The French Wars of Religion - Essay Example

The French Wars of Religion During 1500’s, there were several factors converging to accelerate brutal religious war in France. Two of these were the protestant and the Catholic reformation that strongly opposed each other. in addition, there was there was the on going medieval mentality associating religion with political issues, making it hard for either side to tolerate the other sides governance or rule. The French wars of religion took a long time in preparation and it was far from the confines of religion. Years before doctrinal and confessional difference between the Protestants (Huguenots as militant members of reformed Calvinist denomination) and the Catholics erupted into confrontation following the 1562 killings at Vassy (Beik, 1997). The popular and learned, denominational reflection on spiritual matters and the declaration by the Catholic church that it held powerful position regarding spiritual matters plunged France on the road of conflict. Wars of religion began in 1562 and continued up to the time of Edict Nantes in 1598. It was the warfare that dismantled generation, although fought in desultory and inconclusive manner. These wars occurred in France for many years, rather than the hundred years of fighting, they comprised of series of wars rather one disagreement on confessional dispute. According to Benedict (2004), these wars consisted mainly of civil wars between the Protestants called Huguenots and the Catholics that resulted to so much bloodshed in France. In addition, the French noble class of the house of Bourbons and house of Guise were involved in the deadly war that lasted for 36 years. Historians have attributed this battle as a proxy between a Protestant, Queen Elizabeth I of England and King Philip II of Spain, all these people are said to have contributed militarily and financially to this war. At the time the war began, the Huguenots were minority in that they comprised only of 7% of the French population (Berce, 1990). However, by geographical accident, they found themselves in a suitable position to fight when the war began. This war was much of a political conflict as a religious battle. The main conflict was between the king and the royal families who were catholics and the protest struggle to be able to worship consciously and freely conflicted with this political conflict. In France, the state and religion were bound together in people’s experience and mind. There was no differentiation between the private and public, civic and personal religion. Religion was entrenched in French society in that it formed the ground for social consensus of Europe for many years. The French ruling class was touched to the church such that the church justified its right to govern or rule in exchange for civil and military protection. It was hard for the French King to imagine life the other way without religion. During this era in France, a person’s faith was perceived as significant to civil order. There was no other way that society would be bound together without the correct faith. It was the responsibility of the people to please God who enhanced natural order. According to Diefendorf (1991), people believed that without this right faith, disaster would strike. The French monarchy became feeble when King Henry II died in 1559. Some people in the ruling family became ambitious and wanted to use this opportunity to gain more power in French society. As a result, their interests differed with the disagreements that erupted. Ton the other hand, there was heightened tension between the Protestants and the Catholics. In this scenario, the Catholics received support from the house of Bourbons, while the House of Bourbons sympathized with the Protestants. The monarchy tried to create a neutral ground and solve the situation but it failed, as both sides were not willing to compromise. France religious wars were caused by rivalry between the royal families. In regards to Henry II, though he tried to maintain a balanced family, there existed dissatisfactions between the family settings. To achieve a balanced opinion, the king valued advice from Francis, Duke of Guise, and Ann the chief court advisor. Religiously, the Montmorency family expressed different opinion despite its status as a powerful family in the northern and southern France. Anne’s nephews were Huguenots while herself she was a staunch Roman Catholic. Coligny, an Admiral to France was one of the notable Huguenots in the royal family. Despite his desire to maintain the power of the monarch to guarantee the France stability, he was never interested in overthrowing the established order. Due to his strong believe, he did not convert to Calvin to assert his cause. Efforts to negotiate for Huguenots freedom of worship resulted into frictions within the royal family. The parliament de Paris declined approval of royal bill due to the fact that Francis I used Huguenots to reduce its power while increasing the monarchial power. The Duke of Guise presence at the court of Francis II, limited the chances of recognition of Huguenots rights. This was based on the Catholic influence that was maintained by Guise family. Disintegration of the Montmorency’s influence at the court was caused by Francis inclination to the Duke of Guise advice (Gould, 2006). Similarly, France religion wars were caused by the king advisors passion for war. This was based on the family’s strong base in Eastern France and strong devotion to Catholicism. Due to the strong relation that Francis, Duke of Guise established with the royal family, the Huguenots were viewed as destabilizing threats (Duke, 1992). Through his dedication to protect France from internal enemies and external attacks, hatred was generated emanated between the royal family and Bourbon family due to its association with the Huguenots. Another form of family rival that led to religious wars include declaration of Louis, Prince of Conde ass the leader of France churches upon ascending into military power. Family rivalry that led into religious problems in France. The uprising staged y the Huguenots was attributed to the Catholic Church state of rottenness (Greengrass, 1993). Nepotism and pluralism was embraced and crowning of the Cardinal of Lorraine clashed with the pope’s. This is based on the Valois family demand for independence from the papal rule. Religious differences between different denominations in France was caused by the wide spread corruption that had been generated by the French Monarchy appointments. Priests in France were political radicals and very poor while the senior Catholic Church clergy lived luxurious lives at the expense of the peasants and middle class people (Blickle, 1997). Despite the rampant persecution of the Huguenots, they gained their voice in France. Studies have ascribed these achievements to King Francis I tolerance of the Huguenots religion. As a result, the Huguenots developed and strengthened their influence in France. Establishment of this group was exemplified by the Affairs of the placards. Commitment of the converted people was strong since it was based on religious values. This move led to spreading of the Huguenots religion (Blickle, 1990). In conclusion, the religious wars were viewed as the longest by the standards established by civil war. Due to the inability of each group in stopping the war, this implied that there existed no decisive blow by the military clout of either group. The war was regional because it affected certain regions within France but not the whole country. Similarly, absence of mobility among the opposing groups led to condensation and regional propagation of religious wars. A critical analysis of this wars shows that intensity varied wit some wars just being recognized by name rather any marked implication. The seventh war exemplifies this allegation. Despite the notable nine classifications, only two can be recognized because of their effects that involved damages. This included the third and eighth. Exclusion of the ninth war as part of the French religious wars was based its involvement of foreign powers such as Spain. The wars between the Catholics and the Huguenots were as a result of their difference in opinions. The Huguenots felt that negotiation would not yield in anything good. Hence, wars had to be fought to the end. Similarly, the Catholics influence as shown by the Duke of Guise family influence on the royal family limited all possibilities of reconciliation. Religious wars were escalated by the Huguenots assumption that any form of threat against their freedom was to be countered by similar resistance. This was based on their minority population. On the hand, the Catholics decline to grant the Huguenots their freedom of worship was motivated by their hatred and rejection of Huguenots religion in France. References Beik, W., 1997, Urban Protest in Seventeenth-Century France: The culture of Retribution, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Benedict, P., 2004, Rouen During the Wars of Religion, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Benedict, P., 'The Saint Bartholomew's Massacres in the Provinces', Historical Journal (1978), P 23-45. Bercé, Y.-M., 1990, History of Peasant Revolts: the social origins of rebellion in early modern France, Polity Press, Cambridge. Blickle, P. (ed.), 1997, Resistance, Representation, and Community, Oxford University Press, Oxford. Davis, N. Z., The Rites of violence: Religious Riots in Sixteenth-century France. Past and Present, 1973, (59): 51-91 Diefendorf, B., 1991, Beneath the Cross: Catholics and Huguenots in Sixteenth Century Paris, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Duke, A., et al., 1992, Calvinism in Europe 1540-1610. Oxford University Press, Oxford. Gould, K., 2006, Catholic Activism in South-West France 1540-1570. Ashgate Pub Co, New York. Greengrass, M., 1983, The Anatomy of a Religious Riot in Toulouse: Ecclesiastical History, Kindle Books, New York. Read More