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

ather than, by surrendering to such a foe, expose
themselves to horrors which they knew not. A
helping hand was at length stretched out to them
from the distant Poland. The Protestantism of that
country was then in its most flourishing condition,
and the Duke of Anjou, Catherine's third son, being
a candidate for the vacant throne, the Poles made it
a condition that he should ameliorate the state of
the French Huguenots, and accordingly the siege of
Sancerre was raised.
It was around La Rochelle that the main body
of the royal army was drawn. The town was the
capital of French Protestantism, and the usual
rendezvous of its chiefs. It was a large and opulent
city, "fortified after the modern way with moats,
walls, bulwarks, and ramparts."[2] It was open to
the sea, and the crowd of ships that filled its
harbor, and which rivaled in numbers the royal
navy, gave token of the enriching commerce of
which it was the seat. Its citizens were
distinguished by their intelligence, their liberality,
and above all, their public spirit. When the
massacre broke out, crowds of Protestant
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