Edict of Restitution

EDICT OF RESTITUTION. - It is the decree of Emperor Ferdinand II of 6 March 1629, in which it was established that Catholic princes could expel dissidents, and only adherents of the Augsburg Confession enjoyed the concessions of that peace; finally, the ecclesiastical properties occupied after the normal year 1552 were to be restored, and commissioners were instituted who could use troops; an appeal did not suspend execution.

Wallenstein's victories in northern Germany made it possible to carry out there the restoration already partly applied in the south; it involved 2 archbishoprics, 12 bishoprics and numerous abbeys and churches. Although theoretically justified, politically the act proved very dangerous, pushing many Protestant princes to accept, against their will, the help of Gustavus Adolphus. Already in 1631 the 2 archbishoprics of Bremen and Magdeburg and 5 bishoprics and about 150 abbeys had been recovered, but there was disagreement over the destination of these properties, since the old abbeys were deserted, while the new religious orders, the true authors of Catholic progress, lacked means, premises, etc. Gustavus Adolphus's action halted its application. In the Peace of Prague (1635) with Saxony it was suspended for 40 years, also for the princes who adhered to it. In the Peace of Münster (Westphalia) of 1648 it was practically annulled, moving the normal year to 1624.

Luigi Simeoni