Violence, Religion and Revolt in Renaissance France

Politics, violence, and religion are burning issues today, to the extent that the media speak of the ‘new’ Wars of Religion and religious terrorism, whilst others defend the principles of secularity. But what were the first Wars of Religion, in sixteenth-century France and beyond? To what extent were violence, religion and state-making interwoven? Do the sixteenth-century texts that describe massacres and brutality, but also formulate principles of just war, peace-keeping and good governance have a particular resonance for the present? In this module, we will investigate issues of political thought (good vs. bad governance; kingship vs. tyranny; rebellion and resistance); the relation between religion and state; and the place of violence, tolerance, persecution and freedom of conscience in society. We will pay attention to the relation between physical conflict and polemics (conflicts fought out in writing), specifically to the role of satires and pamphlets in Early Modern disputes. Our primary sources will be very varied, and will include poetry and prose, pamphlets and prints – as well as more recent representations of the era in French fiction and film, such as Patrice Chéreau's film La Reine Margot (1994 / restored 2014) (based on the 19^th-century Black author Alexandre Dumas’ novel of the same name).

There are either early modern or modern English translations or other alternatives available for all primary sources.

Trigger warning: note that this module will contain discussion of visual and textual discussions of graphic violent scenes.

Module outline

1. Film La Reine Margot: the Saint-Bartholomew’s massacres (1572): how did it ever get this far? Introduction to the French Renaissance (c.1500-c.1610); the Italian Wars; the Wars of Religion
2. Rabelais / Erasmus (extracts) - (Just) War and Peace –
3. Catholics: Ronsard, Discours des Misères de ce temps
4. Huguenots: Agrippa d’Aubigné, Les Tragiques (extracts e.g. from Princes)
5. the use of satire: Catholics (Remy Belleau's De belllo Huguenotico, in translation); Politiques: La Satyre Ménippée (extracts)
6. [Reading Week]
7. Word and image: Richard Verstegan, Le Théâtre des cruautés
8. Planning your essays and presentations
9. Violence and the New World: Montaigne, Essais (extracts, e.g. from ‘Des Cannibales’; ‘De la cruauté’); André Thevet, extracts on the Huguenot colony in Brazil (“la France antarctique”); the 2001 prize-winning novel by Jean-Christophe Rufin, Rouge Brésil / Brazil Red (adapted for television)
10. Presentations and conclusions