Persecution of Huguenots under Louis XV
Encyclopedia
The persecution of Huguenots under Louis XV refers to hostile activities against French Protestants between 1724 and 1764 during the reign of Louis XV.
, and had remained unmolested during the reign of his successor, Louis XIII.
But the next king, Louis XIV, revoked Henry IV
's Edict of Nantes
in 1685, forbidding Protestants to worship publicly along with other harsh sanctions against them.
Under this duress, many Protestants converted to Catholicism; others fled the country. Those who converted, however, usually did so only outwardly. As soon as the vigilance of the government was relaxed they neglected the service of the Catholic Church, and, when they dared, they met in their houses or in the open for the worship of their own faith. In truth, the number of Protestants who truly became Catholics and passed on their faith to their children was insignificant.
During the years 1702–1704, a serious state of rebellion existed in the region of the Cévennes
mountains in South-Eastern France. The Protestants there, known as the Camisards, were ecstatic in religion and struggled against the Catholic oppression.
The penalties for preaching or attending a Protestant assembly were severe: life terms in the galleys for men, imprisonment for women, and confiscation of all property were common. Protestantism continued to be suppressed in France until the end of the reign of Louis XIV.
, who followed Louis XIV, was not interested in persecutions, however. The laws did not change, but their application diminished. Protestants began once more to celebrate their religion, especially in Languedoc
, in Dauphiné
, in Guyenne
, and in Poitou
. Nevertheless, there remained those who advocated rigor in the treatment of the Protestants. Prominent among these was the Archbishop of Rouen
, Louis III de La Vergne de Tressan, who was the grand almoner to the Regent. He argued with both the Regent and his most influential minister, Cardinal Dubois
, in favour of severe measures against the Protestants. They rejected his ideas.
When Louis Henri, Duc de Bourbon
came to be premier, however, the bishop found in him a more receptive audience, and he was given the go-ahead to draw up a general law against "l'hérésie". The law was declared by the King on 14 May 1724:
The law equalled, and even surpassed in some measures, the most severe proclamations of Louis XIV. However, times had changed. Louis XIV's decrees against the Protestants had been greeted by the majority of the country with enthusiasm. But the clergy had not sought this edict; it was "the work of an ambitious man [Tressan] backed up by certain fanatics". The magistrates, too, were not as enthusiastic as the public in their application of the edict.
Discrimination
was seriously carried out only where the local authorities were strict and loyal to the edict. It mostly occurred in southern France, especially in the dioceses of Nîmes
and Uzès
, and in Dauphiné
. Protestant preachers and/or leaders active during this period in France included Antoine Court, Paul Rabaut
, Alexander Ramsey
, and Roger. They often lived as nomads in wilderness areas in order to avoid capture.
HIstorians estimate that the number of men and women imprisoned or sent to the galleys for religious offences in the 40 years following the edict of 1724 was almost two thousand. According to Antione Court, in eight ministers were executed in this period. This was a much lower rate of loss than what had occurred during the later part of Louis XIV's reign.
Toulon
was the centre where most of the men committed to the galleys for religious crimes served their sentences.
According to the letters of one of its inmates and from the accounts of witnesses such as Marie Durand, there was a dreary and desolate women's prison, the Tower of Constance at Aigues Mortes. Through the efforts of the Price of Beaveau, the dozen or so women held there were finally released in the late 1760s .
In the decades following 1724, enthusiasm for the persecution of Protestants continued to wane; after 1764 they "enjoyed a practical toleration for a quarter of a century before the law secured them a legal toleration."
Under previous kings
The members of the Protestant religion in France, the Huguenots, had been granted the right to worship in their faith by Henry IVHenry IV of France
Henry IV , Henri-Quatre, was King of France from 1589 to 1610 and King of Navarre from 1572 to 1610. He was the first monarch of the Bourbon branch of the Capetian dynasty in France....
, and had remained unmolested during the reign of his successor, Louis XIII.
But the next king, Louis XIV, revoked Henry IV
Henry IV of France
Henry IV , Henri-Quatre, was King of France from 1589 to 1610 and King of Navarre from 1572 to 1610. He was the first monarch of the Bourbon branch of the Capetian dynasty in France....
's Edict of Nantes
Edict of Nantes
The Edict of Nantes, issued on 13 April 1598, by Henry IV of France, granted the Calvinist Protestants of France substantial rights in a nation still considered essentially Catholic. In the Edict, Henry aimed primarily to promote civil unity...
in 1685, forbidding Protestants to worship publicly along with other harsh sanctions against them.
Under this duress, many Protestants converted to Catholicism; others fled the country. Those who converted, however, usually did so only outwardly. As soon as the vigilance of the government was relaxed they neglected the service of the Catholic Church, and, when they dared, they met in their houses or in the open for the worship of their own faith. In truth, the number of Protestants who truly became Catholics and passed on their faith to their children was insignificant.
During the years 1702–1704, a serious state of rebellion existed in the region of the Cévennes
Cévennes
The Cévennes are a range of mountains in south-central France, covering parts of the départements of Gard, Lozère, Ardèche, and Haute-Loire.The word Cévennes comes from the Gaulish Cebenna, which was Latinized by Julius Caesar to Cevenna...
mountains in South-Eastern France. The Protestants there, known as the Camisards, were ecstatic in religion and struggled against the Catholic oppression.
The penalties for preaching or attending a Protestant assembly were severe: life terms in the galleys for men, imprisonment for women, and confiscation of all property were common. Protestantism continued to be suppressed in France until the end of the reign of Louis XIV.
Under Louis XV
The Regent Philippe II, Duke of OrléansPhilippe II, Duke of Orléans
Philippe d'Orléans was a member of the royal family of France and served as Regent of the Kingdom from 1715 to 1723. Born at his father's palace at Saint-Cloud, he was known from birth under the title of Duke of Chartres...
, who followed Louis XIV, was not interested in persecutions, however. The laws did not change, but their application diminished. Protestants began once more to celebrate their religion, especially in Languedoc
Languedoc
Languedoc is a former province of France, now continued in the modern-day régions of Languedoc-Roussillon and Midi-Pyrénées in the south of France, and whose capital city was Toulouse, now in Midi-Pyrénées. It had an area of approximately 42,700 km² .-Geographical Extent:The traditional...
, in Dauphiné
Dauphiné
The Dauphiné or Dauphiné Viennois is a former province in southeastern France, whose area roughly corresponded to that of the present departments of :Isère, :Drôme, and :Hautes-Alpes....
, in Guyenne
Guyenne
Guyenne or Guienne , , ; Occitan Guiana ) is a vaguely defined historic region of south-western France. The Province of Guyenne, sometimes called the Province of Guyenne and Gascony, was a large province of pre-revolutionary France....
, and in Poitou
Poitou
Poitou was a province of west-central France whose capital city was Poitiers.The region of Poitou was called Thifalia in the sixth century....
. Nevertheless, there remained those who advocated rigor in the treatment of the Protestants. Prominent among these was the Archbishop of Rouen
Archbishop of Rouen
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Rouen is an Archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in France. As one of the fifteen Archbishops of France, the ecclesiastical province of the archdiocese comprises the majority of Normandy....
, Louis III de La Vergne de Tressan, who was the grand almoner to the Regent. He argued with both the Regent and his most influential minister, Cardinal Dubois
Guillaume Dubois
Guillaume Dubois was a French cardinal and statesman.-Early years:Dubois, the third of the four great Cardinal-Ministers , was born in Brive-la-Gaillarde, in Limousin...
, in favour of severe measures against the Protestants. They rejected his ideas.
When Louis Henri, Duc de Bourbon
Louis Henri, Duc de Bourbon
Louis Henri de Bourbon, Duke of Bourbon, Prince of Condé was head of the cadet Bourbon-Condé branch of the French royal House of Bourbon from 1710 to his death, and served as prime minister to his kinsman Louis XV from 1723 to 1726.Despite...
came to be premier, however, the bishop found in him a more receptive audience, and he was given the go-ahead to draw up a general law against "l'hérésie". The law was declared by the King on 14 May 1724:
Of all the grand designs of our most honoured lord and great-grandfather, there is none that we have more at heart to carry out than that which he conceived, of entirely extinguishing heresy in his kingdom. Arrived at majority, our first care has been to have before us the edicts whereof execution has been delayed, especially in the provinces afflicted with the contagion. We have observed that the chief abuses which demand a speedy remedy relate to illicit assemblies, the education of children, the obligation of public functionaries to profess the Catholic religion, the penalties against the relapsed, and the celebration of marriage, regarding which here are our intentions: Shall be condemned: preachers to the penalty of death, their accomplices to the galleys for life, and women to be shaved and imprisoned for life. Confiscation of property: parents who shall not have baptism administered to their children within twenty-four hours, and see that they attend regularly the catechism and the schools, to fines and such sums as they may amount to together; even to greater penalties. Midwives, physicians, surgeons, apothecaries, domestics, relatives, who shall not notify the parish priests of births or illnesses, to fines. Persons who shall exhort the sick, to the galleys or imprisonment for life, according to sex; confiscation of property. The sick who shall refuse the sacraments, if they recover, to banishment for life; if they die, to be dragged on a hurdle. Desert-marriages are illegal; the children born of them are incompetent to inherit. Minors whose parents are expatriated may marry without their authority; but parents whose children are on foreign soil shall not consent to their marriage, on pain of the galleys for the men and banishment for the women. Finally, of all fines and confiscations, half shall be employed in providing subsistence for the new converts.
The law equalled, and even surpassed in some measures, the most severe proclamations of Louis XIV. However, times had changed. Louis XIV's decrees against the Protestants had been greeted by the majority of the country with enthusiasm. But the clergy had not sought this edict; it was "the work of an ambitious man [Tressan] backed up by certain fanatics". The magistrates, too, were not as enthusiastic as the public in their application of the edict.
Discrimination
Discrimination
Discrimination is the prejudicial treatment of an individual based on their membership in a certain group or category. It involves the actual behaviors towards groups such as excluding or restricting members of one group from opportunities that are available to another group. The term began to be...
was seriously carried out only where the local authorities were strict and loyal to the edict. It mostly occurred in southern France, especially in the dioceses of Nîmes
Nîmes
Nîmes is the capital of the Gard department in the Languedoc-Roussillon region in southern France. Nîmes has a rich history, dating back to the Roman Empire, and is a popular tourist destination.-History:...
and Uzès
Uzès
Uzès is a commune in the Gard department in southern France.It lies about 25 km north-northeast of Nîmes.-History:Originally Ucetia, Uzès was a small Gallo-Roman oppidum, or administrative settlement. The town lies at the source of the Eure, from where a Roman aqueduct was built in the first...
, and in Dauphiné
Dauphiné
The Dauphiné or Dauphiné Viennois is a former province in southeastern France, whose area roughly corresponded to that of the present departments of :Isère, :Drôme, and :Hautes-Alpes....
. Protestant preachers and/or leaders active during this period in France included Antoine Court, Paul Rabaut
Paul Rabaut
Paul Rabaut was a French pastor of the Huguenot "Church of the Desert".He was born at Bédarieux, Hérault. In 1738 he was admitted as a preacher by the synod of Languedoc, and in 1740 he went to Lausanne to complete his studies in the seminary founded by Antoine Court...
, Alexander Ramsey
Alexander Ramsey
Alexander Ramsey was an American politician. He was born near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.Alexander Ramsey was elected from Pennsylvania as a Whig to the U.S. House of Representatives and served in the 28th and 29th congresses from March 4, 1843 to March 4, 1847...
, and Roger. They often lived as nomads in wilderness areas in order to avoid capture.
HIstorians estimate that the number of men and women imprisoned or sent to the galleys for religious offences in the 40 years following the edict of 1724 was almost two thousand. According to Antione Court, in eight ministers were executed in this period. This was a much lower rate of loss than what had occurred during the later part of Louis XIV's reign.
Toulon
Toulon
Toulon is a town in southern France and a large military harbor on the Mediterranean coast, with a major French naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur region, Toulon is the capital of the Var department in the former province of Provence....
was the centre where most of the men committed to the galleys for religious crimes served their sentences.
According to the letters of one of its inmates and from the accounts of witnesses such as Marie Durand, there was a dreary and desolate women's prison, the Tower of Constance at Aigues Mortes. Through the efforts of the Price of Beaveau, the dozen or so women held there were finally released in the late 1760s .
In the decades following 1724, enthusiasm for the persecution of Protestants continued to wane; after 1764 they "enjoyed a practical toleration for a quarter of a century before the law secured them a legal toleration."
Sources
- Guizot, History of France. Transl. from the French by Robert Black. No date, but a publisher's note is dated 1876; New York; Klemscott Society. vol. 6, p. 110ff.
- Ernest Lavisse, Histoire de France, reprinted from the editions of 1900–1911, Paris. 1969, New York; AMS Press, Inc. Vol. VIII, part 2.
- James Breck Perkins, France Under Louis XV, vol. i. 1897, Boston; Houghton Mifflin Co.