Piety and the parish in early modern Orléans
Andrew Spicer
(Oxford Brookes)
Over the last thirty years historians of early modern France have drawn attention to
some features of changing Catholic devotional practices against the backdrop, and in
part as response to, the religio-political conflicts that wracked France during the
second half of the sixteenth century. These discussions have formed part of a wider
examination of relations between Huguenots and Catholics within an urban context.
The intention of this paper is to provide a case study of the parish of Saint Paul within
the city of Orléans, reflecting on the extent to which the devotional life of the parish
was rebuilt following the occupation of the city by the Huguenots in 1562-3 and
1567-8, and how far it was influenced by the presence of the Catholic League. In
particular it will focus on the cult of Notre Dames des Miracles and the character of
the religious confraternities based in the parish, considering the continuities, changes
and the extent to which they reflected the trends identified more broadly across a
range of urban parishes in other French cities.