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T his book is the result of a long intellectual journey, a transatlantic existence , and a prolonged writing process. The project began as a dissertation at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where my mentor , John A. Lynn, provided invaluable guidance, support, and inspiration during my research and writing. Geoffrey Parker and Paul W. Schroeder guided my development as a historian and served on my dissertation committee. Professors Caroline Hibbard, John Rule, Paul Bernard, Donald Queller, Megan McLaughlin , John F. Guilmartin, Mark Grimsley, Allan Millett, and Carl Estabrook at the University of Illinois and the Ohio State University were vital in the shaping of my project and my historical thinking. William Beik, Mack Holt, Barbara B. Diefendorf, Denis Crouzet, Sharon Kettering, Arlette Jouanna, Michael Wolfe, Kathryn Reyerson, Orest Ranum, Mark Greengrass, Douglas Baxter, Laurence Fontaine, David Buisseret, and Raymond A. Mentzer all provided valuable guidance on archival sources and interpretations. A Graduate College On-Campus Dissertation Research Grant, a Graduate College Dissertation Travel Support Grant, and a Humanities Student Research Fund Grant from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign provided funding for my preliminary research. A Graduate College Dissertation Travel Grant and University Fellowship from the University of Illinois then made possible my extended research in Paris and Languedoc. A National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship with the Medici Archive Project, a Jean Monnet Fellowship from European University Institute, and a Pforzheimer Fellowship with the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center allowed me to refine my manuscript and exploit additional French sources. Colleagues in France offered wonderful advice about conducting historical research in French archives and living in the country. Archivists and librarians at the Bibliothèque Nationale de France, the Archives Nationales, the Archives de la Ministère des Affaires Étrangères, and the Bibliothèque de la Société de Acknowledgments xii a c k n o w l e d g m e n t s l’Histoire du Protestantisme Française provided support and materials in Paris. I received a friendly reception and much assistance from the personnel at the Archives Départementales de l’Hérault, de l’Haute-Garonne, de Lozère, du Tarn, de l’Aude, de l’Ardeche, and du Gard. I also appreciated the aid given me at the Archives Municipales de Montpellier, Toulouse, and Béziers. Jean-Pierre Capelle, Stéphane Durand, Jean-Pierre Dormois, Danielle Bertrand-Fabre, and Philippe Hupé all provided practical assistance for an American living in Paris, Montpellier , and Toulouse. The long process of writing and revising the manuscript unfolded in the markedly different environments of Champaign, Paris, Fiesole, Florence, and Chicago. Henry Tom of the Johns Hopkins University Press provided excellent editorial guidance and support throughout the development of the book. An anonymous reader provided extremely helpful comments and criticisms that improved the manuscript. My colleagues Jim Schmidt, Sean Farrell, and Aaron Fogleman at Northern Illinois University assisted in reading sections of the text. I greatly appreciate the comments and suggestions from session participants and audiences at numerous historical conferences, including French Historical Studies , Western Society for French History, Renaissance Society of America, and Sixteenth Century Society and Conference. Workshops at the European University Institute and the Early Europe Group at the University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign provided additional feedback. Peter Dreyer did an excellent job of copyediting the manuscript, tightening the prose and clarifying details. Several sections of this book incorporate research previously published in different forms as “‘The Magazine of All Their Pillaging’: Armies as Sites of Second-Hand Exchanges during the French Wars of Religion,” in Alternative Exchanges: Second-Hand Circulations from the Sixteenth Century to the Present, ed. Laurence Fontaine (New York: Berghahn Books, 2008), 76–96; “‘Se couvrant toujours . . . du nom du roi.’ Perceptions nobiliaires de la révolte dans le sud-ouest de la France, 1610–1635,” Histoire, Économie et Société 17 (1998): 423– 440; and “‘The Furious Persecutions That God’s Churches Suffer in This Region ’: Religious Violence and Coercion in Early Seventeenth-Century France,” Proceedings of the Western Society for French History 29 (2003): 42–52. I would like to thank several professors at the University of Texas at Austin who shaped my historical consciousness, interests, and approaches. I am deeply indebted to John Lamphear and Nancy Barker for their guidance on independent research projects and their confidence in my historical work. David Bowman, Brian P. Levack, Michael B. Stoph, George B. Forgie, Bruce J. Hunt, Terry...

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