ABSTRACT
The Catholic hierarchies of Bordeaux, Toulouse and Agen, empowered by success, now became more militant, so that by 1570, their authority was unchallenged, and their control over their towns unrivalled across France outside of Paris. This chapter examines the Protestant challenge at each citadel, the measures taken to repulse the assaults, and the subsequent counter-offensives and retaliatory programmes employed by Catholic powers against their reformed communities. The preparedness of Bordeaux's defences against assault and insurrection by 1562 owed much to recent experience in dealing with sectarian tensions within the town. The assault on Agen was launched in late April 1562, under the command of Generals Caumont and Duras. The town of Agen had emerged from the shadows of its sister citadels, Bordeaux and Toulouse, to stand proud as one of three bastions of orthodoxy in the southwest.
