Latecomers to reform? Catholic activism in the wake of the French wars of religion

Abstract

100 years after Martin Luther wrote his Ninety-Five theses, France found itself on the cusp of an extraordinary period of Catholic ascendency. From the violence and bloodshed of four decades of civil war came an age of Bourbon rule and Catholic reform, during which numerous Catholic activists sought to shape religious devotion and discipline for a new age. Commonly referred to as dévots, these channelled their religious enthusiasm into a wide variety of causes, from the foundation of multiple new religious orders and monasteries to the organisation of missions and the patronage of charitable works.1 The reform movement reached levels of intensity and creativity that were unmatched in any other region, and ultimately made distinctive and lasting contributions to Catholic religious life well beyond France.