Winner of the National Huguenot Society's 2022 Scholarly Works Award The Huguenots and their struggle for freedom of conscience and freedom of worship are largely unknown outside of France. The entrance of the sixteenth-century Reformation in France, first through the teachings of Luther, then of Calvin, brought three centuries of religious wars before Protestants were considered fully French and obtained the freedom to worship God without repression and persecution from the established church and the tyrannical state. From the first martyrs early in the sixteenth century to the last martyrs at the end of the eighteenth century, Protestants suffered from the intolerance of church and state, the former refusing genuine reform and unwilling to relinquish privileges, the latter rejecting any threats to the absolute monarchy. The rights gained with one treaty or edict of pacification were snatched away with another royal decree declaring Protestants heretics and outlaws. Political and religious intrigues, conspiracies, assassinations, and broken promises contributed to the turmoil and tens of thousands were exiled or fled to places of refuge. Others spent decades as slaves on the king's galleys or imprisoned. They lost their possessions; they lost their lives. They did not lose their faith in a sovereign God.

The Huguenots and their struggle for freedom of conscience and freedom of worship are largely unknown outside of France. The entrance of the sixteenth-century Reformation in France, first through the teachings of Luther, then of Calvin, brought three centuries of religious wars before Protestants were considered fully French and obtained the freedom to worship God without repression and persecution from the established church and the tyrannical state. From the first martyrs early in the sixteenth century to the last martyrs at the end of the eighteenth century, Protestants suffered from the intolerance of church and state, the former refusing genuine reform and unwilling to relinquish privileges, the latter rejecting any threats to the absolute monarchy. The rights gained with one treaty or edict of pacification were snatched away with another royal decree declaring Protestants heretics and outlaws. Political and religious intrigues, conspiracies, assassinations, and broken promises contributed to the turmoil and tens of thousands were exiled or fled to places of refuge. Others spent decades as slaves on the king’s galleys or imprisoned. They lost their possessions; they lost their lives. They did not lose their faith in a sovereign God.

This book is a 2005 edition of Mack P. Holt's classic study of the French religious wars of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Drawing on the scholarship of social and cultural historians of the Reformation, it shows how religion infused both politics and the socio-economic tensions of the period to produce a long extended civil war. Professor Holt integrates court politics and the political theory of the elites with the religious experiences of the popular classes, offering a fresh perspective on the wars and on why the French were willing to kill their neighbors in the name of religion. The book has been created specifically for undergraduates and general readers with no background knowledge of either French history or the Reformation. This edition updates the text in the light of new work published in the decade prior to publication and the 'Suggestions for further reading' has been completely re-written.

A new look at the French wars of religion, designed for undergraduate students and general readers.

Taken from a series which provides analyses of complex issues in A level modern history topics, this book looks at the France during 1559-1598. It examines the effects of the civil war - political, economic and social - and considers the extent of the kingdom's recovery under Henry IV.