1-157-135 - Ann Ronan Picture Library/Heritage Images

Murder of Francois de Lorraine, Duc de Guise, French Religious Wars, 18 February 1563 (1570). Francois de Lorraine, 2nd Duc de Guise (1519-1563), one of the leaders of the Catholic faction, being shot and mortally wounded by Poltrot de Merey, a Calvinist Huguenot. The French Religious Wars between the Catholics and the Protestant Huguenots took place between 1562 and 1598. They were sparked by a massacre of Huguenots during a service at Vassy, incited by the Guise family. The conflict ended when Henry IV issued the Edict of Nantes, granting Protestants and Catholics equal rights.