St. Bartholomew's Day massacre

High school (ages 12+)
History & Culture

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/st-bartholomews-day-massacre

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the date of commencement?Night of August 23-24, 1572
2. What is the primary location?Paris, France, with subsequent violence in provincial towns
3. Why did the massacre happen?It began after an attempt to kill a Protestant leader named Coligny. The king and some Catholic leaders decided to kill many Protestants to stop their influence. Fear and anger made the violence spread.
4. Who were the main people involved?The king Charles IX, his queen Catherine de' Medici, and the Protestant leader Gaspard de Coligny were key figures. Catholic soldiers and townspeople also took part.

Huguenots: French Protestants who adhered to Calvinism, facing significant persecution.
French Wars of Religion: A protracted period of civil and military conflict in France between Catholics and Huguenots.
Catherine de' Medici: Queen Mother of France, influential figure often implicated in the events leading to the massacre.
Gaspard de Coligny: A leading Huguenot admiral and statesman, a primary target of the massacre.