Protestantism in France From Death of Francis I to Edict of Nantes - James Aitken Wylie

the scaffold, they would put in force the second
measure--the abjuration, namely. A form of
abjuration was already drawn up, and it was
resolved that on Christmas Day the king should
present it to all the princes and officers of the court
for their signature; that the queen, in like manner,
should present it to all her ladies and maids of
honor; the chancellor to all the deputies of
Parliament and judges; the governors of provinces
to all the gentry; the cures to all their parishioners;
and the heads of families to all their dependents.
The alternative of refusing to subscribe the
abjuration oath was to be immediate execution.
The cardinal, who loved to mingle a little grim
pleasantry with his bloody work, called this
cunning device of his "the Huguenot's rattrap."[25]
All was prospering according to the wish of the
government. The scaffold was already erected on
which Conde was to die. The executioner had been
summoned, and was even now in Orleans. The
abjuration formula was ready to be presented to all
ranks and every individual the moment the prince
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