French Wars of Religion

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French Wars of Religion

• 1562-1598

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The Setting Henry II
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Henry II

• 1559 Henry II is unexpectedly killed when a lance
  pierced his visor during a joust
• Francis II - His 15 yr old son takes the throne
• Under the regency of his mother Queen Catherine
  de Medici

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The Setting Catherine de Medici
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The Setting Boy Kings
Francis II 1559-60, (born 1544)
Charles IX, 1560-74 (born 1550)
Henry III, 1574-89 (born 1551)
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The Setting Boy Kings
Francis II 1559-60, (born 1544)
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Guises vs. Bourbons
Lacking a strong King, French politics becomes a
power struggle between 2 aristocratic factions
Guise and the Bourbon
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Add to the Mix Religion
Huguenots French Calvinists
Guises Catholic
Bourbons Huguenot
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French Nobility takes advantage of this
monarchial weakness.

• In the second half of 1500s between 2/5s and ½
  of nobility became Calvinist.
• For the upper class religion was an excuse to
  grab for power.

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Powerful Guise Influence
The Duke of Guises niece, Mary Queen of Scots,
marries the young King Francis II.
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Wants a Catholic France but not one controlled by
the Guises
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Dies of an Ear Infection!
Francis II 1559-60, (born 1544)
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The Setting Boy Kings
Charles IX, 1560-74 (born 1550)
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Huguenot Influence Grows
King Charles IX falls under the influence of
Huguenot leader Admiral Coligny, and his sister
plans to marry another Huguenot leader, Henri of
Navarre.
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Coligny Lets help the Netherlands!
This Huguenot leader wants to support the
protestants in the Netherlands. But this support
would put France on a crash course with Spain.
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Works with the Guises to assassinate Coligny
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Coligny survives
Catherine convinces Charles that a Huguenot
retaliation is imminent
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St. Bartholomews Day Massacre, 24 August 1572
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St. Bartholomews Day Massacre

• Wedding of Henry of Navarre to daughter of
  Catherine de Medici
• Admiral Coligny 3,000 Huguenots slaughtered
• 3 days 20,000 Huguenots dead
• Significance reformation is now a struggle to
  the death for sheer survival against a cruel
  adversary.

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At the popular level the conflict was religious

• Catholic Priests and Protestant Pastors encourage
  violence
• Mobs attacked those of other religion
• Calvinists destroy Catholic statues in churches
• Catholics torture Huguenots
• You dont slaughter for a King

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War of the Three Henrys
Henry of Guise
Henry III
Henry of Navarre
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Catholic League rules Paris

• King Henry III tries to destroy the league with a
  surprise attack but fails in 1588
• Henry III assassinates Henry of Guise

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Assassination of Henri of Guise
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Henri of Navarre becomes Henri IV, the politique
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Paris is worth a Mass.
Peter Paul Rubens, Triumphal Entry of Henri IV
into Paris
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Edict of Nantes, 1598
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Edict of Nantes, 1598

• Gave the well over 1 million Huguenots
• Freedom of public worship
• The right of assembly
• Admission to public offices and universities
• Permission to maintain fortified towns
• Significance created a state within a state.
  This problem would not be solved until Louis XIV