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... uttering their neighbors. The neighborhood militias played a significant role in the slaughter. The killing went on for three days or so, with the city councilors and even the king not able to bring the whole thing under control. There are numerous tales of atrocities, some of courage and heroism. Historians will never know what exactly happened and why.
The Louvre itself was not immune. Henri de Navarre slept in his bridal suit with an entourage of 40 -armed men, all of whom were killed. Henri and his cousin the Prince Conde, were dragged before the king and threatened with death if they didn't convert. They did, and Navarre became a prisoner of the court for the next four years. Over the next few months the massacres spread to the provinces.
Some thought they had orders from the crown to kill all Protestants, others thought there was no such thing. The actions of the governors and mayors depended on the individuals and the circumstances in their area. The St. Bartholomew's day massacre destroyed an entire generation of Huguenot leadership. Henri de Navarre was a prisoner, not yet known as a quality leader. Conde escaped to Germany, and Andelot, Coligny's younger brother was exiled to Switzerland.
Although it wasn't clear at the time, this was the beginning of the decline of the Protestant Church in France. In spite of the wars the 60 's had seen growth in the religion. Over the following months many Protestants despaired and abjured their faith. The experience changed many of the survivors, created distrust in the king, an unwillingness to disarm, and an upsurge in the political rhetoric of resistance.
The Huguenot "state within a state" became solidified, as the churches organized themselves into an efficient hierarchy for communications and self- protection. They collected their own tithes, maintained their own army and garrisons, and provided for the governance and social welfare of the protestant communities. The Fourth War (1572 - 1573) The fourth war started when the city of La Rochelle, which by default became the capital of the Protestants, refused to pay taxes to the king because of the massacre and refused admittance to the royal governor. The king declared war on the town in November ' 72 and sent an army to besiege it in February. The army was led by Henri de Anjou, and included Henri de Navarre as a hostage.
Being a port city that was resupplied by sea with a near impregnable harbor, La Rochelle was not easily beaten. There were high casualties on both sides, and the royal treasury began to feel the strain. The siege was called off in May, as Catherine began to prepare for the election of the Duc de Anjou to the throne of Poland. The treaty of La Rochelle was disadvantageous to the Protestants, and left them certain to break the treaty when they were strong enough. The Fifth War (1576) In 1574, Charles the Ninth died, sweating blood and reputedly tormented with the guilt of the massacre. His brother, Henri, now installed as the king of Poland, lost no time trying to head toward the borders.
He took a tour of Italy and then arrived in France to take up the crown. The people remembered him as the "young eagle" of Jarnac and Moncontour, and were waiting for him to settle things in the country. Yet, Henri the Thirds reign was tormented by the impossibility of peace. Meanwhile Conde was raising troops, money, and support from the Germans. In February ' 76 Navarre escaped and headed toward his own territory, raising an army behind him. The Duc de Alencon began to play to the anti-royalist factions.
This was an alliance for which Catherine had no counter at the time. When 20, 000 troops invaded France under Jan Casimir in the spring of ' 76 and were within striking distance of Paris, the crown had to negotiate. The Edict of Beaulieu was signed in May and was favorable to the Protestants. The Sixth War (1577) In the spring of ' 76 a gathering of the Estates General was held. The Protestants had been pushing for this for some time, but when it came, there were almost no Protestant delegates.
The Estates advocated establishing one religion in the country. Henri the Third demanded new taxes and revenues in order to finance such a project. The Estates wanted this to be done without spending any money. The cost of the wars was driving up the national debt beyond the level of endurance. These made the absolutists question the royal goals at such a cost.
This year saw the first attempt at formation of a Catholic league to oppose the Protestants if the king would not. To put down this threat to his authority, Henri the Third declared himself the leader. However, somehow a royal force was established to take back some of the Protestant towns along the Loire. La Charity fell in May of ' 77, but most of the Protestant forces were in the south and there was no hope of a victory over them.
The peace of Bergerac was signed in July. It was more restrictive in allowing places of worship than the previous peace, but was still mostly more of the same. The Seventh War (1580) This was the smallest of the wars, the most notable part occurring when Henri de Navarre took the city of Cars. After some funding between Henri de Navarre and the crown, Henri de Navarre and Catherine de Medici signed The Treaty of Near. The Duc de Anjou spent this time trying to acquire ruler ship of the Netherlands. When Anjou died in ' 84 it precipitated a new crisis.
With Henri the Third childless and Anjou dead Henri de Navarre looked to be their next ruler. The Wars of Religion, Part Two The War of the Three Henries (1584 - 1589) When the Duc de Anjou died in 1584, Henri de Navarre became the presumptive heir to the throne. The Catholicity of the crown, and the special sacral role of "The Most Christian King", were principles fundamental to the constitution of France. The threat of a Protestant crown was very disturbing. The Pope, Sixtus the Fifth, immediately excommunicated Navarre and his cousin, Henri Prince de Conde saying that as heretics they were unworthy of the throne. There were Catholics who disapproved of this interference by the pope in the internal affairs of France, but there were others who viewed it as a sanction to seize the throne of France.
The chief opportunist was the Duc de Guise, who somehow managed to find a family line that could be traced to Charlemagne. The House of Guise had been strongly identified with the defense of the Catholic Church. Guise was the son and grandson of heroes, and was a military hero himself. Henri the Third tried to convince Henri de Navarre to convert to Catholicism, as this would remove the cloud over his succession and make for a legitimate transition. Navarre was not ready to do this, as he would lose his current base of support. Guise revived the Catholic League with the goal of preventing any heretic from ascending to the throne.
In December of 1584 the Guises signed the treaty of Joinville on behalf of the League with Phillip the Second of Spain. Spain poured a huge annual subsidy into the League and Guise pockets for a decade in an attempt to destabilize the government of France. The royalist, Protestant, and League forces, all lead by men named Henri, were to engage in the longest of the wars. The Duc de Guise and his relations, the Duc de Mayenne in Burgundy, the Duc d'Aumale in Picardy, the Duc de Elboef in Normandy, the Duc de Mercoeur in Brittany, ...
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