St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre BY: SEAN CAREY

St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre (who was involved)  In Paris in late August of 1572 a plan to kill French Huguenots (Protestants) is developed by Catherine de Medici and her ideas were supported by Charles IX  Catherine de Medici had her plan carried out by Roman Catholic Nobles and roman catholic citizens.  The massacre was an event in the civil war between Roman Catholics and Huguenots.  Leaders of The Roman Catholic Church began to become afraid of other growing religions and knew that they had to stop the spreading of religions such as Protestantism

St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre  An arranged marriage for Catherine de Medici’s daughter, Margaret and Henry IV (who was a Huguenot) took place  Catherine de Medici was fine with the marriage until Huguenot influence started to become prominent in the family. And it slowly began to spread.  This was the last straw for The Roman Catholics they knew they had to take action before it was too late.

St. Bartholomew’s Day massacre (what happened)  Knowing that the growing must stop a Jesuit priest began to urge the Catholics to attack the Protestants  He said attacking the Protestants would give them “penance for their many sins”  So on August 24 th 1572 the Roman Catholic nobles, clergy, and followers attacked unarmed protestants in the streets.  The killings continued even after the Catholic nobles ordered them to stop  No one was sure of the exactly death total but it was estimated that 10,000 to 30,000 Huguenots died in about one week  Dead bodies of men, women and children were left in the streets, thrown in rivers because they had no other place to put them.  There was so many bodies in the river people could not eat fish for months

Painting by Francois Dubois titled St. Bartholomew’s Day massacre

St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre  The surviving Protestants were imprisoned, some worked as slaves for the Roman Catholics and some were able to flee to other countries.  The killings pushed the hatred between Protestants and Catholics into full gear.  When news of the massacre reached the Vatican, they were overcome with joy. They rung bells through the city, a special commemorative medal was struck, and cannons were blasted throughout the city, in celebration  The Pope had an Italian artist paint a mural of the massacre that still hangs in the Vatican today.

How does this event show religious disunity in Europe?  This event clearly shows religious disunity in Europe; men, women and children were being killed for no reason other than that they were Protestants  The Catholics and the Protestants could not agree on anything that was a very obvious sign of disunity in Europe  Even after the massacre the two religions could not get along and their hatred for each other grew even deeper

The Huguenots By: Talia Louda

Who were they?  The protestants of France  Lived in the south  Inspired by the writings of John Calvin

What happened?  They harshly criticized the doctrines and worship in the Catholic church  Criticized the sacramental rituals  Said that Catholics were obsessed with death and the dead  Some Huguenot preachers and congregants were attacked by catholics  5,000 to 30,000 Huguenots were killed at the St. Bartholomew’s day massacre

Who was involved  The Roman Catholics  Mob violence directed against the Huguenots  Began on August 23, 1572

How does this event show religious disunity in Europe?  This shows how the Catholics and The Huguenots didn’t get along because of their religions.  The Huguenot’s religious symbol -