« Une amicale et fraternelle discussion » : disputes religieuses et stratégies de pacification aux premiers temps de la Réforme

Abstract

In the cities of the Holy Roman Empire and the Old Swiss Confederacy, the spread of Reformed ideas quickly gave rise to serious tensions. In search of solutions to restore civic harmony, some city councils resorted to religious disputations: these were intended to settle the conflict between supporters and opponents of the new faith, and to allow salvation for the whole community. This article examines the reasons why disputations could appear as a way of preserving civic peace, the safeguarding of which was one of the council’s main duties. The investigation will also show that, despite the claims of the organizers, the disputations eventually lead to the victory of one party over the other, concealing the religious divide rather than restoring unity, and thus weakening the peace all disputations were intended to help re-establish.

Keywords

• Reformation
• disputations
• controversy
• city councils
• peace
• harmony