on 17 march 1560, the conspirators, led by la renaudie, attempted to storm the château. though the court was thrown into panic, the plotters' forces were easily defeated. la renaudie, caught on 19 march, was drawn and quartered and his flesh displayed at the gates of the town. in the presence of the king and the queen, la renaudie's followers, between 1,200 and 1,500, were also killed and their corpses hung on iron hooks on the façade of the château and from nearby trees; others were drowned in the loire or exposed to the fury of the townspeople of amboise.