UCC Library and UCC Researchers Have Made This Item Openly Available
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
UCC Library and UCC researchers have made this item openly available. Please let us know how this has helped you. Thanks! Title 'La Violence et la mauvaise foi': Context and rhetoric in Pierre Bayle's Ce que c'est que la France toute Catholique Author(s) Browne, Jennifer Margaret Mary Publication date 2013 Original citation Browne, J.M.M. 2013. 'La Violence et la mauvaise foi': Context and rhetoric in Pierre Bayle's Ce que c'est que la France toute Catholique. PhD Thesis, University College Cork. Type of publication Doctoral thesis Rights © 2013. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ Item downloaded http://hdl.handle.net/10468/1132 from Downloaded on 2021-10-04T07:58:57Z National University of Ireland, Cork 'La Violence et la mauvaise foi': Context and Rhetoric in Pierre Bayle's Ce que c'est que la France toute Catholique Jennifer Margaret Mary Browne School of History and Department of French Head of School of History: Prof. Geoffrey Roberts Head of Department of French: Dr Paul Hegarty Supervisors: Dr Jason Harris and Prof. Patrick O'Donovan A Dissertation submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (May, 2013) Table of Contents Declaration i Abstract ii Acknowledgements iii Introduction: Towards Ce que c'est que la France toute catholique 1 Section 1: Recontextualisation: the Bayle-La Roque disputes Ch. 1: Ferrand and the religious controversy 37 Ch. 2: The Commentarii of Theodoric and the question of forced conversion 67 Ch. 3: La Roque's Gautereau and the culmination of the debate 106 Ch.4: Understanding the Pamphlet in its Context: Contemporary Reception 124 Section 2: Rhetorical structure: une ironie maligne? Ch. 5: Approaching the Pamphlet: From Monology to Polyphony 146 Ch. 6: Defining a wholly Catholic France: The Politics of Language and the Language of Politics 169 Conclusion: 'Contrains-les d'entrer': Towards the Commentaire Philosophique 215 Bibliography 219 Appendix One: A Timeline of the Bayle-La Roque disputes 244 Declaration I certify that this dissertation is entirely my own work and that it has never previously been submitted for examination in University College Cork or elsewhere. Signed: Jennifer Browne i Abstract My thesis presents an examination of Ce que c'est que la France toute Catholique (1686) by Pierre Bayle, a prominent figure in the Republic of Letters and the Huguenot Refuge in the seventeenth century. This pamphlet was the first occasional text that Bayle published following the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes in which the religious toleration afforded to the Huguenot minority in France was repealed, a pivotal moment in the history of early modern France. In my thesis, I analyse the specific context within which Bayle wrote this pamphlet as a means of addressing a number of issues, including the legitimacy of forced conversions, the impact of the religious controversy upon exchanges in the Republic of Letters, the nature of religious zeal and finally the alliance of Church and state discourses in the early modern period. An examination of this context provides a basis from which to re- interpret the rhetorical strategies at work within the pamphlet, and also to come to an increased understanding of how, why and to what end he wrote it. In turn this allowed me to examine the relationship between this often overlooked pamphlet and the more extensively studied Commentaire Philosophique, in which Bayle argued in favour of religious toleration. Ultimately, understanding the relationship between these two texts proves essential in order to characterise his response to the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes and to understand the place of the pamphlet within his œuvre. Furthermore, an analysis of the pamphlet and the Commentaire Philosophique provide a lens through which to elucidate both Bayle's intellectual development at this early stage in his career, and also the wider context of the rise of toleration theory and the evolution of modes of civility within the Republic of Letters on the eve of the Enlightenment. ii Acknowledgements I wish to thank my supervisors, Professor Patrick O'Donovan and Dr Jason Harris, for giving me the opportunity to undertake this project, for their trust in allowing me the freedom to follow my own initiative, and for their unfailing generosity in terms of their time, support and guidance. They worked both independently and as a team to provide criticism and guidance which was always insightful, practical and delivered in a constructive manner. Without their support this thesis would not have been possible. I only hope that I can do justice to all that I have learned from you both, not only in this thesis, but also in my future endeavours. I would like to gratefully acknowledge the support of the Irish Research Council, which has funded my research over the past three years under the Post- Graduate Scholarship scheme. I would also like to acknowledge the support of the History Department Travel Fund. I wish to thank several members of the academic staff in University College Cork, who have provided support and insight into my research. In particular, I would like to acknowledge those who have participated in the annual reviews of my work: Dr Paul Hegarty, Dr Patrick Crowley, Dr Clare O'Halloran and Dr Mike Cosgrave. I would also like to thank Dr Lilian O'Brien and Dr Vittorio Bufacchi who generously allowed me to audit some of their lectures on early modern philosophy. I would like to thank Dr Daragh O'Connell for his help on an Italianate matter. I would also like to thank Vicky Janssens, College Language Teacher in the Department of Classics, where I learned Latin. I would like to acknowledge the support of the Centre for Neo-Latin Studies which helped me to sustain and improve my Latin. I wish to acknowledge the support of the administrative staff from both the French Department and the School of History. Eileen, Joan, Deirdre and Geraldine who were always friendly and helpful in response to my various requests and pleas for help over the years. I would like to thank the librarians in the Boole Library, in particular those in Interlibrary Loans, whose workload, I fear, I may have increased exponentially in recent years. I would also like to thank the librarians at the British Library, Cambridge University and the Bibliothèque de Sainte Geneviève who assisted me in my research. iii The world of post-graduate research can be a lonely place, but I have been fortunate enough to have made some fantastic friends in the last four years. In the French department, I would like to acknowledge the friendship and support of my office buddies: Paula Donovan, Oliver O'Hanlon and Catherine Burke. Our daily chats, rants and banter were a source of much needed comic relief and support. There is a strong sense of community among the post-graduates in the History department and I have made many good friends there and in other departments. I would like to thank Dr. Nóirín Ní Bheaglaoi, Dr Mark Hutchinson, Shane Lordan, Àine Sheehan, Edel Mulcahy and Caoimhe Whelan for their company, support and encouragement in these last few years. I also owe a debt of gratitude to Àine Sheehan, Dr. Nóirín Ní Bheaglaoi, Edel Mulcahy, Shane Lordan and Caoimhe Whelan all of whom were willing and helpful proof-readers of chapters in this thesis – whatever faults may remain are mine alone. I would like to thank my friends from other walks of life, who have kept me sane, given me unfailing encouragement and accepted my absence and crankiness at various points over the past four years: Ciara Ní Cheallacháin, Heather Barry, Carthach McCarthy, Elaine Murphy, and Peter Burkley. Ciara also deserves particular thanks for responding enthusiastically and promptly to various questions beginning with the phrase 'So in Italian…?' Last, but by no means least, I would like to thank my family for all of their support. Most people only have to suffer through one doctoral thesis, but, Mom and Dad you have supported two of us through this process in quick succession with the greatest of patience, kindness, love and enthusiasm. This is a feat worthy of more acknowledgment than I can readily express here. I would like also to thank my brothers, Peter and Patrick. Peter, your wedding to Róisín provided a welcome distraction in the final year of this process. Patrick, your dedication and hard work were a sterling example of how to go through the PhD process and more than that you were an invaluable source of support, both technical and otherwise, over the years. Finally, I would like to say thank you to Sam, our dog. Your happy face made every day better. You are missed terribly now and you will be loved forever. iv Introduction: Towards Ce que c'est que la France toute Catholique 'Nous voyons présentement avec la juste reconnoissance que nous devons à Dieu, que nos soins ont eu la fin que nous nous sommes proposé, puisque la meilleure et la plus grande partie de nos sujets de ladite R. P. R. ont embrassé la Catholique: et d'autant qu'au moyen de ce l'exécution de l'Edit de Nantes et de tout ce qui a été ordonné en faveur de ladite R. P. R. demeure inutile, nous avons jugé que nous ne pouvions rien faire de mieux pour effacer entièrement la mémoire des troubles de la confusion et des maux que le progrès de cette fausse Religion a causez dans nôtre Royaume [...] que de révoquer entièrement ledit édit de Nantes'.1 Responses to the increasing intolerance of Louis XIV's absolutist government of the Huguenot minority, culminating in the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes in October 1685 were many and varied.