Lay spirituality and contemporary religious practice

¶ … Spirituality

The purpose of this discussion is to examine two interpretations of the functions of lay spirituality during reformation in France. For the purposes of this discussion we will examine "Wine, Community and Reformation in Sixteenth-Century Burgundy" by Mack Holt, and "Strikes and Salvation in Sixteenth-century Lyon" by Natalie Davis. We will discuss the most important factor shaping lay spirituality in each article during this period. Our discussion will explore whether or not the two historians agree or disagree, and which one we believe has the greater validity and why.

In "Wine, Community and Reformation in Sixteenth-century Burgundy" Holt argues that the most important factor shaping lay spirituality during this period is that the "city's magistrates and elites forged an alliance with the wine growing community to produce a militant anti-Huguenot culture." (Holt)

The Wine growing community consisted of Catholics while the Huguenot was composed of Protestants. There were obvious tensions between the two religious groups and on November 1, 1561 "Protestant militants organized a mass demonstration in the center of the city, which the city fathers presumed was an attempt to seize the city by force" (Holt) this was the first of many other protests forged by the Protestants. When these protests turned violent the concerned wine growers and magistrates took swift action and banished all the known Protestants. This single action suppressed the onslaught of a religious war.

Holt believed that the economic power that the wine growers possessed allowed them to forge this alliance. The magistrates wanted to maintain order in the city and relied on the wine growers for support. The historian concedes that the force of this alliance was a potent factor in defeating Calvinism. The author writes, "Catholic culture forged by wine growers from below and protected by magistrates and clerics from above ultimately worked to eliminate Protestants." (Holt)

Strikes and Salvation at Lyon" discusses the relationship between printers' journeymen and the Masters -- the merchant publishers and the printer-publishers. All of these groups were dependent upon one another for economic survival but in many ways the journeymen had the most power because they did the most amount of work. Davis believed that the factor shaping lay spirituality was the socio economic conditions of journeymen in relation to those of their master. In this article, Davis asserts that the struggle in between Journeymen and Masters in Lyon had more to do with economic status and work conditions than with religious differences. Davis writes "the printers' journeymen did not conclude that a change in religious institutions and practices was essential for change in relations between them and their masters." (Davis)

However, the article does assert that the journeymen believed that the institution of religion had some control over the way that they were being treated. In an effort to gain better treatment the Journeymen formed the Company of the Griffarins which worked as a type of union. The journeymen that belonged to this union demanded better wages and would not work for masters that paid less than the amount requested. In addition they would harass apprentices and journeymen that were not members of the union. The journeymen did see some success with these tactics but eventually the control that religion had over the society came into conflict with the Company of the Griffarins.

One of the main reasons why the journey encountered this problem was due to the sect like qualities of the Company of the Griffarins. Many in Consistories felt that the Company was a sect because of the initiation process and the manner in which members of the company conducted themselves. Davis writes, "The Reformed Church was jealous, and with reason, of any special group in a reformed society that tried to possess to exclusively the loyalty of its members." (Davis) The members of the company were asked to disband but that was easier said than done. Eventually the Company returned to the mother church of their origins but all along they held that religious issues should not interfere with issue of economy.