Catholic Activism in South-West France, 1540-1570.

Catholic Activism in South-West France, 1540-1570. By Kevin Gould (Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing, 2006. viii plus 190 pp. $99.95).

This hook is a study of the rise of political militancy of urban elites and nobles in southwestern France in the middle decades of the sixteenth century, especially in Bordeaux, Agen, Toulouse, and Bearn. The author's main argument is that the militancy of Catholic urban notables in this region was endemic and widespread long before the advent of the Catholic League in the 1580s, a conclusion the author claims overturns current views that tend to portray all pre-League Catholic activities as "parochial ... [and] inconsequential" (5), while the book also "challenges the historiographical axiom that places the Council of Trent at the centre of the sixteenth-century movement of Catholic renewal in France." (6) Heavily based on research in the departmental and municipal archives of the region, Gould's book is a useful addition to the literature of local cities and towns in the religious wars, building on and complementing the work of other scholars of the region such as Jonathan Powis, Mark Greengrass, Joan Davies, Robert Schneider, Rene Souriac, Philip Conner, and Michel Cassan.

In chapter 1 Gould lays out the general themes of the book and also describes the major sources upon which his study is based. Chapters 2-5 focus on the city of Bordeaux and explain how Catholic militants in the city first fought off attempts by Protestants to take over the city, then consolidated their power against Catholic moderates, and finally organized a counter-offensive so successful that a militant Catholic consensus had won over the population by 1570. In Agen, as explained in chapters 6-7, the situation was much the same, as urban elites first beat back Protestant attempts to gain a foothold in local politics by organizing into local committees, then used the outspoken nobleman Blaise de Montluc to win over the local nobility and a majority of the population to the Catholic cause. In chapters 8-9, Gould analyzes the city of Toulouse, where a similar scenario played out, with militant Catholics resisting and defeating the attempted Protestant coup to take over the city in 1562. As in Agen local magistrates and nobles joined together with a militant Catholic populace to insure that no such attempt to seize the city by force would ever happen again. Resisting the more moderate policies of the crown, leaders in Toulouse initiated a policy of severe repression against the Protestant minority in the city. Only in Beam, as explained in chapter 10, were Catholic efforts thwarted by the powerful Protestant influence of the Calvinst queen of Navarre, Jeanne d'Albret. Even there, however, Gould shows that militant Catholics worked actively, sometimes with Philip II of Spain, to try to oust the Protestant leader. Moreover, the militant Catholic networks in Beam were closely tied to their counterparts in Bordeaux, Toulouse, and Agen where Catholicism triumphed. Above all, Gould stresses the interconnectedness of Catholic militant organizations throughout the region.

Gould's narrative underscores the leading Catholic activists in the southwest and the critical role they played in preventing the region from falling into the hands of Protestants. At the top of the social ladder were men such as the sieurs d'Escars, de Candalle, de Terride, de Tilladet, and de Negrepelisse. Although many of them were clients of Montluc, they were all local elites who offered their own independent support to Catholic magistrates in the region when the threat of Protestantism reared its head in the I 550s. Equally important were the militant magistrates in the Parlements of Bordeaux and Toulouse. When some magistrates in the sovereign courts began to waiver on enforcing religious uniformity, militant Catholics such as Christophe de Roffignac, Francois de Baulon, and Charles de Malvin in the Parlement of Bordeaux and Jean Daffis in the Parlement of Toulouse led the opposition to the crown's efforts to guarantee Huguenot rights in the various edicts of pacification. Equally important were the urban councilors who worked with the nobles and magistrates in the Parlements to maintain Catholic hegemony in the region: men such as Lange and Mont-ferrand in Bordeaux, Lalande and Nort in Agen, and Bellegarde in Toulouse. Of all their many contributions none was more significant than their ability to rally their respective urban populations behind their policies. Once again, Gould stresses the ways the various leaders managed to work together to further their mutual interests, and this as much as anything else was responsible for their success. There is really no doubt that Catholic activism and militancy was not only alive and well prior to the advent of the Catholic League, hut that it was significant in preserving the Catholic faith in southwestern France. So, this is a very useful book, which makes a valuable contribution to the literature of the civil wars.

I do have two minor issues, however. First, I am not sure the author's main argument is the best way to frame the book. Other than Joseph Lecler, Gould does not mention any historian explicitly who argues that Catholic activism in the southwest prior to the League was either inconsequential or parochial. Indeed, the wave of recent work disproving Lecler, which Gould cites extensively in chapter 1, suggests that Lecler no longer needs refuting. Second, I wonder why Gould chose his beginning and ending dates. Surely it would have strengthened his argument even more to demonstrate that efforts at Catholic renewal not only started before the 1540s, hut in many cases actually predated the advent of Protestantism. On the other end, it might have been useful to take the story up to the end of the religious wars. It would have answered the one question still lingering at the end of the book: if Catholic militants in Bordeaux were so successful by 1570, why were they unable to deliver the city to the Catholic League in the 1580s and 90s like their counterparts in Agen and Toulouse? 1 fully understand the necessity of limiting such a study chronologically in order to be able to complete a Ph.D. thesis in a timely manner, hut even a few nods to questions such as these in the conclusion might have made a very good hook even better.

Mack P. Holt

George Mason University