French Wars of Religion, 1562-1629 Book

A serious and balanced account of the French Wars of Religion. The civil wars between Catholics (the religion of most French men and women) and Protestants (who were called Huguenots in France) started when violence broke out at Vassy in March of 1562 and ended completely, according to some historians, only with the fall of the last Huguenot stronghold of La Rochelle and the Peace of Alais signed in June of 1629. Other historians consider the Edict of Nantes issued in 1598 under king Henry IV as being the final point in these civil wars because after this edict of toleration the two opposite parties stopped fighting, and in the future, the religious conflict would never be as intense as it used to be before 1598.
Anyway, this period in French history was among the most complex and darkest ones. The author tries to be objective and look at the events from different points of view. His main focus is, however, studying religious tensions that constantly gave fuel to the conflict. Holt shows how religious violence was inherent in the sixteenth century society.
The author states the main goal of the book: "What this book will propose is that the French Wars of Religion were fought primarily over the issue of religion as defined in contemporary terms: as a body of believers rather than the more modern definition of a body of belief".