I don't know about yourself, but when I discovered that in 1572, Catherine de Medici, mother of the King of France Charles IX invited the leader of the Huguenots Henry III to marry Charles' sister and thus ensure peace at last between the long conflicting Protestant and Catholic elements in France....only to have all the Protestant guests at the wedding murdered, and to instigate a wave of mob violence across Paris, I could think of one thing: the absolute shock I was struck with during episode 9 of the most recent series of Game of Thrones, in which occurred perhaps the most unexpected and graphic scenes of television. The similarities between the two events is nothing short of startling, and leads me to wonder whether George R R Martin may have looked to France's troubled dynastic past for some inspiration.
Not to mention what happens next. After escaping with his life from this red wedding, young Henry of Navarre then engages in the fantastically named "War of the Three Henrys", a dramatically confusing three sided war in which Henry of Navarre, Henry III of France, the monarch at the time, and finally Henry of Guise, whose creation and leadership of the Catholic League and its support from Spain granted Mr. Guise a very strong position, all fought for France's throne. I won't spoil the story for you guys, you'll have to listen to the episode, but isn't it funny when we see events in history like this that are SO similar to things on TV, you wonder if it really is history repeating itself, or if the events within that period of history are just so spectacular, they deserve to be cast on the big screen?
Regardless, this is the painting of history's real red wedding by Francois Dubois, a Huguenot painter who eventually settled in Switzerland. Expect WDF's first episode on the 30 Years War within the week!
Thanksssss!
Not to mention what happens next. After escaping with his life from this red wedding, young Henry of Navarre then engages in the fantastically named "War of the Three Henrys", a dramatically confusing three sided war in which Henry of Navarre, Henry III of France, the monarch at the time, and finally Henry of Guise, whose creation and leadership of the Catholic League and its support from Spain granted Mr. Guise a very strong position, all fought for France's throne. I won't spoil the story for you guys, you'll have to listen to the episode, but isn't it funny when we see events in history like this that are SO similar to things on TV, you wonder if it really is history repeating itself, or if the events within that period of history are just so spectacular, they deserve to be cast on the big screen?
Thanksssss!
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