With war resumed in 1552 Coligny as Colonel-General of the infantry played a key role under Guise's command in the French victory at Battle of Renty.

Dispute between Coligny and Guise over who deserved credit for the victory almost ended in the drawing of swords, before Henri II oversaw the kiss of peace between them, nevertheless their friendship was jeopardised.

[13] In a testament to the extreme favour he was in at court, in 1555 he was awarded a second governorship, that of the important border district of Picardy, replacing the first prince of the blood Antoine of Navarre much to his frustration.

[33] Guise snapped back that it was best to leave such church matters to more learned men, Lorraine retorted he could find one million signatures for a counter-petition.

Coligny, in attendance, faced criticism for his recent proposals at the Assembly of Notables, with one delegate rising to say that the king ought to punish those who had presented the petition to him about Protestant rights to worship.

However, he found himself frustrated by the intractability of both sides, covering his face when Beza remarked that the body of Christ was as far from the sacrament bread as heaven was from earth.

[49] The edict of Saint-Germain was the final straw for the lieutenant general, Navarre, who broke with the regency and urged Guise to hurry back so they could represent a united front against Catherine's policy.

[57] By June the royal army was ready to take the offensive, their main force marching on Orléans, causing Condé to disperse his troops to avoid them being pinned down in a siege.

[62] The main royal force meanwhile succeeded in reducing Rouen after a length siege, though at the cost of their overall nominal commander Navarre who was wounded, and died on his way back to Paris.

[66] Leaving Andelot in charge of Orléans as Guise moved in to besiege the city, Coligny marched north with some of the remaining forces at their disposal to seize back Normandy.

Finally able to secure 8000 crowns from his English allies to pay his mutinous troops, he captured first Caen and then Bayeux while the only royal forces in the region were tied down sieging Le Havre.

[67] As the siege of Orléans reached its climax in early 1563, with reports that Guise's victory was imminent, the Protestant assassin Poltrot de Méré infiltrated the dukes camp, and fatally wounded him.

Ignoring his insistence that arms were not allowed in the city, Lorraine and the young Henry, Duke of Guise entered in force; their retinue clashing with that of the Montmorency in a bloody failure.

[75] In early January 1566 Lorraine travelled to the court at Moulins to appeal for proceedings against Coligny, characterising himself as a defender of the princes against this house that was the son of a baron.

[86] With a direction agreed, the conference turned to planning specifics, with risings to take place in each baillage, the king to be seized at Meaux and Lorraine to be killed.

[91] Confident in his position, he negotiated with the crown aggressively, demanding the repeal of all taxes established since the time of Louis XII the expulsion of all Italian financiers and the free exercise of religion.

[94] By now Coligny had at least returned to the main body, and at the Battle of Saint Denis took responsibility for the right flank of Condé's army while his lieutenant, Genlis, handled the left.

[96] The Swiss would win the day for the crown, and although casualties were fairly low for either side, Condé, whose forces had been smaller to begin with, withdrew eastwards towards the border.

[104] In the south both sides would flout the peace openly, with the Huguenot populations of Castres and Montpellier refusing entry to their returning royal garrison.

Several armies of the crown, including that of Guillaume de Joyeuse and Sommerive maintained presence in the field, capturing towns and besting Huguenot commanders in battle.

In his letter he complained about his suspicions that not only was the attack orchestrated by the Confraternity of the Holy Ghost, but that therefore the provincial governors and the king had given tacit consent due to their cooperation with the various leagues.

[110] As a result, Coligny, Condé and the other aristocrats fled south in haste, arriving in the Protestant stronghold of La Rochelle on 18 September, and taking up arms.

[117] With confidence restored through this battle, Coligny settled in to besiege Poitiers where the young Henry, Duke of Guise had rushed on news of his approach to reinforce the weak garrison.

[129] He found himself compelled to return in September 1571 however, in hopes of convincing the court of his plan to invade the Spanish Netherlands, with a cross-faith army led by Charles personally.

[132] Suspicious of the prospect of the Navarre-Valois marriage, one of the key components of the 1570 peace, Catherine pushed him into acceptance on the issue, both by presenting him the possibility of a war with Spain, and by implying it was necessary for him to be on good terms with the king.

[136] The fiasco of the Genlis expedition, which in July had crossed the border with 4000 infantry only to be crushed and slaughtered by Spanish troops, only worsened the outlook for Coligny's plans.

Leaving a mass for Marguerite on 22 August Coligny noticed the Huguenot banners lost at Moncontour hanging from the Notre-Dame, and commented that he felt those should be taken down and placed somewhere more appropriate to their honour.

[139] The same day after the end of the wedding festivities, Coligny was shot in the street on his way back to his residence, likely by a man called Maurevert from the top floor of a house.

Some have argued Catherine de' Medici, jealous of Coligny's influence over the young king and fearful of his plans for war with Spain orchestrated the assassination.

As the massacre proper began, the militant mob then cut off the genitals, head and hands and dragged the body around for the following days as they had done to a model of Coligny years prior.