The Edict of Nantes was an edict signed in April 1598 by King Henry IV of France that granted the Calvinist Protestants of France, known as Huguenots, substantial rights within a nation that remained predominantly Catholic. While it upheld Catholicism as the established religion and required the restoration of Catholic worship where it had lapsed, the edict also granted the Huguenots a measure of religious tolerance after their long and often violent struggle for their rights in France.
Facts
Document Type Creation Year Origin Place Original Language Partially Attested
Current LocationArchives Nationales, Paris, France 1 The original document has disappeared; only a later modified copy survives Classification
Medium or Support Document Type
Document Type (category) FAQs
Did the Edict of Nantes give French Protestants the same standing as Catholics?
No. Catholicism stayed the established religion, Protestant worship was limited to certain areas, and Louis XIV revoked the edict in 1685.
No. The edict upheld Catholicism as the established religion of France, and Protestants gained no exemption from paying the tithe and had to respect Catholic holidays and restrictions regarding marriage. Authorities limited Protestant freedom of worship to specified geographic areas. It was meant to promote civil unity rather than parity, and neither side was fully satisfied. The settlement also proved fragile: in October 1685 Louis XIV, the grandson of Henry IV, renounced the edict and declared Protestantism illegal with the Edict of Fontainebleau.
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Source Edict of Nantes - Wikipedia
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Source Wikidata: Edict of Nantes
Sources
1. Edict of Nantes - Wikipedia
Lead paragraph, sentence 1 (document type)
The Edict of Nantes (French: édit de Nantes) was an edict signed in April 1598 by King Henry IV of France that granted the Calvinist Protestants of France, also known as Huguenots, substantial rights in the nation, which was predominantly Catholic.
Lead paragraph, sentence 1 (signing date)
The Edict of Nantes (French: édit de Nantes) was an edict signed in April 1598 by King Henry IV of France that granted the Calvinist Protestants of France, also known as Huguenots, substantial rights in the nation, which was predominantly Catholic.
Text of the edict, closing formula
given at Nantes, in the month of April, in the year of Our Lord one thousand five hundred and ninety-eight
Lead paragraph, sentence 1 (French title)
The Edict of Nantes (French: edit de Nantes)
Legacy section, fate of the document
The original document that promulgated the edict has disappeared. The Archives Nationales in Paris preserves only the text of a shorter document modified by concessions extracted from the King.
- Wikipedia lead paragraph, document type/medium described (w-bbfill-history3-0927)
In Era: The Early Modern Period, lead paragraph and infobox, date
The Edict of Nantes (French: édit de Nantes) was an edict signed in April 1598 by King Henry IV of France that granted the Calvinist Protestants of France, also known as Huguenots, substantial rights in the nation, which was predominantly Catholic.
In Group: Constitutions, Charters and Statutes of the Medieval and Early Modern World, 1000 to 1699, Lead
The Edict of Nantes (French: édit de Nantes) was an edict signed in April 1598 by King Henry IV of France that granted the Calvinist Protestants of France, also known as Huguenots, substantial rights in the nation, which was predominantly Catholic.
View the SourceWikidata: Edict of Nantes
Wikidata Q179788, class allow-list match (w-wdresolver-0926)View the Source Reader Challenges (0)
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