FRENCH WARS OF RELIGION (1562-1598) Flashcards
Why was there Rising tension between Protestants and Catholics?
Huguenots (French Protestants) were gaining power as a political bloc
What is the french Succession crisis?
*Henry II dies in a jousting accident in 1559
*His son, Francis II becomes king aged 15: inexperienced and sickly
*Catherine de’ Medici asks relatives of Francis’s wife (Mary Queen of Scots), the Guise brothers, to help him run things
*The Guises isolate him from court, which leads to a kidnapping attempt by Protestants in 1560
*Francis II dies in 1560, his brother, Charles IX, succeeds to the throne and Catherine takes control over the king
How does Jeanne d’Albret, Queen of Navarre contribute to the protestant / catholic tensions.
publicly converts to Protestantism and outlaws Catholicism
What is the Kingdom of Navarre?
*Independent kingdom north of the Pyrene (northern spain)
Jeanne d’Albret (1528-1572) inherited the kingdom from her father
- Had two children (husband from france) Catherine and Henry
Jeanne publicly converts to Calvinism and makes it the state religion, banning Catholicism from Navarre
Jeanne dies, her son Henry becomes Henry III of Navarre and in 1589: Henry becomes Henry IV of France, uniting the kingdoms of France and Navarre
Who did Catherine de’Medici appoint as Lieutenant General of France? Why is this significant?
Antoine
Antoine goes on to support the Catholic faction in the wars of religion
What was interesting about the children of Catherine de’ Medi? (and Henry 2)
Had 10 children in 12 years
- Outlived all but three of them
- Three of them were kings (Francis II King of France, Charles IX King of France, Henry III King of France)
What are HUGUENOTS?
*French Calvinists = political movement opposed to the royal family and the Guises
*Popular in the middle class, but include nobles and peasants
Concentrated in southwestern France
Who were noble supporters of the Huguenots?
Jeanne d’Albret, Princes of Condé, Henry IV (initially)
When there were conflicts between Huguenots and Catholics, what is the important idea?
Full attacks on both sides, no one comes out unscathed.
Huguenot uprisings in Orléans, Bourges, and Montauban
*Iconoclasm: destroying graven images (smashing religious items)
*Attacking Catholic clergy
*Attacks on Huguenots
*Preachers attacked on the road
*St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre (August 1572
What are the official attitudes towards to protestants?
- The royal family is catholic
- Francis 1
- He hated protestants
- His sister, Marguerite de Navarre, was okay with them, so he didn’t do anything actively
- She dies (he starts persecuting protestants)
He was under the sway of the Guise family
Who is The Guise family?
Anti-Protestant zealot
What is the Vassy Massacre?
murder of Huguenot worshippers and citizens in an armed action by troops of the Duke of Guise
Guise’s men tried to disperse the meeting but, when met with resistance, massacred the worshippers and left at least 50 dead
*This is considered an inciting incident of the war
What are the patterns in the phases of the war?
- Escalates
- Important people killed
- Treaty (things chill out after)
- The treaty doesn’t address the core issue between Catholics and protestants
This finally stops with Edict of Nantes (1598)
What is the St. Bartholomew’s Day massacre?
Marriage of Henry III of Navarre and Marguerite de Valois in Paris
*Henry is a Huguenot = prominent Huguenots gather in Catholic Paris for the festivities
-> Failed assignation on Admiral de Coligny
- V. wounded by alive
- Hugenoe (Catholics worried if he died there would be retribution)
- Swiss mercenaries (belonging to the king) have a kill list of Huguenot leaders
- Swiss starts chasing and killing these people
- Normal ppl join in and hunt and murder protestants as well
What is the Catholic League?
*Founded by Henry I of Guise in 1576 for all Roman Catholics
*Power centred on the Guise family and their favourites
*Aimed at eradicating Protestantism in France = Opposed the Crown’s attempts at compromise and mediation
*Supported by King Phillip II of Spain and the Pope
What are the three factions at play?
- Hugnots 2. Royal Family (more moderate) 3. Catholic League
Who are the three Henrys in the war of three henrys?
- Henry 3 (king of france)
- Henry 3 (King of Navarre - Son of Jeanne d’Albret)
- Henry 1 de Guise (Led the Catholic League, turned Paris against the king for his failure to defeat Protest)
What is the actual war like with the war of three Henrys?
Francis, Duke of Anjou dies & Henry III of France has no heir
- Only distant cousin (Henry 3rd of Navarre BUT HE”S is a Huguenot! Not acceptable)
- Henry de Guise and Catholic League try block this
Paris revolts against Henry III of France (instigated by Henry I de Guise) and the king flees the city
*Now both Henry III of France and Henry III of Navarre are trying to capture the city
Henry 3 of France = Had Du Guise Henry assassinated
Henry III of France assassinated by a Dominican friar on orders of the Catholic League, names Henry III of Navarre his heir on his deathbead
What Happens to Henry 3rd of Nevarre?
*Becomes king on the death of Henry III
*1589-93: series of successful campaigns against the Catholic Leage
Becomes Henry the 4th
Did the now Henry the 4th keep his Hugenot tendencies?
Paris is heavily fortified and will never accept a Protestant king
*Conversion to Catholicism in 1593: “Paris is worth a Mass.”
*Creates Edict of Nantes: legal freedom of religion
*Tensions remain = 1610 assassination by a Catholic zealot
*Despite Henry IV’s success in bringing the wars to an end, the monarchy’s authority is weakened by the conflict
*Succeeded by his son Louis XIII and eventually his grandson Louis XIV who both work to reassert royal authority
What is the EDICT OF NANTES?
Granted Protestants substantial rights, including:
*Freedom of conscience and right to practice their religion
*The right to hold public office
*The right to maintain Huguenot militias
*The right to travel freely in France
*The right to Protestant schools, universities, and cemeteries
Did the Edict of Nantes last?
Revoked in the Edict of Fontainbleu, 1685, by Henry IV’s grandson, Louis XIV
*France remains quite religiously divided after th
What were the impacts of the Wars of Religion on normal people?
- Many deaths (2-4 million)
- Faith is personal = suspected friends and family of being secret protestant / catholic
- Civil wars with towns looted
- Army’s travelling brought a lof of ppl with them & mercenaries typically took their families and servants with them + all the camp followers (tavern-keepers, cobblers, smiths, sex workers, etc)
Marching soldiers / displaced ppl = spread of disease
- Emigration: skilled tradespeople (Huguenots) leave for Protestant areas in Germany, the Netherlands, England, Southern Africa, and North America
What are sources historians use in this period?
Legal records, personal records, essays etc
NO NEWSPAPERS in this period
Who was Micheal de Montainge?
Aristocrat, philosopher, inventor of the essay
Catholic, but was known for being one of the very few people who could work with both Catholics and Protestants
*2/3 Henrys endorsed him
*Elected Mayor of Bordeaux in 1581 as a moderating force
