This study offers a new interpretation of how nobility was viewed in sixteenth-century France and the changes that occurred in that view as France moved into the period of religious wars and popular rebellions and the appearance of the absolutist state. Originally published in 1986. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.