieu
 After
the Peace of Beaulieu
– Protestants and the Catholics
resumed a policy of military political
resistance.
 In
opposition to Henry III
– Catholic League assumed total power
in Paris, with the help of Spain.
The Day of Barricades
 Henry
III launched a
“surprise attack” against
the Catholic League in
Paris in 1588.
 The attack failed
miserably, and Henry
was forced to retreat.
Assassination
 The
king’s position was seriously
weakened, so he resorted to a
drastic tactic: assassination.
 He “plotted” the assassination of the
duke and the cardinal of Guise.
 Henry’s plot was successful.
 Led by yet another member of the
Guise family, the Catholic League
revolted angrily.
Henry III forms an alliance
Henry of Navarre
April 1589
Weakened by the Catholic
League, Henry III had only
one remaining option: to join
the Protestant Huguenots, who
were led by Henry of Navarre.
Henry of Navarre—Henry IV
Henry III murdered by Dominican monk
 Heir to French throne by marriage to
Henry III’s sister Margaret
 PROTESTANT—oh NO! Say is ain’t so!!
 Philip II & Pope panic
 POLITIQUE
 “Paris is worth a mass”
 Protestant AND Catholic

The Reign of Henry of
Navarre
Henry of Navarre was well-liked and
supported by the French people.
 On July 25, 1593, he denounced
Protestantism and officially “embraced”
Catholicism.
 He hoped that tolerant Catholicism would
politically unite France.
 The majority of the French people and
church supported Henry’s decision. (They
wanted unity too!)

In 1596...
 The
Catholic League was
“dispersed.”
 The Catholic League’s ties with
Spain were broken.
 The French Religious wars
came to an end.
Edict of Nantes--1598
Formal religious settlement
 France – officially CATHOLIC

– Recognize & SANCTION minority religious
rights
– Public worship/right to assemble/admission
to public offices & universities/maintain
fortified towns
TRUCE—however, distrust/cold war
 Henry IV—laid groundwork for absolute
monarchy
