French Calvinism in the Sixteenth Century: A History in Biography

This book introduces readers to well-known and lesser-known individuals of the French Reformation and shows how God used kings, queens, statesmen, and theologians in the sixteenth century to call France back to the apostolic tradition. These fifteen biographies are selective and seek to cover the period from the beginning of the Reformation in early sixteenth-century France to the Edict of Nantes in 1598 under Henri IV. Many of these individuals were contemporaries whose lives were intertwined in the same events. Most of them were Reformed Protestants who identified with the teachings of Calvin. Others, such as Marguerite de Navarre, Jacques Lefevre d'Etaples, Louis de Berquin, and Michel de L'Hospital, embraced evangelical teaching, desired reform, and repudiated aspects of Roman Catholic doctrine and practice, but sought the reformation of the Catholic Church from within. These people were saints in the biblical sense that God set them apart for salvation. They were not always saintly in their decisions and actions. These biographies provide not only information but also stimulate reflection on their lives with their faith and failures.