The Battle of Saint-Denis was fought on 10 November 1567 between a Royalist army and

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Bez ...

rebels during the second of the

French Wars of Religion The French Wars of Religion is the term which is used in reference to a period of civil war between French Catholics and Protestants, commonly called Huguenots, which lasted from 1562 to 1598. According to estimates, between two and four mil ...

. Although their 74 year old commander,

Anne de Montmorency Anne, Duke of Montmorency, Honorary Knight of the Garter (15 March 1493, Chantilly, Oise12 November 1567, Paris) was a French soldier, statesman and diplomat. He became Marshal of France and Constable of France and served five kings. Early li ...

, was killed in the fighting, the Royalists forced the rebels to withdraw, allowing them to claim victory. The only major conflict of the second phase, the battle came about when Montmorency attempted to break Condé's siege of

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

. The Huguenot army retreated towards the border, where they linked up with forces led by their ally John Casimir of the Palatinate-Simmern, before besieging Chartres in February 1568. The war ended shortly thereafter.

Prelude to battle

Paris invested

After the failure of the Protestants to capture the king in the Surprise of Meaux, Charles IX and the

queen mother A queen mother is a former queen, often a queen dowager, who is the mother of the reigning monarch. The term has been used in English since the early 1560s. It arises in hereditary monarchies in Europe and is also used to describe a number of ...

rushed to Paris. Keen not to waste his mobilisation advantage, Conde made camp at Saint-Denis on 2 October, hoping to quickly starve the capital out before the full royal army could mobilise. Simultaneous risings across France in

Orléans Orléans (;"Orleans"
(US) and Nîmes and Montpellier aided the

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

cause. Conde seized first

Charenton-le-Pont Charenton-le-Pont () is a commune in the southeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris, to the north of the confluence of the Seine and Marne rivers; the () part of the name refers to the stone bridge across ...

, a strategic town in the suburbs of Paris that supplied the city with its grain and flour. Lagny-sur-Marne,

Argenteuil Argenteuil () is a commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. Argenteuil is a sub-prefecture of the Val-d'Oise department, the seat of the arrondissement of Argenteuil. Argenteuil is the sec ...

and Aubervilliers also fell to his forces, leaving Paris surrounded. Further afield Montereau,

Étampes Étampes () is a commune in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southwest from the center of Paris (as the crow flies). Étampes is a sub-prefecture of the Essonne department. Étampes, together with the neighboring ...

and

Dreux Dreux () is a commune in the Eure-et-Loir department in northern France. Geography Dreux lies on the small river Blaise, a tributary of the Eure, about 35 km north of Chartres. Dreux station has rail connections to Argentan, Paris and Gra ...

were seized, each of which controlled important roads towards the capital. Windmills were burned by the

Huguenots The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Bez ...

in the

Faubourg "Faubourg" () is an ancient French term historically equivalent to " fore-town" (now often termed suburb or ). The earliest form is , derived from Latin , 'out of', and Vulgar Latin (originally Germanic) , 'town' or 'fortress'. Traditionally, th ...

s of Paris, while many churches were looted of their valuables, further alienating the population of the city from their cause. Merchants were subject to forced loans, while peasants were conscripted into

Corvée Corvée () is a form of unpaid, forced labour, that is intermittent in nature lasting for limited periods of time: typically for only a certain number of days' work each year. Statute labour is a corvée imposed by a state for the purposes of ...

labour for the besieging army. Meanwhile, the city of Paris offered up 400,000 écus for the kings cause, and the clergy a further 250,000 for the defeat of the Huguenots.

Negotiation stalling

Conscious of their precarious situation the crown sent out the moderate

Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

, Marshal Vielleville and

Jean de Morvilliers Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * Jean ...

to negotiate, as a method of buying time for the crowns army to assemble. Conde, feeling confident, set out aggressive demands asking for the expulsion of Italian financiers, the repeal of all taxes created since

Louis XII Louis XII (27 June 14621 January 1515), was List of French monarchs, King of France from 1498 to 1515 and King of Naples from 1501 to 1504. The son of Charles, Duke of Orléans, and Maria of Cleves, he succeeded his 2nd cousin once removed and b ...

, the free exercise of religion regardless of station, the calling of an Estates General and four fortified towns to be given to them, as surety. While these negotiations were ongoing, the

Duke of Savoy The titles of count, then of duke of Savoy are titles of nobility attached to the historical territory of Savoy. Since its creation, in the 11th century, the county was held by the House of Savoy. The County of Savoy was elevated to a duchy at th ...

was sending recruits north, the main body under Strozzi travelling north via

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with Gaspard II de Coligny and La Noue trying to intercept.

Pope Pius V Pope Pius V ( it, Pio V; 17 January 1504 – 1 May 1572), born Antonio Ghislieri (from 1518 called Michele Ghislieri, O.P.), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1566 to his death in May 1572. He is v ...

also sent troops up north, meanwhile, the Protestant hope that their religious Swiss brethren could be persuaded to switch side fell flat, as the 6000 Swiss troops remained loyal to the crown. On October 8 the crown offered pardon to the rebels, if they would lay down their arms. Condé was however, only increasing in confidence, with the capture of

Soissons Soissons () is a commune in the northern French department of Aisne, in the region of Hauts-de-France. Located on the river Aisne, about northeast of Paris, it is one of the most ancient towns of France, and is probably the ancient capital ...

and

Orléans Orléans (;"Orleans"
(US) and Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's prefecture is its third-largest city of Arras. The p ...

Boulogne Boulogne-sur-Mer (; pcd, Boulonne-su-Mér; nl, Bonen; la, Gesoriacum or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department of Pas-de-Calais. Boulogne lies on the C ...

and

Metz Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand Est ...

as their surety towns, that one church in every bonne ville''' be handed over to the Huguenots, and that his troops be paid to lay down their arms. The tide however was already beginning to turn against the Huguenots, with the Constable being made Lieutenant-General of the army to consolidate military opposition to him, Brissac raising 20 companies in Paris to form the core of his force. On November 6 Strozzi destroyed one of the boat bridges Condé was utilising to cut off Paris, the following day the

Duke of Nemours Duke of Nemours was a title in the Peerage of France. The name refers to Nemours in the Île-de-France region of north-central France. History In the 12th and 13th centuries, the Lordship of Nemours, in the Gatinais, France, was a possession of t ...

captured another Parisian bridge. Misjudging his position Condé weakened his besieging forces further, by sending

François de Coligny d'Andelot François d'Andelot de Coligny (18 April 1521, Châtillon-sur-Loing - 27 May 1569, Saintes, Charente-Maritime) was one of the leaders of French Protestantism during the French Wars of Religion. The son of Gaspard I de Coligny, he was the younge ...

to take

Poissy Poissy () is a Communes of France, commune in the Yvelines Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris, from the Kilometre Zero, centre of Paris. Inhabitan ...

and Gabriel de Lorges, Count of Montgomery to seize

Pontoise Pontoise () is a commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris, in the "new town" of Cergy-Pontoise. Administration Pontoise is the official '' préfecture'' (capital) of the Val-d'Oise ''d� ...

, the former leaving him 800 arquebusiers and 500 horse shorter. On 9 November Condé was forced to abandon Charenton setting fire to it as he departed. It was now that Montmorency, who had slowly been building struck.

Battle

On 10 November battle was joined between the forces under Condé and the forces of Montmorency. Condé had at his disposal 1200 foot and 1500 horse, with no artillery. Montmorency by contrast, boasted 10,000 foot, of which 6000 was drawn from the Swiss guard, and 3000 horse, with 18 artillery pieces. Coligny commanded Condé's right flank, around the town of Saint-Ouen while Genlis held his left near Aubervilliers. Facing them Montmorency led the main body, while his son Marshal Montmorency commanded the Swiss. The battle began at 3pm with an attack up the hill by Condé, the Marshal was met with quick success and his experienced Swiss troops tore into the Huguenot lines. The Parisian levies under the command of Montmorency were however far weaker, and Condé was able to break the line with his cavalry, exposing Montmorency's position. Robert Stuart approached Montmorency, and fired two bullets into his back, fatally wounding the Constable. By this point Condé's horse had been shot out from under him, and he had to be carried off the field, allowing time for Montmorency to be withdrawn from the fray, his wounded body dispatched to Paris where he would die on 12 November. The s