The Politics of Wine in Early Modern France
Religion and Popular Culture in Burgundy, 1477–1630

Explores how workers in the local wine industry helped shape local politics and turn back Protestantism in early modern Burgundy.

Mack P. Holt (Author)

9781108471886, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 13 September 2018

368 pages, 26 b/w illus. 3 maps 17 tables
23.5 x 15.7 x 2.2 cm, 0.72 kg

'Holt provides a fine and detailed narrative of the political life of a significant and somewhat unusual city through an eventful century and a half …' Jotham Parsons, The Journal of Modern History

In the late fifteenth century, Burgundy was incorporated in the kingdom of France. This, coupled with the advent of Protestantism in the early sixteenth century, opened up new avenues for participation in public life by ordinary Burgundians and led to considerably greater interaction between the elites and the ordinary people. Mack Holt examines the relationship between the ruling and popular classes from Burgundy's re-incorporation into France in 1477 until the Lanturelu riot in Dijon in 1630, focusing on the local wine industry. Indeed, the vineyard workers were crucial in turning back the tide of Protestantism in the province until 1630 when, following royal attempts to reduce the level of popular participation in public affairs, Louis XIII tried to remove them from the city altogether. More than just a local study, this book shows how the popular classes often worked together with local elites to shape policies that affected them.

List of figures
Acknowledgments
Abbreviations and translations
Units of currency and measurement in Dijon
Introduction
Part I. Burgundy after the Valois Dukes (1477 to ca.1560)
1. Guarding the gospels: elections and politics
2. Protected by the Virgin Mary: lay religious experiences
3. Beasts in the vines: wine and material life
Part II. The Wars of Religion in Burgundy (ca.1550 to 1595)
4. The reformation in Burgundy
5. Origins of the Catholic League in Burgundy
6. Collapse of the League in Burgundy
Part III. From Foy de Bourgogne to Absolute Monarchy (1595 to 1630)
7. The contraction of popular politics and Catholic reform
8. The crown, the magistrates, and the people: the Lanturelu Riot of 1630
Conclusion
Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: Church history [HRCC2], Social & cultural history [HBTB], European history [HBJD]