Western Civilization I / Unit 17 WC1 1603 short lesson, about 20 seconds
France in 1560: Weak Valois, Guise, Bourbon, Huguenot
Captions available
The idea
France was rich under a weak Valois monarchy checked by nobles with armies as large as the king's; Henry II died in a tournament in fifteen fifty-nine. The Catholic Guise faced the Huguenot Bourbons; the anchor's ten percent of France was Huguenot.
In practice
A third of the lesser nobility Huguenot, the anchor says.
Where people slip
Weak king, armed factions, religion: three causes.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
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