Chapter 12: The Wars of Religion

1. Chapter 12: The Wars of Religion October 31, 2008

2. Catherine de Medicis and the Guises • After the death of Francis II, Catherine de Medicis became regent • She was worried about the power of the Guise Family and wanted to protect the monarchy • She allied herself with the Protestants

3. Catherine de Medicis and the Guises • Issued the January Edict which allowed Protestant public worship outside of town and private within • In 1562, the Duke of Guise massacred a gathering of worshippers which launched the wars of religion in France

4. Catherine de Medicis and the Guises • Catherine moved closer to the Guises as the Protestants became more powerful • She was behind the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre in which 20,000 protestants were killed in 3 days.

5. The Rise to Power of Henry of Navarre • Henry III, last son of Henry II was on the throne • Found France split down the middle with the Catholic Guises on one side (The Catholic League) and Huguenots who wanted revenge on the other • Henry was a politique who wanted to save France from itself

6. The Rise to Power of Henry of Navarre • He was forced into an alliance with Henry of Navarre because the Catholic League (meaning the Guise Family) had become too powerful • Henry III was assassinated and Henry of Navarre, who was the next in line for the throne • Henry IV, as he was called, wanted a stop to the religious wars. • He gave up his Protestant faith and converted to Catholicism. “Paris is worth a mass I think!”

7. The Edict of Nantes • Henry IV issued the Edict of Nantes which guaranteed minority religious rights to the Protestants • One of the first guarantees of religious rights from a ruling monarch. • This edict will be in effect until the reign of Louis XIV