Rumours of revolt Civil war and the emergence of a transnational news culture in France and the Netherlands, 1561-1598

Historians of the French Wars of Religion and the Dutch Revolt have long observed the interconnected nature of these two parallel crises and have pointed at a mutual hunger for news among the French and the Dutch. Yet these assumptions are primarily based on research into pamphlet production and diplomatic exchange. Through the study of a great number of diaries and chronicles from the Netherlands and France, complemented with other sources such as letters, pamphlets, songs and prints, this study aims to contribute to our knowledge of the perception of these two wars among contemporaries.
By examining the reception of news in two countries over a period of four decades, it aims to offer a new perspective on the transnational history of the French Wars of Religion and the Dutch Revolt by analysing what news the inhabitants of France and the Netherlands received and recorded. Second, it aspires to add to the burgeoning field of early modern news scholarship with a case study on the reception of international news. And third, it does so through the study of early modern diary and chronicle practices, which recently have received attention as one of the topics within the current scholarly fascination for methods of archiving and information management in the early modern era. It argues that the second half of the sixteenth century witnessed the gradual emergence of a transnational news culture. It also shows how the increase in international religious polarization went together with an increase in media-savviness among sixteenth-century chroniclers.