HIEU 241: Notes on Western Civilizations

Schmalkaldic League (1531)

• Formed by Lutheran princes in the Holy Roman Empire.
• Purpose: Protect Protestant interests against Catholic majority.

Battle of Mühlberg (1547)

• Significant conflict where Emperor Charles V achieved a Catholic victory over the Schmalkaldic League.

Peace of Augsburg (1555)

• Introduced the principle "cuius regio, eius religio" (whose realm, his religion):
  • Important Exclusion: Only Catholics and Lutherans recognized; Calvinists were not included.

French Wars of Religion (1562-1598)

• Main Players: Huguenots (Calvinists) formed a large minority, particularly in southern and western France.

Jeanne d’Albret (1555-1572)

• Queen of Navarre;
  • Led royal and aristocratic efforts to convert husbands to Calvinism.
  • Huguenots – although only 10-20% of the population – maintained their own armies.

Increase in Sectarian Violence

• Notable Event: Huguenots looting churches in Lyons (1562).
• Tension escalated into armed confrontations between Catholics and Huguenots.
• The reign of Boy King Charles IX marked a shift in political factions becoming religiously charged.
  • Terms: "un roi, une foi, une loi" (one king, one faith, one law).

Foreign Intervention in Conflicts

• Both Huguenots and Catholics sought foreign aid, suggesting the broader European stakes involved in the French Wars of Religion.

Catherine de Medici (1547-1559)

• Key figure in orchestrating a marriage alliance between Huguenot Prince Henry of Navarre and Catholic Margaret of Valois to quell tensions.

St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre (1572)

• Triggered by fears of a Huguenot coup in Paris.
  • Result: Approximately 10,000 Protestants killed across France within five days.

Henry of Navarre (1594-1610)

• Conversion to Catholicism with the famous quote: "Paris is well worth a mass."
• Issued the Edict of Nantes in 1598:
  • Recognized Calvinism as an accepted minority religion in France.

Holy Roman Empire (1618)

• Context: Involved in rising tensions leading to extensive conflict.

Bohemian Revolt (1618)

• Protestants in Bohemia reject Catholic rule, leading to officials being tossed out of windows (Defenestration).

Battle of White Mountain (1620)

• Catholics defeated Protestants, establishing Catholic control over Bohemia.
  • Sparked a wider war among Protestant and Catholic states of the Holy Roman Empire.

Protestant Allies in the Thirty Years War

• Key allies included:
  • Lutheran Denmark (1620s)
  • Lutheran Sweden (1630s-40s)
  • Catholic France (active support 1635-1648).

Albrecht von Wallenstein (1583-1634)

• Notable for his success as a Catholic commander in the 1620s.
  • Confiscated Protestant lands in Bohemia and assembled a formidable army.

Impact of Firearms in Thirty Years War (1618-1648)

• Technology played a crucial role in battles.

King Gustavus Adolphus (1611-1632)

• Swedish leader who entered the war in the 1630s as a prominent Protestant ally.
  • Renowned for his military strategies and victories against Catholic forces.

Horrors and Consequences of the Thirty Years’ War

• Significant demographic losses: German states experienced a 25-50% population decline.
  • Accompanied by widespread devastation, famine, pestilence, cannibalism, and a witch craze.

Shift in the Nature of the War

• The war increasingly lost its religious character, as atrocities were committed indiscriminately regardless of faith.
• Notably, French Catholic armies fought alongside Protestant forces.

Peace of Westphalia (1648)

• Reaffirmed and expanded the Peace of Augsburg (1555) to include Calvinists.
  • Ensured freedom of worship for Christians of different denominations in the Empire.
• Marked the end of a century of religious wars, promoting limited tolerance thereafter.