Chapter 15
Part 2
Wars of Religion
France
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By late 15th Century:
Galician Church
Royal Council
End to serfdom
Cash rents replaced Feudal obligations=
Decrease in buying power of the Nobility
France
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New land was cultivated
Divided among sons = many very small
landholdings
Nobility of the Robe had real power
Baillis: had fiscal authority
Senechals: had judicial authority
Francis I 1515-1545
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All of France under the jurisdiction of Royal
Court Laws
Made French the official language = centralizing
effect
Taille: New tax on land
Supported monarchy and army
BUT small tax base …nobles not taxed
…Sword OR Robe
Francis I needed more $
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For Hapsburg-Valois Wars and to patronize the arts
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So…Francis I
Increased Taxes
Increased Borrowing
Sold Public Offices (hereditary)… one trick pony
More Nobility of the Robe not paying taxes
Concordat of Bologna = revenue for the state
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Church abuses continued
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Promotions based on service to the state…not
to parishioners
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No incentive for clergy to meet intellectual or
moral standards
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Enter Luther, Calvin
Calvin’s Institutes
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Published in French
Printing Press = wide influence
Converts: all classes: reform-minded clergy,
middle class, artisans and peasants
But Nobility disproportionately
Nobles divided between monarchists (royalists)
and antimonarchists
Increase in # of Protestants despite:
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Government bans
University condemnations
Burnings (alive)
Cutting out of tongues for preaching Calvinism
By 1559
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40 + well-organized Calvinist Churches
1/10 of population in France was Huguenot
Most in urban areas
Belief that a country could not survive if divided by
religion: so other religions considered enemies of the
state
Religious differences motivated ordinary people to
participate in war
16th and 17th Century Wars were
Different
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Much Bigger armies
More expensive
Gunpowder and Canon
Even Peasants could kill gentlemen
War was no longer ennobling
Propaganda from the pulpit and the printing
press
Religious wars in France
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Cathollics will continue to try to reconvert
Protestants will continue to try to destroy the
Catholic Church
Henry II (1545-1559)
Married Catherine de Medici
Was a decent king BUT no consistent religious
policy
Used marriages to heal conflict
Henry II
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Daughter Elizabeth to marry Philip II to satisfy
the Treaty of Cateau-Cambresis (ended the
Hapsburg-Valois War)
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Daughter Margaret to marry Henry of Navarre
(a Huguenot) Hoping to end religious strife in
France
Henry’s Death
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June 30, 1559 Henry was celebrating the
wedding by proxy of his daughter, Elizabeth to
Philip II
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Arranged a 3-Day Tournament.
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Henry had been warned by court astronomerphysician (Nostradamus) not to engage in jousts
or in single combat
The Quatrain
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The Lion shall overcome the old
On the field of war in a single combat
He will pierce his eyes in a cage of gold
This is the first of two lappings, then he dies a
cruel death
Henry insisted
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He engaged in a joust with Comte de
Montgomery (Captain of the Scottish Guard)
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Henry II was mortally wounded
Montgomery was a bit younger than Henry II
Both had Lions on their shields
Montgomery’s wooden lance pierced the king’s
headgear (a gold helmet)
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The Death of Henry II
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The lance fragmented
One piece pierced Henry’s eye and penetrated
his temple
Then Henry appeared about to fall but did not
He dismounted, lost consciousness and regained
it and ascended the steps to his chamber
Henry II lingered for 10 days
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Catherine had 4 convicts wounded in a like
manner
Had Montgomery killed
Nostradamus feared for his life
Henry’s first son Francis II died in 1560
Henry’s second son Charles IX died in 1574 (TB)
Henry’s third son, Henry III…debauchery!
Catherine de Medici ruled through
her sons
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The night before Margaret’s wedding to Henry of
Navarre
The marriage was to heal religious conflict
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Many Huguenots were in attendance
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Then Henry of Guise (leading Catholic) had the
leading Huguenot (Admiral de Coligny) attacked!
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All Hell broke loose!
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Catherine de Medici ordered the Huguenots
killed in the
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St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre
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August 24- October 3: 12.000 Huguenots were
massacred
Led to The War of the Three Henrys
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15 year war
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Henry of Navarre (Huguenot)
Henry of Guise (leading Catholic)
Henry III (king) but respected by no one
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Catherine died
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Henry III summoned Henry of Guise to court
and had him killed
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Then Henry III was killed
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Henry of Navarre was left
“He knew how to fight, how to make love, and
how to drink.”
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Married Margaret and Converted
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“Paris is worth a mass.”
Was a politique
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1598 issued The Edict of Nantes: Allowed
Huguenots freedom of worship and the right to
have fortified cities
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Restored peace
Henry IV
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Began Bourbon Dynasty and tried to keep peace
Worked closely with his minister Sully
Will build roads, canals, bridges, tree-lined highways
to encourage merchants to come to France
Added the Grand Gallery to the Louvre to promote
the arts
Many artists of all classes lived and worked in the
Louvre’s lower floor
Continued until Napoleon ended it
The Long
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th
16
Century
Population way up
Middle class conformity Bourgeoisie
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Henry IV was killed in his carriage by a deranged
monk
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Said, “ God willing every working man in my
kingdom will have a chicken in every pot every
Sunday at the very least.”
Walloons
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Protestants (Calvinists) in Southern Belgium
Spoke a dialect of French
Radically different than Flemish
Into mining and heavy industry
Migrated to Calais
Then Calais fell to French
French brought the Inquisition
Walloons fled to Netherlands, England, Ireland