Edict of Amboise
Encyclopedia
The Edict of Amboise was signed at the Château of Amboise on March 19, 1563 by Catherine de' Medici
, acting as regent for her son Charles IX of France
. The treaty officially ended the first phase of the French Wars of Religion
. Moreover, the treaty restored peace to France
by guaranteeing the Huguenots religious privileges and freedoms.
Though the Edict was not as generous as the Edict of Saint-Germain
(January 1562), it still allowed open and unregulated Protestant services in the private households of nobles and in one suburb of a pre-determined town in each baillage
or sénéchaussée
.
The Parlement of Paris, which had expelled its Huguenot members, resisted registering the Edict—as did the provincial parlement
s— but capitulated after remonstrances, adding the proviso that the Edict was to have limited application until the King should achieve his majority, when a national council would decide the religious question. When the King announced his majority (17 August 1563, shortly after his thirteenth birthday), he chose the provincial Parlement of Rouen
as the unprecedented site of his lit de justice
and published at the same time a more comprehensive version of the Edict.
Catherine de' Medici
Catherine de' Medici was an Italian noblewoman who was Queen consort of France from 1547 until 1559, as the wife of King Henry II of France....
, acting as regent for her son Charles IX of France
Charles IX of France
Charles IX was King of France, ruling from 1560 until his death. His reign was dominated by the Wars of Religion. He is best known as king at the time of the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre.-Childhood:...
. The treaty officially ended the first phase of the French Wars of Religion
French Wars of Religion
The French Wars of Religion is the name given to a period of civil infighting and military operations, primarily fought between French Catholics and Protestants . The conflict involved the factional disputes between the aristocratic houses of France, such as the House of Bourbon and House of Guise...
. Moreover, the treaty restored peace to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
by guaranteeing the Huguenots religious privileges and freedoms.
Though the Edict was not as generous as the Edict of Saint-Germain
Edict of Saint-Germain
The Edict of Saint-Germain, also known as the Edict of January, was a decree of tolerance promulgated by the regent, Catherine de' Medici, in January 1562. It provided limited tolerance of Protestantism in her Roman Catholic realms, especially in relation to the French Huguenots.It was among...
(January 1562), it still allowed open and unregulated Protestant services in the private households of nobles and in one suburb of a pre-determined town in each baillage
Bailiwick
A bailiwick is usually the area of jurisdiction of a bailiff, and may also apply to a territory in which the sheriff's functions were exercised by a privately appointed bailiff under a royal or imperial writ. The word is now more generally used in a metaphorical sense, to indicate a sphere of...
or sénéchaussée
Seneschal
A seneschal was an officer in the houses of important nobles in the Middle Ages. In the French administrative system of the Middle Ages, the sénéchal was also a royal officer in charge of justice and control of the administration in southern provinces, equivalent to the northern French bailli...
.
The Parlement of Paris, which had expelled its Huguenot members, resisted registering the Edict—as did the provincial parlement
Parlement
Parlements were regional legislative bodies in Ancien Régime France.The political institutions of the Parlement in Ancien Régime France developed out of the previous council of the king, the Conseil du roi or curia regis, and consequently had ancient and customary rights of consultation and...
s— but capitulated after remonstrances, adding the proviso that the Edict was to have limited application until the King should achieve his majority, when a national council would decide the religious question. When the King announced his majority (17 August 1563, shortly after his thirteenth birthday), he chose the provincial Parlement of Rouen
Parlement
Parlements were regional legislative bodies in Ancien Régime France.The political institutions of the Parlement in Ancien Régime France developed out of the previous council of the king, the Conseil du roi or curia regis, and consequently had ancient and customary rights of consultation and...
as the unprecedented site of his lit de justice
Lit de Justice
Lit de Justice is an American Champion Thoroughbred racehorse. He was bred by Robert Sangster's Swettenham Stud, and purchased by the French racing operation Mise de Moratalla who named him for a famous Parlement of Paris known as the Lit de justice...
and published at the same time a more comprehensive version of the Edict.