Coligny, returning to his lodgings from a…

Coligny, returning to his lodgings from a visit with the king on August 22, four days after the royal wedding, narrowly escapes an assassination.

The attempt is probably orchestrated by the Queen Mother in her fear of Coligny’s intention to war with Spain.

Charles visits the severely wounded Coligny, whose arm has been broken by the assassin’s shot, pledging a thorough investigation.

Various Huguenot leaders advise Coligny to flee the city for the safety of a Protestant stronghold but he reputedly refuses because flight would display a lack of trust in the king.

The Huguenot rank and file threatens to riot.

Catherine, dismayed at the reaction to the unsuccessful attempt on Coligny's life and knowing that her role in the plot would be discovered, plays on her sickly, weak-willed son's paranoia by telling him that the Huguenots are conspiring to retaliate against him in a supposed Protestant coup.

An outraged Charles, told that a preemptive strike is warranted and necessary, impulsively orders the deaths of the Huguenot leaders, including Coligny, most of whom are still in Paris, along with their retainers, for the post-nuptial festivities.

This turns out to be a gross political miscalculation on the part of the Queen Mother, a political realist who has thus far sought compromise between the Roman Catholic and Huguenot factions.