Petrarch gives us a picture of the harvest of this strife: "I could not believe that this was the same France which I had seen so rich and flourishing. Nothing presented itself to my eyes but a fearful solitude, an utter poverty, land uncultivated, houses in ruin." The Black Prince treated his royal captive with courtesy, entertaining him at his own table, and praising his bravery. In May 1357 the French king was brought to England, and, seated on a charger, he rode side by side with his victor through the streets of London. As a first residence, King John was given the Savoy Palace, and afterwards he and his son spent some time in Windsor Castle. Watered on three sides by the Rivers Boivre and Clain, and standing on rising ground, Poitiers was chosen as the site of a Roman settlement. Not far from the town are the ruins of a Roman burial-place, and antiquities that have been discovered may be seen in the interesting Museum of Antiquaries de l'Ouest. In 1569 the Count du Lude valiantly defended Poitiers against the seven weeks' siege of troops led by Coligny, finally repulsing the enemy, and retaining the town. Protestantism seems to have gained ground in Poitiers, for we read that in the days of Calvin there were many "conversions" among the inhabitants. In September 1559 the justices of the city published a proscription of religious gatherings, and bade all strangers to quit the place in twenty-four hours. No preaching was permitted, the inhabitants were enjoined not to give necessities of life to the pastors under penalty of punishment for sedition. This persecution, directed against the Lutherans, was the result of the edict of Villars-Cotteret, and of an order made in Blois, which decreed that all the attenders at religious assemblies should be put to death, "without hope of pardon or mitigation." France was at this time the scene of the fierce religious intolerance which led to the Massacre of St Bartholomew. Gaspard de Coligny, Admiral of France, who led the siege of Poitiers, was a convert to the teaching of Calvin, and the leader of the reformed party. Touched with fanaticism, he was a valorous soldier, and was never daunted by his reverses. After a long conflict with the Church, the admiral was murdered brutally, and his body mutilated, and dragged through the streets of Paris by a rabble. The oldest church in the town is St Jean. A basilica once stood where St Peter's massive bulk overshadows the houses around. The towers of this church date from the thirteenth century. There are some very old stained-glass windows; in one of them are portraits of Henry II. and Eleanor of England. Portions of the Church of St Radegonde are probably of the eleventh century. St Porchaine is another ancient church worth visiting. The Dukes of Aquitaine lived in the city, and their palace is now a court of law. One of the halls has a fine vaulted wooden roof.