 The Huguenots, the French adherents of Calvinism, had a considerable following among the nobility, while their enemies, later organised into the Catholic League, were led by the House of Guise, a cadet branch of the House of Lorraine.Queen Catherine, though nominally a Catholic, initially tried to steer a middle course between the two factions, attempting to keep (or restore) the peace and augment royal power.The factions had engaged in violence even before Charles's accession