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by Arlette Jouanna (Author), Joseph Bergin (Translator)
On 18 August 1572, Paris hosted the lavish wedding of Marguerite de Valois and Henri de Navarre, which was designed to seal the reconciliation of France's Catholics and Protestants. Only six days later, the execution of the Protestant leaders on the orders of the king's council unleashed a vast massacre by Catholics of thousands of Protestants in Paris and elsewhere. Why was the celebration of concord followed so quickly by such unrestrained carnage?
Now in paperback for the first time, Arlette Jouanna's new reading of the most notorious massacre in early modern European history rejects most of the established accounts, especially those privileging conspiracy, in favour of an explanation based on ideas of reason of state. The Massacre stimulated reflection on royal power, the limits of authority and obedience, and the danger of religious division for France's political traditions. Based on extensive research and a careful examination of existing interpretations, this book is the most authoritative analysis of a shattering event.Front Jacket
On 18 August 1572, Paris hosted the lavish wedding of Marguerite de Valois and Henri de Navarre, which was designed to seal the reconciliation of France's Catholics and Protestants. Only six days later, the execution, on the orders of the king's council, of the Protestant leaders unleashed a vast massacre by Catholics of thousands of Protestants in Paris and elsewhere. How did the celebration of concord give way so quickly to an explosion of violence, and the preventitive execution of a few leaders to unrestrained carnage? Who were the key players in these terrible events? Arlette Jouanna re-interprets the worst massacre in early modern European history, rejecting most of the established accounts, especially those privileging conspiracy. Instead, she views the decision to resort to summary justice as an attempt, based on reason of state, to preserve the king's endangered authority. The tragedy stimulated widespread reflection on the foundations of royal power, the limits of authority and obedience, and the danger of religious division for France's political traditions. Such reflection helped steer France in the direction of royal absolutism. This nuanced and wide-ranging account, based on extensive new research and a careful examination of the existing historiography, is the most authoritative analysis of its subject, and written in a style that will appeal to both specialist historians and a wider public seeking to examine the European roots of the connections between religion and violence.
Author Biography
Arlette Jouanna is Professor Emerita of History at the University of Montpellier-III, FranceJoseph Bergin is Professor Emeritus of History at the University of Manchester, Fellow of the British Academy and Correspondant Étranger, Institut de France.
