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154-593: This group met in 1560 , 1575, 1583 , 1596–97 , 1617, 1626, 1787, and a final brief meeting in late 1788. Like the Estates-General , they served a consultative purpose only. But unlike the Estates-General, whose members were elected by the subjects of the realm, the assemblymen were selected by the king for their "zeal", "devotion", and their "trustworthiness" toward the sovereign. In addition, assembly of notables can refer to an expanded version of

308-489: A 'viper' who 'abused the youth of our king'. Many other pamphlets also heaped scorn on Lorraine and the duc de Guise. In reaction to the violence of the suppression of the conjuration d'Amboise, the queen mother Catherine began to distance herself from the Lorraine led government. Despite this, neither she nor the king were entirely convinced by the protestations of the conspirators that their efforts had been targeted at

462-672: A Christian to come to God through Christ without human mediation. He also maintained that this principle recognizes Christ as prophet , priest, and king and that his priesthood is shared with his people. Protestants who adhere to the Nicene Creed believe in three persons ( God the Father , God the Son , and the God the Holy Spirit ) as one God. Movements that emerged around the time of

616-705: A certain part of Protestantism rather than to Protestantism as a whole. The English word traces its roots back to the Puritans in England, where Evangelicalism originated, and then was brought to the United States . Martin Luther always disliked the term Lutheran , preferring the term evangelical , which was derived from euangelion , a Greek word meaning "good news", i.e. " gospel ". The followers of John Calvin , Huldrych Zwingli , and other theologians linked to

770-479: A council (either general or national) could be convened to address the problems raised by the investigation at the discretion of the bishops. After Lorraine's speech, the Assembly was adjourned for the day. On 25 August the members of the Assembly met to consider how to proceed. They rejected Coligny's advocacy for the legalisation of Protestantism. Rather instead it would be Lorraine's proposals around which

924-442: A difficult position from the government of Henri II , with massive debts, thus they had little choice but to disband useless troops and defer salaries. Guise observed that the petitions Coligny had presented were unsigned. Coligny apologised for this but explained that it was not possible to gain signatures without the right of assembly for Protestants. He added that if François afforded such rights he could get 50,000 signatures for

1078-448: A direct negative effect on their own income. In response to this opposition, the finance minister at the time, Calonne, suggested that Louis XVI call an Assembly of Notables. While the Assembly of Notables had no legislative power in its own right, Calonne hoped that if the Assembly of Notables could be made to support the proposed reforms then this would apply pressure on parlement to register them. Calonne proposed four major reforms: In

1232-431: A grandee of Montmorency's stature this represented a large retinue. Among those who arrived with him were two of his sons (the maréchal de Montmorency and the seigneur de Damville ), and his Châtillon nephews: the amiral de Coligny, the colonel-général de l'infantrie (colonel-general of the infantry) Andelot and the cardinal de Châtillon . By this means he hoped to demonstrate that his years of power were not over. For

1386-567: A handful of Protestant denominational families; Adventists , Anabaptists , Anglicans/Episcopalians , Baptists , Calvinist/Reformed , Lutherans , Methodists , Moravians , Plymouth Brethren , Presbyterians , and Quakers . Nondenominational , charismatic and independent churches are also on the rise, having recently expanded rapidly throughout much of the world, and constitute a significant part of Protestantism. These various movements, collectively labeled "popular Protestantism" by scholars such as Peter L. Berger , have been called one of

1540-591: A less critical reading of the Bible developed in the United States—leading to a " fundamentalist " reading of Scripture. Christian fundamentalists read the Bible as the "inerrant, infallible " Word of God, as do the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Anglican and Lutheran churches, but interpret it in a literalist fashion without using the historical-critical method . Methodists and Anglicans differ from Lutherans and

1694-519: A more measured approach to Coligny than did his brother. He challenged whether the intentions of the petitioners was as peaceable as they protested it to be. He further enquired ironically as to whether the king was to adopt the Protestant faith. Lorraine mused to Coligny that the majority of the requests of the kings subjects took the form of 'defamatory libels' and that he had in his personal collection 22 that were written against him. He argued at

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1848-518: A national religious council that could rectify the kingdoms religious problems through a reform of the Catholic church and a meeting of the Estates General to remedy the financial and political problems of the kingdom. Jouanna argues that on the subject of a church council, the men were acting as mouth pieces for the new chancellor L'Hôpital and Catherine. Guise and Lorraine rallied to these proposals. For Jouanna their assent to these proposals

2002-455: A new fiscal and political world; it was either because he had not gone far enough or because they disliked the operational methods built into the program. With the Assembly being uncooperative Calonne decided to instead appeal straight to the people and put pressure on the Notables with a pamphlet including a foreword titled Avertissement , or "The Warning," in which he depicted the members of

2156-515: A new path. This was embodied in the May Edict of Romorantin . Some combination of these figures then resolved that it would be necessary to summon together an enlarged version of the king's council to devise a solution to the kingdoms troubles, and achieve a number of other objectives. Thus on 21 August, 54 notables met at the royal residence of Fontainebleau . Proceedings were opened by the chancellor L'Hôpital before Guise and Lorraine explained

2310-472: A priest with possessions, such as a pope, was in such grave sin), may have translated the Bible into vernacular English , and preached anticlerical and biblically centred reforms. His rejection of a real divine presence in the elements of the Eucharist foreshadowed Huldrych Zwingli's similar ideas in the 16th century. Wycliffe's admirers came to be known as " Lollards ". Beginning in the first decade of

2464-605: A project, and the German princes, the Emperor and the foreign kings would have their own opinions on, timetables and desires for such a meeting which was unsuitable in the present moment when the need for a solution was a pressing one. Thus it would have to be a national one. On other church matters he deplored the strong presence of Italians in the church hierarchy accusing them of taking an 'infinity of pensions' and 'sucking our blood like leeches', appealed for residency in benefices,

2618-782: A revolt erupted. Hussites defeated five continuous crusades proclaimed against them by the Pope . Later theological disputes caused a split within the Hussite movement. Utraquists maintained that both the bread and the wine should be administered to the people during the Eucharist. Another major faction were the Taborites , who opposed the Utraquists in the Battle of Lipany during the Hussite Wars . There were two separate parties among

2772-420: A royal edict was issued summarising the results of the Assembly. An Estates General was ordered convened. It would be set to meet at Meaux on 10 December, however it would in fact meet at Orléans. In addition, if a general council of the church could not be convened, then a national meeting of the church was to occur the following month on 20 January 1561 composed of the 'bishops, prelates and other churchmen of

2926-403: A speech explaining the purpose of the gathering, he analogised the situation to that of a doctor and his patient. The kingdom was the ill patient, and those assembled must identify the cause of its malady so that they might best administer the cure. He argued those gathered had the necessary authority to heal the kingdom without the need for the summoning of the Estates General. He was followed by

3080-423: A subordinate position during the meeting of the Assembly of Notables. They were to take notes and perhaps transmit orders. The connétable de Montmorency (constable of Montmorency) who was at this time involved in a ruinous lawsuit with the duc de Guise over control of the comté de Dammartin (county of Dammartin) made a grand show of force in his attendance, arriving with an escort of eight hundred horsemen. Even for

3234-404: A temporary basis for the ensuring of peace in the realm. This would be until such time as a national council of the church could be summoned. Criticism between Coligny and the government became open (without him specifically naming his target) when he challenged the fact that the king was surrounded by a guard of arquebusiers under the command of the sieur de Richelieu (which had been provided by

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3388-478: Is Jovinian , who lived in the fourth century AD. He attacked monasticism , ascetism and believed that a saved believer can never be overcome by Satan. In the 9th century, the theologian Gottschalk of Orbais was condemned for heresy by the Catholic Church. Gottschalk believed that the salvation of Jesus was limited and that his redemption was only for the elect. The theology of Gottschalk anticipated

3542-452: Is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes justification of sinners through faith alone , the teaching that salvation comes by unmerited divine grace , the priesthood of all believers , and the Bible as the sole infallible source of authority for Christian faith and practice. The five solae summarize the basic theological beliefs of mainstream Protestantism. Protestants follow

3696-751: Is diverse, being divided into various denominations on the basis of theology and ecclesiology , not forming a single structure as with the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodoxy or Oriental Orthodoxy . Protestants adhere to the concept of an invisible church , in contrast to the Catholic, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, the Assyrian Church of the East , and the Ancient Church of

3850-920: Is still preferred among some of the historical Protestant denominations in the Lutheran, Calvinist, and United (Lutheran and Reformed) Protestant traditions in Europe, and those with strong ties to them. Above all the term is used by Protestant bodies in the German-speaking area , such as the Protestant Church in Germany . Thus, the German word evangelisch means Protestant, while the German evangelikal , refers to churches shaped by Evangelicalism . The English word evangelical usually refers to evangelical Protestant churches, and therefore to

4004-447: Is the guiding principle of the work of Luther and the later reformers. Because sola scriptura placed the Bible as the only source of teaching, sola fide epitomizes the main thrust of the teaching the reformers wanted to get back to, namely the direct, close, personal connection between Christ and the believer, hence the reformers' contention that their work was Christocentric. The other solas, as statements, emerged later, but

4158-467: Is therefore faith alone which justifies, and yet the faith which justifies is not alone: just as it is the heat alone of the sun which warms the earth, and yet in the sun it is not alone." Lutheran and Reformed Christians differ from Methodists in their understanding of this doctrine. The universal priesthood of believers implies the right and duty of the Christian laity not only to read the Bible in

4312-705: The Catholic Church . On 31 October 1517, known as All Hallows' Eve , Martin Luther allegedly nailed his Ninety-five Theses , also known as the Disputation on the Power of Indulgences, on the door of the All Saints' Church in Wittenberg , Germany, detailing doctrinal and practical abuses of the Catholic Church, especially the selling of indulgences . The theses debated and criticized many aspects of

4466-547: The Holy Spirit and personal closeness to God. The belief that believers are justified , or pardoned for sin, solely on condition of faith in Christ rather than a combination of faith and good works . For Protestants, good works are a necessary consequence rather than cause of justification. However, while justification is by faith alone, there is the position that faith is not nuda fides . John Calvin explained that "it

4620-514: The King's Council ( Curia regis ). Several times a year, whenever the king needed to cast a wider net to gather information for making important decisions or preparing edicts and ordinances, he would enlarge his Council with prominent men chosen for their social and professional standing or their skills to give counsel on the matters at hand. The role of the assembly was to advise the king on how to remedy governance issues in conflict with or brought up by

4774-629: The Lutherans with the approval of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V three years earlier . The term protestant , though initially purely political in nature, later acquired a broader sense, referring to a member of any Western church which subscribed to the main Protestant principles. A Protestant is an adherent of any of those Christian bodies that separated from the Church of Rome during the Reformation, or of any group descended from them. During

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4928-663: The Netherlands , Scotland , Switzerland , France , Poland , and Lithuania by Protestant Reformers such as John Calvin , Huldrych Zwingli and John Knox . The political separation of the Church of England from the Roman Catholic Church under King Henry VIII began Anglicanism , bringing England and Wales into this broad Reformation movement, under the leadership of reformer Thomas Cranmer , whose work forged Anglican doctrine and identity. Protestantism

5082-521: The Protestant Reformation and summarize the reformers' basic differences in theological beliefs in opposition to the teaching of the Catholic Church of the day. The Latin word sola means "alone", "only", or "single". The use of the phrases as summaries of teaching emerged over time during the Reformation, based on the overarching Lutheran and Reformed principle of sola scriptura (by scripture alone). This idea contains

5236-464: The Reformed tradition also began to use that term. To distinguish the two evangelical groups, others began to refer to the two groups as Evangelical Lutheran and Evangelical Reformed . The word also pertains in the same way to some other mainline groups, for example Evangelical Methodist . As time passed by, the word evangelical was dropped. Lutherans themselves began to use the term Lutheran in

5390-943: The Unitas Fratrum —"Unity of the Brethren"—which was renewed under the leadership of Count Nicolaus von Zinzendorf in Herrnhut , Saxony , in 1722 after its almost total destruction in the Thirty Years' War and the Counterreformation ("Catholic Reformation") . Today, it is usually referred to in English as the Moravian Church and in German as the Herrnhuter Brüdergemeine . In the 15th century, three German theologians anticipated

5544-426: The bishop of Orléans and the archbishop of Vienne (a client of the Lorraine princes). It was by virtue of their position on the conseil that they spoke at the Assembly. All three were liberal in disposition and suspected by the ultra Catholics of being Protestant. The duc de Nevers (with his two sons that would both succeed him to the duché François and Jacques ), marquis de Villars (a brother in law of

5698-482: The dîmes (tithes) they had to pay to the Catholic church. Such refusals would occur in both the north and south of the kingdom. Catherine adopted the moderate political attitude of the cardinal de Lorraine. To this end she summoned an Assembly to meet at Fontainebleau in August. The cardinal de Lorraine and L'Hôpital also campaigned for the summoning of such an Assembly. According to Constant, Cloulas and Mariéjol, it

5852-554: The parlements or the Estates-General. In 1560, in the wake of the Conspiracy of Amboise the Lorraine-Guise government was moved towards the need to call an Assembly of Notables to address the religious problems of the kingdom that the conspiracy had laid bare and also the financial problems that had been pressuring the kingdom since the death of Henri II . All the leading nobles of the kingdom were in attendance, with

6006-477: The sécretaire d'État L'Aubespine who was instructed by the king to read them to those assembled, this was unusual and surprised many. The king reportedly received them with kindness. The historian Romier explains that the petitions were allowed to be presented so that the speeches that were planned to follow that attacked the Papacy and argued in favour of a more limited toleration from the cardinal de Lorraine and

6160-493: The theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation , a movement that began in the 16th century with the goal of reforming the Catholic Church from perceived errors, abuses, and discrepancies . The Reformation began in the Holy Roman Empire in 1517, when Martin Luther published his Ninety-five Theses as a reaction against abuses in the sale of indulgences by the Catholic Church, which purported to offer

6314-428: The trésoriers de l'épargne (receivers of royal revenues), the maîtres des rêquetes (senior judicial figures), the sécretaires d'État (secretaries of state) and the chevaliers de l'Ordre de Saint-Michel were invited. Unlike the estates general the large majority of the participants were not elected, and thus the body had the character of an enlarged and more serious version of the king's conseil . Chief among

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6468-410: The vernacular , but also to take part in the government and all the public affairs of the Church. It is opposed to the hierarchical system which puts the essence and authority of the Church in an exclusive priesthood, and which makes ordained priests the necessary mediators between God and the people. It is distinguished from the concept of the priesthood of all believers, which did not grant individuals

6622-512: The 15th century, Jan Hus —a Catholic priest, Czech reformist and professor—influenced by John Wycliffe's writings, founded the Hussite movement. He strongly advocated his reformist Bohemian religious denomination. He was excommunicated and burned at the stake in Constance , Bishopric of Constance , in 1415 by secular authorities for unrepentant and persistent heresy. After his execution,

6776-404: The 1787 meeting of the Assembly, a final meeting was convened from early November to mid-December 1788 with a mandate to determine the composition and voting procedures of the meeting of the Estates General. This would be the final convention of the Assembly of Notables. 1560 Assembly of Notables The 1560 Assembly of Notables (French: Assemblée des notables de 1560 ) was a gathering of

6930-480: The Assembly as simply trying to defend their privileges at the expense of the people. However this did not rally the people or bring the Notables in line. Instead this angered the Notables as now they saw Calonne trying to subvert their power. In response to this perceived over reach by Calonne multiple members of the Assembly formed a plot to see Calonne removed from his position. To do this though they needed to convince Louis XVI himself to get rid of Calonne. With one of

7084-475: The Assembly of Notables of 1626–27. The king and the notables agreed on four basic changes in French government. First, they agreed that Protestant power had to be broken. There was no specific discussion of a march on La Rochelle , but the notables firmly supported the king's desire to destroy the network of independent Huguenot fortresses. Second, the notables, like those of 1596 and 1617, strongly criticized

7238-530: The Assembly of Notables, Guise began to see his religious policy as distinct from that being pursued by the crown. In a letter to the Spanish duque de Alba (duke of Alba) in October he explained that he would do what he could to preserve the honour of god and protect the Catholic faith without reference to the king. While the Assembly was a triumph for the policies of Catherine, she remained in partnership with

7392-471: The Assembly the Notables would seek to impose greater checks upon the Kings power, and would see many claim the Assembly did not have the authority to implement reform and that only the Estates-General had such power. While the king sought to take power and privileges from the Notables. This would create a stalemate within the body that bred discontent and a desire to see the Assembly end from both sides. So with

7546-406: The Assembly would be that it would disprove the assertion levelled by opponents of the present regime that François was a child in the clutches of his wife's uncles (Lorraine and Guise). It would also possibly pave the way for Catherine's desired Estates General. In addition to the religious and political crisis, the kingdom also continued to face a financial crisis. Great efforts were made to see

7700-541: The Assembly, that it was his position that those, unarmed French that went to Protestant services, sung psalms and avoided attendance of mass should not be pursued by the state. He expressed his remorse as a cardinal that in the past such people had been subject to execution. Despite this, open toleration of Protestantism (either embodied by the granting of churches of the right of assembly) was not acceptable to Lorraine, as this would be to indicate François' approval of heresy, which would surely see him damned. He observed that

7854-472: The Assembly. Their absence did much to negate their assertion that they were being unfairly excluded from the government of the realm. Some believed that had they come quickly, and in force, they might have wrested control of the government from the Lorraine-Guise. From their southern stronghold, Condé and Navarre drew up a remonstrance in which they characterised Guise and Lorraine as tyrants. For

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8008-414: The Assembly. They stressed that the growth of Protestantism was the responsibility of the failings of the Catholic church. The abuses that dominated its organisation made it impossible for it to be a proper shepherd to the people. The bishop of Valence praised the actions of the Lorraine princes and the queen mother Catherine. He noted that the latter had used gentleness as opposed to force to bring about

8162-607: The Bible as the highest source of authority for the church. The early churches of the Reformation believed in a critical, yet serious, reading of scripture and holding the Bible as a source of authority higher than that of church tradition . The many abuses that had occurred in the Western Church before the Protestant Reformation led the Reformers to reject much of its tradition. In the early 20th century,

8316-511: The Bourbon princes show up for the Assembly. Shortly before the meeting of the Assembly. François inducted a new batch of seventeen chevaliers (knights) of the Ordre de Saint-Michel (Order of Saint-Michel) so that the crowns preferred policies during the meeting would enjoy a comfortable majority. The recipients were chosen by the duc de Guise from among his comrades. This method also offered

8470-601: The Catholic Church. By 1215, the Waldensians were declared heretical and subject to persecution. Despite that, the movement continues to exist to this day in Italy, as a part of the wider Reformed tradition . In the 1370s, Oxford theologian and priest John Wycliffe —later dubbed the "Morning Star of Reformation"—started his activity as an English reformer. He rejected papal authority over secular power (in that any person in mortal sin lost their authority and should be resisted:

8624-470: The Church and the papacy, including the practice of purgatory , particular judgment , and the authority of the pope. Luther would later write works against the Catholic devotion to Virgin Mary , the intercession of and devotion to the saints, mandatory clerical celibacy, monasticism, the authority of the pope, the ecclesiastical law, censure and excommunication , the role of secular rulers in religious matters,

8778-575: The Danish king that "the Gallic conspiracy, suppressed in the first outbreak, seems to be secretly increased and strengthened, and what before was advanced by secret plots now seems ready to erupt into open war." The disorders culminated in a failed Protestant attempt to seize Lyon on 4 September shortly after the Assembly, led by a captain who had been involved in the conjuration d'Amboise. Concurrent to these rebellions, peasants also entered rebellion against

8932-405: The East , which all understand themselves as the one and only original church—the " one true church "—founded by Jesus Christ (though certain Protestant denominations, including historic Lutheranism, hold to this position). Some denominations do have a worldwide scope and distribution of church membership , while others are confined to a single country. A majority of Protestants are members of

9086-534: The Hussites: moderate and radical movements. Other smaller regional Hussite branches in Bohemia included Adamites , Orebites , Orphans , and Praguers. The Hussite Wars concluded with the victory of Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund , his Catholic allies and moderate Hussites and the defeat of the radical Hussites. Tensions arose as the Thirty Years' War reached Bohemia in 1620. Both moderate and radical Hussitism

9240-547: The Lorraine led government and not François himself. She entrusted the amiral de Coligny (admiral of Coligny) with a mission into Normandie to undertake an investigation. It was thus to this end that Coligny devoted himself after his departure from Amboise. In addition to this, while in Normandie in April Coligny would work towards the undertaking of a military expedition to Scotland. The cardinal de Lorraine and

9394-399: The Lorraine princes in government, she was determined not to disgrace them. The two groups were unified by their shared antipathy towards the king of Navarre and prince de Condé as well as continued disruptions in the provinces. Cloulas argues that the Assembly revealed Catherine's 'statesperson' like qualities, while avoiding while avoiding the humiliation of the Lorraine-Guise. As had been

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9548-473: The Lorraine-Guise family the large majority of the male members were represented at the Assembly. The cardinal de Lorraine and cardinal de Guise , the duc de Guise (and his son the prince de Joinville ), duc d'Aumale and the marquis d'Elbeuf . Only the grand prieur (grand prior) was absent at sea. For the woman, the duchesse de Guise (duchess of Guise) and duchesse douairière de Guise (dowager duchess of Guise) were present. The Lorraine family proper

9702-495: The Papacy and spoke in favour of concord with Protestantism. He also advocated for a meeting of the Estates General . The next speech was that of the archbishop of Vienne . Vienne expounded on the view that the reunification of the Christian church would best be brought about peaceably. He then strongly advocated for a church council and a meeting of the Estates General. On 24 August, Coligny spoke more formally. He endorsed

9856-706: The Protestant Reformation, but are not a part of Protestantism (e.g. Unitarianism ), reject the Trinity . This often serves as a reason for exclusion of the Unitarian Universalism , Oneness Pentecostalism , and other movements from Protestantism by various observers. Unitarianism continues to have a presence mainly in Transylvania , England, and the United States. The Five solae are five Latin phrases (or slogans) that emerged during

10010-418: The Protestant reformation. Ratramnus also defended the theology of Gottschalk and denied the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist; his writings also influenced the later Protestant reformation. Claudius of Turin in the 9th century also held Protestant ideas, such as faith alone and rejection of the supremacy of Peter. In the late 1130s, Arnold of Brescia , an Italian canon regular became one of

10164-474: The Protestants protestations of obedience to the crown only seemed to apply when the king was of the same religion as them. It would be the duty of the bishops and priests to win the Protestants back over to the Catholic faith, meanwhile the baillis and sénéchaux would be responsible for punishing those who took up arms. He voiced his approval for a meeting of the Estates General, more clearly so than did

10318-407: The Reformation and put heavy stress of holiness and piety, Starting in 1475, an Italian Dominican friar Girolamo Savonarola was calling for a Christian renewal. Later on, Martin Luther himself read some of the friar's writings and praised him as a martyr and forerunner whose ideas on faith and grace anticipated Luther's own doctrine of justification by faith alone. Some of Hus' followers founded

10472-545: The Reformation, the term protestant was hardly used outside of German politics. People who were involved in the religious movement used the word evangelical ( German : evangelisch ). For further details, see the section below. Gradually, protestant became a general term, meaning any adherent of the Reformation in the German-speaking area. It was ultimately somewhat taken up by Lutherans, even though Martin Luther himself insisted on Christian or evangelical as

10626-595: The Reformed on this doctrine as they teach prima scriptura , which holds that Scripture is the primary source for Christian doctrine, but that "tradition, experience, and reason" can nurture the Christian religion as long as they are in harmony with the Bible ( Protestant canon ). "Biblical Christianity" focused on a deep study of the Bible is characteristic of most Protestants as opposed to "Church Christianity", focused on performing rituals and good works, represented by Catholic and Orthodox traditions. However, Quakers , Pentecostalists and Spiritual Christians emphasize

10780-432: The assemblies' role. The assemblies had no legislative or administrative powers; instead, they served to provide government reform proposals and to make appropriate counter-proposals. In the case of every successful assembly, the king himself would issue a major ordinance or enact significant reforms, most notably the Edict of Blois 1579, in response to the Estates-General of 1576, and the great Code Michau 1629, in response to

10934-495: The attendees were members of the royal family as represented by the king François, the queen Mary , his mother Catherine, and François' two eldest brothers the duc d'Orléans and the duc d'Angoulême . For the royal administration, present were the chancellor L'Hôpital, the surintendant des finances (superintendent of the finances) Avançon , the grand écuyer the marquis de Boisy , the maître des requêtes ordinaire de l'hôtel du roi (a senior legal official) du Mortier , and

11088-400: The benefit of rewarding those who had shown loyalty to the crown during this unstable year. Such a move would be replicated before the showdown with Condé in October of the same year. In total the meeting would involve 54 persons. Members of the royal conseil privé (privy council), the princes du sang (princes of the blood - agnatic descendants of the royal line outside the royal family),

11242-508: The bishop, in stark contrast with the clergy of the Protestant faith, who conducted themselves with modesty and deplored all vices. It was no surprise therefore that they attained a large number of converts. He differentiated two types of Protestants, the first who were disreputable 'impious libertines' were those who took on the new faith as a means of escaping the practices of the church, and were always quick to resort to arms. The second group were those who earnestly believed Protestantism offered

11396-524: The body, blood, soul, and divinity of Christ. They disagreed with one another concerning the presence of Christ and his body and blood in Holy Communion. Protestants reject the Catholic doctrine of papal supremacy , and have variant views on the number of sacraments , the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist , and matters of ecclesiastical polity and apostolic succession . Many of

11550-659: The church as a body works), they had a different understanding of the process in which truths in scripture were applied to life of believers, compared to the Catholics' idea that certain people within the church, or ideas that were old enough, had a special status in giving understanding of the text. The second main principle, sola fide (by faith alone), states that faith in Christ is sufficient alone for eternal salvation and justification. Though argued from scripture, and hence logically consequent to sola scriptura , this

11704-434: The church could even feature Protestant participation. While both the bishop of Valence and the archbishop of Vienne would adopt Gallican tones in their speeches, that of Valence would go further in his direct attacks on the Papacy. If it proved too difficult to convene a general council of the church, the bishop of Valence indicated his support for a national council. The archbishop of Vienne spoke next. Romier charges that

11858-536: The cities across France. In the second petition which was addressed to Catherine, it was plead that she have pity on the 'people of god' and free the church from its errors and abuses. Having had his petitions read, Coligny assured the king of his loyalty, for which François opined that he was well pleased in Coligny's service and that the amiral had a good reputation. On 23 August, The bishop of Valence , archbishop of Vienne and bishop of Orléans spoke before

12012-570: The collapse of the State. In the assembly, Cardinal de Bourbon called for France to tolerate one faith, Catholicism; he said that if this was offered, the clergy would sell their shirts to support the king. Henry, however, angrily interrupted him informing the Cardinal that any attempt to impose uniform Catholicism was unthinkable to his brother the duke of Anjou . Henri continued that he had already risked his life and estate to establish Catholicism as

12166-406: The common good. For Vienne, the voice of the people often reflected the approval of god. He also emphasised the particularly important role that François and Catherine would play. Constant sees his speech as a transfer of his allegiance away from his former patrons, the Lorraine brothers. Though he did not directly impugn their government in his speech, they felt targeted. In Vienne's opinion there

12320-579: The connétable Montmorency) duc de Longueville and comte de Gruyère also made an appearance for the occasion. The Italian nobles Ludovico who would in future become the duc de Nevers by marriage, and the duca di Bracciano were with the others at Fontainebleau. Durot notes the presence of the German noble the Kurfürst von der Pfalz (elector of the Pfalz) . The Assembly would meet from 21 to 26 August. The first session opened on 21 August at 13:00 in

12474-461: The contemporary world's most dynamic religious movements. As of 2024 , Protestantism has a total of approximately 625 million followers. Six princes of the Holy Roman Empire and rulers of fourteen Imperial Free Cities , who issued a protest (or dissent) against the edict of the Diet of Speyer (1529) , were the first individuals to be called Protestants. The edict reversed concessions made to

12628-525: The court. Nevertheless, he would not openly oppose the Lorraine led government. The aftershocks of Amboise were reverberating through the kingdom at this time in continued disorders. Churches were attacked in Guyenne, Languedoc and Provence. Armed men had risen up in Dauphiné, Provence and Guyenne and begun seizing towns. Shortly before the Assembly of Notables would meet, on 19 August, Jean Sturm informed

12782-409: The crime of 'heresy' from that of sedition, while maintaining the illegality of Protestant worship. According to Pernot it was Catherine who took the initiative on this edict, and Lorraine followed her course. Those Protestants who had been arrested solely on the grounds of their religion were to be freed. Lorraine and Guise assented to the replacement of the recently deceased chancellor Olivier by

12936-466: The delegates the kingdom they had inherited, and the nature of their government. He further stated that the king had at his disposal the princes du sang the church and the nobility all of whom wished to protect his authority to the last drop of their blood. By this means according to Mariéjol he obliquely attacked the Lorraine princes by highlighting that they were not indispensable. The bishop of Valence and archbishop of Vienne had both proposed both

13090-481: The design of the Assembly, all speakers expressed their approval for a national council of the clergy. This had been designed to present a unified front for international observers. However it failed to move either the Pope or the king of España on the prospect. The latter of whom sent an extraordinary ambassador to France during September to make his veto to such a project clear. Protestantism Protestantism

13244-458: The desire to continue the Assembly waning it would be dissolved on 25 May. In addition to tax reform, the Assembly also discussed other issues. The result was that the Assembly assisted the Parlement in creating provincial assemblies, reestablished free trade in grain, converted the corvée (a feudal duty in the form of forced labour) into a cash payment, and generated short-term loans. After

13398-510: The distinguished lawyer L'Hôpital in June. L'Hôpital was an Erasmian humanist, who desired to reinforce the authority of the monarchy and preserve peace. He looked to further the policy of religious moderation embodied by the crown in the last few months. Nevertheless, he did not believe two religions could co-exist in France. He was the choice of Catherine, and intended to favour no one party at

13552-404: The duc de Guise (duke of Guise) and cardinal de Lorraine . Though this failed, the realm was greatly destabilised, and disorders would continue throughout the remainder of 1560. Around the same time as the conspiracy, a combination of the cardinal de Lorraine, the queen mother Catherine and the amiral de Coligny (admiral of Coligny) resolved to abandon persecution of Protestantism and embark on

13706-469: The duc de Guise and cardinal de Lorraine who gave an account of their stewardship of the state in matters of defence and finance respectively. Guise discussed matters in his capacity as lieutenant-général du royaume (lieutenant-general of the kingdom), laying out papers that demonstrated the state of the French army. Lorraine meanwhile explained to the assembled nobles the size of the royal deficit, which had now reached 2,500,000 livres annually. During

13860-534: The duc de Guise but showed hesitancy on the prospect of a national church council. An Estates General would afford the king's ministers an opportunity to dispel the slanders against them. Beyond this Guise and Lorraine were driven towards the Estates by the perilous financial position the kingdom found itself in. Lorraine put forward that there should be an investigation into abuses of the church before any church council. After such an investigation had transpired, then

14014-517: The duc de Guise were disconcerted by the hostility they had faced in the conjuration. The cardinal de Lorraine was of the opinion that it was no longer practical to imagine 'extirpating heresy' (i.e. Protestantism). According to Le Roux, Lorraine took on a policy of conciliation, instituting the Edict of Romorantin in May 1560 while effectively abolished the death penalty for Protestantism, and differentiated

14168-444: The duc de Guise). He also noted with disapproval the cancellation of the royal tour of the kingdom. The amiral opined that one was left to conclude from these two developments that the king feared his subjects and had thus cut himself off from them. In such a scenario, the people would surely fear and suspect François. He proposed that to remedy this, the king dismiss his guard and then convene an Estates General. He further challenged

14322-402: The elimination of simony and the preaching of the 'pure word of god'. He spoke the most eloquently on the need for an Estates General to meet. He described the body as an ancient form upon which the state of France was founded. He concluded his speech on the matter by arguing for the political maturity of the French people. With so many people assembled, the majority would tend towards service of

14476-508: The episode. The repression that crushed the conjuration after the attempted attack on the gates on 17 March was a violent one. Conspirators were hanged, drowned and beheaded. Some Protesatant contemporaries, such as the sieur de Soubise were moved by events. In the wake of the conjuration, the cardinal de Lorraine was subject to virulent abuse in the pamphlet 'Le Tigre' (The Tiger) by the Protestant Hotman which denounced him as

14630-583: The exception of the princes of Bourbon-Vendôme, the king of Navarre and the prince de Condé who were conscious that they would likely be arrested if they attended. The 40 grandees in attendance agreed to a package of reforms put forward by the Guise government, and supported the calling of an Estates General to meet at Meaux later that year. The matter of religion was also discussed, and after being taken off plan by admiral de Coligny , who proposed temporary coexistence between Catholicism and Protestantism, much to

14784-538: The excommunication of Luther and condemnation of the Reformation by the Pope, the work and writings of John Calvin were influential in establishing a loose consensus among various groups in Switzerland, Scotland, Hungary, Germany and elsewhere. After the expulsion of its Bishop in 1526, and the unsuccessful attempts of the Bern reformer William Farel , Calvin was asked to use the organizational skill he had gathered as

14938-554: The first theologians to attempt to reform the Catholic Church. After his death, his teachings on apostolic poverty gained currency among Arnoldists , and later more widely among Waldensians and the Spiritual Franciscans , though no written word of his has survived the official condemnation. In the early 1170s, Peter Waldo founded the Waldensians. He advocated an interpretation of the Gospel that led to conflicts with

15092-406: The fiscal situation was catastrophic. The overwhelming majority of the assembly's deliberations focused on this last issue. The penultimate appearance of the Assembly of Notables ran from February to May of 1787, convened by Louis XVI . France's finances were in a desperate situation and the finance ministers of the day ( Turgot , Necker , Calonne ) all believed that tax reform was vital if France

15246-400: The four sécretaires d'État ( L'Aubespine , Bourdin , de Fresnes and Alluye . The queen mother's chevalier d'honneur (knight of honour) the comte de Crussol was at the Assembly, as was an unknown other chevalier de l'ordre de Saint-Michel that Romier speculates might have been the baron de Fourquevaux as he was at the French court at this time. The sécretaires d'État occupied

15400-486: The four main doctrines on the Bible: that its teaching is needed for salvation (necessity); that all the doctrine necessary for salvation comes from the Bible alone (sufficiency); that everything taught in the Bible is correct (inerrancy); and that, by the Holy Spirit overcoming sin, believers may read and understand truth from the Bible itself, though understanding is difficult, so the means used to guide individual believers to

15554-528: The government would announce its decision to them shortly. A closing session was held for the Assembly on 26 August. François made it known that he intended to convene an Estates General and a national council of the church (unless agreement could be reached with the Pope, German princes and other parties for a general council). Royal justice against 'heretics' would only be pursued against those judged to be 'insane' going forward. Bishops and royal officers would be obliged to reside in their charges. On 31 August

15708-470: The grandees, particularly provincial governors. In 1626–27, the notables insisted in particular that the king should regain full control of the military. Third, everyone agreed that the basic administration of the kingdom lay in disarray, so that a strong statement from the central government was needed to reestablish order. In most cases, this reaffirmation of government control required only the restatement of pre-existing ordinances. Fourth, everyone agreed that

15862-457: The holy sacrament. By this means, Guise affirmed to Catholics who were frustrated by the more tolerant royal religious policy that they had a man at court. He also took a position of neutrality on the calling of an Estates, saying he would leave such a decision for François. It took all the diplomacy of others present at the meeting to stop an explosion between Coligny and Guise. Lorraine followed his brother in speaking on 24 August. He took

16016-420: The income qualifications for voting for members of the proposed provincial assemblies. Schama wrote: Yet what was truly astonishing about the debates of the Assembly is that they were marked by a conspicuous acceptance of principles like fiscal equality that even a few years before would have been unthinkable… Where disagreement occurred, it was not because Calonne had shocked the Notables with his announcement of

16170-414: The individual ideas that were taken up by various reformers had historical pre-cursors; however, calling them proto-reformers is controversial, as often their theology also had components that are not associated with later Protestants, or that were asserted by some Protestants but denied by others, or that were only superficially similar. One of the earliest persons to be praised as a Protestant forerunner

16324-433: The ire of the Guise, the assembly settled on the plan proposed by the cardinal de Lorraine to call for a national religious council to address the issue, and propose reforms as necessary. During 1575, Henri III called together a number of notables for the purpose of securing subsidies. In November 1583, Henri convened an assembly of notables at Saint Germain-en-Laye to address religious demonstrations that threatened

16478-414: The key to rescuing the monarchy from bankruptcy was simply to ensure that the system of taxation worked efficiently. In 1626 Louis XIII called together an assembly consisting of the government's ruling elite—13 grandees, 13 bishops, and 29 judges. Many historians have regarded this assembly, and its predecessors, as unsuccessful because they failed to enact specific reforms, but this view fails to consider

16632-483: The king levy a special sales tax of 5% on all sales—with the exception of wheat, to avoid bread riots. It was estimated that this pancarte would raise 5 million French pounds ( livres ), but in its best year it raised only 1.56 million pounds. Although the tax raised less than predicted, it did restore the royal budget to solvency. King Henry and the Duke of Sully had come up with many other possible ways to raise money, but

16786-446: The kingdom at least, could be re-established after the discord of the previous months. L'Hôpital hoped that the great nobles, including the Bourbon princes might be sated through the opportunity to participate in the government of the kingdom. The Assembly would have the effect of gaining the appropriate buy-in for the new quasi-tolerant policy of religious concord the crown was pursuing prior to any church council. Another advantage of

16940-427: The kingdom'. Letters patent to this effect were distributed to the various royal officials. Reports of the religious results of the Assembly of Notables came to the delight of the English ambassador and fury of the Spanish ambassador. The Protestants argument against the crown that it refused to take the proper measure required by the youth (or as they considered it minority) of the king to call an Estates General

17094-453: The maréchaux (marshals) de France, all four were present. The seigneur de Saint-André , the comte de Brissac , the baron de Châteaubriant and seigneur de Termes . There were also several grandees who would go on to become maréchaux in the coming years: the seigneur de Gonnor , seigneur de Vielleville and seigneur de Sansac . Also among those present were the royal conseillers the bishop of Valence (a man very close to Catherine),

17248-525: The members to play a crucial role in this plot being Marie Antoinette , who with other members would sow distrust of Calonne to the King until on 8 April 1787 Calonne would be dismissed from his role by the King. Following the removal of Calonne two more people would lead the Assembly until its end. Those being Bouvard de Fourqueux who lead the assembly from 9 April to 1 May 1787, then Loménie de Brienne who would lead from 1 May to 25 May. During this period of

17402-445: The methods of government employed by Guise and Lorraine, critiquing their religious policy. Coligny begged the king to endorse the petition he had received. Coligny was followed in his speech by the other members of the conseil privé . Then Guise, feeling himself personally attacked by Coligny's earlier speech spoke up in his own defence in a personal capacity. He retorted to the first point Coligny had raised, arguing that after

17556-554: The middle of the 16th century, in order to distinguish themselves from other groups such as the Philippists and Calvinists . The German word reformatorisch , which roughly translates to English as "reformational" or "reforming", is used as an alternative for evangelisch in German, and is different from English reformed ( German : reformiert ), which refers to churches shaped by ideas of John Calvin , Huldrych Zwingli , and other Reformed theologians. Derived from

17710-436: The next day at the same time, it would be Coligny who was first to speak. Coligny endorsed the petitioners request he had provided previously that the Protestants be granted temples. He argued to Catherine that it would be an excellent solution to the unrest that had accompanied Protestant worship in the past if it was held in buildings instead. For Coligny there was no other solution than to legalise Protestantism on at least

17864-444: The only acceptable names for individuals who professed faith in Christ. French and Swiss Protestants instead preferred the word reformed ( French : réformé ), which became a popular, neutral, and alternative name for Calvinists. The word evangelical ( German : evangelisch ), which refers to the gospel , was widely used for those involved in the religious movement in the German-speaking area beginning in 1517. Evangelical

18018-554: The other churchmen present would appear less scandalous by comparison to foreign observers. In the first petition the Protestants of Normandie protested against the libellous depictions of them as 'troublemakers'. The petitioners argued they abided by the old and new testaments, and the apostolic creed. The Protestants of Normandie compared their treatment to that afforded the Jews. They argued that in some places in Christendom, for

18172-427: The path to salvation, and who would lay down their life and property to this end. The martyring of such Protestants was an upsetting matter to the bishop of Valence, he argued instead they should seek accord with such Christians. Exile should be the most serious offence that could be issued against a peaceful religious offender. Freedom of conscience could be separated from seditious assemblies. The national council of

18326-446: The petitions from Normandie alone. The duc de Guise rejoindered that the king could easily assemble a counter-petition that featured 1,000,000 signatures, first among which would be his own. The duc explained that for his part, he did not have to question matters of faith (which he stated that he left to the theologians as he was only a 'simple soldier') and that all the councils in the world would not separate him from his devotion to

18480-431: The petitions he had presented the prior day that sought temples (churches) for Protestant worship, putting him in a more radical position than that of Valence and Vienne. He then denounced the religious policy of the Lorraine-Guise government and the security under which they kept the king. When it was Guise's turn to speak he defended the necessity of François' security and challenged Coligny's petitions. The argument between

18634-497: The political elite of the kingdom of France from 21 to 26 August 1560 that aimed to find a solution to France's political, religious and financial crisis. From the start of François II's reign in 1559 the kingdom had been in a difficult position, burdened with a great debt. This was made more complicated in March 1560 by a politico-religious crisis when a Protestant coup attempted to seize the king and remove him from his chief ministers,

18788-501: The present chevalier de l'Ordre de Saint-Michel rallied. As such the Assembly thus approved by a majority vote the propositions that an Estates General be summoned, and that a church council be convened. There were certainly present chevaliers such as the Montmorencies and the seigneur d'Andelot who would have preferred a different course. François and Catherine thanked all the delegates for their participation and assured them

18942-420: The present notables on 26 August. On 31 August the king announced the summoning of the Estates General to meet at Meaux on 10 December, and a church council to meet on 20 January 1561. The assembly failed to reunify the elite of the kingdom, with the absentee prince de Condé and king of Navarre engaging in rebellious acts during August and September. It also failed to make clear the crowns religious policy. At

19096-571: The prince dauphin d'Auvergne were with the prince. While La Roche-sur-Yon's wife was not present his son the marquis de Beaupré was. Notably absent would be the other princes du sang of the Bourbon-Vendôme branch: the prince de Condé and the king of Navarre. Fearing that the summons was a trap they remained at Navarre's court in Nérac. This was despite the urgings of the connétable de Montmorency who had implored them to join with him at

19250-408: The queen mothers chambers under the presidency of the king. Catherine made a request that her son be given advice on how to approach the situation in which he found himself in. She asked that those present inform François how best to maintain the sceptre in his hand, and see to it that those who were discontented might be soothed. Proceedings were then opened by the chancellor L'Hôpital who delivered

19404-412: The recent troubles where arms had been assumed against the king, it was a necessary precaution for his person to be guarded. While those who had assumed arms claimed they were doing so to assault the king's ministers and not François himself, Guise challenged this, arguing that he and his brother had been only instruments of the king's will and had not offended any persons. He and his brother had inherited

19558-692: The reformation: Wessel Gansfort , Johann Ruchat von Wesel , and Johannes von Goch . They held ideas such as predestination , sola scriptura , and the church invisible , and denied the Roman Catholic view on justification and the authority of the Pope, also questioning monasticism . Wessel Gansfort also denied transubstantiation and anticipated the Lutheran view of justification by faith alone. Electors of Saxony Holy Roman Emperors Building Literature Theater Liturgies Hymnals Monuments Calendrical commemoration The Protestant Reformation began as an attempt to reform

19712-452: The relationship between Christianity and the law, good works, and the sacraments. The Reformation was a triumph of literacy and the new printing press invented by Johannes Gutenberg . Luther's translation of the Bible into German was a decisive moment in the spread of literacy, and stimulated as well the printing and distribution of religious books and pamphlets. From 1517 onward, religious pamphlets flooded much of Europe. Following

19866-457: The remission of the temporal punishment of sins to their purchasers. The term, however, derives from the letter of protestation from German Lutheran princes in 1529 against an edict of the Diet of Speyer condemning the teachings of Martin Luther as heretical . In the 16th century , Lutheranism spread from Germany into Denmark–Norway , Sweden , Finland , Livonia , and Iceland . Calvinist churches spread in Germany, Hungary ,

20020-410: The right to interpret the Bible apart from the Christian community at large because universal priesthood opened the door to such a possibility. There are scholars who cite that this doctrine tends to subsume all distinctions in the church under a single spiritual entity. Calvin referred to the universal priesthood as an expression of the relation between the believer and his God, including the freedom of

20174-411: The sake of good order and harmony the Jews had been permitted temples in which to conduct their worship, despite how 'abominable' this was in the eyes of god. From this they argued, how much more worthy of temples were those who recognised Jesus as their saviour. They asked for freedom of worship and temples (the term they used for churches) with buildings allocated to them according to their population in

20328-419: The second session on 23 August, Coligny seized the opportunity to speak before François had even had chance to offer the floor to the bishop of Orléans. For the first time he adopted a public position in favour of Protestantism. Rising from his seat he went over to the king. Bowing twice before François he explained that he had recently travelled to Normandie in the service of François and the queen mother. This

20482-462: The sole religion, but since he had been forced to sue for peace, he would not breach it. Following the regicide of Henry III, his successor was Henry IV who learned from the experience of Henry III. He himself had called on the assembly's assistance in 1596–97 at Rouen . The assemblymen were summoned to assist in developing and authorizing new taxation plans for the country to tackle the debt. There were 95 notables present, and they recommended that

20636-419: The sophisticated nature of his harangue reflected the governments intention that it was the official position of the government intended for international consumption. The archbishop offered a justification for the royal policy of conciliation towards the Protestants that had been in effect since March. By this means France's relations with its neighbours could be better ensured. This was a matter in which Vienne

20790-500: The start of the reign of François II in 1559, the French royal debt totalled around 43,000,000 livres . In March 1560 there was a failed coup attempt at the royal residence of Amboise. an event known as the conjuration d'Amboise . Protestant rebels made an attempt to kidnap the young king François and thereby remove him from the influence of his wife's Catholic uncles the duc de Guise (duke of Guise) and cardinal de Lorraine (cardinal of Lorraine) . There were great reverberations from

20944-405: The state of the various areas of royal administration they were responsible for. At the start of the second session on 23 August, the amiral de Coligny interjected himself at the start of proceedings and presented to the king two petitions from the Protestants of Normandie that were then read to the assembled notables. After this interruption the bishop of Valence spoke, he denounced persecution and

21098-494: The suppression of the recent plots against the crown. He then moved on to an offensive footing. He attacked first the popes who he charged with fostering war between Christian princes for their amusement. He then moved on his attack to the 'lazy' bishops who hoarded their incomes and spent them in a scandalous fashion. He further charged that they recruited their priests from among their 'greedy and ignorant' servants. Such men could only lead their flocks astray. This was, according to

21252-510: The thinking they represent was also part of the early Reformation. The Protestant movement began to diverge into several distinct branches in the mid-to-late 16th century. One of the central points of divergence was controversy over the Eucharist . Early Protestants rejected the Catholic dogma of transubstantiation , which teaches that the bread and wine used in the sacrificial rite of the Mass lose their natural substance by being transformed into

21406-458: The traditional view, the plan failed because the 144 assemblymen, who included princes of the blood , archbishops, noblemen and other people from the traditional elite, did not wish to bear the burden of increased taxation. However, Simon Schama has argued that the notables in fact were quite open to radical political changes; for example, some proposed the elimination of all the tax exemptions conferred by noble status ; others proposed lowering

21560-515: The true teaching is often mutual discussion within the church (clarity). The necessity and inerrancy were well-established ideas, garnering little criticism, though they later came under debate from outside during the Enlightenment . The most contentious idea at the time though was the notion that anyone could simply pick up the Bible and learn enough to gain salvation. Though the reformers were concerned with ecclesiology (the doctrine of how

21714-403: The two became heated. After Guise spoke Lorraine. He endorsed the need for an Estates General and reform of the church (that might require a church council). He expressed the belief that peaceable Protestants could be left in peace by the state, which should only trouble itself with those who tried to worship under arms or who caused other disorders. Lorraine's position was endorsed by a majority of

21868-508: The very day of the closing of the Assembly, a messenger in Condé's employ named La Sague was arrested, and found to have incriminating papers in his possession. Under torture he implicated the princes in a new planned uprising. Condé had reached out to the duc de Montmorency and the vidame de Chartres asking for their support. The vidame responded favourably, but unfortunately for him it was his correspondence with Condé and Navarre that La Sague

22022-472: The word "Reformation", the term emerged around the same time as Evangelical (1517) and Protestant (1529). Many experts have proposed criteria to determine whether a Christian denomination should be considered part of Protestantism. A common consensus approved by most of them is that if a Christian denomination is to be considered Protestant, it must acknowledge the following three fundamental principles of Protestantism. The belief, emphasized by Luther, in

22176-403: Was Coligny who advocated for the summoning of the Assembly, and the duc de Guise supported him in this. Carroll argues the initiative came from Guise and Lorraine who intended to outmanoeuvre the Bourbon princes. Sutherland argues Guise and Lorraine were not opposed to the Assembly, in the hopes that they might dominate it. It was hoped that through this meeting a consensus, among the elites of

22330-444: Was a dual fault to be held for the troubles of earlier in the year: the conspirators at Amboise had been at fault, but so too had been the Catholic preachers who tried to drive the people to exterminate Protestantism. On the Lorraine government he stated that the Estates General would afford them the ability to confront the slanders against them and cleanse themselves of the poor regard in which they were being held. They could explain to

22484-477: Was also represented, by the duc de Lorraine and his wife the duchesse de Lorraine , who was the daughter of the queen mother Catherine. For the princes du sang the cardinal de Bourbon of the Bourbon-Vendôme branch and duc de Montpensier and prince de La Roche-sur-Yon of the Bourbon-Montpensier branch were in attendance. Montpensier's wife the duchesse de Montpensier and his eldest son

22638-437: Was an unwilling need to go with the majority of the Assembly. There was also a degree to which they held out hope that the Estates offered the prospect of strengthening their hand, which had been so shaken by the conjuration. Following the speeches of these two prelates, came short interventions from the maître des requêtes du Mortier, the bishop of Orléans and the surintendant des finances Avançon. When proceedings began

22792-497: Was carrying. He was locked up in the Bastille three days after the closing of the Assembly of Notables. The suppression of this potential rebellion was a great priority for the court as with backers of such birth it represented a much greater priority than that of Amboise had in March. On 30 August after having studied the information revealed by La Sague, François summoned Navarre to bring his brother to court. On 31 October, Condé

22946-437: Was finally brought to the court, and put under arrest. The religious policy of the crown also remained confused and contradictory. While Lorraine had now indicated there would be toleration of peaceable Protestants, none of the edicts of persecution had been revoked. In November the bishop of Riez appealed to Lorraine to give him clarity, so that he could not be accused of being either too harsh or too lax. Going forward from

23100-495: Was going to pay off its debt and bring government expenditure back into line with government income, which they viewed as necessary. However, before any new tax laws could be passed, they first had to be registered with the French parlements (which were high courts, not legislatures, but that possessed a limited veto power on new laws). Repeated attempts to implement tax reform failed due to lack of parlement support, as parlement judges felt that any increase in tax would have

23254-470: Was increasingly persecuted by Catholics and Holy Roman Emperor's armies. In the 14th century, a German mysticist group called the Gottesfreunde criticized the Catholic church and its corruption. Many of their leaders were executed for attacking the Catholic church and they believed that God's judgement would soon come upon the church. The Gottesfreunde were a democratic lay movement and forerunner of

23408-466: Was to the end both of understanding the religious troubles in the province and of preparing for the war in Scotland. It was likely due to the fact his mission to Normandie was a royal one that he was allowed to go ahead with his presentation. He presented two petitions on behalf of the 'poor Christians' of Normandie who wished for an end to the persecution they experienced. These petitions were handed to

23562-465: Was undermined by the Assembly having taken this step. Nevertheless, the Protestants remained unsatisfied after the Assembly. Advocacy continued for the rights of the princes du sang over that of the Lorraine-Guise princes. The continued scheming of the Bourbon princes against the crown during the Autumn of 1560 undermined the hopes of the Assembly that it would re-establish an elite consensus. Indeed,

23716-405: Was well versed, as he had experience in serving as a diplomat for the kingdom. This confirmed for the more conservative prelates their suspicion of his religious unorthodoxy. The reconciliation of Christians would occur through reform of the church as opposed to violence. To this end, he insisted also on the importance of convening a church council. In his estimation the Pope was too hostile to such

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