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Edict of Amboise

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Edict of Amboise
Peace negotiations at Amboise, 17th century engraving
Signed19 March 1563(1563-03-19)
LocationChâteau of Amboise
NegotiatorsCatherine de' Medici
Anne de Montmorency
Condé
Original
signatories		Catherine de' Medici
Parties
  • Crown
  • Protestant rebels
LanguagesFrench

TheEdict of Amboise,also known as theEdict of Pacification,was signed at theChâteau of Amboiseon 19 March 1563 byCatherine de' Medici,acting as regent for her sonCharles IX of France.The Edict ended the first stage of theFrench Wars of Religion,inaugurating a period of official peace inFranceby guaranteeing theHuguenotsreligious privileges and freedoms. However, it was gradually undermined by continuing religious violence at a regional level and hostilities renewed in 1567.

Background

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The Queen MotherCatherine de' Medici,circa 1560, who favoured compromise with theHuguenotsminority

Hoping to resolve the increasingly bitter conflict between FrenchHuguenotsandCatholics,in January 1562Catherine de' Mediciissued theEdict of Januaryallowing limited toleration to Protestants.[1]This was immediately denounced by those Catholics who opposed such concessions, led byFrancis, Duke of Guise,who in March oversaw the killing of Protestant worshippers in theMassacre of Vassy,often considered the starting point of theFrench War of Religion.[2]

On 2 April,Orléanswas seized by a Huguenot force underCondé,as well as a number of other towns, includingTours,LyonsandRouen.The two sides held peace talks over the period 18 to 28 May but these failed,[3]since Condé insisted Guise be removed from court, a demand the Crown could not accept.[4]Anne de Montmorency,theConstable of France,continued negotiations on behalf of the Crown but his terms were also unacceptable; they included a ban on Protestant preachers and the exile of Condé and other Protestant leaders untilCharles IX of Francereached his majority.[5]

Catholic success in retaking areas seized by the Huguenots meant prospects for a negotiated peace dwindled and fresh attempts to negotiate terms as Condé approached Paris in November 1562 were largely a delaying tactic until reinforcements could arrive.[6]Shortly afterwards,Antoine of Navarredied atRouen,whileSaint Andréwas killed atDreuxin December and Montmorency taken prisoner. The loss of these senior Catholic leaders allowed Guise to take control of the Royal war effort, while the capture of Condé at Dreux led him to believe he could crush the opposition and achieve total victory by takingOrléans.[7]

The assassination of Guise in February 1563 during the siege of Orleans removed a major obstacle to a negotiated peace, while the demoralised Royal army was unable to press its advantage.[8]Shortly after this, Catherine travelled to Orléans and on 8 March she negotiated the release of Condé and Montmorency by their respective captors.[9]Under her supervision, the two men met on the nearbyÎle aux Bœufsto discuss peace terms,[10]and on 19 March, the Edict of Amboise was approved by theConseil du Roi.[11]Unlike subsequent edicts, which were marked with green wax to indicate they were intended to be permanent, the Edict of Amboise was sealed with yellow wax, denoting it as only temporary and undermining Protestant trust in its provisions.[12]

Terms

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Huguenot leaderGaspard II de Coligny,one of those who felt it better to continue fighting than accept the restricted terms of the Edict

The agreement was modelled on the previous Edict of January, though with greater restrictions.[8]Although it allowedliberty of conscienceand the right for Huguenots to practise their religion in private,[13]communal Calvinist worship was restricted to the suburbs of one town in eachbaillageorsénéchauséein general.[14]Exemptions included towns held by Protestants prior to 7 March, which were allowed freedom of worship, as well higher rank Protestant nobles, who could hold services in their feudal holdings.[9]Lower rank gentry were given the same rights but only for their immediate family members and servants.[15]Despite thebaillageprovision, Protestant worship was banned in Paris.[13]

Any property of the Catholic church seized during the war was to be returned,[9]with reciprocal arrangements for Huguenots deprived of offices and goods, including those who lived in Paris, a provision largely designed for the benefit of Condé.[15]The government agreed to pay accrued wages for the Huguenot army provided it left the country and discharged Condé from reimbursing revenues gained from levying taxes during the civil war.[15]Finally all political and religious leagues were banned along with armed assemblies.[14]The Edict also granted a general amnesty for crimes committed during the war, a provision that came into force only after the hastily scheduled execution ofJean de Poltrot,alleged assassin of Guise.[16][a]Seeking to cause conflict over such disputes was forbidden and perpetrators could be sentenced without a trial.[15]

A series of amendments were passed on 22 December; freedom of worship for upper Protestant nobility on their own estates excluded lands purchased from the Catholic church, while those with multiple residences could do so when they moved between them. Governors could nominatebaillagesuburbs, with or without the aid of commissioners, while Protestant worship could only continue in towns occupied prior to 7 March if still in their possession at the end of the war and could not be re-introduced in towns they had lost. Protestant Parisians could not travel out of the area to worship and would have to move out of the region if they wanted to do so. Burials were to occur at mutually agreed sites outside the city walls and to prevent conflict, funeral corteges could have no more than 30 members.[15]

However, significant elements on both sides viewed the Edict as unsatisfactory and preferred to continue fighting. The Guise party argued too many concessions had been made, while the Huguenot faction known as the "Party of thePastors",whose members includedColignyand theologians likeTheodor Beza,felt they did not go nearly far enough and largely favoured the Protestant nobility led by Condé.[18]

Registration and enforcement

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Since many on both sides opposed the Edict, ensuring acceptance became a major issue, while solutions includedCharles IX's grand tour of France,which began in 1564 and lasted two years.[19]Organised by Catherine de' Medici, it travelled around France in a clockwise direction, covering three separateParlementsand many other cities, hearing petitions and chastising those held responsible for failing to uphold its provisions.[19]Ultimately, the Crown resorted to holdinglits de justice,a legal device used to impose the Edict on the individualParlementsand previously used only within theParlement de Paris.[20]Even this arbitrary device failed to secure adherence at a local level, as in Tours where Protestants were denied the site of worship given to them by the edict, or inRomans-sur-Isèrewhere they refused to reinstate the Mass.[21]

More immediate problems included the need to demobilise the Protestant mercenaries, with the unpaid troops marauding and plundering Champagne unhindered for many weeks, until expelled with the help of regular troops fromMetz.[22][23]It also proved almost impossible to enforce the ban on political and religious groups, with little attempt to stop the upsurge in Catholic leagues that formed subsequently to the peace.[24]Examples include the "Confraternities of the Holy Ghost" established inLanguedocbyBlaise de Montlucand Tavannes in Burgundy.[25]

Registration

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For the Edict to be legal, it first had to be registered by the regionalParlements,most of whom opposed the clauses relating to the toleration of the Huguenots.

  • The largest and most important was theParlement de Paris,which covered a territory considerably larger than the city itself (see Map). AlthoughLouis, Duke of MontpensierandCharles de Bourbonwere made responsible for ensuring registration,[26]it resisted before registering a modified version on 27 March, with the proviso that it would have limited authority until Charles came of age.[27]While in Rouen in August 1563, Charles declared his majority, thus voiding these conditions.[20]
Distribution of individualParlements1789; Besançon, Metz, Nancy, Douai, Pau and Rousillon were added in the 17th century
  • TheParlement de Normandie,orParlement de Rouen,strongly resisted efforts byBrissacto enforce registration, and the local administration, the Council of 24 asked for exemption from its provisions. When this was denied,Parlementpassed their own law voiding key parts of the Edict, which was only registered after the murder in late April of several Protestants seeking to return to the city.[28]
  • TheParlement de Dijonproved more stubborn still, dispatching a commission to court to lodge their protest, followed by a remonstrance to the King in May. Although registered under duress on 19 June, an additional clause effectively negated their action and it was only properly registered in May 1564 when Charles issued alit de justiceduring his royal tour.[29]
  • Registration was forced through theParlement de Bordeauxby its President Jacques-Benôit Lagebaton, who was subsequently hounded from office for his decision.[27]Both Bordeaux and theParlement de Toulousepassed amended versions of the Edict, forcing Charles to issued both with alit de justice.[30]
  • TheParlement d'Aixrefused to acknowledge receipt of the edict for a year, forcing the King to replace its most recalcitrant members in November 1564.[31]Replacing them with selected judges from Paris did not resolve the issue and further Catholic resistance in the region continued.[14]
  • The onlyParlementsprepared to register the Edict without compulsion were those ofGrenoble,an area dominated by Huguenots, andRennes,which had been reinstated only in 1554 and was more susceptible to Royal influence. Both issued statements urging the different faiths to unite and uphold royal edicts.[32]

Enforcement

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François de Montmorency,one of threeMarshallscharged with helping enforce the Edict in the provinces

Even when coerced into registration, manyParlementsproved unwilling to enforce the legislation they had just passed.[30]To oversee the process, thirty commissioners with broad judicial and executive powers were sent into the provinces to hear petitions and complaints from the residents of their assigned localities.[33]In areas such as Lyon, they also had to compel lower courts to register the Edict,[34]while some faced opposition from Catholic regional military governors, such asCharles de Montmorency-Damvillein theÎle-de-FranceandGaspard de SaulxinBurgundy.[35]Its vagueness on several key issues allowed the commissioners to adapt the terms to fit local needs, such as legislation on whether Protestants must decorate their houses for Catholic ceremonies.[36]

To assist enforcement, senior military officers were deputised to cover different regions.MarshallFrançois de Montmorencywas given the Île-de-France,Picardy,Normandy,Berryand Orléans, proceeding first to Picardy to ensure recognition of the King's majority. MarshalFrançois de Scépeauxwas assignedLyonnais,Dauphiné,ProvenceandLanguedoc,starting with the troubled city of Lyon. Finally MarshalImbert de La Plâtièrewas assigned the regions ofTouraine,Anjou,Maine,Poitou,parts ofBrittanyand lowerNormandy.With such broad remits, they soon found themselves overstretched in their ability to provide backing to the commissioners.[37]

In January 1566, concerns over the number of cases being sent to the Crown for arbitration led to abolition of the commissioner system, which was replaced with "neutral chambers" set up by the regionalParlement.[38]

Legacy of peace

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Ultimately the agreement failed to achieve its primary purpose of ending religious divisions and the next stage of the war began in 1567, caused by Huguenot fears the Edict was about to be revoked and the outbreak offightingbetweenSpainand Protestant rebels in theNetherlands.[39]More than this though, the Edict was undermined by ongoing popular religious violence in the regional communities, as demonstrated in 1572 by the provincial killings that followed theSt. Bartholomew's Day massacrein Paris.[40]

Notes

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  1. ^Wounded by Poltrot, Guise died six days later, largely as a result of his surgeons constantly bleeding him[17]

References

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  1. ^Potter 1997,pp. 45–46.
  2. ^Carroll 2009,p. 18.
  3. ^Thompson 1909,p. 149.
  4. ^Thompson 1909,p. 151.
  5. ^Thompson 1909,p. 153.
  6. ^Thompson 1909,pp. 174–175.
  7. ^Carroll 2009,p. 166.
  8. ^abHolt 2005,p. 55.
  9. ^abcKnecht 1996,p. 37.
  10. ^Roberts 2013,p. 32.
  11. ^Thompson 1909,p. 190.
  12. ^Roberts 2013,p. 64.
  13. ^abThompson 1909,p. 191.
  14. ^abcSalmon 1975,pp. 147–148.
  15. ^abcdePotter 1997,pp. 82–85.
  16. ^Sutherland 1981,p. 290.
  17. ^Sutherland 1981,p. 279.
  18. ^Kingdon 1967,p. 149.
  19. ^abHolt 2005,p. 59.
  20. ^abHolt 2005,p. 58.
  21. ^Nicholls 1994,p. 23.
  22. ^Thompson 1909,pp. 192–193.
  23. ^Salmon 1975,p. 149.
  24. ^Thompson 1909,pp. 215–216.
  25. ^Holt 2020,p. 159.
  26. ^Diefendorf 1991,p. 72.
  27. ^abHolt 2005,p. 57.
  28. ^Benedict 2003,pp. 114–115.
  29. ^Holt 2020,pp. 155–156.
  30. ^abHolt 2005,p. 60.
  31. ^Foa 2004,pp. 263–264.
  32. ^Roberts 2007,p.?.
  33. ^Foa 2004,p. 258.
  34. ^Foa 2004,p. 264.
  35. ^Foa 2004,pp. 268–270.
  36. ^Foa 2004,p. 267.
  37. ^Roberts 2013,pp. 65–66.
  38. ^Roberts 2013,pp. 70–71.
  39. ^Salmon 1975,pp. 168–169.
  40. ^Benedict 2003,p. 126.

Sources

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  • Benedict, Philip (2003).Rouen During the Wars of Religion.Cambridge University Press.ISBN0521547970.
  • Carroll, Stuart (2009).Martyrs and Murderers: The Guise Family and the Making of Europe.Oxford University Press.ISBN978-0199229079.
  • Diefendorf, Barbara (1991).Beneath the Cross: Catholics and Huguenots in Sixteenth-Century Paris.Oxford University Press.ISBN0195070135.
  • Foa, Jeremie (2004)."Making Peace: The Commissions for Enforcing the Pacification Edicts in the Reign of Charles IX (1560–1574)".French History.18(3): 268–70.doi:10.1093/fh/18.3.256.
  • Holt, Mack (2005).The French Wars of Religion, 1562–1629.Cambridge University Press.ISBN978-0521547505.
  • Holt, Mack (2020).The Politics of Wine in Early Modern France.Cambridge University Press.ISBN978-1108456814.
  • Kingdon, Robert (1967).Geneva and the Consolidation of the French Protestant Movement, 1564–1572: a Contribution to the History of Congregationalism, Presbyterianism and Calvinist Resistance Theory.Libraire Droz Press.ISBN978-2600030168.
  • Knecht, Robert J (1996).The French Wars of Religion 1559–1598.Longman.ISBN058228533X.
  • Nicholls, David (1994). "Protestants, Catholics and Magistrates in Tours 1562–72: The Making of a Catholic City during the Religious Wars".French History.8:14–33.doi:10.1093/fh/8.1.14.
  • Potter, David (1997).The French Wars of Religion: Selected Documents.Macmillan.ISBN0312175450.
  • Roberts, Penny (2013).Peace and Authority During the French Religious Wars c. 1560–1600.Palgrave Macmillan.ISBN978-1137326744.
  • Roberts, Penny (2007)."The Language of Peace during the French Religious Wars"(PDF).Cultural and Social History.4(3): 297–351.doi:10.2752/147800407X219223.S2CID144713492.
  • Salmon, J.H.M (1975).Society in Crisis: France in the Sixteenth Century.Methuen.ISBN978-0416730500.
  • Sutherland, Nicola (1981). "The Assassination of Francois Duc de Guise February 1563".The Historical Journal.24(2): 279–295.doi:10.1017/S0018246X00005471.S2CID159857086.
  • Thompson, James (1909).The Wars of Religion in France: The Huguenots, Catherine de Medici and Phillip II.Chicago University Press.
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