Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne, vicomte de Turenne (11 September 1611 – 27 July 1675), commonly known as Turenne [ty.ʁɛn] , was a French general and one of only six Marshals to have been promoted Marshal General of France . The most illustrious member of the La Tour d'Auvergne family, his military exploits over his five-decade career earned him a reputation as one of the greatest military commanders in history.
156-496: Born to a Huguenot family, the son of a Marshal of France , he was introduced to the art of war at a young age. He first served as a volunteer in the Dutch States Army under the orders of his maternal uncles Maurice of Nassau and Frederick Henry before pursuing his career in the service of France, where his noble origins and proven qualities soon saw him rise to the top of the military hierarchy. He rose to prominence during
312-656: A religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed ( Calvinist ) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Besançon Hugues (1491–1532), was in common use by the mid-16th century. Huguenot was frequently used in reference to those of the Reformed Church of France from the time of the Protestant Reformation . By contrast,
468-609: A 12-year period of truces. The Spanish, led by Ambrogio Spinola , had notable successes, including the Siege of Breda , the old Nassau family residence, in 1625. Maurice died on 23 April 1625, with the siege still underway. Justin of Nassau surrendered Breda in June 1625 after a costly eleven-month siege. Maurice participated in these battles as principal commander of Dutch forces: Maurice, besides being stadtholder of several provinces and Captain-General, both non-hereditary and appointive titles,
624-527: A Dutch and a German word. In the Dutch-speaking North of France , Bible students who gathered in each other's houses to study secretly were called Huis Genooten ("housemates") while on the Swiss and German borders they were termed Eid Genossen , or "oath fellows", that is, persons bound to each other by an oath . Gallicised into Huguenot , often used deprecatingly, the word became, during two and
780-463: A Dutch victory, but this outcome was highly risky, and Maurice took care to extricate his army and avoid a second such battle. Maurice founded a whole new school of military professional practice. These pointed the way to the professional armies of the future by reapplying Roman tactics and innovating in the fields of logistics, training, and economics (e.g. paying troops regularly and on time). Many graduates of service under Maurice, such as his nephew,
936-482: A Spanish force, the one not commanded by Condé, of 16,000 infantry and 11,000 cavalry arrived in the area. Turenne decided to shadow this force to prevent it from taking Paris with Condé, and limit their freedom of action until winter. The Spanish intended only to take a few forts so Turenne was successful. At one point Condé was in a position to defeat Turenne but the Spanish commander did not allow Condé to attack. Eventually
1092-435: A brilliant dash in small combats and constancy under all circumstances—of success or failure—perhaps emerge as the salient points of Turenne's genius for war. Great battles he avoided. "Few sieges and many combats" he used as his maxim. And, unlike his great rival Condé, who appeared as brilliant in his first battle as in his last, Turenne improved day by day. Napoleon said of him that, his genius grew bolder as it grew older, and
1248-406: A captaincy in 1626. Turenne personally drilled his troops, as was the custom at the time, and won their respect with his charity and simple lifestyle. His company was alleged to be the best drilled and most disciplined one in the army, he required of his soldiers not only discipline but also high moral standards. His kindness made him well-liked among the entire army. The young officer took his part in
1404-405: A coherent, successful revolt. He reorganized the Dutch States Army together with Willem Lodewijk , studied military history , strategy and tactics , mathematics and astronomy , and proved himself to be among the best strategists of his age. The Eighty Years' War was a challenge to his style, so he could prove himself a good leader by taking several Spanish outposts. Paying special attention to
1560-517: A combined reference to the Swiss politician Besançon Hugues (died 1532) and the religiously conflicted nature of Swiss republicanism in his time. It used a derogatory pun on the name Hugues by way of the Dutch word Huisgenoten (literally 'housemates'), referring to the connotations of a somewhat related word in German Eidgenosse ('Confederate' in the sense of 'a citizen of one of
1716-433: A completely Catholic origin. As one legend holds, a gateway area in the streets of Tours was haunted by the ghosts of le roi Huguet (a generic term for these spirits), "because they were wont to assemble near the gate named after Hugon, a Count of Tours in ancient times, who had left a record of evil deeds and had become in popular fancy a sort of sinister and maleficent genius. This count may have been Hugh of Tours , who
SECTION 10
#17330863279491872-484: A comrade no less than they admired him as a commander. Thus, though Condé's genius appeared far more versatile, Turenne's genius best represents the art of war in the 17th century. For the small, costly, and highly trained regular armies, and the dynastic warfare of the age of Louis XIV, Turenne functioned as the ideal army leader. During the French Revolution his reputation as a man of the people made his tomb one of
2028-641: A daughter of the Protestant Marshal de la Force , to whom he remained deeply attached. But he sincerely deplored the division of Christianity into two hostile camps. He had always distrusted the influence of many dissident and uncontrolled sects; the history of independence in the English army and people made a deep impression on his mind, and the same fear of indiscipline which drove the English Presbyterians into royalism drew Turenne more and more towards
2184-509: A decidedly Calvinistic influence . Although usually Huguenots are lumped into one group, there were actually two types of Huguenots that emerged. Since the Huguenots had political and religious goals, it was commonplace to refer to the Calvinists as "Huguenots of religion" and those who opposed the monarchy as "Huguenots of the state", who were mostly nobles. Like other religious reformers of
2340-524: A definitive political movement thereafter. Protestant preachers rallied a considerable army and a formidable cavalry, which came under the leadership of Admiral Gaspard de Coligny. Henry of Navarre and the House of Bourbon allied themselves to the Huguenots, adding wealth and territorial holdings to the Protestant strength, which at its height grew to sixty fortified cities, and posed a serious and continuous threat to
2496-677: A great measure overcame his natural weakness. Turenne and his mother were devout Calvinists and were suspicious of Cardinal Richelieu , so when Turenne began his military career at the age of fourteen, he did so in the camp of his uncle, Maurice of Nassau , the Stadtholder of Holland and Prince of Orange . He started as a private in Maurice's bodyguard during the Eighty Years' War . Frederick Henry of Nassau , who succeeded his brother Maurice as Stadtholder and Prince of Orange in 1625, granted Turenne
2652-560: A half centuries of terror and triumph, a badge of enduring honour and courage. Some disagree with such non-French linguistic origins. Janet Gray argues that for the word to have spread into common use in France, it must have originated there in French. The "Hugues hypothesis" argues that the name was derived by association with Hugues Capet , king of France, who reigned long before the Reformation. He
2808-514: A large force Lorraine retreated. Turenne continued on by taking the important fortress of Kreuznach and blocking the route between the two armies. Turenne began the 1645 campaign with a successful forward movement, but Mercy managed to deceive him into thinking the Bavarians were scattered and far away and he was taken by surprise and defeated at Mergentheim . While Turenne had quickly ordered his forces to unite one of his subordinates, general Rosen ,
2964-455: A later author, the Duke of Aumale ( Histoire des princes de la maison de Condé ), took the same view when he wrote: "To know him, you must follow him up to Salzbach. In his case, every day signalled some progress”. In his character Turenne showed little more than the nature of a simple and honourable soldier, endowed with much tact; but in the world of politics he seemed disinterested and out of place,
3120-717: A leader of the Swiss Reformation , establishing a Protestant republican government in Geneva. Jean Cauvin ( John Calvin ), another student at the University of Paris, also converted to Protestantism. Long after the sect was suppressed by Francis I, the remaining French Waldensians , then mostly in the Luberon region, sought to join Farel, Calvin and the Reformation, and Olivétan published a French Bible for them. The French Confession of 1559 shows
3276-463: A reputation as one of the foremost of the younger generals of France, and Richelieu next employed him in the Italian campaign of 1639–1640 under Henri de Lorraine, count of Harcourt . On 19 November 1639 Turenne fought in the famous rearguard action called the battle of the " Route de Quiers ", for which he received a lot of credit though he only gave himself a small role in his own description of events. At
SECTION 20
#17330863279493432-668: A supporter of absolute monarchy , he only converted to Catholicism in 1668, refusing to do so earlier despite political incentives. During the War of Devolution in 1667 Turenne captured the Spanish Netherlands practically without resistance. In 1672 the French invaded the Dutch Republic and the Marshal General conquered the country up to Amsterdam . Checked by the Dutch flooding of
3588-522: A widow, in the summer of 1561. In 1561, the Edict of Orléans declared an end to the persecution, and the Edict of Saint-Germain of January 1562 formally recognised the Huguenots for the first time. However, these measures disguised the growing tensions between Protestants and Catholics. These tensions spurred eight civil wars, interrupted by periods of relative calm, between 1562 and 1598. With each break in peace,
3744-520: Is depicted in several alternative history novels written by Eric Flint and David Weber . These include 1633 and 1634: The Baltic War . Turenne also appears in a historical novel by G.A. Henty called Won by the Sword . Attribution: Huguenot Christianity • Protestantism The Huguenots ( / ˈ h juː ɡ ə n ɒ t s / HEW -gə-nots , UK also /- n oʊ z / -nohz ; French: [yɡ(ə)no] ) are
3900-556: The Église des Protestants réformés (French Protestant church). Huguenot descendants sometimes display this symbol as a sign of reconnaissance (recognition) between them. The issue of demographic strength and geographical spread of the Reformed tradition in France has been covered in a variety of sources. Most of them agree that the Huguenot population reached as many as 10% of the total population, or roughly 2 million people, on
4056-607: The Battle of the Dunes near Dunkirk in 1658, in which a corps of English veterans sent by Cromwell played a notable part (3–14 June); a victory which, followed by another successful campaign in 1658, led to the Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659. On the death of Mazarin in 1661, Louis XIV took the reins of government into his own hands, and as one of his first acts appointed Turenne "marshal-general of
4212-631: The Cévennes , most Reformed members of the United Protestant Church of France , French members of the largely German Protestant Reformed Church of Alsace and Lorraine , and the Huguenot diaspora in England and Australia , all still retain their beliefs and Huguenot designation. The availability of the Bible in vernacular languages was important to the spread of the Protestant movement and development of
4368-626: The Edict of Fontainebleau , revoking the Edict of Nantes and declaring Protestantism illegal. The revocation forbade Protestant services, required education of children as Catholics, and prohibited emigration. It proved disastrous to the Huguenots and costly for France. It precipitated civil bloodshed, ruined commerce, and resulted in the illegal flight from the country of hundreds of thousands of Protestants, many of whom were intellectuals, doctors and business leaders whose skills were transferred to Britain as well as Holland, Switzerland, Prussia, South Africa and other places they fled to. 4,000 emigrated to
4524-519: The Edict of Nantes . The Edict reaffirmed Roman Catholicism as the state religion of France, but granted the Protestants equality with Catholics under the throne and a degree of religious and political freedom within their domains. The Edict simultaneously protected Catholic interests by discouraging the founding of new Protestant churches in Catholic-controlled regions. With the proclamation of
4680-555: The Edict of Versailles , commonly called the Edict of Tolerance , signed by Louis XVI in 1787. Two years later, with the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen of 1789 , Protestants gained equal rights as citizens. Maurice of Nassau Maurice of Orange ( Dutch : Maurits van Oranje ; 14 November 1567 – 23 April 1625) was stadtholder of all the provinces of the Dutch Republic except for Friesland from 1585 at
4836-456: The French Wars of Religion , fought intermittently from 1562 to 1598. The Huguenots were led by Jeanne d'Albret ; her son, the future Henry IV (who would later convert to Catholicism in order to become king); and the princes of Condé . The wars ended with the Edict of Nantes of 1598, which granted the Huguenots substantial religious, political and military autonomy. Huguenot rebellions in
Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne, Viscount of Turenne - Misplaced Pages Continue
4992-641: The Fronde but returned to royal service in 1651, emerging as France's foremost general by defeating the rebellious army of the Prince of Condé on the outskirts of Paris and re-occupying the city. His triumphs against Spanish armies at Arras (1654) and at Dunkirk (1658) led to the overrunning of much of the Spanish Netherlands and brought the war against Spain to a victorious conclusion. Two years later, Louis XIV appointed him Marshal General of France. Although
5148-789: The Marshal Turenne , or his disciples such as Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden , applied the Mauritian reforms to great effect in the remainder of the 17th century. Maurice started out as the protégé of Landsadvocaat ( Land's Advocate , i.e. secretary to the nobility of Holland and legal counsel to the States of Holland, but functioning as de facto chief minister of Holland and the States-General) Johan van Oldenbarnevelt , but gradually tensions rose between these two men. Against Maurice's advice, and despite his protests, Van Oldenbarnevelt decided to sign
5304-651: The Roman Catholic Church . The letters between him and his wife show how closely both studied available evidence on the matter, and in the end, two years after her death, the eloquence of Bossuet and the persuasions of his nephew, the Cardinal de Bouillon , persuaded him to become Catholic in October 1668. In 1667 he had returned to the more congenial air of the "Camps and Armies of the King", directing (nominally under Louis XIV)
5460-663: The Thirteen Colonies , where they settled, especially in New York, the Delaware River Valley in Eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Virginia. The English authorities welcomed the French refugees, providing money from both government and private agencies to aid their relocation. Those Huguenots who stayed in France were subsequently forcibly converted to Roman Catholicism and were called "new converts". After this,
5616-665: The Thirty Years' War by capturing the fortress of Breisach in 1638. Promoted Marshal of France in 1643, he struck against Bavaria the following year, defeating the Bavarian army in three years of campaigning and forcing the Elector of Bavaria to make peace. The Elector soon broke the treaty and in 1648 Turenne invaded again with Swedish support, subduing the Imperial army at Zusmarshausen and pacifying Bavaria. Turenne initially supported
5772-821: The Twelve Years' Truce with Spain, which lasted from 1609 to 1621. The required funds to maintain the army and navy and the general course of the war were other topics of constant struggle. With the religious troubles between Gomarists (strict Calvinists ) and the Remonstrants ( Arminians ), the struggle between Van Oldenbarnevelt and Maurice reached a climax. Van Oldenbarnevelt was arrested, tried and decapitated despite numerous requests for mercy. Important municipal regents such as Jacob Dircksz de Graeff and Cornelis Hooft from Amsterdam were temporarily removed from office by Moritz' powerful supporter Reynier Pauw . From 1618 till his death Maurice now enjoyed uncontested power over
5928-634: The United Kingdom , the United States , South Africa , Australia , and a number of other countries still retain their identity. The bulk of Huguenot émigrés moved to Protestant states such as the Dutch Republic , England and Wales (prominently in Kent and London), Protestant-controlled Ireland , the Channel Islands , Scotland , Denmark , Sweden , Switzerland , the electorates of Brandenburg and
6084-514: The duchess de Longueville held Stenay for the cause of the "Princes"—Condé, his brother Conti , and his brother-in-law the Duc de Longueville. Love for the duchess seems to have ruled Turenne's action, both in the first war and, now, in seeking Spanish aid for the Princes. In this war Turenne sustained one of his few reverses at Rethel (15 December 1650), but the second conflict ended in the early months of
6240-569: The 1534 Affair of the Placards , however, he distanced himself from Huguenots and their protection. Huguenot numbers grew rapidly between 1555 and 1561, chiefly amongst nobles and city dwellers. During this time, their opponents first dubbed the Protestants Huguenots ; but they called themselves reformés , or "Reformed". They organised their first national synod in 1558 in Paris. By 1562,
6396-511: The 1620s resulted in the abolition of their political and military privileges. They retained the religious provisions of the Edict of Nantes until the rule of Louis XIV, who gradually increased persecution of Protestantism until he issued the Edict of Fontainebleau (1685). This ended legal recognition of Protestantism in France and the Huguenots were forced to either convert to Catholicism (possibly as Nicodemites ) or flee as refugees; they were subject to violent dragonnades. Louis XIV claimed that
Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne, Viscount of Turenne - Misplaced Pages Continue
6552-568: The 1760s Protestantism was no longer a favourite religion of the elite. By then, most Protestants were Cévennes peasants. It was still illegal, and, although the law was seldom enforced, it could be a threat or a nuisance to Protestants. Calvinists lived primarily in the Midi ; about 200,000 Lutherans accompanied by some Calvinists lived in the newly acquired Alsace , where the 1648 Treaty of Westphalia effectively protected them. Persecution of Protestants diminished in France after 1724, finally ending with
6708-611: The Atlantic coast in La Rochelle , and also spread across provinces of Normandy and Poitou . In the south, towns like Castres , Montauban , Montpellier and Nîmes were Huguenot strongholds. In addition, a dense network of Protestant villages permeated the rural mountainous region of the Cevennes . Inhabited by Camisards , it continues to be the backbone of French Protestantism . Historians estimate that roughly 80% of all Huguenots lived in
6864-632: The Bible into one of France's regional languages, Arpitan or Franco-Provençal , had been prepared by the 12th-century pre-Protestant reformer Peter Waldo (Pierre de Vaux). The Waldensians created fortified areas, as in Cabrières , perhaps attacking an abbey. They were suppressed by Francis I in 1545 in the Massacre of Mérindol . Other predecessors of the Reformed church included the pro-reform and Gallican Roman Catholics, such as Jacques Lefevre (c. 1455–1536). The Gallicans briefly achieved independence for
7020-595: The Bohemians to confront Habsburg rule , providing them 50,000 guilders as well as sending Dutch troops to fight in the doomed Battle of the White Mountain . This ill-considered decision proved disastrous to the Bohemians, who were thereby plunged into prolonged oppression, and to Frederick who lost his ancestral lands. It also worsened the Dutch Republic's own strategic position. In 1621 the war with Spain resumed after
7176-593: The Catholic crown and Paris over the next three decades. [no source] The Catholic Church in France and many of its members opposed the Huguenots. Some Huguenot preachers and congregants were attacked as they attempted to meet for worship. The height of this persecution was the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre in August, 1572, when 5,000 to 30,000 were killed, although there were also underlying political reasons for this as well, as some of
7332-412: The Edict of Nantes, and the subsequent protection of Huguenot rights, pressures to leave France abated. However, enforcement of the Edict grew increasingly irregular over time, making life so intolerable that many fled the country. The Huguenot population of France dropped to 856,000 by the mid-1660s, of which a plurality lived in rural areas. The greatest concentrations of Huguenots at this time resided in
7488-522: The Elector of Bavaria to conclude a truce in March 1647 . With these manoeuvres Napoleon said he displayed "great boldness, sagacity and genius; they are fertile in grand results, and ought to be studied by all military men". In 1647 he proposed to attack the weakened army of the emperor, but he was ordered into Flanders instead. Not only did France thus lose an opportunity, but a serious mutiny broke out amongst
7644-405: The French Huguenot population was reduced from about 900,000 or 800,000 adherents to just 1,000 or 1,500. He exaggerated the decline, but the dragonnades were devastating for the French Protestant community. The exodus of Huguenots from France created a brain drain , as many of them had occupied important places in society. The remaining Huguenots faced continued persecution under Louis XV . By
7800-448: The French against the forces of Prince Thomas of Savoy . The French in the citadel held out, while Prince Thomas had to surrender on 17 September 1640, a fourth army which had invested Harcourt's lines being at the same time forced to retire. Turenne, by now lieutenant-general, played a major role in the victory. He himself commanded during the campaign of 1641 and took Coni , Ceva and Mondovì . In 1642 he served as second-in-command of
7956-437: The French army had to fall back on Metz for want of provisions. In the retreat he measured swords with the famous imperial General Gallas , and distinguished himself greatly. He managed to defeat his pursuers in battle but the Imperials were too numerous to be turned around. The reorganised army took the field again in 1636 and captured Saverne (Zabern), at the storming of which he was seriously wounded. In 1637 he took part in
SECTION 50
#17330863279498112-401: The French church, on the principle that the religion of France could not be controlled by the Bishop of Rome, a foreign power. During the Protestant Reformation, Lefevre, a professor at the University of Paris , published his French translation of the New Testament in 1523, followed by the whole Bible in the French language in 1530. William Farel was a student of Lefevre who went on to become
8268-540: The French crown offered increasingly liberal political concessions and edicts of toleration. Following the accidental death of Henry II in 1559, his son succeeded as King Francis II along with his wife, the Queen Consort, also known as Mary, Queen of Scots . During the eighteen months of the reign of Francis II, Mary encouraged a policy of rounding up French Huguenots on charges of heresy and putting them in front of Catholic judges, and employing torture and burning as punishments for dissenters. Mary returned to Scotland
8424-510: The French crown. Louis XIV inherited the throne in 1643 and acted increasingly aggressively to force the Huguenots to convert. At first he sent missionaries , backed by a fund to financially reward converts to Roman Catholicism. Then he imposed penalties, closed Huguenot schools and excluded them from favoured professions. Escalating, he instituted dragonnades , which included the occupation and looting of Huguenot homes by military troops, in an effort to forcibly convert them. In 1685, he issued
8580-436: The French flag occurred at the siege of La Mothe in Lorraine by Marshal de la Force (1634), where his brilliant courage at the assault won him immediate promotion to the rank of maréchal de camp (equivalent to the modern grade of major-general). In 1635 Turenne served under Louis de Nogaret de La Valette in Lorraine and on the Rhine . The French and their allies raised the Imperial siege of Mainz (8 August 1635), but
8736-423: The French had a marked advantage in the region. Before the campaign of 1655 another important matter required Turenne's energies. Riots had broken out in Paris, combined with political disputes between the king and parliament; civil conflict threatened again. The king forbade parliament from the meeting while parliament for their part ignored this demand. At the invitation of the increasingly despotic Mazarin Turenne
8892-403: The French in an artillery duel and outmanoeuvred them in the march on Allerheim, buying time to fortify his position. Turenne advised not to fight but this was rejected by Condé. Turenne's plan of attack was accepted by Condé. The following battle was a French victory and Mercy was killed but the French had suffered heavily. Ill health forced Enghien to retire soon afterwards, leaving Turenne for
9048-417: The French throne. The crown, occupied by the House of Valois , generally supported the Catholic side, but on occasion switched over to the Protestant cause when politically expedient. The French Wars of Religion began with the Massacre of Vassy on 1 March 1562, when dozens (some sources say hundreds ) of Huguenots were killed, and about 200 were wounded. It was in this year that some Huguenots destroyed
9204-408: The French troops which conquered Roussillon . At this time Richelieu discovered the conspiracy of Cinq Mars in which Turenne's elder brother, the Duke of Bouillon , had become implicated. The relations of the principality of Sedan to the French crown markedly influenced the earlier career of Turenne; sometimes it proved necessary to advance the soldier to conciliate the ducal family, at other times
9360-516: The Fronde in Mazarin's favour, Mazarin did not have a high opinion of Condé's accomplishment. Condé had recently inherited the princely title of Condé, won great fame and influence through his military actions, was made prince of the blood and had built strong connections among the members of the first Fronde. Now he and Mazarin were busy plotting each other's destruction. The second war erupted when Condé and some of his allies were arrested. Turenne, intended for arrest with them, escaped in time, and with
9516-408: The Huguenots (with estimates ranging from 200,000 to 1,000,000 ) fled to Protestant countries: England, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Norway, Denmark, and Prussia—whose Calvinist Great Elector Frederick William welcomed them to help rebuild his war-ravaged and underpopulated country. Following this exodus, Huguenots remained in large numbers in only one region of France: the rugged Cévennes region in
SECTION 60
#17330863279499672-536: The Huguenots killed priests, monks, and nuns, attacked monasticism, and destroyed sacred images, relics, and church buildings. [no source] Most of the cities in which the Huguenots gained a hold saw iconoclast riots in which altars and images in churches, and sometimes the buildings themselves torn down. Ancient relics and texts were destroyed; the bodies of saints exhumed and burned. [no source] The cities of Bourges, Montauban and Orléans saw substantial activity in this regard. The Huguenots transformed themselves into
9828-432: The Huguenots were nobles trying to establish separate centres of power in southern France. Retaliating against the French Catholics, the Huguenots had their own militia. Early in his reign, Francis I ( r. 1515–1547 ) persecuted the old, pre-Protestant movement of Waldensians in southeastern France. Francis initially protected the Huguenot dissidents from Parlementary measures seeking to exterminate them. After
9984-405: The Huguenots' trust in the Catholic throne diminished, and the violence became more severe, and Protestant demands became grander, until a lasting cessation of open hostility finally occurred in 1598. The wars gradually took on a dynastic character, developing into an extended feud between the Houses of Bourbon and Guise , both of which—in addition to holding rival religious views—staked a claim to
10140-458: The Palatinate in the Holy Roman Empire , and the Duchy of Prussia . Some fled as refugees to the Dutch Cape Colony , the Dutch East Indies , various Caribbean colonies, and several of the Dutch and English colonies in North America. A few families went to Orthodox Russia and Catholic Quebec . After centuries, most Huguenots assimilated into the various societies and cultures where they have settled. Remnant communities of Camisards in
10296-424: The Palatinate . Under orders from Paris, the French wasted the country far and wide. In the autumn, the anti-French allies again advanced, and though they again outmanoeuvred Turenne, the action of the neutral city of Strasbourg occasioned his failure by permitting the enemy to cross the Rhine by the bridge at that place. The battle of Enzheim followed; this proved a strategic victory for Turenne but hardly affected
10452-401: The Protestant populations of eastern France, in Alsace , Moselle , and Montbéliard , were mainly Lutherans . In his Encyclopedia of Protestantism , Hans Hillerbrand wrote that on the eve of the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre in 1572, the Huguenot community made up as much as 10% of the French population. By 1600, it had declined to 7–8%, and was reduced further late in the century after
10608-458: The Reformed Church in France. The country had a long history of struggles with the papacy (see the Avignon Papacy , for example) by the time the Protestant Reformation finally arrived. Around 1294, a French version of the scriptures was prepared by the Roman Catholic priest, Guyard des Moulins . A two-volume illustrated folio paraphrase version based on his manuscript, by Jean de Rély, was printed in Paris in 1487. The first known translation of
10764-410: The Reformed Church) who were involved in the Amboise plot of 1560: a foiled attempt to wrest power in France from the influential and zealously Catholic House of Guise . This action would have fostered relations with the Swiss. O. I. A. Roche promoted this idea among historians. He wrote in his book, The Days of the Upright, A History of the Huguenots (1965), that Huguenot is: a combination of
10920-535: The Reformed areas revolted against royal authority. The uprising occurred a decade following the death of Henry IV , who was assassinated by a Catholic fanatic in 1610. His successor Louis XIII , under the regency of his Italian Catholic mother Marie de' Medici , was more intolerant of Protestantism. The Huguenots responded by establishing independent political and military structures, establishing diplomatic contacts with foreign powers, and openly revolting against central power. The rebellions were implacably suppressed by
11076-463: The Republic. He expanded the Stadtholder's palace at the Binnenhof in the Hague . The Maurice Tower is now part of the building complex of the Senate of the Netherlands . In 1618, he also succeeded his elder half-brother Philip William as Prince of Orange , a title he seems rarely to have used. Maurice urged his cadet half brother Frederick Henry to marry in order to preserve the dynasty . Historian Jonathan Israel places upon Maurice part of
11232-502: The Spanish managed to evade Turenne and captured Rocroi, but while they were doing this Turenne took Mouzon . He also took Sainte-Menehould . Turenne started the 1654 campaign by moving on Stenay, one of the centres of the Fronde and personal property of Condé. Turenne had received reinforcement for the campaign and prepared vigorously to defend against a relief attempt. Instead Condé and Archduke Leopold Wilhelm outmanoeuvred him by besieging
11388-571: The Swedish under Carl Gustaf Wrangel . Mazarin however had made a deal with the Duke of Bavaria not to unite French and Swedish forces and not to cross the Rhine. In return, the Bavarians would not join the Imperial army. He ordered Turenne to besiege Luxembourg but Turenne correctly suspected the Duke of Bavaria of foul play and procrastinated. Soon the Bavarian army linked up with the imperials and Turenne tried to
11544-645: The Union, Maurice organized the Dutch rebellion against Spain into a coherent, successful revolt and won fame as a military strategist. Under his leadership and in cooperation with the Land's Advocate of Holland Johan van Oldenbarnevelt , the Dutch States Army achieved many victories and drove the Spaniards out of the north and east of the Republic. Maurice set out to revive and revise the classical doctrines of Vegetius and pioneered
11700-531: The Weimar troops, who had not received their pay for six months. Rosen, who had been recently promoted to high office on Turenne's insistence, convinced the Weimarian cavalry to revolt, pretending to be held prisoner by them. Turenne had already left for Flanders with his main force but rode back with a small contingent, surprising the mutineers. Instead of destroying them with a surprise attack, he marched with them as if he
11856-489: The Yssel in 1606. He was, however, dealt a defeat by the Spanish general at the battle of Mülheim in October 1605. Based on his preference for sieges and small-scale actions, historian David Trim states that it is difficult to reach a verdict on his ability as a tactician. Jonathan Israel notes that on one of the rare occasions when he did have to fight a major battle in the open – the 1600 Battle of Nieuwpoort – it did end with
12012-445: The active resistance the inhabitants of the city had shown, Turenne let his troops loot it and massacre the remaining population for two weeks. In a few weeks he had completely recovered Alsace. In the summer campaign he once more faced Montecuccoli, and after the highest display of "strategic chess moves" by both commanders, Turenne finally compelled his opponent to offer battle at a disadvantage at Salzbach . There, on 27 July 1675, he
12168-416: The attack. He scouted the enemy positions in person and realized the Spanish would take too long to decide whether to attack him or not. He provided religious services to his troops and explained to his officers the techniques to use against the elaborate Spanish defences. The Spanish were routed, losing 6,000 men and 63 cannons, while the French lost just 400 men. This victory was a turning point: from then on,
12324-461: The battle of Casal 10.000 Frenchmen defeated 20.000 Spanish. The French commander Harcourt was almost encircled but Turenne used deception to scare off the enemy and the battle was won. In 1640 Harcourt saved Casale Monferrato and besieged Prince Thomas' forces in Turin, which meanwhile besieged in their turn another French force in the citadel. That winter he re-victualled the citadel of Turin , held by
12480-534: The battle of Nieuwpoort in 1600. As part of his efforts to find allies against Spain, Maurice received Moroccan envoys such as Al-Hajari . They discussed the possibility of an alliance between Holland , the Ottoman Empire , Morocco and the Moriscos, against the common enemy Spain. Al-Hajari's journey chronicles, authored in 1637, mentions in detail the discussion for a combined offensive against Spain. Maurice
12636-426: The campaign of Flanders , including the capture of Landrecies (26 July). In the latter part of 1638, serving under Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar (1608–1639), he directed the assault on Breisach (reputedly the strongest fortress on the upper Rhine ), which surrendered on 17 December. In led the assault on the powerful fortress of Vieux-Brisach in 1638 and obtained its capitulation on December 17 Turenne had now gained
12792-471: The camps and armies of the king". He had offered to revive the office of Constable of France (suppressed in 1627) in Turenne's favour if the marshal would become a Roman Catholic. Turenne declined. Born of Calvinist parents and educated a Protestant, he had refused to marry one of Richelieu's nieces in 1639 and subsequently rejected a similar proposal from Mazarin. In 1652, Turenne married Charlotte de Caumont,
12948-514: The central part of the country, were also contested between the French Reformed and Catholic nobles. Demographically, there were some areas in which the whole populations had been Reformed. These included villages in and around the Massif Central , as well as the area around Dordogne , which used to be almost entirely Reformed too. John Calvin was a Frenchman and himself largely responsible for
13104-423: The chief event of the first campaign. In this battle Turenne distinguished himself with a well executed strike at the enemy flank. The French continued on by successfully besieging Philippsburg . Before the capitulation Enghien withdrew and left Turenne in command. At the same time the Duke of Lorraine moved to besiege nearby Bacharach . Turenne took 500 men and built a huge camp near Bacharach, believing Turenne had
13260-559: The civil war of the Fronde (1648–1653). During the first war, he refused to join either side. Mazarin had him removed as commander of the army of Weimar causing Turenne to flee to the Netherlands , where he remained until the treaty of Rueil (March 1649) put an end to the first war of the Fronde. Louis, Grand Condé had made many enemies at court, especially Mazarin, which would eventually lead to conflict. While Condé had expected to be rewarded greatly for his military service, which had turned
13416-477: The country of Tourraine and Amboyse, it became in vogue after that enterprise." Some have suggested the name was derived, with intended scorn, from les guenon de Hus (the 'monkeys' or 'apes of Jan Hus '). By 1911, there was still no consensus in the United States on this interpretation. The Huguenot cross is the distinctive emblem of the Huguenots ( croix huguenote ). It is now an official symbol of
13572-569: The crucial fortress of Arras. As Condé and the Archduke had 25,000 troops, and Turenne could call on only 14,000-15,000, Turenne decided to wait until Stenay fell before moving against the Frondeurs in force. Turenne was not in sole command: the Duke of York , La Ferté, Broglie , and Hocquincourt all had authority as well. However he overcame opposition to his plan to deal aggressively with the more numerous Spanish army. Turenne had tirelessly prepared for
13728-465: The day that they were forced to wait till night to assemble, for the purpose of praying God, for preaching and receiving the Holy Sacrament; so that although they did not frighten nor hurt anybody, the priests, through mockery, made them the successors of those spirits which roam the night; and thus that name being quite common in the mouth of the populace, to designate the evangelical huguenands in
13884-469: The death of Willem Lodewijk, who had been stadtholder there and in Friesland ). Protestant Maurice was preceded as Prince of Orange (not a Dutch title) by his Roman Catholic eldest half-brother Philip William, Prince of Orange , deceased 1618. However, Philip William was in the custody of Spain, remaining so until 1596, and was thus unable to lead the Dutch independence cause. Maria of Nassau (1556–1616)
14040-491: The defence of that river. Turenne now returned to France where he was offered the Duchy of Château-Thierry , which had also been promised to his brother, by Mazarin, who was trying to drive a wedge between Turenne and his rebellious brother, but Turenne saw what the cardinal was doing and accepted only if the transaction to his brother was completed. In 1646 Turenne obtained more military successes. He decided to unite his forces with
14196-540: The dismantling of the city's fortifications. A royal citadel was built and the university and consulate were taken over by the Catholic party. Even before the Edict of Alès (1629), Protestant rule was dead and the ville de sûreté was no more. By 1620, the Huguenots were on the defensive, and the government increasingly applied pressure. A series of three small civil wars known as the Huguenot rebellions broke out, mainly in southwestern France, between 1621 and 1629 in which
14352-414: The display of military skill by both the famous captains. In June 1653 Turenne and La Ferté marched against the Frondeurs. They had 7,000 infantry and 5,000 cavalry (or 6,000 infantry and 10,000 cavalry, according to a different source). Condé controlled 30,000 troops. Hearing that the Spanish army camped in two positions 120 miles apart, he rapidly marched on and captured Rethel, which lay between them. Now
14508-717: The earliest until his death on 23 April 1625. Before he became Prince of Orange upon the death of his eldest half-brother Philip William on 20 February 1618, he was known as Maurice of Nassau . Maurice spent his youth in Dillenburg in Nassau , and studied in Heidelberg and Leiden . He succeeded his father William the Silent as stadtholder of Holland and Zeeland in 1585, and became stadtholder of Utrecht, Guelders and Overijssel in 1590, and of Groningen in 1620. As Captain-General and Admiral of
14664-428: The estimated number of Huguenots peaked at approximately two million, concentrated mainly in the western, southern, and some central parts of France, compared to approximately sixteen million Catholics during the same period. Persecution diminished the number of Huguenots who remained in France. As the Huguenots gained influence and displayed their faith more openly, Roman Catholic hostility towards them grew, even though
14820-599: The eve of the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre in 1572. The new teaching of John Calvin attracted sizeable portions of the nobility and urban bourgeoisie . After John Calvin introduced the Reformation in France, the number of French Protestants steadily swelled to ten percent of the population, or roughly 1.8 million people, in the decade between 1560 and 1570. During the same period there were some 1,400 Reformed churches operating in France. Hans J. Hillerbrand, an expert on
14976-521: The eve of the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre. Since then, it sharply decreased as the Huguenots were no longer tolerated by both the French royalty and the Catholic masses. By the end of the sixteenth century, Huguenots constituted 7–8% of the whole population, or 1.2 million people. By the time Louis XIV revoked the Edict of Nantes in 1685, Huguenots accounted for 800,000 to 1 million people. Huguenots controlled sizeable areas in southern and western France. In addition, many areas, especially in
15132-405: The exact number of fatalities throughout the country is not known, on 23–24 August, between 2,000 and 3,000 Protestants were killed in Paris and a further 3,000 to 7,000 more in the French provinces. By 17 September, almost 25,000 Protestants had been massacred in Paris alone. Beyond Paris, the killings continued until 3 October. An amnesty granted in 1573 pardoned the perpetrators. Following
15288-589: The famous Promenade Militaire in which the French overran the Spanish Netherlands . Soon afterwards Condé, now reconciled with the king, rivalled Turenne's success by the rapid conquest of the Franche-Comté , shortly before the end of the War of Devolution in February 1668. In Louis XIV's Dutch War of 1672, Turenne accompanied the army commanded by the king which overran the Dutch United Provinces up to
15444-480: The few nobles’ tombs not destroyed by the Revolutionaries. Napoleon rated him the greatest modern commander. Eugene of Savoy when praised above Turenne called the flattery ingratiating at the expense of Turenne. Turenne is one of the subjects of Morris’ work “Great commanders of modern times”. According to him the “powerful genius” of Turenne greatly contributed to shaping modern warfare. Marshal of France Turenne
15600-451: The following account as to the origin of the name, as cited by The Cape Monthly : Reguier de la Plancha accounts for it [the name] as follows: "The name huguenand was given to those of the religion during the affair of Amboyse, and they were to retain it ever since. I'll say a word about it to settle the doubts of those who have strayed in seeking its origin. The superstition of our ancestors, to within twenty or thirty years thereabouts,
15756-491: The following year with the collapse of the court party and the release of the Princes. Turenne reconciled and returned to Paris in May 1651, but the trouble soon revived and Condé again raised the standard of revolt in the south of France. In this, the third war of the Fronde, Turenne and Condé stood opposed to each other, the marshal commanding the royal armies, the prince that of the Frondeurs and their Spanish allies. Turenne displayed
15912-477: The gates of Amsterdam . The terms offered by Louis to the Prince of Orange only aroused a more bitter resistance. The Dutch opened the dikes and flooded the countryside around Amsterdam. This measure completely checked Turenne, whom the king had left in command. News of this event roused Europe to action, and the conflict spread to Germany. Turenne fought a successful war of manoeuvre on the middle Rhine while Condé covered Alsace. In January 1673 Turenne assumed
16068-405: The glittering court of Versailles held no sway in the mind of the great commander. His morals, if not beyond reproach, were at least more austere than those prevalent in the age in which he lived. He operated essentially as a commander of regular armies. He spent his life with the troops; he knew how to win their affection; he tempered a severe discipline with rare generosity, and his men loved him as
16224-546: The great captains of history, placing him among Alexander the Great , Hannibal , Frederick the Great , Prince Eugene of Savoy , Gustavus Adolphus , and Julius Caesar . His fame as a general rivalled that of any other in Europe at a period when the populace studied war more critically than ever before, for his military character epitomized the art of war of his time (Prince de Ligne). Strategic caution and logistic accuracy, combined with
16380-401: The imperials. Scouts detected the imperials, and during the following night Turenne secretly moved his troops close to the imperials. The following day, 17 May, the imperials marched off unaware of the danger resulting in their rearguard being caught isolated and defeated in a vicious battle at Zusmarshausen . Troops subsequently wasted Bavaria with fire and sword until a more secure pacification
16536-559: The introduction and spread of the Reformed tradition in France. He wrote in French, but unlike the Protestant development in Germany , where Lutheran writings were widely distributed and could be read by the common man, it was not the case in France, where only nobles adopted the new faith and the folk remained Catholic. This is true for many areas in the west and south controlled by the Huguenot nobility. Although relatively large portions of
16692-469: The killings many Protestants fled to the Kentish coast among other places. The pattern of warfare, followed by brief periods of peace, continued for nearly another quarter-century. The warfare was definitively quelled in 1598, when Henry of Navarre, having succeeded to the French throne as Henry IV , and having recanted Protestantism in favour of Roman Catholicism in order to obtain the French crown, issued
16848-626: The land, he invaded the Holy Roman Empire the next year, reaching the Elbe and compelling Brandenburg to abandon the anti-French coalition. Faced with the loss of Alsace to superior Allied forces, he crowned his career with a series of battlefield victories, most notably at Turckheim (1675) and a masterful strategic turning movement around the Vosges in mid-winter that drove the Imperials from Alsace. He
17004-478: The machinations of the ducal family against Richelieu or Mazarin prevented the king's advisers from giving their full confidence to their general in the field. Moreover, his steady adherence to the Protestant religion provided a further element of difficulty in Turenne's relations with the ministers. Cardinal Richelieu nevertheless entrusted him with the command in Italy in 1643 under prince Thomas, who had changed sides in
17160-533: The new European forms of armament and drill. During the Twelve Years' Truce , a religious dispute broke out in the Republic, and a conflict erupted between Maurice and Van Oldenbarnevelt, which ended with the latter's decapitation. After the Truce, Maurice failed to achieve more military victories. He died without legitimate children in The Hague in 1625 and was succeeded by his younger half-brother Frederick Henry . Maurice
17316-507: The offensive, penetrated far into Germany, and forced the Great Elector of Brandenburg to make peace; later in the year, however, the famous imperial general Montecuccoli completely outmanoeuvred Turenne: Montecuccoli evaded his opponent, joined the Dutch and took the important place of Bonn . In June 1674, Turenne won the battle of Sinzheim , which made him master of the Electorate of
17472-434: The order, so when the Spanish attacked, his position was overrun in no more than 15 minutes. La Ferté and 4,400 troops were captured. Despite the confusion and darkness, Turenne managed to collect his forces and made an ordered retreat, though losing half his artillery. After twelve miles, Turenne ordered a halt. Seeing the French in battle array the Spanish suspected a trap and as a result failed to attack. Despite this, Turenne
17628-448: The peasant population became Reformed there, the people, altogether, still remained majority Catholic. Overall, Huguenot presence was heavily concentrated in the western and southern portions of the French kingdom, as nobles there secured practise of the new faith. These included Languedoc-Roussillon , Gascony and even a strip of land that stretched into the Dauphiné . Huguenots lived on
17784-496: The personal bravery of a young soldier at Jargeau (28 March 1652), the skill and wariness of a veteran general at Gien (7 April), and he practically crushed the civil war in the Battle of the Faubourg St Antoine (2 July) and in the re-occupation of Paris (21 October). Turenne still needed to deal with Condé, who was fighting alongside the Spaniards. The long-drawn-out campaigns of the "Spanish Fronde" gave ample scope for
17940-522: The pitched battles at Turnhout (1597) and at Nieuwpoort (1600) were dependent on his innovation of cooperation between arms, with his cavalry playing a major role. The victories earned him military fame and acknowledgement throughout Europe. Despite these successes, the House of Orange did not attain great respect among European royalty, as the Stadtholdership was not inheritable. The training of his army
18096-475: The quarrel, and who was not trusted by Richelieu. Thomas, while in theory in command himself, quickly put Turenne in control of the campaign. Using deception to fool the Spanish into weakening the Trino Turenne took the town in a few weeks. He was promoted to Marshal of France (16 May 1643). Turenne was recalled due to the intrigues of Cardinal Mazarin , who was sabotaging Turenne's career. This meant that he
18252-421: The regions of Guienne , Saintonge- Aunis - Angoumois and Poitou . Montpellier was among the most important of the 66 villes de sûreté ('cities of protection' or 'protected cities') that the Edict of 1598 granted to the Huguenots. The city's political institutions and the university were all handed over to the Huguenots. Tension with Paris led to a siege by the royal army in 1622 . Peace terms called for
18408-532: The responsibility for the outbreak of the Thirty Years' War in which Germany was devastated and a large part of its population killed. As noted by Israel, German Protestants were not eager for an all-out confrontation with the Catholics. Maurice significantly helped precipitate such a confrontation by persuading his nephew Frederick V, Elector Palatine , to accept the Bohemian Crown, as well as actively encouraging
18564-557: The return of persecution under Louis XIV , who instituted the dragonnades to forcibly convert Protestants, and then finally revoked all Protestant rights in his Edict of Fontainebleau of 1685. In 1986, the Protestant population sat at 1% of the population. The Huguenots were concentrated in the southern and western parts of the Kingdom of France . As Huguenots gained influence and more openly displayed their faith, Catholic hostility grew. A series of religious conflicts followed, known as
18720-660: The river Rhine at Breisach . He defeated Gaspard von Mercy in the Black Forest before retreating to the Rhine. Unable to relieve the besieged Freiburg with inferior numbers, he was quickly joined by a force under the Duke of Enghien , later to be known as the Grand Condé . The Duke, as a prince of the royal house, took the chief command of the united armies of "France" and "Weimar". The desperately fought battle of Freiburg against Franz von Mercy 's Bavarians (3, 5 and 9 August 1644) proved
18876-471: The same to assist Wrangel. He was successful by using a detour via Wesel because there was no other bridge south of there he could use. In conjunction with Wrangel, Turenne marched unhindered up until the area between Memmingen and Landsberg am Lech . Their combined army invaded Bavaria by crossing the Danube and advanced as far as Munich and Bregenz , plundering their way through the country. This convinced
19032-547: The service of France, motivated both by the prospect of military advancement but also because of his mother's desire to display loyalty to the French crown. Cardinal Richelieu immediately made him colonel of an infantry regiment. Yet he continued to serve with the prince of Orange at short intervals, who at the time had an alliance with France. He took part in successful fighting near Antwerp and fought against Hendrik van den Bergh . He took part in an uneventful campaign under Schomberg in 1630 but his first serious service under
19188-475: The siege theories of Simon Stevin , he took valuable key fortresses and towns during a period known as the Ten Glory Years : Breda in 1590, Zutphen , Knodsenburg in 1591, Steenwijk and Coevorden in 1592, Geertruidenberg in 1593, and Groningen in 1594. In 1597 he went on a further offensive and took Rheinberg , Meurs , Groenlo , Bredevoort , Enschede , Ootmarsum , and Oldenzaal and closed off
19344-479: The sieges of the period, learning much about fortifications and siege warfare. In 1629, Turenne served in the siege of Bois-le-Duc as commander of a artillery and reconnaissance. He won special commendation for his skill at this battle, but was reprimanded for recklessness. He also learned much about the details of leading an army, like posting guards and reconnaissance. In 1630 Turenne left the Netherlands and entered
19500-465: The situation, and, at the beginning of December, the allies remained in Alsace. The old marshal now made the most daring campaign of his career. A swift and secret march in mid-winter from one end of the Vosges to the other took the allies by surprise. Sharply following up his first successes, Turenne drove the enemy to Turkheim , and there inflicted upon them a heavy defeat (5 January 1675). As revenge for
19656-472: The size of the basic infantry unit for functional purposes since more specific orders had to be given in battle, and the decrease in herd behavior required more initiative and intelligence from the average soldier. One major contribution was the introduction of volley fire , which enabled soldiers to compensate for the inaccuracy of their weapons by firing in a large group. It was first used in European combat at
19812-600: The south. There were also some Calvinists in the Alsace region, which then belonged to the Holy Roman Empire . In the early 18th century, a regional group known as the Camisards (who were Huguenots of the mountainous Massif Central region) rioted against the Catholic Church, burning churches and killing the clergy. It took French troops years to hunt down and destroy all the bands of Camisards, between 1702 and 1709. By
19968-654: The states of the Swiss Confederacy'). Geneva was John Calvin 's adopted home and the centre of the Calvinist movement. In Geneva, Hugues, though Catholic , was a leader of the "Confederate Party", so called because it favoured independence from the Duke of Savoy . It sought an alliance between the city-state of Geneva and the Swiss Confederation . The label Huguenot was purportedly first applied in France to those conspirators (all of them aristocratic members of
20124-461: The subject, in his Encyclopedia of Protestantism: 4-volume Set claims the Huguenot community reached as much as 10% of the French population on the eve of the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre , declining to 7 to 8% by the end of the 16th century, and further after heavy persecution began once again with the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes by Louis XIV in 1685. Among the nobles, Calvinism peaked on
20280-491: The third time in command of the French army. He was met by superior imperial forces and forced to retreat. At Philippsburg, Turenne crossed the Rhine using a bridge made of boats. A month after his retreat Turenne marched 120 miles to Trier which he recaptured for its elector Philipp Christoph von Sötern after over a decade of imperialist occupation. Having taken control of the Moselle for France by this move he set upon improving
20436-590: The time of his death in 1774, Calvinism had been all but eliminated from France. Persecution of Protestants officially ended with the Edict of Versailles , signed by Louis XVI in 1787. Two years later, with the Revolutionary Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen of 1789, Protestants gained equal rights as citizens. A term used originally in derision, Huguenot has unclear origins. Various hypotheses have been promoted. The term may have been
20592-451: The time, Huguenots felt that the Catholic Church needed a radical cleansing of its impurities, and that the Pope represented a worldly kingdom, which sat in mocking tyranny over the things of God, and was ultimately doomed. Rhetoric like this became fiercer as events unfolded, and eventually stirred up a reaction in the Catholic establishment. [no source] Fanatically opposed to the Catholic Church,
20748-586: The tomb and remains of Saint Irenaeus (d. 202), an early Church father and bishop who was a disciple of Polycarp . The Michelade by Huguenotes against Catholics was later on 29 September 1567. In what became known as the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre of 24 August – 3 October 1572, Catholics killed thousands of Huguenots in Paris and similar massacres took place in other towns in the following weeks. The main provincial towns and cities experiencing massacres were Aix , Bordeaux , Bourges , Lyons , Meaux , Orléans , Rouen , Toulouse , and Troyes . Although
20904-512: The usual training of a young noble of the time, but physical infirmity hampered his progress, though he showed a marked skill at history and geography, and was greatly impressed by the exploits of Alexander the Great and Caesar . At first he was a lazy student but after his father started saying his intellectual laziness was as great a barrier to joining the army as his physical weakness, he began to study on his own accord. After his father's death in 1623, he devoted himself to bodily exercises and in
21060-451: The veteran commanders Marshal Caracena and Don Juan of Austria . In June troops under Turenne and La Ferté surrounded Valenciennes, beginning the siege of that place. The Spanish broke the nearby dikes to flood Turenne's position but Turenne had the water diverted to flood part of the city. When Turenne observed the Spaniards preparing for an attack, he gave orders to prepare for an afternoon or nighttime attack. But La Ferté did not carry out
21216-536: The western and southern areas of France. Today, there are some Reformed communities around the world that still retain their Huguenot identity. In France, Calvinists in the United Protestant Church of France and also some in the Protestant Reformed Church of Alsace and Lorraine consider themselves Huguenots. A rural Huguenot community in the Cevennes that rebelled in 1702 is still called Camisards , especially in historical contexts. Huguenot exiles in
21372-524: The year with the capture of Lingen . These victories rounded out the borders to the Dutch Republic, solidifying the revolt and allowing a national state to develop behind secure borders. They also established Maurice as the foremost general of his time. Many of the great generals of the succeeding generation, including his brother Frederick Henry and many of the commanders of the English Civil War , learned their trade under his command. His victories in
21528-478: Was a full sister of Philip William from the first marriage of William I, Prince of Orange , (assassinated 1584), to wealthy and powerful aristocrat Anna van Egmont (1533–1558), and a contender to Maurice over the estate of their father. He was appointed captain-general of the army in 1587, bypassing the Earl of Leicester , who returned to England on hearing this news. Maurice organized the rebellion against Spain into
21684-446: Was available in case of sudden need for a good commander. After the French suffered a devastating defeat at Tuttlingen , Turenne was thrown back into action. The following campaign would greatly advance his career. While molding the army back into fighting condition Turenne bought mounts for 5,000 cavalrymen and clothes for 4,000 infantrymen with his own money. The reorganization finished, Turenne began campaigning in June 1644, crossing
21840-580: Was buried with the Kings of France. Even the revolutionaries of 1793 respected it, and, while they reburied the bodies of the monarchs in a mass grave, they preserved the remains of Turenne at the Jardin des Plantes until 22 September 1800, when Napoleon had them removed to the church of the Invalides at Paris, where they still rest. Napoleon recommended all soldiers to "read and re-read" the campaigns of Turenne as one of
21996-864: Was disliked for his cowardice. Additionally, it is related, that, it was believed, (that of these spirits) instead of spending their time in Purgatory, came back to rattle doors and haunt and harm people at night. Protestants went out at nights to their lascivious conventicles, and so the priests and the people began to call them Huguenots in Tours and then elsewhere." The name, Huguenot, "the people applied in hatred and derision to those who were elsewhere called Lutherans, and from Touraine it spread throughout France." The prétendus réformés ('supposedly reformed') were said to gather at night at Tours , both for political purposes, and for prayer and singing psalms . Reguier de la Plancha (d. 1560) in his De l'Estat de France offered
22152-481: Was especially important to early modern warfare and the Military Revolution of 1560–1650. Previous generals had made use of drill and exercise in order to instill discipline or to keep the men physically fit, but for Maurice, they "were the fundamental postulates of tactics." This change affected the entire conduct of warfare, since it required the officers to train men in addition to leading them, decreased
22308-416: Was in charge of, the French position would be much weaker. Turenne could not move forces to the place due to the Spanish dispositions, but convinced Mazarin to negotiate with Hocquincourt, which succeeded. At this point Cromwell's England as well as Lorraine , up until now Spain's ally, joined the French side. Philip IV of Spain replaced the commanders who had been so unsuccessful in the last campaigns with
22464-476: Was invited to negotiate, which he did successfully. Turenne started the 1655 campaign by taking Landrecies . Soon after, Turenne almost captured Condé but the failure of a subordinate led to the latter's escape. Turenne then took the fortresses of Condé and St. Guislain before being recalled to the court at Compiègne. Hocquincourt had been robbed of his important position by Mazarin and was now approached by Condé. If Hocquincourt surrendered Ham and Peronne, which he
22620-406: Was killed by an Imperial cannonball at the battle of Salzbach in 1675. The second son of Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne, Duke of Bouillon , sovereign Prince of Sedan , by his second wife Elizabeth , daughter of William the Silent , Prince of Orange , he was born at Sedan. It is said that much of his money found its way to the poor during his early life. He received a Huguenot education and
22776-437: Was killed instantly due to wounds inflicted by a cannonball. Thomas de Longueville writes: "Twice he opened his eyes, and then he closed them forever." The news of his death produced universal sorrow. Turenne's most eloquent countrymen wrote his éloges , and Montecuccoli himself exclaimed, " Il est mort aujourd'hui un homme qui faisait honneur à l'homme " (A man is dead today who did honour to Man). His body, taken to St Denis ,
22932-482: Was known in his time and by historians as the first general of his age. His reputation rests not as much on his ability to win and exploit field battles as it does on his expertise as a siege commander, military organizer, and innovator. Of his two great adversaries, Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma , and Ambrogio Spinola , he cautiously never allowed himself to be brought to battle with Parma and did not follow up chances to offer Spinola battle with forces in his favour on
23088-499: Was murdered in Delft in 1584, he soon was appointed to his father's office of stadtholder ( Stadhouder ). The monarchs of England and France had been requested to accept sovereignty but had refused. This had left Maurice as the only acceptable candidate for the position of Stadtholder. He became stadtholder of Holland and Zeeland in 1585, of Guelders , Overijssel and Utrecht in 1590 and of Groningen and Drenthe in 1620 (following
23244-566: Was not informed on the situation, defied the order, leading to defeat while Turenne's main force was winning. Turenne's army lost all of its artillery and baggage and five-sixths of its infantry. Turenne retreated to Hesse , which caused its forces to join the French as well as a Swedish force and reinforcements under Condé, who took command once again. The Swedes soon departed, but Enghien commanded still 17,000 men. The French marched into Bavaria with facing little opposition until they caught up with Mercy's retreating army. Mercy inflicted casualties on
23400-474: Was obtained. This devastation, for which many modern writers have blamed Turenne, appeared no more harsh a measure than the spirit of the times and the circumstances of the case permitted. Turenne planned on moving into Austria and taking Vienna, but as the Peace of Westphalia had been signed this campaign never materialized. The Peace of Westphalia (1648) brought little peace to France, which soon became involved in
23556-553: Was raised in Dillenburg by his uncle Johan of Nassau ("Jan the Old"). Together with his cousin, Willem Lodewijk , he studied in Heidelberg and later in Leiden where he met Simon Stevin . The States of Holland and Zeeland paid for his studies, as their father had run into financial problems after spending his entire fortune in the early stages of the Dutch revolt . Only 16 when his father
23712-528: Was regarded by the Gallicians as a noble man who respected people's dignity and lives. Janet Gray and other supporters of the hypothesis suggest that the name huguenote would be roughly equivalent to 'little Hugos', or 'those who want Hugo'. Paul Ristelhuber, in his 1879 introduction to a new edition of the controversial and censored, but popular 1566 work Apologie pour Hérodote , by Henri Estienne , mentions these theories and opinions, but tends to support
23868-476: Was still in command and managed to secretly have Rosen arrested after which the mutiny died down. He then marched into Luxembourg but soon received orders to switch to the Rhine. As Turenne predicted Bavaria again joined the Imperial cause in 1647. He compelled the imperials to lift Siege of Worms and formally declared war on Bavaria. After joining with the Swedes, once again led by Wrangel, they moved together against
24024-694: Was such that in almost all the towns in the kingdom they had a notion that certain spirits underwent their Purgatory in this world after death, and that they went about the town at night, striking and outraging many people whom they found in the streets. But the light of the Gospel has made them vanish, and teaches us that these spirits were street-strollers and ruffians. In Paris the spirit was called le moine bourré ; at Orléans, le mulet odet ; at Blois le loup garon ; at Tours, le Roy Huguet ; and so on in other places. Now, it happens that those whom they called Lutherans were at that time so narrowly watched during
24180-541: Was the son of William the Silent and Anna of Saxony and was born at the castle of Dillenburg . He was named after his maternal grandfather, the Elector Maurice of Saxony , who was also a noted general. Maurice never married but was the father of illegitimate children by Margaretha van Mechelen (including Willem of Nassau, Lord of the Lek , and Louis of Nassau, Lord of De Lek and Beverweerd ) and Anna van de Kelder. He
24336-456: Was unable to save Condé and Quesnoy, but he did take La Chapelle, which Condé failed to relieve, and prevented the fall of St. Guislain. In his later commentary, Napoleon criticized Turenne for the defeat at Valenciennes. He wrote that Turenne should have marched against the Spanish because the river split his army, and so he could not support La Ferté if the latter needed help. The war eventually concluded soon after Turenne's crushing victory at
#948051