2,<9/. 36 8936< * ,;8/-<; 70 ,6<3!897</;<,6< 874/53- 36 <2/ 09/6-2 >,9; 70 9/431376 4QA 9?A?QP , <FCOGO ;Q@JGPPCB DLN PFC .CENCC LD 8F. ?P PFC =KGRCNOGPU LD ;P" ,KBNCSO %))) 0QII JCP?B?P? DLN PFGO GPCJ GO ?R?GI?@IC GK 9COC?NAF+;P,KBNCSO*0QII<CTP ?P* FPPM*##NCOC?NAF!NCMLOGPLNU"OP!?KBNCSO"?A"QH# 8IC?OC QOC PFGO GBCKPGDGCN PL AGPC LN IGKH PL PFGO GPCJ* FPPM*##FBI"F?KBIC"KCP#%$$&'#&)(& <FGO GPCJ GO MNLPCAPCB @U LNGEGK?I ALMUNGEFP Hatred in Print: Aspects of Anti-Protestant polemic in the French Wars of Religion. Luc Racaut, B.A., M.Phil. (Sheffield) Thesis submitted for the degree of Ph.D. University of St Andrews 1999. Abstract: 'Aspects of Anti-Protestant polemic during the French Wars of Religion'. The medium of printing has been persistently associated with Protestantism. As a result, a large body of French Catholic anti-Protestant material was to a large extent ignored. In contrast with Germany, there is evidence to suggest that French authors used printing effectively and aggressively to promote the Catholic cause. During the French Wars of Religion, French Catholics were far more innovative than they were given credit for: the German paradigm of a leaden-footed Catholic response to the Reformation was inappropriately applied to France. This is ironic given that it was the Catholic cause which ultimately prevailed. In seeking to explain why France remained a Catholic country, the French Catholic response must be taken into account. Catholic polemical works, and their portrayal of Protestants in print in particular, is the central focus of this work. The first chapter is devoted to a historiographical discussion of the problem of violence in the French Wars of Religion. The next two chapters are concerned with the comparison between Protestantism and medieval heresies, and particularly the recourse in polemic to the topos of the Albigensian Crusade. The next chapter addresses the use of cultural archetypes such as 'the world turned upside down' and the reversal of gender roles to deride the impact of the Reformation. The last two chapters are an attempt to assess the impact of the Catholic polemic on the Protestant culture and identity and on the emerging public opinion. Rather than confront the Reformation on its own terms, the Catholic reaction concentrated on discrediting the Protestant cause in the eyes of the Catholic majority. They had a considerable impact on their readership and on an illiterate audience (through the interaction between written and oral), and on the French Protestants' own self-perception and identity. This thesis aims to contribute to the ongoing debate over the nature of the French Wars of Religion, to explain why they were so violent and why they engaged the loyalties of such a large portion of the population. This study also provides an example of the successful defence of Catholicism developed independently and in advance of Tridentine reform which is of wider significance for the history of the Reformation in Europe. iv `Souvent, le conflit est fonde sur une difference de perception qu'a l'autre de la situation de son adversaire. Votre identite ne se definit pas en opposition a une autre identite. Si vous en étes la, c'est que vous avez bien peu confiance en vous-memes'. John Hume, Peace Nobel Prize winner, addressing the Corsican nationalists gathered at Bastia on 14 February 1999, 'la lecon de pacifisme d'un Prix Nobel irlandais aux nationalistes corses', Le Monde (Tuesday 16 February 1999), p. 1. • • V Table of contents: Declarations ii Abstract iii Dedication iv List of illustrations vi Editorial note vii Acknowledgements List of abbreviations x Introduction 1 Chapter 1: The problem of violence in the French Wars of Religion 11 Chapter 2: Catholic polemic on the eve of the French Wars of Religion 40 Chapter 3: Polemical use of the Albigensian Crusade 76 Chapter 4: The 'battle of the sexes' and the 'world turned upside down' 124 Chapter 5: The impact of Catholic polemic on Protestant culture and identity 168 Chapter 6: Polemic, debate and opinion forming 212 Bibliography 250 vi List of illustrations: C. Ripa, Iconologia (Padua, 1618), P. 244. 142 vii Editorial note: The spelling of sixteenth century French was left untouched except to improve legibility: The use of 's' and T, T and T, 'te and was standardized according to modern spelling. The contractions ` 5:, "e, V and '6' were replaced with 'an', 'en', 'un' and 'on'. In the footnotes, references to sixteenth century books is to the edition that was actually consulted. Where the first edition predates this, this is indicated between parentheses in the body of the text. The name of printers is added to the bibliographical references to sixteenth century books when known. Sometimes the name of the author, printer, the place or date of publication does not figure on the title page and when it was possible to identify this by other means, this is indicated between square brackets. When it was not possible to identify the printer, the place or date of publication, this information is simply omitted. When the author was not identified, the reference is marked with 'an.' for anonymous in the first instance and omitted in later references. viii Acknowledgements: I would like to thank, irrespective of order or preference: Prof. Mark Greengrass, University of Sheffield, for providing the initial impetus for this project and for advising me at key stages of the writing process; Prof Andrew Pettegree for being the best supervisor one could wish for; the scholars and postgraduates who met under the auspices of the European Reformation Research Group in Warwick in August 1995 who provided me with a gentle introduction to the art of delivering papers at conferences; Dr William Naphy, University of Aberdeen, and Dr Andrew Spicer, Stonyhurst College, for their friendship and moral support in difficult times; Dr Peter Maxwell-Stuart for countless meetings over coffee and cake, and for proofing this thesis at very short notice; Dr Paul Nelles for allowing me to use his printer at the last minute to produce this thesis; Dr Findel and Dr Gillian Bepler at the Herzog August Bibliothek (Wolfenbtittel) for allowing me to work in this wonderful library in the summer of 1998 and in January 1999; the scholars and postgraduates, too numerous to be all named here, whom I had the privilege to meet for coffee in the Anna Worverk Haus of the Herzog August Bibliothek, for encouraging me and providing me with inspiration and advice; the Society for the Study of French History for giving me a bursary to attend the Sixteenth Century Studies Conference in Toronto in October 1998; The School of History for providing me with a Scholarship to pursue research at St Andrews; Dr Tom Freeman, Institute of Historical Research, for advice on Foxe's Acts and Monuments; Dr Irena Backus, Institut pour l'Histoire de la Reformation de Geneve, for advice on Genevan Apocalypticism; Prof. Francis Higman, Institut pour l'Histoire de la Reformation de Geneve, for providing me with a bursary to pursue research in Geneva in the summer of 1996; Johnathan Reid, Eric Nelson, Timothy Watson, Phil Conner, and Stuart Foster for sharing insights and enthusiasm for this field; Mme Beauvais, Bibliotheque de la Societe pour l'Histoire du Protestantisme Francais, for introducing me to the rich collection of this library where I spent many productive hours in the summer of 1997; Mme Guilleminot-Chrestien, Bibliotheque Nationale, for giving me a copy of her Ecole des Chartes thesis on the French imprints of 1561; Gerald Chaix, Centre d'Etudes Superieures de la Renaissance de Tours, and Bernard Roussel, Ecole Superieure des Hautes Etudes, for showing interest in my work; Norma Porter and Lorna Harris, at the School of History, for their patience; Fiona Campbell for her ix introduction to the Flugschriften genre (reference and translation) and last minute help with a quote and illustration; Dr. Penny Roberts, University of Warwick, for allowing me to use one of her references and providing me with a transcript; Dr Mark Taplin for his insight and reference to the saying 'die Gelehrten die Verkehrten'; Dr Chris Bradshaw for his advice and reference to Ann Askewe; Prof. Ray Mentzer for his insights and logistical support; all of those I have forgotten here: people I met at conferences and who have provided me with advice and guidance. Finally, I reserve my deepest gratitude to my family and friends, for supporting me in more ways than one and to Elisabeth Picq for her patience and understanding in trying and difficult times. x List of abbreviations: AHR Agricultural History Review BHR Bibliothêque d'Hurnanisme et Renaissance BSIIPF Bulletin de la Societe de l'Histoire du Protestantisme Francais BSHPIF Bulletin de la Societe de l'Histoire de Paris et de l'Ile de France CF Cahiers de Fanjeaux FH French History FHS French Historical Studies FRB Sixteenth Century French Religious Book Project (St Andrews Reformation Studies Institute) JEH Journal of Ecclesiastical History MRTS Medieval and Renaissance Texts and Studies P&P Past and Present PHS Proceedings of the Huguenot Society RS Renaissance Studies SCH Studies in Church History SCJ Sixteenth Century Journal MR Travaux d'Humanisme et Renaissance TLL Travaux de Linguistique et de Litteratw-e 1 Introduction. The historiography of the French Wars of Religion is dominated by a curious irony. From the very beginning, discussions of the polemical literature of the wars has been dominated by the Protestant side of the story. Ever since the Protestant national synods of the 1580s, the Reformed Church has frowned on those (like Lancelot du Voisin de la Popeliniere) who did not adhere to the official history of the Reformation.