The Saint Bartholomew's Day massacre: The mysteries of a crime of state

Les Journées qui ont fait la France

by Arlette Jouanna, Joseph Bergin (Translation)

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.

Genres: History, France, 16th Century

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read for a uni assignment.

[JEAN-PHILIPPE PEROL · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un livre exceptionnel sur l'une des pages les plus honteuses de l'Histoire de France. Précise et documentée sur les faits, rigoureuse dans ses analyses, claire dans son écriture, Arlette Jouanna nous livre une description et surtout une explication des atroces événements dont la responsabilité repose en premier lieu sur la veulerie et l inconstance d'un Charles IX malade et totalement dépassé par les événements, prétendant à une monarchie absolue qu'il était totalement incapable d'assumer. Crédibilisant une fois pour toutes la thèse des deux Saint Barthelemy - une pseudo "justice extraordinaire" assassinant les nobles protestants soi disant comploteurs, puis un massacre incontrolé voulu par la populace parisienne-, le livre remet avec objectivité le massacre dans son contexte de guerres civiles et en montre les responsables tant directs qu'indirects

[Bill Lenoir · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book to read on this event critical to French history.

[Lucile · Rating 5 out of 5]

Arlette Jouanna vraiment je l'aime

[WaldenOgre · Rating 4 out of 5]

“这些黑暗时刻的意义在于它们能够教育人们承担起‘记忆的义务’……圣巴托洛缪大屠杀的第二阶段——大规模屠杀——是一个由他者的恐惧造成的悲剧。人们在这种恐惧感的煽动下，将差别当作威胁……这种恐惧和焦虑、这种视角的扭曲，难道不是随时会死灰复燃么？”

[Hqwxyz · Rating 5 out of 5]

上篇剥丝抽茧，犹如阅读推理小说；中篇细致白描；下篇是历史影响的各环节推导。此书虽被评无创见，但对非专业人士来说已大赞。