Revocation

The Edict is an example of a social contract between the ruler and the ruled safeguarding security and peace in the kingdom, while awarding recognition and formal rights to the population, specifically in this case the minority. It was also one of the great political compromises of early modern Europe. The Edict of Nantes remained in effect until the reign of Louis XIV (the ‘Sun King’). He feared the impact of religious division for his rule and the strength of the state, and started to undermine the terms of the Edict by intimidating Protestants to convert to Catholicism. In October 1685 he issued the Edict of Fontainebleau, the first article of which was the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes. Articles 2-12 detailed the policy of Protestant repression, including a ban on Protestant schools, Protestant worship, and forbidding Protestants to emigrate. The original document, complete with Louis XIV’s royal seal, is also held in the Museum collection of the French national archives.(AE/II/887: https://www.siv.archives-nationales.culture.gouv.fr/siv/IR/FRAN_IR_057573 )