22 Mar 2012
School
Department
Course
Professor
Jan 14th France –Wars of religion
Power of the Monarch
•French kings had siginificant control over their church
•Signed Concordat (1516) French monarchs had the ability to appoint the high
positions in the Gallican Church i.e. Abbots, Bishops
•Gallican French catholic church
Estates General (like the Cortez)
•Three estates 1st Clergy 2nd Nobles 3rd everyone else
•French kings had to call the estates general whenever they needed money ie had to
raise taxes
Parlement (French Law Courts)
•Each territory has its own parlement
•The parlement have the right to veto laws
•If a French king wants to override a veto he must go to parlement physically to do
so
French Wars of Religion (1562-1594)
•8 wars and 7 truces
•Civil wars but they are different than what you would normally think of
•They are fought in the absence of Government
•Fought between two different world views and 2 different ideologies
•French Catholics and French Protestants
•There are men wandering around the country side. there are no clear armies just
bands of men that constantly change size. They ebb and flow
•This civil war is made up of small battles and assassinations it is similar to a
blood feud, eye for an eye
•There are no clear cut lines and battles often involve outsiders as combatants
English and low countries (Netherlands etc) assist the protestants/Huguenots and
the Spanish help the Catholics
•Each side is able to cross the boundaries of class because of their common faith and
world views
Origin/Cause (Three Categories)
1) Poor royal leadership
2) Aristocratic factionalism clear divides
3) Religious extremism
This is a war of extremes each side wants to exterminate the other side.
Francis 1 (Ruled 1515-1547)
•Enough personal strength that people listened to him
•He is succeeded by his son Henry II
Henry II
•Has none of the redeeming qualities of his father
•Henry marries Catherine De Medici and they have Three sons (Francis II, Charles
IX, Henry III)
•Henry allows his mistress Diane de Poitiers to govern for him (The French have a
problem with a woman ruler) This creates deep animosity
Treaty of Cateau Cambresis (1559)
France and spain are at peace
Nobles return and are bored and upset
Henry Dies soon after this and as soon as he is dead Diane is banished
Catherine de Medici
•(like a mother bear) Maintains the safety of her sons
•She wants to create an environment that is as peaceful as possible
•She is never a monarch of her own right she acts as regent for her young sons
•She is not above back ally politics
•She is willing to pursue religious moderation (a treaty between protestants and
catholics)
•She relied heavily on the Duke of Guise duke is the leader of the catholic
forces and is married to marry queen of scots
Francis II
•Protestant persecution increases
•Catherine told Huguenots privately that she would not hunt them but francis
does not do this and they protestants feel betrayed.
•Francis dies from an ear infection and does not rule long. Only rules for 1 year
Charles IX
•Becomes king at the age of 9
•Catherine has more power she decides to give protestants leadership
positions
•The protestants come out of hiding across France and destroy catholic things
i.e. churches and shrines
•Catholics return the favour
•This is when they appeal to international help
•Catherine realizes that this is not working. She tries to weld catholics and
protestants back together. She calls July 1561 the colloquy of poissy
•Catholics refuse to show up
•She then threatens to let the estates general loose on them.
•Both sides arrive with different ideas of what will happen
•This is the last attempt to weild them together very first time the idea that
protestants and catholics could live together
•Catherine does not get the peaceful solution she wants
Henry III rules 1574-1589
Not popular with the nobility
He does not produce a male heir
There is a succession crisis
(The person with the greatest claim to the throne is Henry Burbon a protestant)
Henry is is assassinated by a Dominican monk