Pierre de L'Estoile and His World in the Wars of Religion

The Wars of Religion embroiled France in decades of faction, violence, and peacemaking in the late sixteenth century. When historians interpret these events they inevitably depend on sources of information gathered by contemporaries, none more valuable than the diaries and collection of Pierre de L'Estoile (1546-1611), who lived through the civil wars in Paris and shaped how they have been remembered ever since. The first monograph study of L'Estoile in anylanguage, this volume deserves a place on the shelf of every library which stocks an edition of his famous diaries. It will provide an essential companion and reference book for scholars of this period usingL'Estoile's sources in their research. Moreover, it will serve students and those approaching the Wars of Religion for the first time as an accessible account of these complex events from the perspective of a fascinating and significant eyewitness.