Second; 1567–1568Saint-Denis; Chartres Third; 1568–1570Jarnac; La Roche-l'Abeille; Poitiers; Orthez; Moncontour; Saint-Jean d'Angély; Arney-le-Duc Fourth; 1572–1573Mons; Sommières; Sancerre; La Rochelle Fifth; 1574–1576Dormans Sixth; 1577La Charité-sur-Loire; Issoire; Brouage Seventh; 1580La Fère War of the Three Henrys (1585–1589)Coutras; Vimory; Auneau; Day of the Barricades Succession of Henry IV of France (1589–1594)Arques; Ivry; Paris; Château-Laudran; Rouen; Caudebec; Craon; 1st Luxembourg; Blaye; Morlaix; Fort Crozon Franco-Spanish War (1595–1598)2nd Luxembourg; Fontaine-Française; Ham; Le Catelet; Doullens; Cambrai; Calais; La Fère; Ardres; Amiens The Peace of Saint-Germain-en-Laye was signed on 8 August 1570 by Charles IX of France, Gaspard II de Coligny and Jeanne d'Albret, and ended the 1568 to 1570 Third Civil War, part of the French Wars of Religion.

However, the civil war resumed in 1572 after the targeted assassination of Huguenot leaders assembled in Paris, spiralled into the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre.

Following the outbreak of civil war in 1568, the Huguenots under Coligny and Condé opted to defend the south-west by fortifying towns such as Angoulême and Cognac.

[3] At Châlus on 11 June, Coligny joined up with 14,000 German mercenaries financed by Elizabeth I of England, originally led by the Duke of Zweibrücken who died shortly before their meeting.

[5] They then laid siege to Poitiers, which was held by Henry I, Duke of Guise; it was still resisting when the main Royal army under Tavannes invested the nearby Huguenot town of Châtellerault.

[6] Forced to withdraw from Poitiers, on 3 October Coligny was heavily defeated at the Battle of Moncontour, but although his army incurred heavy casualties, the remnants were able to retreat in good order.

[1] Although the town surrendered on 2 December, the Royalists lost thousands of men to disease or hunger, while many of its Swiss and German mercenaries mutinied after not being paid.

After an unsuccessful siege of Toulouse in January 1570, their combined force marched north through the Rhone valley towards Paris and reached Montbrison in May.

[9] Learning that a Royalist force under Brissac was advancing on the nearby Huguenot stronghold of La Charité, Coligny intercepted and defeated him at Arnay le Duc on 25 June 1570.

[10] With Paris under threat, the state bankrupt and the Royal army in ruins, this gave him a strong position to negotiate with Charles IX of France.

[11] No sooner had the war begun than moderate Politique voices on the royal council advocated for a return to status quo ante bellum.

[14] The financial difficulties that had forced the crown to conclude the peace of Longjumeau the prior year also played upon the king, who considered in January the possibility of a temporary truce until proper funding for the armies and mercenaries could be arranged.

[5] This motivated more serious outreaches of peace, and Catherine broached the idea of a marriage between Margaret of Valois-Angoulême and Henry IV of France to seal away the civil war, whilst the Huguenot army was encamped outside of Poitiers.

[6] Coligny was likewise interested in peace at this time, and advocated for full freedom of religion, and the declaration of a war against Spain to take advantage of the situation in the Netherlands.

Conscious of the difficult international situation these more serious attempts put her in Catherine wrote to Philip in Madrid, explaining the extreme circumstances that necessitated negotiation with heretics.

In March the Huguenot Princes met at Montreuil to reaffirm their commitment to free exercise of religion being a pre-requisite to peace negotiation.

The king relented, and in April talks resumed to tackle the gaps between the sides on matters of surety towns, payments of Coligny's reiters and free exercise of religion.

[27] The crown demanded the Huguenots pay part of the cost of their reiter's wages, however eventually agreed to shoulder the entire burden.

[27] The Protestant nobility accepted this compromise, which favoured their heartland in the south at the expense of Huguenots in the north and east, and on 8 August 1570 peace was signed at the royal residence of Saint-Germain-en-Laye.

[30] Article 6 outlined that when high justice was not enjoyed, religious worship was only to be in one's own house, for the members of the household up to ten people, assuming guests were present.

[34] Article 35 was also new ground for peace edicts, allowing Protestants to request the removal of 4 judges when cases concerning religion got appealed to the Parlement in future.

Alongside the sending out of commissioners to oversee its implementation the crown for the first time sent out financial advisers, whose duty it would be raise and reclaim revenues that had been lost due to the long period of troubles.

The cardinal of Lorraine, depressed at the peace, was conscious that his position at court was too compromised to continue by the crown having pursued this line, so he retired to his estates.

Catherine de' Medici and Charles were by now committed to the policy of marrying her to Henri Navarre as a method to ensure long term peace, and were furious when rumours of Guise's tryst reached their ears.

[47] However the crown moved closer to his position, unwilling to fully break with Spain yet happy to allow the rebel Louis of Nassau to hold up in Soissons.

With the nobles threatening bloody retribution on the Guise, a royal council meeting was held, in which it was agreed to liquidate the Huguenot leadership on the pretext that they were about to send their troops into Paris for more extensive reprisals.

"[11] The baron de Gordes lieutenant governor of Dauphiné opined that the peace should not have been published until Huguenots were disarmed and removed from their occupation of towns.

[56] The Parlement of Toulouse bemoaned to the king in June 1572 that the provision of amnesty in the peace was causing much disorder, due to criminals falsely claiming themselves to be religious prisoners.

As a result, most Huguenot aristocrats stayed on their estates, where they could be confident of their security, only departing in August 1572 to attend the marriage of Henri and Marguerite.