Nantes, Edict of

Nantes, Edict of
(April 13, 1598) Law promulgated by Henry IV of France to grant religious liberty and full civil rights to the Protestant Huguenots.

It stipulated that Protestant pastors were to be paid by the state, and public worship was permitted in most of the kingdom, though not in Paris. It also restored Catholicism in all areas where Catholic practice had been interrupted by the Wars of Religion. The edict was resented by the Catholic clergy; Cardinal de Richelieu annulled its political clauses in 1629, and the full edict was revoked by Louis XIV in 1685.

* * *

▪ French history
French  Édit De Nantes,  

      law promulgated at Nantes in Brittany on April 13, 1598, by Henry IV of France. It granted a large measure of religious liberty to his Protestant subjects, the Huguenots (Huguenot). The edict upheld Protestants in freedom of conscience and permitted them to hold public worship in many parts of the kingdom, though not in Paris. It granted them full civil rights and established a special court, the Chambre de l'Édit, composed of both Protestants and Catholics, to deal with disputes arising from the edict. Protestant pastors were to be paid by the state and released from certain obligations; finally, the Protestants could keep the places they were still holding in August 1597 as strongholds, or places de sûreté, for eight years, the expenses of garrisoning them being met by the king.

      The edict also restored Catholicism in all areas where Catholic practice had been interrupted; and it made any extension of Protestant worship in France legally impossible. Nevertheless, it was much resented by Pope Clement VIII, by the Roman Catholic clergy in France, and by the parlements. Catholics tended to interpret the edict in its most restrictive sense. The Cardinal de Richelieu, who regarded its political clauses as a danger to the state, annulled them by the Peace of Alès (1629). On Oct. 18, 1685, Louis XIV revoked the Edict of Nantes and deprived the French Protestants of all religious and civil liberties. Within a few years, more than 400,000 Huguenots emigrated—to England, Prussia, Holland, and America—depriving France of its most industrious commercial class.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • NANTES, EDICT OF —    edict granted by Henry IV. 1598, allowing to Protestants religious liberty and political enfranchisement, and confirmed by Louis XIII. in 1614, but revoked, after frequent infringements, in the shape of dragonnades and otherwise, by Louis XIV …   The Nuttall Encyclopaedia

  • Nantes, Edict of —    The Edict of Nantes was a decree giving partial religious freedom to the huguenots, proclaimed by King henry IV in 1598, and revoked by louis XIV in 1685. The edict ended the series of religious wars between Catholics and Protestants in France …   France. A reference guide from Renaissance to the Present

  • Nantes, Edict of —  Нантский эдикт …   Вестминстерский словарь теологических терминов

  • Nantes, Edict of — …   Useful english dictionary

  • Edict of Nantes — Edict E dict, n. [L. edictum, fr. edicere, edictum, to declare, proclaim; e out + dicere to say: cf. F. [ e]dit. See {Diction}.] A public command or ordinance by the sovereign power; the proclamation of a law made by an absolute authority, as if… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Nantes — • French diocese re established by the Concordat of 1802 Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006. Nantes     Nantes (Nannetes)     † …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Edict — E dict, n. [L. edictum, fr. edicere, edictum, to declare, proclaim; e out + dicere to say: cf. F. [ e]dit. See {Diction}.] A public command or ordinance by the sovereign power; the proclamation of a law made by an absolute authority, as if by the …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Edict von Nantes — Edict von Nantes, von dem franz. Könige Heinrich IV. am 13. April 1598 gegebene Verordnung, durch welche den Hugenotten unter gewissen Beschränkungen die Ausübung ihrer Religion gestattet wurde; aufgehoben durch Ludwig XIV. 1685 …   Herders Conversations-Lexikon

  • Edict — Edict, so v.w. Edictum, bes. 5); so: E. von Amboise, gegeben 1572 von Karl IX. König von Frankreich; enthält Bestimmungen über die neue Organisation der Polizei; E. von Chateaubriand, gegeben 1551 von Heinrich II, enthielt Bestimmungen über die… …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Nantes — (spr. Nangt), 1) Arrondissement im französischen Departement Loire inférieure; 35,25 QM., 215,000 Ew.; 2) Hauptstadt des Departements u. Arrondissements, an der Loire (mit 12 Brücken), der Sèvre u. Erdre, noch 10 Meilen vom Atlantischen Ocean… …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”