ABSTRACT
The third centre of Catholic militancy in the south-west was Toulouse. Catholic influence in Toulouse centred on the parlement. The wisdom in supporting the basoche was brought home to Jean de Mansencal, the premier president of the parlement, in 1561, when over four hundred coliers from the university of Toulouse gathered outside his house to demand a specific place of worship within Toulouse. The controversy over Terride and Crussol's tenure only served to heighten confessional tensions at Toulouse. In April 1562, the crown's carefully nurtured policy of conciliation and coexistence shattered at Toulouse. At Toulouse, further contestation flared between the faiths at decision by the snchal and parlement to convoke the ban-et-arrire ban to secure the town against the threat of insurrection. The formation of the syndicate revealed the rising militancy that was characteristic of sectarian relations in Toulouse during early 1562. The establishment of a reformed consistory in Toulouse in late January 1562 did little to alleviate Catholic anxiety.
