The conversion of infidels and heretics: baptism and confessional allegiance in Nantes during the early wars of religion (1550-1570)

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On 15 August 1553 in Nantes, two Muslim boys were baptized as Catholics sponsored by members of the city's Spanish community. Less than a decade later, the early 1560s saw the rebaptism as Catholics of several Protestant children in the city. These examples, together with a number of published sermons and disputations concerning baptism written in the city in these years, show that for the period between 1550 and 1570, this sacrament became an important focus for the manifestation of confessional identity in Nantes. The growth of Protestantism after 1550 brought with it an increased interest in baptism, which became part of a wider conflict over the meaning and practice of religious ritual between Protestants and Catholics. While the eucharist was vitally important in reinforcing religious identity in this period, it was not the only holy weapon in the Catholic ritual armoury. In the early decades of religious conflict, between 1550 and 1570, baptism also played an important role in defining confessional identity.