Editing French Wars of Religion (section)

== Name and periodisation ==
Along with "French Wars of Religion"{{sfn|Clodfelter|2017|pp=14–16}} and "Huguenot Wars",{{sfn|Clodfelter|2017|p=537}} the wars have also been variously described as the "Eight Wars of Religion", or simply the "Wars of Religion" (only within France).{{sfn|Jouanna|Boucher|Biloghi|Thiec|1998|p=318}}

The exact number of wars and their respective dates are subject to continued debate by historians: some assert that the [[Edict of Nantes]] (13 April 1598) and the [[Peace of Vervins]] (2 May 1598) concluded the wars,{{sfn|Clodfelter|2017|pp=14–16}} while the ensuing 1620s [[Huguenot rebellions]] lead others to believe the [[Peace of Alès]] in 1629 is the actual conclusion.{{sfn|Holt|2005|p=xiii}} However, the agreed upon beginning of the wars is the [[Massacre of Wassy]] in 1562, and the Edict of Nantes at least ended this series of conflicts. During this time, complex diplomatic negotiations and agreements of peace were followed by renewed conflict and power struggles.{{sfn|Knecht|2010|p=35}}{{sfn|Knecht|2010|p=84}}

American military historians Kiser, Drass & [[William I. Brustein|Brustein]] (1994) maintained the following divisions, periodisations and locations:{{sfn|Kiser|Drass|Brustein|1994|pp=323–324}}
* Massacre of Vassy (1562) – Western France
* First War of Religion (1562–63) – Western and Southwestern France
* Second War of Religion (1567–68) – Western and Southwestern France
* Third War of Religion (1568–70) – Western and Southwestern France
* St. Bartholomew's Day massacre (1572) – Northeastern France
* Fourth War of Religion (1572–73) – Western and Southwestern France
* Fifth War of Religion (1575–76) – Western and Southwestern France
* Sixth War of Religion (1576–77) – Western and Southwestern France
* Seventh War of Religion (1580) – Western and Southwestern France
* Eighth War of Religion (1585–89) – Western and Southwestern France
* Ninth War of Religion (1589–98) – Western and Southwestern France

Both Kohn (2013) and Clodfelter (2017) followed the same counting and periodisation and noted that "[[War of the Three Henrys]]" was another name for the Eighth War of Religion, with Kohn adding "Lovers' War" as another name for the Seventh War.{{sfn|Kohn|2013|pp=390–391}}{{sfn|Clodfelter|2017|pp=14–16}} In her [[Michel de Montaigne]] biography (2014), Elizabeth Guild concurred with this chronology as well, except for dating the Seventh War of Religion to 1579–1580 rather than just 1580.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Guild |first1=Elizabeth |date=2014 |title=Unsettling Montaigne: Poetics, Ethics and Affect in the Essais and Other Writings |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_M_CAwAAQBAJ |location=Cambridge |publisher=Boydell & Brewer Ltd |pages=x–xii |isbn=978-1843843719 |access-date=3 September 2022}}</ref> Holt (2005) asserted a rather different periodisation from 1562 to 1629, writing of 'civil wars' rather than wars of religion, dating the Sixth War to March–September 1577, and dating the Eight War from June 1584 (death of Anjou) to April 1598 (Edict of Nantes); finally, although he didn't put a number on it, Holt regarded the 1610–1629 period as 'the last war of religion'.{{sfn|Holt|2005|pp=xi–xiii, 178}}