Highlands Ranch High School - Mr. Sedivy
Highlands Ranch, Colorado

- World History -
French Huguenots
Summary of the Protestant Reformation

French Huguenots

Calvinism had a different name in different parts of the world - there was no central church. In England, Puritans wanted to "purify" the church of its remaining Catholic elements. Scotland had Presbyterians, Dutch had the Dutch Reform, France had Huguenots, and Germany had the Reform Church.

Left: Catherine de' Medici with her third son, the Duke of Anjou, later Henry III of France,
and his youger brother François, Duke of Alençon.

At the instigation of the Catholic queen mother, Catherine de' Medici, Huguenots throughout France were slaughtered in an unprecedented massacre that began in Paris on Saint Bartholomew's Day, August 24, 1572. The helpless townspeople died in agonized torment as royal soldiers obey their orders with a vengeance.

Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacre - 1572. Click the painting for an enlargement.

St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre, 1572. The massacre of the Protestant Huguenots
was inspired by the Catholic Queen of France, Catherine de' Medici.

Summary of the Protestant Reformation

1. An era of bitter and often violent conflict.

2. Catholics fought Protestants.

3. Protestants fought Protestants.

4. Helped to promote secularism as people got sick of all the fighting.

5. Ended religious unity of Europe forever.

6. Strengthened the state at the expense of the church.

7. The Pope lost power.

8. The Bible was translated into vernacular languages, so more people could read. This led to an increase in education.

1. What Was the Renaissance?

2. Personalities of the Italian Renaissance

3. Renaissance Art

4. The Protestant Reformation

5. Martin Luther, Lutheranism

6. John Calvin, Calvinism

7. Anglicanism and King Henry VIII

8. French Huguenots,
Summary of the Protestant Reformation

9. Renaissance and Reformation Quotes

10. Most Important Invention of the Renaissance

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