On 31st October 1517, the German scholar Martin Luther nailed his Ninety-five Theses to the door of Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany. This set off a chain of events that changed the face of Europe forever. In the document, Luther attacked various aspects of Catholic doctrine and practices of the Church; he offered alternative interpretations of the holy texts and new ways of practicing religious devotion. His ideas on how to reform the Catholic Church ignited a movement which spread far and wide across Europe, and years of religious and political unrest followed as Catholics and Reformers alike tried to establish their right to exist. In France, the Catholic reaction to the Reformation was so strong that the country spent the latter half of the 16th century fighting numerous civil wars, with countless Protestant and Catholic lives being lost.

Using a wide range of items from the College’s early printed books collection and several of the College’s manuscripts, this exhibition tells the story of the French Reformation up to the Edict of Nantes in 1598.

This is an online exhibition for Michaelmas Term 2021.

Curated by Katie Hannawin, Library Assistant.

The writings of Calvin and other Reformers were a major driving force behind of the spread of Protestantism across France. However, as influential as Calvin was, it is arguable that the Reformation would not have been able to extend nearly as far as it did without one other key figure: the printing press.

Prior to the invention of the printing press in the mid-15th century, book production was a very slow process. Texts had to be written and copied out by hand, which meant that only a limited number could be produced over a prolonged period. Consequently, it was difficult to disseminate new ideas via the written word, and movements often struggled to gain widespread momentum as a result. This all changed when the printing press arrived. Suddenly, books could have multiple copies produced in the time it took to produce one handwritten copy. Smaller items like flyers and pamphlets could have many copies printed and ready for widespread distribution in a matter of weeks or even days. This had a massive impact on the Reformation, as it enabled Reform leaders to spread their teachings much further than before, and at a much faster rate.

By the late 1530s, Calvin had established himself in Geneva, where a growing number of publishing houses were emerging. Using their printing presses, these publishers were able to produce numerous volumes of Calvin’s many works, as well as smaller pro-Reform flyers and pamphlets, which could then be distributed across France via a secret network unknown to the Catholics. In this way, both Calvin’s influence and the more general teachings of the Reformed Church were still able to reach people all over France, in spite of staunch Catholic opposition to the Huguenots. Geneva became the vital link between French Reformers and their newfound ideology, and several of the College’s books from this period come from Genevan publishing houses.

It was not just Calvin’s works that were helped by the printing press. In 1554, Jean Crespin, a prominent Genevan publisher, published the first edition of the Histoire des Martyrs, which detailed the history of the Reform movement and commemorated those who had died for their faith. This book listed countless Protestants across France and Europe who had variously suffered and died in the name of the Protestant cause, and served to inspire the Huguenots and give them a shared narrative they could be proud of.

Although it is important not to overstate the impact of the printing press (‘mass-production’ in medieval terms is still minimal in comparison to today’s standards!), its contribution to the Reformation should not be forgotten either. It helped ideas to spread further and faster than before, both in the form of books like those we have in the Library, but also via flyers and pamphlets. People could be reached in a way they had never been before, and the size of the Protestant following in France by the 1560s owed much to the Genevan publishing houses.

As the first decade of the civil wars progressed, animosity continued to grow on both sides. Each new encounter led to more bloodshed, followed by a precarious peace agreement that would be broken within a matter of months. This was the pattern for the first ten years of the civil wars, but events reached a new level of violence on 24 August 1572: the day of the St Bartholomew’s Massacre.

The ongoing wars had made life difficult for all those living in France, and finding a lasting peace between the Catholics and the Protestants became increasingly important. In an attempt to create some form of religious harmony, Catherine de Medici arranged for her Catholic daughter, Marguerite of Valois, to marry the Huguenot Henry of Navarre. It was hoped that this interreligious marriage would demonstrate that coexistence was possible, and encourage the Protestants and Catholics to seek a reconciliation. The wedding, which took place on 18 August 1572, brought the vast majority of the French nobility to Paris in order to celebrate the nuptials.

One such noble was the Huguenot leader, Admiral Gaspard II of Coligny. On the night of 22 August, as Coligny was returning to his lodgings, a hired hitman attempted to shoot the admiral. He missed, merely grazing the admiral, and sending Coligny’s coreligionists into uproar. They demanded that a full investigation be launched into the attack, and that the guilty parties be punished accordingly. Pressure rose around Charles IX from both sides, and, unsure what to do, the king sought advice from some of his closest advisors. During this meeting, Charles’ advisors managed to persuade him that the Huguenot leaders were a threat to the authority of the king, and that he should use this as an opportunity to eliminate them. As a result, Charles identified specific Huguenot individuals, and ordered a small group to assassinate these men. They started with Admiral Coligny. On the night of the 24 August 1572, a detachment of royal guards, led by the Duke of Guise, assassinated the admiral and flung his body into the street. Catholic Parisians mutilated it, dragged it through the city, and then hung it on the Montfaucon gallows for all of Paris to see.

As the assassins continued to carry out their orders across Paris, word spread about the violence that was taking place, and rumours distorted Charles IX’s original instructions. Anti-Protestant members of Paris believed that the king had finally sanctioned the eradication of the Huguenots, and what started as a controlled operation against specific Huguenot leaders, finished as a four-day massacre in the nation’s capital. Huguenots in Paris were butchered mercilessly, their houses and business were sacked, their bodies flung carelessly into the River Seine. Although the king issued a proclamation on 25^th August for the violence to end, the massacre continued in Paris, and the violence spread quickly to the provinces over the following few days and weeks.

It is estimated that 10,000 Huguenots were slaughtered during this massacre, with 3,000 alone dying in Paris. Historians today dispute who was actually responsible for the initial kill order, with some attributing it to Catherine de Medici instead of her son. Nevertheless, it was Charles IX who publicly took responsibility for the killing of the Huguenot aristocrats, claiming that there had been a Protestant conspiracy against the crown and that the killing had been just and necessary.

The St Bartholomew’s Day Massacre changed the course of the civil war irrevocably. As the violence in provincial areas continued into October, there was a massive wave of defections from the Protestant cause, with thousands of Huguenots losing heart. Many fled abroad, or sought refuge in the few Protestant strongholds that remained. Charles IX saw an opportunity to end the ‘Protestant problem’, and banned the Huguenots from gathering to worship; he claimed that this was in order to protect them from being subject to any further violence, but in reality he hoped that this would stop Protestantism once and for all.

The remaining Huguenot cities, such as La Rochelle, Montauban and Nimes, ignored this new ban, and continued to offer refuge to all Huguenots who had been forced to flee their homes. From these strongholds, the Huguenots began to organise themselves, and the renewed hatred of the Catholics following the massacre prompted them to establish a strong network of political organisation and military defence. The Huguenots would never again allow such events as the St Bartholomew’s Day Massacre to take place.

When the question of succession arose in 1584, the Catholic League put forward several different candidates, whilst Henry of Navarre became the clear choice for the Huguenots. Initially, Henry III did not know whom to endorse as his successor, but by 1588 it became apparent that the League had grown so powerful it was threatening royal authority. Henry III decided that the only way to regain control over the League was to have its leader, the Duke of Guise, killed on 23 December 1588.

This act caused outrage within the Catholic community. The Faculty of Theology of Paris declared Henry III to be a tyrant, not a king, and stated that loyalty to him was no longer required by the French people. Catholic uprisings followed in many provincial cities, including in Paris, and it became clear to Henry III that his largest threat was no longer the Huguenots, but the League. Consequently, in April 1589, following important negotiations spearheaded by Philippe de Mornay, Henry III was reconciled with Henry of Navarre, and the king’s full support was given to the Bourbon Prince. A Protestant successor had been chosen, and the wars of religion entered their final phase.

The final ten years of the wars were by far the most devastating, as they affected the whole of the kingdom for a prolonged period of time. In spite of the alliance between Henry III and Henry of Navarre, the League refused to recognise Henry of Navarre as heir to the throne, and they stood firm from their stronghold in Paris. Consequently, both Henrys laid siege to Paris in July 1589, but on 1 August Henry III was stabbed in his headquarters in Saint-Cloud, and tragically died from his wound. Henry of Navarre was effectively now Henry IV, King of France, but it would be another nine years of fighting against the League before he could sit on his throne.

Asserting his right to the crown was by no means an easy task for Henry IV, especially whilst he was still a Protestant. Therefore, in an attempt to appease his Catholic subjects, Henry declared he wanted to receive instruction in the Catholic faith, and, after a suitable period of instruction, publicly abjured his Protestant beliefs in July 1593. Opposition to him did not immediately disappear following this conversion, but it certainly strengthened the arguments in favour of him being on the throne. Finally there was a leader who had the potential to rally both Protestant and Catholic support, and bring the country out of war at last.

In contrast, the League at this time found itself in chaos, with internal divisions preventing any form of unified front against Henry IV. They became reliant on the support of Philip II of Spain, and Henry declared war on Spain in 1595 in retaliation. This final war continued for three years until March 1598, when the chieftain of the Brittany branch of the League laid down his arms and entered into peace negotiations. Other branches of the League, as well as Spain itself, soon followed suit.

As this victory over the League and Spain became more certain, and Henry IV’s position on the throne became more secure, Henry looked to solve the religious question once and for all. In April 1598, he issued the Edict of Nantes, a document that would end all fighting and enable France to enter a (brief) period of religious coexistence. After almost forty years, the Wars of Religion were finally over.