Christianity in the 16th century intermittent conflicts, known as the Wars of Religion. The civil wars were helped along by the sudden death of Henry II in 1559, which saw the beginning of a prolonged period of weakness for the French crown. and outrage became the defining characteristic of the time, illustrated at its most intense in the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre of August 1572, when the Catholic Church annihilated between 30,000 and 100,000 Huguenots across France. The wars only concluded when Henry IV, a former Huguenot, issued the Edict of Nantes, promising official toleration of the Protestant minority but under highly restricted conditions. Catholicism
Paris in the 16th century beams. The facades were covered with white plaster to prevent fires. A few examples of houses from the period, restored to their original appearance, still remain in the Marais; the houses at 13-15 rue Francois Miron (15th-16th centuries) and at 29-31 rue Galand (5th arrondissement), from the first half of the 16th century. The "hôtel particular", or large private residence, began to appear in the Marais, after the French court returned to Paris. They numbered about twenty, and, unlike ordinary houses, they were made of stone. They were built around a courtyard, and separated from the street. The residence was