St Bartholomew's Day Massacre

St Bartholomew's Day Massacre Timeline

Below is a timeline outlining the key events leading to the St Bartholomew's Day Massacre.

St Bartholomew's Day Massacre Facts

Let's dig into some of the facts and details of the St Bartholomew's Day Massacre.

The Royal Wedding

St Bartholomew's Day Massacre took place on the night of 23 August 1572. This is an important period not only for French history but the history of religious division in Europe. With Protestantism on the rise in Europe, the Huguenots faced severe prejudice from the wider Catholic population.

France was divided, so divided in fact that this division eventually erupted into a full-scale, country-wide armed conflict between Catholics and Huguenots. This period was known as the French Wars of Religion (1562-98).

On 18 August 1572, a royal wedding was scheduled. King Charles IX's sister, Margaret de Valois, was set to marry Henry of Navarre.

Fig. 1 - Henry of NavarreFig. 2 - Margaret of Valois

The royal wedding took place around the Notre Dame Cathedral and was attended by thousands, many of which were members of the Huguenot nobility.

As the French Wars of Religion were raging at the time, there was mass political instability in France. To ensure the wedding was not associated with politics, Charles IX ensured the Huguenot nobility that their safety was guaranteed while they remained in Paris.

The Massacre Unfolds

On 21 August 1572, conflict broke out between admiral Gaspard de Coligny, a leader of the Huguenots, and King Charles IX. An attempted assassination on Coligny took place in Paris, but Coligny was not killed, only hurt. To appease his guests, Charles IX initially promised to investigate the occurrence, but he never did.

Fig. 3 - Charles IX

On the evening of St Bartholomew the Apostle's day, 23 August 1572, Coligny was attacked again. This time, however, he did not survive. With direct orders from the King himself, mobs of Catholic Parisians descended on the Huguenots and began massacring them. This horrific ordeal continued for weeks and cost the lives of 3,000 men, women and children in Paris. The King's order, however, was not only for the Catholics to cleanse Paris but France. In the span of a few weeks, up to 70,000 Huguenots were killed by Catholics around France.

As the Catholic wrath descended on Paris, the newly-wed Henry (a Calvinist) narrowly escaped the massacre, all with his wife's aid.

Fig. 4 - Gaspard de Coligny

Nevertheless, the St Bartholomew's Day Massacre was not instigated solely by Charles IX. His mother, Catherine de Medici, the former Queen of France and one of the most powerful women of the 16^th century, was the largest driving factor behind the bloody massacre.

By eliminating Huguenot nobles and leaders, the Catholics would effectively leave their opponents without solid leadership. The assassination of Coligny was one such example of demoralising the Huguenots as much as possible.

Effects of St Bartholomew's Day Massacre

One of the immediate effects of St Bartholomew's Day Massacre was that it became more vicious and bloodier. It also, most probably, prolonged the war instead of ending it sooner.

The French War of Religion ended with the arrival of a Protestant King to the French throne. Henry of Navarre was victorious in the War of the Three Henrys (1587-9), fought between Henry of Navarre, King Henry III of France, and Henri I of Lorraine. Upon victory, Henry of Navarre was crowned King Henry IV of France in 1589.

After converting to Catholicism from Calvinism in 1593, Henry IV issued the Edict of Nantes in 1598, with which Huguenots were given religious liberties in France, effectively concluding the French Wars of Religion.

Fig. 6 - Henry IV of France

St Bartholomew's Day Massacre Significance

St Bartholomew's Day Massacre is significant in one major way. It was an event of monumental importance that was a central point in the French Wars of Religion. With over 70,000 Huguenots killed around France and 3,000 in Paris alone (many of them members of the nobility), the massacre proved the Catholic resolve to fully and forcefully subdue the French Calvinists.

The massacre also saw the resumption of the French Wars of Religion. The "Third" War of Religion had been fought between 1568-70 and had ended after King Charles IX issued the Edict of Saint-Germain-en-Laye on 8 August 1570, granting Huguenots certain rights in France. With hostilities resuming in such a brutal way with the St Bartholomew's Day Massacre, the French Wars of Religion continued, with further conflicts arising throughout the end of the 16^th century.

As Henry of Navarre was spared in the massacre, he was able to ascend the throne in 1589 as a Huguenot (or at least a Huguenot sympathiser, given his conversions). With King Henry IV at the helm of the French monarchy, he could navigate the French Wars of Religion and eventually reached peaceful resolutions in 1598 with the Edict of Nantes, which granted rights to both Catholics and Huguenots in France. This saw the end of the period known as the French Wars of Religion, although conflicts still arose between the Christian denominations in the following years.