- Date:
- August 24, 1572 - August 25, 1572
- Participants:
- France
- Huguenot
- Roman Catholicism
- Key People:
- Catherine de’ Medici
- Charles IX
Massacre of St. Bartholomew’s Day
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What was the Massacre of St. Bartholomew’s Day?
The St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre was the slaughter of French Huguenots (Protestants) in Paris in August 1572. It was plotted by Catherine de Medici and carried out by Roman Catholic nobles and citizens.
Political and religious rivalries led to the event. Catherine feared the growing influence of Huguenot leader Gaspard II de Coligny over her son, King Charles IX. She approved a plot by the Roman Catholic house of Guise to assassinate Coligny.
After a failed attempt to kill Coligny, Catherine feared discovery and plotted the extermination of Huguenot leaders. The massacre began on August 24, 1572, with Coligny among the first killed. Violence spread, and estimates suggest 3,000 died in Paris alone.
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When and where did the Massacre of St. Bartholomew’s Day happen?
The Massacre of St. Bartholomew's Day was the mass killing of French Huguenots (Protestants) in Paris on August 24/25, 1572. Catherine de Medici plotted the massacre, and Roman Catholic nobles and citizens carried it out.
The event was one in a series of civil wars between Roman Catholics and Huguenots in France during the late 16th century. It began shortly before dawn on August 24, 1572, when the bell of Saint-Germain-l’Auxerrois began to toll.
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Who were the main groups involved in this event?
The Massacre of St. Bartholomew's Day was a surge of violence in 1572 between French Huguenots (French Protestants) and Roman Catholics.
Key groups involved:
* Huguenots: Protestants in France who faced severe persecution for their faith.
* Roman Catholic Nobles and Citizens: They carried out the massacre, incited by the House of Guise and other Catholic figures.
* Catherine de Medici: As regent of France and mother of King Charles IX, she plotted the extermination of Huguenot leaders.
* King Charles IX: Initially favored a Huguenot plan but was later persuaded by his mother to order the massacre.6 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
What caused the tension between Catholics and Huguenots in France?
Tension between Catholics and Huguenots in France arose from religious and political differences. The spread of French Calvinism led Catherine de Médicis to show tolerance for the Huguenots, angering the Roman Catholic Guise family. The Massacre of Vassy in 1562, perpetrated by the Guise family, ignited an uprising and marked the beginning of the French Wars of Religion.
The St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre in 1572 was rooted in the political and religious rivalries within the French court. Catherine de Médici, fearing Huguenot leader Admiral Coligny's influence over her son King Charles IX, approved a plot by the Roman Catholic house of Guise to assassinate Coligny. This event triggered widespread violence against the Huguenots and deepened the existing animosity.
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How did the massacre begin and spread to other parts of France?
The Massacre of St. Bartholomew's Day began as a plot by Catherine de Medici, who feared Huguenot leader Gaspard II de Coligny's influence over her son, King Charles IX. She approved a plan by the Roman Catholic house of Guise to assassinate Coligny, who they held responsible for a past murder.
The assassination attempt occurred shortly after the wedding of Catherine’s daughter to the Huguenot Henry of Navarre, which brought many Huguenot nobles to Paris. When the attempt to kill Coligny failed, Catherine, fearing discovery of her involvement, plotted the extermination of Huguenot leaders with a group of nobles. With King Charles' approval, the massacre began on August 24, 1572.
The violence quickly spread beyond the initial target, with Catholic citizens joining in to kill Huguenots. Despite a royal order to stop, the bloodshed continued in Paris and extended to other cities like Rouen, Lyon, and Bordeaux.
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What were the effects of the massacre on French society and history?
The St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre was a pivotal event in French history, with profound effects on French society. The massacre, plotted by Catherine de Medici, resulted in the deaths of thousands of Huguenots and revived hatred between Catholics and Protestants.
Instead of weakening the Huguenot party, the massacre intensified hostilities and led them to abandon their principle of obedience to royal authority, adopting the view that rebellion and tyrannicide were justifiable. The massacre led to a renewal of religious wars, further destabilizing French society.
The events of the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre had long-lasting consequences, contributing to a legacy of religious conflict and political upheaval in France.
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Massacre of St. Bartholomew’s Day, massacre of French Huguenots (Protestants) in Paris on August 24/25, 1572, plotted by Catherine de’ Medici and carried out by Roman Catholic nobles and other citizens. It was one event in the series of civil wars between Roman Catholics and Huguenots that beset France in the late 16th century.
The Massacre of St. Bartholomew’s Day had for its background the political and religious rivalries of the court of France. Admiral Gaspard II de Coligny, a Huguenot leader, supported a war in the Low Countries against Spain as a means to prevent a resumption of civil war, a plan that the French king, Charles IX, was coming to approve in the summer of 1572. Catherine de’ Medici, the mother of Charles, feared Admiral Coligny’s growing influence over her son. She accordingly gave her approval to a plot that the Roman Catholic house of Guise had been hatching to assassinate Coligny, whom it held responsible for the murder of François de Guise in 1563.
On August 18, 1572, Catherine’s daughter, Margaret of France (Marguerite de Valois), was married to the Huguenot Henry of Navarre (the future Henry IV of France), and a large part of the Huguenot nobility came to Paris for the wedding. The attempt on Admiral Coligny’s life four days later failed; he was only wounded. To placate the angry Huguenots, the government agreed to investigate the assassination attempt. Fearing discovery of her complicity, Catherine met secretly with a group of nobles at the Tuileries Palace to plot the complete extermination of the Huguenot leaders, who were still in Paris for the wedding festivities. Charles was persuaded to approve of the scheme, and, on the night of August 23, members of the Paris municipality were called to the Louvre and given their orders.
Shortly before dawn on August 24 the bell of Saint-Germain-l’Auxerrois began to toll and the massacre began. One of the first victims was Coligny, who was killed under the supervision of Henry de Guise himself. Even within the Louvre, Navarre’s attendants were slaughtered, though Navarre and Henry I de Bourbon, 2nd prince de Condé, were spared. The homes and shops of Huguenots were pillaged and their occupants brutally murdered; many bodies were thrown into the Seine. Bloodshed continued in Paris even after a royal order of August 25 to stop the killing, and it spread to the provinces. Huguenots in Rouen, Lyon, Bourges, Orléans, and Bordeaux were among the victims. Estimates of the number that perished in the disturbances, which lasted to the beginning of October, have varied from 2,000 by a Roman Catholic apologist to 70,000 by the contemporary Huguenot Maximilien de Béthune, duc de Sully, who himself barely escaped death. Modern writers put the number at 3,000 in Paris alone.
The news of the massacre was welcomed by Philip II of Spain, and Pope Gregory XIII had a medal struck to celebrate the event. Protestant nations were horrified. To explain the massacre, Charles, assuming responsibility for it, claimed that there had been a Huguenot plot against the crown.
Instead of crippling the Huguenot party as Catherine had hoped it would do, the massacre revived hatred between Roman Catholics and Huguenots and helped provoke a renewal of hostilities. Thenceforth the Huguenots abandoned John Calvin’s principle of obedience to the civil magistrate—that is, to the royal authority—and adopted the view that rebellion and tyrannicide were justifiable under certain circumstances.