Huguenots (hy

`gənŏts), French Protestants, followers of John Calvin Calvin, John, 1509–64, French Protestant theologian of the Reformation, b. Noyon, Picardy.

Early Life

Calvin early prepared for an ecclesiastical career; from 1523 to 1528 he studied in Paris.
..... Click the link for more information. . The term is derived from the German Eidgenossen, meaning sworn companions or confederates.

Origins

Prior to Calvin's publication in 1536 of his Institutes of the Christian Religion, a reform movement already existed in France. Despite persecution, the movement grew. Under King Henry II reprisals became more severe. Nevertheless, in 1559, the first French national synod was held, and a Presbyterian church modeled on Calvin's reform in Geneva was founded. The adherence of a large number of the nobility to the movement gave it political meaning and added fuel to persecution.

Wars of Religion and the Edict of Nantes

The conspiracy of Amboise (1560; see Amboise, conspiracy of Amboise, conspiracy of, 1560, plot of the Huguenots (French Protestants) and the house of Bourbon to usurp the power of the Guise family, which virtually ruled France during the reign of the young Francis II .
..... Click the link for more information. ) during the reign of King Francis II Francis II, 1544–60, king of France (1559–60), son of King Henry II and Catherine de' Medici. He married (1558) Mary Queen of Scots (Mary Stuart), and during his brief reign the government was in the hands of her uncles, François and Charles de
..... Click the link for more information. inflamed both Roman Catholic and Protestant sentiment. This, along with political rivalry, particularly among the Bourbons Bourbon (b
..... Click the link for more information. and the Guises Louis de Lorraine, Cardinal de Guise, 1555–88, was killed at the same time as Henri. After their deaths the leadership of the League devolved upon their brother, Charles, duc de Mayenne .
..... Click the link for more information. , precipitated the Wars of Religion (1562–98; see Religion, Wars of Religion, Wars of, 1562–98, series of civil wars in France, also known as the Huguenot Wars.

The immediate issue was the French Protestants' struggle for freedom of worship and the right of establishment (see Huguenots ).
..... Click the link for more information. ). Despite such heavy blows to the Huguenots as the massacre of Saint Bartholomew's Day Saint Bartholomew's Day, massacre of, murder of French Protestants, or Huguenots , that began in Paris on Aug. 24, 1572. It was preceded, on Aug. 22, by an attempt, ordered by Catherine de' Medici , on the life of the Huguenot leader Admiral Coligny .
..... Click the link for more information. (1572), the formation of the Catholic League (see League League or Holy League, in French history, organization of Roman Catholics, aimed at the suppression of Protestantism and Protestant political influence in France.
..... Click the link for more information. ), and the intervention of Spain (1589–98) against the Protestant heir to the throne, the Bourbon Henry IV Henry IV, 1553–1610, king of France (1589–1610) and, as Henry III, of Navarre (1572–1610), son of Antoine de Bourbon and Jeanne d'Albret ; first of the Bourbon kings of France.
..... Click the link for more information. , the Protestants were ultimately victorious. Their success was due largely to their unity under such admirable leaders as Louis I de Condé (see under Condé Louis I de Bourbon, prince de Condé, 1530–69, Protestant leader and general. He fought the Spanish at Metz (1552) and Saint-Quentin (1557) but won little favor at court.
..... Click the link for more information. , family), Gaspard de Coligny Coligny, Gaspard de Châtillon, comte de (gäspär` də shätēyôN` kôNt də kōlēnyē`)
..... Click the link for more information. , Jeanne d'Albret Jeanne d'Albret (zhän dälbrā`)
..... Click the link for more information. , and her son, Henry IV.

In 1598, Henry IV, by issuing the Edict of Nantes (see Nantes, Edict of Nantes, Edict of, 1598, decree promulgated at Nantes by King Henry IV to restore internal peace in France, which had been torn by the Wars of Religion; the edict defined the rights of the French Protestants (see Huguenots ).
..... Click the link for more information. ), established Protestantism in 200 towns, proclaimed freedom of worship, and allowed substantial political independence. During the next 50 years, more and more skilled artisans and members of the bourgeoisie became Huguenots, who thus constituted one of the most industrious and economically advanced elements in French society.

Suppression

In the reign of King Louis XIII, Cardinal Richelieu Richelieu, Armand Jean du Plessis, duc de (Cardinal Richelieu)
..... Click the link for more information. decided to suppress Protestant political privileges. An uprising (1621–22) against the introduction of Catholicism in Béarn was put down by Richelieu, and the Protestants lost all the strongholds given to them under the Edict of Nantes, except Montauban and La Rochelle. Led by Henri de Rohan Rohan, Henri, duc de (äNrē` dük də rôäN`)
..... Click the link for more information. and Benjamin de Soubise Soubise, Benjamin de Rohan, seigneur de
..... Click the link for more information. , the Huguenots revolted again in 1625 and in 1627. La Rochelle was captured (1628) by Richelieu after a 14-month siege, during which King Charles I of England attempted to send some aid to the Protestant defenders. The Peace of Alais (1629) stripped the Huguenots of all political power but assured them of continued religious tolerance.

Cardinal Mazarin continued Richelieu's policy, but King Louis XIV, urged by the French Catholic clergy, moved to suppress the dissident religion. Conversion was encouraged; the Edict of Nantes was interpreted in the strictest way possible; and dragoons were quartered in the homes of Huguenots (see dragonnades dragonnades or dragonades (both: drăgənādz`)
..... Click the link for more information. ). Finally, in 1685, the Edict of Nantes was revoked.

This act had disastrous results. Entire provinces were depopulated as countless Huguenots fled to England, the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, and America. The only important fragment of Huguenots left in France was in the Cévennes, where the war of the Camisards Camisards (kăm`ĭsärdz, Fr.
..... Click the link for more information. (1702–10) broke out. In 1787, Louis XVI allowed the Huguenots tolerance, and in Dec., 1789, the revolutionary National Assembly restored their civil rights. Full religious freedom was not attained until church and state were separated in 1905.

Bibliography

See history by H. M. Baird (6 vol., 1879–95); G. A. Rothrock, The Huguenots (1979); N. M. Sutherland, The Huguenot Struggle for Recognition (1980); R. D. Gwynn, Huguenot Heritage (1985).

Huguenots

French Protestants of the 16th–17th century, many of whom suffered severe persecution for their faith. The first French Huguenot community was founded in 1546, and the confession of faith drawn up by the first synod in 1559 was influenced by the ideas of John Calvin. Their numbers increased rapidly and they became a political force, led by Gaspard II de Coligny. Conflicts with the Roman Catholic government and others, including the House of Guise, led to the Wars of Religion (1562–98). A Huguenot political party was formed in 1573 to fight for religious and civil liberties. The powerful anti-Huguenot Holy League was formed in 1576. Henry IV ended the civil wars by abjuring Protestantism in 1593 and converting to Catholicism, but in 1598 he promulgated the Edict of Nantes, granting rights to Protestants. Civil wars occurred again in the 1620s, the Huguenots lost their political power, and they continued to be harassed and forcibly converted. In 1685 Louis XIV revoked the Edict of Nantes; over the next several years, more than 400,000 French Protestants left France.