Polemic and Literature Surrounding the French Wars of Religion ed. by Jeff Kendrick and Katherine S. Maynard (review)

The Wars of Religion were a turbulent time in France’s history; decades of conflict ravaged the country on numerous levels—economically, socially, and emotionally, among others. Much scholarly focus has been dedicated to the actual battles and historical events of this tumultuous epoch. Polemic and Literature Surrounding the French Wars of Religion approaches this era in a different manner, however; the volume focuses on a variety of printed material produced during these conflicts that were, as identified by the editors in their introduction, part of a “textual war” that “could provoke armed conflict” (1; 3). The contributions of the work not only explore the manner in which “[t]hese writings shaped the ways in which the Wars were ultimately understood by those who experienced them” (8) but also how these texts engaged directly in the Wars of Religion themselves, either by creating or promoting a certain ideological group or by advocating specific actions. Taking a broader view on literature’s influence before, during, and after the Wars, the volume defines polemic as “fighting words”; that is, “expressions of violence that can give rise to actual physical conflict” (3).

Christopher M. Flood’s article, the first in a volume structured more or less around the chronology of the Wars of Religion, focuses on the period just before the outbreak of the first war in 1562. Flood notes that in the pre-war era, “an unprecedented preponderance of satirical literature typified the intensifying conflict between Protestants and Catholics” (10). Interestingly, writes Flood, both the Catholic and Protestant sides employed biblical stories in their satires. Focusing on Théodore de Bèze’s Epistola Magistri Benedicti Passavantii (1553) and the anonymous Catholic response to Bèze’s work entitled Passevent parisien respondent à Pasquin (1556), Flood contends that the biblical models used by these satirical authors offers insights into the self-perceptions of each side of the religious conflict. After providing a short history of the satirical genre itself, Flood shows how Bèze’s clever usage of the David and Goliath story in his own work constructs a communal identity based on the biblical image of a small and unlikely hero (the Protestants) fighting against a monstrous enemy (the Catholics). The Catholic response in turn utilizes the biblical model of Judith in order to, according to Flood, specifically vilify Protestant leadership as well as to legitimize violence of the majority (the Catholics) against the minority (the Protestants).

The following chapter, written by Charles-Louis Morand-Métivier, analyzes a literary quarrel that took place during the first War of Religion between the Catholic Pierre de Ronsard and Antoine de la Roche-Chandieu, a Protestant. Focusing on Chandieu’s Palinodies (1563) and his Response aux calomnies (1563), Morand-Métivier contends that Chandieu’s imitation (indeed, near copying) of Ronsard’s writings indicates that Chandieu wished to attack the “‘official’ vision of the [French] kingdom,” as promoted by the politically active and powerful Ronsard (30). Ronsard, who believed that in order to be French one must be Catholic as well as support the royal family, “used [his] poetry as a weapon to defend France” —at least his idea of France and what it meant to be French (35). In mimicking Ronsard, Chandieu “ventriloquizes” him; Chandieu uses Ronsard to promote claims that are directly opposed to Ronsard’s own (30). Overall, Morand-Métivier contends that Ronsard and Chandieu’s written squabble points to the deepening divides that were developing between the Catholics and Protestants; both sides held specific models for the kingdom, but neither side was willing to make concessions—a fact that led to the continuation of the wars.

Taking a step away from the chronological, Amy Graves Monroe’s chapter analyzes the physical aspect of polemical writings. Focusing specifically on the title pages of polemical writings, Monroe “proposes to consider the...