The assassinations of the duc and cardinal de Guise took place on 23-24 December 1588. Rozée was in no doubt about their importance. He considered the four hundred or so pages he had written up to that point to be just one side of a coin; y avoit de la peine à escrire ‘il mesme plume ce qui est gravé sur le the actions gave théâtre une d’une revers’; king’s ‘au The elimination of the Guise brothers was a defining moment; it may be nouvelle face’. considered to bring to a close the first volume of the Histoire. When writing about the Blois assassinations, Rozée was confronting an event which seems to have had a personal impact upon him but whose significance had been overlaid in the subsequent restoration of the Bourbon monarchy. Writing with that monarchy uppermost in his mind, Rozée proceeded with prudence: y a des choses dont la memoire est deffendüe ‘il et le recit en est He spread the blame. The contre le duc ennuyeux’. king’s ‘hayne extreme et son frère le had been par les artifices de leurs Cardinal’ (undeniable) ‘eschaufée de la bien had been evident. ennemis’; besides, Guise’s ‘jalousie concüe veillance publique’ Such restraint was not to be shown in Paris after news of the atrocities was brought Ligueur to the capital by one Verdiveau in the afternoon of 24 December. Shock soon gave place to outrage and fear as it became known that in the very place they had been received as – – guests the château at Blois the Guise brothers, one of them a senior cleric, had been cut – – down. Unlike after the this time there would be no willingness to journée des barricades, treat with the king. The focus would to Ligue’s switch ‘from reform revenge’.
The assassinations of the duc and cardinal de Guise took place on 23-24 December 1588. Rozée was in no doubt about their importance. He considered the four hundred or so pages he had written up to that point to be just one side of a coin; ‘il y avoit de la peine à escrire d’une mesme plume ce qui est gravé sur le revers’; the king’s actions gave ‘au théâtre une nouvelle face’. The elimination of the Guise brothers was a defining moment; it may be considered to bring to a close the first volume of the Histoire. When writing about the Blois assassinations, Rozée was confronting an event which seems to have had a personal impact upon him but whose significance had been overlaid in the subsequent restoration of the Bourbon monarchy. Writing with that monarchy uppermost in his mind, Rozée proceeded with prudence: ‘il y a des choses dont la memoire est deffendüe et le recit en est ennuyeux’. He spread the blame. The king’s ‘hayne extreme contre le duc et son frère le Cardinal’ (undeniable) had been ‘eschaufée par les artifices de leurs ennemis’; besides, Guise’s ‘jalousie concüe de la bien veillance publique’ had been evident. Such restraint was not to be shown in Ligueur Paris after news of the atrocities was brought to the capital by one Verdiveau in the afternoon of 24 December. Shock soon gave place to outrage – and fear – as it became known that in the very place they had been received as guests – the château at Blois – the Guise brothers, one of them a senior cleric, had been cut down. Unlike after the journée des barricades, this time there would be no willingness to treat with the king. The Ligue’s focus would switch ‘from reform to revenge’.