The Horror of Religious Conflicts in France in the Cronique of Pierre Belon du Mans (1517-1564)

Abstract

PIERRE BELON, naturalist and traveler of the 16th century, known for his publications in the field of botany and zoology, and above all for his account of the voyage to the Levant (1546-1549), is also the author of the Cronique, unpublished in the sixteenth century. This polemical work describes the events of the beginning of the French Wars of Religion that Belon witnessed. It consists of a speech addressed to King Charles IX and two accounts of the sieges: that of Moulins imposed by the Huguenots and that of Bourges by the royal army. The Cronique is an important source of information on the religious and political conflicts between Catholics and Huguenots. The article presents the historical context of the events described by Belon as well as the circumstances of the creation of the work. The selected fragments show issues addressed by the author such as the horror of religious conflict, the horror of war, the fear experienced by the people and the apocalyptic vision of the future of France. Although Belon was first and foremost a doctor and naturalist, he showed great interest in the language and coined many neologisms that defined the Huguenots and their activities. The value of the Cronique resides above all in the fact that, thanks to the observations it contains, it makes it possible to better understand the atmosphere of the tragic period of the fratricidal wars in France.