Season of Conspiracy

Calvin, the French Reformed Churches, and Protestant Plotting in the Reign of Francis II (1559-60), Transactions, American Philosophical Society (Vol. 108, Part 5)

Philip Benedict

• Publisher: The American Philosophical Society Press
• Year: 2020
• Topic: History
• eBook ISBN:
  9781606180907
• Subtopic: French History
• Index: History

Season of Conspiracy considers the March 1560 Conspiracy of Amboise and subsequent plots devised to remove the young King Francis II from the sway of his House of Guise chief advisors and improve the legal situation of France's Protestant movement. New and rediscovered evidence—most importantly, the long-lost testimony of a cabinetmaker plotter—reveals the conspiracies to have been more closely linked to the French Reformed churches' network and to John Calvin in Geneva than previously understood. With these revelations, this publication compels a reconsideration not only of the causes of the first act of the French Wars of Religion, but also of Calvin's political engagement and sagacity. A fascinating review and examination of new and old events, students, scholars, and general readers of French and religious history will gain unrivaled insights into key European moments, proving that history is never solidified.

Table of contents

• Contents
• Abbreviations
• Preface
• 1. Introduction
• 2. The Weight of Past Historiography and the State of the Question
• First Reports from the Crown and Foreign Ambassadors
• Early Protestant Apologias and Denials
• The Revelations of Pierre de La Place and Louis Régnier de La Planche
• New Discoveries, Limited Impact
• Amed6e Roget, ¿mile Doumergue, and Alphonse de Ruble
• Lucien Romier and the Question of English Complicity
• Henri Naef, Alain Dufour, and the Geneva Connection
• Recent Work
• 3. The Testimony of Gilles Triou
• 4. From Amboise to Lyon
• 5. From Lyon to Orléans
• 6. Conspirators from Geneva: Men and Motives
• 7. Conclusion: Rethinking the Nature and Significance of the Plotting of 1560
• Appendix. The Deposition of Gilles Triou
• Index