Martyrs and Murderers : The Guise Family and the Making of Europe

Hailed as "entertaining" and "nuanced" by__The Economist, Martyrs and Murderers__tells the story of three generations of treacherous, bloodthirsty power-brokers. One of the richest and most powerful families in sixteenth-century France, the House of Guise played a pivotal role in the history of Europe. Among the staunchest opponents of the Reformation, they whipped up religious bigotry throughout France. They overthrew the king, ruled Scotland for nearly 20 years through Mary Queen of Scots, plotted to invade England and overthrow Elizabeth I, and ended the century by unleashing the bloody Wars of Religion, before succumbing in a counter-revolution that made them martyrs for the Catholic cause. The history of the Guise family is sensational but true. Though parts of the story are familiar--such as their crucial role in the murder of 4,000 Protestants in the infamous Massacre of Saint Bartholomew--the full scope of their influence has never before been told. Stuart Carroll unravels the legends about this cultivated, charismatic, and violent dynasty, and challenges traditional assumptions about one of Europe's most turbulent eras.

Hailed as "entertaining" and "nuanced" by The Economist, Martyrs and Murderers tells the story of three generations of treacherous, bloodthirsty power-brokers. One of the richest and most powerful families in sixteenth-century France, the House of Guise played a pivotal role in the history of Europe. Among the staunchest opponents of the Reformation, they whipped up religious bigotry throughout France. They overthrew the king, ruled Scotland for nearly 20 years through Mary Queen of Scots, plotted to invade England and overthrow Elizabeth I, and ended the century by unleashing the bloody Wars of Religion, before succumbing in a counter-revolution that made them martyrs for the Catholic cause. The history of the Guise family is sensational but true. Though parts of the story are familiar--such as their crucial role in the murder of 4,000 Protestants in the infamous Massacre of Saint Bartholomew--the full scope of their influence has never before been told. Stuart Carroll unravels the legends about this cultivated, charismatic, and violent dynasty, and challenges traditional assumptions about one of Europe's most turbulent eras.

Library Journal

Historian Carroll's measured account of the Guise family in Reformation France offers a nuanced view of a dynasty legendary for its bloody and treacherous defense of Catholicism. Unusually unified for a princely family of the Renaissance, the Guise rose to prominence in the 16th century through dynastic marriage and a coordinated cultivation of the crown, the Church, and the military. Carroll is particularly effective in recounting the intertwined public lives of the soldier François, Duke of Guise (1519–63), and his brother Charles, Cardinal of Lorraine (1525–74), humanists who could tolerate Protestantism (at least among the French upper classes) if it served the family interests as opposed to the violent Counter-Reformation rigidity of later generations. Carroll pointedly gives secondary place to the most famous of the Guise, Mary Queen of Scots, daughter of James V of Scotland and Marie de Guise (sister of François and Charles). Guise conspiracies aimed at toppling Protestant Elizabeth I helped force the hand of the English monarch to execute the family's hapless candidate for her crown. VERDICT This thoughtful, comprehensive, and well-written volume will appeal to those interested in European history but is probably too dense and demanding for the general reader.—Stewart Desmond, New York

The House of Guise was one of the greatest princely families of the sixteenth century, or indeed of any age. Today they are best remembered through the tragic life of one family member, Mary Queen of Scots. But the story of her Guise uncles, aunts and cousins is if anything more gripping - and certainly of greater significance in the history of Europe. The Guise family rose to prominence as the greatest enemy of the House of Habsburg and had dreams of a great dynastic empire that included the British Isles and southern Italy. They were among the staunchest opponents of the Reformation, played a major role in re-fashioning Catholicism at the Council of Trent before plunging France into a bloody civil war that culminated in the infamous St Bartholomew's Day Massacre. They protected English Catholic refugees, plotted to invade England and overthrow Elizabeth I, and ended the century by unleashing Europe's first religious revolution, before succumbing in a counter-revolution that made them martyrs for the Catholic cause. Martyrs and Murderers is the first comprehensive modern biography of the Guise family in any language. In it Stuart Carroll unravels the legends which cast them either as heroes or as villains of the Reformation, weaving a remarkable story that challenges traditional assumptions about one of Europe's most turbulent and formative eras. Martyrs and Murderers tells the story of three generations of treacherous, bloodthirsty power-brokers. One of the richest and most powerful families in sixteenth-century France, the House of Guise played a pivotal role in the history of Europe. Among the staunchest opponents of the Reformation, they whipped up religious bigotry throughout France. They overthrew the king, ruled Scotland for nearly 20 years through Mary Queen of Scots, plotted to invade England and overthrow Elizabeth I, and ended the century by unleashing the bloody Wars of Religion, before succumbing in a counter-revolution that made them martyrs for the Catholic cause. The story of the Guise family is sensational but true. Though parts of the story are familiar--such as their crucial role in the murder of 4,000 Protestants in the infamous Massacre of Saint Bartholomew--the full scope of their influence has never been told before. Stuart Carroll unravels the legends about this cultivated, charismatic, and violent dynasty, and challenges traditional assumptions about one of Europe's most turbulent eras. Contents......Page 12 List of Maps, Plates and Genelogical Tables......Page 14 A note on coinage......Page 16 1. INVITATION TO A MASSACRE......Page 18 2. ‘ALL FOR ONE: ONE FOR ALL’......Page 38 3. DREAMS OF EMPIRE......Page 67 4. CHACUN À SON TOUR......Page 97 5. CONGREGATIONS, CONSPIRACIES, AND COUPS......Page 117 6. THE CARDINAL’S COMPROMISE......Page 145 7. BLOODFEUD......Page 177 INTERLUDE: PRINCESS MARGOT AND THE ‘NEGRESS’......Page 202 8. A WEDDING AND FOUR THOUSAND FUNERALS......Page 209 9. FALSE KINGS AND TRUE CATHOLICS......Page 238 10. THE INVASION OF ENGLAND......Page 259 11. REVOLUTION......Page 273 12. COUNTER-REVOLUTION......Page 298 EPILOGUE......Page 310 Maps......Page 320 Genealogical Tables......Page 326 Further Reading......Page 332 Notes......Page 336 Photographic Acknowledgements......Page 349 B......Page 350 C......Page 351 E......Page 352 G......Page 353 H......Page 356 L......Page 357 M......Page 358 N......Page 359 P......Page 360 S......Page 361 Z......Page 362 Contents 12 List of Maps, Plates and Genelogical Tables 14 A note on coinage 16 1. INVITATION TO A MASSACRE 18 2. ‘ALL FOR ONE: ONE FOR ALL’ 38 3. DREAMS OF EMPIRE 67 4. CHACUN À SON TOUR 97 5. CONGREGATIONS, CONSPIRACIES, AND COUPS 117 6. THE CARDINAL’S COMPROMISE 145 7. BLOODFEUD 177 INTERLUDE: PRINCESS MARGOT AND THE ‘NEGRESS’ 202 8. A WEDDING AND FOUR THOUSAND FUNERALS 209 9. FALSE KINGS AND TRUE CATHOLICS 238 10. THE INVASION OF ENGLAND 259 11. REVOLUTION 273 12. COUNTER-REVOLUTION 298 EPILOGUE 310 Maps 320 Genealogical Tables 326 Further Reading 332 Notes 336 Photographic Acknowledgements 349 Index 350 A 350 B 350 C 351 D 352 E 352 F 353 G 353 H 356 I 357 J 357 K 357 L 357 M 358 N 359 O 360 P 360 Q 361 R 361 S 361 T 362 U 362 V 362 W 362 Y 362 Z 362 The pre-eminent political and religious power-brokers of 16th-century France, the Guise family included in their number both Mary Queen of Scots and Catherine de Medici. This is a comprehensive account of their remarkable story, and their influence on one of Europe's most turbulent and formative eras