Jean de Poltrot ( 1537 – 1563), sieur de Méré or Mérey, was a French nobleman of
Angoumois
Angoumois (), historically the County of Angoulême, was a county and province of France, originally inferior to the parent duchy of Aquitaine, similar to the Périgord to its east but lower and generally less forested, equally with occasional ...
, who
assassinated
Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives.
Assassinations are orde ...
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 ...
.
He had lived some time in
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
, and his knowledge of
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas
**Spanish cuisine
**Spanish history
**Spanish culture
...
, together with his swarthy complexion, which earned him the nickname of the ''Espagnolet'', procured him employment as a spy in the wars against Spain.
Having been converted to the
Huguenot
The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...
cause, he determined to kill Francis, Duke of Guise. Pretending to be a deserter, he gained admission to the camp of the
Catholic
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 ...
army that was besieging
Orléans
Orléans (,"Orleans" (US) and drawn and quartered. The punishment, carried out on 18 March 1563, was botched; the horses having failed to rend his limbs, swords were used to finish the job.
Under torture, he had made several contradictory statements, some of which implicated Admiral Coligny. Coligny protested emphatically against the accusation, but nevertheless the assassination led to a vendetta between Coligny and Francis's sons,
Henry
Henry may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Henry (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters
* Henry (surname)
* Henry, a stage name of François-Louis Henry (1786–1855), French baritone
Arts and entertainmen ...
and
Louis
Louis may refer to:
People
* Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name
* Louis (surname)
* Louis (singer), Serbian singer
Other uses
* Louis (coin), a French coin
* HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy
See also
...
. This vendetta not only prolonged the Wars of Religion but contributed to the attempted assassination of Coligny during the celebrations of the marriage of Henri of Navarre with
Margaret of Valois
Margaret of Valois (, 14 May 1553 – 27 March 1615), popularly known as , was List of Navarrese royal consorts, Queen of Navarre from 1572 to 1599 and Queen of France from 1589 to 1599 as the consort of Henry IV of France and III of Navarre.
Ma ...
, and thence to 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 ...
.
In literature
De Poltrot's assassination of Duke Francis and his subsequent trial and execution are described in
Ken Follett
Kenneth Martin Follett (born 5 June 1949) is a Welsh author of thrillers and historical novels who has sold more than 198 million copies of his works. His books have been sold in over 80 countries.
Follett's commercial breakthrough came with ...
's historical novel, ''
A Column of Fire
''A Column of Fire'' is a 2017 novel by British author Ken Follett, first published on 12 September 2017. It is the third book in the Kingsbridge Series, and serves as a sequel to 1989's '' The Pillars of the Earth'' and 2007's '' World Witho ...
''.
References
* This work in turn cites:
** ''Mémoires du prince de Condé'' (
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, 1743)
** T. A. D'Aubigné, ''Histoire universelle'' (ed. by de Ruble,
Société de l'histoire de France
The Société de l'histoire de France (SHF) ( English: ''Society of the History of France'') was established on 21 December 1833 at the instigation of the French minister of Public Instruction, François Guizot, in order to contribute to the renew ...
, 1886)
** Alphonse de Ruble, ''L'Assassinat du duc François de Lorraine'' (
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...