Saint Bartholomew's Day, massacre of definition of Saint Bartholomew's Day, massacre of in the Free Online Encyclopedia.

Saint Bartholomew's Day, massacre of, murder of French Protestants, or Huguenots Huguenots (hy

`gənŏts), French Protestants, followers of John Calvin .
..... Click the link for more information. , that began in Paris on Aug. 24, 1572. It was preceded, on Aug. 22, by an attempt, ordered by Catherine de' Medici Catherine de' Medici (dĕ mĕd`ĭchē, Ital.
..... Click the link for more information. , on the life of the Huguenot leader Admiral Coligny Coligny, Gaspard de Châtillon, comte de (gäspär` də shätēyôN` kôNt də kōlēnyē`)
..... Click the link for more information. . The failure of the attempt led to formulation of the plan for a general massacre. The opportunity was furnished by the presence in Paris of many of the Huguenot nobility for the wedding of 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. ) and Catherine's daughter, Margaret of Valois. Involved in the scheme were the duc d'Anjou, later King Henry III Henry III, 1551–89, king of France (1574–89); son of King Henry II and Catherine de' Medici. He succeeded his brother, Charles IX. As a leader of the royal army in the Wars of Religion (see Religion, Wars of ) against the French Protestants, or Huguenots,
..... Click the link for more information. ; Henri, 3d duc 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. ); and the reluctant 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. . Coligny was the first victim; his death was followed by the killing of minor leaders and of all Huguenots within reach of the soldiery and the mob. The massacre continued even after a royal order to stop, and it spread from Paris into other sections of France. Massacres continued into October reaching the provinces of Rouen, Lyons, Bourges, Orleans, and Bourdeaux. An estimated 3,000 were killed in Paris, 70,000 in all of France. News of the massacres was welcomed by the Pope and the King of Spain. Protestants, however, were horrified, and the killings rekindled the hatred between Protestants and Catholics and resulted in the resumption of civil war (see Religion, Wars of Religion, Wars of, 1562–98, series of civil wars in France, also known as the Huguenot Wars.

The immediate issue was the French Protestants' struggle for freedom of worship and the right of establishment (see Huguenots ).
..... Click the link for more information. ).

Bibliography

See studies by P. Erlanger (tr. 1962) and N. M. Sutherland (1973).