In January 1564, Charles IX and Catherine de Médicis embarked on a two-year progress around France. Their motivation was to confirm the authority of the young king and to enforce the Edict of Amboise, which compelled his subjects to show religious toleration following the civil war of 1562-1563. Royal entries were a principal medium through which city councils, on behalf of the people, communicated their views to Charles. As he walked in procession through urban centres, the king was presented with specially-created triumphal arches, paintings and recitals. The imagery in these scenes, which could be illusory or clear-cut, is invaluable when it comes to understanding the interbellum of 1563-1567. This thesis examines the functions and artistic content of these ceremonies, particularly in Troyes, Lyon and Toulouse, in order to reveal how Charles was perceived as a monarch and whether the edict was well-received. The work draws on festival books that detail the scenes, which hitherto have been an untapped resource, and emblem books to elucidate the contemporary meaning behind the images. City council records, local memoirs and correspondence from figures at court have been used to reconstruct the local and national contexts in which the entries were made. This research demonstrates that Charles was viewed as the divinely-chosen ruler to whom complete obedience was owed, but many people had more respect for the office than for Charles himself. They feared he was too young and inexperienced to rule, and this impacted badly on the Edict of Amboise. The Crown had hoped for a peaceful resolution to the conflict and intended the edict as a temporary measure until the heretics returned to the Church or Charles matured into a more inspiring king. Yet the edict was too intolerable to Catholics and Huguenots, particularly among local officials who often obstructed its enforcement, and so peace could not be maintained, even if it was the will of the king.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:606153 |
| Date | January 2013 |
| Creators | Briggs, Linda |
| Publisher | University of Warwick |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/61685/ |
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