The French tiger: On the defamation of cardinal Charles of Lorraine in protestant literature

Abstract

   This article dwells on the representation of the image of Cardinal Charles of Lorraine in a Protestant polemical literature. The pamphlet by François Hotman “Tiger of France” (1560) is taken as an example. The pamphlet directed against the “tyranny” of the cardinal. The author accuses Charles of Lorraine not only of massive atrocities and abuses, but also of striving to usurp the throne, using the position of the church hierarchy and proximity to Rome. These accusations are getting spread, remaining as a “black legend” of the House of Guise until the end of the 16th century. It is not surprising that copies of the “Tiger of France” were destroyed by government officials, and even the very fact of storing the text could be grounds for arrest in the 60s of the 16^th century. This pamphlet is considered in the context of the controversy about the legitimacy of power as such, it’s religious aspect, as well as the legitimacy of a number of royal laws against the Huguenots.