The Edict of Beaulieu (also known at the time as the Peace of Monsieur) was promulgated from

Beaulieu-lès-Loches Beaulieu-lès-Loches (, literally ''Beaulieu near Loches'') is a commune in the Indre-et-Loire department in central France. History A great abbey church named ''Belli Locus'' dedicated to the Holy Sepulchre was founded in the early 11th cen ...

on 6 May 1576 by

Henry III of France Henry III (french: Henri III, né Alexandre Édouard; pl, Henryk Walezy; lt, Henrikas Valua; 19 September 1551 – 2 August 1589) was King of France from 1574 until his assassination in 1589, as well as King of Poland and Grand Duke of ...

, who was pressured by

Alençon Alençon (, , ; nrf, Alençoun) is a commune in Normandy, France, capital of the Orne department. It is situated west of Paris. Alençon belongs to the intercommunality of Alençon (with 52,000 people). History The name of Alençon is firs ...

's support of the

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

army besieging Paris that spring. The Edict, which was negotiated by the king's brother, ''Monsieur''— François, duc d'Alençon, who was now made duc d'Anjou— gave

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...

s the right of public worship for their religion, thenceforth officially called the ''religion prétendue réformée'' ("supposed reformed religion"), throughout France, except at Paris and at Court. Huguenots were permitted to own and build churches, to hold consistories and synods, and occupy eight fortified towns called '' places de sûreté''. In eight of the ''

parlement A ''parlement'' (), under the French Ancien Régime, was a provincial appellate court of the Kingdom of France. In 1789, France had 13 parlements, the oldest and most important of which was the Parlement of Paris. While both the modern Fre ...

s'', chambers were created called ''mis-parties'' because the same number of Catholics and Protestants sat in these tribunals. Additionally, there was to be a disclaimer of the

Massacre of St. Bartholomew The St. Bartholomew's Day massacre (french: Massacre de la Saint-Barthélemy) in 1572 was a targeted group of assassinations and a wave of Catholic mob violence, directed against the Huguenots (French Calvinist Protestants) during the French W ...

, and the families which had suffered from it were to be returned to positions of prominence and fairly compensated. These large concessions to the Huguenots and the approbation given to their political organization led to the formation of the Catholic League, which was organized by Catholics anxious to defend their religion. The King held a ''

lit de justice In France under the Ancien Régime, the ''lit de justice'' (, "bed of justice") was a particular formal session of the Parliament of Paris, under the presidency of the king, for the compulsory registration of the royal edicts. It was named thus ...

'' in the

Parlement of Paris The Parliament of Paris (french: Parlement de Paris) was the oldest ''parlement'' in the Kingdom of France, formed in the 14th century. It was fixed in Paris by Philip IV of France in 1302. The Parliament of Paris would hold sessions inside the ...

on 14 May to subvent pending opposition in the strongly Catholic ''parlement'' and to ensure that the Edict was duly inscribed.According to the papal nuncio, Antonio Maria Salviati, "La corte non voleva emologare le lettere, ma il Re in persona vi è andato..." Holt 1988, ''eo. loc.''. In December 1576, however, the States-General of Blois declared itself against the Edict of Beaulieu. Thereupon the Protestants took up arms under the leadership of

Henry of Navarre Henry IV (french: Henri IV; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry or Henry the Great, was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 1610. He was the first monarc ...

, who, escaping from the Court, had returned to the

Calvinism Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Cal ...

which he had abjured at the time of the Massacre of St. Bartholomew. The advantage was on the Catholic side, thanks to some successes achieved by the duc d'Anjou. In September 1577, the

Treaty of Bergerac The Treaty of Bergerac was signed at Bergerac on 14 September 1577 between Henry III of France and Huguenot princes, and later ratified by the Edict of Poitiers on 17 September.Knecht, The French Civil Wars (2000), p208 This accord was developed ...

, confirmed by the

Edict of Poitiers The Treaty of Bergerac was signed at Bergerac on 14 September 1577 between Henry III of France and Huguenot princes, and later ratified by the Edict of Poitiers on 17 September.Knecht, The French Civil Wars (2000), p208 This accord was developed ...

, left the Huguenots the free exercise of their religion only in the

suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...

s of one town in each

bailiwick A bailiwick () is usually the area of jurisdiction of a bailiff, and once also applied to territories in which a privately appointed bailiff exercised the sheriff's functions under a royal or imperial writ. The bailiwick is probably modelled on th ...

(''bailliage''), and in those places where it had been practiced before the outbreak of hostilities and which they occupied at the current date.

References

Sources

*Pierre Miquel, ''Les Guerres de religion'', Fayard, 1980. . *Wilkinson, Maurice, "The Wars of Religion in the Périgord", ''The English Historical Review'' 21, No. 84., October 1906, (Oxford University Press). {{Edicts and Treaties of the French Wars of Religion 1576 works French Wars of Religion 1576 in France Beaulieu Beaulieu Henry III of France 1576 in Christianity 1576 treaties

See also

References

Sources