The massacres associated with St. Batholomew’s Day set off the Fourth War of Religion, which includes Catholic sieges of the cities of Sommières (by troops led by Henri I de Montmorency), Sancerre and the La Rochelle (by troops led by the Duke d'Anjou).

The end of hostilities is brought on by the election (11 - 15 May 1573) of the Duke of Anjou to the throne of Poland and by the Edict of Boulogne (signed in July 1573) which severely curtails many of the rights previously granted to French Protestants.