Wars of Religion

Wars of Religion 1562-98, series of civil wars in France, also known as the Huguenot Wars.

The immediate issue was the French Protestants' struggle for freedom of worship and the right of establishment (see Huguenots ). Of equal importance, however, was the struggle for power between the crown and the great nobles and the rivalry among the great nobles themselves for the control of the king. The foremost Protestant leaders were, successively, Louis I de Condé , Gaspard de Coligny , and Henry of Navarre (later Henry IV ); the Catholic party was dominated by the house of Guise . A third party, called the Politiques and composed of moderate Catholics, sided with the Protestants, while Catherine de' Medici and her sons, Charles IX , Henry III , and Francis , duke of Alençon, vainly sought to maintain a balance of power by siding now with the Catholics, now with the Huguenots.

The Conspiracy of Amboise (1560), by which the Huguenots attempted to end the persecutions suffered at the hands of Francis II , was a prelude to the first three civil wars (1562-63, 1567-68, 1568-70). The Treaty of Saint-Germain (1570), ending the wars, gave the Protestants new liberties and the wardenship of four cities, including La Rochelle. The fourth civil war (1572-73) began with the massacre of Saint Bartholomew's Day , a general slaughter of Protestants throughout France. The fifth civil war (1574-76) ended with the Peace of Monsieur (named for Francis of Alençon, who then sided with the Huguenots), which, ratified by the Edict of Beaulieu, granted freedom of worship throughout France except Paris.

When the Catholics retorted by forming the League (1576) and persuaded Henry III to repeal the edict of toleration (1577), the Huguenots revolted once more and sought the aid of foreign Protestant states. This sixth civil war ended with the Peace of Bergerac (1577), which renewed most of the terms of the Peace of Monsieur; this Henry III never carried out. A seventh war (1580) was inconsequential, but in 1584 the recognition by Henry III of the Protestant Henry of Navarre as his heir presumptive led to the renewal of the League by Henri de Guise and to the War of the Three Henrys (1585-89).

After the assassination of Henri de Guise (1588) and of Henry III (1589), the League, now headed by the duc de Mayenne , invoked the aid of Spain against Henry's successor, Henry IV. Henry, after his victories at Arques (1589) and Ivry (1590) and his conversion to Catholicism (1593), entered Paris in 1594.

With the Edict of Nantes (see Nantes, Edict of ), which granted freedom of worship throughout France and established Protestantism in 200 towns, and with the Treaty of Vervins with Spain (both in 1598), Henry IV brought the Wars of Religion to as successful a conclusion as the Protestants could desire. This result, however, was completely reversed in the 17th cent. by Cardinal Richelieu , who broke the political power of the Protestants, and by Louis XIV , who destroyed their religious privileges by his revocation (1685) of the Edict of Nantes.

Bibliography: See study by J. W. Thompson (1958).

Religion, Wars of (1562–98) Series of religious conflicts in France. At stake was freedom of worship for Huguenots (Protestants), but it was also a struggle between monarchy and nobility. The Huguenot leaders were, successively, Louis I de Condé, Caspard de Coligny, and Henry of Navarre (later Henry IV). The Catholic party was led by the House of Guise. The monarchy, represented by Catherine de' Medici and her sons, Charles IX and Henry III, attempted to pursue a moderate Catholic line. The first three civil wars (1562–63, 1567–68, 1568–70) ended in the Treaty of St Germain (1570), which granted concessions to the Protestants. Hostilities recommenced with the Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacre (1572). The fifth civil war (1574–76) resulted in the Edict of Beaulieu that granted freedom of worship to Huguenots. The Catholic party formed a Holy League and the Edict was revoked, prompting renewed conflict. Henry III's naming of Henry of Navarre as his heir led to the War of the Three Henrys (1585–89). Henry IV emerged victorious and the Edict of Nantes (1598) extended toleration to the Huguenots.

French Wars of Religion A series of nine religious and political conflicts in France, which took place intermittently between 1562 and 1598. They revolved around the great noble families fighting for control of the expiring VALOIS dynasty, supported on one side by the Protestant HUGUENOTS and on the other by Catholic extremists. The wars were complicated and prolonged by interventions by Spain, Savoy, and Rome on the Catholic side and by England, the Netherlands, and the German princes on the Protestant side. After the turning-point of the ST BARTHOLOMEW'S DAY MASSACRE (1572), a third party of moderate Catholic “Politiques” emerged under the Montmorency family. However, its advocacy of mutual religious toleration was undermined in 1576 by the formation of the Catholic extremist HOLY LEAGUE, which opposed HENRY III's tolerant settlement of the fifth war. The Guiseled League grew more militant after the BOURBON Huguenot leader Henry of Navarre became heir to the French throne in 1584. The resulting War of the THREE HENRYS (1585–89), ended with the assassination of Henry III. Henry of Navarre fought on, overcame the League, and drove its Spanish allies out of the country. He adopted Catholicism (1593), and as HENRY IV was able to establish religious toleration in France with the Edict of NANTES (1598). At the Peace of Vervins (1598) he reached a settlement with Spain. Then he applied himself to providing the firm monarchical rule which had been so damagingly lacking since the death of Henry II in 1559.