How important are the weaknesses of the French crown in explaining the outbreak of the French Wars of Religion in 1562?

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Becky Grevitt

How important are the weaknesses of the French crown in explaining the outbreak of the French Wars of Religion in 1562?

Previously France had been ruled by Henry II, a strong experienced ruler. It was, however, an unfortunate jousting accident lead to the swift decline of the French monarchy. Henry’s successor, Francis II, was only fifteen years old on his accession to the throne in 1559. He was inexperienced and easily manipulated. Charles IX, a ten year old who relied upon the help of Catherine de Medici, his regent, then succeeded him. It was this new weak monarchy that acted as a catalyst for the many underlying problems that had been previously controlled. The weaknesses of the monarchy allowed factional rivalry to increase, social-economic problems to worsen and also sanctioned an over powerful regent to create catastrophic religious policies. It was a combination of these factors and the burgeoning Calvinist movement that eventually resulted in the outbreak of the French Wars of Religion.

France housed a large number of noble families. The three leading families controlled vast regions of the country. The Montmorency/ Chatillon family controlled the central regions of France, the Bourbon family controlled the south west and the Guise family held their power across the east. These families were bitter rivals, each fighting for further influence in court. Under Henry II’s rule, power in court was divided between the Montmorency family and the Guise family. Henry had managed to control all three families and prevent them from acquiring too much power and minimised feuds between the nobility. However, after the succession of Francis II the Guises quickly moved into supremacy. Francis was weak and could do little to stop the Guise’s power. Francis Duke of Guise quickly assumed control of the army, church and foreign affairs. The Montmorency family had been stripped of office. The sudden shift of power towards the Guise family heightened tensions between the aristocratic factions.

The monarchy in France operated through a clientage system. The King was at the apex and he would give money and protection to the clientage beneath him, who, in return would offer the king loyalty. Those beneath him included large aristocratic families and below these families were the nobility, and further down still, the lesser nobility. The three aristocratic families were therefore reliant on the nobility below them in the system for support. In return they would give offices and jobs to their clients.  Due to a weak monarchy this clientage system broke down.  The clientage system was a good way of exercising control over the major aristocratic families. However, in order for such a system to function there needed to be a strong monarch and a large sum of money, neither of which were available in 1559. After the vast amount of money spent in the Hapsburg – Valios wars the royal treasury was drained of resources. The monarchy not only lacked a strong ruler but was also economically weak. It meant that the King could no longer keep the aristocratic families under control by the means of the clientage system. The Guise’s, who had assumed de facto power, worsened the situation. In order to reduce crown debt they stopped the flow of money from the treasury to both the Montmorency and Bourbon clients. In turn this meant that both the Bourbon and Montmorency families were under pressure from their clientele to rid the Guise’s of their influence. This further increased the tensions between the three aristocratic families. This was a potentially explosive situation. The widespread discontent and distrust for the Guises was spreading as their dominance over the weak king became stronger.

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The weak monarchy had failed to solve the escalating social and economic problems in France. These problems compounded the serious religious and factional conflict that already existed.

The French nobility were weakened economically by inflation. The fixed rates they relied upon for a source of income were losing their value. The rise of the town merchants and the bourgeois angered these old nobles. The Bourgeois started to gain influence in court, as they were able to buy offices and titles. This antagonised the feudal nobles who were of noble blood. These new nobles were richer yet were not of noble ...

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