Edict of Saint-Germain

Second; 1567–1568Saint-Denis; Chartres Third; 1568–1570Jarnac; La Roche-l'Abeille; Poitiers; Orthez; Moncontour; Saint-Jean d'Angély; Arney-le-Duc Fourth; 1572–1573Mons; Sommières; Sancerre; La Rochelle Fifth; 1574–1576Dormans Sixth; 1577La Charité-sur-Loire; Issoire; Brouage Seventh; 1580La Fère War of the Three Henrys (1585–1589)Coutras; Vimory; Auneau; Day of the Barricades Succession of Henry IV of France (1589–1594)Arques; Ivry; Paris; Château-Laudran; Rouen; Caudebec; Craon; 1st Luxembourg; Blaye; Morlaix; Fort Crozon Franco-Spanish War (1595–1598)2nd Luxembourg; Fontaine-Française; Ham; Le Catelet; Doullens; Cambrai; Calais; La Fère; Ardres; Amiens The Edict of Saint-Germain (French: édit de tolérance de Saint-Germain), also known as the Edict of January (Édit de janvier), was a landmark decree of tolerance promulgated by the regent of France, Catherine de' Medici, in January 1562.

[5] 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.

[6][7] 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.

[8] 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.

[8] This attempt would prove naïve, as the Protestant Louis, Prince of Condé came forward with a counterproposal for the two faiths to exist alongside one another, throwing the meeting into disarray.

[12] 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.

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.

[15] While the Guises and the Constable boycotted the event, Cardinal Bourbon and Tournon would attend, alongside François de Montmorency and the triumvir Saint André.

[15] The proceedings were led by Michel de l'Hôpital who tackled the subject of religion head on with the assembly, in contrast to prior laws where the notion of public order had been emphasised.

[16] 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.

[17] The king stated that he had come to see it as necessary because of the provisional nature of the edict of July and on the recommendation of his uncle Antoine of Navarre the princes, the privy councillors and the chief magistrates of the Parlements.

[17] The political law of the Roman church as it related to marriage and holidays was to be maintained by them, and they were to return any property they had acquired or stolen from the Catholics in the course of the last few troubled years.

He gave assurances, however, that he would always remain a Catholic, and clarified a contentious passage of the bill relating to official attendance at Protestant services, as only being a police matter.

[27] 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.

[30] 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.

[31][32] 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.

[34] In Languedoc the situation was reversed, and it was the task of the commissioners to restore the Catholic clergy to their office, and remove the Protestants from the churches they had occupied in the towns.

[36] 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.

[36] When Compaing and Girard finally arrived, they quickly became unpopular with the local nobility and Montluc, who perceived their decisions as favouring the Protestant party.

[36] The Cardinal of Armagnac joined in these attacks on the commissioners claiming they had granted minister requests without consulting the local clergy (which was not a provision of Amboise.

[36] Having been called back to Paris by Navarre, Francis, Duke of Guise stopped en route on March 1 at the town of Vassy, which had become a Protestant stronghold in the largely Catholic countryside of Champagne.

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.