What were the responses of the Catholic authorities in the 16th century to the challenges posed by..[contd]?

Question

the Lutheran Reformation?

ALSO.
- Describe with good historical examples the differences between the German Relgious Wars that ended 1555 and the French Civil Wars in the late 16th century & their outcomes.

Answer 1

Don't know specifics about the German religous wars and I don't want to give you wrong information but i studied Catherine de medici and her part in the french religous wars so here's that part of the question.


The French Wars of Religion were fought between the Catholic League and the Huguenots from the March 1, 1562 massacre of 1,000 Hugeunots at Vassy to 1598.

In the early to middle part of the 16th century, the French Protestant John Calvin created the doctrine and conventions for a uniquely French form of Protestantism. Before long, it attracted many powerful followers in the nobility, tired of the domination of the state by the Vatican. Equally, Calvinism was embraced by thousands of ordinary citizens.

Urged on by Rome, which had recently lost control of the Catholic Church in England under the will of King Henry VIII, King Henri II of France attempted to crush a movement he perceived to be a threat to his power. His attempt was unsuccessful, as were those of his three sons who all became King of France. Instead, the country was severely divided by the Wars of Religion.

The religious fanaticism of the adversaries, combined with the usual brutality of the times, resulted in a vicious struggle in which great atrocities were committed by both sides. All of France was laid waste to and agriculture was virtually wiped out as citizens of the country underwent a living nightmare of constant destruction and massacres of entire villages.

In 1558, Francois, dauphin of France married Mary Queen of Scots. By 1559, she had appointed her two powerful uncles of the House of Guise, Francois, Duke of Guise and Charles, Cardinal of Lorraine, to high positions in the French government. This prompted the Conspiracy of Ambroise in which the Huguenots and the House of Bourbon plotted to usurp the power of the Guise family. The Guise family made a preemptive attack and killed hundreds of conspirators. In 1562, Catherine de Medici tried to soothe tensions by giving the Huguenots religious rights with the Edict of Toleration. This precipitated a temporary coup d'état by Francois, Duke of Guise in which he killed 30 Huguenots. After that, the Wars of Religion openly began.

Catherine de Medici, as Regent and as the Queen mother, was the real ruler during most of three of her sons reigns (sons: Francois II, Charles IX, Henry III, Duke of Alencon). Although Roman Catholic, at first she was more concerned about the potential loss of royal power and attempted to negotiate a compromise that would enable both sides to practice their faith without restriction. She first became the regent for Charles IX of France and she sided with Francois, Duke of Guise when the wars broke out in 1562. With the defeat of the royal troops by Admiral Gaspard de Coligny, she feared she might lose power, also de coligney was trying to use his growing influence on the young king to persuade him to go to war with the spanish netherlands. Catherine knew that the country still weak from a decade of civil war could not afford or survive a war with spain, so she planned his assassination, but it failed. To keep her family on the throne, she arranged the marriage in 1572 of her daughter Marguerite de Valois to Duke Henry of Nevarre of the House of Bourbon, who had a claim to the throne after her children. She planned the Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacre after the wedding abd after the failed assasignation attempt believing this was the only way to secure her sons throne and keep out of war with spain. Despite popular belief the queen mother never intended to massacre the general population of huguenots but the main leaders of the army, so she persuaded King Charles IX to follow through with it.However because of the tensions already existing in the city/country the catholic and protestant population turned on eachother and by the time the violence died down a few nonths later over 20000 hugunots and catholics where dead (also a lot of people took the oppurtunity to dispose of unwanted wives, debts with the murder of money lenders etc. in the chaos adding to the death total!). however she did nothing but exacerbate the situation and keep her lineage in power until the death of her son Henry III of France.

The consummation of the struggle came when the War of the Three Henrys ended with Duke Henry of Nevarre beginning the Bourbon Dynasty as Henry IV of France after he converted to Catholicism to soothe the situation. Also, King Henry IV of France issued the Edict of Nantes in 1598, which gave Huguenots religious rights. The same year, he signed the Treaty of Vervins that required Philip II of Spain, an exponent of the Catholics, to remove his troops from France. Later that year Philip II of Spain died, leaving the Catholics without a powerful aid. The Wars of Religiom thus ended.

After Catherine de Medici's son, Francois, Duke of Anjou, joined the Protestants with an army of his own, a treaty was made that gave the Huguenots freedom of worship throughout the country and legal equality with Catholics.

January 1562 - Edict of Saint-Germain, often called the "Edict of January"
March 1562 - Massacre at Wassy-sur-Blaise
1562-1563 First War, ended by the Edict of Amboise
December 1562 - Battle of Dreux
1567-1568 Second War, ended by the Peace of Longjumeau
November 1567 - Battle of Saint Denis
1568-1570 Third War, ended by the Peace of Saint-Germain-en-Laye
March 1569 - Battle of Jarnac
June 1569 - Battle of La Roche-l'Abeille
October 1569 - Battle of Moncontour
1572 - St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre
1572-1573 Fourth War, ended by the Edict of Boulogne
November 1572 - July 1573 - Siege of La Rochelle
May 1573 - Henry d'Anjou elected King of Poland
1574 - Death of Charles IX
1574-1576 Fifth War, ended by the Edict of Beaulieu
1576 - Formation of the first Catholic League in France
1576-1577 Sixth War, ended by the Treaty of Bergerac (also known as the "Edict of Poitiers")
1579-1580 Seventh War, ended by the Treaty of Fleix
December 1584 - Treaty of Joinville
1585-1598 Eighth War, ended by the Peace of Vervins and the Edict of Nantes
October 1587 - Battle of Coutras, Battle of Vimory
December 1588 - Assassination of the Duke of Guise and his brother
August 1589 - Assassination of Henry III
September 1589 - Battle of Arques
March 1590 - Battle of Ivry, Siege of Paris
1593 - Henry IV abjures Protestantism
1594 - Henry IV crowned in Chartres.
June 1595 - Battle of Fontaine-Française

Answer 2

You need to come to a decision how effective (or in any other case) the Counter Reformation used to be. Outline the four major targets of the Counter Reformation,how the Catholic Church went approximately enforcing them, after which whether or not or now not those labored, giving examples; say WHY those did/did not paintings.

Answer 3

You don't expect much, do you?