Page "St. Bartholomew's Day massacre" Paragraph 47

The French 18th century historian Louis-Pierre Anquetil, in his Esprit de la Ligue of 1767, was among the first to begin impartial historical investigation, emphasizing the lack of premeditation ( before the attempt on Coligny ) in the massacre and that Catholic mob violence had a history of uncontrollable escalation.

By this period the Massacre was being widely used by Voltaire ( in his Henriade ) and other Enlightenment writers in polemics against organized religion in general.

The question of whether the massacre had long been premeditated was not entirely settled until the late 19th century ; Lord Acton changed his mind on the matter twice, finally concluding that it was not.