Peace and Authority During the French Religious Wars c.1560-1600

by Roberts, Penny

• ISBN13: 9781137326744
• ISBN10: 1137326743
• eBook ISBN(s): 9781137326751
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2013-05-29
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
• More Book Details
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Summary

The Edict of Nantes of 1598 is traditionally celebrated as an enlightened act of religious toleration ending the long and bloody conflict of the French religious wars. It is often forgotten, however, that it was preceded by a series of increasingly elaborate royal edicts which sought to pacify the country and to reconcile Protestant and Catholic. This book provides the first comprehensive overview of the process of peacemaking to cover the whole period of the wars throughout the French kingdom. It re-examines the sometimes fraught relationship between the crown and its subjects: the nobility, regional authorities, and urban communities, as well as confessional groups dissatisfied with royal policy. Through a wide-ranging and close analysis of archival sources, it re-evaluates both the role of royal authority and of local agency in the peace process, and provides a new perspective on the political, religious, social and cultural history of the conflict.

Author Biography

Penny Roberts is Associate Professor (Reader) in History at the University of Warwick, UK. She has written extensively on the social, cultural, religious and political history of sixteenth-century France, especially the period of its religious wars (c.1560-1600).

Table of Contents

Preface and Acknowledgements
A Note on Sources
Abbreviations
Introduction
1. Paths to Peace
2. Phases of Peace
3. Mechanisms of Peace
4. Brokers of Peace
5. Themes of Peace
6. Communities of Peace
7. Practicalities of Peace
Conclusion
Appendix I: Text of the 1563 (Amboise) Commissions
Appendix II: Tables
Bibliography