Edict of Restitution
Quick Summary
The Edict of Restitution, issued on March 28, 1629, was a significant decree during the Thirty Years' War in Europe. It aimed to reassert Catholic dominance and imperial authority. The edict mandated the immediate return of all church lands that had been secularized (taken over by secular rulers) since 1552. It also declared Calvinism an illegal religion within the Holy Roman Empire and granted ecclesiastical princes the right to enforce their religion upon their subjects.1
This edict was a major point of contention, as Protestants viewed it as a violation of the Peace of Augsburg. The enforcement of the edict by imperial armies led to widespread fear and resentment, contributing to the continuation of the war despite military victories for the emperor. The Edict of Restitution was later addressed and modified by the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, which reconfirmed the Peace of Augsburg and extended religious toleration to Calvinists.12
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AustriaThe Bohemian rising and the victory of the Counter-Reformation…1629 Ferdinand’s attempt in the Edict of Restitution (Restitutionsedikt) to establish religious unity by force throughout the empire provoked the violent opposition of the Protestants.
Read More…1629 Ferdinand’s attempt in the Edict of Restitution (Restitutionsedikt) to establish religious unity by force throughout the empire provoked the violent opposition of the Protestants.
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GermanyThe Thirty Years’ War and the Peace of Westphalia…March of that year the Edict of Restitution, by which Protestant rulers were to restore to the church more than 500 bishoprics, monasteries, abbeys, and other ecclesiastical properties secularized since 1552.
Read More…March of that year the Edict of Restitution, by which Protestant rulers were to restore to the church more than 500 bishoprics, monasteries, abbeys, and other ecclesiastical properties secularized since 1552.
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history of EuropeThe triumph of the Catholics, 1619–29…on March 28, 1629, an Edict of Restitution was issued which declared unilaterally that all church lands secularized since 1552 must be returned at once, that Calvinism was an illegal creed in the empire, and that ecclesiastical princes had the same right as secular ones to insist that their subjects…
Read More…on March 28, 1629, an Edict of Restitution was issued which declared unilaterally that all church lands secularized since 1552 must be returned at once, that Calvinism was an illegal creed in the empire, and that ecclesiastical princes had the same right as secular ones to insist that their subjects…
Read More