AP Euro Religious Wars Con'd
Huguenots
Definition: Huguenots is the name given to a protestant in France during the 16th and 17th centuries. Significance: The Huguenots were an important minority in France that included some very powerful nobles that in both religious and political reasons resisted the rulers of France which led to the French Wars of Religion which was a very bitter civil war in France that forever changed the country.
Guise Family
Definition: The Guise Family was a French noble family in the 16th and 17th centuries. Significance: The Guise Family was significant because they were the main noble family who fought on the Catholic side of the French Wars of Religion. Under their command, the Catholic League tried to eradicate Protestants in France which was heavily fought back in the French Wars of Religion leading to many deaths on both sides of the conflict in France
Catherine de Medici
Definition: Catherine de Medici was the Queen Consort of France 1547 until 1559. After the death of her husband in 1559, she served as the ruler behind the scenes of her three son's successive reigns. Under her children's governments, France was ravaged by the French Wars of Religion which she played an important part in starting and continuing. Significance: Catherine de Medici was extremely powerful woman who exercised power behind the title of her sons. Catherine is blamed for the French Wars of Religion especially after the St. Bartholomew's Massacre in 1572 when thousands of Huguenots were killed in Paris.
Politiques
Definition: During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, politiques were those in a position of power who put the success and well-being of their state above all else. Significance: Politiques were important because they were a third choice for many people in European countries. Instead of picking a catholic only leader or protestant only leader, they could chose somebody - like Elizabeth I of England - who could unite a country and stabilizes it with toleration of both religions.
Elizabeth I
Definition: Elizabeth I (7 September 1533 - 24 March 1603) was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called "The Virgin Queen", "Gloriana" or "Good Queen Bess", Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty. Significance: Elizabeth I brought stability back to England and fought Spain that eventually resulted in the collapse of Spain's power. In result of her policies, Elizabeth left England in perfect shape to explore other continents which would result in the British Empire.
Francis II
Definition: Francis II was the King of France from 1559 to 1560 (one year.) He was also the King Consort of Scotland from 1558 to 1560 because of his marriage to Mary, Queen of Scotland. Significance: Francis II's governments repressive policy towards Protestants in France led to a wide conflict between Catholics and Protestants in the decades after his reign which is commonly known as the French Wars of Religion.
Frederick III
Definition: Frederick III of Simmern, the Pious, Elector Palatine of the Rhine (February 14, 1515 - October 26, 1576) was a ruler from the house of Wittelsbach, branch Palatinate-Simmern-Sponheim. Significance: Fredrick III was a devout follower of Calvinism and made it the official religion in his domain. He also tried to convert other states into Calvinism but faced opposition from Lutheran princes who controlled those lands.
Frederick IV
Definition: Frederick IV, or Frederick The Righteous, German (born March 5, 1574, Amberg, Palatinate—died Sept. 19, 1610, Heidelberg), elector Palatine of the Rhine, only surviving son of the elector Louis VI. Significance: Frederick was against the Catholic religion and during his rule, he continued anti-Catholic measures that had been started by his Uncle when his Uncle was regent for him when he was too young to be Palatine. In 1608, he became leader of the Protestant military alliance known as the Protestant Union which fought the Catholics during the thirty year war.
Henry III
Definition: Henry III was King of France from 1574 to 1589 and King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1573 to 1575. Significance: Henry III was a leader in the French military campaigns against the Huguenots during the French Wars of Religion. During his reign, he continued the brutal civil war which by this time had major foreign powers involved, with Spain supporting the Catholic League and England supporting the Huguenots. When he failed to produce an heir, another war started which is known as the War of the Three Henrys. The war ended with the succession of Henry of Navarre, who was a Protestant, succeeding Henry as Henry IV.
Henry IV
Definition: Henry IV was King of France from 1589 to 1610. Henry was a leader of the Huguenots during the French Wars of Religion which had him against his predecessors. Significance: Henry IV was extremely important in the French Wars of Religion where he emerged as a leader of the Huguenots after the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre. He led Huguenot armies against Royal Armies in the battles after the massacre. After his succession to the throne, after the death of Henry III, he renounced his Protestant faith and signed the Edict of Nantes which ended the French Wars of Religion.
John Knox
Definition: John Knox (c. 1514 - 24 November 1572) was a Scottish clergyman and a leader of the Protestant Reformation who is considered the founder of the Presbyterian denomination in Scotland. Significance: John Knox's effort created the Presbyterian Church which became the official Church of Scotland. With his effort, Knox helped spread Calvinism to Scotland which in turn helped it be spread to the New World and convert countless of people in the following centuries.
Mary I
Definition: Mary I (18 February 1516 - 17 November 1558) was Queen of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death. Her brutal persecution of Protestants caused her opponents to give her the sobriquet "Bloody Mary". Significance: Mary I's bloody campaign against protestants caused wide dismay towards her and allowed the Anglican Church to gain a following which led to its stable formation after her reign ended and her sister, Elizabeth who was a protestant, gained power.
Mary, Queen of Scots
Definition: Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 - 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was queen regnant of Scotland from 14 December 1542 to 24 July 1567 and queen consort of France from 10 July 1559 to 5 December 1560. Significance: Mary, Queen of Scots was instrumental in the plot to overthrow Queen Elizabeth I of England, her cousin, in 1586. In response to the plot, Elizabeth had Mary executed for treason. Mary, as a catholic, had the support of Spain and the Pope. In response to her execution, Spain tried to invade England but was defeated which led to the gradual downfall of Spain.
Phillip II
Definition: Phillip II was the King of Spain from 1556 to 1598 during the latter half of the Reformation. King Phillip was also King of Naples (1558 - 1598) and King of Portugal (1581 - 1598). From 1554 to 1558, he was also King of England and Ireland due to his marriage to Queen Mary I of England. Significance: King Phillip was extremely significant during his reign in Europe. During his rule, Spain reached its height of power with territories in every known continent to Europeans during that time. Along with his exploration successes, King Phillip also fought the Ottomans in the Mediterranean Sea where his armies defeated the Ottoman fleet in 1571. King Phillip was also a devout Catholic and supported aggressive foreign action in religious matters. He provided aid to the Catholic League in France and declared war on England in an unsuccessful bid to end Protestantism in both of those countries.
The Catholic League
Definition: The Catholic League, or Holy League, was a league of Catholic's that fought in the French Wars of Religion against the Huguenots. The Catholic League received considerable aid from Spain which wanted the eradication of Protestants in Europe. Significance: The Catholic League was significant in the French Wars of Religion because it opposed the Protestants and urged the continuation of the war against the Protestants after Henry III allowed concessions toward the Huguenots. The Catholic League also led the fight against the succession of Henry IV to the throne because Henry IV was a Protestant.
Edict of Nantes
Definition: The Edict of Nantes was an edict promulgated by Henry IV in 1598 which granted considerable religious and civil liberty to the Huguenots. Significance: The Edict of Nantes is significant because if finally ended 36 years of a brutal civil war known today as the French Wars of Religion.
Peace of Saint-Germain-en-Laye
Definition: The Peace of Saint-Germain-en-Laye was a treaty signed between Protestants and the Catholic French monarchy that ended the third phase of the French Wars of Religion. The treaty allowed the Protestants have 4 fortified towns and the ability to hold public office. The treaty also promised the daughter, Princess Margaret of Valois, of Catherine de Medici, the Queen's Mother, to Henry of Navarre who was a Protestant Leader. Significance: The Peace of Saint-Germain-en-Laye is significant because it temporarily ceased hostilities between Protestants and Catholics ending the French Wars of Religion. However, the war restarted 2 years later with St. Bartholomew's Massacre the trigging point.
Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacre
Definition: The Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacre was a massacre carried out by the orders of Catherine de Medici against Huguenots in Paris. Catherine de Medici had her son order the massacre after her assassination plot against Admiral Gaspard de Coligny, who was a Protestant leader, failed. Significance: The Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacre was extremely significant in the French Wars of Religion because it severely crippled the leadership of the Huguenots who eventually worked towards revenge in the later conflicts of the French Wars of Religion.
William of Orange
Definition: William I, Prince of Orange also known as William the Silent or simply William of Orange was the main leader of the Dutch revolt against the Spanish that set off the Eighty Years' War and resulted in the formal independence of the United Provinces in 1648. Significance: In his position of leading the Dutch Revolt, he started the Eighty Years' War which put the Northern Provinces of the Netherlands against Spain. In the end, after eighty years of war, the Northern Provinces gained Independence as the Dutch Republic.
Presbyterian
Definition: Presbyterian is the religious following of Calvinism in Scotland. The Presbyterian Church became the Church of Scotland in 1560. Significance: The Presbyterian Church was a leading Protestant Movement during the Reformation. Many people, including the French Protestants, believed in Calvinism. Presbyterians also spread the teachings in the New World which in the modern world has a Presbyterian Church with a significant following.