Edict of July

The Edict of July, also known as the first Edict of Saint-Germain, was a decree of limited tolerance promulgated by the regent of France, Catherine de' Medici, in July 1561. Whilst it emphasised a continued commitment to banning Huguenot worship in France, it granted pardon for all religious offenses since the reign of Henry II, who had died two years earlier, which was a victory for the Protestant community. A further Protestant victory was in the reaffirmation of the removal of the death penalty for heresy cases. The edict would be overtaken by events, and ultimately left unenforced as France moved first to the landmark Edict of Saint-Germain and then into the Wars of Religion.

Legislative background

During the reign of Henry II, several attempts were made to suppress Protestantism, which had been growing in France whilst Henry was distracted by the Habsburg–Valois Wars. This manifested in the Edicts of Chateaubriand, Ecouen and Compiègne. The substance of these being to push France on a more Spanish approach to heresy, with the re-establishment of the Chambre Ardente and the sending out of special commissioners to tackle heresy cases. This program of repression was cut short with Henry's sudden early death during a joust in 1559. Whilst a similar policy was attempted under his sickly son François II this was abandoned by 1560, with the Edict of Amboise (1560) pardoning those convicted of heresy offenses, provided they returned to good Catholic lives and the Edict of Romorantin in May, which moved heresy cases to ecclesiastical courts, which couldn't give death penalties.

When François in turn died in December 1560 this program of liberalising was accelerated, as Catherine de' Medici, Gaspard II de Coligny and Michel de l'Hôpital took the reins of government for the young Charles IX. In the Edict of 19 April L'Hôpital outlawed the use of hostile religious epithets such as 'Papiste' and 'Huguenot.' He also limited the rights of investigators to search private property.