Coligny, Gaspard de Châtillon, comte de definition of Coligny, Gaspard de Châtillon, comte de in the Free Online Encyclopedia.

Coligny, Gaspard de Châtillon, comte de (gäspär` də shätēyôN` kôNt də kōlēnyē`), 1519–72, French Protestant leader. A nephew of Anne, duc de Montmorency Montmorency, Anne, duc de (mŏnt'mərĕn`sē, Fr.
..... Click the link for more information. , he came to the French court at an early age. He distinguished himself at Ceresole (1544) in the Italian Wars, was promoted colonel general of infantry, and in 1552 became admiral of France. He organized two unsuccessful colonies (1555, 1562) in the New World (see Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro (rē`ō də zhänā`rō, Port. rē`
..... Click the link for more information. ; Ribaut, Jean Ribaut or Ribault, Jean (both: zhäN rēbō`), c.
..... Click the link for more information. ). In 1557 he defended Saint-Quentin against the Spaniards, but he was taken prisoner and was not released until 1559. In the same year he made public profession of his conversion to Protestantism. He argued for the Protestant cause with Catherine de' Medici Catherine de' Medici (dĕ mĕd`ĭchē, Ital.
..... Click the link for more information. at the time of the conspiracy of Amboise (1560; see Amboise, conspiracy of Amboise, conspiracy of, 1560, plot of the Huguenots (French Protestants) and the house of Bourbon to usurp the power of the Guise family, which virtually ruled France during the reign of the young Francis II .
..... Click the link for more information. ). With Louis I de Condé (see under Condé Louis I de Bourbon, prince de Condé, 1530–69, Protestant leader and general. He fought the Spanish at Metz (1552) and Saint-Quentin (1557) but won little favor at court.
..... Click the link for more information. , family) he commanded the Huguenots (French Protestants) after the murder of Protestants at Vassy (1562) and also in the second of the Wars of Religion (1567–68). An unsuccessful attempt to capture Coligny and Condé at Noyers (1568) brought on the third war, in which Coligny became sole leader, nominally as adviser to the young Henry of Navarre (later King Henry IV Henry IV, 1553–1610, king of France (1589–1610) and, as Henry III, of Navarre (1572–1610), son of Antoine de Bourbon and Jeanne d'Albret ; first of the Bourbon kings of France.
..... Click the link for more information. of France). Defeated at Moncontour, he was victor at Arnay-le-Duc (1570) and negotiated the Treaty of Saint-Germain (1570). Reconciled with Catherine and King Charles IX Charles IX, 1550–74, king of France. He succeeded (1560) his brother Francis II under the regency of his mother, Catherine de' Medici . She retained her influence throughout his reign.
..... Click the link for more information. (1571), he became the king's favorite adviser. To weaken Catholic Spain he proposed that France aid the Low Countries, which were in rebellion against Spanish rule. Catherine, alarmed at the possibility of war with Spain, also feared that Coligny's increasing influence would weaken her own hold on the king. On Aug. 22, 1572, Coligny escaped the assassination ordered by Catherine and by Henri de Guise (see under Guise Louis de Lorraine, Cardinal de Guise, 1555–88, was killed at the same time as Henri. After their deaths the leadership of the League devolved upon their brother, Charles, duc de Mayenne .
..... Click the link for more information. , family); two days later, however, he was murdered in the massacre of Huguenots instigated by Catherine (see Saint Bartholomew's Day, massacre of Saint Bartholomew's Day, massacre of, murder of French Protestants, or Huguenots , that began in Paris on Aug. 24, 1572. It was preceded, on Aug. 22, by an attempt, ordered by Catherine de' Medici , on the life of the Huguenot leader Admiral Coligny .
..... Click the link for more information. ).

Bibliography

See Sir Walter Besant, Gaspard de Coligny (1879), E. Bersier, Coligny: The Earlier Life of the Great Huguenot (1884).