On 24 February 1563,

François, Duke of Guise François de Lorraine, 2nd Duke of Guise, 1st Prince of Joinville, and 1st Duke of Aumale (17 February 1519 – 24 February 1563), was a French general and statesman. A prominent leader during the Italian War of 1551–1559 and French Wars of Re ...

was assassinated by the Huguenot

Jean de Poltrot Jean de Poltrot ( 1537 – 1563), sieur de Méré or Mérey, was a French nobleman of Angoumois, who Assassination of Francis, Duke of Guise, assassinated Francis, Duke of Guise in the aftermath of the massacre of Huguenots at Wassy. He had ...

during the

Siege of Orléans The siege of Orléans (12 October 1428 – 8 May 1429) marked a turning point of the Hundred Years' War between France and England. The siege took place at the pinnacle of English power during the later stages of the war, but was repulsed by F ...

. His death represents a critical turning point in the

French Wars of Religion The French Wars of Religion were a series of civil wars between French Catholic Church, Catholics and Protestantism, Protestants (called Huguenots) from 1562 to 1598. Between two and four million people died from violence, famine or disease di ...

. It would be the first major assassination in what would become a blood feud between the various aristocratic houses which would see the deaths of Louis, Prince of Condé and the

St. Bartholomew's Day massacre The Saint Bartholomew's Day massacre () in 1572 was a targeted group of assassinations and a wave of Catholic mob violence directed against the Huguenots (French Calvinist Protestants) during the French Wars of Religion. Traditionally believed ...

follow. It also proved a decisive factor in bringing the first War of Religion to a close in the

Edict of Amboise The Edict of Amboise, also known as the Edict of Pacification, was signed at the Château of Amboise on 19 March 1563 by Catherine de' Medici, acting as regent for her son Charles IX of France. The Edict ended the first war of the French Wars ...

Background

The Guise and their governance

The Guise family, led by

and his brother

Charles, Cardinal of Lorraine Charles de Lorraine (17 February 1524 – 26 December 1574), Duke of Chevreuse, was a French Cardinal, a member of the powerful House of Guise. He was known at first as the Cardinal of Guise, and then as the second Cardinal of Lorraine, after t ...

represented one of the most powerful noble families in France. The family was elevated to the peerage during the reign of

Henry II Henry II may refer to: Kings * Saint Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor (972–1024), crowned King of Germany in 1002, of Italy in 1004 and Emperor in 1014 *Henry II of England (1133–89), reigned from 1154 *Henry II of Jerusalem and Cyprus (1271–1 ...

, whose council they would grow to dominate by his death in 1559. With the beginning of the reign of the young Francis II the Guise quickly moved to consolidate control over the administration and crown finance, exerting a strong degree of influence over royal policy. In opposition to this control, the

Amboise conspiracy The Amboise conspiracy, also called Tumult of Amboise, was a failed attempt by a Huguenots, Huguenot faction in Kingdom of France, France to gain control over the young King Francis II of France, Francis II and to reverse the policies of the curr ...

developed, with the aim of arresting both the Duke and his brother and taking control of the King for the Huguenot nobility. Having received word of the conspiracy ahead of time, the Guise were able to fight off the attempt, executing hundreds of those involved. Attempting to avenge this, the first assassination attempt was plotted against the duke of Guise, a staged hunting accident on 16 May 1560 that fell through after one of the conspirators betrayed the others. The Duke blamed this, and the Amboise conspiracy, on the Prince of Condé, managing to secure his arrest and quick judgement of execution in October 1560. Before this could be carried out, the sudden death of Francis II induced a power vacuum that freed Condé. The ascension of Charles IX would sever their connections to the royal family that had existed through their niece’s marriage to Francis and, with the formation of a new regency council under

Catherine de' Medici Catherine de' Medici (, ; , ; 13 April 1519 – 5 January 1589) was an Italian Republic of Florence, Florentine noblewoman of the Medici family and Queen of France from 1547 to 1559 by marriage to Henry II of France, King Henry II. Sh ...

, they left court.

The First French War of Religion

On 1 March 1562, the Duke stopped at the town of

Wassy Wassy () is a Communes of France, commune in the Haute-Marne Departments of France, department in north-eastern France. Its population, as of 2019, is 2,819. Wassy has been Twin towns and sister cities, twinned with the German town of Eppingen i ...

while travelling to Paris, and encountered a Huguenot congregation. He and his gentlemen committed a

massacre A massacre is an event of killing people who are not engaged in hostilities or are defenseless. It is generally used to describe a targeted killing of civilians Glossary of French words and expressions in English#En masse, en masse by an armed ...

. This precipitated the first French War of Religion, with the Prince of Condé citing it in his 8 April Manifesto shortly after he began hostilities with the seizure of

Orléans Orléans (,"Orleans"
(US) and Antoine of Navarre Antoine (, , 22 April 1518 – 17 November 1562), sometimes called Antoine of Bourbon, was King of Navarre from 1555 until his death in 1562 as the husband and co-ruler of Queen Jeanne III. He was the first monarch of the House of Bourbon, of whi ...

Anne de Montmorency Anne de Montmorency, duc de Montmorency ( – 12 November 1567) was a French noble, governor, royal favourite and Constable of France during the mid to late Italian Wars and early French Wars of Religion. He served under five French kings (Loui ...

and Jacques de Saint André took leadership of fighting the war again Condé on the crowns behalf. After initial successes of those opposing the crown, the victory at the Siege of Rouen and the

Battle of Dreux The Battle of Dreux was fought on 19 December 1562 between Catholics and Huguenots. The Catholics were led by Anne de Montmorency while Louis I, Prince of Condé, led the Huguenots. Though commanders from both sides were captured, the French C ...

quickly turned the war in the crown's favour. Concurrently, the death of Navarre at

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine, in northwestern France. It is in the prefecture of Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one ...

, and the death and capture respectively of Saint André and Montmorency at

Dreux Dreux () is a Communes of France, commune in the Eure-et-Loir Departments of France, department in northern France. Geography Dreux lies on the small river Blaise (river), Blaise, a tributary of the Eure (river), Eure, about 35 km north of Cha ...

left the Duke in uncontested leadership of the crown's war efforts. As such, while the captured Montmorency and Condé, alongside Catherine, were in favour of a negotiated settlement, they were unable to stop the Duke from seeking a final decisive victory by besieging and capturing the last northern stronghold of

Orléans Orléans (,"Orleans"
(US) and It was at this siege, close to its completion, where he was assassinated.

An assassination and a funeral

Planning the assassination

Jean de Poltrot had first found himself involved in action against the Guise during the Conspiracy of Amboise, at which he was present as a page of Francois Bouchard. While he was able to escape the reprisals that followed, two of his kinsmen, including the leader of the conspiracy, La Renaudie, would be executed. With the beginnings of the French Wars of Religion, Poltrot would head to Orleans in the service of Jean de Parthenay-Larchêveque in 1562. After a trip to Lyons later in the year, he would return with letters for

Gaspard II de Coligny Gaspard de Coligny, seigneur de Châtillon (; 16 February 1519 – 24 August 1572), was a French nobleman, Admiral of France, and Huguenot leader during the French Wars of Religion. He served under kings Francis I and Henry II during the ...

, the leader of the anti crown forces now that Condé was a prisoner. At this time he was hired by Coligny to spy on the Duke’s camp besieging Orléans and given first 20, then 100 écus for this service. Successfully insinuating himself into the Duke's household, he spent several days procrastinating before deciding to act.

The night of 18 Feb 1563

Poltrot was moved to action on the night of 18 Feb 1563 by word that the Duke was close to complete victory, and the siege would be won in the next 24 hours. The Duke was returning to his lodgings from the suburb of Portereau, where he had been in the trenches inspecting the final efforts of the sapping work under the city walls. To reach his lodgings, the Duke had to take a small ferry which could only carry three passengers, ensuring that, by the time he got close to home, he would be almost alone. Poltrot hid in the bushes alongside the path, allowing him to draw near enough to the Duke to fire his pistol at an effective range, shooting the Duke in the back before fleeing. This accomplished, Poltrot panicked in the dark of the night, losing his direction and failing to escape from the district. He would be arrested on suspicion of involvement and confess to the capturing soldiers.

Guise's last days

The wound was not at first considered life-threatening, however when he developed signs of what appeared to his doctors to be a fever on 22 Feb their painful operation to attempt to extract the bullet further worsened his condition. As he approached death and began to speak of desiring to apologise for Wassy and seek a 'good reformation' of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

his more conservative family members

Claude, Duke of Aumale Claude II de Lorraine, duc d'Aumale (18 August 1526, Joinville – 3 March 1573, La Rochelle) was a Prince étranger, military commander and French governor, during the latter Italian Wars and the early French Wars of Religion. The son of th ...

and

Louis I, Cardinal of Guise Louis de Lorraine, cardinal de Guise et prince-évêque de Metz (21 October 1527, in Joinville, Champagne – 29 March 1578, in Paris) was a French Roman Catholic cardinal and Bishop during the Italian Wars and French Wars of Religion. The third ...

sought to ensure there were no rumours of Protestantism surrounding his end as there had been with the death of Navarre at Rouen. The hardline confessor Riez was selected for him, and they put out that he was reading the

Epistle of James The Epistle of James is a Catholic epistles, general epistle and one of the 21 epistles (didactic letters) in the New Testament. It was written originally in Koine Greek. The epistle aims to reach a wide Jewish audience. It survives in manusc ...

, a part of the Bible rejected by

Martin Luther Martin Luther ( ; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, Theology, theologian, author, hymnwriter, professor, and former Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. Luther was the seminal figure of the Reformation, Pr ...

. On the 24 Feb 1563 he died.

Crowds in Paris

The Duke's body was allowed to remain in state for 3 days in the Camp outside Orléans for his soldiers and nobles to offer respects. It would then be transferred to Paris where a large service would be held on 8 March with the Cathedral of

Notre-Dame de Paris Notre-Dame de Paris ( ; meaning "Cathedral of Our Lady of Paris"), often referred to simply as Notre-Dame, is a Medieval architecture, medieval Catholic cathedral on the Île de la Cité (an island in the River Seine), in the 4th arrondissemen ...

fitted out with the crest of the

House of Lorraine The House of Lorraine () originated as a cadet branch of the House of Metz. It inherited the Duchy of Lorraine in 1473 after the death without a male heir of Nicholas I, Duke of Lorraine. By the marriage of Francis of Lorraine to Maria Ther ...

. Finally on the 19 March an elaborate public funeral attended by thousands of the people of Paris would be held, his popularity strong in the largely Catholic city that considered him their saviour for his victory at the Battle of Dreux.

Confession and conspiracy

The Execution of the Huguenot Assassin Poltrot de Mere

Poltrot's testimonies

After his capture, Poltrot would be imprisoned and tortured in an effort to find out upon whose orders he assassinated the Duke. In his first testimony, delivered before Catherine and the council on 21 Feb, he would implicate Coligny, asserting that in his first visit to Orléans in June 1562 he had been solicited to do the deed but had refused, and had later relented to the Admiral's pressure when he was further implored to do the act by

Theodore Beza Theodore Beza (; or ''de Besze''; 24 June 1519 – 13 October 1605) was a French Calvinist Protestant theologian, reformer and scholar who played an important role in the Protestant Reformation. He was a disciple of John Calvin and lived most ...

. When pressed on potential further involvement, he would deny that Condé had been involved but suggested his assassination had been one piece of a much broader plot to assassinate many other high nobles. He would then be taken to the Conciegerie in Paris for further interrogation, during which he would retract his assertion of Coligny's involvement, testifying instead in his final interrogation on the 18 March that Jean de Parthenay-L'archêveque had been the instigator of his actions. Extracted under torture as these confessions were, and without any trial, there is no clear answer as to any potential orchestration, contemporary theories of involvement would include Condé and Catherine de' Medici. Having been directly implicated in the first testimony before the court, Coligny would write in defence of himself on 12 March in which he would argue that several of Poltrot's asserted meetings had not taken place, and that when they had met, it had only been to discuss spying on the Duke's camp. He further highlighted several other inconsistencies in the account in relation to what name Poltrot had used for him, and suggesting if he wanted to assassinate the Duke of Guise he would have hired someone of a different character. Theodore Beza would likewise write in his own defence, arguing that he had sought justice for the Duke's crimes at Wassy through legal channels with Catherine de' Medici.

The fate of Poltrot

Having been subject to much torture, Poltrot would be executed before a large Parisian crowd on 18 March, the day before the Duke's funeral. While Coligny had been pressing the Parlement of Paris for a formal trial so he could clear his name, the execution was rushed through so that it would pre-empt the amnesty clause of the Edict of Amboise which came into force a day later. Failing to pull him apart by horse, he would be quartered while alive. Huguenots would sing songs in remembrance of him, considering him a martyr for his actions.

Aftermath

The Edict of Amboise

The loss of their commander would prove dispiriting and distracting for the troops besieging Orléans and the city would not fall the next day. Free of the primary figure who had advocated for continued fighting, Catherine would negotiate the compromise peace of the Edict of Amboise with Condé and Montmorency that allowed for continued freedom of conscience but with more restricted sites of worship. The sudden peace would come as a shock to the Catholic population of Paris who had presumed themselves to be on the cusp of total victory, manifesting in anger against the crown. While it would secure several years of formal peace, war would resume in 1567.

Spiralling violence

While, in his final days, the Duke had urged for the forgiveness of his assassin, members of his family took a different approach. His widow

Anna d'Este Anna may refer to: People Surname and given name * Anna (name) Mononym * Anna the Prophetess, in the Gospel of Luke * Anna of East Anglia, King (died c.654) * Anna (wife of Artabasdos) (fl. 715–773) * Anna (daughter of Boris I) (9th–10th ...

called for vengeance and, at a family council in

Joinville Joinville () is the largest city in Santa Catarina (state), Santa Catarina, in the Southern Brazil, Southern Region of Brazil. It is the third largest municipality in the southern region of Brazil, after the much larger state capitals of Curitib ...

in March 1563, the family decided on a plan to discredit Montmorency, who had taken his nephew Coligny under his protection, with the aim of campaigning for the crown to order the Admiral's arrest. Throughout 1563 they would face off with the House of Montmorency, who would, through their control of the regency council and the governorship of Paris, gain the upper hand; culminating in the crown's decision on 5 Jan 1564 to suspend investigation of potential involvement in the assassination for a 3-year period. Unable to achieve victory through legal channels, the feud would become one of assassination, with Henri I, Duke of Guise personally overseeing the death of Coligny during the opening hours of what would become the St Bartholomew's Day Massacre in 1572, before he in turn was assassinated with his brother in 1588.

References

{{Reflist 1563 in France French Wars of Religion Assassinations in France