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How many people were killed in the Massacre of St. Bartholomew’s Day?

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Catherine de’ Medici Catherine de' Medici.

Estimates regarding the number of people killed during the Massacre of St. Bartholomew’s Day vary significantly due to the historical and polemical nature of the event.12

Contemporary and historical accounts provide a wide range of figures:
* Roman Catholic apologists at the time estimated the death toll to be as low as 2,000.1
* Huguenot sources, such as the contemporary Maximilien de Béthune, duc de Sully, estimated that as many as 70,000 people perished.1
* Modern historians generally estimate that approximately 3,000 people were killed in Paris alone.1

The violence, which began in Paris on August 24, 1572, under the influence of Catherine de’ Medici and the royal court, subsequently spread to various provinces, including Rouen, Lyon, Bourges, Orléans, and Bordeaux, continuing until early October.1