The Monarchomachs ( French : Monarchomaques ) were originally French Huguenot theorists who opposed monarchy at the end of the 16th century, known in particular for having theoretically justified tyrannicide . The term was originally a pejorative word coined in 1600 by the Scottish royalist and Catholic William Barclay (1548–1608) from the Greek μόναρχος ( monarchos – "monarch, sole ruler") and μάχομαι ("makhomai" – the verb meaning "to fight"), meaning "those who fight against monarchs" or " anti-monarchists ".
132-499: Born out of the French Wars of Religion , they were most active between 1573, a year after the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre , and 1584. The Monarchomachs pleaded in favour of a form of " popular sovereignty ". Arguing for a sort of contract between the sovereign and the people, they have been considered as the precursors of social contract theories. The Monarchomachs included jurists such as
264-560: A counter-revolution . In response, the Assembly published the August Decrees which abolished feudalism . Over 25% of French farmland was subject to feudal dues , providing the nobility with most of their income; these were now cancelled, along with church tithes. While their former tenants were supposed to pay them compensation, collecting it proved impossible, and the obligation was annulled in 1793. Other decrees included equality before
396-467: A Parisian mob, and neither Bailly nor Lafayette could prevent it. In rural areas, wild rumours and paranoia resulted in the formation of militia and an agrarian insurrection known as la Grande Peur . The breakdown of law and order and frequent attacks on aristocratic property led much of the nobility to flee abroad. These émigrés funded reactionary forces within France and urged foreign monarchs to back
528-439: A campaign for war against Austria and Prussia, often interpreted as a mixture of calculation and idealism. While exploiting popular anti-Austrianism, it reflected a genuine belief in exporting the values of political liberty and popular sovereignty. Simultaneously, conservatives headed by Marie Antoinette also favoured war, seeing it as a way to regain control of the military, and restore royal authority. In December 1791, Louis made
660-572: A contingent of fellow Protestant militias from Germany – including 14,000 mercenary reiters led by the Calvinist Duke of Zweibrücken . After the Duke was killed in action, his troops remained under the employ of the Huguenots who had raised a loan from England against the security of Jeanne d'Albret 's crown jewels. Much of the Huguenots' financing came from Queen Elizabeth of England, who
792-619: A definitive ruling by classifying "Lutherans" as heretical Zwinglians . Calvin, originally from Noyon in Picardy , went into exile in 1535 to escape persecution and settled in Basel , where he published the Institutes of the Christian Religion in 1538. This work contained the key principles of Calvinism , which became immensely popular in France and other European countries. While Lutheranism
924-660: A distinction opposed by a significant minority, including the Jacobin clubs . By mid-1790, the main elements of a constitutional monarchy were in place, although the constitution was not accepted by Louis until 1791. Food shortages and the worsening economy caused frustration at the lack of progress, and led to popular unrest in Paris. This came to a head in late September 1789, when the Flanders Regiment arrived in Versailles to reinforce
1056-485: A list of grievances, known as Cahiers de doléances . Tax inequality and seigneurial dues (feudal payments owed to landowners) headed the grievances in the cahiers de doleances for the estate. On 5 May 1789, the Estates-General convened at Versailles . Necker outlined the state budget and reiterated the king's decision that each estate should decide on which matters it would agree to meet and vote in common with
1188-488: A majority by forging consensus with monarchiens like Mounier, and independents including Adrien Duport , Barnave and Alexandre Lameth . At one end of the political spectrum, reactionaries like Cazalès and Maury denounced the Revolution in all its forms, with radicals like Maximilien Robespierre at the other. He and Jean-Paul Marat opposed the criteria for "active citizens", gaining them substantial support among
1320-460: A new independent judiciary, with jury trials for criminal cases. However, moderate deputies were uneasy at popular demands for universal suffrage, labour unions and cheap bread, and over the winter of 1790 and 1791, they passed a series of measures intended to disarm popular radicalism. These included exclusion of poorer citizens from the National Guard, limits on use of petitions and posters, and
1452-497: A peaceful solution led to the Peace of Saint-Germain-en-Laye (8 August 1570), negotiated by Jeanne d'Albret, which once more allowed some concessions to the Huguenots. With the kingdom once more at peace, the crown began seeking a policy of reconciliation to bring the fractured polity back together. One key part of this was to be a marriage between Navarre , the son of Jeanne d'Albret and Antoine of Navarre, and Margaret of Valois ,
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#17328453094331584-555: A philosophical founder of the revolution, wrote it was "manifestly contrary to the law of nature ... that a handful of people should gorge themselves with superfluities, while the hungry multitude goes in want of necessities." The Revolution caused a massive shift of power from the Catholic Church to the state; although the extent of religious belief has been questioned, elimination of tolerance for religious minorities meant by 1789 being French also meant being Catholic. The church
1716-606: A prolonged struggle for power between his widow Catherine de' Medici and powerful nobles. These included a fervently Catholic faction led by the Guise and Montmorency families, and Protestants headed by the House of Condé and Jeanne d'Albret . Both sides received assistance from external powers, with Spain and Savoy supporting the Catholics, and England and the Dutch Republic backing
1848-538: A representative body that had last met in 1614. The conflict between the Crown and the parlements became a national political crisis. Both sides issued a series of public statements, the government arguing that it was combating privilege and the parlement defending the ancient rights of the nation. Public opinion was firmly on the side of the parlements , and riots broke out in several towns. Brienne's attempts to raise new loans failed, and on 8 August 1788, he announced that
1980-560: A result, the clergy and nobility could combine to outvote the Third Estate despite representing less than 5% of the population. Following the relaxation of censorship and laws against political clubs, a group of liberal nobles and middle class activists, known as the Society of Thirty, launched a campaign for the doubling of Third Estate representation and individual voting. The public debate saw an average of 25 new political pamphlets published
2112-520: A series of civil wars between French Catholics and Protestants (called Huguenots ) from 1562 to 1598. Between two and four million people died from violence, famine or disease directly caused by the conflict, and it severely damaged the power of the French monarchy. One of its most notorious episodes was the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre in 1572. The fighting ended with a compromise in 1598, when Henry of Navarre, who had converted to Catholicism in 1593,
2244-550: A significant proportion of the 6 million Frenchmen over 25, while only 10% of those able to vote actually did so. Finally, poor harvests and rising food prices led to unrest among the urban class known as Sans-culottes , who saw the new regime as failing to meet their demands for bread and work. This meant the new constitution was opposed by significant elements inside and outside the Assembly, itself split into three main groups. 264 members were affiliated with Barnave's Feuillants , constitutional monarchists who considered
2376-445: A single body, and the following day approved a " suspensive veto " for the king, meaning Louis could delay implementation of a law, but not block it indefinitely. In October, the Assembly voted to restrict political rights, including voting rights, to "active citizens", defined as French males over the age of 25 who paid direct taxes equal to three days' labour. The remainder were designated "passive citizens", restricted to "civil rights",
2508-530: A speech in the Assembly giving foreign powers a month to disband the émigrés or face war, an act greeted with enthusiasm by supporters, but suspicion from opponents. Barnave's inability to build a consensus in the Assembly resulted in the appointment of a new government, chiefly composed of Brissotins . On 20 April 1792, the French Revolutionary Wars began when French armies attacked Austrian and Prussian forces along their borders, before suffering
2640-687: A view to religious renewal and reform. Humanist scholars argued interpretation of the Bible required an ability to read the New Testament and Old Testaments in the original Greek and Hebrew , rather than relying on the 4th century Latin translation known as the " Vulgate Bible". In 1495, the Venetian Aldus Manutius began using the newly invented printing press to produce small, inexpensive, pocket editions of Greek, Latin, and vernacular literature, making knowledge in all disciplines available for
2772-410: A week from 25 September 1788. The Abbé Sieyès issued influential pamphlets denouncing the privilege of the clergy and nobility, and arguing the Third Estate represented the nation and should sit alone as a National Assembly. Activists such as Mounier , Barnave and Robespierre organised regional meetings, petitions and literature in support of these demands. In December, the king agreed to double
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#17328453094332904-412: Is generally seen as the spark which led to open hostilities between the two religions. Guyenne was the epicentre of the turn to religious violence in late 16th-century France. Many explanations have been proffered for the rise of violence. Traditional explanations focus on the influence of Jeanne d'Albret and Antoine of Navarre. Other explanations focus on the rise of seigneurialism in the 1550s and see
3036-722: The ancien régime ("old regime") proved unable to manage. A financial crisis and widespread social distress led to the convocation of the Estates General in May 1789, its first meeting since 1614. The representatives of the Third Estate broke away, and re-constituted themselves as a National Assembly in June. The Storming of the Bastille in Paris on 14 July was followed by a series of radical measures by
3168-568: The Battle of Jarnac (16 March 1569), the prince of Condé was killed, forcing Admiral de Coligny to take command of the Protestant forces, nominally on behalf of Condé's 16-year-old son, Henry , and the 15-year-old Henry of Navarre , who were presented by Jeanne d'Albret as the legitimate leaders of the Huguenot cause against royal authority. The Battle of La Roche-l'Abeille was a nominal victory for
3300-521: The Champ de Mars to sign. Led by Lafayette, the National Guard was ordered to "preserve public order" and responded to a barrage of stones by firing into the crowd , killing between 13 and 50 people. The massacre badly damaged Lafayette's reputation: the authorities responded by closing radical clubs and newspapers, while their leaders went into exile or hiding, including Marat. On 27 August, Emperor Leopold II and King Frederick William II of Prussia issued
3432-640: The Declaration of Pillnitz declaring their support for Louis and hinting at an invasion of France on his behalf. In reality, the meeting between Leopold and Frederick was primarily to discuss the Partitions of Poland ; the Declaration was intended to satisfy Comte d'Artois and other French émigrés but the threat rallied popular support behind the regime. Based on a motion proposed by Robespierre, existing deputies were barred from elections held in early September for
3564-725: The Edict of Nantes (13 April 1598) and the Peace of Vervins (2 May 1598) concluded the wars, while the ensuing 1620s Huguenot rebellions lead others to believe the Peace of Alès in 1629 is the actual conclusion. However, the agreed upon beginning of the wars is the Massacre of Wassy in 1562, and the Edict of Nantes at least ended this series of conflicts. During this time, complex diplomatic negotiations and agreements of peace were followed by renewed conflict and power struggles. American military historians Kiser, Drass & Brustein (1994) maintained
3696-416: The Edict of Saint-Maur revoked the freedom of Huguenots to worship. In November, William of Orange led an army into France to support his fellow Protestants, but, the army being poorly paid, he accepted the crown's offer of money and free passage to leave the country. The Huguenots gathered a formidable army under the command of Condé, aided by forces from south-east France, led by Paul de Mouvans, and
3828-569: The Estates General of 1789 , and ended with the coup of 18 Brumaire in November 1799 and the formation of the French Consulate . Many of its ideas are considered fundamental principles of liberal democracy , while its values and institutions remain central to modern French political discourse. The causes of the revolution were a combination of social, political, and economic factors which
3960-559: The French Legislative Assembly . Although Robespierre himself was one of those excluded, his support in the clubs gave him a political power base not available to Lafayette and Bailly, who resigned respectively as head of the National Guard and the Paris Commune. The new laws were gathered together in the 1791 Constitution , and submitted to Louis XVI, who pledged to defend it "from enemies at home and abroad". On 30 September,
4092-520: The General Estates . This conception of the magistrates and the association of wise people as best representants of the people separated them from modern conception of democracy , as they restricted effective power to a minority. Max Weber considered them in his lecture Politics as a Vocation as participants of the movement of rationalization of law in Europe. The Monarchomachs also claimed that if
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4224-474: The Hôtel de Ville, some 7,000 of them marched on Versailles , where they entered the Assembly to present their demands. They were followed to Versailles by 15,000 members of the National Guard under Lafayette, who was virtually "a prisoner of his own troops". When the National Guard arrived later that evening, Lafayette persuaded Louis the safety of his family required their relocation to Paris. Next morning, some of
4356-626: The Rhine added to these fears, and political discontent grew. After Protestant troops unsuccessfully tried to capture and take control of King Charles IX in the Surprise of Meaux , a number of cities, such as La Rochelle , declared themselves for the Huguenot cause. Protestants attacked and massacred Catholic laymen and clergy the following day in Nîmes , in what became known as the Michelade . This provoked
4488-467: The Vendée , where only a few priests took the oath and the civilian population turned against the revolution. The result was state-led persecution of " Refractory clergy ", many of whom were forced into exile, deported, or executed. The period from October 1789 to spring 1791 is usually seen as one of relative tranquility, when some of the most important legislative reforms were enacted. However, conflict over
4620-458: The parlements , the nobility, and those subject to new taxes. France primarily funded the Anglo-French War of 1778–1783 through loans. Following the peace, the monarchy borrowed heavily, culminating in a debt crisis. By 1788, half of state revenue was required to service its debt. In 1786, the French finance minister, Calonne , proposed a package of reforms including a universal land tax,
4752-570: The 14th century in Italy and arrived in France in the early 16th, coinciding with the rise of Protestantism in France . The movement emphasised the importance of ad fontes , or study of original sources, and initially focused on the reconstruction of secular Greek and Latin texts. It later expanded into the reading, study and translation of works by the Church Fathers and the New Testament , with
4884-616: The 15-year-old Francis II lacked the ability to control. Francis, Duke of Guise , whose niece Mary, Queen of Scots, was married to the king, exploited the situation to establish dominance over their rivals, the House of Montmorency . Within days of the King's accession, the English ambassador reported "the house of Guise ruleth and doth all about the French King". On 10 March 1560, a group of disaffected nobles led by Jean du Barry, attempted to break
5016-485: The 1572 St. Bartholomew's Day massacre in Paris , which resulted in Catholic mobs killing between 5,000 and 30,000 Protestants throughout France. The wars threatened the authority of the monarchy and the last Valois kings, Catherine's three sons Francis II , Charles IX , and Henry III . Their Bourbon successor Henry IV responded by creating a strong central state and extending toleration to Huguenots;
5148-417: The Assembly and published on 26 August as a statement of principle. The Assembly now concentrated on the constitution itself. Mounier and his monarchist supporters advocated a bicameral system, with an upper house appointed by the king, who would also have the right to appoint ministers and veto legislation. On 10 September, the majority of the Assembly, led by Sieyès and Talleyrand , voted in favour of
5280-493: The Assembly was increasingly divided, while external players like the Paris Commune and National Guard competed for power. One of the most significant was the Jacobin club; originally a forum for general debate, by August 1790 it had over 150 members, split into different factions. The Assembly continued to develop new institutions; in September 1790, the regional Parlements were abolished and their legal functions replaced by
5412-612: The Assembly went into a non-stop session after rumours circulated he was planning to use the Swiss Guards to force it to close. The news brought crowds of protestors into the streets, and soldiers of the elite Gardes Françaises regiment refused to disperse them. On the 14th, many of these soldiers joined the mob in attacking the Bastille , a royal fortress with large stores of arms and ammunition. Its governor, Bernard-René de Launay , surrendered after several hours of fighting that cost
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5544-588: The Assembly, among them the abolition of feudalism , state control over the Catholic Church , and a declaration of rights . The next three years were dominated by the struggle for political control, and military defeats following the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars in April 1792 led to an insurrection on 10 August . The monarchy was replaced by the French First Republic in September, and Louis XVI
5676-549: The Calvinists François Hotman (1524–1590), Théodore de Bèze (1519–1605), Simon Goulart (1543–1628), Nicolas Barnaud (1538–1604), Hubert Languet (1518–1581), Philippe de Mornay (1549–1623) and George Buchanan (1506–1582), as well as Catholic writers such as Juan de Mariana (1536–1624). They had a special influence in the so-called Dutch revolt and contributed to the Netherlands' Act of Abjuration . Through
5808-407: The Catholics. Eventually, the term was used to classify anyone who was opposed to the king's rule. At first a Protestant doctrine, the notion of tyrannicide was reappropriated by the Catholics when Protestants came to be kings. It was then used in revolutionary discourses during the debates concerning the execution of Louis XVI , while the right of rebellion was included in the 1789 Declaration of
5940-647: The Circle of Meaux , aiming to improve the quality of preaching and religious life in general. They were joined by François Vatable , an expert in Hebrew , along with Guillaume Budé , a classicist and Royal librarian. Lefèvre's Fivefold Psalter and his commentary on the Epistle to the Romans emphasised the literal interpretation of the Bible and the centrality of Jesus Christ . Many of
6072-520: The Civil Constitution led to a state of near civil war in southern France, which Barnave tried to defuse by relaxing the more punitive provisions. On 29 November, the Assembly approved a decree giving refractory clergy eight days to comply, or face charges of 'conspiracy against the nation', an act opposed even by Robespierre. When Louis vetoed both, his opponents were able to portray him as opposed to reform in general. Brissot accompanied this with
6204-547: The Constituent Assembly was dissolved, and the Legislative Assembly convened the next day. The Legislative Assembly is often dismissed by historians as an ineffective body, compromised by divisions over the role of the monarchy, an issue exacerbated when Louis attempted to prevent or reverse limitations on his powers. At the same time, restricting the vote to those who paid a minimal amount of tax disenfranchised
6336-534: The Crown. The royal family left the palace in disguise on the night of 20 June 1791; late the next day, Louis was recognised as he passed through Varennes , arrested and taken back to Paris. The attempted escape had a profound impact on public opinion; since it was clear Louis had been seeking refuge in Austria, the Assembly now demanded oaths of loyalty to the regime, and began preparing for war, while fear of 'spies and traitors' became pervasive. Despite calls to replace
6468-503: The English in 1562 as part of the Treaty of Hampton Court between its Huguenot leaders and Elizabeth I of England . That July, the French expelled the English. On 17 August 1563, Charles IX was declared of age at the Parlement of Rouen ending the regency of Catherine de Medici. His mother continued to play a principal role in politics, and she joined her son on a Grand Tour of
6600-402: The Estates-General. However, he stated that the three estates were sacrosanct and it was up to each estate to agree to end their privileges and decide on which matters they would vote in common with the other estates. At the end of the session the Third Estate refused to leave the hall and reiterated their oath not to disperse until a constitution had been agreed. Over the next days more members of
6732-606: The European revolts of the 1780s inspired public debate on issues such as patriotism, liberty, equality, and democracy. These shaped the response of the educated public to the crisis, while scandals such as the Affair of the Diamond Necklace fuelled widespread anger at the court, nobility, and church officials. France faced a series of budgetary crises during the 18th century, as revenues failed to keep pace with expenditure. Although
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#17328453094336864-568: The French nobility also generally supported the status quo and existing policies. Despite his personal opposition, Francis tolerated Martin Luther ’s ideas when they entered France in the late 1520s, largely because the definition of Catholic orthodoxy was unclear, making it hard to determine precisely what was or was not heresy . He tried to steer a middle course in the developing religious schism, but in January ;1535, Catholic authorities made
6996-469: The French'. Historian John McManners argues "in eighteenth-century France, throne and altar were commonly spoken of as in close alliance; their simultaneous collapse ... would one day provide the final proof of their interdependence." One suggestion is that after a century of persecution, some French Protestants actively supported an anti-Catholic regime, a resentment fuelled by Enlightenment thinkers such as Voltaire . Jean-Jacques Rousseau , considered
7128-579: The Guisard compromise of scaling back persecution but not permitting toleration . For the moment she held to the Guisard line. Before his death, Francis II had called the first Estates General held since 1484, which in December 1560 assembled in Orléans to discuss topics which included taxation and religion. It made little progress on the latter, other than agreeing to pardon those convicted of religious offences in
7260-509: The Huguenots, but they were unable to seize control of Poitiers and were soundly defeated at the Battle of Moncontour (30 October 1569). Coligny and his troops retreated to the south-west and regrouped with Gabriel, comte de Montgomery , and in spring of 1570, they pillaged Toulouse , cut a path through the south of France, and went up the Rhone valley up to La Charité-sur-Loire . The staggering royal debt and Charles IX's desire to seek
7392-400: The June 1791 Le Chapelier Law suppressing trade guilds and any form of worker organisation. The traditional force for preserving law and order was the army, which was increasingly divided between officers, who largely came from the nobility, and ordinary soldiers. In August 1790, the loyalist General Bouillé suppressed a serious mutiny at Nancy ; although congratulated by the Assembly, he
7524-460: The Parisian proletariat, many of whom had been disenfranchised by the measure. On 14 July 1790, celebrations were held throughout France commemorating the fall of the Bastille, with participants swearing an oath of fidelity to "the nation, the law and the king." The Fête de la Fédération in Paris was attended by the royal family, with Talleyrand performing a mass . Despite this show of unity,
7656-519: The Protestants led by de Bèze and the Catholics by Charles, Cardinal of Lorraine , brother of the Duke of Guise. The two sides initially sought to accommodate Protestant forms of worship within the existing church but this proved impossible. By the time the Colloquy ended on 8 October, it was clear the divide between Catholic and Protestant theology was too wide to be bridged. With their options narrowing,
7788-470: The Protestants. Moderates, also known as Politiques , hoped to maintain order by centralising power and making concessions to Huguenots, rather than the policies of repression pursued by Henry II and his father Francis I . They were initially supported by Catherine de' Medici, whose January 1562 Edict of Saint-Germain was strongly opposed by the Guise faction and led to an outbreak of widespread fighting in March. She later hardened her stance and backed
7920-429: The Revolution had gone far enough, while another 136 were Jacobin leftists who supported a republic, led by Brissot and usually referred to as Brissotins . The remaining 345 belonged to La Plaine , a centrist faction who switched votes depending on the issue, but many of whom shared doubts as to whether Louis was committed to the Revolution. After he officially accepted the new Constitution, one recorded response
8052-557: The Rights of Man and of the Citizen . Influenced by the Huguenots, some British thinkers also embraced the Monarchomaque movement. French Wars of Religion Second; 1567–1568 Saint-Denis ; Chartres Third; 1568–1570 Jarnac ; La Roche-l'Abeille ; Poitiers ; Orthez ; Moncontour ; Saint-Jean d'Angély ; Arney-le-Duc Fourth; 1572–1573 Mons ; Sommières ; Sancerre ; La Rochelle Fifth; 1574–1576 Dormans Sixth; 1577 La Charité-sur-Loire ; Issoire ; Brouage Seventh; 1580 La Fère War of
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#17328453094338184-480: The Seventh War of Religion to 1579–1580 rather than just 1580. Holt (2005) asserted a rather different periodisation from 1562 to 1629, writing of 'civil wars' rather than wars of religion, dating the Sixth War to March–September 1577, and dating the Eight War from June 1584 (death of Anjou) to April 1598 (Edict of Nantes); finally, although he didn't put a number on it, Holt regarded the 1610–1629 period as 'the last war of religion'. Renaissance humanism began during
8316-402: The Third Estate declared itself to be the National Assembly of France and that all existing taxes were illegal. Within two days, more than 100 members of the clergy had joined them. Shaken by this challenge to his authority, the king agreed to a reform package that he would announce at a Royal Session of the Estates-General. The Salle des États was closed to prepare for the joint session, but
8448-508: The Third despite representing less than 5% of the population. Although the Catholic Church in France owned nearly 10% of all land, as well as receiving annual tithes paid by peasants, three-quarters of the 303 clergy elected were parish priests, many of whom earned less than unskilled labourers and had more in common with their poor parishioners than with the bishops of the first estate. The Second Estate elected 322 deputies, representing about 400,000 men and women, who owned about 25% of
8580-467: The Three Henrys (1585–1589) Coutras ; Vimory ; Auneau ; Day of the Barricades Succession of Henry IV of France (1589–1594) Arques ; Ivry ; Paris ; Château-Laudran ; Rouen ; Caudebec ; Craon ; 1st Luxembourg ; Blaye ; Morlaix ; Fort Crozon Franco-Spanish War (1595–1598) 2nd Luxembourg ; Fontaine-Française ; Ham ; Le Catelet ; Doullens ; Cambrai ; Calais ; La Fère ; Ardres ; Amiens The French Wars of Religion were
8712-399: The abolition of grain controls and internal tariffs, and new provincial assemblies appointed by the king. The new taxes, however, were rejected, first by a hand-picked Assembly of Notables dominated by the nobility, then by the parlements when submitted by Calonne's successor Brienne . The notables and parlements argued that the proposed taxes could only be approved by an Estates-General,
8844-558: The aftermath of the plot, the term " Huguenot " for France's Protestants came into widespread usage. Shortly afterwards, the first instances of Protestant iconoclasm or the destruction of images and statues in Catholic churches, occurred in Rouen and La Rochelle . This continued throughout 1561 in more than 20 cities and towns, sparking attacks on Protestants by Catholic mobs in Sens , Cahors , Carcassonne , Tours and elsewhere. When Francis II died on 5 December 1560, his mother Catherine de' Medici became regent for her second son,
8976-460: The authority of the Pope over the French Church. In October, thirty bishops wrote a declaration denouncing the law, further fuelling opposition. When clergy were required to swear loyalty to the Civil Constitution in November 1790, it split the church between the 24% who complied, and the majority who refused. This stiffened popular resistance against state interference, especially in traditionally Catholic areas such as Normandy , Brittany and
9108-413: The calling of the Estates General of 1789 , which became radicalised by the struggle for control of public finances. Louis XVI was willing to consider reforms, but often backed down when faced with opposition from conservative elements within the nobility. Enlightenment critiques of social institutions were widely discussed among the educated French elite. At the same time, the American Revolution and
9240-443: The city of Orléans to the siege, led Catherine de' Medici to mediate a truce, resulting in the Edict of Amboise on 19 March 1563. The Edict of Amboise was generally regarded as unsatisfactory by all concerned, and the Guise faction was particularly opposed to what they saw as dangerous concessions to heretics . The crown tried to re-unite the two factions in its efforts to re-capture Le Havre , which had been occupied by
9372-470: The clergy joined the National Assembly. On 27 June, faced with popular demonstrations and mutinies in his French Guards , Louis XVI capitulated. He commanded the members of the first and second estates to join the third in the National Assembly. Even the limited reforms the king had announced went too far for Marie Antoinette and Louis' younger brother the Comte d'Artois . On their advice, Louis dismissed Necker again as chief minister on 11 July. On 12 July,
9504-503: The conflict escalated, the Crown revoked the Edict under pressure from the Guise faction. The major engagements of the war occurred at Rouen , Dreux , and Orléans . At the Siege of Rouen (May–October 1562), the crown regained the city, but Antoine of Navarre died of his wounds. In the Battle of Dreux (December 1562), Condé was captured by the crown, and the constable Montmorency
9636-474: The conversion to Calvinism of large sections of the nobility. Historians estimate that by the outbreak of war in 1562, there were around two million French Calvinists, including more than half of the nobility, backed by 1,200–1,250 churches. This constituted a substantial threat to the monarchy. The death of Henry II in July 1559 created a political vacuum and an internal struggle for power between rival factions, which
9768-560: The door of his bedchamber. Having been severely criticised for his initial tolerance, he was now encouraged to punish those responsible. On 21 February 1535, a number of those implicated in the Affair were executed in front of Notre-Dame de Paris , an event attended by Francis and members of the Ottoman embassy to France . The fight against heresy intensified in the 1540s, forcing Protestants to worship in secret. In October 1545, Francis ordered
9900-497: The economy grew solidly, the increase was not reflected in a proportional growth in taxes, their collection being contracted to tax farmers who kept much of it as personal profit. As the nobility and Church benefited from many exemptions, the tax burden fell mainly on peasants. Reform was difficult because new tax laws had to be registered with regional judicial bodies or parlements that were able to block them. The king could impose laws by decree, but this risked open conflict with
10032-464: The first time to a wide audience. Cheap pamphlets and broadsides allowed theological and religious ideas to be disseminated at an unprecedented pace. In 1519, John Froben published a collection of works by Martin Luther and noted in his correspondence that 600 copies were being shipped to France and Spain and sold in Paris . In 1521, a group of reformers including Jacques Lefèvre and Guillaume Briçonnet , recently appointed bishop of Meaux , formed
10164-586: The following divisions, periodisations and locations: Both Kohn (2013) and Clodfelter (2017) followed the same counting and periodisation and noted that " War of the Three Henrys " was another name for the Eighth War of Religion, with Kohn adding "Lovers' War" as another name for the Seventh War. In her Michel de Montaigne biography (2014), Elizabeth Guild concurred with this chronology as well, except for dating
10296-537: The government attempted to quell escalating disorder in the provinces by passing the Edict of Saint-Germain , which allowed Protestants to worship in public outside towns and in private inside them. On 1 March, Guise family retainers attacked a Calvinist service in Champagne , leading to what became known as the massacre of Vassy . This seemed to confirm Huguenot fears that the Guisards had no intention of compromising and
10428-504: The growth of true faith. The Italian revival of classical learning appealed to Francis I (1494-1547), who set up royal professorships in Paris to better understand ancient literature. However, this did not extend to religion, especially after the 1516 Concordat of Bologna when Pope Leo X increased royal control of the Gallican church , allowing Francis to nominate French clergy and levy taxes on church property. Unlike Germany,
10560-460: The king promised to provide. Catherine, Guise, Anjou, and Alba were all variously suspected, though the Huguenot nobility directed their anger primarily at Guise, threatening to kill him in front of the king. French Revolution The French Revolution ( French : Révolution française [ʁevɔlysjɔ̃ fʁɑ̃sɛːz] ) was a period of political and societal change in France that began with
10692-407: The king would summon an Estates-General to convene the following May. Brienne resigned and was replaced by Necker . In September 1788, the Parlement of Paris ruled that the Estates-General should convene in the same form as in 1614, meaning that the three estates (the clergy, nobility, and Third Estate or "commons") would meet and vote separately, with votes counted by estate rather than by head. As
10824-537: The king's sister. Albret was hesitant, worried it might lead to the abjuration of her son, and it took until March 1572 for the contract to be signed. Coligny , who had a price on his head during the third civil war, was restored to favour through the peace, and received lavishly at court in August 1571. He firmly believed that France should invade the Spanish Netherlands to unify the Catholics and Huguenots behind
10956-489: The king. Charles, however, was unwilling to provide more than covert support to this project, not wanting open war with Spain. The council was unanimous in rejecting Coligny's policy and he left court, not finding it welcoming. In August, the wedding was finally held, and all the most powerful Huguenot aristocracy had entered Paris for the occasion. A few days after the wedding, Coligny was shot on his way home from council. The outraged Huguenot nobility demanded justice which
11088-464: The kingdom between 1564 and 1566, designed to reinstate crown authority. During this time, Jeanne d'Albret met and held talks with Catherine at Mâcon and Nérac. Reports of iconoclasm in Flanders led Charles IX to lend support to the Catholics there; French Huguenots feared a Catholic re-mobilisation against them. Philip II of Spain 's reinforcement of the strategic corridor from Italy north along
11220-564: The land and collected seigneurial dues and rents from their tenants. Most delegates were town-dwelling members of the noblesse d'épée , or traditional aristocracy. Courtiers and representatives of the noblesse de robe (those who derived rank from judicial or administrative posts) were underrepresented. Of the 610 deputies of the Third Estate, about two-thirds held legal qualifications and almost half were venal office holders. Less than 100 were in trade or industry and none were peasants or artisans. To assist delegates, each region completed
11352-467: The latter policy would last until 1685, when Henry's grandson Louis XIV revoked the Edict of Nantes . Along with "French Wars of Religion" and "Huguenot Wars", the wars have also been variously described as the "Eight Wars of Religion", or simply the "Wars of Religion" (only within France). The exact number of wars and their respective dates are subject to continued debate by historians: some assert that
11484-403: The law, opening public office to all, freedom of worship, and cancellation of special privileges held by provinces and towns. With the suspension of the 13 regional parlements in November, the key institutional pillars of the old regime had all been abolished in less than four months. From its early stages, the Revolution therefore displayed signs of its radical nature; what remained unclear
11616-508: The lives of 83 attackers. Taken to the Hôtel de Ville , he was executed, his head placed on a pike and paraded around the city; the fortress was then torn down in a remarkably short time. Although rumoured to hold many prisoners, the Bastille held only seven: four forgers, a lunatic, a failed assassin, and a deviant nobleman. Nevertheless, as a potent symbol of the Ancien Régime , its destruction
11748-468: The means of libels and theoretical tracts, they revived the doctrine of the tyrannicide . It had been opposed during the Middle Ages by the "legists" (jurists who theorized the royal power) who attempted to reserve the title of tyrant to those who tried to overturn the ruling monarch. Legists thus ended up legitimizing, under the name of "tyrannicide", the assassinations of political opponents ordered by
11880-468: The members of the Estates-General were not informed in advance. On 20 June, when the members of the Third Estate found their meeting place closed, they moved to a nearby tennis court and swore not to disperse until a new constitution had been agreed. At the Royal Session the king announced a series of tax and other reforms and stated that no new taxes or loans would be implemented without the consent of
12012-475: The monarch. The Dutch Constitutional Law professor A.M. Donner on page 16 of his state law manual calls Johannus Althusius "the last of the monarchomachs". Typically Johannes Althusius in his Politica opposes Jean Bodin . Monarchomachs considered that the end of the state was prosperity of the whole social group, as the true sovereign, granting effective practice of power to the king, whose authority remained of divine right . Exercise of popular sovereignty
12144-442: The monarchy with a republic, Louis retained his position but was generally regarded with acute suspicion and forced to swear allegiance to the constitution. A new decree stated retracting this oath, making war upon the nation, or permitting anyone to do so in his name would be considered abdication. However, radicals led by Jacques Pierre Brissot prepared a petition demanding his deposition, and on 17 July, an immense crowd gathered in
12276-480: The nine year old Charles IX . With the state financially exhausted by the Italian Wars, Catherine had to preserve the independence of the monarchy from a range of competing factions led by powerful nobles, each of whom controlled what were essentially private armies. To offset the Guise or "Guisard", she agreed a deal in which Antoine of Navarre renounced any claim to the regency in return for Condé's release and
12408-422: The other estates. On the following day, each estate was to separately verify the credentials of their representatives. The Third Estate, however, voted to invite the other estates to join them in verifying all the representatives of the Estates-General in common and to agree that votes should be counted by head. Fruitless negotiations lasted to 12 June when the Third Estate began verifying its own members. On 17 June,
12540-436: The position of Lieutenant-General of France. Catherine had several options for dealing with "heresy", including continuing Henry's II's failed policy of eradication, an approach backed by Catholic ultras such as François de Tournon , or converting the monarchy to Calvinism, as preferred by de Bèze. A middle path between these two extremes was allowing both religions to be openly practised in France at least temporarily, or
12672-401: The power of the Guise by abducting the young king. Their plans were discovered before being carried out and hundreds of suspected plotters executed, including du Barry. The Guise suspected Condé of involvement in the plot, and he was arrested and sentenced to death before being freed in the political chaos that followed the sudden death of Francis II, adding to the tensions of the period. In
12804-530: The prior year. Since this was clearly unacceptable to Condé and his followers, Catherine bypassed the Estates and enacted conciliatory measures such as the Edict of 19 April 1561 and the Edict of July . This recognised Catholicism as the state religion but confirmed previous measures reducing penalties for "heresy". The Estates then approved the Colloquy of Poissy , which began its session on 8 September 1561, with
12936-532: The property of 'heretics' seizable by the crown. From his base in Geneva, Calvin provided leadership and organisational structures for the Reformed Church of France . Calvinism proved attractive to people from across the social hierarchy and occupational divides and was highly regionalised, with no coherent pattern of geographical spread. Despite persecution, their numbers and power increased markedly, driven by
13068-457: The protestors broke into the royal apartments, searching for Marie Antoinette, who escaped. They ransacked the palace, killing several guards. Order was eventually restored, and the royal family and Assembly left for Paris, escorted by the National Guard. Louis had announced his acceptance of the August Decrees and the Declaration, and his official title changed from 'King of France' to 'King of
13200-635: The punishment of Waldensians based in the south-eastern village of Mérindol . A long-standing Proto-Protestantism tradition dating back to the 13th century, the Waldensians had recently affiliated with the Reformed church and became increasingly militant in their activities. In what became known as the Massacre of Mérindol , Provençal troops killed numerous residents and destroyed another 22 to 28 nearby villages, while hundreds of men were forced to become Galley slaves . Francis I died on 31 March 1547 and
13332-557: The religious debate until the Affair of the Placards in October 1534, when Protestant radicals put up posters in Paris and other provincial towns that rejected the Catholic doctrine of the " Real presence of Christ in the Eucharist ". This allowed Protestantism to be clearly defined as heresy, while Francis was furious at the breach of security which had allowed one of the posters to be placed on
13464-430: The rentier and mercantile classes, while the living standards fell for wage labourers and peasant farmers who rented their land. Economic recession from 1785, combined with bad harvests in 1787 and 1788, led to high unemployment and food prices, causing a financial and political crisis. While the state also experienced a debt crisis, the level of debt itself was not high compared with Britain's. A significant problem
13596-598: The representation of the Third Estate, but left the question of counting votes for the Estates-General to decide. The Estates-General contained three separate bodies, the First Estate representing 100,000 clergy, the Second the nobility, and the Third the "commons". Since each met separately, and any proposals had to be approved by at least two, the First and Second Estates could outvote
13728-515: The royal bodyguard, and were welcomed with a formal banquet as was common practice. The radical press described this as a 'gluttonous orgy', and claimed the tricolour cockade had been abused, while the Assembly viewed their arrival as an attempt to intimidate them. On 5 October, crowds of women assembled outside the Hôtel de Ville , agitating against high food prices and shortages. These protests quickly turned political, and after seizing weapons stored at
13860-496: The ruling elite , and indecisive policy by Louis XVI and his ministers, the result was a crisis the state was unable to manage. Between 1715 and 1789, the French population grew from 21 to 28 million, 20% of whom lived in towns or cities, Paris alone having over 600,000 inhabitants. This was accompanied by a tripling in the size of the middle class, which comprised almost 10% of the population by 1789. Despite increases in overall prosperity, its benefits were largely restricted to
13992-469: The second war and its main military engagement, the Battle of Saint-Denis , where the crown's commander-in-chief and lieutenant general, the 74-year-old Anne de Montmorency, died. The war was brief, ending in another truce, the Peace of Longjumeau (March 1568), which was a reiteration of the Peace of Amboise of 1563 and once again granted significant religious freedoms and privileges to Protestants. News of
14124-465: The source of legitimate authority was more apparent in the provinces, where officers of the Ancien Régime had been swept away, but not yet replaced by new structures. This was less obvious in Paris, since the National Guard made it the best policed city in Europe, but disorder in the provinces inevitably affected members of the Assembly. Centrists led by Sieyès, Lafayette, Mirabeau and Bailly created
14256-514: The sovereign persecuted true religion, he would violate the contract concluded between God and the people, who were thus granted a right of rebellion . They were inspired by Aristotle , Thomas Aquinas , and the School of Salamanca on the killing of "bad kings". This legitimization of tyrannicide may have inspired as much the friar Clément , who assassinated Henry III in 1589, as Ravaillac , who assassinated Henry IV in 1610. Rebellion against tyranny
14388-552: The state assumed responsibilities such as paying the clergy and caring for the poor, the sick and the orphaned. On 13 February 1790, religious orders and monasteries were dissolved, while monks and nuns were encouraged to return to private life. The Civil Constitution of the Clergy of 12 July 1790 made them employees of the state, as well as establishing rates of pay and a system for electing priests and bishops. Pope Pius VI and many French Catholics objected to this since it denied
14520-536: The tenets behind Lutheranism first appeared in Luther's lectures, which in turn contained many of the ideas expressed in the works of Lefèvre. Other members of the Circle included Marguerite de Navarre , sister of Francis I and mother of Jeanne d'Albret , as well as Guillaume Farel , who was exiled to Geneva in 1530 due to his reformist views and persuaded John Calvin to join him there. Both men were banished from Geneva in 1538 for opposing what they viewed as government interference with religious affairs; although
14652-556: The truce reached Toulouse in April, but such was the antagonism between the two sides that 6,000 Catholics continued their siege of Puylaurens , a notorious Protestant stronghold in the Lauragais , for another week. In reaction to the Peace, Catholic confraternities and leagues sprang up across the country in defiance of the law throughout the summer of 1568. Huguenot leaders such as Condé and Coligny fled court in fear for their lives, many of their followers were murdered, and in September,
14784-546: The turn to violence as a response of the peasant class. The murder of the baron of Château de Fumel [ fr ] by a Protestant mob in 1561 is often cited as an example. Recent analyses, on the other hand, have turned the focus on religious explanations. Denis Crouzet fingers the fiery eschatological preaching of the Franciscan Thomas Illyricus , who toured the region in the 1510s and 1520s. Stuart Carroll, however, argues for politicization: "the violence
14916-619: The two fell out over the nature of the Eucharist , Calvin's return to Geneva in 1541 allowed him to forge the doctrine of Calvinism . A key driver behind the Reform movement was corruption among the clergy which Luther and others attacked and sought to change. Such criticisms were not new but the printing press allowed them to be widely shared, such as the Heptameron by Marguerite, a collection of stories about clerical immorality. Another complaint
15048-463: Was " Vive le roi, s'il est de bon foi! ", or "Long live the king – if he keeps his word". Although a minority in the Assembly, control of key committees allowed the Brissotins to provoke Louis into using his veto. They first managed to pass decrees confiscating émigré property and threatening them with the death penalty. This was followed by measures against non-juring priests, whose opposition to
15180-457: Was captured by those opposing the crown. In February 1563, at the Siege of Orléans, Francis, Duke of Guise , was shot and killed by the Huguenot Jean de Poltrot de Méré . As he was killed outside of direct combat, the Guise considered this an assassination on the orders of the duke's enemy, Admiral Coligny . The popular unrest caused by the assassination, coupled with the resistance by
15312-454: Was considered not only as necessary, but as a divine right. The term Monarchomachs was coined by William Barclay in his book De Regno et Regali Potestate (”About the Powers of Authority and Royalty”), published in 1600. Barclay's theory was that the Huguenots had lost their struggle with the Catholic Church and were turning their battle towards the government to undermine the king's support of
15444-481: Was criticised by Jacobin radicals for the severity of his actions. Growing disorder meant many professional officers either left or became émigrés, further destabilising the institution. Held in the Tuileries Palace under virtual house arrest, Louis XVI was urged by his brother and wife to re-assert his independence by taking refuge with Bouillé, who was based at Montmédy with 10,000 soldiers considered loyal to
15576-521: Was directly caused by politicized factions and was not the result of a spontaneous intercommunal eruption." Although the Huguenots had begun mobilising for war before the Vassy massacre , many claimed that the massacre confirmed claims that they could not rely on the Edict of Saint Germain . In response, a group of nobles led by Condé proclaimed their intention of "liberating" the king from "evil" councillors and seized Orléans on 2 April 1562. This example
15708-673: Was executed in January 1793. After another revolt in June 1793 , the constitution was suspended, and adequate political power passed from the National Convention to the Committee of Public Safety , led by the Jacobins . About 16,000 people were executed in what was later referred to as Reign of Terror , which ended in July 1794 . Weakened by external threats and internal opposition, the Republic
15840-467: Was greeted by Bailly and accepted a tricolore cockade to loud cheers. However, it was clear power had shifted from his court; he was welcomed as 'Louis XVI, father of the French and king of a free people.' The short-lived unity enforced on the Assembly by a common threat quickly dissipated. Deputies argued over constitutional forms, while civil authority rapidly deteriorated. On 22 July, former Finance Minister Joseph Foullon and his son were lynched by
15972-624: Was likely influenced in the matter by Sir Francis Walsingham . The Catholics were commanded by the Duke d'Anjou – later King Henry III – and assisted by troops from Spain, the Papal States , and the Grand Duchy of Tuscany . The Protestant army laid siege to several cities in the Poitou and Saintonge regions (to protect La Rochelle ), and then Angoulême and Cognac . At
16104-474: Was proclaimed King Henry IV of France and issued the Edict of Nantes , which granted substantial rights and freedoms to the Huguenots. However, Catholics continued to disapprove of Protestants and of Henry, and his assassination in 1610 triggered a fresh round of Huguenot rebellions in the 1620s. Tensions between the two religions had been building since the 1530s, exacerbating existing regional divisions. The death of Henry II of France in July 1559 initiated
16236-705: Was quickly followed by Protestant groups around France, who seized and garrisoned Angers , Blois and Tours along the Loire and assaulted Valence in the Rhône River . After capturing Lyon on 30 April, the attackers first sacked, then demolished all Catholic institutions in the city. Hoping to turn Toulouse over to Condé, local Huguenots seized the Hôtel de ville but met resistance from angry Catholic mobs which resulted in street battles and over 3,000 deaths, mostly Huguenots. On 12 April 1562, there were massacres of Huguenots at Sens, as well as at Tours in July. As
16368-599: Was replaced in 1795 by the Directory , and four years later, in 1799, the Consulate seized power in a military coup led by Napoleon Bonaparte on 9 November. This event is generally seen as marking the end of the Revolutionary period. The Revolution resulted from multiple long-term and short-term factors, culminating in a social, economic, financial and political crisis in the late 1780s. Combined with resistance to reform by
16500-400: Was succeeded by his son Henry II , who continued the religious repression pursued by his father in the last years of his reign. His policies were even more severe since he sincerely believed all Protestants were heretics; on 27 June 1551, the Edict of Châteaubriant sharply curtailed their right to worship. Prohibitions were placed upon the distribution of 'heretical' literature, with
16632-400: Was that tax rates varied widely from one region to another, were often different from the official amounts, and collected inconsistently. Its complexity meant uncertainty over the amount contributed by any authorised tax caused resentment among all taxpayers. Attempts to simplify the system were blocked by the regional Parlements which approved financial policy. The resulting impasse led to
16764-565: Was the constitutional mechanism for turning intentions into practical applications. On 9 July, the National Assembly appointed a committee to draft a constitution and statement of rights. Twenty drafts were submitted, which were used by a sub-committee to create a Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen , with Mirabeau being the most prominent member. The Declaration was approved by
16896-449: Was the largest individual landowner in France, controlling nearly 10% of all estates and levied tithes , effectively a 10% tax on income, collected from peasant farmers in the form of crops. In return, it provided a minimal level of social support. The August decrees abolished tithes, and on 2 November the Assembly confiscated all church property, the value of which was used to back a new paper currency known as assignats . In return,
17028-457: Was the reduction of Salvation to a business scheme based on the sale of Indulgences , which added to general unrest and increased the popularity of works such as Farel's translation of the Lord's Prayer, The True and Perfect Prayer . This focused on Sola fide , or the idea salvation was a free gift from God, emphasised the importance of understanding in prayer and criticised the clergy for hampering
17160-411: Was to be delegated to the magistrates and the officers of the crown. They considered that the people were a collective body, possessed of a specific wisdom, which allowed them to understand better than the king the common good, distinct from the interest of each of its parties. Assimilated to the medieval universitas , the people was thus considered as a legal subject, whose interests were represented by
17292-649: Was viewed as a triumph and Bastille Day is still celebrated every year. In French culture, some see its fall as the start of the Revolution. Alarmed by the prospect of losing control of the capital, Louis appointed the Marquis de Lafayette commander of the National Guard , with Jean-Sylvain Bailly as head of a new administrative structure known as the Commune . On 17 July, Louis visited Paris accompanied by 100 deputies, where he
17424-539: Was widespread within the French commercial class, the rapid growth of Calvinism was driven by the nobility. It is believed to have started when Condé passed through Geneva while returning home from a military campaign and heard a Calvinist sermon. Jeanne d'Albret, Queen of Navarre, converted to Calvinism in 1560, possibly due to the influence of Theodore de Beze . Along with Condé and her husband Antoine of Navarre , she and their son Henry of Navarre became Huguenot leaders. The crown continued efforts to remain neutral in
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