1562, March 1
Francois of Guise leads the Catholics in the Massacre of Vassy.
1562, April 12
Gathered at Orleans, the Huguenots declare that they see themselves
forced to take up arms. This was a deviation from
John Calvin's
teachings, who preached civil obedience. But then again, Calvin
didn't exactly print a pamphlet on how to deal with massacres
either.
1562, December 19
Francois de Guise and his troops defeat Louis I de Bourbon and his
men in the Battle of Dreux.
1563, February 24
Francois de Guise gets assassinated by a Huguenot.
1563, March
The
Peace of Amboise, also called the
Edict of Amboise, concludes the First Civil War of the French Wars of Religion.
1563, August 17
Charles IX becomes officially of age to rule by himself.
1567, September
Unsuccessful coup by the Huguenots to kidnap Catherine and Charles
IX at Meaux.
1567, November 10
The Huguenots were defeated at the
Battle of Saint-Denis.
1568, February
Huguenots start the
Siege of Chartres.
1568, March
The
Peace of Longjumeau concludes the Second Civil War of the
French Wars of Religion.
1568, August
Revocation of the Peace of Longjumeau. The Third Civil War begins.
1569, March 13
The royal army, led by the king's brother Henry, the future Henry
III, defeats the Huguenots at the Battle of Jarnac. Louis I
de Bourbon gets killed in this battle.
1569, October
Battle of Moncontour. The Huguenots defeated again.
1570, June 26
The Huguenots won the
Battle of Arnay-le-Duc, Henry of
Navarre's first victory.
1570, August
The
Peace of Saint-Germain concludes the third Civil War of
the French Wars of Religion..
1572 June
Henry of Navarre becomes the new King of Navarre upon the death of
his mother.
1572, August 18
Catherine de Medicis' daughter
Margaret of Valois gets
married to Henry of Navarre, the future King Henry IV of
France.
1572, August 22
Unsuccessful assassination attempt on the Huguenot leader Coligny.
1572, the night of August 24 / 25
The de Guise family strikes again,
this time at the
Massacre of Saint Bartholomew's Day.
And this time also with the approval of Catherine de Medicis and that of her
son Charles IX. The Catholics kill many Huguenots in Paris.
The thrill to kill was contagious and
Huguenots all over the country were massacred on a slaughter spree
that lasted until October 1572. How many Huguenots died? Between
3,000 and 70,000, depending on whom you ask.
Upon hearing the news of the bloody St
Bartholomew's Day, Pope Gregory XIII opened a keg, ordered to
sing special praises, and released a coin to commemorate the event.
According to the Catholic Encyclopedia,
"The medal which Gregory
XIII had struck in memory of the event bears his effigy on the
obverse, which ion the reverse under the legend Vgonotiorum Strages
(overthrow of the Huguenots) stands an angel with cross and drawn
sword, killing the Huguenots."
1573
At Milhaud, the Huguenots resolve to resume resistance.
1574, May
Change of kings in France:
Henry III succeeds his brother Charles IX who dies of
tuberculosis.
1575, February 13
Henry III is crowned king at Reims.
1576
The Peace of Monsieur concludes the Fifth Civil War of the
French Wars of Religion. This peace was ratified by the Edict of
Beaulieu and granted the Huguenots nationwide freedom of worship
except in Paris.
1576
Under Henry de Guise, the Catholics unite themselves in the radical
Holy League, also called the
Catholic League. The
reason for the formation of this league was Henry III's tolerant
course of action towards the Huguenots, i.e. the Peace of Monsieur.
1577, September
Henry III orders to dissolve the constantly in power gaining Holy
League after realizing that he couldn't manage to control it.
1577, September 17
The
Peace of Bergerac concludes the Sixth Civil War of the
French Wars of Religion.
1584, June 10
Francois, the brother of King Henry III, dies and thereby shocks the
Catholic world. Now, the next in line for the French throne is Henry
III's cousin, the Huguenot Henry of Bourbon-Navarre.
1584, December
The de Guise family signs a treaty with Catholic Spain, the
Treaty of Joinville.
1585, July
Henry III bans Protestantism with the
Treaty of Nemours.
1586, July
Catherine
de Medicis meets with Henry of Navarre to discuss politics.
1587
The last chapter of the French Wars of Religion begins: The War of
the Three Henrys.
The Three Henrys were:
1) French
King Henry III, 2) Catholic leader Henri de Guise, and 3)
Huguenot leader Henry of Navarre, who was heir to the throne.
1587, October 20
The Huguenots win the
Battle of Coutras.
1587, October 26
The Catholics win the
Battle of Vimory.
1587, November 23
The Catholics win the
Battle of Auneau.
1588, May 12
Today was the Day of the Barricades, which meant riots in the
streets of Paris. Henry III had to pack his bags and flee the city
direction Chartres.
1588
The Holy League forces King Henry III to sign the
Edict of Union,
which makes Henri de Guise commander of all troops and declares it
illegal for a non-Catholic to become ruler of France.
1588, December 23
Henry III arranged for the assassination of the Henri de Guise.
1588, December 24
Henry III arranged for the assassination of the Henri de Guise's
brother, the Cardinal Louis de Guise, who was also archbishop of
Reims.
1589, January 5
Catherine de Médicis dies.
1589, July 30
King Henry III allies himself with Huguenot Henry of Navarre and
together they start the Siege of Paris, which the Holy League
had managed to bring under their control. The siege proves
unsuccessful.
1589, August 1
Henry III gets himself stabbed and dies August 2. Henry of Navarre
becomes the new king Henry IV.
1589, September 21
The Huguenots win the
Battle of Arques.
1590, March 14
The Huguenots win the
Battle of Ivry.
1591 - 1592
Unsuccessful
Siege of Rouen by the Huguenots.
1593, July
Henry IV converts to Catholicism.
1594
Henry IV officially crowned in Chartres.
1594, March 22
Paris submits to Henry IV's rule.
1595, January
Henry IV had had it with the Holy League and their Spanish friends.
He declares war on Spain and follows up with a thorough and
countrywide clean up to get rid of all his enemies.
1595, June 5
In Burgundy, Henry IV wins the
Battle of Fontaine-Française.
1595, September 17
Pope Clement VIII revokes Henry IV's excommunication.
Also in September 1595, Charles de Guise
and Henry IV came to an understanding. Charles was the brother of
Henri and Louis de Guise and, after their assassination, became the
leader of the Holy League.
1597, September
Henry IV recaptures Amiens from the Spanish.
1598, May 2
The war with Spain was concluded with the
Peace of Vervins.
1598, April 13
Henry signs the
Edict of Nantes, which concludes the French
Wars of Religion.
Henry's grandson
Louis XIV would
revoke the Edict in 1685. And that's exactly the reason why grandparents
decide to pass away in time.
