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Violence by royal command : a judicial 'moment' (1574-1575)
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Roberts, Penny (2019) Violence by royal command : a judicial 'moment' (1574-1575). French History, 33 (2). pp. 199-217. doi:10.1093/fh/crz007
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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/fh/crz007
Abstract
On 26 June 1574, Gabriel de Lorges, comte de Montgomery and Huguenot commander, was executed in Paris. Propaganda condoning his fate quickly appeared. Printed discourses claimed that not only was Montgomery a ‘true monster … born to subvert and ruin this kingdom’ and leader of conspirators and rebels, but that he had shown ‘sacrilegious disloyalty’. Over a period of thirteen to fourteen years, he had taken up arms against the king no less than five times (suggesting that the Crown had been more than patient with him), and that in the end he had been ‘salarié’, that is had received his just desserts as a non-repentant rebel.2 By contrast, other sources report that on the scaffold he refused to confess or repent, declaring that ‘he would die for his religion, that he had not committed treason, nor anything else against his prince’, and prayed ‘as those of his religion’ did.3 Montgomery’s execution thus divided contemporary opinion. His gratuitous cruelty and repeated sedition were cited as justification for his sentence, whereas his piety and restraint contradicted this same verdict. This event might seem disconnected from the better-known St Bartholomew’s Day massacres which preceded it, but, when seen in its wider context, it forms part of an apparent shift in the French monarchy’s attitude which was embodied in its enforcement of judicial violence. In turn, this change in approach can best be seen as a royal response both to the radicalization of the Huguenot movement and to the fears of subsequent plots, involving both Protestants and Catholics, in the wake of the massacres.
| Item Type: | Journal Article | ||||||||
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| Subjects: | B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BX Christian Denominations D History General and Old World > DC France |
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| Divisions: | Faculty of Arts > History | ||||||||
| Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): | Huguenots, Montgomery, Gabriel, comte de, 1530-1574, France -- History -- 16th century, Saint Bartholomew's Day, Massacre of, France, 1572 | ||||||||
| Journal or Publication Title: | French History | ||||||||
| Publisher: | Oxford University Press | ||||||||
| ISSN: | 0269-1191 | ||||||||
| Official Date: | June 2019 | ||||||||
| Dates: |
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| Volume: | 33 | ||||||||
| Number: | 2 | ||||||||
| Page Range: | pp. 199-217 | ||||||||
| DOI: | 10.1093/fh/crz007 | ||||||||
| Status: | Peer Reviewed | ||||||||
| Publication Status: | Published | ||||||||
| Publisher Statement: | This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced version of an article accepted for publication in French History following peer review. The version of record Penny Roberts, VIOLENCE BY ROYAL COMMAND: A JUDICIAL ‘MOMENT’ (1574–1575), French History, , crz007, http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/fh/crz007 is available online | ||||||||
| Access rights to Published version: | Restricted or Subscription Access |
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