The Huguenot Wars

A religious war that took place in France from 1562 to 1598. Huguenot was a derogatory term used by Catholics to refer to Calvinist Protestants. The Protestant Reformation spread widely in France from the first half of the 16th century, and after the publication of Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion (1536), Protestants, mainly Calvinists, clearly separated from Catholics and, despite the intensifying oppression, penetrated the kingdom deeply with their strong organizational power. The conflict between the old and new factions was incorporated into the power struggle between the noble families at the time. The Valois dynasty reigned on the basis of a delicate balance between the noble families, but in 1559, when the House of Guise, relatives of Francis II by marriage, expanded its power, this balance was broken. As the Guise family was fanatical Catholic, anti-Guise nobles joined forces with the Protestants in opposition to this, and the religious conflict between the old and new factions suddenly became a political conflict. Catherine de' Medici, the mother of Charles IX, who became regent in 1560, promoted a policy of tolerance based on the balance between the two factions, but the conflict between the two factions only intensified, and finally, in 1562, the Protestants were killed by the Duke of Guise's troops (the Bassy Massacre), which led to the start of the eight Religious Wars that continued until 1598. Amid repeated battles and peace talks, the wedding of Protestant leader Henry de Navarre (later Henry IV) and the king's sister Marguerite, which was planned to reconcile the two factions, was used by the Catholics to massacre Protestants, bringing the conflict between the two factions to a climax (the St. Bartholomew's Massacre). This massacre spread to the provinces, and about 8,000 Protestants were killed, but the Protestants did not relax their resistance, preaching the abolition of the tyrant. After that, the Catholic faction split into extremists and moderates, and the former formed the Catholic League in 1876, centered around the Guise faction. The latter, who placed more importance on the unification of the kingdom than on religious conflict, were called the Politique faction, and Jean Bodin was a representative thinker. In this situation, the conflict between the three factions, which included the old and new factions and the royal family centered around Catherine, began in 1885 as the so-called "Battle of the Three Henrys." During this process, Henry de Guise and then Henry III were assassinated, and in 1889 Henry de Navarre ascended to the throne as Henry IV. Facing domestic divisions and interference from foreign countries, especially Spain and the Papacy, the new Bourbon king converted to Catholicism in 1893. This gained the support of the Politique faction, and he entered Paris in February of the following year. In 1898 he promulgated the "Drax of Nantes," guaranteeing religious freedom, and thus ended the civil war. The Wars of Religion were a religious armed conflict between the old and new factions, but they were also a political conflict, and the situation was complicated by the rise of the new bourgeoisie and the foreign interests that supported both factions. Henry IV, seeking to restore the monarchy that had been weakened as a result of this war, began the process of rebuilding the monarchy to establish an absolute monarchy.

[Yoshio Shigaki]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

1562～98年、フランスに起こった宗教戦争。ユグノーHuguenotは、旧教徒のカトリックによるカルバン派新教徒の蔑称(べっしょう)。宗教改革はフランスでも16世紀前半から広く起こり、カルバンの『キリスト教綱要』の出版（1536）後、新教徒はカルバン派を中心にカトリックとはっきりたもとを分かち、激しさを増す弾圧にもかかわらず、強力な組織力をもって王国に深く浸透した。新旧両派の対立は、おりからの名門貴族間の権力抗争に取り込まれる。バロア王家は名門貴族間の微妙なバランスのうえに君臨していたが、1559年フランソア2世の外戚(がいせき)であるギーズ家が勢力を拡大すると、その均衡は崩れた。ギーズ家一党が熱狂的な旧教徒であったことから、これに対抗して反ギーズ派の貴族たちが新教徒と手を結び、ここに新旧両派の信仰上の対立は一挙に政治的対立を帯びることになった。60年シャルル9世の即位とともに摂政(せっしょう)となった王母カトリーヌ・ド・メディシスは両派の均衡のうえにたって寛容政策を進めたが、両派の対立は激しくなるばかりで、ついに62年ギーズ公一隊による新教徒殺害（バシーの虐殺）を契機に、以後98年まで八次に及ぶユグノー戦争が始まることとなった。戦いと和議が繰り返されるなかにあって、1572年両派の和解のために画策された新教徒の総帥アンリ・ド・ナバル（後のアンリ4世）と、王妹マルグリットとの結婚式は、旧教派による新教徒殺戮(さつりく)に利用され、両派の対立は頂点に達した（サン・バルテルミーの虐殺）。この虐殺は地方にも広がり、新教徒およそ8000人が殺されたが、新教徒は暴君放伐論を唱えて抵抗運動を緩めなかった。その後、旧教派は、過激派と穏健派とに分裂し、前者は76年ギーズ一党を中心に旧教同盟（リーグ）を結成した。後者は信仰上の対立よりも王国の統一を重視してポリティーク派とよばれ、その代表的思想家にジャン・ボーダンがいた。このような状況のなかにあって、カトリーヌを中心とする王家に新旧両派を加えた三勢力の争いは、85年に始まるいわゆる「三アンリの戦い」となって現れた。この過程でアンリ・ド・ギーズ、ついでアンリ3世が暗殺され、89年アンリ・ド・ナバルがアンリ4世として即位した。ブルボン家新王は、国内の分裂および外国とくにスペインと教皇庁の干渉に直面して、93年カトリックへ改宗した。これはポリティーク派の支持を得、翌年2月にはパリ入城を果たし、98年「ナントの王令」を公布して信仰の自由を保障し、ここに内乱は終わりを告げた。ユグノー戦争は、新旧両派の信仰上の武力抗争という形をとりながらすぐれて政治的な抗争でもあり、新興ブルジョア層の台頭や新旧両派をおのおの支援する外国の思惑もあって複雑な様相を呈した。この戦争の結果弱体化した王権の回復を求めて、アンリ4世は絶対王政確立のための再建に着手することになる。

［志垣嘉夫］

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