. Mediæval and modern history . Henrys becoming a was personally liked, even bythe Catholic chiefs, and he waswell aware that it was only hisHuguenot faith that preventedtheii being his hearty his resolution to remove,by changing his religion, the soleobstacle in the way of their readyloyalty, and thus to bring peaceand quiet to distracted France. 380. The Edict of Nantes (1598). As soon as Henry hadbecome the fully acknowledged king of France, he gave himselfto the work of composing the affairs of his kingdom. The mostnoteworthy of the measures he adopted to this
. Mediæval and modern history . Henrys becoming a was personally liked, even bythe Catholic chiefs, and he waswell aware that it was only hisHuguenot faith that preventedtheii being his hearty his resolution to remove,by changing his religion, the soleobstacle in the way of their readyloyalty, and thus to bring peaceand quiet to distracted France. 380. The Edict of Nantes (1598). As soon as Henry hadbecome the fully acknowledged king of France, he gave himselfto the work of composing the affairs of his kingdom. The mostnoteworthy of the measures he adopted to this end was the pub-lication of the celebrated Edict of Nantes. By this decree theHuguenots were secured perfect freedom of conscience and prac-tical freedom of worship. All public offices and employmentswere opened to them the same as to Catholics. Moreover, theywere allowed to retain possession of a number of fortified townsas pledges of good faith and as places of defense. Among theseplaces was the important city of La Fig. Henry IV, King of(From a painting byF. GoUzius) 340 THE HUGUENOT WARS IN FRANCE [§ 381 The granting of this edict is memorable for the reason that itwas the first formal recognition by a great European state of theprinciple of religious toleration and equality. Here, for the firsttime since the triumph of Christianity over paganism in theRoman Empire, a great nation makes a serious effort to try toget along with two creeds in the state. It was almost a centurybefore even England went as far in the way of granting freedomof conscience and of worship. 381. Character of Henry IVs Reign; his Plans and the temporary hushing of the long-continued quarrels ofthe Catholics and Protestants, France entered upon such a periodof prosperity as she had not known for many years. Henryspaternal solicitude for his humblest subjects secured for him thetitle of Father of his People. In devising and carrying out his measure of reform, Henrywas
Size: 1321px × 1893px
Photo credit: © Reading Room 2020 / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1920, booksubje, booksubjectmiddleages
