The Edict of Versailles, also known as the Edict of Tolerance, was an official act that gave non-Catholics in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

the access to civil rights formerly denied to them, which included the right to contract marriages without having to convert to the

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

faith, but it denied them political rights and public worship. The edict was signed by King

Louis XVI Louis XVI (Louis-Auguste; ; 23 August 1754 – 21 January 1793) was the last king of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. The son of Louis, Dauphin of France (1729–1765), Louis, Dauphin of France (son and heir- ...

on 7 November 1787, and registered in the Parlement of Paris during the

Ancien Régime ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for " ancient, old" ** Société des anciens textes français * the French for "former, senior" ** Virelai ancien ** Ancien Régime ** Ancien Régime in France {{disambig ...

on 29 January 1788. Its successful enactment was caused by persuasive arguments by prominent French philosophers and literary personalities of the day, including Anne-Robert-Jacques Turgot;

Étienne François, duc de Choiseul Étienne, a French analog of Stephen or Steven, is a masculine given name. An archaic variant of the name, prevalent up to the mid-17th century, is Estienne. Étienne, Etienne, Ettiene or Ettienne may refer to: People Artists and entertainers * ...

, Americans such as

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin (April 17, 1790) was an American polymath: a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher and Political philosophy, political philosopher.#britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the m ...

and especially the joint work of Guillaume-Chrétien de Lamoignon de Malesherbes, minister to Louis XVI, and Jean-Paul Rabaut Saint-Étienne, spokesman for the Protestant community in France. King Henry IV had granted

Huguenots The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...

significant amount of freedom to practice their faith when he announced the

Edict of Nantes The Edict of Nantes () was an edict signed in April 1598 by Henry IV of France, King Henry IV and granted the minority Calvinism, Calvinist Protestants of France, also known as Huguenots, substantial rights in the nation, which was predominantl ...

on 13 April 1598. Those rights were revoked by

Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

during the

Edict of Fontainebleau The Edict of Fontainebleau (18 October 1685, published 22 October 1685) was an edict issued by French King Louis XIV and is also known as the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes. The Edict of Nantes (1598) had granted Huguenots the right to prac ...

(18 October 1685). Enforcement of the revocation relaxed under the reign of

Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached maturity (then defi ...

, but the revocation remained law for a century. Under the Edict of Versailles,

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

continued as the state religion of the

Kingdom of France The Kingdom of France is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the Middle Ages, medieval and Early modern France, early modern period. It was one of the most powerful states in Europe from th ...

, but relief was offered to non-Catholic worshippers:

Calvinist Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Protestantism, Continenta ...

Huguenots, Lutherans and

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

alike. Considering the long-standing dominance of the state religion, restrictions were still placed on non-Catholics around the country. The time's outliers were kept behind the scenes at the workplace and in educational settings to avoid misrepresenting the kingdom. The most notable example restriction was in

Metz Metz ( , , , then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle (river), Moselle and the Seille (Moselle), Seille rivers. Metz is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Moselle (department), Moselle Departments ...

, whose Parlement's actions explicitly excluded certain rights for Jews within its domain, such as drafting of lists of grievances, unlike in the rest of France. The Edict of Versailles did not proclaim freedom of religion across France, which would occur only by the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen of 1789, but was an important step in pacifying religious tensions and officially ended religious persecution in France.

References

* Baird, Henry Martyn. ''History of the Rise of the Huguenots of France''. Kila, MT: Kessinger, 2006 * Kuiper, B. K. ''The Church in History''. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1995 * Martyn, W. Carlos. ''A History of the Huguenots''. Ann Arbor: Scholarly Publishing Office, University of Michigan Library, 2005 * Sutherland, N. M. ''The Huguenot Struggle for Recognition.'' New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1980.

External links

Édit de Versailles (7 novembre 1787)
transcription of the original text, in French 1787 in France 1787 in law Louis XVI History of Catholicism in France

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...

Religion in the Ancien Régime Religion and politics Christianity and law in the 18th century Huguenot history in France 1787 in religion Edicts of toleration {{RC-hist-stub

See also

References

External links