St Bartholomew’s Day Massacre

Protestant nobles gathered in Paris for the marriage of Henry of Navarre and Margaret of Valois. After the attempted assassination of Admiral Coligny, royal and Catholic leaders authorised attacks on prominent Huguenots.

The killing spread from Paris into provincial towns and continued for weeks. The massacre deepened confessional hatred and damaged the credibility of attempts at religious reconciliation.

A Column of Fire places fictional families inside the Paris violence and its political aftermath.