other scholars who have complicated the view of Charles IX and his reign in recent decades. Crouzet's work underlines the sacral conflict that Charles IX confronted and presents Catherine de Médicis and Michel de l'Hôpital as having forged the royal policy of concord. Diefendorf demonstrates how ultra-Catholics and radicalized civic guards stoked tensions in Paris and eagerly participated in the Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacre. James B. Wood shows that Charles IX was hardly in sole control of

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... is armed forces, suggesting a very different interpretation of the siege of La Rochelle toward the end of his reign. Charles IX nonetheless provides a helpful corrective to typical presentations of this often-discounted king. The Black Legend of the Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacre has normally laid blame on Catherine de Médicis, but Labourdette presents Charles IX as capable and rather decisive, making his ultimate responsibility for the infamous massacre seem credible.