Catherine de’ Medici. L.S., Melun, April 4, 1562, to Jean de Senarpont, the King’s lieutenant general in the government of Picardy; countersigned by Jacques Bourdin; 1 folio page, addressed. The start of the First War of Religion. “You will see from this dispatch the troubles in which we find ourselves, which are indeed a source of the greatest regret and distress I have ever known. And since times of peace often give a neighbor cause to do what he might not have even thought of before, so that during such troubles we may not be taken by surprise, the King, my son” [Charles IX] sends him a dispatch and urges him to do whatever is necessary “for the security of the strongholds on his border in Picardy so that we may remain at peace, making it clear to him in this matter—as you have always done in all other matters pertaining to his service—that you recognize no one but him, and that there is nothing in this world that would cause you to lose or diminish the loyalty you owe him or the service he expects from you"...