Birth of Modern Europe
Mr. Meyers
Annie Shepard
03/12/04
Paris Background Information: Social and religious history of France

           The daily, political, and cultural life of France rotated around its strict hierarchy and religious attitudes. Throughout the Middle Ages, France operated under a feudal system. Although there was some movement between the classes, French society remained rigid. The Estates-General codified and authorized these class distinctions. It also blurred the line between the Church and the State by exempting the Church from taxes while leaving the lower classes with the financial burden. The bitterness of the lower class manifested itself through constant inter-class tensions. There was also conflict within the Church, which was caused by the 1517 Reformation and the split between Protestants and Catholics. Catholicism had been France’s official religion since the Middle Ages until the French Protestants challenged the power of the French Catholics. While the Protestants were questioning the legitimacy of the Catholics, the peasantry was challenging the legitimacy of the aristocracy. Finally, in 1789, the French overthrew their king and their old social order. Although both the Huguenots and the peasantry briefly gained social equality, Napoleon eventually reinstated both the aristocracy and papacy. He returned France to its roots of strict hierarchies and religious attitudes. Since France is characterized by a lack of social and religious development between the Middle Ages and Napoleon, its religious and social history can be described as circular.

Religious Prehistory

          In 500 A.D., the French king, Clovis, led a massive religious conversion. He ended an era of pagan worship, stopping prayer to Jupiter, Venus, and Mars. Instead he insisted the French pray to one all mighty God. Clovis’ conversion to Catholicism was more of a political move than one of holy redemption. Clovis saw religion as a way to ensure support from the general French populace and as a way to avoid a revolution. Many later French monarchs used Clovis’ tactics of manipulating religion for personal power.
           Throughout the Middle Ages, the Catholic Church gained power and became increasingly involved in civil matters. A positive effect of the Church’s influence was the increase in literacy among the poor. Monasteries set up free schools for the peasantry to teach the bible and the canon. There were also some negative aspects to the Church’s power. The Church was the largest owner of land but it was excused from paying taxes. As a result, the tax burden fell on the poor. The Catholic Church also fueled growing religious intolerance, culminating in The Crusades. The Poor’s taxes were spent to fight the wars of the Church. These exploits would eventually cause the unraveling of the Pope’s power of France.
In the 16th century, the Reformation challenged the Catholic Church’s monopoly over Christianity. The Reformation radically changed the religious, political, and social relationships in France. It was started in Germany by a theology professor named Martin Luther. Luther was frustrated by the corruption of the Catholic Church. On October 31, 1517 he protested this corruption by nailing his 95 theses to the door of a Church, outlining his objections to the Vatican. His theses spread like wildfire throughout Europe and into France. Luther’s theses created a schism within the Church, splitting it into the Catholics and the Protestants. The Catholics remained loyal to the Pope and the Vatican. The Protestants were followers of Luther and rejects the Pope’s authority. John Calvin, a Protestant French preacher, introduced a new type of Protestantism, which eventually became known as Calvinism. In one sermon Calvin preached, "The fulfillment of the Lord's mercy does not depend upon believers' works, but... he fulfills the promise of salvation for those who respond to his call with upright life, because in those who are directed to the good by his Spirit he recognizes the only genuine insignia of his children. " Calvin has a basic philosophy of predestination, which theorizes that every person is born predestined to go to either heaven or hell. Though an individual’s final destination "does not depend upon believers’ works," his unwavering devotion to "The Spirit" (God) indicates where the believer is bound. French Calvinists were given the name Huguenots.
             The decisive split between the French Catholics and Huguenots caused internal tensions. There were a series of religious wars between the two factions, which were only stopped when the Henry IV converted to Protestantism. Like Clovis, Henry IV’s conversion was a meditated move to prevent a Huguenot revolution and gain more political support. In a liberal move, Henry IV commissioned the Edict of Nantes on April 13, 1598. An excerpt from the Edict of Nantes states, "And not to leave any occasion of trouble and difference among our Subjects, we have permitted and do permit to those of the Reformed Religion, to live and dwell in all the Cities and places of this our Kingdom and Countries under our obedience, without being inquired after, vexed, molested, or compelled to do any thing in Religion, contrary to their Conscience, nor by reason of the same be searched after in houses or places where they live, they comporting themselves in other things as is contained in this our present Edict or Statute ." The Edict awarded the Huguenots freedom of religion and permitted them to publicly worship.
            Yet this period of Religious freedom and liberalism was brief. Like Clovis and Henry IV, Louis XIV embraced religion as a form of political control. He advocated the theory of an Absolute Monarchy. According to an Absolute Monarchy, the power of God is vested in the King himself. Therefore, the King has total authority on all matters. The Protestants challenged the Absolutism of Louis XIV and he saw them as a political threat. Therefore, Louis XIV attempted to create uniform Catholic worship throughout France. He revoked the Edict of Nantes, robbing the Protestants of their safety. In order to drive Protestants out of the country, Louis XIV permitted all forms of violence against the Huguenots. During this time, thousands of Protestants fled to England and Holland.
The philosophes and the French revolution offered a respite from the ultra-conservatism of Louis XIV. During the 18th century, French citizens chose the rationalism of the philosophes over the despotism of their absolute monarch. In 1789, all Church property came to the disposal of the nation, no longer exempt from taxes. The Civil Constitution of the Clergy, passed in 1790, brought the Roman Catholic clergy under the control of the French state.
Although the French briefly succeeded in lessening the power of religion, the rise of Napoleon began a Catholic revival in France. In a treaty with the pope, known as the Concordance, Napoleon declared Catholicism, "the religion of the majority of the French citizens. " Although Napoleon was not a religious man, he believed that Catholicism was a way to maintain the order and morality of the country. He viewed Protestantism as a source of disagreement and chaos. In 1820, after a reformation and a revolution, France returned to the Catholicism of the Middle Ages.

Social Prehistory

            France’s social history begins with an emperor, and ends in 1820 with an emperor. France was originally a colony of the Roman empire, ruled by a series of emperors such as Julian, Valentinian, and Magnus Maximus. After the fall of the Roman Empire, the Frankish world evolved into a feudal system. At first, due to a low number of serfs and a high demand for their services, the serfs had power and rights to land. As the number of serfs grew, however, their political power was reduced and they fell into the lower caste.
            By the 13th century, the feudal system became more relaxed and the social castes became more flexible. As the population of France increased and the size of towns grew, the economy began to pick up momentum. The increase in commerce allowed many former serfs to enter the middle class, which was composed of merchants, entrepreneurs, and bankers. The middle class was later renamed the "bourgeoisie".
Due to the disasters of the 14th and 15th centuries, the gap between the classes increased and social mobility ceased. Between 1357- 1351 all of Europe was struck by the Bubonic plague, which killed 1/3 of the European population. Due to their high population density, towns and cities were ravaged by the plague and trade ceased. The 100 Years War only added to the suffering of France, by further disrupting trade, wasting the peasant’s taxes, and causing strife between the aristocracy and the peasantry. In 1358, dissatisfied by their poor living conditions, a group of serfs revolted against feudalism. During the Jaquerie revolt, in 1358, serfs stormed the lord’s houses and murdered the inhabitants. Although the French Army eventually stopped the Jaquerie revolt, it successfully illustrated the power and the anger of the lower class.
            The creation of the Estates-General, in 1302, specifically categorized the social classes and fueled the war between them. Philip IV originally founded the Estates-General to help in his crusade against Pope Boniface. He later used it to gain financial support for the 100 Years War. The Estates-General was composed of the first, second, and third estate. The first estate was composed of clergy. Although the clergy owned a disproportionate amount of land, they did not have to pay taxes because they represented the papacy. The second estate was made up of the aristocracy and military officials. Though they also had large amounts of property, the second estate was excused from taxation. The third estate, composed of the bourgeois and peasant, was the by far the largest estate. Though the individuals of third estate had the least amount of property, they were forced to pay all of the taxes.
The 15th, 16th, and 17th centuries increased the class tensions and planted the seeds for the French Revolution. The members of the Third Estate became frustrated with the tax burden placed on them by the French monarchy. Their bitterness was only increased when they saw the excesses of kings such Louis XIV. Though the peasantry funded the wars, it was the king who reaped the benefits. He used the money to build extravagant palaces rather than feed the starving poor.
            The French Revolution was a social revolt with political consequences. In 1789, after years of hostility between the French crown and the third estate reached its climax. Louis XVI convened the Estates-Generals to discuss France’s economic problems that was caused by crop failures and France’s participation in the American Revolution. On May 5, 1789 during the meeting of the Estates-Generals, the Third Estate split and declared itself the National Assembly. In August, they issued the Declaration of Man and the Citizens. The first article states, "Men are born and remain free and equal in rights. Social distinctions may be based only on considerations of the common good. " Empowered with a new constitution, peasants led small revolts against their lords. Throughout the Reign of Terror, nobles were persecuted as "Enemies of the people" and they ran for their lives. The revolution totally shifted the power from the aristocracy to the peasantry.
          After the liberal radicalism of the 1789 Revolution, Napoleon Bonaparte created a new order of nobility. As an emperor, Napoleon demanded the creation of a royal court to entertain him. Napoleon’s new aristocracy was based on both family lineage and monetary wealth. Old royal families had to have an income of 30,000 francs a year to prove that they could maintain their status among the elite. He also awarded the nobles with land and money, widening the gap between the wealthy and the poor. Napoleon’s empire undermined the struggles of the revolution and returned to France’s classist roots.
Between the Middle Ages and 1820, France was at the mercy of its leaders, who adjusted structures and institutions at their pleasure. Therefore, France had to endure constant social and religious change. With each new change, however, the country came closer to its beginnings. France could not make progress because there was a constant struggle to find a compromise between liberal radicalism and conservatism. The country alternated between a democracy and a monarchy, religious liberalism and Catholicism. In the end, France’s development was stalled because the country failed to learn from its past mistakes and improve them.

Bibliography

Ingham, Richard, Nations of the World: FRANCE (Austin, New York: RSVP, 2000) pp. 49-77

Richardson, N.J.M A short History of France: from early times to 1972 (London, Cambridge University Press) pp. 80-192

Encylopedia Britannica Online, 03/11/04, www.britannica.com

(please see footnotes for other sources)