Frantz Klemmer

  Noted events in his life were:

• French History. Henry II, King of France (1547-1559)

Henry II is described as having a robust physical appearance with a very weak and pliant personality. Throughout his reign he allowed Anne de Montmorency, Diane de Poitiers (his mistress) and Francois and Charles de Guise to influence his decisions. He renewed the struggle against the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V (also known as Charles I of Spain). This struggle caused his to align himself with the German Protestants despite his own strong Catholic leanings. In 1558, Calais was conquered from the English. Henry issued increasingly severe edicts against the Protestants. Henry was accidently killed by Gabriel de Montgomery in a tournament.

Francis II, King of France (1559-1560)

Francis married Mary Queen of Scots in 1558. During his brief reign his uncles Francois and Charles de Guise ran the country. His uncles ruthlessly persecuted the Protestants, which led to the conspiracy of Amboise in 1560, which was an attempt to remove the Guises from power. During Francis's reign Protestants became a political force known as the Huguenots.

Charles IX King of France (1560-1574)

Charles IX succeeded his brother Francis II under the guidance of his mother, Catherine de Medici. She maintained her influence throughout his reign. The French Huguenot leader Gaspard de Coligny temporarily influenced Charles in 1570. Catherine, fearing the loss of her power, persuaded her son to approve the massacre, which later became known as Saint Bartholomew's Massacre.

• Wars of Religion. THE WARS OF RELIGION

The next king was Francis II who was a minor, married to Mary, Queen of Scots. After his sudden death he was succeded by his brother Charles IX, also a minor, whose mother, Catherine De Medici acted as Regent. She tried to promote peace between the Catholics and Protestants by granting certain priviledges to the Huguenots by means of the Edict of St. Germain on January 17, 1561.

The peace became short-lived when on March 1, 1562, a number of Catholics descended on a large Huguenot assembly in Vassy, killing 30 and wounding about 200. The Wars of Religion, which lasted from 1562 to 1598, were a direct consequence of these Vassy Murders. Numerous attempts at bringing about peace followed, but proved unsuccessful.

The Regent Catherine de Medici, by August 1570, was forced to declare the Peace of St. Germain to prevent the Huguenots from taking Paris. Gaspard de Coligny, succeded in obtaining freedom of religious practice in all cities except Paris.

Gaspard De Coligny was an Admiral of France as well as Governor of Picardy. He joined the Protestants in 1559, soon becoming their leader and spokesman.

The Peace of St. Germain had illustrated clearly just how much power was vested in the Huguenots. The Catholics feared this power and it was decided to eliminate the Huguenots, particularly their leaders.

The marriage of Prince Henry of Navarre, a Huguenot, to Marguerite de Valois (daughter of Catherine de Medici) on 23rd and 24th of August 1572 provided a golden opportunity to eliminate the Huguenots. The soldiers of the King massacred thousands of Huguenots in Paris during the Bartholomew Massacre, including De Coligny. Henry of Navarre escaped, but in the weeks following, murder and mayhem spread throughout France. Many Huguenots fled to other European countries as a result. Numerous Religious Wars followed under the leadership of Charles IX.

Charles IX was succeded by his brother Henry III. Henry of Navarre succeeded Charles IX as Henry IV. Having adopted Catholicism for political reasons, Henry IV yet remained well disposed towards the Huguenots. He was able to bring an end to the Religious Wars through the Peace of Vervins. On April 13, 1598, through the proclamation of the Edict of Nantes he provided the Huguenots with more religious and political freedom than ever before. Under his reign France became united and a period of peace followed.

• Massacre of St. Bartholomew. ^{736,737,738,739} 1572 - The Massacre Of St. Bartholomew:

In the 1500's, the Catholic Church dominated France. The reformation had spread to France, however the Catholic Aristocray treated Protestants with disdain and called us Huguenots. The Roman Catholic Church instilled this bitter hatred towards Huguenots in the Aristocrats. They were determined that the land should be rid of us.

Catherine de Medicis, who was known for her deep seated enmity towards Protestantism, controlled her son King Charles IX sufficiently to make him a mere puppet in her hands. Admiral Coligny, one of the most prominent advisers of the King of Navarre, who was then at the head of the Huguenots, was invited to attend the Parisian court. The Catholics especially resented Coligny and an unsuccessful attempt was therefore made upon his life. The Queen mother, finding that this part of her scheme had failed, represented to the king that the Huguenots were planning for revenge upon the nobles of the court for the attack upon Coligny. The Queen mothers words had the effect of frightening the weak-minded king, who at once authorized the massacre of the offending Protestants.

Coligny along with his household was murdered, and his body thrown out to the mob. Everywhere the cry was heard, “Kill every man of them! Kill the Huguenots!” The streets were reeking with the blood of men, women, and children. Not an individual suspected of a leaning towards the Reformed religion was suffered to escape. While this scene was going on, the Protestants of Lyons, Rouen, and other cities, fell victims to the savage fury of the Catholics. The massacre was carefully planned so as to break out at the same hour in various cities and in their suburbs. By some it is supposed that at least 100,000 persons suffered death. It is pretty certain that at least 10,000 were destroyed in Paris alone, and this estimate does not include the 500 who belonged to the higher orders. It is said that, “the roads were rendered almost impassable, from the corpses of men, women, and children.

The monstrous deed received the high approval of the Pope and his Cardinals. Queen Elizabeth, who was the head of the English Church by law, seemed to take the matter equally well. Immediately following the massacre, she received the French Ambassador, accepted a love-letter from the Duke of Alençon and stood at the font as godmother to the child of the murderous King of France.

Huguenots won a short period of relief from persecution with the ascension of King Henry IV to the throne. He enacted the Edict of Nantes giving full freedom to his Protestants subjects. The signing of this edict inaugurated an era of peace and great prosperity for France. However, for granting his subjects liberty of conscience, the king was stabbed to death by a Jesuit named Ravaillac.”

Daniel Toussain: French Reformed; b. at Montbéliard July 15, 1541; d. at Heidelberg Jan. 10, 1602. His father was Pierre Toussain and the son was educated at Basel and Tübingen. Returning to France he preached for six months in his native town, and went to Orléans, 1560, where, after being a teacher of Hebrew, he was ordained minister of the local Reformed church in 1561.In 1568 he was forced to flee with other Protestants, but was soon discovered and imprisoned over two weeks. He then fled with his family to Montargis, where the duchess of Ferrara protected him until the king of France demanded the expulsion of all Huguenots. He now sought refuge in Sancèrre, and, after one year, returned to Montbéliard. Here he was charged with teaching Calvinistic and Zwinglian heresies, his reply being an affirmation of his Lutheran belief. In 1571 he was recalled to Orléans, and held services in the castle Isle, a few miles away, but at the news of the massacre of St. Bartholomew's Day, he fled just in time to escape the total massacre and pillage of Isle the next day; and he was concealed by a Roman Catholic nobleman at Montargis and later by the duchess in a tower of her castle. In November 1572, he was able to return to his father at Montbéliard, but Lutheran intolerance again drove him out, and he accepted a call of the French refugees at Basel. In March 1573, he was appointed chaplain to the Count Palatine Frederick III. At Heidelberg, but in 1576 the Calvinistic Frederick was succeeded by his son, the Lutheran Louis VI., and the Reformed were expelled. They found a Calvinistic patron, however, in John Casimir, the brother of the count, at Neustadt, where Toussain became inspector of churches and also helped found an academy in which he was one of the teachers. After the death of Zacharias Ursinus he was also preacher to the refugees' church of St. Lambert. Louis VI. Died in 1583, and John Casimir became regent. Calling Toussain into his council, he expelled the Lutherans from Heidelberg, and Toussain later became professor of theology, and, in 1584, rector.

Pierre Toussain: French Reformer of Montbéliard, and father of the preceding; b. at St. Laurent, near Marville 1499; d. at Montbéliard Oct. 5, 1573. Educated at Metz, Basel, Cologne, Paris, and Rome, he became a canon of Metz in 1515, where he first heard of Protestant doctrines, and, being suspected of adherence to them, he was forced to flee to Basel. After a sojourn at Paris, he attempted to introduce the new doctrines into Metz, only to be imprisoned at Pont à Mousson. On Mar. 11, 1526, deprived of his benefice, he was expelled from Metz. He now returned to Paris, where he became an almoner of Margaret of Navarre, but in 1531 was again obliged to flee from France. After visiting Zwingli in Zurich, Gillaume Farel in Grandson, and Simon Sulzer in Basel, he went to Wittenberg. While in Tübingen on his return, he gladly accepted the invitation of Duke Ulrich of Württemberg to continue the Reformation begun by Johann Gayling and Farel in Montbéliard. Within four years Protestantism was definitely established, the mass was abolished, and the most of the canons retired to Besançon. Toussain became the head of the new ecclesiastical organization, which, being French and Swiss in character, became involved in serious controversies with the German chaplains of Count Christopher of Württemberg, who took up his residence at Montbéliard in 1542. As a result he retired to Basel, but returned to Montbéliard when the difficulty was finally adjusted. He was one of the few clergy undisturbed during the interim and on the second suppression of the Roman Catholics in Montbéliard in 1552 he resumed his position as superintendent at the head of the Protestant clergy. In 1559, under the guardians of the new count, Frederick, the Württemberg agenda were introduced, but the stubborn resistance of Toussain and his clergy forced the count's guardians to make concessions, especially to permit the use of Toussain's liturgy for the time being. In 1568, however, all pastors who refused to adopt the Württemberg agenda were deposed. When, in 1571 Jakob Andreä was sent by the Württemberg government to Montbéliard, the clergy were strictly examined, Daniel Toussain the reformer's son, was banished, and his father was pensioned and replaced by a Lutheran. All the clergy who professed either Zwinglianism or Calvinism were gradually removed, and the Tübingen dogmas were enforced. Strict in life, Evangelical in spirit, Toussain was a model pastor and wise organizer.

• fled, 24 Aug 1572. My wife and I fled to Afoltern, Zurich, Switzerland from France because the Roman Catholic leadership of France ordered that those of the reformed faith were to be killed.

• Religion: Mennonite/Annabaptist.

Frantz married Adelheit Byekel on 24 Nov 1557.⁷²⁹