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'Homicides royaux' : the assassination of the Duc and Cardinal de Guise and the radicalization of French public opinion
Author(s)
Date Issued
2004-06
Date Available
2012-07-19T16:32:17Z
Abstract
The propaganda campaign launched in response to the assassination of the Duc and Cardinal de Guise on the orders of Henri III in December 1588 was the largest waged in the history of sixteenth-century France. Yet, it has never been the subject of systematic investigation. This article aims to fill this historiographical lacuna by presenting a broad survey of the principal arguments and techniques employed both by the Royalists, who sought to justify the act, and the League who exploited the event to radicalise Catholic opinion against Henri III. It finds that while the king was partly unwilling and partly unable to engage in any serious attempt to influence public opinion, the League exploited the media to defend the Guises as Catholic martyrs and to discredit the king as a criminal and irreligious tyrant.
Sponsorship
Not applicable
Type of Material
Journal Article
Publisher
Oxford University Press
Journal
French History
Volume
18
Issue
2
Start Page
129
End Page
153
Copyright (Published Version)
2004 Oxford University Press and the Society for the Study of French History
Subject – LCSH
Mass media and propaganda--France--History
Mass media and public opinion--France--History
Louis, Cardinal of Guise, 1556-1588--Assassination
Guise, Henri, duc de, 1550-1588--Assassination
Language
English
Status of Item
Peer reviewed
ISSN
0269-1191
This item is made available under a Creative Commons License
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