What was the role of popular religious sentiment in the infamous massacre of Huguenots on St. Bartholomew’s Day in 1572?

According to Barbara Diefendorf, traditional historiography has focused almost exclusively on the political dimension that framed this tragedy (Barbara B. Diefendorf, Beneath the cross: Catholics and Huguenots in Sixteenth-Century Paris (New York, Ny.: Oxford University Press, 1991), p. 4). In her view, this exclusive focus on the political dynamic fails to adequately take into account the popular pressures that were exerted on the king and court during this period. In fact, Diefendorf’s chief contention in this book is that the period prior to (and extending through) the massacre of Huguenots in Paris on August 24^th of 1572 can only be properly understood when one factors in both the political and religious aspects of this turbulent era. In other words, Diefendorf hopes to steer a middle course through the historiographical landscape of the “Wars of Religion” during this era, and she hopes to avoid both a purely political or a purely religious interpretation of the motivation that shaped these conflicts.

Book Summary
Because Diefendorf attempts to approach the religious conflicts of sixteenth-century France from a variety of perspectives, the book alternates between narrative and analytic modes of presentation. In the opening chapters of the book, she analyzes the preexisting social, economic, political, and religious tensions that contributed to the conflicts. Diefendorf argues that Paris in the mid-sixteenth century was a city that was substantially weakened by the internal strains of 1) increasing poverty among the working class and the poor, 2) growing indebtedness among the population along with the concomitant [and very real] possibility of losing one’s property, 3) inflation of essential commodities, and 4) an indigent population that was increasingly dependent on public support (Beneath the cross, pp. 21-22). She also argues that maintaining order in the Capitol city was becoming increasingly difficult due to the overlapping jurisdiction of the various authorities. Further, the social equilibrium between the governing elite and the masses was demonstrating its increasingly fragile character.

From a religious perspective, Diefendorf analyzes the complexities of Parisian Catholicism during this era. She argues that Catholic piety demanded religious unity (both personal and public) as a vital condition for individual and collective salvation since society was perceived as an organic whole (Diefendorf, Beneath the cross, p. 38). Additionally, Diefendorf analyzes the religious processions of the era and argues that they vividly reinforced the perception in the minds of the people of the inseparable relationship between the civic authority, the monarchy, and the Catholic faith (Diefendorf, Beneath the cross, p. 48). To the Catholics of mid-sixteenth century Paris, Diefendorf argues that unity in the body of Christ demanded a unified city and State under the aegis of Catholicism. She asserts that all of these factors (social, economic, political, and religious) contributed to an increasingly volatile environment that provides the crucial framework for understanding the religious conflicts of this era.

Diefendorf then provides a vivid narrative account of the cycle of religious malice and violence, beginning in 1557, that finally culminated in the massacre of the Protestants in Paris in 1572 (Diefendorf, Beneath the cross, pp. 49-106). It was during this cycle of war and peace, Diefendorf argues, that religious hatred intensified to such a degree that the murderous events of St. Bartholomew’s Day can be legitimately conceived of as a natural extension of a trajectory begun years earlier.

What fueled this extreme animus? In answer to this question, Diefendorf examines the Reformed Christianity of Paris and the militant Catholicism of the day (which she labels “extremist” and which she contrasts with more moderate Catholicism). Examining the extant sermon manuscripts from the Catholic pulpits of the day, Diefendorf paints a seditious picture of Catholic preachers, whom inflamed the masses in their religious hatred of the practitioners of the new religion. She implicates these inflammatory Catholic preachers in ultimately exerting the pressure upon the civic authorities and monarchy that eventually led to the massacre of Saint Bartholomew’s Day.

In the final analysis, Diefendorf argues that the massacre of the Parisian Protestants was not pursued by all Catholics equally, but rather was primarily engineered by the radical and extremist faction of Parisian Catholics who exerted important pressure upon the king and civic authorities and who took the city to the brink of anarchy in their murderous enterprise.

Critical Evaluation
This book paints a complex portrait of the religious wars of mid-sixteenth century France, and it is made all the more interesting by the engaging narrative the author provides of the religious conflicts of the era. The author demonstrates her point well concerning the militant influence of extremist Catholic preachers by citing the extant sermons available and which seem to substantiate her point. Although the author is probably correct in noting the dual influence of politics and religion in the conflicts of the period, the book suffers from a few weaknesses. First, her use and interpretation of the Catholic processions seems tenuous at best. Would the average Catholic of that day (merely by observing these processions) have made the same conclusion regarding the inseparable nature of Catholic faith and crown that Diefendorf does? Perhaps the most notable weakness, however (in the mind of this reviewer), is the author’s failure to adequately substantiate the existence of a “moderate faction” within Parisian Catholicism. Surely there were Catholics who were more militant in their faith than others, but was there a sizable moderate party in existence who would have opposed their militant brethren in any substantive way? This reviewer doesn’t find any conclusive proof in Diefendorf’s book to establish such a premise. Certainly it is true that later historical developments in France (which Diefendorf does not address in this work) would seem to support this thesis. On the other hand, the history of the massacre and the triumphant procession of the king and court before the approving masses after the slaughter suggest perhaps the opposite conclusion.

Diefendorf’s, Beneath the cross: Catholics and Huguenots in Sixteenth-Century Paris can be purchased at the Sola Gratia Ministry Bookstore (the proceeds of all sales go toward the expenses associated with running the online site).