The Causes Of Catherine De Medici

Since fighting as a result of religious discrimination was evident during this time, (Catholics wanted to abolish the Protestant religion forever and Protestants wanting to overthrow a Catholic ruler), religious unrest and a challenging of religious views are clear during this time period, despite the fact that it was such an important factor in the Age of Enlightenment. For example, “[the people of England] waded through seas of blood to drown the idol of arbitrary power,” (Document 6) implies that the English have fought and have undemocratic rulers put into place, leading to even more conflicts.

Louis XIV, the ruler of France from the late seventeenth century to the early eighteenth century, claimed, “I am the state.” He considered this to be absolutism. His goal, also acquainted with absolutism, was, “one king, one law, one faith;” Furthermore, Louis wanted to promote religious unity, royal dignity, and security of the state. In order to achieve this goal, he had to rule with a firm hand, laying down the law for all to see. Louis XIV’s absolutism fostered in four major parts: the building of Versailles to control the nobility, the breeding of a strong military, the improvement of France’s economy, and, while quite harsh, the brutal extinction of religious toleration.

The era of France Enlightenment and religion have a misconception that leads one to believe that they were enemies. The Enlightenment was not against religion but it was against the superstitions and the supernaturalism of religion. Philosophes during the era of France’s Enlightenment did not look to abolish religion or the Catholic Church of France. They simply wanted a separation of religion and state because it was believed that the state was based on reason and religion was based on morality. Religion and the Enlightenment were compatible and Dr. Sorkin argues: “the Enlightenment was not only compatible with religious belief,” it actually generated new formulations of that belief. One goal that was a reflection of the

The church began to lose to power because the people were no longer listening to the church, and because of what they learned from the 95 statement thesis written by Martin Luther. The thesis informed people they did not need to pay their way to heaven, pay for someone to get out of Purgatory,or pay to get to heaven (Doc.8). The writing of Luther’s 95 thesis led to the printing press being invented by Gutenberg, with creation of the printing press it allowed the people to read the bible for themselves, which in turn allowed them to think for themselves (Doc.9). With this new knowledge from the bible, people began revolting against the church and the government. This led to wars such as the St. Bartholomew Massacre. The St. Bartholomew Massacre started because Catherine de’ Medici felt threatened by the influence of Huguenot Admiral de Coligny and planned on assassinating him. They were not successful and only wounded Coligny. This caused the Huguenots to become furious which made the Medici nervous, who in turn ordered a massacre of all Huguenots. This led to a religion division. With the chaotic acts of freedom from the people, Europe created the Nation States. The Nation States were made to keep people from acting out against the government and to keep control over the

Throughout the central Middle Ages, Europe was characterized by the power struggle between the secular and the ecclesiastic. The question of rule by God or by man was one which arose with unwavering frequency among scholars, clergy, and nobility alike. The line which separated church and state was blurry at best, leading to the development of the Investiture Conflict in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, and the attempts to undermine the heir to the throne in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Four men stand out among dozens in this effort to define the powers of the lay versus that of the spiritual: Emperor/kings Henry IV and John of England, and the popes who aggressively challenged their exertions of authority, Pope Gregory VII

Was Catherine de Medici the main cause of The Saint Bartholomew's Massacre? Catherine was an Italian woman who married a French King, Henry II. They had ten children of which three were boys: Francis II, Charles IX and Henry III would later rule as king. Catherine enjoyed her role as Queen and mother and had no involvement with the King's affairs. It wasn't until after the King's death that she made her presence known.

The 17th century French aristocrat Michel de Montaigne lived in a tumultuous world. With the spark of Luther’s Ninety-Five Theses, the fire spread rapidly to France. The nation divided against itself. The rebellious protestant Huguenots and the traditional staunch Catholics both viewed the other group as idolatrous heretics in time when that crime could justify execution. Consequently, Catholic monarchs throughout Europe felt the impending threat to their reigns, too, because if they supposedly ruled through divine right, what would change concerning the support of their subjects? After the peace-making Edict of Nantes, rehashing the religious conflicts of the century was forbidden, but seeing his country—and even his own family—torn apart, how could one refrain from comment? So in his writings, Montaigne has to write around his actual subjects. This isn’t to say, however, that he conveyed none of his ideas directly. Montaigne criticizes the cultural belief in a correct way of life, opposing the idea with a more relativistic viewpoint, though the way in which he presents it, as mere musings in personal correspondence, fails to effectively convince his readers.

According to Pope benedict XV, “Neglecting precepts and practices of Christian wisdom, particularly concerning love and compassion, were the origins of the evil, and Pope Benedict repeated Christ's exhortation." Nationalism, racism and class conflict Pope Benedict XV condemned as characteristics of the age. Pope Benedice XV saw the origins of war in the, contempt for authority, the injustice in the relations between classes, the attainment of material goods made into the sole object of human activity, and the unrestrained striving after independence.

When Catherine de Medicis sons were younger she had control over what happened in France however as they became older they could speak their mind and make their own decisions. However, having listened to their mother their entire life their decisions were usually persuaded by their mother’s opinions quietly and forcefully. According to Williamson and Josephs book “Catherine de Medici” Charles IX was inclined to insane murderous anger and attempted to exorcise murderous fantasies. According to Knechts book “The French wars of religion 1559-1598” the St Bartholomew’s Day Massacre can be interpreted as the “cumulation of popular disturbances in Paris.” On August 22nd Admiral Coligny was shot and wounded, Huguenots rushed to his side in worry and fear. In fear that the Huguenots would retaliate the assassination of the Huguenots was ordered. On the night of the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre Charles was overwhelmed and lashing out. Charles felt betrayed and his mother was attempting to control his decisions. In the midst of his panic he exclaimed “Kill the admiral if you wish; but you must also kill all of the Huguenots so that not one is left to reproach me Kill them all!” (Williamson and Joseph, “Catherine de Medici”) Catherine would have been satisfied with killing only the main leaders of the Huguenots, however she was overjoyed with her son’s

In addition, absolute monarchs attempted to interfere with the religion of the people. The most notable case is in England where monarchs constantly attempted to either keep the Protestant beliefs or convert back to Catholicism. Even before the age of absolutism, this was a cause for much unrest. In fact, when James II came to the throne and made it clear he wished to restore the Catholic faith, England was almost thrown into another civil war. Over in Russia, Peter’s adoption of the Julian calendar did not cause so much civil unrest as it did instability due to the resulting confusion. Louis XIV also allowed mistreatment of French Protestants, also known as Huguenots, by revoking the Edict of Nantes. The Edict granted

She simply made alliances with the less threatening of the enemies (the Huguenots, and the Guises) whenever it suited her, disregarding her Catholic religion at times to escape a heavily Guise influenced monarchy, as well as risking the aforementioned when the protestants seemed to be gaining major influence. These alliances were purely political, and were angled towards getting rid of the largest threat of the moment. Originally, honoring her alliances with the Huguenots, Catherine enacted the Edict of January which allowed the Huguenots to worship in private outside of towns. This; however, was quickly disregarded when the Duke of Guise slaughtered a congregation of worshiping Calvinists in a permitted area. This was brick that broke the camel’s back, marking the official start of the French War of Religion.

Is powerful woman behind the scenes, Catherine De Medici a power hungry ruler using her children as pawns in creating an Italian, French dynasty or loving mother who only wants her children to succeed in the world? Read on to see how we talk about her many characteristics and ways of ruling the

A post Middle Age Italy was afflicted by medieval wars and the bubonic plague. A change was needed to restore the vision of what Italy could become. This change was found within one family: the Medici’s, who helped to return the glory and influence to Florence. The Medici’s saw the value in contributing to the advancement of the greatest minds of the period. This was evident in their patronage of leading Artists such as Michelangelo and of renowned Teachers such as Galileo. The sphere of influence the Medici’s enjoyed also extended to the political arena, which happened to be heavily influenced by the Catholic Church at the time. The Medici’s were able to capitalize on the power of the Church and through this influence and the use of

Daniel Rogers’s discourse on the political, commercial and religious environment of Denmark-Norway, Jean Hotman’s musings on the ideal diplomat and Francois Dubois’s representation of the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre appear disparate and unrelated; however, their wider significance as a vignette of the evolving diplomatic and religious landscape of Western Europe in the latter half of the sixteenth century is extremely noteworthy.

During the period in Europe commonly known as The Middle Ages, economic reforms took place, as well as social, political, and religious changes. One common theme throughout The Middle Ages was the relationship between the Church and the State. The Catholic church during this era held a prominent role in society, and it had an abundant amount of power and authority. The Catholic Church exercised its authority in many different stages, and the people responded to the way that the Church exercised her power. Bernard Guenee in The Lives of Four French Prelates In the Late Middle Ages reflects on this controversy between church and state power throughout the Middle Ages by focusing on the lives of four distinguished French church authorities: Bernard Gui (1261-1331), Gilles Le Muisit (1272-1353), Pierre D 'Ailly (1351-1420), and Thomas Basin (1412-1490), all of whom rose from modest circumstances to the dignity of office. Guenee argues that the ambition these men displayed may be considered honorable to some, but he sees their advancement in the Church and their participation in the state as counteractive. He fails to distinguish between the good and immoral sides of ambition as a virtue and claims the cause of the separation between the church and the state comes down to an inevitable fight for the acquisition of higher power. His position only deals with the practicalities of the situation, and is