The French Wars Of Religion: Selected Documents (documents In History Series)

This book aims - through translations of key documents concerning communal religious violence, political confrontation and war - to provide the means to study the French Wars of Religion through the most important contemporary sources. Documents include: key legislative acts of the period from the edicts concerning religion and toleration in 1560-62 to the 1590s; sources on types of religious violence during the early years of the wars; a detailed examination of the massacre of Saint Bartholomew; and the breakdown of royal authority in the 1580s and its restoration by Henry IV. "This book aims - through translations of key documents concerning war, communal religious violence, political confrontation and aristocratic faction - to provide the means to study the French Wars of Religion through most important contemporary sources of the period 1560-1600. The overall theme is the inseparability of religious and political violence during that period." "The 226 documents printed include: key legislative acts of the period, from Edicts concerning religion and toleration in 1560-2 to the 1590s; sources on the forms of religious violence during the early years of conflict; a detailed examination of the interpretative problems raised by the Massacre of Saint Bartholomew; the early years of Henry III and the emergence of the first of the major Catholic Leagues; the breakdown of royal authority in the 1580s and its restoration by Henry IV." "Each section is accompanied by a commentary which guides the reader through the documents translated and there are genealogical tables and maps to accompany them. A guide to further secondary reading in English is provided."--BOOK JACKET This book aims -- through translations of key documents concerning communal religious violence, political confrontation and war -- to provide the means to study the French Wars of Religion through the most important contemporary sources. This selection of documents includes: key legislative acts from the edicts concerning religion and toleration in the 1560's through the 1590's; sources on types of religious violence during the early years of the wars; a detailed examination of the of Saint Barthlolomew; the early years of Henry III and the emergence of the first of the Catholic leagues; and the breakdown of royal authority in the 1580s and its restoration by Henry IV. This book aims - through translations of key documents concerning communal religious violence, political confrontation and war - to provide the means to study the French Wars of Religion through the most important contemporary sources.Documents key legislative acts of the period from the edicts concerning religion and toleration in 1560-62 to the 1590s; sources on types of religious violence during the early years of the wars; a detailed examination of the massacre of Saint Bartholomew; and the breakdown of royal authority in the 1580s and its restoration by Henry IV.Each section is accompanied by a commentary which guides the reader through the documents translated. France in the first half of the sixteenth century had experienced a period of growth, political expansion and stability.