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[[File:Bart One.jpg|thumbnail|350px|left|Painting of the St Bartholomew Day’s Massacre]]
In 1572, the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre led to the deaths of 10,000 Huguenots at the hands of French Catholics. It was one of the bloodiest episodes in early Modern French history and marked a turning point in the religious wars that devastated France from the 1560s to 1590s. The impact of the massacre was profound. The massacre changed the course of French history and initiated a new and bloody chapter in the Wars of Religion. The massacre began as a series of events that changed the Huguenots and weakened the French monarchy. The massacre also failed to end the war and instead prolonged it.
====What caused the the St. Bartholomew's Massacre?====
Before the massacres, France had become increasingly divided between Catholics and Protestants in the mid-16th Century. The massacre can only be understood, within the context of French politics and the deep religious hatreds of the times. France had been weakened after the early death of King Henry II in a jousting accident in 1559. Henry II's death led to a period of profound instability in France, Henry's sons all proved to be weak and incompetent rulers.
Francis II (1559-60), Charles IX (1560-74), and Henri III (1574-89) were either under the influence of their ambitious mother, Catherine De Medici , or various noble families. The country at the same time saw a rapid increase in the number of Protestants. These flourished despite often brutal persecution by both the Church and State.
Many Huguenots as the French Protestants became known hoped to turn the realm into a Protestant kingdom.<ref> Barbara B. Diefendorf, <i>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0312413602/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0312413602&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=41f4b002ee046258210097ec03ad09bb The St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre: A Brief History with Documents]</i> (Faber, London, 2008), p. 67, 89</ref> The Huguenots were followers of Jean Calvin and they believed that they were the ‘elect’ and that they were destined to be saved, unlike their Catholic neighbors. The Huguenots soon established churches all over France, but they were particularly strong in the South of France. Soon Huguenots and Catholics were living in separate and mutually hostile communities.
Law and order broke down and bandits roamed the countryside freely. The French king was largely powerless to stop the violence and the wars.<ref> Dienfendorf, p. 75</ref> By 1572 the Huguenots had been able to establish themselves as a powerful force in France, to the disgust of many Catholics.
Despite the official end of the third war of religion, the sectarian violence was ongoing and religious rioting was the norm. The French Kings were too weak to either stop the violence or crush the Huguenots. The situation was greatly complicated by the growing power and ambitions of the Guise family and their faction. The French Royal Family were was fearful of the growing power of the Guise faction and as a result , was keen not to allow them to become too powerful.
====Why were the Huguenots massacred?====
After the third war of religion, King Charles IX or his advisers in order to bring peace to France arranged for a marriage between, the Huguenot leader Henri of Navarre and Margaret of Valois, the sister of King Charles IX, in 1572.<ref> Smither, James."The St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre and Images of Kingship in France: 1572-1574." <i>The Sixteenth Century Journal</i> (1991): 27-29</ref> They were married in Paris at the Cathedral of Notre Dame cathedral.
A week of celebrations followed in the wake of the marriage and many Protestant nobles and leaders attended these sumptuous festivities. Catherine de Medici, wanted the support of the Huguenots as she became very suspicious of the Duke of Guise’ Guise’s intentions. The monarchy, also hoped that this marriage alliance of Valois and Bourbon would help to heal sectarian hatred and end a decade of civil war.
Nevertheless, religious tensions remained high. The Catholic clergy had warned that the marriage would provoke the wrath of God on France. Many Catholics feared Huguenot influence at the court and that this would involve France in wars in the Netherlands and Spain. There was an attempt to assassinate the French Protestant leader, Coligny and this lead to an increase in tensions and many Huguenots blamed the Queen Mother, Catherine De Medici. It is highly unlikely that Catherine was involved.
However, the Huguenots ' reaction drove the Royal family and the Guise family together out of fear of the Huguenots; they decided to launch a preemptive attack. The Royal Council ordered the militia to mobilize and to detain or kill the Protestant leadership. In the early, morning the Royal Guard killed Coligny and other Protestant leaders.<ref> Diefendorf, p. 75</ref> Some more leaders, such as Henri of Navarre were detained.
The actions of the Royal Guard inspired Catholic mobs to form, and they attacked and murdered any Protestant they could find. There had been no plan for a general massacre of Huguenots, but events seemed to have spiraled out of control. Catholic mobs murdered Huguenots in many horrific ways and paraded the bodies through the streets.<ref> Smithers, p. 31</ref> The King ordered the violence to stop, but the bloodshed continued for another week.
====Why did the massacre spread across France?====
The news of the massacre prompted Catholics in other cities and towns to murder Huguenots. The violence did not end until several weeks later. Many Huguenots only escaped because of the bravery of their Catholic neighbors. The exact number of Huguenots killed in the massacres that swept France in the Autumn of 1572 will never be known.<ref>Dienfendorf, p. 75</ref> There were exaggerated reports by both sides.
After two years of fighting, the Catholics had not achieved any of their objectives, and the fourth religious war was another stalemate. By 1594 a peace agreement was thrashed out, and although the Huguenots lost some privileges and rights, they had survived the Catholic onslaught. It could be argued that the French monarchy was weakened by its ill-advised participation in the St Bartholomew’s Day Massacre as they had alienated the Huguenots and they became ever more dependent on hardline Catholics.<ref> Dienfendorf, p. 95</ref>
====What happened to the Huguenots after the massacre?====
The massacre did weaken the French Protestants, but they rallied and fought fiercely. After the massacre, the Huguenots knew that defeat meant extermination. They were also decidedly more militant and less willing, to compromise. The massacre did not end the war as expected by Guise and others it only prolonged the war. From a strategic point of view, the massacre was a complete failure. The religious wars dragged on until 1598 and by the time some historians based on parish records believe that some three million people died as a direct and indirect consequence of the sectarian conflicts.<ref> Dienfendorf, p. 155</ref>
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