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French Religious Wars. John Calvin. By 1518, Martin Luther’s religious ideas had spread into much of France ; however, John Calvin’s work grew in popularity in France over the next two decades. Many French citizens converted to Calvinism and were called Huguenots . .
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John Calvin • By 1518, Martin Luther’s religious ideas had spread into much of France; however, John Calvin’s work grew in popularity in France over the next two decades. • Many French citizens converted to Calvinism and were called Huguenots.
Monarchial weakness combined with religious division to create civil war. • Popular Calvinism was manifested in iconoclasm, which led to further unrest between Catholics and Protestants. • Iconoclasm is the destruction of religious relics. • Tensions increased between Protestants and Catholics over the following decades.
Saint Bartholomew’s Day Massacre • Thousands of Protestants were killed in the Saint Bartholomew’s Day Massacre (August 24, 1572), an event that sparked a fifteen year civil war.
Politiques • By the 1580’s, a growing faction called politiques emerged in France. • Politiques were religious moderates who believed that only the restoration of a strong monarchy could save France from collapse. • The beginning of the reign of Henry IV in 1589, himself a politique, brought new stability to France.
The Edict of Nantes • For the sake of peace, Henry converted to Catholicism and issued the Edict of Nantes (1589). • An edict is an official decree or order, typically issued by a political or religious leader. • The Edict of Nantes was seen as a peace offering to Protestants in Catholic France. • The decree granted a degree of toleration to the Huguenots (French Protestants) and led to relative peace between the Catholics and Protestants in France.