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Concept
Edict of Nantes
Summary
The Edict of Nantes (édit de Nantes) was signed in April 1598 by King Henry IV and granted the minority Calvinist Protestants of France, also known as Huguenots, substantial rights in the nation, which was predominantly Catholic.
It granted religious toleration to the Protestant Huguenots, who had been waging a long and bloody struggle for their rights in France. The main contents were:
Freedom of conscience and the right to practice their religion (Protestantism) in certain specified towns and cities throughout France.
The right to hold public office, including the right to serve as judges and administrators, without having to renounce their religion.
The right to maintain their own schools and universities, and to receive government funding for them.
The right to fortify their towns and cities for their own protection.
The right to maintain their own military forces (known as the "Huguenot militia"), which were to be paid for by the French government.
The right to engage in certain specified trades and professions, including the manufacture and sale of textiles and arms.
The right to travel freely throughout France, without being subject to searches or seizures of their property.
The right to bury their dead in their own cemeteries.
The Edict of Nantes helped to end the Wars of Religion in France, which had been raging for decades. It also ensured that the Protestant minority in France would have a measure of religious and political freedom, and helped to establish France as a more tolerant and pluralistic society. However, the Edict was eventually revoked by King Louis XIV in 1685, leading to a mass exodus of Huguenots from France and a loss of talent and resources for the country.
In this edict, Henry aimed primarily to promote civil unity. The edict separated civil from religious unity, treated some Protestants for the first time as more than mere schismatics and heretics and opened a path for secularism and tolerance.
Official source
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