St Bart's Day Massacre (Long-term causes + motives)

Question 1

how did Huguenots threaten ordinary people

Answer 1

Huguenots threatened the fabric of day-to-day life, where the authority of priests, bishops and the mass were central to the way communities operated

Question 2

how did Huguenots threaten the Crown

Answer 2

In France, more than any other European state, the Crown’s authority was tied up to that of the Church so the Huguenots represented a threat to the Crown’s authority

Question 3

how did Huguenots threaten the Catholic nobility

Answer 3

Huguenot threat to the established hierarchy was alarming (similar to the Crown’s anxiety)

Question 4

how had Huguenot rhetoric developed

Answer 4

became more anti-royalist in nature

Question 5

2 examples of Huguenot anti-royalist rhetoric

Answer 5

1. anti-royalist propaganda began circulating in Lyon in 1564
2. Calvin began to question the ‘divine authority’ of kings in 1561

Question 6

what did the French Wars of Religion normalise

Answer 6

normalised extreme violence towards Huguenots

Question 7

2 examples of Massacres pre-St Bart’s

Answer 7

1. Vassy 1562

2. Rouen 1571

Question 8

how was France already on the edge of turmoil?

Answer 8

royal authority declining since death of Henry II (1559).
death of two kings in quick succession followed by accession of a young Charles IX created an atmosphere of political instability

Question 9

how was the French political instability exacerbated

Answer 9

outbreak of multiple wars of religion