François d’Andelot (1521-1569)
François d’Andelot (1521-1569) was the youngest of the three Coligny brothers, but he was the first to convert to Calvinism. The publicity given by his spiritual commitment almost cost him...
Jubilees in Geneva and Switzerland
The Reformation was not celebrated in Geneva and Switzerland until the XVIIIth century. Unlike the Reformation Jubilees in Germany, Switzerland was a Reformed Church and only celebrated Zwingli and Calvin,...
Jubilees and commemorations of the Reformation
In Germany jubilees of the Reformation were introduced by the Protestants in order to counterbalance jubilees already celebrated by the Catholics.
XXth century jubilees in Germany
In the XXth century, Luther’s jubilees often took on a patriotic or a political interpretation.
XIXth century jubilees in Germany
The XIXth century Reformation Jubilees became events which also celebrated Germany’s national identity: for example the 1817 Reformation Jubilee was in addition a commemoration of the victory over Napoleon.
Jubilees in Germany from 1630 to 1717
From 1630 onwards, jubilees were on a smaller scale because of the Thirty Years War which held sway in Germany at the time. The 1717 jubilee was on the same...
The first major jubilee of 1617 in Germany
From an early date, anniversaries had been held to celebrate Luther’s Reformation throughout the Holy Roman German Empire. But it was only in 1617 that the origin of the Reformation...
French Jubilees of the Reformation
In France commemorations of the Reformation only really began in the XIXth century. They celebrated mostly French Protestant historical events so as not to attract too much attention from the...
500 years ago… Luther posted his 95 theses!
According to tradition, in 1517, Martin Luther displayed 95 theses on the doors of the chapel of the castle of Wittenberg. The idea was to start a theological controversy on...
The French Protestant Church Service today
The Church service is based on the Bible and is a time and place consecrated to God. It is a meeting which God initiates and is the visible sign of...
Protestant Alsace under the Revolution
In Alsace, as in other French regions, the Protestants were eagerly in favour of ending the Ancien Régime because Protestantism was officially acknowledged. The Revolution was marked by less violence...
Protestantism in Alsace from 1799 to 1871
The Alsatian Protestant community was enthusiastic when Bonaparte seized power, because the Organic Articles gave Lutheran and Reformed Protestantism the Concordat regime, still valid in Alsace and Lorraine today.
Violence
The wars of Religion were specific in their violence under its most extreme forms. Intolerance and fanaticism flew the colours of religion. A “show of cruelty” was supposed to teach...
The foreign war
Foreign intervention in the French civil war is one of the permanent features of the wars of Religion. It is indeed difficult to make a clear cut between civil war...
Royal power
During the wars of religion the ideas concerning the royal power and its methods evolved according to the beliefs of both parties – but also to their interests. It ended...
The Huguenot State
The Union of the Protestants in the South set up a parallel government, copying the framework planned in Nîmes in 1562. In December 1573, the assembly met in Millau and...
The League
The first League, named Péronne, was created after 8 stronghold cities were given to the Protestants with the Peace of Beaulieu in 1576. Jacques d’Humières, Governor of Péronne, refused to...
The Protestant population
Upon Henri II’s death in 1559, membership increased, the number of « erected » churches was close to 1,400. The number of Protestants was estimated at 2 million representing 10 % of the...
