The terms of peace

‘Henri, by the Grace of God, King of France and Navarre, to all present and future, greeting. Among the infinite graces which it has pleased God to bestow on us, this is certainly one of the most notable and remarkable: to have given us virtue and strength to withstand the frightful troubles, confusions, and disorders which prevailed at our accession to this kingdom, which was divided into so many parties and factions, of which that which supported the legitimate government was the smallest’

These are the opening sentences of the Edict of Nantesthe full text can be found at: http://www.huguenot-museum-germany.com/huguenots/edicts/01-edict-nantes-1598-english.pdf, signed into law on 13 April 1598. The Edict starts as a proclamation by the King, signifying the importance of the single ruler of the realm. The issue of minority rights was initially fought out by the use of arms. The troubles and disorder mentioned in the opening paragraph refer to the French Religious Wars (1562-1598). Conflict over religious order had spread throughout Europe in the 1500s, prompting government repression, civil war, and widespread death and misery. This included France, where the French king Francis I called for local parliaments to hunt down Protestants through the Edict of Fontainebleau in 1540, which contributed to one of the bloodiest anti-Protestant acts of popular violence during the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre in 1572.

The approach to religious tolerance changed when Henry IV came to the French throne in 1589. He sympathized with the Huguenots and was likely a secret Protestant. Under pressure, he publicly affirmed his faith in Catholicism, likely in contrast to his true beliefs, in order to quell Catholic doubts about his reign. Having made a gesture towards Catholic opinion, he turned around, and in April 1598 he issued the Edict of Nantes.

The Edict provided a way out of the violence and defined the terms of the peace. Its declared longer term goal was to pave the way for religious harmony throughout the kingdom. With the Edict, the rights of the Protestant minority were formalized, which brought peace to France. Before the Edict, the protestant minority was not allowed to practice its religion and its church was completely underground.