BB-025 / Medieval
St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre
The Act
Following the assassination of Huguenot leader Gaspard de Coligny, Catholic mobs in Paris and other French cities killed thousands of Protestant Huguenots. Estimates of the death toll range from 5,000 to 30,000. The violence was sparked by royal wedding celebrations and political intrigue.
The Response
The massacre deepened the French Wars of Religion. It damaged the reputation of the French crown abroad and contributed to the eventual Edict of Nantes (1598) granting limited toleration. The event remains a symbol of religious violence in European history.