Edict of Saint-Germain

thumb|Catherine de' Medici

alt=Front page of the Edict of Saint Germain, with flowing French writing on it.|thumb|First page of the Edict of Saint Germain

The Edict of Saint-Germain (), also known as the Edict of January (), was a landmark decree of tolerance promulgated by the regent of France, Catherine de' Medici, in January 1562. The edict provided limited tolerance to the Protestant Huguenots in the Catholic realm, though with counterweighing restrictions on their behaviour. The act represented the culmination of several years of slowly liberalising edicts which had begun with the 1560 Edict of Amboise. After two months the Paris Parlement would be compelled to register it by the rapidly deteriorating situation in the capital. The practical impact of the edict would be highly limited by the subsequent outbreak of the first French Wars of Religion but it would form the foundation for subsequent toleration edicts as the Edict of Nantes of 1598.

Prior legislation

During the reign of King Henry II, Protestantism had been subject to persecution in France under the Edicts of Chateaubriant, Ecouen, and Compiègne. This legislation aimed to correct what Henry felt was lax enforcement of prior heresy laws by the local courts, through the re-establishment of the Chambre Ardente and the sending out of special commissioners to take charge of the local court cases.

With the unexpected early death of Henry II during a joust in 1559, this new program of persecution was put on hold, as first the sickly Francis II and then Charles IX became king. Already in the reign of Francis II a new approach began to be forged, with the 1560 Edict of Amboise, which pardoned those convicted of religious offenses on the condition they went on to live good Catholic lives. The further legislation of the Edict of Romorantin in May later that year moved the trial of heresy cases to the purview of the ecclesiastical courts, which did not have the authority to impose death penalties.

The road to Saint-Germain

In the wake of the Conspiracy of Amboise, a failed attempt by several prominent Huguenots to seize power, the urgency of the need for religious peace was heightened. It was to this end that Charles, Cardinal of Lorraine announced plans for a national religious council to reconcile the two faiths.

Later that year, in an Assembly of Notables at Fontainebleau, the Moyenneur faction aimed to put forward a program of Gallican reforms to quell the abuses of the Catholic church that had angered the Protestants, allowing the faiths to reunify. The assembly was however able to endorse plans for a national council to solve the religious question, endorsed in a royal edict on August 31, 1560.

On June 12, 1561, the decision was made to summon the national council on July 20. It would however be delayed and not open until September 9. The meeting which became known as the Colloquy of Poissy would be a failure, with the Calvinists under Theodore Beza unwilling to subscribe to the Confession of Augsburg proposed by Lorraine. Frustrated with the failures of the colloquy, Catherine appealed to Rome instead for doctrinal concessions regarding the taking of the Eucharist in both kinds. This too came to nought.

Unfazed by all this failure, Catherine arranged for carefully chosen moderate deputies from the various Parlements of France to attend a conference at Saint-Germain-en-Laye where they would eventually draw up the edict on January 17, 1562. The Paris Parlement sent the famous liberal de Thou and the elderly cleric Viole.

Terms

Introduction

The edict was intended to be only a provisional solution to the religious problem, pending the hopefully-reconciliatory outcome of the general church Council of Trent. The edict made clear that it was not to be taken as approval of the 'new religion' but a necessary expedient for as long as the king willed it.

Parameters of worship

It outlined the spaces and times in which Protestant worship could occur: not in towns or under arms or at night. Further services could be held within towns in houses if they were only for the members of the household. Reproachful language against the Catholic church was made a misdemeanour.

Registration and resistance

Paris Parlement

The Paris Parlement resisted the registering of the edict, a necessary prerequisite to it becoming law, and remonstrated against the crown. They were backed in their disapproval by the city council, the clergy and the Sorbonne. To explain this de Thou and Viole were sent back to the crown. Yet even with the moderates on their side the crown's forces lacked a majority in the court, and the bill was voted down again on February 18.

Counter proposal

The members of the Parlement opposing the edict suggested banning all Protestant services, exiling pastors, banning all non-Catholic property transactions, and making all royal officials sign a profession of faith. On March 5 it was agreed to register the edict the following day. Five members, including Le Maistre and Saint-Andre, who led the courts' ultra wing, absented themselves from the final registration. The Parlement of Dijon refused to register the edict, and would not be compelled to prior to the outbreak of civil war, which rendered it a dead letter. The Parlement of Aix-en-Provence would prove particularly resistant to registering the edict, and would, after their continued resistance post-Amboise, have their most recalcitrant members dismissed from the Parlement.

Enforcement and resistance

Most of the princes of the realm opposed the edict, with the exceptions of the Prince of Condé, Antoine III de Croy, Count of Porcien, and Charles, Prince of La Roche-sur-Yon. Antoine of Navarre, who was Lieutenant-General of the Kingdom, voted against the edict in council, and appealed for Guise to return to Paris to aid his opposition. To achieve this they were given broad powers, and with the establishment of the Edict of Saint-Germain, they were tasked with ensuring its registration and enforcement in their respective areas. They were provided with assistance from the lieutenant-governors of their respective provinces to offer support, alongside the ability to refer cases up to the court if they proved tricky to determine.

Provence

In Provence, the commissioners Fumée and Ponnat were faced with the rebellious first consul Flassans, who had taken up arms and was terrorising the region's Protestants. The clergy capitulated and met with them on February 5. The Huguenots of Nîmes and Montpellier petitioned the commissioners to be allowed to continue private worship in the towns they occupied. The Bordeaux Parlement sought to interfere, arguing it had the local knowledge to better and more affordably provide justice in the region, despite this being the very thing the commissioners were trying to avoid. Enraged by the sound of Protestant bell ringing in the town, he and his company of gentlemen decided to enter, on the pretext of hearing mass. In the town he was further incensed to find that the Protestants were meeting in the castle district, which was on his property.

Controversy arose later over the legality of the service Guise had encountered. While this meeting took place after the issuance of the Edict of Saint-Germain, it took place before the Parlement of Paris had been forced to register it.

Guise sent out a gentleman ahead of him, who got into an altercation at the door to the barn where the Protestants were worshipping. Violence ensued and, as Guise's company rushed forward, a massacre began, with 50 parishioners killed.

In the city Condé and his men were present, and thus a potential powder keg if he and Guise crossed paths. Recognising this, Catherine ordered both to vacate the city, but only Condé complied, heading to Orléans where he raised the standard of rebellion on April 2 beginning the first French War of Religion.