Introduction
Between 1450 and 1750, France went through civil wars due to religion, where Protestants and Catholics caused this unrest. This was due to the rapid growth of Protestantism wherein every twenty people there was a protestant. The Catholics saw this growth as a threat as the French were formerly catholic. The Catholics ruled the country and had control of the country’s resources. The catholic monarchy declared Protestants as enemies of the state. Martin Luther first introduced the idea of Protestantism in King Francis I. He formed Lutheranism, whose teachings were unclear to Francis I. The king, a catholic, opposed the ideologies of Luther. When Martin Luther left, john Calvin came to France and introduced Calvinism and the Huguenot church.
Calvinism and Huguenot Church
John Calvin was a theologian who was famed for his intellectualism. Calvin approached the educated French men, the elite members of the Catholic Church, famous tradesmen, and military officers. Some of the people he converted include Louis bourbon, an army officer, and Jeanne d’Albred, who ruled Navarre. His approach was practical and led to increased followers and recognition by the monarchy. This led to the development of the Huguenot church formed by the Calvinists. This name is believed to have been derived from French and German phrases of worshipping at home. This church grew big and expanded to different parts of France, causing the catholic to feel threatened.
The French Catholics believed that the existence of the Huguenots threatened their well-being on earth and their relationship with God. This brought hostility because the Catholics believed the Huguenots were disobeying God, leading to punishment for their sins. This caused the rulers such as Henry II, who ruled from 1547 to 1559, and Francis II, who ruled from 1559 to 1560, to set strategies to eliminate this religion. They planned to use both persecution and prosecution to suppress the religion. This, however, was unsuccessful as the population of Huguenots had grown and included prominent people such as the queen of Navarre and Bourbons, who were influential in the French government.
The Affair of Placards
This began in 1534 where Protestants planted placards that were anticatholic. This happened in Francis I reign, who maintained a middle ground on the issue of Protestantism. These placards portrayed the rejection of the catholic doctrines such as the Eucharist and the mass. They criticized Christ’s blood and body transformation to bread and wine during the service. They equated the mass rituals to a form of witchcraft and accused the pope, priests, and other church leaders of blasphemy and lying to the masses. This affair increased the tension between the two groups, leading Francis I to oppose the movement. This led to the prosecution of the people who did not publicly confess their faith in catholic. Many Huguenots were arrested and taken to jail, where they would be persecuted. The violence led to the burning of Huguenots while others fled to the neighboring countries. The affair of placards led to the start of civil wars fuelled by religion that lasted for many years.
The Rise of Tension
Henry II took over the throne after his father’s death, King Francis I, in 1547. Henry II continued his father’s policy of violently suppressing the Huguenots. He introduced the Edict of Chateaubriant, which increased worship restrictions for the Huguenots. The legislation made it unlawful and prohibited Protestants, for that matter, to worship, gather, or discuss religion in the fields or during mealtime. This led to the formation of underground churches formed by Calvinists from other places who sneaked into France. These underground movements led to the recruitment of many people into the movement. The Calvinists were also able to form alliances with noble members of France, who enabled them directly launch actions against the monarch to gain religious and political control. Their increase in influence helped them to start worshipping in the open. The king had begun allowing and tolerating their views and actions; however, the Catholics could not accept and still viewed Protestants as hostile, and the tension escalated quickly.
The Wars of Religion
The increase in tensions led to different wars between the Catholics and the Protestants. These wars disrupted the peace of France from 1562 to 1598. Each war led to increased mistrust between the two groups. These wars were fuelled by dynasty feuds between the noble families of bourbon and Guise, who also held different views. The monarch in that era often supported Catholics and Protestants depending on their political interests. These wars led to the death of more than three million people due to violence, famine, and disease, making it one of the most significant wars in history. The following wars took place in France and changed their religion.
St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre
This is one of the infamous events in religious wars. It took palace in Paris in the year 1572. This massacre took place on the night of 23rd august 1572. In addition, the catholic killed more than seventy thousand Huguenots. This massacre was planned on the day of celebrating Apostle Bartholomew. This day was chosen as the Catholics knew the Huguenots would be gathered in large groups, making it easy to eliminate them. This massacre happened across France under the order of Catherine de Medici, the ruling queen who was also King Charles IX’s mother. The queen had previously tried to assassinate Gaspard de Coligny, a major in the French army accusing him of starting a revolution. The assassination attempt took place at a royal wedding of Henry of Navarre and Margaret, the king’s sister. The war took place for three days whereby officials recruited catholic citizens in all towns forming militia groups who murdered, tortured, mutilated, and defiled the dead.
This massacre continued until 3rd October where it spread in other French provinces. The Huguenots lost most of their influential leaders, which crippled their political movement. The movement also lost its members who reconverted to Catholics as they felt that God had abandoned them. The remaining Protestants were radicalized and could not access government services or attend any gathering. The perpetrators of the massacre received amnesty and were pardoned in 1573. This massacre led to continued violence across France, whereby three Henrys fought.
The Three Henrys War
These wars happened between 1759 and 1589 between the three kings. These kings were: King henry III of France, who the country’s noble families supported. King Henry of Navarre, who did lead the Huguenots as well as earned the support of Queen Elizabeth the First of England. He also obtained support from the duke of Guise, as well as King Henry from Lorraine. One of the Catholic leaders also earned recognition from the King of Spain (King Phillip the second). King Henry II sparked this war after being convinced by the catholic league to publish an edict declaring Protestantism illegal and invalidating king henry of Navarra’s right to the throne. The royalists and the catholic joined to defeat the Huguenots, their common enemy. This war happened on different fronts; the first front was on the border of France and Germany and the Swiss border. The armies had come to help him, but he stopped them. The duke of Guise took the honors in Paris, and the public lost faith in their king.
The royalists and the catholic league also fought, leading to the King of France and his cousin the king of Navarre meeting to declare the war’s end. Henry II of France agreed to allow Protestants as their doctrines were closely aligned with Catholic values. This enabled the two movements to tolerate each other and thus become united. King Henry II was killed by a Dominican monk who stabbed him after gaining an audience with him. He called Henry of Navarre to convert to catholic to stop the breakout of war and succeed him, making him Henry IV.
The Nantes Edict
The catholic league continued to fight king henry (IV) until 1598 when Henry IV denounced Protestantism all for the Roman Catholic. This was issued as the Nantes proclamation, which declared Catholicism as France’s state religion. The declaration said that Protestants were equal to Catholics, allowing them to practice the freedom of politics and religion within their dominion. The Huguenots could exercise their faith without interference, and they would interact with Catholics freely. However, the mandate protected the catholic led regions.; and the Protestants could not set up churches in those Catholic-controlled regions. This declaration protected the rights of the Huguenots changing their plans to leave their projects. The Protestants had their civil rights reinstated, whereby they could work or live in any province, and they were allowed to present their grievances to the king. All the Huguenots priests started receiving wages from the monarch like their Catholic counterparts. The military men who had converted were also pardoned by the monarch and allowed back into the army. This mandate led to the end of the religious war, which had affected France for most of the 16th century.
Conclusion
The religious war was devastating to France and her people. It led to the loss of lives, property, and allies. The causes of the war could be attributed to a lack of tolerance from the Catholics, who felt that their religion was superior and could not be questioned. The leaders of Huguenots showed determination despite the opposition by the Catholics who had the monarch’s support. These wars affected France economically, making her lag behind her neighbors. King Henry (IV) is commended for finding solutions to end the war and enabling both groups to live in harmony by enacting the edict of Nantes. This war shaped today’s religion whereby both Catholics and Protestants live together in harmony and have equal rights and freedoms.
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