Edict of Amboise
Condé | |
Original signatories | Catherine de' Medici |
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Parties |
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Languages | French |
The Edict of Amboise, also known as the Edict of Pacification, was signed at the
Background
Hoping to resolve the increasingly bitter conflict between French
On 2 April,
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.
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 nearby Île aux Bœufs to discuss peace terms, [10] and on 19 March, the Edict of Amboise was approved by the Conseil 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
The agreement was modelled on the previous Edict of January, though with greater restrictions.[8] Although it allowed liberty of conscience and the right for Huguenots to practise their religion in private, [13] communal Calvinist worship was restricted to the suburbs of one town in each baillage or sénéchausée in 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 the baillage provision, 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 of Jean 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 nominate baillage suburbs, 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 the
Registration and enforcement
Since many on both sides opposed the Edict, ensuring acceptance became a major issue, while solutions included
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 from
Registration
For the Edict to be legal, it first had to be registered by the regional Parlements, most of whom opposed the clauses relating to the toleration of the Huguenots.
- The largest and most important was the Parlement de Paris, which covered a territory considerably larger than the city itself (see Map). Although Louis, Duke of Montpensier and Charles de Bourbon were 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]
- The Parlement de Normandie, or Parlement de Rouen, strongly resisted efforts by Brissac to enforce registration, and the local administration, the Council of 24 asked for exemption from its provisions. When this was denied, Parlement passed 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]
- The Parlement de Dijon proved 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 a lit de justice during his royal tour.[29]
- Registration was forced through the Parlement de Bordeaux by its President Jacques-Benôit Lagebaton, who was subsequently hounded from office for his decision.[27] Both Bordeaux and the Parlement de Toulouse passed amended versions of the Edict, forcing Charles to issued both with a lit de justice.[30]
- The Parlement d'Aix refused 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 only Parlements prepared to register the Edict without compulsion were those of Rennes, 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
Even when coerced into registration, many Parlements proved unwilling to enforce the legislation they had just passed.
To assist enforcement, senior military officers were deputised to cover different regions.
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 regional Parlement.[38]
Legacy of peace
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 of
Notes
References
- ^ Potter 1997, pp. 45–46.
- ^ Carroll 2009, p. 18.
- ^ Thompson 1909, p. 149.
- ^ Thompson 1909, p. 151.
- ^ Thompson 1909, p. 153.
- ^ Thompson 1909, pp. 174–175.
- ^ Carroll 2009, p. 166.
- ^ a b Holt 2005, p. 55.
- ^ a b c Knecht 1996, p. 37.
- ^ Roberts 2013, p. 32.
- ^ Thompson 1909, p. 190.
- ^ Roberts 2013, p. 64.
- ^ a b Thompson 1909, p. 191.
- ^ a b c Salmon 1975, pp. 147–148.
- ^ a b c d e Potter 1997, pp. 82–85.
- ^ Sutherland 1981, p. 290.
- ^ Sutherland 1981, p. 279.
- ^ Kingdon 1967, p. 149.
- ^ a b Holt 2005, p. 59.
- ^ a b Holt 2005, p. 58.
- ^ Nicholls 1994, p. 23.
- ^ Thompson 1909, pp. 192–193.
- ^ Salmon 1975, p. 149.
- ^ Thompson 1909, pp. 215–216.
- ^ Holt 2020, p. 159.
- ^ Diefendorf 1991, p. 72.
- ^ a b Holt 2005, p. 57.
- ^ Benedict 2003, pp. 114–115.
- ^ Holt 2020, pp. 155–156.
- ^ a b Holt 2005, p. 60.
- ^ Foa 2004, pp. 263–264.
- ^ Roberts 2007, p. ?.
- ^ Foa 2004, p. 258.
- ^ Foa 2004, p. 264.
- ^ Foa 2004, pp. 268–270.
- ^ Foa 2004, p. 267.
- ^ Roberts 2013, pp. 65–66.
- ^ Roberts 2013, pp. 70–71.
- ^ Salmon 1975, pp. 168–169.
- ^ Benedict 2003, p. 126.
Sources
- Benedict, Philip (2003). Rouen During the Wars of Religion. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521547970.
- Carroll, Stuart (2009). Martyrs and Murderers: The Guise Family and the Making of Europe. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0199229079.
- Diefendorf, Barbara (1991). Beneath the Cross: Catholics and Huguenots in Sixteenth-Century Paris. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0195070135.
- 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. .
- Holt, Mack (2005). The French Wars of Religion, 1562–1629. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0521547505.
- Holt, Mack (2020). The Politics of Wine in Early Modern France. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1108456814.
- 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. ISBN 978-2600030168.
- Knecht, Robert J (1996). The French Wars of Religion 1559–1598. Longman. ISBN 058228533X.
- 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. .
- Potter, David (1997). The French Wars of Religion: Selected Documents. Macmillan. ISBN 0312175450.
- Roberts, Penny (2013). Peace and Authority During the French Religious Wars c. 1560–1600. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-1137326744.
- Roberts, Penny (2007). "The Language of Peace during the French Religious Wars" (PDF). Cultural and Social History. 4 (3): 297–351. S2CID 144713492.
- Salmon, J.H.M (1975). Society in Crisis: France in the Sixteenth Century. Methuen. ISBN 978-0416730500.
- Sutherland, Nicola (1981). "The Assassination of Francois Duc de Guise February 1563". The Historical Journal. 24 (2): 279–295. S2CID 159857086.
- Thompson, James (1909). The Wars of Religion in France: The Huguenots, Catherine de Medici and Phillip II. Chicago University Press.