Chapter 2 Interconfessional Relations: Lutheran-Reformed Tensions on the Eve of the French Wars of Religion
The traditional narrative of the Reformation and the sixteenth-century wars of religion places a strong emphasis on the dichotomy between Catholics, on the one side, and Protestants, on the other. Encouraged by the intensifi- cation of constructive relations between various Protestant movements in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the lingering of strong anti-Catholic sentiments, and the prominence of national mythologies that emphasized the break with Rome as a defining moment in the histories of most Protestant countries, the Protestant-Catholic opposition has become embedded in the public imagination of the Reformation. Even though historians are, of course, aware of the different denominations that are collectively referred to as Prot- estantism, there still seems to be a tendency to regard Lutherans and Reformed Protestants as natural allies in the conflict against their mutual enemy, the Catholic powers of Europe. This perception has also shaped understandings of the involvement of German Protestant nobles in the French Wars of Religion. During the 1560s, the most intense confessional conflicts taking place in the German-speaking parts of the Holy Roman Empire were fought between the various branches of Protestantism, rather than between Protestants and Catholics. Fiery disputes between Philippists and Gnesio-Lutherans, the per- secution of Anabaptists, and especially the doctrinal disagreements between Lutherans and the growing group of Reformed Protestants all had a damaging effect on Protestant unity.1 It is easy to miss the fact that the conflicts between Lutherans and Reformed Protestants in the Empire reached new levels of in- tensity at almost exactly the same time as the religious wars erupted in France. The conversion of the Elector Palatine, Friedrich iii, caused a profound crisis among the princes of the Augsburg Confession. The political, legal, and doctri- nal crisis provoked by Friedrich’s conversion and by the increasing popularity of Reformed Protestantism in the Empire strongly influenced German atti- tudes towards the Wars of Religion in France. Both developments forced the German Lutheran princes to reconsider their positions in relation to Reformed
1 B. Nischan, Lutherans and Calvinists in the Age of Confessionalism (Aldershot: Ashgate, 1999), 142–58; B. Nischan, ‘Germany after 1550’, in A. Pettegree, ed., The Reformation World (Lon- don: Routledge, 2000), 387–409.
© Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2019 | DOI:10.1163/9789004330726_004 Interconfessional Relations 53
Protestantism. It was clear that there were differences between the two creeds, but were they insurmountable? And, considering that the Peace of Augsburg recognized only Catholicism and Lutheranism, what, in the eyes of the princ- es, was the legal status of the Reformed faith? Finally, and most importantly, would it be prudent, or even morally justifiable, to back the Reformed Protes- tants in France? Only by approaching the topic of Lutheran-Reformed relations from a trans- national angle is it possible to make sense of the way in which attitudes towards and ideas about this relationship were formed. Reinforced by the internation- al outlook of the Empire’s aristocracy, their understanding of the nature of the confessional landscape was as much influenced by events and ideas from France as from Germany. The princes, connected by a sense of a shared pur- pose, had a strong tradition of cooperation on religious issues. This tradition ensured that the events of the 1560s provoked a rich debate among the Ger- man Protestant elite. Geographic separation, in turn, made correspondence the most important medium through which these debates were conducted. This correspondence thus provides a unique insight into the ways in which inter-confessional relations were debated. Moreover, the princes’ letters reveal how these debates changed over time, even if these changes were subtle. This chapter will demonstrate that the question of how to react to the growth of Reformed Protestantism caused a rift amongst the German Luther- an princes. This rift had significant consequences for German attitudes to the French Wars of Religion as it conditioned the possibility of intervention: an emphatic rejection of the Reformed religion in effect ruled out the possibil- ity of cooperation with the Huguenots, whereas recognition of the common ground shared by the two confessions made cooperation possible.
1 The History of the ‘Middle Parties’
During the last two decades, a number of historians have worked to break down the traditionally rigid division of the Christian religion into the mono- lithic and static blocks of Catholics, Lutherans, and Reformed Protestants. Instead, they have zoomed in on a range of different positions that can collec- tively be described as the ‘middle parties.’ This term is used by Mario Turchetti to describe the variety of French groups that sought a via media in order to de- escalate the rising religious tensions.2 The middle parties consisted of people
2 M. Turchetti, ‘Middle parties in France during the wars of religion’, in P. Benedict, G. Marnef, H. van Nierop, and M. Venard, eds, Reformation, Revolt and Civil War in France and the