Episode 300: Huguenots and Catholics

Hello and Welcome to Western SIEV Episode three hundred Huguenots and Catholics. Due to a series of accidents and thanks to her skill, the forty one year old Catherine de Medici now found herself the de facto ruler of France. Her foremost desire was to turn back the clock to the early days of Henry the Second,

when the realm appeared to be ascendant. To that end, she set about creating new symbols of royal authority that would harken back to an earlier, more prosperous time, and symbols that would seek to unite a disunified realm. She had a huge new seal crafted for herself as the Governor of France her new title. Then she had Michel de la Habital confirmed as Chancellor in March

of fifteen sixty one. De Habital was an educated man with legal training that would help Catherine develop intellectually some of the ideas which up to this point had been reached by her instincts but not by her legal abilities. Her half formed solutions based on common sense would now acquire a finished elegance, though her innate

ability to understand what a situation required had proved sound enough. Thus, far de l'abitel translated Catherine's will into a form that could be converted into public policy by the state apparatus. He also aided her presentation of her agendas. Through de la habital, she acquired a polish that frequently left her listeners surprised and impressed. Catherine then went on to make Bourband the Lieutenant General of France and

freed his brother Conde from jail in fifteen sixty one. These were overt symbols to the people of France that this regime would be different. This regime would not include the Geese family. But of course, the other issue was France was essentially bankrupt due to the pressing financial nightmare that continued to bedevil the kingdom. Catherine needed the estate's general endorsement of her position and to support her desperate

need to raise money. Despite the death of France as the second it had been agreed that the meeting of the Assembly should proceed, and Catherine spent days immediately beforehand reinforcing her position. Geese was still around and at the head of a small army or Bond continued to be docile. Letters went out to the

provinces and foreign powers, announcing Catherine's new powers and the subordinate role. According to Borbon, the arrival of the Constable with four hundred armed men suggested he might cause difficulties, especially when Catherine confirmed that Geese remained in command of the army. But Montmorency understood that the change in regime meant that he and his family could expect to prosper much more than they had under Francis the Second and

the Geeses. He realized nothing could be gained by agitation at this point, he needed the transition of power to be confirmed first. Thus Catherine managed to present at least superficially a united front to the Estates General when they finally convened. Now, the historic purpose of the Estates General, which is going to take more and more center stage in this show as we move forward, was to quote present grievances to the King and the voting of money end quote.

But historically it had only been rarely and by the monarch at least very reluctantly called. To present the factions of Geese, Barban and Mortmond sy as both loyal and harmonious was essential to the Queen Mother, no matter how maybe incredible of a picture that was projecting seated together at the opening ceremony with Catherine and

her children. The albeit incongruentous unity strengthened her image as an effective ruler and sent a message to the estates potentially troublesome representatives that she had the backing already of the country's most powerful nobles. This was a done deal. In his address to the Deputies, de la Abital made it quite clear that the Queen Mother viewed decisions by the crown to be above debate and final, nor would she hear any claims arising from anything from the past. That was key.

It was a done deal. That book was closed. We're not going backwards. Catherine made it clear, We're going forward. It rapidly dawned on the deputies of the Estates General that they had not been called for genuine consultation, but in order to give them money. If Henry the Second's wars and gifts had depleted King Francis the Second's cash reserves, his son's short reign left Catherine

staring at an empty treasury. Even the usual means of raising money by the sale of offices, however, corrupt, had been so deluded that they could no longer contribute anything of substance. Squeezing money from the peasantry during the Wars of Henry the Second had left them so impoverished that the estates were now being called upon to replenish the treasury. Of the three estates that made up the Estates General, the nobility, the clergy, and the commoners, only the

clergy felt itself really vulnerable. Since its riches were still relatively intact, it was certainly the most conscientious estate to pillage. Now in effect, the new Chancellor was asking the Estates General to raise funds and means to give the Crown

back its independence from itself, and nobody misunderstood what was going on. Once the flowery, legal and loyal language had all been bandied about, the bare fact remained that this was an auditious ask, to say the least, since none of the three estates stepped up to offer a solution, they'll all beat del asked them to consider the proposal he now put to them. His prescription

was to raise the what are called talaise. This is the Crown's only direct tax, the burden of which fell upon the peasantry, as the nobles and clergy were both exempts, so the idea was they would raise that for six years, and also that the clergy should buy back rents and revenues that the Crown had been forced to sell. The only suggestion that emerged from the estates themselves could best be described as unimaginative, which was just simply, you know,

the Crown needed to tighten its belt. Catherine diligently cut down the number of servants and offices, She lowered pensions and salaries, and was able to then rather triumphantly announce the savings of two point three million livre. Instead of congratulating Catherine on her endeavors, however, the deputies merely observed that if such a sum could be saved with such ease, could more deep cuts be made.

One contemporary wrote of Catherine's efforts as follows, quote the greatest of subsidies is the drastic economy which the court imposes on itself in all things end quote. De la Potel received instructions from the Queen mother to send the deputies away

into return with an answer in May. Although the financial question had been left without a solution, Catherine and de l'apotel congratulated themselves upon the reforms of the judicial system that have been pushed through in an attempt to alleviate the terrible and

these were bad abuses taking place in the judiciary. Magistrates would henceforth have to be elected, and several other measures were agreed to which would protect the peasantry and prevent abuses, mostly by the other two estates, the nobility and the church. A unification of weights and measures was also adopted, and taxes levied on moving goods from one area of France to another abolished. The further notable decision taken to creed that the Estates General should meet at least once every five

years. As to religion, the Chancellor pronounced that he considered it impossible to expect a cord between people of different faiths. He confirmed his axiom that he would repeat over and over and over again throughout the reign quote one faith, one law, one king. End quote. He added, Let us not innovate lightly, let us deliberate long and previously instruct ourselves. If a man may be allowed to adopt a new religion as he chooses, beware lest there

be as many religions as there are families and heads of men. You may say that your religion is better, I defend mine. Which is more reasonable that I should follow you or you follow me? End quote. For all of this reference to Orthodoxy, de la Alpitelle's speech nonetheless outlined Catherine's clear break with the Geese's methods of violent persecution. He reminded the estates general quote the knife is of no avail against the spirit, save to lose both body and

soul. Gentleness will accomplish more than rigor end quote. He spoke of the need of a general assembly of the Church Council to get to the root of this religious division, and he tried to make it clear that a council would be convoked for this purpose in the very near future. Once again, the

Protestants misunderstood this as a measure of toleration. Unfortunately, as a consequence, they grew ever more brazen in their open practice of the new religion, and this would only magnify Catholic fears by damaging church property, smashing sacred statues, and committing other sacrilegious acts. As always, steps towards toleration were meant by religious open expression of toleration, and this only made the more orthodox community react.

Ever, the harsher as we're going to see today. As Catherine's moderate religious policy became clear, an unlikely alliance grew together in a stated effort to keep France's traditional Catholic values firmly in place. This alliance saw the Geese family unite with Maltmonalcy plus the Marshal de sa Andre, who formed what was called

the Triumvirent. The three men intended first to secure France from further Protestant encroachment and then to go on the offensive, fighting against the Protestant powers of Europe. They had the support of Philip of Spain, the Emperor, and of course the papacy. In reality, the three men also had an unstated aim, which was to remove Catherine from power. For the moments, the supporters of these three men only made matters worse as they took it upon themselves to

attack groups of Huguenots, which are French Protestants. I'll get to the termin minute throughout the kingdom. After Easter, the Triumvirance announced that they were leaving court and would not return. Catherine was furious, but recognized that there was little she could do without the support of either the Constable or the Geese family. This also happened to be when the idea of a marriage between Mary,

Queen of Scott's, and Don Carlos, Philip's heir, surfaced. Catherine was livid, mostly because she realized that with Spanish support, the Gheese family would become basically unstoppable and might easily sweep her and her son aside. So she wrote to her daughter, now married to Phillip the Second in Spain, to

do everything that she could to subvert the plan. In the end, both Catherine and Elizabeth the First Queen of England opposed the match, and Philip didn't have enough strength for another fight, so by April fifteen sixty one, the project was dead and Catherine had dodged another bullet. Though, as we will see, Mary Stuart, mary Queen of Scott's, continued to push for this

idea long after it was actually dead. Catherine was eager to get Mary out of France and back to her homeland Scotland, which, by the way, Mary knew next to nothing about. Ultimately, Catherine got her way. On August the fourteenth, Mary Stuart left France for Leith, Scotland, never to return on May fifteenth, fifteen sixty one, Charles the ninth was finally crowned at Reams. It was a muted affair. Economically, the Crown could not

afford a lavish ceremony. Had it not been for the intervention of the Pope, none of the triumvis would have gone. But the papacy reminded the Geeses at Montmorency that if they continued to absent themselves from court, then Charles would definitely fall under the sway of Protestants. Had no choice. They had to go back, so they did, but they stood at the ceremony looking surly and unhappy about it the whole time. After the coordination, Catherine worked to

bring Montmorency and the Geese family back into the royal fold. She managed to get the Duke of Geese to come back to Paris, but only with the promise that he could lead an annual Catholic procession. In the end, Catherine achieved a cosmetic sense of unity, but the sore beneath the veneer continued to fester. Importantly, Catherine continued to work to show up her relations with Philip of Spade, because she knew that he was a person who was really supporting

the three triumvers. If she could pull Philip away, then the whole thing might fall apart. And to that end, she always portrayed herself as the model, stern Catholic matriarch, though her behavior in private often suggested that this too was cosmetic. The Queen Mother's daughter Margaret, would later report that the court was full of heretics. Yet in public and in her messages sent across the kingdom, Catherine consistently portrayed herself as an ardent Catholic. But the reality

was that Catherine's middle position left her looking weak to many. Her advisors consistently urged her to take a harder line against the Huguenots. At least, they wanted her to take action that would curb some of the appearances, and I do mean outward appearances of Protestantism. If Catherine wasn't going to persecute the Huguenots, then she should at very least stop their actions from being so public.

That might slow down the simmering conflict, But she did not. On the thirtieth of July, and edict was announced that offered amnesty for all religious offenses. Since Henry the second's death with a provision that in the future those persons led quote peaceful and Catholic lives. It was yet another stopgap solution. With the meeting of the Church Council that have been promised about the Estates General now only a month away. Catherine felt more optimistic than most that a reasonable solution

might be found. To her, God should only be invoked as a protector, not as an avenger. In religious matters. She was no fanatic, except when her sons and their birthrights were concerned. The Catholic Mass suited her just fine, a lifelong habit that she found comforting, almost as though it

was just a talisman. Unfortunately, she failed to grasp that the burning issues were not tiny doctrinal differences between Christians, but a profound rejection by the reformers of two fundamental truths upon which the Catholic Church was built, the Eucharist and the doctrinal authority of the Pope. Now the Pope was concerned about the Estates General as well, and especially the suggestion of a French Church Council. He

wanted, obviously, to be in charge of doctrinal reforms. He pressed Catherine to delay the Council with Trent still humming. The Council of Trent, by the way, doesn't end until fifteen sixty three. Catherine didn't believe that she could wait, and she pressed ahead, telling the Pope that he was welcome to send a representative to the meeting, which he did shortly before the Church conference. The Estates General met on the twenty seventh of August. The meetings

that for May had been postponed due to the coronation. The outcome of the meeting, which had been called to deal with the crown's financial problems, resulted

in money being voted to curb the king's finance issues. Most of the funds came from the Church, which, fearing even harsher demands being made upon it, offered one point five million livre over six years quote for the redemption of royal domains and of indirect taxes which had been alienated, and quote a further seven and a half million livre would be paid to settle the King's debts. The financial aid promised was a huge relief to Catherine. With one problem solved,

she could move on to the next. The Church Council, leading Calvinist present, Theodore de Bezier arrived in Poissier on August the twenty third. He was believed to be the most reasonable of the Calvinist leaders, though that wasn't saying much because they weren't, on the main a super reasonable bunch. Bezez met with Cardinal Loran and spoke at length about various doctrinal issues. While they didn't come out of the meeting with anything concrete, at least they didn't come

to blows. Catherine claimed it as a triumph. A few days later, However, this triumph proved to be purely fool's gold. The result of this religious convocation was the so called Colloquio Posse. The Colloquia Posse opened in a refractory of a Dominican convent not far from Paris. Seated there on the raised dais were Catherine and her children, the Princes of the Blood, and the

King's counsul. Along both sides of the room, facing each other, sat the difference prelates the doctors of theology, cardinals and ministers who were to participate in debate and hear the arguments. The Duke of Geese brought in the meager number of Protestant representatives under guard and placed them behind a low barrier, as if to prevent them from contaminating the rest of those present. As seating arrangements

go, it was neither tactful nor auspicious. Dibse opened with a graceful speech and then proceeded to go to the straight to the heart of the matter before them, his el the listeners. As he moved on to the subject of the Eucharist, he then spoke those fatal words about the host quote, his body is as far removed from the bread and the wine as Heaven is from Earth end quote. There followed a horrified and stunned silence, followed by an

uproar, and then shouts of blasphemy and scandal. The Cardinal of Trent rounded on Catherine on her raised platform and cried out, quote, how can you tolerate such horrors and blasphemy to be spoken before your children, who are still of such a tender age end quote. Catherine replied that she and her sons were Catholic and would live and die as Catholic. The Jesuit general, who was present, warned the queen that the kingdom was doomed if she didn't banish

the heretics. Then in there with de Bese's words, Catherine's hopes for a compromise collapsed. After a few more days that produced nothing but deeper division and more hatred, the Colloquia Poisse closed on the thirteenth of October fifteen sixty one. Despite the acrimony at plis A, Catherine continued to show favor to the Protestants. One explanation apart from her pragmatism and hopes of unity based on reason,

could be put down to simply the conduct of the Huguenots present. While the Triumvirs and the Spanish bullied and threatened her, the Protestant leaders and noblemen treated the Queen Mother with the greatest respect, calling her our Queen and making endless loyal professions as French subjects to the crown. This clever policy of appealing to her as their ruler and protector, lauding her wisdom and foresight, gained

them a lot of ground and favor. This was particularly true since the Catholic chiefs were frequently absent from the court, sulking at their estates, and if they did deign to appear at court, they were constantly rude to Catherine. In the absence of the war hero Geese and other Catholic icons. The most brilliant Huguenot leaders, such as the care charismatic Admiral Gaspard de Colin Neay you'll hear of him again, who had been publicly disowned by his uncle Montmorency for

his change of religion. They had the stage to themselves, and they proved irresistible to many, and de Beze received a gracious invitation to remain at court. Indeed, Catherine allowed him to preach to the increasing number of Protestant converts there, among them some of the most important noble men and noble women of the country. Of course, the result of all this was that the Geese faction again withdrew from court in protest Now as they did, they this time

attempted to kidnap Eduard Alexandre, Catherine's youngest and certainly favorite child. The effort to steal away her son incensed Catherine. Later on, perhaps as part of a greater plan, perhaps out of a good natured interest, King Philip wrote to Catherine that she should move her remaining children somewhere where they would be safe from all the strife. She wrote back, the only place she could think

of to send them was the Spanish court. This was likely just an effort to smoke out Philip to see if he had a hand in the effort to kidnap the Prince. Neither way, he declined. During the late autumn of fifteen sixty one, monks were being killed and churches pillaged in the southwest of France, where the Huguenots held Sway. In revenge, Parisian Catholics rose up

and attacked Huguenot gatherings in an attempt to keep the warring parties separate. Protestants were banned from worshiping within the city walls and not at all on Sundays or Catholic feast days. De Besei wrote to Calvin that he had secret permission for Protestants to meet in safety and waited for an edict that would give them better terms. Catherine was making a final, brave attempt to unite the two faiths, holding back French clergymen from setting out to attend the Council of Trent.

She struggled heroically to find some sort of accommodation. Despite all her efforts, what Catherine failed to see was the sheer passion with which many people clung to their beliefs. For many, there could be no accommodation when it came to their faith. There could be no compromise. For them, Paris was not yet worth a mass. Catherine's last effort at producing a peaceful solution came with

the Edict of January. In de Haupital's opening speech before the meeting to discuss it, he put forward the view that he shared with Catherine, affirming that the Assembly had not been called to decide which was the best religion, but only the best way to restore the state. He said it was possible to be a citizen without being a Christian. Indeed, it was possible for an excommunicant to be a citizen. The debates and resulting vote took place on the

fifteenth of January fifteen sixty two. The edict effectively recognized and legalized the Protestant religion in French, which had hitherto been outlawed. By giving the Protestants even minimal recognition, Catherine now allowed them the right of citizenship, albeit a second class one. Henceforth, they would be allowed to practice their religion, but only outside town and city walls, closing the council with an eloquent speech in

which she explained her vision and her hope. She reaffirmed that quote she and her children and the King's Council wished to live in the Catholic faith in obedience to rome end quote. Catholics, of course, were furious with the edict, and Parliament refused to ratify it. Even her daughter Elizabeth wrote from Spain, saying bluntly that her mother must either declare unambiguously for the Catholics and receive the support from Spain, or sided with the Protestants, in which case she

would be Spain's enemy. Finally, Catherine sent her delegates to attend the Council of Trent and argued that the edict must be seen as a stopgap. Before the council finished its deliberation, Catherine wrote to Philip, hoping to clarify her stance as a firm Catholic and somehow some way pulled off the impending storm. It didn't work. On March the first, fifteen sixty two, the storm

finally broke. The Duke of Geese had been visiting his family estates in the Champon region during early fifteen sixty two, and on Sunday, the first of March, he rode with an armed escort to hear the mass. As he passed through the small town of Vessay, belonging to his niece Mary Stewart, he heard singing coming from within a barn that was inside the town walls. A Protestant service was being held, which, according to the terms of the

new edict, was clearly illegal. The Duke attended Mass in a church not far from the barn, to his increasing anger. The voices of the psalm singers could be clearly heard as they filtered through the church walls. Whoever provoked the subsequent fight is not The Duke's official version gave it out to a quote regrettable accident end quote. The temples boiled over into a violent struggle between the Huguenots and Geese's men, which left seventy four Protestants dead and over one hundred

wounded. Among the casualties were women and children. Geese himself received a cut to the face and some of his men were also hurt. The incident became known as the Massacre of Vessay, and it admittedly lit the fuse that sparked off what will come to be known as the French Wars of religion. News of the massacre of Vassi swept across the Kingdom of France like a great crashing wave. Shortly thereafter, the Duke of Geese was marching to Paris ahead of

three thousand men. Already within the city stood Conde at the head of his own private army of one thousand as Saint Germaine. When she heard news of the massacre of Vassi, Catherine made an eleventh hour attempt to stop open warfare breaking out in the capitol. She commanded Conde's brother, the Cardinal de Bourbon, governor of France, to order both Geese and Conde to quit the city

at once, taking their win with them. Knowing he was secure though having two thousand more men, Geese did not move, but Conde rightly feared for his life and left Paris on March twenty third, fifteen sixty two. Catherine then sent four emotional letters to him in the last two weeks of March,

begging him not to abandon either her or the peace of France. In it, she wrote, quote, I see so much that pains me that were it not for the confidence I have in God, and the certainty that you will help me preserve this kingdom and serve the king my son, I would even feel worse hope that we shall remedy all with your good counsel and help end quote. Now, even at the best of times, Conde never allowed himself to be taken in by Catherine's flattery. The prince now considered it time

to arm and fight for what he believed was right. All her appeals were made in vain. Catherine and the court smartly moved to Fontainebleau, but the Duke of Geese arrived there on the twenty sixth of March with one thousand armed men. He claimed that he had come to protect the royal family and take them back to Paris. Catherine refused, but when the Duke insisted, she had no choice and capitulated. In possession of the king, The Catholic faction

was now effectively now in control of the government. On April, the second Conde to the south captured the city of Orleans, Rua felt the Huguenots a few days later. Sides were now being drawn for an all out civil war. Catherine met with Conde on June ninth, but nothing came from the meeting other than the promise of meeting again. The two did meet again a few weeks later, but it came to nothing. At this point, both sides,

Huguenot and Catholics, started to reach out for foreign aid. The Huguenots called out to Geneva and, of course, Protestant England. Queen Elizabeth was at first noncommittal, but ultimately signed the Treaty of Hampton Court in fifteen sixty two in September. Now that being said, any help that came from England was only partly assisting the Huguenots out of a desire to help their fellow Protestants.

Mostly, Queen Elizabeth just wanted Calais back. To that end, she agreed to send six thousand English troops who worked to improve fortifications at La Have. Catherine and the Catholics sent out their own appeals for aid. Philip of Spain sent ten thousand infantry and three hundred cal Swiss mercenaries came in droves to fill royal ranks, but if anything, the first few weeks of what became known as the First War of Religion in France were dominated by atrocities on both

sides, especially in the countryside. Two hundred Protestants were drowned at tours in Sinns, monks had their throats cut. Even the recently deceased Francis the Second was not free from the violence. His heart was stolen from its urn and desecrated. By mid October, Catherine was present at the siege of Rowan, watching her guns bombard the battlements. Geese and Montmorency warned her not to expose herself to danger, but she laughed at their fears, saying only, quote,

my courage is as great as yours end quote. They did not exaggerate the risks that she ran. When Antoine de barban A Pyeing, one of the forward Royalist positions, needed to relieve himself. He wandered into the bushes a little way off from his men and was hit in the left shoulder by a shot of an archieblus. Geese, who found Bourbon knocked to the ground,

picked him up and had him carried to the surgeons. Yeah first sight, the wound did not look mortal, but despite what must have been an excruciating exploratory surgeons as the physicians poked and brought it about the bullet could not be found. Catherine arrived at Bourbon's sick bed, bringing with her Geese and Antoine's brother, the Cardinal de Babon, as a host of doctors and surgeons

surrounding him maintained their optimism. However, at some point it was clear that the doctors were wrong, and a replacement doctor was brought in who diagnosed the situation correct. The wound was gangrenous. This surgeon later recalled Bourbon's suffering quote it was necessary to open his arm, from which came a smell so foul that many people are unable to bear the stench were forced to leave the room end quote. Unfortunately, noplus accompanied the putrid odor, and the patient grew

delirious as his fever steadily rose. He asked to be removed from the unhealthy air of Rowan and be taken up the sin in a galley. With his end quickly approaching, Urban behaved as indecisively in death as he had done in life. Both Catholics and Protestants, eager to claim the salvation of this high

prince, surrounded him, arguing over his soul. On November the ninth, he confessed to a Catholic priest, but the following day, regaining consciousness, he declared, quote, I wish to live and die as a Lutheran. On the night of the seventeenth of November, one month after receiving his wound,

death finally claimed him. His last words were to his Italian valet, of whom he was fond Grabbing the man's beard, he gasped, quote, serve my son well and make sure he serves the king Antoine's and meant that his eight year old son, Anri, became not only the first prince of the blood, but also heir to the throne after Catherine's sons. For this, if for no other reason, Catherine feared the boy, and in time Amrie would also prove himself to be a much more intractable foe than his father

had ever been. But for now, at only eight, onreposed what could be said is only a theoretical challenge to Catherine's power. One of the joys

that Catherine had anticipated upon the recapture of Ruan evaded her. However, Gabrielle de Montmorency, one of the key leading Protestant figures, with a handful of men, escaped on board a ship, but just before the town fell in a vengeful frenzy, four thousand rebel captives were put to the sword by Royalist soldiers, though Geese tried to put a stop to the worst excesses and keep some of the more valuable prisoners for rans. More pressing problems now occupied Catherine.

However, despite the Royalists regaining the momentum, there was a sudden and real danger posed when Conde and his army left Orleans marching toward Paris. Geese, who had planned to take La Have, abandoned his project and set out immediately with his army in a headlong rush to try to cut the army off

before the Huguenots could reach the capitol. Geese ultimately did win the race, and Conde turned toward the English troops in Normandy, planning to join forces with them before any major engagement took place, but he was foiled by Mount Moranci's army, which blocked the route northward, and the Battle of Jua was fought

on the nineteenth of December fifteen sixty two. The Huguenots actually nearly won this battle on what could be only described as a dazzling cavalry charge, but in the end, Geese's arrival meant that the Catholic faction had just way more men and that they won the day. Interestingly enough, both Conde, a Protestant, and mat Morenci, a Catholic, found themselves prisoners by the opposite side at battle's end. The upshot of all of this became that the Duke of

Geese was now the unquestioned head of the Royalist faction. Catherine wanted to use this victory, which was tactical but not a complete defeat for the Protestants, to start peace talks. But Geese, as I said, now totally in control, decided to proceed onto Orleans and placed really the last major bastion of Huguenot power under siege. It proved to be a costly error. On February eighteenth, fifteen sixty three, while inspecting the progress of the siege, the

Duke of Geese was shot in the back by an assassin. He died shortly thereafter. Catherine was at Bluis when she heard the news. She was in part devastated because the Duke had been by far her best military commander, but she was also elated because his death meant that his control over her son was over. But in the end she really realized that the Duke's death made any

chance of peace impossible. Now it would be all eye for an eye justice, and matters only grew more serious when the assassin was found and confessed that he had done all he had done on orders from Huguenot leaders. On March the nineteenth, the Duke received a state funeral and thousands lined the streets to witness the procession. The assassination of the Duke of Geese set in motion a series of events that's going to culminate in the deaths of tens of thousands of

people about nine years later. So no one knew that yet. Invariably, Catherine's long and often difficult relationship with the Geese family left a cloud of suspicion over her as well. Ring to the Venetian and Master, Catherine had once remarked her only regret was that Geese had not died sooner. However, the reality remained that after the Duke's death, Catherine was the undisputed head of the

Catholic faction. She truly wanted peace, but recognized that most French were ardent Catholics, and that any agreements that ended the conflict would need to prevent the spread of the Reformed Faith. But we're going to leave things with Catherine there because the death of the Duke of Geese really brings to an end the first

phase of the French Wars of Religion. Next time, we're going to go back to England, where Elizabeth is still without an air and as we will see, the situation is growing more and more perilous for the English, all the while