Huguenots were French Protestants and while there was no doubt France would remain in the Catholic column, the Queen-Regent Catherine de Medici on January 17, 1562, issued the Edict of St. Germain. The Edict made it clear France was Catholic (Catherine’s great uncle was Pope Leo X) but allowed other religions to be practiced which produced a short-lived sigh of relief for the Huguenots. The castle of St. Germain (in the photo) is about 15 miles from Paris and was the location of many treaties and other important actions of the country.
