St. Bartholomew, Massacre of

St. Bartholomew, Massacre of 

a term applied to the mass slaughter of Huguenots by Catholics on the eve of Aug. 24, 1572 (St. Bartholomew’s Day), in Paris (continuing during the following days in the provinces). The massacre was organized by the queen mother, Catherine de Médicis, and members of the Guise family, who led the Catholics; they were frightened by the increased strength of the Huguenots and by the influence of their leader, Admiral Coligny, on King Charles IX. The organizers of the massacre made use of the arrival in Paris of a large number of Huguenot nobles for the marriage on August 18 of Henry of Navarre (the future Henry IV) to Margaret, the king’s sister. Catherine de Médicis, having convinced Charles IX of the existence of a Huguenot plot, won his approval for the massacre. More than 3,000 Huguenots, including Coligny, were killed. Henry of Navarre and the Prince of Condé avoided death at the price of a hasty conversion to Catholicism. Between August 25 and October 3, Huguenots were murdered in Lyon, Orléans, Rouen, Meaux, Bordeaux, and other cities. The Massacre of St. Bartholomew led to a renewal of the religious wars. The expression “Massacre of St. Bartholomew” has become common in reference to organized mass murders.

REFERENCES

Lur’e, la. S. “Izvestiia o Varfolomeevskoi nochi v russkikh ’posol’-skikh delakh’ XVI v.” In Voprosy istorii, religii i ateizma, vol. 6. Moscow, 1958.
Noguères, H. La Saint-Barthélemy. Paris, 1959.
Erlanger, P. Le Massacre de la Saint-Barthélemy 24 août 1572. Paris, 1960.