Beneath the Cross: Catholics and Huguenots in Sixteenth-Century Paris [Paperback]

Barbara B. Diefendorf (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0195070135 | ISBN-13: 978-0195070132 | Publication Date: October 31, 1991

The religious conflicts of sixteenth-century France, particularly the St. Bartholomew's Day massacres of 1572, continue to draw a good deal of attention from historians. What started as a limited coup against the Huguenot leadership became instead a conflagration that left two thousand or more Protestants dead in the streets and ushered in a series of bloody religious battles. Until now, however, historians have been preoccupied with the political aspects of the conflicts, and histories have focused on the roles of the king and high noblemen in the assassinations that sparked the massacres, rather than the mass violence. In this compelling and unique study, Diefendorf closely examines popular religious fanaticism and religious hatred. She focuses on the roots and escalation of the conflicts, the propaganda of Catholic and Protestant preachers, popular religious beliefs and rituals, the role of the militia, and the underground activities of the Protestant community after the massacres. Drawing on a wide array of published and unpublished sources, Beneath the Cross is the most comprehensive social history to date of these religious conflicts.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"[T]his work immediately takes its place as the richest, most detailed study of the course of events within a single city during the early phases of the Wars of Religion....Diefendorf has explored to a particularly good narrative effect the unusually rich store of memoirs, journals, and letters available about Paris....[This] is the first book to which students now ought to be referred if they want to understand the causes and nature of religious violence in the years leading up to those fateful days."--Archive for Reformation History

"The wider importance of the study lies in the conclusion that had it not been for the fierce Catholicism of the people of Paris, the Wars of Religion--so-called--would have taken a different course....The book adds a new dimension without claiming to supersede others."--The English Historical Review

"Diefendorf has taken a step both bold and necessary in conducting and publishing serious research into confessional hatred and violence...This sensitive book broadens our understanding of a troubling subject; but it raises a host of comparative questions which need to be equally sensitively addressed."--French History

"Combines careful documentation and rigorous analysis with a style of presentation that marks its author as a master storyteller....Embodies a rare combination of exacting scholarship nand compelling narrative."--Religious Studies Review

"A brilliant, original interpretation of the French Religious Wars that should be required reading for all historians of sixteenth-century France....Bound to provide fresh ideas and material for future debate."--Sixteenth Century Journal

"Wonderful book--the clearest and most persuasive that has been written on the massacre of St. Bartholomew's Night in Paris and its prelude. Barbara Diefendorf's scholarship is impeccable. She takes proper account of popular religious passions, while placing them in their social and political context."--J.H.M. Salmon, Bryn Mawr College

"Wonderful addition to the historiography on the French wars. It holds one's attention throughout."--Joan L. Coffey, Sam Houston State University "Very interesting book. I like her fresh approach to the religious and political crises of France from 1559 to 1572. Her understanding of religious feeling and emotion as causation factors in historical crisis and change is a good antidote to economic determinism."--Col. James S. Wheeler, United States Military Academy

"Well-argued and engagingly written scholarly account of events that reached a crisis in the infamous massacre of St. Bartholomew's Day. This is a valuable work in itself as well as a model of good historical thinking drawing on the best techniques of the profession."--John M. Hirschfeld, St. Mary's College of Maryland

"An excellent, well-balanced approach. The narrative and analytical work well together."--Stephen Varvis, esno Pacific College

"For some time I have been looking for a book to use in my Reformation Europe course that combines attention to Roman Catholics and second- or third-generation Protestantism with a full deployment of the 'new' social history. The deeply researched and plausibly argued book by Professor Diefendorf may just be that book....A very fine piece of historical writing."--Mark Noll, Wheaton College

About the Author

Barbara B. Diefendorf is at Boston University.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (October 31, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195070135
• ISBN-13: 978-0195070132
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #334,181 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Paris as microcosm for Reformation France, April 6, 2005

By 

Matthew Hobbs "History Grad Student" (Virginia) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Beneath the Cross: Catholics and Huguenots in Sixteenth-Century Paris (Paperback)

Almost entirely a narrative history, Barbara Diefendorf's monograph Beneath the Cross studies the dynamic between Parisian Catholics and Protestants from around 1557 to 1572, the year of the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre. Taking cues from more recent scholarship (including an admitted debt to Natalie Davis), Diefendorf states in her introduction that she is specifically writing to refute an earlier analysis of the French Wars of Religion. Previously seen through the lens of political history, the Wars of Religion had been examined as the violent manifestation of political conflicts among the French nobility, with religion being used merely as a convenient "cover story" as nobles attempted to buck the authority of the monarchy. In contrast, five of Diefendorf's ten chapters deal with explicitly religious themes, almost to the exclusion of the politics of the high court. Although she states that she feels she has tried to walk the middle ground between the traditionalist political history and a too-radical confessional narrative, there can be no doubt that Diefendorf sees the conflicts in mid-sixteenth century Paris as almost entirely religious.

The book's organization is straight forward and the writing is lively. Chapters are devoted to descriptions of the physical and social milieu of Paris, the public practice of Catholicism, clear narratives of the civil wars of religion that wracked France from 1557 to 1572, and the events of the massacre itself. Diefendorf devotes the last third of the book to analysis of her central themes: the structure of the Reformed church within Paris; the most powerful (if not the most openly advertised) beliefs and practices of the Protestants; the venomous preaching of fire-brand Catholic priests against the heretics (and also against those who would tolerate heresy, including the king!); and the culpability of the civil militias and the citizens of Paris in the massacre.

Diefendorf's main thesis is that the actions of all sides in the conflict, from the viciousness of Catholic massacre participants to the almost bovine stoicism of Protestants who simply refused to renounce their religion or home city, were the result of religious faith. The inextricably linked fusion of municipal, monarchical, and ecclesiastical authority that was the chief attribute of Parisian Catholicism convinced faithful Catholics of the rightness of their cause, supported by their community, their king, and their God. At the same time, Protestant devotion to particular aspects of their confession, especially a fascination with the Davidic Psalms and the message encoded therein, bolstered the faith of this extremely persecuted minority, to the point that one marvels that there were still Protestants left in Paris to massacre in August of 1572. Diefendorf argues that religious principles were "real" enough to serve as the primary impetus for Catholic and Protestant actions, against the conventional perspective of the animating power of politics. Careful to illustrate the political consequences of religiously-inspired actions, Diefendorf does indeed manage to tread the middle ground and provides her readers with a successful portrait of Catholic and Protestant clashes in sixteenth century Paris.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A fantastic look religious wars in 16th Cent. Paris., December 2, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Beneath the Cross: Catholics and Huguenots in Sixteenth-Century Paris (Paperback)

Diefendorf's work shines as an excellent book on the battle between the Catholics and the Hugenots in 16th Century Paris. She has clearly done a lot of work on the subject. While the book can be long winded at times, she tries to keep the reader interested with many anecdotes. Truly a fantastic work. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in Calvinist or Catholic history or to anyone interested in French history.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars St. Bartholomew's Day not an isolated event, November 2, 2005

By 

Ronald A. Johnson (Kyle, Tx) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Beneath the Cross: Catholics and Huguenots in Sixteenth-Century Paris (Paperback)

In Beneath the Cross, Barbara Diefendorf clearly, eloquently, and persuasively argues that the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre must be examined not as an isolated incident, rather through the illuminating lens of the religious wars of the preceding 15 years to more completely understand the horrific events of 24 August 1572 and to properly place them within France's complex political, social, and religious sixteenth-century history.

Traditional histories of the event fail to appreciate the city of Paris (and the larger French population) as inextricably bound together in "the body social, the body politic, and the body of Christ"-each corps mutually affirmed through "civic, monarchial, and Catholic symbols."

Diefendorf's broader scope illuminates the gradual weakening of the societal triad under the strains of deepened resilience of Calvinists that encouraged their increasing number; radical preaching that steered (a portion of) the predominantly Catholic population toward salvific violence; extremist militia members that exploited civic authority to carry out religious retribution; and royal efforts at moderation that fueled fanaticism.

Beneath the Cross also argues that the massacre, despite the orthodox depiction as a calculated consequence, resulted from the limited call by the king for the assassination of Huguenot leaders that mixed with (at least15) years of Catholic fear of a Protestant takeover; disparate views of heresy between commoners and magistrates; and a faithful response to calls to manifest God's justice upon heretics that culminated in the slaughter of Protestants.

Paris-site of the royal court, a strong judicial apparatus, the University, predominant Catholic parishes, the Reformed Church, plagues, and famines-grabs and maintains center stage throughout the book.

Beneath the Cross is a must-read for the novice, scholar, or admirer of French religious history. Diefendorf's work is an exemplar for clarity of argument, integrity of narrative, and precision of analysis.