Part 2 — Chapter III. (These four articles abrogated by the four articles following them, 118-122.) Article 118. The Federal Constitution may at any time be amended. (continued 44)

FRANCE: A. D. 1516-1517. Maximilian's attempt against Milan. Diplomatic intrigues. The Treaty of Noyon.

After Francis I. had taken possession of Milan, and while Pope Leo X. was making professions of friendship to him at Bologna, a scheme took shape among the French king's enemies for depriving him of his conquest, and the pope was privy to it. "Henry VIII. would not openly break the peace between England and France, but he offered to supply Maximilian with Swiss troops for an attack upon Milan. It was useless to send money to Maximilian, who would have spent it on himself"; but troops were hired for the emperor by the English agent, Pace, and "at the beginning of March [1516] the joint army of Maximilian and the Swiss assembled at Trent. On March 24 they were within a few miles of Milan, and their success seemed sure, when suddenly Maximilian found that his resources were exhausted and refused to proceed; next day he withdrew his troops and abandoned his allies. … The expedition was a total failure; yet English gold had not been spent in vain, as the Swiss were prevented from entirely joining the French, and Francis I. was reminded that his position in Italy was by no means secure. Leo X., meanwhile, in the words of Pace, 'had played marvellously with both hands in this enterprise.' … England was now the chief opponent of the ambitious schemes of France, and aimed at bringing about a league with Maximilian, Charles [who had just succeeded Ferdinand of Spain, deceased January 23, 1516], the Pope, and the Swiss. But Charles's ministers, chief of whom was Croy, lord of Chievres, had a care above all for the interests of Flanders, and so were greatly under the influence of France. … France and England entered into a diplomatic warfare over the alliance with Charles. First, England on April 19 recognised Charles as King of Spain, Navarre, and the Two Sicilies; then Wolsey strove to make peace between Venice and Maximilian as a first step towards detaching Venice from its French alliance." On the other hand, negotiations were secretly carried on and (August 13) "the treaty of Noyon was concluded between Francis I. and Charles. Charles was to marry Louise, the daughter of Francis I., an infant of one year old, and receive as her dower the French claims on Naples; Venice was to pay Maximilian 200,000 ducats for Brescia and Verona; in case he refused this offer and continued the war, Charles was at liberty to help his grandfather, and Francis I. to help the Venetians, without any breach of the peace now made between them. … In spite of the efforts of England, Francis I. was everywhere successful in settling his difficulties. On November 29 a perpetual peace was made at Friburg between France and the Swiss Cantons; on December 3 the treaty of Noyon was renewed, and Maximilian was included in its provisions. Peace was made between him and Venice by the provision that Maximilian was to hand over Verona to Charles, who in turn should give it up to the King of France, who delivered it to the Venetians; Maximilian in return received 100,000 ducats from Venice and as much from France. The compact was duly carried out: 'On February 8, 1517,' wrote the Cardinal of Sion, 'Verona belonged to the Emperor; on the 9th to the King Catholic; on the 15th to the French; on the 17th to the Venetians.' Such was the end of the wars that had arisen from the League of Cambrai. After a struggle of eight years the powers that had confederated to destroy Venice came together to restore her to her former place. Venice might well exult in this reward of her long constancy, her sacrifices and her disasters."

M. Creighton, History of the Papacy, during the Period of the Reformation, book 5, chapter 19 (volume 4).

ALSO IN: J. S. Brewer, The Reign of Henry VIII., chapters 4-6 (volume 1).

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FRANCE: A. D. 1519. Candidacy of Francis I. for Imperial crown.

See GERMANY: A. D. 1519.

FRANCE: A. D. 1520-1523. Rivalry of Francis I. and Charles V. The Emperor's successes in Italy and Navarre. Milan again taken from France. The wrongs and the treason of the Constable of Bourbon.

"With their candidature for the Imperial crown, burst forth the inextinguishable rivalry between Francis I. and Charles V. The former claimed Naples for himself and Navarre for Henry d'Albret: the Emperor demanded the Milanese as a fief of the Empire, and the Duchy of Burgundy. Their resources were about equal. If the empire of Charles were more extensive the kingdom of France was more compact. The Emperor's subjects were richer, but his authority more circumscribed. The reputation of the French cavalry was not inferior to that of the Spanish infantry. Victory would belong to the one who should win over the King of England to his side. … Both gave pensions to his Prime Minister, Cardinal Wolsey; they each asked the hand of his daughter Mary, one for the dauphin, the other for himself. Francis I. obtained from him an interview at Calais, and forgetting that he wished to gain his favour, eclipsed him by his elegance and magnificence [see FIELD OF THE CLOTH OF GOLD]. Charles V., more adroit, had anticipated this interview by visiting Henry VIII. in England. He had secured Wolsey by giving him hopes of the tiara. … Everything succeeded with the Emperor. He gained Leo X. to his side and thus obtained sufficient influence to raise his tutor, Adrian of Utrecht, to the papacy [on the death of Leo, December 1, 1521]. The French penetrated into Spain, but arrived too late to aid the rising there [in Navarre, 1521]. The governor of the Milanese, Lautrec, who is said to have exiled from Milan nearly half its inhabitants, was driven out of Lombardy [and the Pope retook Parma and Placentia]. He met with the same fate again in the following year: the Swiss, who were ill-paid, asked either for dismissal or battle, and allowed themselves to be beaten at La Bicoque [April 29, 1522]. The money intended for the troops had been used for other purposes by the Queen-mother, who hated Lautrec. At the moment when Francis I. was thinking of re-entering Italy, an internal enemy threw France into the utmost danger. Francis had given mortal offence to the Constable of Bourbon, one of those who had most contributed to the victory of Marignan. Charles, Count of Montpensier and Dauphin of Auvergne, held by virtue of his wife, a granddaughter of Louis XI., the Duchy of Bourbon, and the counties of Clermont, La Marche and other domains, which made him the first noble in the kingdom. On the death of his wife, the Queen-mother, Louise of Savoy, who had wanted to marry the Constable and had been refused by him, resolved to ruin him. She disputed with him this rich inheritance and obtained from her son that the property should be provisionally sequestered. Bourbon, exasperated, resolved to pass over to the Emperor (1523). Half a century earlier, revolt did not mean disloyalty. The most accomplished knights in France, Dunois and John of Calabria, had joined the 'League for the public weal.' … But now it was no question of a revolt against the king; such a thing was impossible in France at this time. It was a conspiracy against the very existence of France that Bourbon was plotting with foreigners. He promised Charles V. to attack Burgundy as soon as Francis I. had crossed the Alps, and to rouse into revolt five provinces of which he believed himself master; the kingdom of Provence was to be re-established in his favour, and France, partitioned between Spain and England, would have ceased to exist as a nation. He was soon able to enjoy the reverses of his country."

J. Michelet, Summary of Modern History, chapter 6.

"Henry VIII. and Charles V. were both ready to secure the services of the ex-Constable. He decided in favour of Charles as the more powerful of the two. … These secret negotiations were carried on in the spring of 1523, while Francis I. (having sent a sufficient force to protect his northern frontier) was preparing to make Italy the seat of war. With this object the king ordered a rendezvous of the army at Lyons, in the beginning of September, and having arranged to pass through Moulins on his way to join the forces, called upon the Constable to meet him there and to proceed with him to Lyons. Already vague rumours of an understanding between the Emperor and Bourbon had reached Francis, who gave no credence to them; but on his way M. de Brézé, Seneschal of Normandy, attached to the Court of Louise of Savoy, sent such precise details of the affair by two Norman gentlemen in the Constable's service that doubt was no longer possible." Francis accordingly entered Moulins with a considerable force, and went straight to Bourbon, who feigned illness. The Constable stoutly denied to the king all the charges which the latter revealed to him, and Francis, who was strongly urged to order his arrest, refused to do so. But a few days later, when the king had gone forward to Lyons, Bourbon, pretending to follow him, rode away to his strong castle of Chantelles, from whence he wrote letters demanding the restitution of his estates. As soon as his flight was known, Francis sent forces to seize him; but the Constable, taking one companion with him, made his way out of the kingdom in disguise. Escaping to Italy, he was there placed in command of the imperial army.

C. Coignet, Francis I. and his Times, chapter 4.

ALSO IN: Miss Pardoe, The Court and Reign of Francis I., volume 1, chapters 14-19.

See, also, AUSTRIA: A. D. 1519-1555.

FRANCE: A. D. 1521. Invasion of Navarre.

See NAVARRE: A. D. 1442-1521.

FRANCE: A. D. 1521-1525. Beginning of the Protestant Reform movement.

See PAPACY: A. D. 1521-1535.

FRANCE: A. D. 1523-1524. First undertakings in the New World. Voyages of Verrazano.

See AMERICA: A. D. 1523-1524.

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FRANCE: A. D. 1523-1525. The death of Bayard. Second invasion of Italy by Francis I. His defeat and capture at Pavia.

"Bonnivet, the personal enemy of Bourbon, was now entrusted with the command of the French army. He marched without opposition into the Milanese, and might have taken the capital had he pushed on to its gates. Having by irresolution lost it, he retreated to winter quarters behind the Tesino. The operations of the English in Picardy, of the imperialists in Champagne, and of the Spaniards near the Pyrenees, were equally insignificant. The spring of 1524 brought on an action, if the attack of one point can be called such, which proved decisive for the time. Bonnivet advanced rashly beyond the Tesino. The imperialists, commanded by four able generals, Launoi, Pescara, Bourbon, and Sforza, succeeded in almost cutting off his retreat. They at the same time refused Bonnivet's offer to engage. They hoped to weaken him by famine. The Swiss first murmured against the distress occasioned by want of precaution. They deserted across the river; and Bonnivet, thus abandoned, was obliged to make a precipitate and perilous retreat. A bridge was hastily flung across the Sessia, near Romagnano; and Bonnivet, with his best knights and gensdarmerie, undertook to defend the passage of the rest of the army. The imperialists, led on by Bourbon, made a furious attack. Bonnivet was wounded, and he gave his place to Bayard, who, never entrusted with a high command, was always chosen for that of a forlorn hope. The brave Vandenesse was soon killed; and Bayard himself received a gun-shot through the reins. The gallant chevalier, feeling his wound mortal, caused himself to be placed in a sitting posture beneath a tree, his face to the enemy, and his sword fixed in guise of a cross before him. The constable Bourbon, who led the imperialists, soon came up to the dying Bayard, and expressed his compassion. 'Weep not for me,' said the chevalier, 'but for thyself. I die in performing my duty; thou art betraying thine.' Nothing marks more strongly the great rise, the sudden sacro-sanctity of the royal authority in those days, than the general horror which the treason of Bourbon excited. … The fact is, that this sudden horror of treason was owing, in a great measure, to the revived study of the classics, in which treason to one's country is universally mentioned as an impiety and a crime of the deepest dye. Feudality, with all its oaths, had no such horror of treason. … Bonnivet had evacuated Italy after this defeat at Romagnano. Bourbon's animosity stimulated him to push his advantage. He urged the emperor to invade France, and recommended the Bourbonnais and his own patrimonial provinces as those most advisable to invade. Bourbon wanted to raise his friends in insurrection against Francis; but Charles descried selfishness in this scheme of Bourbon, and directed Pescara to march with the constable into the south of France and lay siege to Marseilles. … Marseilles made an obstinate resistance," and the siege was ineffectual. "Francis, in the meantime, alarmed by the invasion, had assembled an army. He burned to employ it, and avenge the late affront. The king of England, occupied with the Scotch, gave him respite in the north; and he resolved to employ this by marching, late as the season was, into Italy. His generals, who by this time were sick of warring beyond the Alps, opposed the design; but not even the death of his queen, Claude, could stop Francis. He passed Mount Cenis; marched upon Milan, whose population was spiritless and broken by the plague, and took it without resistance. It was then mooted whether Lodi or Pavia should be besieged. The latter, imprudently, as it is said, was preferred. It was at this time that Pope Clement VII., of the house of Medici, who had lately succeeded Adrian, made the most zealous efforts to restore peace between the monarchies. He found Charles and his generals arrogant and unwilling to treat. The French, said they, must on no account be allowed a footing in Italy. Clement, impelled by pique towards the emperor, or generosity to Francis, at once abandoned the prudent policy of his predecessors, and formed a league with the French king, to whom, after all, he brought no accession of force. This step proved afterwards fatal to the city of Rome. The siege of Pavia was formed about the middle of October [1524]. Antonio de Leyva, an experienced officer, supported by veteran troops, commanded in the town. The fortifications were strong, and were likely to hold for a considerable time. By the month of January the French had made no progress; and the impatient Francis despatched a considerable portion of his army for the invasion of Naples, hearing that the country was drained of troops. This was a gross blunder, which Pescara observing, forbore to send any force to oppose the expedition. He knew that the fate of Italy would be decided before Pavia. Bourbon, in the mean time, disgusted with the jealousies and tardiness of the imperial generals, employed the winter in raising an army of lansquenets on his own account. From the duke of Savoy he procured funds; and early in the year 1525 the constable joined Pescara at Lodi with a fresh army of 12,000 mercenaries. They had, besides, some 7,000 foot, and not more than 1,500 horse. With these they marched to the relief of Pavia. Francis had a force to oppose to them, not only inferior in numbers, but so harassed with a winter's siege, that all the French generals of experience counselled a retreat. Bonnivet and his young troop of courtiers were for fighting; and the monarch hearkened to them. Pavia, to the north of the river, was covered in great part by the chateau and walled park of Mirabel. Adjoining this, and on a rising ground, was the French camp, extending to the Tesino. Through the camp, or through the park, lay the only ways by which the imperialists could reach Pavia. The camp was strongly entrenched and defended by artillery, except on the side of the park of Mirabel, with which it communicated." On the night of February 23, the imperialists made a breach in the park wall, through which they pressed next morning, but were driven back with heavy loss. "This was victory enough, could the French king have been contented with it. But the impatient Francis no sooner beheld his enemies in rout, than he was eager to chase them in person, and complete the victory with his good sword. He rushed forth from his entrenchments at the head of his gensdarmerie, flinging himself between the enemy and his own artillery, which was thus masked and rendered useless. The imperialists rallied as soon as they found themselves safe from the fire of the cannon," and the French were overwhelmed. "The king … behind a heap of slain, defended himself valiantly; so beaten and shattered, so begrimed with blood and dust, as to be scarcely distinguishable, notwithstanding his conspicuous armour. He had received several wounds, one in the forehead; and his horse, struck with a ball in the head, reared, fell back, and crushed him with his weight: still Francis rose, and laid prostrate several of the enemies that rushed upon him." But presently he was recognized and was persuaded to surrender his sword to Lannoi, the viceroy of Naples. "Such was the signal defeat that put an end to all French conquests and claims in Italy."

E. E. Crowe, History of France, volume 1, chapter 6.

ALSO IN: W. Robertson, History of the Reign of Charles V., book 4 (volume 2).

J. S. Brewer, Reign of Henry VIII., chapter 21 (volume 2).

H. G. Smith, Romance of History, chapter 6.

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FRANCE: A. D. 1525-1526. The captivity of Francis I. and his deliberate perfidy in the Treaty of Madrid.

The captive king of France was lodged in the castle at Pizzighitone. "Instead of bearing his captivity with calmness and fortitude, he chafed and fretted under the loss of his wonted pleasures; at one moment he called for death to end his woes, while at another he was ready to sign disastrous terms of peace, meaning to break faith so soon as ever he might be free again. … France, at first stupefied by the mishap, soon began to recover hope. The Regent, for all her vices and faults, was proud and strong; she gathered what force she could at Lyons, and looked round for help. … Not only were there anxieties at home, but the frontiers were also threatened. On the side of Germany a popular movement ['the Peasant War'], closely connected with the religious excitement of the time, pushed a fierce and cruel rabble into Lorraine, whence they proposed to enter France. But they were met by the Duke of Guise and the Count of Vaudemont, his brother, at the head of the garrisons of Burgundy and Champagne, and were easily dispersed. It was thought that during these troubles Lannoy would march his army, flushed with victory, from the Po to the Rhone. … But Lannoy had no money to pay his men, and could not undertake so large a venture. Meanwhile negotiations began between Charles V. and the King; the Emperor demanding, as ransom, that Bourbon should be invested with Provence and Dauphiny, joined to his own lands in Auvergne, and should receive the title of king; and secondly that the Duchy of Burgundy should be given over to the Emperor as the inheritor of the lands and rights of Charles the Bold. But the King of France would not listen for a moment. And now the King of England and most of the Italian states, alarmed at the great power of the Emperor, began to change sides. Henry VIII. came first. He signed a treaty of neutrality with the Regent, in which it was agreed that not even for the sake of the King's deliverance should any part of France be torn from her. The Italians joined in a league to restore the King to liberty, and to secure the independence of Italy: and Turkey was called on for help. … The Emperor now felt that Francis was not in secure keeping at Pizzighitone. … He therefore gave orders that Francis should at once be removed to Spain." The captive king "was set ashore at Valencia, and received with wonderful welcome: dances, festivals, entertainments of every kind, served to relieve his captivity; it was like a restoration to life! But this did not suit the views of the Emperor, who wished to weary the King into giving up all thought of resistance: he trusted to his impatient and frivolous character; his mistake, as he found to his cost, lay in thinking that a man of such character would keep his word. He therefore had him removed from Valencia to Madrid, where he was kept in close and galling confinement, in a high, dreary chamber, where he could not even see out of the windows. This had the desired effect. The King talked of abdicating; he fell ill of ennui, and was like to die: but at last he could hold out no longer, and abandoning all thought of honourable action, agreed to shameful terms, consoling himself with a private protest against the validity of the deed, as having been done under compulsion."

G. W. Kitchin, History of France, volume 2, book 2, chapter 5.

"By the Treaty of Madrid, signed January 14th, 1526, Francis 'restored' to the Emperor the Duchy of Burgundy, the county of Charolais, and some other smaller fiefs, without reservation of any feudal suzerainty, which was also abandoned with regard to the counties of Flanders and Artois, the Emperor, however, resigning the towns on the Somme, which had been held by Charles the Bold. The French King also renounced his claims to the kingdom of Naples, the Duchy of Milan, the county of Asti, and the city of Genoa. He contracted an offensive and defensive alliance with Charles, undertaking to attend him with an army when he should repair to Rome to receive the Imperial crown, and to accompany him in person whenever he should march against the Turks or heretics. He withdrew his protection from the King of Navarre, the Duke of Gelderland, and the La Marcks; took upon himself the Emperor's debt to England, and agreed to give his two eldest sons as hostages for the execution of the treaty. Instead, however, of the independent kingdom which Bourbon had expected, all that was stipulated in his favour was a free pardon for him and his adherents, and their restoration in their forfeited domains. … The provisions of the above treaty Francis promised to execute on the word and honour of a king, and by an oath sworn with his hand upon the holy Gospels: yet only a few hours before he was to sign this solemn act, he had called his plenipotentiaries, together with some French nobles, secretaries, and notaries, into his chamber, where, after exacting from them an oath of secrecy, he entered into a long discourse touching the Emperor's harshness towards him, and signed a protest, declaring that, as the treaty he was about to enter into had been extorted from him by force, it was null and void from the beginning, and that he never intended to execute it: thus, as a French writer has observed, establishing by an authentic notarial act that he was going to commit a perjury." Treaties have often been shamefully violated, yet it would perhaps be impossible to parallel this gross and deliberate perjury. In March, Francis was conducted to the Spanish frontier, where, on a boat in mid-stream of the Bidassoa, "he was exchanged for his two sons, Francis and Henry, who were to remain in Spain, as hostages for the execution of the treaty. The tears started to his eyes as he embraced his children, but he consigned them without remorse to a long and dreary exile." As speedily as possible after regaining his liberty, Francis assembled the states of his kingdom and procured from them a decision "that the King could not alienate the patrimony of France, and that the oath which he had taken in his captivity did not abrogate the still more solemn one which had been administered to him at his coronation." After which he deemed himself discharged from the obligations of his treaty, and had no thought of surrendering himself again a prisoner, as he was honourably bound to do.

T. H. Dyer, History of Modern Europe, book 2, chapter 5 (volume 1).

ALSO IN: A. B. Cochrane, Francis I. in Captivity.

W. Robertson, History of the Reign of Charles V., book 4 (volume 2).

C. Coignet, Francis I. and his Times, chapters 5-8.

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FRANCE: A. D. 1526-1527. Holy League with Pope Clement VII. against Charles V. Bourbon's attack on Rome.

See ITALY: A. D. 1523-1527, and 1527.

FRANCE: A. D. 1527-1529. New alliance against Charles V. Early successes in Lombardy. Disaster at Naples. Genoa and all possessions in Italy lost. The humiliating Peace of Cambrai.

See ITALY: A. D. 1527-1529.

FRANCE: A. D. 1529-1535. Persecution of the Protestant Reformers and spread of their doctrines.

See PAPACY: A. D. 1521-1535.

FRANCE: A. D. 1531. Alliance with the Protestant princes of the German League of Smalkalde.

See GERMANY: A. D. 1530-1532.

FRANCE: A. D. 1532. Final reunion of Brittany with the crown.

See BRITTANY: A. D. 1532.

FRANCE: A. D. 1532-1547. Treaty with the Pope. Marriage of Prince Henry with Catherine de' Medici. Renewed war with Charles V. Alliance with the Turks. Victory at Cerisoles. Treaty of Crespy. Increased persecution of Protestants. Massacre of Waldenses. War with England. Death of Francis I.

"The 'ladies' peace' … lasted up to 1536; incessantly troubled, however, by far from pacific symptoms, proceedings and preparations. In October, 1532, Francis I. had, at Calais, an interview with Henry VIII., at which they contracted a private alliance, and undertook 'to raise between them an army of 80,000 men to resist the Turk.'" But when, in 1535, Charles V. attacked the seat of the Barbary pirates, and took Tunis, Francis "entered into negotiations with Soliman II., and concluded a friendly treaty with him against what was called 'the common enemy.' Francis had been for some time preparing to resume his projects of conquest in Italy; he had effected an interview at Marseilles, in October, 1533, with Pope Clement VII., who was almost at the point of death, and it was there that the marriage of Prince Henry of France with Catherine de' Medici [daughter of Lorenzo, Duke of Urbino, and granddaughter of Piero de' Medici] was settled. Astonishment was expressed that the pope's niece had but a very moderate dowry. 'You don't see, then,' said Clement VII.'s ambassador, 'that she brings France three jewels of great price, Genoa, Milan and Naples?' When this language was reported at the court of Charles V., it caused great irritation there. In 1536 all these combustibles of war exploded; in the month of February, a French army entered Piedmont, and occupied Turin; and, in the month of July, Charles V. in person entered Provence at the head of 50,000 men. Anne de Montmorency, having received orders to defend southern France, began by laying it waste in order that the enemy might not be able to live in it. … Montmorency made up his mind to defend, on the whole coast of Provence, only Marseilles and Aries; he pulled down the ramparts of the other towns, which were left exposed to the enemy. For two months Charles V. prosecuted this campaign without a fight, marching through the whole of Provence an army which fatigue, shortness of provisions, sickness, and ambuscades were decimating ingloriously. At last he decided upon retreating. … On returning from his sorry expedition, Charles V. learned that those of his lieutenants whom he had charged with the conduct of a similar invasion in the north of France, in Picardy, had met with no greater success than he himself in Provence." A truce for three months was soon afterwards arranged, and in June, 1538, through the mediation of Pope Paul III., a treaty was signed at Nice which extended the truce to ten years. Next month the two sovereigns met at Aigues-Mortes and exchanged many assurances of friendship."

F. P. Guizot, Popular History of France, chapter 28 (volume 4).

In August, 1539, a revolt at Ghent "called Charles V. into Flanders; he was then in Spain, and his shortest route was through France. He requested permission to cross the kingdom, and obtained it, after having promised the Constable Montmorency that he would give the investiture of Milan to the second son of the King. His sojourn in France was a time of expensive fêtes, and cost the treasury four millions; yet, in the midst of his pleasures, the Emperor was not without uneasiness. … Francis, however, respected the rights of hospitality; but Charles did not give to his son the investiture of Milan. The King, indignant, exiled the constable for having trusted the word of the Emperor without exacting his signature, and avenged himself by strengthening his alliance with the Turks, the most formidable enemies of the empire. … The hatred of the two monarchs was carried to its height by these last events; they mutually outraged each other by injurious libels, and submitted their differences to the Pope. Paul III. refused to decide between them, and they again took up arms [1542]. The King invaded Luxembourg, and the Dauphin Rousillon; and while a third army in concert with the Mussulmans besieged Nice [1542], the last asylum of the dukes of Savoy, by land, the terrible Barbarossa, admiral of Soliman, attacked it by sea. The town was taken, the castle alone resisted, and the siege of it was raised. Barbarossa consoled himself for this check by ravaging the coasts of Italy, where he made 10,000 captives. The horror which he inspired recoiled on Francis I., his ally, whose name became odious in Italy and Germany. He was declared the enemy of the empire, and the Diet raised against him an army of 24,000 men, at the head of which Charles V. penetrated into Champagne, while Henry VIII., coalescing with the Emperor, attacked Picardy with 10,000 English. The battle of Cerisoles, a complete victory, gained during the same year [April 14, 1544], in Piedmont, by Francis of Bourbon, Duke d'Enghien, against Gast, general of the Imperial troops, did not stop this double and formidable invasion. Charles V. advanced almost to Château-Thierry. But discord reigned in his army; he ran short of provisions, and could easily have been surrounded; he then again promised Milan to the Duke of Orleans, the second son of the King. This promise irritated the Dauphin Henry, who was afraid to see his brother become the head of a house as dangerous for France as had been that of Burgundy; he wished to reject the offer of the Emperor and to cut off his retreat. A rivalry among women, it is said, saved Charles V. … {1194} The war was terminated almost immediately afterwards [1544] by the treaty of Crespy in Valois. The Emperor promised his daughter to the Duke of Orleans, with the Low Countries and Franche-Comté, or one of his nieces, with Milan. Francis restored to the Duke of Savoy the greater part of the places that he held in Piedmont; he renounced all ulterior pretensions to the kingdom of Naples, the duchy of Milan, and likewise to the sovereignty of Flanders and Artois; Charles, on his part, gave up the duchy of Burgundy. This treaty put an end to the rivalry of the two sovereigns, which had ensanguined Europe for 25 years. The death of the Duke of Orleans freed the Emperor from dispossessing himself of Milan or the Low Countries; he refused all compensation to the King, but the peace was not broken. Francis I. profited by it to redouble his severity with regard to the Protestants. A population of many thousands of Waldenses, an unfortunate remnant from the religious persecutions of the 13th century, dwelt upon the confines of Provence, and the County Venaissin, and a short time back had entered into communion with the Calvinists. The King permitted John Mesnier, Baron d'Oppède, first president of the Parliament of Aix, to execute [1546] a sentence delivered against them five years previously by the Parliament. John d'Oppède himself directed this frightful execution. Twenty-two towns or villages were burned and sacked; the inhabitants, surprised during the night, were pursued among the rocks by the glare of the flames which devoured their houses. The men perished by executions, but the women were delivered over to terrible violences. At Cabrières, the principal town of the canton, 700 men were murdered in cold blood, and all the women were burnt; lastly, according to the tenor of the sentence, the houses were rased, the woods cut down, the trees in the gardens torn up, and in a short time this country, so fertile and so thickly peopled, became a desert and a waste. This dreadful massacre was one of the principal causes of the religious wars which desolated France for so long a time. … The war continued between [Henry VIII.] and Francis I. The English had taken Boulogne, and a French fleet ravaged the coasts of England, after taking possession of the Isle of Wight [1545]. Hostilities were terminated by the treaty of Guines [1547], which the two kings signed on the edge of their graves, and it was arranged that Boulogne should be restored for the sum of 2,000,000 of gold crowns. … Henry VIII. and Francis I. died in the same year [1547]."

E. de Bonnechose, History of France, volume 1, pages 363-367.

ALSO IN: W. Robertson, History of the Reign of Charles V., book 6-9 (volume 2).

J. A. Froude, History of England, chapters 20-23 (volume 4).

FRANCE: A. D. 1534-1535. The voyages of Jacques Cartier and the taking possession of Canada.

See AMERICA: A. D. 1534-1535.

FRANCE: A. D. 1534-1560. Persecution of the Protestants. Their organization. Their numbers.

"Francis I. had long shrunk from persecution, but having once begun he showed no further hesitation. During the remainder of his reign and the whole of that of his son Henry II. (1534-1559) the cruelty of the sufferings inflicted on the Reformers increased with the number of the victims. At first they were strangled and burnt, then burnt alive, then hung in chains to roast over a slow fire. … The Edict of Chateaubriand (1551), taking away all right of appeal from those convicted of heresy, was followed by an attempt to introduce an Inquisition on the model of that of Spain, and when this failed owing to the opposition of the lawyers, the Edict of Compiègne (1557) denounced capital punishment against all who in public or private professed any heterodox doctrine. It is a commonplace that persecution avails nothing against the truth—that the true Church springs from the blood of martyrs. Yet the same cause which triumphed over persecution in France was crushed by it in Spain and in the Walloon Netherlands. Was it therefore not the truth? The fact would rather seem to be, that there is no creed, no sect which cannot be extirpated by force. But that it may prevail, persecution must be without respect of persons, universal, continuous, protracted. Not one of these conditions was fulfilled in France. The opinions of the greater nobles and princes, and of those who were their immediate followers, were not too narrowly scanned, nor was the persecution equally severe at all times and in all places. Some governors and judges and not a few of the higher clergy inclined to toleration. … The cheerful constancy of the French martyrs was admirable. Men, women and children walked to execution singing the psalms of Marot and the Song of Simeon. This boldness confounded their enemies. Hawkers distributed in every part of the country the books issued from the press of Geneva and which it was a capital offence even to possess. Preachers taught openly in the streets and market-places. … The increasing numbers of their converts and the high position of some among them gave confidence to the Protestants. Delegates from the reformed congregations of France were on their way to Paris to take part in the deliberations of the first national Synod on the very day (April 2, 1559) when the peace of Cateau Cambresis was signed, a peace which was to be the prelude to a vigorous and concerted effort to root out heresy on the part of the kings of France and Spain. The object of the meeting was twofold: first to draw up a detailed profession of faith, which was submitted to Calvin—there was, he said, little to add, less to correct—secondly to determine the 'ecclesiastical discipline' of the new Church. The ministers were to be chosen by the elders and deacons, but approved by the whole congregation. The affairs of each congregation were placed under the control of the Consistory, a court composed of the pastors, elders and deacons; more important matters were reserved for the decision of the provincial 'colloques' or synods, which were to meet twice a year, and in which each church was represented by its pastor and at least one elder. Above all was the national Synod also composed of the clergy and of representative laymen. This organisation was thoroughly representative and popular, the elected delegates of the congregations, the elders and deacons, preponderated in all the governing bodies, and all ministers and churches were declared equal. The Reformed churches, which, although most numerous in the South, spread over almost the whole country, are said at this time to have counted some 400,000 members (1559). These were of almost all classes, except perhaps the lowest, although even among the peasantry there were some martyrs for the faith." {1195} On the accession of Charles IX., in 1560, "a quarter of the inhabitants of France were, it was said, included in the 2,500 reformed congregations. This is certainly an exaggeration, but it is probable that the number of the Protestants was never greater than during the first years of the reign of Charles IX. … The most probable estimate is that at the beginning of the wars of religion the Huguenots with women and children amounted to some 1,500,000 souls out of a population of between fifteen and twenty millions. But in this minority were included about one-fourth of the lesser nobility, the country gentlemen, and a smaller proportion of the great nobles, the majority of the better sort of townspeople in many of the most important towns, such as Caen, Dieppe, Havre, Nantes, La Rochelle, Nimes, Montpellier, Montauban, Châlons, Mâcon, Lyons, Valence, Limoges and Grenoble, and an important minority in other places, such as Rouen, Orleans, Bordeaux and Toulouse. The Protestants were most numerous in the South-west, in Poitou, in the Marche, Limousin, Angoumois and Perigord, because in those districts, which were the seats of long-established and flourishing manufactures, the middle classes were most prosperous, intelligent and educated. It is doubtful whether the Catholics were not in a large majority, even where the superior position, intelligence and vigour of the Huguenots gave them the upper hand. Only in some parts of the South-west and of Dauphiny do the bulk of the population appear to have been decidedly hostile to the old religion. During the course of the Civil War the Protestants came to be more and more concentrated in certain parts of the country, as for instance between the Garonne and the Loire."

P. F. Willert, Henry of Navarre and the Huguenots in France, chapter 1.

FRANCE: A. D. 1541-1543. Jacques Cartier's last explorations in Canada.

See AMERICA: A. D. 1541-1603.

FRANCE: A. D. 1541-1564. The rise and influence of Calvinism.

See GENEVA: A. D. 1536-1564.

FRANCE: A. D. 1547. Accession of King Henry II.

FRANCE: A. D. 1547-1559. The rise of the Guises. Alliance with the German Protestants. Wars with the emperor, and with Spain and England. Acquisition of Les Trois Evêchés, and of Calais. Unsuccessful campaign in Italy. Battle and siege of St. Quentin. Treaty of Cateau-Cambresis.

"The son of Francis I., who in 1547 ascended the throne under the title of Henry II., was told by his dying father to beware of the Guises. … The Guises were a branch of the ducal House of Lorraine, which, although the dukedom was a fief of the German empire, had long stood in intimate relations with the court and nobility of France. The founder of the family was Claude, a younger son of René II., Duke of Lorraine, who, being naturalised in France in 1505, rendered himself conspicuous in the wars of Francis I., and was created first Duke of Guise. He died in 1550, leaving five daughters and six sons. His eldest daughter, Mary, became the wife of James V. of Scotland, and mother of Mary Queen of Scots. The sons were all men of extraordinary energy and ambition, and their united influence was, for a number of years, more than a match for that of the crown. Francis, second Duke of Guise, acquired, while still a young man, extraordinary renown as a military commander, by carrying out certain ambitious designs of France on a neighbouring territory. … As is well known, French statesmen have for many centuries cherished the idea that the natural boundary of France on the east is the Rhine, from its mouth to its source, and thence along the crest of the Alps to the Mediterranean. … To begin the realisation of the idea, advantage was taken of the war which broke out between the Emperor Charles V. and his Protestant subjects in North Germany [see GERMANY: A. D. 1546-1552]. Although the Protestants of France were persecuted to the death, Henry II., with furtively ambitious designs, offered to defend the Protestants of Germany against their own emperor; and entered into an alliance in 1551 with Maurice of Saxony and other princes, undertaking to send an army to their aid. As bases of his operations, it was agreed that he might take temporary military possession of Toul, Verdun, and Metz, three bishoprics [forming a district called the Trois Évêchés], each with a portion of territory lying within the area of the duchy of Lorraine, but held as distinct fiefs of the German empire— such, in fact, being fragments of Lothair's kingdom, which fell to Germany, and had in no shape been incorporated with France. It was stipulated that, in occupying these places, the French were not to interfere with their old connection with the empire. The confidence reposed in the French was grievously abused. All the stipulations went for nothing. In 1552, French troops took possession of Toul and Verdun, also of Nancy, the capital of Lorraine, treating the duchy, generally, as a conquered country. Seeing this, Metz shut her gates and trusted to her fortifications. To procure an entrance and secure possession, there was a resort to stratagems which afford a startling illustration of the tricks that French nobles at that time could be guilty of in order to gain their ends. The French commander, the Constable Montmorency, begged to be allowed to pass through the town with a few attendants, while his army made a wide circuit on its route. The too credulous custodiers of the city opened the gates, and, to their dismay, the whole French forces rushed in, and began to rule in true despotic fashion. … Thus was Metz secured for France in a way which modern Frenchmen, we should imagine, can hardly think of without shame. Germany, however, did not relinquish this important fortress without a struggle. Furious at its loss, the Emperor Charles V. proceeded to besiege it with a large army. The defence was undertaken by the Duke of Guise, assisted by a body of French nobility. After an investment of four months, and a loss of 30,000 men, Charles was forced to raise the siege, January 1, 1553, all his attempts at the capture of the place being effectually baffled."

W. Chambers, France: its History and Revolutions, chapter 6.

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"The war continued during the two following years; but both parties were now growing weary of a contest in which neither achieved any decisive superiority"; and the emperor, having negotiated an armistice, resigned all his crowns to his son, Philip II., and his brother Ferdinand (October, 1555). "Meantime Pope Paul IV., who detested the Spaniards and longed for the complete subversion of their power in the Peninsula, entered into a league with the French king against Philip; Francis of Guise was encouraged in his favorite project of effecting a restoration of the crown of Naples to his own family, as the descendants of René of Anjou; and in December, 1556, an army of 16,000 men, commanded by the Duke of Guise, crossed the Alps, and, marching direct to Rome, prepared to attack the Spanish viceroy of Naples, the celebrated Duke of Alva. In April, 1557, Guise advanced into the Abruzzi, and besieged Civitella; but here he encountered a determined resistance, and, after sacrificing a great part of his troops, found it necessary to abandon the attempt. He retreated toward Rome, closely pursued by the Duke of Alva; and the result was that the expedition totally failed. Before his army could recover from the fatigues and losses of their fruitless campaign, the French general was suddenly recalled by a dispatch containing tidings of urgent importance from the north of France. The Spanish army in the Netherlands, commanded by the Duke of Savoy, having been joined by a body of English auxiliaries under the Earl of Pembroke, had invaded France and laid siege to St. Quentin. This place was badly fortified, and defended by a feeble garrison under the Admiral de Coligny. Montmorency advanced with the main army to re-enforce it, and on the 10th of August rashly attacked the Spaniards, who outnumbered his own troops in the proportion of more than two to one, and inflicted on him a fatal and irretrievable defeat. The loss of the French amounted, according to most accounts, to 4,000 slain in the field, while at least an equal number remained prisoners, including the Constable himself. The road to Paris lay open to the victors. … The Duke of Savoy was eager to advance; but the cautious Philip, happily for France, rejected his advice, and ordered him to press the siege of St. Quentin. That town made a desperate resistance for more than a fortnight longer, and was captured by storm on the 27th of August [1557]. … Philip took possession of a few other neighbouring fortresses, but attempted no serious movement in prosecution of his victory. … The Duke of Guise arrived from Italy early in October, to the great joy of the king and the nation, and was immediately created lieutenant-general of the kingdom, with powers of almost unlimited extent. Be applied himself, with his utmost ability and perseverance, to repair the late disasters; and with such success, that in less than two months he was enabled to assemble a fresh and well-appointed army at Compiègne. Resolving to strike a vigorous blow before the enemy could reappear in the field, he detached a division of his army to make a feint in the direction of Luxemburg; and, rapidly marching westward with the remainder, presented himself on the 1st of January, 1558, before the walls of Calais. … The French attack was a complete surprise; the two advanced forts commanding the approaches to the town were bombarded, and surrendered on the 3d of January; three days later the castle was carried by assault; and on the 8th, the governor, Lord Wentworth, was forced to capitulate. … Guines, no longer tenable after the fall of Calais, shared the same fate on the 21st of January; and thus, within the short space of three weeks, were the last remnants of her ancient dominion on the Continent snatched from the grasp of England—possessions which she had held for upward of 200 years. … This remarkable exploit, so flattering to the national pride, created universal enthusiasm in France, and carried to the highest pitch the reputation and popularity of Guise. From this moment his influence became paramount; and the marriage of the dauphin to the Queen of Scots, which was solemnised on the 24th of April, 1558, seemed to exalt the house of Lorraine to a still more towering pinnacle of greatness. It was stipulated by a secret article of the marriage-contract that the sovereignty of Scotland should be transferred to France, and that the two crowns should remain united forever, in case of the decease of Mary without issue. Toward the end of the year negotiations were opened with a view to peace." They were interrupted, however, in November, 1558, by the death of Queen Mary of England, wife of Philip of Spain. "When the congress reassembled at Le Cateau-Cambresis, in February, 1559, the Spanish ministers no longer maintained the interests of England; and Elizabeth, thus abandoned, agreed to an arrangement which virtually ceded Calais to France, though with such nominal qualifications as satisfied the sensitiveness of the national honour. Calais was to be restored to the English at the end of eight years, with a penalty, in case of failure, of 500,000 crowns. At the same time, if any hostile proceedings should take place on the part of England against France within the period specified, the queen was to forego all claim to the fulfillment of the article." The treaty between France and England was signed April 2, 1559, and that between France and Spain the following day. By the latter, "the two monarchs mutually restored their conquests in Luxemburg, the Netherlands, Picardy, and Artois; France abandoned Savoy and Piedmont, with the exception of Turin and four other fortresses [restoring Philibert Emanuel, Duke of Savoy, to his dominions—see SAVOY AND PIEDMONT: A. D. 1559-1580]; she evacuated Tuscany, Corsica, and Montferrat, and yielded up no less than 189 towns or fortresses in various parts of Europe. By way of compensation, Henry preserved the district of the 'Trois Évêchés'—Toul, Metz, and Verdun—and made the all-important acquisition of Calais. This pacification was sealed, according to custom, by marriages"—Henry's daughter Elizabeth to Philip of Spain, and his sister Marguerite to the Duke of Savoy. In a tournament, at Paris, which celebrated these marriages, Henry received an injury from the lance of Montgomery, captain of his Scottish guards, which caused his death eleven days afterwards—July 10, 1559.

W. H. Jervis, Student's History of France, chapter 15.

ALSO IN: J. L. Motley, The Rise of the Dutch Republic, part 1, chapters 2-3 (volume l).

Lady Jackson, The Court of France in the 16th Century, volume 2, chapters 9-20.

L. von Ranke, Civil Wars and Monarchy in France, 16th and 17th Centuries, chapter 6 (volume 1).

FRANCE: A. D. 1548. Marriage of Antoine de Bourbon to Jeanne d'Albret, heiress of Navarre.

See NAVARRE: A. D. 1528-1563.

FRANCE: A. D. 1552. Alliance with the Turks.

See ITALY (SOUTHERN): A. D. 1528-1570.

FRANCE: A. D. 1554-1565. Huguenot attempts at colonization in Brazil and in Florida, and their fate.

See FLORIDA: A. D. 1562-1563; 1564-1565; 1565, and 1567-1568.

FRANCE: A. D. 1558-1559. Aid given to revolt in Corsica.

See GENOA: A. D. 1528-1559.

FRANCE: A. D. 1559. Accession of King Francis. II.

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FRANCE: A. D. 1559-1561. Francis II., Charles IX., the Guises and Catharine de' Medici. The Conspiracy of Amboise. Rapid spread and organization of Protestantism. Rise of the Huguenot party. Disputed origin of its name.

Henry II. "had been married from political motives to the niece of Clement VII., Catharine de Medici. This ambitious woman came to France conscious that the marriage was a political one, mentally a stranger to her husband; and such she always remained. This placed her from the first in a false position. The King was influenced by anyone rather than by his wife; and a by no means charming mistress, Diana of Poitiers, played her part by the side of and above the Queen. … Immediately after the death of her husband, in 1559, she [Catharine] greedily grasped at power. The young King, Francis II., was of age when he entered his fourteenth year. There could therefore be no legal regency, though there might be an actual one, for a weakly monarch of sixteen was still incompetent to govern. But she was thwarted in her first grasp at power. Under Francis I., a family [the Guises—see above] previously unknown in French history had begun to play a prominent part. … The brothers succeeded in bringing about a political marriage which promised to throw the King, who was mentally a child, entirely into their hands. Their sister Mary had been married to James V. of Scotland, whose crown was then rather an insignificant one, but was now beginning to gain importance. The issue of this marriage was a charming girl, who was destined for the King's wife. She was betrothed to him without his consent when still a child. The young Queen was Mary Stuart. Her misfortunes, her beauty, and her connection with European history, have made her a historical personage, more conspicuous indeed for what she suffered than for what she did; her real importance is not commensurate with the position she occupies. This, then, was the position of the brothers Guise at court. The King was the husband of their niece; both were children in age and mind, and therefore doubly required guidance. The brothers, Francis and Charles, had the government entirely in their hands; the Duke managed the army, the Cardinal the finances and foreign affairs. Two such leaders were the mayors of the palace. The whole constitution of the court reminds us of the 'rois fainéants' and the office of major-domo under the Carlovingians. Thus, just when Catharine was about to take advantage of a favourable moment, she saw herself once more eclipsed and thrust aside, and that by insolent upstarts of whom one thing only was certain, that they possessed unusual talents, and that their consciences were elastic in the choice of means. It was not only from Catharine that the supremacy of the Guises met with violent opposition, but also from Protestantism, the importance of which was greatly increasing in France. … In the time of Henry II., in spite of all the edicts and executions, Protestantism had made great progress. … In the spring of 1559, interdicted Protestantism had secretly reviewed its congregations, and at the first national synod drawn up a confession of faith and a constitution for the new Church. Preachers and elders had appeared from every part of France, and their eighty articles of 28th May, 1559, have become the code of laws of French Protestantism. The Calvinistic principle of the Congregational Church, with choice of its own minister, deacons, and elders; a consistory which maintained strict discipline in matters of faith and morals … was established upon French soil, and was afterwards publicly accepted by the whole party. The more adherents this party gained in the upper circles, the bolder was its attitude; there was, indeed, no end to the executions, or to the edicts against heresy, but a spirit of opposition, previously unknown, had gradually gained ground. Prisoners were set free, the condemned were rescued from the hands of the executioners on the way to the scaffold, and a plan was devised among the numerous fugitives in foreign lands for producing a turn in the course of events by violent means. La Rénaudie, a reformed nobleman from Perigord, who had sworn vengeance on the Guises for the execution of his brother, had, with a number of other persons of his own way of thinking, formed a plan for attacking the Guises, carrying off the King, and placing him under the guardianship of the Bourbon agnates. … The project was betrayed; the Guises succeeded in placing the King in security in the Castle of Amboise; a number of the conspirators were seized, another troop overpowered and dispersed on their attack upon the castle, on the 17th of March, 1560; some were killed, some taken prisoners and at once executed. It was then discovered, or pretended, that the youngest of the Bourbon princes [see BOURBON, HOUSE OF], Louis of Condé, was implicated in the conspiracy [known as the Conspiracy or Tumult of Amboise]. … The Guises now ventured, in contempt of French historical traditions, to imprison this prince of the blood, this agnate of the reigning house; to summon him before an arbitrary tribunal of partisans, and to condemn him to death. … This affair kept all France in suspense. All the nobles, although strongly infected with Huguenot ideas, were on Condé's side; even those who condemned his religious opinions made his cause their own. They justly thought that if he fell none of them would be safe. In the midst of this ferment, destiny interposed. On the 5th of December, 1560, Francis II. died suddenly, and a complete change took place. His death put an end to a net-work of intrigues, which aimed at knocking the rebellion, political and religious, on the head. … During this confusion one individual had been watching the course of events with the eagerness of a beast ready to seize on its prey. Catharine of Medici was convinced that the time of her dominion had at length arrived. … Francis II. was scarcely dead when she seized upon the person and the power of Charles IX. He was a boy of ten years old, not more promising than his eldest brother, sickly and weakly like all the sons of Henry II., more attached to his mother than the others, and he had been neglected by the Guises. … One of her first acts was to liberate Condé; this was a decided step towards reconciliation with the Bourbons and the Protestants. The whole situation was all at once changed. The court was ruled by Catharine; her feverish thirst for power was satisfied. The Guises and their adherents were, indeed, permitted to remain in their offices and posts of honour, in order not fatally to offend them; but their supremacy was destroyed, and the new power was based upon the Queen's understanding with the heads of the Huguenot party."

L. Häusser, The Period of the Reformation, 1517 to 1648, chapter 25.

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"The recent commotion had disclosed the existence of a body of malcontents, in part religious, in part also political, scattered over the whole kingdom and of unascertained numbers. To its adherents the name of Huguenots was now for the first time given. What the origin of this celebrated appellation was, it is now perhaps impossible to discover. … It has been traced back to the name of the Eidgenossen or 'confederates,' under which the party of freedom figured in Geneva when the authority of the bishop and duke was overthrown; or to the 'Roy Huguet,' or 'Huguon,' a hobgoblin supposed to haunt the vicinity of Tours, to whom the superstitious attributed the nocturnal assemblies of the Protestants; or to the gate 'du roy Huguon' of the same city, near which those gatherings were wont to be made. Some of their enemies maintained the former existence of a diminutive coin known as a 'huguenot,' and asserted that the appellation, as applied to the reformed, arose from their 'not being worth a huguenot,' or farthing; And some of their friends, with equal confidence and no less improbability, declared that it was invented because the adherents of the house of Guise secretly put forward claims upon the crown of France in behalf of that house as descended from Charlemagne, whereas the Protestants loyally upheld the rights of the Valois sprung from Hugh Capet. In the diversity of contradictory statements, we may perhaps be excused if we suspend our judgment. … Not a week had passed after the conspiracy of Amboise before the word was in everybody's mouth. Few knew or cared whence it arose. A powerful party, whatever name it might bear, had sprung up, as it were, in a night. … No feature of the rise of the Reformation in France is more remarkable than the sudden impulse which it received during the last year or two of Henry II.'s life, and especially within the brief limits of the reign of his eldest son. … There was not a corner of the kingdom where the number of incipient Protestant churches was not considerable. Provence alone contained 60, whose delegates this year met in a synod at the blood-stained village of Mérindol. In large tracts of country the Huguenots had become so numerous that they were no longer able or disposed to conceal their religious sentiments, nor content to celebrate their rites in private or nocturnal assemblies. This was particularly the case in Normandy, in Languedoc, and on the banks of the Rhone."

H. M. Baird, History of the Rise of the Huguenots, book 1, chapter 10 (volume 1).

ALSO IN: C. M. Yonge, Cameos from English History, 4th series, chapter 29.

FRANCE: A. D. 1560. Accession of King Charles IX.

FRANCE: A. D. 1560-1563. Changed policy of Catharine de' Medici. Delusive favors to the Huguenots. The Guises and the Catholics again ascendant. The massacre of Vassy. Outbreak of civil war. Battle of Dreux. Assassination of Guise. Peace and the Edict of Amboise.

"Catherine de Medici, now regent, thought it wisest to abandon the policy which had till then prevailed under the influence of the Guises, and while she confirmed the Lorraine princes in the important offices they held, she named, on the other hand, Antoine de Bourbon [king of Navarre] lieutenant-general of the kingdom, and took Michel de l'Hôpital as her chief adviser. … Chancellor de l'Hôpital, like the Regent, aimed at the destruction of the parties which were rending the kingdom asunder; but his political programme was that of an honest man and a true liberal. A wise system of religious toleration and of administrative reform would, he thought, restore peace and satisfy all true Frenchmen. 'Let us,' he said, 'do away with the diabolical party-names which cause so many seditions—Lutherans, Huguenots, and Papists; let us not alter the name of Christians.' … The edicts of Saint Germain and of January (1562) were favourable to the Huguenots. Religious meetings were allowed in rural districts; all penalties previously decreed against Dissenters were suspended on condition that the old faith should not be interfered with: finally, the Huguenot divines, with Theodore de Bèze at their head, were invited to meet the Roman Catholic prelates and theologians in a conference (colloque) at Poissy, near Paris. Theodore de Bèze, the faithful associate and coadjutor of Calvin in the great work of the Reformation, both at Geneva and in France, is justly and universally regarded as the historian of the early Huguenots. … The speech he delivered at the opening of the colloque is an eloquent plea for liberty and mutual forbearance. Unfortunately, the conciliatory measures he proposed satisfied no one."

G. Masson, The Huguenots, chapter 2.

"The edict of January … gave permission to Protestants to hold meetings for public worship outside the towns, and placed their meetings under the protection of the law. … The Parliament of Paris refused to register the edict until after repeated orders from the Queen-mother. The Parliament of Dijon refused to register it. … The Parliament of Aix refused. Next, Antoine de Navarre, bribed by a promise of the restoration of the Spanish part of his little kingdom, announced that the colloquy of Poissy had converted him, dismissed Beza and the reformed preachers, sent Jeanne back to Beárn, demanded the dismissal of the Chatillons from the court, and invited the Duke of Guise and his brother, the Cardinal, who were at their château of Joinville, to return to Paris. Then occurred—it was only six weeks after the Edict of January—the massacre of Vassy. Nine hundred out of 3,000—the population of that little town—were Protestants. Rejoicing in the permission granted them by the new law, they were assembled on the Sunday morning, in a barn outside the town, for the purpose of public service. The Duke of Guise and the Cardinal, with their armed escort of gentlemen and soldiers, riding on their way to Paris, heard the bells which summoned the people, and asked what they meant. Being told that it was a Huguenot 'prêche,' the Duke swore that he would Huguenot them to some purpose. He rode straight to the barn and entered the place, threatening to murder them all. The people relying on the law, barred the doors. Then the massacre began. The soldiers burst open the feeble barrier, and began to fire among the perfectly unarmed and inoffensive people. Sixty-four were killed—men, women, and children; 200 were wounded. This was the signal for war. Condé, on the intelligence, immediately retired from the court to Meaux, whence he issued a proclamation calling on all the Protestants of the country to take up arms. Coligny was at Chatillon, whither Catharine addressed him letter after letter, urging upon him, in ambiguous terms, the defence of the King. {1199} It seems, though this is obscure, that at one time Condé might have seized the royal family and held them. But if he had the opportunity, he neglected it, and the chance never came again. Henceforward, however, we hear no more talk about Catharine becoming a Protestant. That pretence will serve her no more. Before the clash of arms, there was silence for a space. Men waited till the last man in France who had not spoken should declare himself. The Huguenots looked to the Admiral, and not to Condé. It was on him that the real responsibility lay of declaring civil war. It was a responsibility from which the strongest man might shrink. … The Admiral having once made up his mind, hesitated no longer, and, with a heavy heart, set off the next day to join Condé. He wrote to Catharine that he took up arms, not against the King, but against those who held him captive. He wrote also to his old uncle, the Constable [Montmorency]. … The Constable replied. There was no bitterness between uncle and nephew. The former was fighting to prevent the 'universal ruin' of his country, and for his 'petits maitres,' the boys, the sons of his old friend, Henry II. Montmorency joined the Guises in perfect loyalty, and with the firm conviction that it was the right thing for him to do. The Chatillon fought in the name of law and justice, and to prevent the universal massacre of his people. … Then the first civil war began with a gallant exploit—the taking of Orleans [April 1562]. Condé rode into it at the head of 2,000 cavalry, all shouting like schoolboys, and racing for six miles who should get into the city first. They pillaged the churches, and turned out the Catholics. 'Those who were that day turned outside the city wept catholicly that they were dispossessed of the magazines of the finest wines in France.' Truly a dire misfortune, for the Catholics to lose all the best claret districts! Orleans taken, the Huguenots proceeded to issue protestations and manifestoes, in all of which the hand of the Admiral is visible. They are not fighting against the King, who is a prisoner; the war was begun by the Guises. … They might have added, truly enough, that Condé and the Admiral held in their hands letters from Catharine, urging them to carry on the contest for the sake of the young King. The fall of Orleans was quickly followed by that of Rouen, Tours, Blois, Bourges, Vienne, Valence, and Montauban. The civil war was fairly begun. The party was now well organized. Condé was commander-in-chief by right of his birth; Coligny was real leader by right of his reputation and wisdom. It was by him that a Solemn League and Covenant was drawn up, to be signed by everyone of the Calvinist chiefs. These were, besides Condé and the Chatillons, La Rochefoucauld, … Coligny's nephew and Condé's brother-in-law—he was the greatest seigneur in Poitou; Rohan, from Dauphine, who was Condé's cousin; the Prince of Porcian, who was the husband of Condé's niece. Each of these lords came with a following worthy of his name. Montgomery, who had slain Henry II., brought his Normans; Genlis, the Picards. … With Andelot came a troop of Bretons; with the Count de Grammont came 6,000 Gascons. Good news poured in every day. Not only Rouen, but Havre, Caen, and Dieppe submitted in the North. Angers and Nantes followed. The road was open in the end for bringing troops from Germany. The country in the southwest was altogether in their hands. Meantime, the enemy were not idle. They began with massacres. In Paris they murdered 800 Huguenots in that first summer of the war. From every side fugitives poured into Orleans, which became the city of refuge. There were massacres at Amiens, Senlis, Cahors, Toulouse, Angoulême—everywhere. Coligny advised a march upon Paris, where, he urged, the Guises had but a rabble at their command. His counsels when war was once commenced, were always for vigorous measures. Condé preferred to wait. Andelot was sent to Germany, where he raised 3,000 horse. Calvin despatched letters in every direction, urging on the churches and the Protestant princes to send help to France. Many of Coligny's old soldiers of St. Quentin came to fight under his banner. Elizabeth of England offered to send an army if Calais were restored; when she saw that no Frenchman would give up that place again, she still sent men and money, though with grudging spirit. At length both armies took the field. The Duke of Guise had under him 8,000 men; Condé 7,000. They advanced, and met at the little town of Vassodun, where a conference was held between the Queen-mother and Navarre on the one hand, and Condé and Coligny on the other. Catharine proposed that all the chiefs of both sides—Guise, the Cardinal de Lorraine, St. Andre, Montmorency, Navarre, Condé, and the Chatillon brothers—should all alike go into voluntary exile. Condé was nearly persuaded to accept this absurd proposal. Another conference was held at Taley. These conferences were only delays. An attempt was made by Catharine to entrap Condé, which was defeated by the Admiral's prompt rescue. The Parliament of Paris issued a decree commanding all Romanists in every parish to rise in arms at the sound of the bell and to slay every Huguenot. It was said that 50,000 were thus murdered. No doubt the numbers were grossly exaggerated. … These cruelties naturally provoked retaliation. … An English army occupied Havre. English troops set out for Rouen. Some few managed to get within the walls. The town was taken by the Catholics [October 25, 1562], and, for eight days, plundered. Needless to say that Guise hanged every Huguenot he could find. Here the King of Navarre was killed. The loss of Rouen, together with other disasters, greatly discouraged the Huguenots. Their spirits rose, however, when news came that Andelot, with 4,000 reiters, was on his way to join them. He brought them in safety across France, being himself carried in a litter, sick with ague and fever. The Huguenots advanced upon Paris, but did not attack the city. At Dreux [December 19, 1562], they met the army of Guise. Protestant historians endeavor to show that the battle was drawn. In fact both sides sustained immense losses. St. André was killed, Montmorency and Condé were taken prisoners. Yet Coligny had to retire from the field—his rival had outgeneralled him. It was characteristic of Coligny that he never lost heart. … With his German cavalry, a handful of his own infantry, and a small troop of English soldiers, Coligny swept over nearly the whole of Normandy. It is true that Guise was not there to oppose him. Every thing looked well. He was arranging for a 'splendid alliance' with England, when news came which stayed his hand. {1200} Guise marched southwards to Orleans. … There was in Orleans a young Huguenot soldier named Jean Poltrot de Méré. He was a fanatic. … He waited for an opportunity, worked himself into the good graces of the Duke, and then shot him with three balls, in the shoulder. Guise died three days later. … Then a peace was signed [and ratified by the Edict of Amboise, March 19, 1563]. Condé, won over and seduced by the sirens of the Court, signed it. It was a humiliating and disastrous peace. Huguenots were to be considered loyal subjects; foreign soldiers should be sent out of the country; churches and temples should be restored to their original uses; the suburbs of one town in every bailiwick, were to be used for Protestant worship (this was a great reduction on the Edict of January, which allowed the suburbs of every town); and the nobility and gentry were to hold worship in their own houses after their own opinions. The Admiral was furious at this weakness. 'You have ruined,' he said to Condé, 'more churches by one stroke of the pen than the enemy could have done in ten years of war.'"

W. Besant, Gaspard de Coligny. chapter 8.

ALSO IN: Duc d' Aumale, History of the Princes de Condé, book 1, chapter 3 (volume l).

E. Bersier, Earlier Life of Coligny, chapter 21-26.

FRANCE: A. D. 1563-1564. Recovery of Havre from the English. The Treaty of Troyes.

Under the terms on which the Huguenot leaders procured help from Elizabeth, the English queen held Havre, and refused to restore it until after the restoration of Calais to England, and the repayment of a loan of 140,000 crowns. The Huguenots, having now made peace with their Catholic fellow countrymen, were not prepared to fulfill the English contract, according to Elizabeth's claims, but demanded that Havre should be given up. The Queen refusing, both the parties, lately in arms against each other, joined forces, and laid siege to Havre so vigorously that it was surrendered to them on the 28th of July, 1563. Peace with England was concluded in the April following, by a treaty negotiated at Troyes, and the Queen lost all her rights over Calais.

Duc d'Aumale, History of the Princes of Condé, volume 1, chapter 4.

ALSO IN: J. A. Froude, History of England: Reign of Elizabeth, chapters 6 and 8 (volume 1-2).

FRANCE: A. D. 1563-1570. The conference at Bayonne. Outbreak of the Second Civil War. Battle of St. Denis. Peace of Longjumeau. The Third Civil War. Huguenot rally at La Rochelle. Appearance of the Queen of Navarre. Battle of Jarnac. Death of Condé. Henry of Navarre chosen to command. Battle of Moncontour. Peace of St. Germain.

The religious peace established under the Edict of Amboise lasted four years. "Not that the Huguenots enjoyed during these years anything like security or repose. The repeated abridgment even of those narrow liberties conferred by the Edict of Amboise, and the frequent outbreaks of popular hatred in which numbers of them perished, kept them in perpetual alarm. Still more alarming was the meeting at Bayonne [of Catherine de' Medici, the young king, her son, and the Duke of Alva, representing Philip II. of Spain] in the summer of 1565. … Amid the Court festivities which took place, it was known that there had been many secret meetings between Alva, Catherine, and, Charles. The darkest suspicions as to their objects and results spread over France. It was generally believed—falsely, as from Alva's letters it now appears—that a simultaneous extermination of all heretics in the French and Spanish dominions had been agreed upon. To anticipate this stroke, Coligni proposed that the person of the King should be seized upon. The Court, but slenderly guarded, was then at Monceaux. The project had almost succeeded. Some time, however, was lost. The Court got warning and fled to Meaux. Six thousand Swiss arrived, and by a rapid march carried the King to Paris. After such a failure, nothing was left to the Huguenots but the chances of a second civil war. Condé entered boldly on the campaign. Though he had with him but 1,500 horse and 1,200 infantry, he marched to Paris, and offered battle to the royal troops beneath its walls. The Constable [Montmorency], who had 18,000 men at his command, accepted the challenge, and on the 10th of November 1567, the battle of St. Denis was fought. … Neither party could well claim the victory, as both retired from the field. The royal army had to mourn the loss that day of its aged and gallant commander, the Constable. Condé renewed next day the challenge, which was not accepted. The winter months were spent by the Huguenots in effecting a junction with some German auxiliaries, and in the spring they appeared in such force upon the field that, on the 23d March 1568, the Peace of Longjumeau was ratified, which re-established, free from all modifications and restrictions, the Edict of Amboise. It was evident from the first that this treaty was not intended to be kept; that it had been entered into by the government solely to gain time, and to scatter the ranks of the Huguenots. Coligni sought Condé at his château of Noyers in Burgundy. He had scarcely arrived when secret intelligence was given them of a plot upon their lives. They had barely time to fly, making many a singular escape by the way, and reaching Rochelle, which from this time became the head-quarters of the Huguenots, on the 15th September 1568. During the first two religious wars … the seat of war was so remote from her dominions that the Queen of Navarre [Jeanne d'Albret,—see NAVARRE: A.D. 1528-1563] had satisfied herself with opening her country as an asylum for those Huguenots driven thither out of the southern counties of France. But when she heard that Condé and Coligni … were on their way to Rochelle, to raise there once more the Protestant banner, convinced that the French Court meditated nothing short of the extermination of the Huguenots, she determined openly to cast in her lot with her co-religionists, and to give them all the help she could. Dexterously deceiving Montluc, who had received instructions to watch her movements, and to seize upon her person if she showed any intention of leaving her own dominions, after a flight as precipitous and almost as perilous as that of Condé and Coligni, she reached Rochelle on the 29th September, ten days after their arrival. This town, for nearly a century the citadel of Protestantism in France, having by its own unaided power freed itself from the English dominion [in the period between 1368 and 1380] had had extraordinary municipal privileges bestowed on it in return—among others, that of an entirely independent jurisdiction, both civil and military. {1201} Like so many of the great commercial marts of Europe, in which the spirit of freedom was cherished, it had early welcomed the teaching of the Reformers, and at the time now before us nearly the whole of its inhabitants were Huguenots. … About the very time that the Queen of Navarre entered Rochelle a royal edict appeared, prohibiting, under pain of death, the exercise of any other than the Roman Catholic religion in France, imposing upon all the observance of its rites and ceremonies; and banishing from the realm all preachers of the doctrine of Calvin, fifteen days only being allowed them to quit the kingdom. It was by the sword that this stern edict was to be enforced or rescinded. Two powerful armies of nearly equal strength mustered speedily. One was nominally under the command of the Duke of Anjou, but really led by Tavannes, Biron, Brissac, and the young Duke of Guise, the last burning to emulate the military glory of his father; the other under the command of Condé and Coligni. The two armies were close upon one another; their generals desired to bring them into action; they were more than once actually in each other's presence; but the unprecedented inclemency of the weather prevented an engagement, and at last, without coming into collision, both had to retire to winter quarters. The delay was fatal to the Huguenots." In the following spring (March 13, 1569), while their forces were still scattered and unprepared, they were forced into battle with the better-generaled Royalists, at Jarnac, and were grievously defeated. Condé, wounded and taken prisoner, was treated at first with respect by the officers who received his sword. But "Montesquiou, captain of the Swiss Guard of the Duke of Anjou, galloped up to the spot, and, hearing who the prisoner was, deliberately levelled his pistol at him and shot him through the head. The Duke passed no censure on his officer, and expressed no regret at his deed. The grossest indignities were afterwards, by his orders, heaped upon the dead body of the slain. The defeat of Jarnac, and still more the death of Condé, threw the Huguenot army into despair. … The utter dissolution of the army seemed at hand. The Admiral sent a messenger to the Queen of Navarre at Rochelle, entreating her to come to the camp. She was already on her way. On arrival, and after a short consultation with the Admiral, the army was drawn up to receive her. She rode along the ranks—her son Henry on one side, the son of the deceased Condé on the other." Then she addressed to the troops an inspiring speech, concluding with these heroic words: "Soldiers, I offer you everything I have to give,—my dominions, my treasures, my life, and, what is dearer to me than all, my children. I make here solemn oath before you all—I swear to defend to my last sigh the holy cause which now unites us." "The soldiers crowded around the Queen, and unanimously, as if by sudden impulse, hailed young Henry of Navarre as their future general. The Admiral and La Rochefoucauld were the first to swear fidelity to the Prince; then came the inferior officers and the whole assembled soldiery; and it was thus that, in his fifteenth year, the Prince of Béarn was inaugurated as general-in-chief of the army of the Huguenots." In June the Huguenot army effected a junction at St. Yriex with a division of German auxiliaries, led by the Duc de Deux-Ponts, and including among its chiefs the Prince of Orange and his brother Louis of Nassau. They attacked the Duke of Anjou at La Roche-Abeille and gained a slight advantage; but wasted their strength during the summer, contrary to the advice of the Admiral Coligny, in besieging Poitiers. The Duke of Anjou approached with a superior army, and, again in opposition to the judgment of Coligny, the Huguenots encountered him at Moncontour (October 3, 1569), where they suffered the worst of their defeats, leaving 5,000 dead and wounded on the field. Meanwhile a French army had entered Navarre, had taken the capital and spread destruction everywhere through the small kingdom; but the Queen sent Count de Montgomery to rally her people, and the invaders were driven out. Coligny and Prince Henry wintered their troops in the far south, then moved rapidly northwards in the spring, up the valley of the Rhone, across the Cevennes, through Burgundy, approaching the Loire, and were met by the Marshal de Cosse at Arnay-le-Duc, where Henry of Navarre won his first success in arms—Coligny being ill. Though it was but a partial victory it brought about a breathing time of peace. "This happened in the end of June, and on the 8th of August [1570] the Peace of St. Germain-en-Laye was signed, and France had two full years of quiet."

W. Hanna, The Wars of the Huguenots, chapter 4.

ALSO IN: Duc d'Aumale, History of the Princes de Condé, book 1, chapter 4-5 (volume 1-2).

M. W. Freer, Life of Jeanne d'Albret, chapters 8-10.

C. M. Yonge, Cameos of English History, 5th series, chapter 8.

FRANCE: A. D. 1570-1572. Coligny at court and his influence with the King. Projected war with Spain. The desperate step of Catharine de' Medici, and its consequence in the plot of Massacre.

"After the Peace of 1570, it appeared as if a complete change of policy was about to take place. The Queen pretended to be friendly with the Protestants; her relations with the ambitious Guises were distant and cold, and the project of uniting the Houses of Bourbon and Valois by marriage [the marriage of Henry of Navarre with the king's sister, Marguerite] really looked as if she was in earnest. The most distinguished leader of the Huguenot party was the Admiral Caspar de Coligny. It is quite refreshing at this doleful period to meet with such a character. He was a nobleman of the old French school and of the best stamp; lived upon his estates with his family, his little court, his retainers and subjects, in ancient patriarchal style, and on the best terms, and regularly went with them to the Protestant worship and the communion; a man of unblemished morality and strict Calvinistic views of life. Whatever this man said or did was the result of his inmost convictions; his life was the impersonation of his views and thoughts. In the late turbulent times he had become an important person as leader and organizer of the Protestant armies. At his call, thousands of noblemen and soldiers took up arms, and they submitted under his command to very strict discipline. He could not boast of having won many battles, but he was famous for having kept his resources together after repeated defeats, and for rising up stronger than before after every lost engagement. … Now that peace was made, 'why,' he asked, 'excite further dissensions for the benefit of our common enemies? Let us direct our undivided forces against the real enemy of France—against Spain, who stirs up intrigues in our civil, wars. Let us crush this power, which condemns us to ignominious dependence.' {1202} The war against Spain was Coligny's project. It was the idea of a good Huguenot, for it was directed against the most blindly fanatical and dangerous foe of the new doctrines; but it was also that of a good Frenchman, for a victory over Spain would increase the power of France in the direction of Burgundy. … From September, 1571, Coligny was at court. On his first arrival he was heartily welcomed by the King, embraced by Catharine, and loaded with honours and favours by both. I am not of opinion that this was a deeply laid scheme to entrap the guileless hero, the more easily to ruin him. Catharine's ideas did not extend so far. Still less do I believe that the young King was trained to play the part of a hypocrite, and regarded Coligny as a victim to be cherished until the fête day. I think, rather, that Catharine, in her changeableness and hatred of the Guises, was now really disposed to make peace with the Protestants, and that the young King was for the time impressed by this superior personage. No youthful mind is so degraded as to be entirely inaccessible to such influence. … I believe that the first and only happy day in the life of this unfortunate monarch was when he met Coligny, who raised him above the degradation of vulgar life; and I believe further, that this relation was the main cause of the massacre of St. Bartholomew. A new influence was threatening to surround the King and to take deep root, which Catharine, her son Henry of Anjou, and the strict Catholic party, must do their utmost to avert; and it was quite in accordance with the King's weak character to allow the man to be murdered whom he had just called 'Father.' … It appears that about the middle of the year [1572] the matter [of war with Spain and help to the revolting Netherlands] was as good as decided. The King willingly acceded to Coligny's plan … [and] privately gave considerable sums for the support of the Flemish patriots, for the equipment of an army of 4,000 men, composed of Catholics and Protestants, who marched towards Mons, to succour Louis of Nassau. When in July this army was beaten, and the majority of the Huguenots were in despair, Coligny succeeded in persuading the King to equip a fresh and still larger army; but the opposition then bestirred itself. …The Queen … had been absent, with her married daughter in Lorraine, and on her return she found everything changed; the Guises without influence, herself thrust on one side. Under the impression of the latest events in Flanders, which made it likely that the war with Spain would be ruinous, she hastened to the King, told him with floods of tears that it would be his ruin; that the Huguenots, through Coligny, had stolen the King's confidence, unfortunately for himself and the country. She made some impression upon him, but it did not last long, and thoughts of war gained the upper hand again. The idea now (August, 1572), must have been matured in Catharine's mind of venturing on a desperate step, in order to save her supremacy and influence. … The idea ripened in her mind of getting rid of Coligny by assassination. … Entirely of one mind with her son Henry, she turned to the Guises, with whom she was at enmity when they were in power, but friendly when they were of no more consequence than herself. They breathed vengeance against the Calvinists, and were ready at once to avenge the murder of Francis of Guise by a murderous attack upon Coligny. An assassin was hired, and established in a house belonging to the Guises, near Coligny's dwelling, and as he came out of the palace, on the 22nd of August, a shot was fired at him, which wounded but did not kill him. Had Coligny died of his wound, Catharine would have been content. … But Coligny did not die; the Huguenots defiantly demanded vengeance on the well-known instigator of the deed; their threats reached the Queen and Prince Henry of Anjou, and the personal fascination which Coligny had exercised over King Charles appeared rather to increase than to diminish. Thus doubtless arose, during the anxious hours after the failure of the assassination, the idea of an act of violence on a large scale, which should strike a blow at Coligny and his friends before they had time for revenge. It certainly had not been in preparation for months, not even since the time that Coligny had been at Court; it was conceived in the agony of these hours."

L. Hausser, The Period of the Reformation, chapter 27.

ALSO IN: J. L. Motley, The Rise of the Dutch Republic, part 3, chapters 6-7 (volume 2).

L. von Ranke, Civil Wars and Monarchy in France, chapter 15.

FRANCE: A. D. 1572 (August). The Massacre of St. Bartholomew's Day.

"With some proofs, forged or real, in her hand that he was in personal danger, the Queen Mother [August 24] presented herself to her son. She told him that at the moment she was speaking the Huguenots were arming. Sixteen thousand of them intended to assemble in the morning, seize the palace, destroy herself, the Duke of Anjou, and the Catholic noblemen, and carry off Charles. The conspiracy, she said, extended through France. The chiefs of the congregations were waiting for a signal from Coligny to rise in every province and town. The Catholics had discovered the plot, and did not mean to sit still to be murdered. If the King refused to act with them, they would choose another leader; and whatever happened he would be himself destroyed. Unable to say that the story could not be true, Charles looked enquiringly at Tavannas and De Nevers, and they both confirmed the Queen Mother's words. Shaking his incredulity with reminders of Amboise and Meaux, Catherine went on to say that one man was the cause of all the troubles in the realm. The Admiral aspired to rule all France, and she—she admitted, with Anjou and the Guises, had conspired to kill him to save the King and the country. She dropped all disguise. The King, she said, must now assist them or all would be lost. … Charles was a weak, passionate boy, alone in the dark conclave of iniquity. He stormed, raved, wept, implored, spoke of his honour, his plighted word; swore at one moment that the Admiral should not be touched, then prayed them to try other means. But clear, cold and venomous, Catherine told him it was too late. If there was a judicial enquiry, the Guises would shield themselves by telling all that they knew. They would betray her; they would betray his brother; and, fairly or unfairly, they would not spare himself. … For an hour and a half the King continued to struggle. 'You refuse, then,' Catherine said at last. … 'Is it that you are afraid, Sire?' she hissed in his ear. 'By God's death,' he cried, springing to his feet, 'since you will kill the Admiral, kill them all. {1203} Kill all the Huguenots in France, that none may be left to reproach me. Mort Dieu! Kill them all.' He dashed out of the cabinet. A list of those who were to die was instantly drawn up. Navarre and Condé were first included; but Catherine prudently reflected that to kill the Bourbons would make the Guises too strong. Five or six names were added to the Admiral's, and these Catherine afterwards asserted were all that it was intended should suffer. … Night had now fallen. Guise and Aumale were still lurking in the city, and came with the Duke of Montpensier at Catherine's summons. The persons who were to be killed were in different parts of the town. Each took charge of a district. Montpensier promised to see to the Palace; Guise and his uncle undertook the Admiral; and below these, the word went out to the leaders of the already organised sections, who had been disappointed once, but whose hour was now come. The Catholics were to recognise one another in the confusion by a white handkerchief on the left arm and a white cross in their caps. The Royal Guard, Catholics to a man, were instruments ready made for the work. Guise assembled the officers: he told them that the Huguenots were preparing to rise, and that the King had ordered their instant punishment. The officers asked no questions, and desired no better service. The business was to begin at dawn. The signal would be the tolling of the great bell at the Palace of Justice, and the first death was to be Coligny's. The soldiers stole to their posts. Twelve hundred lay along the Seine, between the river and the Hotel de Ville; other companies watched at the Louvre. As the darkness waned, the Queen Mother went down to the gate. The stillness of the dawn was broken by an accidental pistol-shot. Her heart sank, and she sent off a messenger to tell Guise to pause. But it was too late. A minute later the bell boomed out, and the massacre of St. Bartholomew had commenced." The assassins broke into the Admiral's dwelling and killed him as he lay wounded in bed. "The window was open. 'Is it done?' cried Guise from the court below, 'is it done? Fling him out that we may see him.' Still breathing, the Admiral was hurled upon the pavement. The Bastard of Angoulême wiped the blood from his face to be sure of his identity, and then, kicking him as he lay, shouted, 'So far well. Courage, my brave boys! now for the rest.' One of the Duc de Nevers's people hacked off the head. A rope was knotted about the ankles, and the corpse was dragged out into the street amidst the howling crowd. Teligny, … Rochefoucault, and the rest of the Admiral's friends who lodged in the neighbourhood were disposed of in the same way, and so complete was the surprise that there was not the most faint attempt at resistance. Montpensier had been no less successful in the Louvre. The staircases were all beset. The retinues of the King of Navarre and the Prince had been lodged in the palace at Charles's particular desire. Their names were called over, and as they descended unarmed into the quadrangle they were hewn in pieces. There, in heaps, they fell below the Royal window, under the eyes of the miserable King, who was forced forward between his mother and his brother that he might be seen as the accomplice of the massacre. Most of the victims were killed upon the spot. Some fled wounded up the stairs, and were slaughtered in the presence of the Princesses. … By seven o'clock the work which Guise and his immediate friends had undertaken was finished with but one failure. The Count Montgomery and the Vidame of Chartres … escaped to England. The mob meanwhile was in full enjoyment. … While dukes and lords were killing at the Louvre, the bands of the sections imitated them with more than success; men, women, and even children, striving which should be the first in the pious work of murder. All Catholic Paris was at the business, and every Huguenot household had neighbours to know and denounce them. Through street and lane and quay and causeway, the air rang with yells and curses, pistol-shots and crashing windows; the roadways were strewed with mangled bodies, the doors were blocked by the dead and dying. From garret, closet, roof, or stable, crouching creatures were torn shrieking out, and stabbed and hacked at; boys practised their hands by strangling babies in their cradles, and headless bodies were trailed along the trottoirs. … Towards midday some of the quieter people attempted to restore order. A party of the town police made their way to the palace. Charles caught eagerly at their offers of service, and bade them do their utmost to put the people down; but it was all in vain. The soldiers, maddened with plunder and blood, could not be brought to assist, and without them nothing could be done. All that afternoon and night, and the next day and the day after, the horrible scenes continued, till the flames burnt down at last for want of fuel. The number who perished in Paris was computed variously from 2,000 to 10,000. In this, as in all such instances, the lowest estimate is probably the nearest to the truth. The massacre was completed—completed in Paris—only, as it proved, to be continued elsewhere. … On the 24th, while the havoc was at its height, circulars went round to the provinces that a quarrel had broken out between the Houses of Guise and Coligny; that the Admiral and many more had been unfortunately killed, and that the King himself had been in danger through his efforts to control the people. The governors of the different towns were commanded to repress at once any symptoms of disorder which might show themselves, and particularly to allow no injury to be done to the Huguenots." But Guise, when he learned of these circulars, which threw upon him the odium of the massacre, forced the King to recall them. "The story of the Huguenot conspiracy was revived. … The Protestants of the provinces, finding themselves denounced from the throne, were likely instantly to take arms to defend themselves. Couriers were therefore despatched with second orders that they should be dealt with as they had been dealt with at Paris; and at Lyons, Orleans, Rouen, Bordeaux, Toulon, Meaux, in half the towns and villages of France, the bloody drama was played once again. The King, thrown out into the hideous torrent of blood, became drunk with frenzy, and let slaughter have its way, till even Guise himself affected to be shocked, and interposed to put an end to it; not, however, till, according to the belief of the times, 100,000 men, women and children had been miserably murdered. … The number again may be hoped to have been prodigiously exaggerated; with all large figures, when unsupported by exact statistics, it is safe to divide at least by ten."