French Wars of Religion - The Edict of Nantes (1598)

The Edict of Nantes (1598)

Henry IV was faced with the task of rebuilding a shattered and impoverished Kingdom and uniting it under a single authority. Henry and his advisor, the Duke of Sully saw the essential first step in this to be the negotiation of the Edict of Nantes, which, rather than being a sign of genuine toleration, was in fact a kind of grudging truce between the religions, with guarantees for both sides. The Edict can be said to mark the end of the Wars of Religion, though its apparent success was not assured at the time of its publication. Indeed, in January 1599, Henry had to visit the Parlement in person to have the Edict passed. Religious tensions continued to affect politics for many years to come, though never to the same degree, and Henry IV faced many attempts on his life; the last — a Catholic who believed the king had failed in his Christian duty — succeeding in May 1610.