The St. Bartholomew Day Massacre of 1572 remains a controversial and bitterly divisive event. And although this incident took place in France, it was used to incite the hatred of Protestants to Catholics in England. Research indicates that there is wide disagreement as to the number who died during this incident. A reasonable estimate of the total slain in the massacre is nearly 9,000—10,000, with 2,000—3,000 in the city of Paris alone.
Cobbett wrote of the massacre:
“Though the massacre of Saint Bartholomew took place in France, yet it has formed so fertile a source of calumny against the religion of our fathers, it has served as a pretense with Protestant historians to justify or palliate so many atrocities on the part of their divers sects, and the Queen of England and her ministers had so great a hand in first producing it and then in punishing Catholics under pretense of avenging it.”[1]
The massacre, during which the Catholic partisans of Queen Catherine de Medici[2] attacked and killed their Huguenot opponents in Paris and throughout the provinces, has been held up by Protestants as an example of the tendencies of Catholics in power towards repression, while atheists and liberals tout the massacre as an example of the intolerance religion can bring about in general. The death of individuals as the result of religious fanaticism cannot be justified by any reason; however, as in everything, there are at least two sides to every story.
Under John Calvin’s direction, his followers in France formed congregations supplied with preachers from Geneva. In May 1559, about 4000,000 Huguenots, as they were then described, assembled at Paris for a national synod in which they drew up a confession of faith (Confessio Gallicana) and a program of church organization based on Calvin’s writings. Thus, the Calvinistic church of France came into existence.
During the reign of the young King Francis II (1559-1560), the Huguenots sought civil recognition of their religion. The conspiracy of Amboise also called Tumult of Amboise, was a failed attempt by Huguenots in 1560 to gain power over France by abducting the young King Francis II, and arresting Francis, Duke of Guise, and his brother, the Cardinal of Lorraine—the leaders of the Catholic party. However, the Guises were warned in time, and the plot failed.
Francis II was succeeded by Charles IX (1550 –1574). Charles was a monarch of the House of Valois who ruled as King of France from 1560 until his death in 1574. He ascended the throne of France when he was but ten years old. During his minority the queen-mother, Catherine de Medici, niece of Pope Clement VII, ruled in his stead. Her policy was to prevent either party from becoming dominant. Hence, she summoned Anthony the Huguenot King of Navarre, to take part in the government and ordered the courts to cease persecutions of the Huguenots. Meanwhile Calvinism continued to progress.
Catherine invited both parties to a meeting held at Poissy, near Paris, in the fall of 1561. Neither side was satisfied with the results. An edict issued at St. Germain-en-Laye in January, 1562, granted freedom of conscience to Protestants throughout the kingdom and freedom of worship under police protection outside the cities. These concessions emboldened the Huguenots to seek still more favors.
While the leaders were immediately concerned with the enforcing of the edict, the Calvinist preachers sent from Geneva, inflamed with Calvin’s spirit, called for the total destruction of Catholic “idolatry” and taught that it was right to resist “tyrannical” and “godless” authority for the sake of religion. Under these instructions the Huguenot began to attack churches and monasteries and to assault priests and monks.
On March 1, 1562, the Duke of Guise, on his way to Paris with and escort of 200 horsemen tried to stop a Huguenot service being held in the city of Vassy, contrary to the Edict of St. Germain. This action provoked a reaction in which a number of Huguenots were killed or wounded. This was the first of the eight Huguenot wars, which, with some interruptions, lasted for thirty years.
Historian, Karl Bihlmeyer, provides us this perspective:
“The Massacre of St. Bartholomew’s Eve deserves to be condemned in the strongest terms. It was a political crime committed under the cloak of religion. But it was not, as is so often asserted even to this present day, the result of long premeditation; it was rather the result of a hasty decision made to repair the blunder in the plot against Coligny.[3] The responsibility for the crime lies entirely with the French court which had long been accustomed to appeal to the principles of Machiavelli.[4] The Holy See had nothing whatsoever to do with the massacre. Pius V had expressly demanded that resistance to the heretics be aperte et libere [open and freely] and had condemned any resort to illegitimate means. And Gregory XIII (pope since May 13, 1572) certainly knew nothing of the plot. It is true, there was rejoicing in Rome (Te Deum,[5] procession, a Bull of Jubilee and a memorial medal) at the message from the French court that the rebels and heretics had received their just desserts. The message said nothing about the atrocities which had been committed, but spoke only of the victory which the Catholics had gained. And to rejoice at such news was quite in harmony with the spirit of the age. During the period of the Reformation and Counter-Reformation intolerance was the order of the day. The bitter religious feuds had deadened moral sensibilities and the majority of the people were ruled by a ‘collective mentality’ which justified anything done to the enemies of one’s religion. Even conspiracy and political murder were not considered serious crimes and had increased alarmingly. The followers of Calvin especially were swayed by a wild spirit of revenge, as is seen in Scotland (under John Knox),[6] in England (under Cromwell), in the Netherlands and in France. Coligny publicly applauded the assassination of the Duke of Guise as the greatest good fortune that had befallen France, and although he knew of the plot, did nothing to prevent the murder. Calvin’s successor, Beza,[7] who held that liberty of conscience was a diabolicum dogma [diabolical dogma], called Guise’s assassination the work of an avenging God and praised the murderer. Elizabeth I of England planned the murder of Gregory XIII. Philip II and Don Juan of Austria, at least approved such plans.”[8]
The Massacre of St. Bartholomew’s Eve did not result in the extinction of the Huguenots.
They were considerably weakened; but now they began to assemble their forces and press their demands. War broke out again (fourth and fifth Huguenot wars 1572 – 1773, 1575 – 1576). In 1576, King Henry III (1574 – 1589), an immoral weakling, was forced to grant them almost complete religious freedom.
John Henry Cardinal Newman pointed out in the nineteenth century that Catholicism in England was the victim of prejudice.
“I am only investigating how it is she comes to be so despised and hated among us; since a Religion need not incur scorn and animosity simply because it is not recognized as true. And, I say, the reason is this, that reasons of State, political and national, prevent her from being heard in her defense. She is considered too absurd to be inquired into, and too corrupt to be defended, and too dangerous to be treated with equity and fair dealing. She is the victim of a prejudice which perpetuates itself, and gives birth to what it feeds upon.”[9]
[1] Corbett, p. 239.
[2] Catherine de’ Medici (1519 – 1589), daughter of Lorenzo II de’ Medici and of Madeleine de La Tour d’Auvergne, was an Italian noblewoman who was Queen of France from 1547 until 1559, as the wife of King Henry II.
[3] Gaspard II de Coligny, (1519 – 1572), admiral of France and leader of the Huguenots during the early years of the Wars of Religion (1562–98).
[4] Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli was an Italian Renaissance historian, politician, diplomat, philosopher, humanist, and writer. He has often been called the founder of modern political science. “Machiavellianism” is a widely used negative term to characterize unscrupulous politicians of the sort Machiavelli described most famously in The Prince.
[5] The Te Deum (also known as Ambrosian Hymn or A Song of the Church) is an early Christian hymn of praise. The title is taken from its opening Latin words, Te Deum laudamus, rendered as “Thee, O God, we praise”.
[6] John Knox (c. 1513 – 1572) was a Scottish clergyman, theologian, and writer who was a leader of the Protestant Reformation and is considered the founder of the Presbyterian denomination in Scotland.
[7] Theodore Beza was a French Protestant Christian theologian and scholar who played an important role in the Reformation.
[8] (cfr. W. Platshoff, Die Theorie von der Morbefuhnis der Obrigkeit im 16. Jh. 1906, 81 ff.) Quoted in Karl Bihlmeyer, Church History, vol. three, p. 173.
[9] Newman, J. H., Lectures on the Present Position of Catholics in England, (London: Burns, Gates, & Company, 1851), p. 11.