Huguenots

Background

Huguenot is the name given to Protestant believers in France who, following the Reformation, adhered to the theology of John Calvin, that is, Calvinism. It was originally a derogatory name used by their opponents. A widely known theory traces the word to the German Eidgenossen, meaning "confederates bound by oath." The French monarchy of the time held Catholicism as the state religion and punished Protestantism as heresy (teaching that departs from orthodoxy). The Huguenots lived mainly in the south and west of the country. Because some members of the nobility were also Huguenots, questions of faith became entangled with power struggles between the crown and the noble houses.

Course of Events

• 1562: The regent Catherine de' Medici issued the Edict of Saint-Germain, granting the Huguenots certain rights. Both sides, however, were dissatisfied, and that same year a massacre of Huguenots at Vassy set off the civil conflict known as the French Wars of Religion (or Huguenot Wars). The fighting recurred repeatedly until 1598.
• 1572: Huguenot leaders gathered in Paris for the marriage of the Huguenot King Henry of Navarre to Princess Margaret of Valois. Beginning with the murder of the Huguenot leader Admiral Gaspard de Coligny on August 24, the killing spread throughout Paris and into the provinces. This was the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre. About 3,000 people are reported to have died in Paris alone. Estimates of the total number of victims vary widely among scholars, ranging from 5,000 to 30,000.
• 1598: On April 13, Henry IV, who had converted to Catholicism in order to secure the throne, promulgated the Edict of Nantes. The edict granted the Huguenots freedom of conscience; the right to worship everywhere except in Paris and certain other areas; civil rights such as eligibility for public office; and fortified towns for their own defense. Catholicism, however, remained the state religion.
• 1629: Under Louis XIII, Cardinal Richelieu, the chief minister, broke the Huguenots militarily. Under the resulting Peace of Alès, the Huguenots lost their political and military privileges.
• 1681–1685: Louis XIV pressured Huguenots to convert through the dragonnades, in which dragoons (mounted infantry) were forcibly quartered in Huguenot homes, and he also prohibited them from leaving the country. He then revoked the Edict of Nantes by the Edict of Fontainebleau, signed on October 18, 1685, and promulgated on October 22. As a result, Protestant worship was banned, churches were demolished, and Protestant schools were closed.

Consequences and Influence

According to one estimate, Huguenots made up nearly 10 percent of the French population around 1572. This share fell to 7–8 percent by 1600 and to about 1 percent by 1686. Many Huguenots defied the ban on emigration and fled to England, the Netherlands, Prussia, the Americas, and elsewhere. Estimates of the number of refugees vary and are difficult to establish with certainty. It has been argued that their emigration cost France talent and resources. The Protestants who remained in France are reported to have regained freedom of religion only around the time of the French Revolution of 1789. The Edict of Nantes is cited as an early example of separating national unity from religious uniformity, and it is therefore credited with opening the way toward religious toleration and secularism (the principle that the state keeps its distance from any particular religion).

Assessment

In the Presbyterian and Reformed traditions, the Huguenots are remembered as forebears in the faith who remained steadfast under persecution. Korean denominational newspapers have likewise presented the Edict of Nantes as an event that guaranteed freedom of religion. Others, however, offer a different perspective, pointing out that Huguenot nobles maintained fortresses and armies and opposed royal authority. In their view, Huguenot history should be read not only as a story of religious persecution but also as one of political and military conflict during the period in which absolute monarchy was taking shape. Louis XIV's revocation of the edict is likewise sometimes explained as a political judgment that regarded religious uniformity as a condition of national stability. Some writings inflate the number of massacre victims to the millions; Catholic writers counter that historians' estimates are far lower.