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Wars of Religion
The Age of Religious Wars
1559-1689
Wars of Religion: general
French Religious Wars
RELIGIOUS WARS
General Information
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1562-1598 French civil wars
Philip II Crusade
Dutch revolt against Philip II
Thirty Years’ War 1618-48
• English Civil War
– Puritan revolution 1640-1660
– Glorious Revolution 1688-89
• The two main crusaders:
John Calvin and St. Ignatius
Loyola
– Calvinists seized control of Scotland,
northern provinces of the the Low
Countries, temporarily England,
France, Germany, Poland, and
Hungary
– Catholics controlled Flanders, France,
Austria, Spain, and Bohemia
• 1559 Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis between
Phillip II of Spain and Henry II of France
– French gave up claims to Italy; Spain
stopped trying to dismember France
– Habsburg victory; Valois lose
– But started a new era of warfare neither
country could handle
• Calvinists and Catholics both
‘conservatives’ - no religious deviation
would be tolerated in Christendom
• Both sides recognized new
secular forces changing Europe
a) overseas expansion
b) commercial capitalism
c) dynastic rivalry
d) nationalism
e) state sovereignty
• It would be the last medieval
crusade and the first modern
war
• Calvin died in 1564, the Council of
Trent ended in 1563, Loyola died in
1556
– People no longer mediated disputes
• The Roman Inquisition and the Index
of Prohibited Books kept Catholics
‘pure’
• The Consistory of Geneva kept
Calvinists ‘pure’
Personalities
• Radical Catholics
– Charles V (HRE): Charles I (Spain)
– Philip II (Spain)
– Mary I Tudor (England)
• Protestants
– Edward VI (England)
• Moderates
– Elizabeth I (England)
– Henry IV of Navarre (France)
Political
• The political trend during this time was
toward centralized, authoritarian state.
– New Monarchy influence…
– Opened with Phillip II of Spain and
ended with Louis XIV of France
– It was an era of absolutism, but not for
the Dutch or the English
Economic
• It was an era of great inflation and
the development of mercantilism
– Exploration & influx of gold/silver
– Amsterdam became the commercial
center of Europe
Intellectual & Art
• There was an intellectual Revolution in
mathematics, physics, and astronomy
– It was the age of Galileo, Descartes, and Newton
– Scientific Revolution
• It was the period of the Baroque of great art
and theater, of Shakespeare and Molière
Social
• Western capitalism v’s Eastern
agriculture
• Spain, France, England, Holland all
improved, Holy Roman Empire, Poland,
Ottoman Empire all deteriorated
• Propertied v’s the propertyless
French Wars of Religion
1562-1598
• French collapse had many reasons:
a) Huguenots and Catholics
b) Aristocracy and the Crown
c) Bourgeoisie and political rights
d) Paris mob
e) Riots in the provinces
• BUT religion triggered the crisis
• Francis I (1515-1547)
Henry II (1547-59)
Francis II (1559-60)
Charles IX (1560-74)
Catherine de’Medici
Henry III (1574-89)
• 1516 Concordat of Bologna - French bishops and
abbots nominated by the monarch
• The king was not all-powerful, he lacked money
• Opposition began during the reign of Henry II
• 3 opponents: Guise, Montmorency, Bourbon
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Montmorency was very wealthy
Bourbons claimed the throne through blood
Guise - strongest group - ultra-Catholic
Henry II was killed at a tournament in 1559
at the Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis, the
throne went to his oldest son - Francis II
• All the sons were dominated by their
mother - Catherine de Medici
• Catherine tried to reconcile the Huguenots
and the Catholics like Elizabeth I had done
• The Catholics turned against her and supported
the Guises
– Guises controlled northern France, Paris and were
helped by Phillip II of Spain who wanted to see
France destroyed
• Elizabeth of England supported the Huguenots
• 1562 the Duke of Guise ordered his men to
slaughter a group of praying Huguenots starting the French religious wars
• Killings mounted as both sides randomly killed
any and all people
• For 10 years the killing continued - paid for by
aristocrats who loved fighting
• In 1572 a peace was declared so the Bourbon
prince Henry of Navarre could marry the sister
of the king Charles IX
• The Guises saw this wedding as a disaster
• Catherine de Medici, jealous of her sons, joined
with the Guises
• St Bartholomew’s day the Catholics ambushed
the Huguenots in their beds
• Prince Henry was allowed to live after
promising to become Catholic
• Thousands of Huguenots were killed
(The pope paid the messenger 100 gold coins)
• King Charles was sick - the House of Valois was
discredited and the Huguenots were still
around
• 1574 Charles died and was replaced by his
neurotic brother Henry III
• Catholics and Huguenots hated Henry and the
fighting resumed
• 1576 Henry of Guise formed the Holy League to
destroy all Huguenots
• Prince Henry of Navarre, heir to the throne,
renounced his Catholicism and led the Huguenots
• The War of the Three Henries
Guise v’s Valois v’s Navarre
• 1588 Phillip II order Guise to stage a riot in Paris
to prevent the French from interfering with his
Armada
• The king fled the city and left Guise in charge, he
forced the king to make him chief minister
• But Phillip’s Armada was badly defeated and he
was powerless to help Guise
• Henry III plotted to have Henry Guise
assassinated
• Henry III joined with Henry of Navarre to
crush the Catholics, but III was also
assassinated by a fanatical monk
• Only Henry of Navarre was left
• It took Henry 10 years to end the war
because Philip kept trying to invade France
from Flanders
• 1598 Henry and Phillip made peace
restoring the terms of 1559
• 1598 Henry issued the Edict of Nantes
– declaring Catholicism the official religion of
France
– nobles could practice Protestantism in the
privacy of their own houses
– Huguenots could defend territory
– Huguenots could hold minor positions
• The French learned that a strong
central government was the only
answer to national problems - i.e.
Absolute monarchy