'The impressive breadth and diversity of offerings in this excellent volume make it perhaps the best overview of Protestantism in early modern France currently available.' Sixteenth Century Journal

The Huguenots formed a privileged minority within early modern France. During the second half of the sixteenth century, they fought for freedom of worship in the French 'wars of religion' which culminated in the Edict of Nantes in 1598. The community was protected by the terms of the Edict for eighty-seven years until Louis XIV revoked it in 1685. The Huguenots therefore constitute a minority group tolerated by one of the strongest nations in early modern Europe, a country more often associated with the absolute power of the crown - in particular that of Louis XIV. This collection of essays explores the character and identity of the Huguenot movement by examining their culture and institutions, their patterns of belief and worship and their interaction with French state and society. The volume draws upon research by leading historians and specialists from across Europe and North America.

List of illustrations
List of tables
Notes on contributors
Preface
Acknowledgements
Abbreviations
1. Introduction: Être protestant Raymond A. Mentzer and Andrew Spicer
2. Preaching, printing, psalm-singing: the making and unmaking of the Reformed church in Lyon, 1550–1572 Timothy Watson
3. Religious polemic and Huguenot self-perception and identity, 1554–1619 Luc Racaut
4. Confessionalisation in France? Critical reflections and new evidence Philip Benedict
5. Huguenot petitioning during the wars of religion Penny Roberts
6. Informal networks in sixteenth-century French Protestantism Mark Greengrass
7. The Edict of Nantes and its institutions Raymond A. Mentzer
8. 'Speaking the King's language': the Huguenot magistrates of Castres and Pau Amanda Eurich
9. The Huguenot academies: preparing for an uncertain future Karin Maag
10. Huguenot poor relief and health care in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries Martin Dinges
11. 'Qui est de Dieu, oit la parole de Dieu'
the Huguenots and their temples Andrew Spicer
12. 'Ensevelir honnestement les corps': funeral corteges and Huguenot culture Bernard Roussel
13. Huguenot militancy and the seventeenth-century wars of religion Alan James
14. Epilogue Raymond A. Mentzer and Andrew Spicer
Index.

Subject Areas: Religion & beliefs [HR], Social & cultural history [HBTB], Early modern history: c 1450/1500 to c 1700 [HBLH], European history [HBJD]