French Wars of Religion

1562-1598

French Wars of Religion: background

• Tension increasing between Cs & Ps due to growth of Protestants in society- trades (printing), urban, work more than Cs

• Catholics felt threatened, call to “purge” this Protestant infestation, restore God’s favour &with it social stability.

• Henry II (1574-1559) married Catherine de Medici. Had 3 sons who became monarchs. Catherine acted as regent at various times.

• François II (1559-1560)

• Charles IX (1560-1574)

• Henry III (1574-1589)

French Wars of Religion: Massacre at Vassy

• Incident which led to war: group of Huguenots were attending a service in Vassy. Considered illegal.

• François, duke of GuiseFrançois, duke of Guise, [cousin of Henri II]

asked them to stop service. They didn’t. He attacked them.

• Louis de Bourbon-Louis de Bourbon-leader of Huguenots- ordered retaliation.

The setting: Henry II

1547-1559

Henry II• 1559 Henry II was unexpectedly killed

when a lance pierced his visor during a joust

• François II - His 15 yr old son took the throne under the regency of his mother, Queen Catherine de Medici.

Catherine de Medici

“Boy Kings”

François II 1559-60, (born

1544)Charles IX,

1560-74 (born 1550) Henry III,

1574-89 (born 1551)

Francis II 1559-60, (born 1544)

Guises vs. Bourbons

Lack of a strong king, French politics became a power struggle between 2 aristocratic factions: the Guise & the Bourbon.

ReligionsProtestant faction:

Huguenots = French Calvinists. Supported by the

Bourbons

Guise = Catholic

French nobility took advantage of this

monarchial weakness. • In the second half of 1500’s between

2/5’s & ½ of nobility became Calvinist.• For the upper class religion was an

excuse to grab for power. • Monarchy: tried to reduce tension

between the 2 factions but failed (both not ready to compromise). Wanted to bring about religious tolerance.

Powerful Guise Influence

François, the 2nd Duke of Guise’s

niece, Mary Queen of Scots,

married the young King Francis II.

Catherine de Medici-

mother, regent-

wanted a Catholic

France but not one

controlled by the Guises.

Boy king no.1 died of an ear infection

Francis II 1559-60, (born 1544)

The Setting: “Boy King no. 2”

Charles IX, 1560-74 (born 1550)

Huguenot influence grows

King Charles IX fell under the influence of Huguenot leader Admiral Coligny, & his sister, Margot Margot de Valoisde Valois, planned to marry another Huguenot leader, Henri of Henri of NavarreNavarre..

Coligny: Huguenot leader Let’s help the Netherlands!

He wanted to support the Protestants in the Netherlands, but this

support would put France on a crash course with Spain.

Gaspard de Coligny (16 February 1519 – 24 August 1572), Seigneur (Lord) de Châtillon

Catherine de Medici,

worked with the Guises to assassinate

Coligny

Coligny survives

Catherine (mother)

convinced Charles IX (son) that a Huguenot

retaliation is imminent.

St. Batholomew’s Day Massacre, 24 Aug. 1572

Wedding of Henry of Navarre to daughter of Catherine de Medici. Admiral Coligny & 3,000 Huguenots slaughteredIn the far upper right of this painting we see the murdered Coligny hanging out the widow. Just below the window, his body lies on the ground, while Henry, the Duke of Guise stands over it.

St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre

August 24, 1572

• Wedding of Henry of Navarre Henry of Navarre to MargotMargot de Valoisde Valois, daughter of Catherine de Medici

• Admiral Coligny & 3,000 Huguenots slaughtered

• Toll in 3 days = 20,000 Huguenots dead

• Significance: Reformation was now a struggle to the death for sheer survival

At the popular level the conflict was religious• Catholic Priests & Protestant Pastors

encouraged violence• Mobs attacked those of other religion• Calvinists destroyed Catholic statues in

churches• Catholics tortured Huguenots

War of the Three Henrys

Henry III:

son of Catherine de Medici & Henry II

Henry of Guise,

leader of the Holy League &

chief of the Catholic party. Catherine de

Medici depended on

him.

Henry of Navarre, husband of Margot

Catholic League ruled Paris• King Henry III tried to destroy the league

with a surprise attack but failed in 1588

• Henry III assassinated Henry of Guise: “ On December 23 Guise fell into a carefully laid trap. As he left a Council meeting in answer to a royal summons, he was set upon by the King’s bodyguard and stabbed. His body and that of his brother Louis II, Cardinal de Guise, who was murdered the next day, were burned and the ashes thrown in the Loire.Henri I de Lorraine, 3rd Duke de Guise.”  Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online.Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2012. Web. 22 May. 2012://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/248983/Henri-I-de-Lorraine-3e-duke-de-Guise>.

Assassination of Henri of Guise

Henri of Navarre Henri of Navarre became Henri IV, the politique. Next in the line of succession, became King Henry IV (1589-1610). Henry IV converted to Catholicism: “Paris is worth a mass.”Definition of POLITIQUE: one of a group of French moderates in the 16th century religious conflicts holding national unity of greater importance than the absolute predominance of a single sect and advocating religious toleration as the policy of the government.

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/politique

“Paris is worth a Mass.”

Peter Paul Rubens, Triumphal Entry of Henri IV into Paris

Edict of Nantes, 1598

Edict of Nantes, 1598• Gave the Huguenots [ > 1 million]

•Freedom of public worship•The right of assembly•Admission to public offices &

universities•Permission to maintain fortified

towns• Significance – created a state

within a state. This problem would not be solved until Louis XIV(1661)