The Huguenots are a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of burgomaster Besançon Hugues, who defended
Persecution of the Waldensians in the massacre of Mérindol in 1545
Huguenots massacring Catholics in the Michelade in Nîmes
John Everett Millais' painting, A Huguenot, on St. Bartholomew's Day
The St. Bartholomew's Day massacre of French Protestants (1572). It was the climax of the French Wars of Religion, which were brought to an end by the Edict of Nantes (1598). In 1620, persecution was renewed and continued until the French Revolution in 1789.
The French Wars of Religion were a series of civil wars between French Catholics and Protestants from 1562 to 1598. Between two and four million people died from violence, famine or disease directly c
Huguenots
…As Huguenots gained influence and more openly displayed their faith, Catholic hostility grew. A series of religious conflicts followed, known as the French Wars of Religion, fought intermittently from 1562 to 1598. The Huguenots were led by Jeanne d'Albret; her son, the future Henry IV (who would later convert to Catholicism…
John Calvin, whose ideas became central to French Protestantism
After an initial period of tolerance, Francis I repressed Reformist ideas