Henry IV (french: Henri IV; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry or Henry the Great, was
King of Navarre
This is a list of the kings and queens of Pamplona, later Navarre. Pamplona was the primary name of the kingdom until its union with Aragon (1076–1134). However, the territorial designation Navarre came into use as an alternative name in the ...
(as Henry III) from 1572 and
King of France from 1589 to 1610. He was the first monarch of France from the
House of Bourbon, a cadet branch of the
Capetian dynasty. He was assassinated in 1610 by
François Ravaillac
François Ravaillac (; 1578 – 27 May 1610) was a French Catholic zealot who assassinated King Henry IV of France in 1610.
Biography Early life and education
Ravaillac was born in 1578 at Angoulême of an educated family: his grandfather Fr ...
, a Catholic zealot, and was succeeded by his son
Louis XIII
Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crown ...
.
Henry was the son of
Jeanne III of Navarre and
Antoine de Bourbon
Antoine de Bourbon, roi de Navarre (22 April 1518 – 17 November 1562) was the King of Navarre through his marriage (''jure uxoris'') to Queen Jeanne III, from 1555 until his death. He was the first monarch of the House of Bourbon, of which he w ...
,
Duke of Vendôme
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ranke ...
. He was baptised as a
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
but raised in the
Protestant
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
faith by his mother. He inherited the throne of Navarre in 1572 on his mother's death. As a
Huguenot
The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...
, Henry was involved in the
French Wars of Religion
The French Wars of Religion is the term which is used in reference to a period of civil war between French Catholics and Protestants, commonly called Huguenots, which lasted from 1562 to 1598. According to estimates, between two and four mi ...
, barely escaping assassination in the
St. Bartholomew's Day massacre. He later led Protestant forces against the French royal army.
Henry became king of France in 1589 upon the death of
Henry III, his brother-in-law and distant cousin. He was the first French monarch from the
House of Bourbon. Henry initially kept the Protestant faith (the only French king to do so) and had to fight against the
Catholic League, which denied that he could wear France's crown as a Protestant. After four years of stalemate, he converted to Catholicism to obtain mastery over his kingdom (reportedly saying, "Paris is well worth a mass"). As a pragmatic politician (in the parlance of the time, a ''
politique
During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, ''politiques'' () were those in a position of power who put the success and well-being of their state above all else. During the Wars of Religion, this included moderates of both religious faiths ( ...
''), he promulgated the
Edict of Nantes
The Edict of Nantes () was signed in April 1598 by King Henry IV and granted the Calvinist Protestants of France, also known as Huguenots, substantial rights in the nation, which was in essence completely Catholic. In the edict, Henry aimed pr ...
(1598), which guaranteed religious liberties to Protestants, thereby effectively ending the
French Wars of Religion
The French Wars of Religion is the term which is used in reference to a period of civil war between French Catholics and Protestants, commonly called Huguenots, which lasted from 1562 to 1598. According to estimates, between two and four mi ...
.
An active ruler, Henry worked to regularise state finance, promote agriculture, eliminate corruption and encourage education. During his reign, the
French colonization of the Americas
France began colonizing the Americas in the 16th century and continued into the following centuries as it established a colonial empire in the Western Hemisphere. France established colonies in much of eastern North America, on several Caribbe ...
truly began with the foundation of the colonies of
Acadia
Acadia (french: link=no, Acadie) was a colony of New France in northeastern North America which included parts of what are now the The Maritimes, Maritime provinces, the Gaspé Peninsula and Maine to the Kennebec River. During much of the 17t ...
and
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
at
Port-Royal Port Royal is the former capital city of Jamaica.
Port Royal or Port Royale may also refer to:
Institutions
* Port-Royal-des-Champs, an abbey near Paris, France, which spawned influential schools and writers of the 17th century
** Port-Royal A ...
and
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
, respectively. He is celebrated in the popular song "
Vive le roi Henri" (which later became an anthem for the French monarchy during the reigns of his successors) and in
Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his ''nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his criticism of Christianity—es ...
's ''
Henriade
''La Henriade'' is an epic poem of 1723 written by the French Enlightenment writer and philosopher Voltaire. According to Voltaire himself, the poem concerns and was written in honour of the life of Henry IV of France, and is a celebration of his ...
''.
Early life and King of Navarre
Childhood and adolescence
![Henry III on his deathbed designating Henri de Navarre as his successor](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c9/Henry_III_on_his_deathbed_designating_Henri_de_Navarre_as_his_successor.jpg)
Henry de Bourbon was born in
Pau, the capital of the joint
Kingdom of Navarre with the sovereign principality of
Béarn. His parents were
Queen Joan III of Navarre (Jeanne d'Albret) and her husband,
Antoine de Bourbon, Duke of Vendôme, King of Navarre. Although baptised as a Catholic, Henry was raised as a Protestant by his mother, who had declared Calvinism the religion of Navarre. As a teenager, Henry joined the Huguenot forces in the French Wars of Religion. On 9 June 1572, upon his mother's death, the 19-year-old became
King of Navarre
This is a list of the kings and queens of Pamplona, later Navarre. Pamplona was the primary name of the kingdom until its union with Aragon (1076–1134). However, the territorial designation Navarre came into use as an alternative name in the ...
.
First marriage and Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacre
At Queen Joan's death, it was arranged for Henry to marry
Margaret of Valois
Margaret of Valois (french: Marguerite, 14 May 1553 – 27 March 1615), popularly known as La Reine Margot, was a French princess of the Valois dynasty who became Queen of Navarre by marriage to Henry III of Navarre and then also Queen of France ...
, daughter of
Henry II of France
Henry II (french: Henri II; 31 March 1519 – 10 July 1559) was King of France from 31 March 1547 until his death in 1559. The second son of Francis I and Duchess Claude of Brittany, he became Dauphin of France upon the death of his elder bro ...
and
Catherine de' Medici. The wedding took place in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
on 18 August 1572 on the
parvis
A parvis or parvise is the open space in front of and around a cathedral or church, especially when surrounded by either colonnades or porticoes, as at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. It is thus a church-specific type of forecourt, front yard or ...
of
Notre Dame Cathedral
Notre-Dame de Paris (; meaning "Our Lady of Paris"), referred to simply as Notre-Dame, is a medieval Catholic cathedral on the Île de la Cité (an island in the Seine River), in the 4th arrondissement of Paris. The cathedral, dedicated to the ...
.
On 24 August, the
St. Bartholomew's Day massacre began in Paris. Several thousand Protestants who had come to Paris for Henry's wedding were killed, as well as thousands more throughout the country in the days that followed. Henry narrowly escaped death thanks to the help of his wife and his promise to convert to Catholicism. He was forced to live at the court of France, but he escaped in early 1576. On 5 February of that year, he formally abjured Catholicism at
Tours
Tours ( , ) is one of the largest cities in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the prefecture of the department of Indre-et-Loire. The commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabitants as of 2018 while the population of the whole metro ...
and rejoined the Protestant forces in the military conflict. He named his 16-year-old sister,
Catherine de Bourbon
Catherine de Bourbon (7 February 1559 – 13 February 1604) was a Navarrese regent princess. She was the daughter of Queen Joan III and King Anthony of Navarre. She ruled the principality of Béarn in the name of her brother, King Henry III ...
, regent of Béarn. Catherine held the regency for nearly thirty years.
Wars of Religion
![King Henry IV in his coronation robes, by Frans Pourbus the Younger](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/King_Henry_IV_in_his_coronation_robes%2C_by_Frans_Pourbus_the_Younger.jpg)
Henry became
heir presumptive
An heir presumptive is the person entitled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir apparent or a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the position in question.
...
to the French throne in 1584 upon the death of
Francis, Duke of Anjou, brother and heir to the Catholic
Henry III, who had succeeded
Charles IX in 1574. Given that Henry of Navarre was the next senior
agnatic descendant of King
Louis IX
Louis IX (25 April 1214 – 25 August 1270), commonly known as Saint Louis or Louis the Saint, was King of France from 1226 to 1270, and the most illustrious of the Direct Capetians. He was crowned in Reims at the age of 12, following the d ...
, King Henry III had no choice but to recognise him as the legitimate successor.
War of the Three Henrys (1587–1589)
* King
Henry III of France, supported by the royalists and the
politique
During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, ''politiques'' () were those in a position of power who put the success and well-being of their state above all else. During the Wars of Religion, this included moderates of both religious faiths ( ...
s;
* King Henry of Navarre, heir presumptive to the French throne and leader of the
Huguenot
The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...
s, supported by
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen".
Eli ...
and the Protestant princes of Germany; and
*
Henry of Lorraine, Duke of Guise, leader of the
Catholic League, funded and supported by
Philip II of Spain.
Salic law barred the king's sisters and all others who could claim descent through only the female line from inheriting. Since Henry of Navarre was a Huguenot, the issue was not considered settled in many quarters of the country, and France was plunged into a phase of the Wars of Religion known as the
War of the Three Henrys (1587–1589).
Henry I, Duke of Guise pushed for complete suppression of the Huguenots and had much support among Catholic loyalists. Political disagreements among the parties set off a series of campaigns and counter-campaigns that culminated in the
Battle of Coutras
The Battle of Coutras, fought on 20 October 1587, was a major engagement in the French Religious Wars between a Huguenot (Protestant) army under Henry of Navarre (the future Henry IV) and a royalist army led by Anne, Duke of Joyeuse. Henry of Na ...
.
In December 1588, Henry III had Henry I of Guise murdered, along with his brother, Louis, Cardinal de Guise. Henry III thought the removal of the brothers would finally restore his authority. However, the populace was horrified and rose against him. The title of the king was no longer recognized in several cities; his power was limited to Blois, Tours, and the surrounding districts. In the general chaos, Henry III relied on King Henry of Navarre and his Huguenots.
The two kings were united by a common interest—to win France from the Catholic League. Henry III acknowledged the King of Navarre as a true subject and Frenchman, not a fanatic Huguenot aiming for the destruction of Catholics. Catholic royalist nobles also rallied to the king's standard. With this combined force, the two kings marched to Paris. The morale of the city was low, and even the Spanish ambassador believed the city could not hold out longer than a fortnight. However, Henry III was assassinated shortly thereafter, on 2 August 1589, by a monk.
King of France: Early reign
Succession (1589–1594)
![Ivryrubens](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d1/Ivryrubens.jpg)
When Henry III died, Henry of Navarre nominally became king of France. The Catholic League, however, strengthened by support from outside the country—especially from Spain—was strong enough to prevent a universal recognition of his new title. Pope Sixtus V excommunicated Henry and declared him devoid of any right to inherit the crown. Most of the Catholic nobles who had joined Henry III for the siege of Paris also refused to recognize the claim of Henry of Navarre, and abandoned him. He set about winning his kingdom by military conquest, aided by English money and German troops. Henry's Catholic uncle
Charles, Cardinal de Bourbon
Charles de Bourbon (22 September 1523 – 9 May 1590) was a French cardinal. The Catholic League considered him the rightful King of France as Charles X after the death of Henry III in 1589. His claim was recognized as part of the secret Treaty o ...
was proclaimed king by the League, but the Cardinal was Henry's prisoner at the time. Henry was victorious at the
Battle of Arques
The Battle of Arques occurred on 15–29 September 1589 between the French royal forces of King Henry IV of France and troops of the Catholic League commanded by Charles of Lorraine, Duke of Mayenne, during the eighth and final war (1585-1598) ...
and the
Battle of Ivry, but failed to take Paris after
besieging it in 1590.
![Henry IV en Herculeus terrassant l Hydre de Lerne cad La ligue Catholique Atelier Toussaint Dubreuil circa 1600](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d8/Henry_IV_en_Herculeus_terrassant_l_Hydre_de_Lerne_cad_La_ligue_Catholique_Atelier_Toussaint_Dubreuil_circa_1600.jpg)
When Cardinal de Bourbon died in 1590, the League could not agree on a new candidate. While some supported various Guise candidates, the strongest candidate was probably the
Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia of Spain
Isabella Clara Eugenia ( es, link=no, Isabel Clara Eugenia; 12 August 1566 – 1 December 1633), sometimes referred to as Clara Isabella Eugenia, was sovereign of the Spanish Netherlands in the Low Countries and the north of modern France with ...
, the daughter of
Philip II of Spain, whose mother
Elisabeth had been the eldest daughter of
Henry II of France
Henry II (french: Henri II; 31 March 1519 – 10 July 1559) was King of France from 31 March 1547 until his death in 1559. The second son of Francis I and Duchess Claude of Brittany, he became Dauphin of France upon the death of his elder bro ...
. In the religious fervor of the time, the Infanta was recognized to be a suitable candidate, provided that she marry a suitable husband. The French overwhelmingly rejected Philip's first choice,
Archduke Ernest of Austria, the Emperor's brother, also a member of the
House of Habsburg
The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...
. In case of such opposition, Philip indicated that princes of the House of Lorraine would be acceptable to him: the Duke of Guise; a son of the Duke of Lorraine; and the son of the Duke of Mayenne. The Spanish ambassadors selected the Duke of Guise, to the joy of the League. However, at that moment of seeming victory, the envy of the Duke of Mayenne was aroused, and he blocked the proposed election of a king.
![France Nuremberg King Henri IV jeton Hans Laufer](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5e/France_Nuremberg_King_Henri_IV_jeton_Hans_Laufer.jpg)
The
Parlement of Paris also upheld the Salic law. They argued that if the French accepted natural hereditary succession, as proposed by the Spaniards, and accepted a woman as their queen, then the ancient claims of the English kings would be confirmed, and the monarchy of centuries past would be nothing but an illegality. The Parlement admonished Mayenne, as lieutenant-general, that the kings of France had resisted the interference of the pope in political matters, and that he should not raise a foreign prince or princess to the throne of France under the pretext of religion. Mayenne was angered that he had not been consulted prior to this admonishment, but yielded, since their aim was not contrary to his present views.
Despite these setbacks for the League, Henry remained unable to take control of Paris.
Conversion to Catholicism: "Paris is well worth a Mass" (1593)
![Entrance of Henry IV in Paris 22 March 1594](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/80/Entrance_of_Henry_IV_in_Paris_22_March_1594.jpg)
On 25 July 1593, with the encouragement of his mistress, , Henry permanently renounced Protestantism and converted to Catholicism in order to secure his hold on the French crown, thereby earning the resentment of the
Huguenots
The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...
and his former ally Queen
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen".
Eli ...
. He was said to have declared that ("Paris is well worth a mass"),
[Alistair Horne, ''Seven Ages of Paris'', Random House (2004)][F.P.G. Guizot (1787–1874) ''A Popular History of France...'']
gutenberg.org
/ref> although there is some doubt whether he said this, or whether the statement was attributed to him by his contemporaries. His acceptance of Catholicism secured the allegiance of the vast majority of his subjects.
Coronation and recognition (1594–1595)
Since Reims, traditional coronation place of French kings, was still occupied by the Catholic League, Henry was crowned King of France at the Cathedral of Chartres on 27 February 1594. Pope Clement VIII lifted excommunication from Henry on 17 September 1595. He did not forget his former Calvinist coreligionists, however, and was known for his religious tolerance.
In 1598 he issued the Edict of Nantes
The Edict of Nantes () was signed in April 1598 by King Henry IV and granted the Calvinist Protestants of France, also known as Huguenots, substantial rights in the nation, which was in essence completely Catholic. In the edict, Henry aimed pr ...
, which granted circumscribed toleration to the Huguenots.
Civil war and the Edict of Nantes
Henry IV successfully ended the civil wars. He and his ministers pacified Catholic leaders using bribes of about 7 million écus, which was more than France's revenue per annum. Huguenot leaders were placated by the Edict of Nantes
The Edict of Nantes () was signed in April 1598 by King Henry IV and granted the Calvinist Protestants of France, also known as Huguenots, substantial rights in the nation, which was in essence completely Catholic. In the edict, Henry aimed pr ...
, which had four separate documents. The articles laid down the tolerance which would be accorded to the Huguenots including the exact places where worship may or may not take place, three Protestant universities were recognized, and synods of the church would be allowed. The king also issued two personal documents (called ''brevets'') which recognized the Protestant establishment. The Edict of Nantes signed religious tolerance into law, and the brevets were an act of benevolence that created a Protestant state within France.
Despite this, it would take years to restore law and order to France. The Edict was met by opposition from the ''parlements'', objecting guarantees offered to the Protestants. The Parlement de Rouen did not formally register the edict until 1609, although it begrudgingly observed its terms.
Later reign
Domestic policies
During his reign, Henry IV worked through the minister Maximilien de Béthune, Duke of Sully
Maximilien de Béthune, 1st Duke of Sully, Marquis of Rosny and Nogent, Count of Muret and Villebon, Viscount of Meaux (13 December 156022 December 1641) was a nobleman, soldier, statesman, and counselor of King Henry IV of France. Historians emp ...
, to regularize state finance, promote agriculture, drain swamps, undertake public works, and encourage education. He established the ''Collège Royal Henri-le-Grand'' in La Flèche
La Flèche () is a town and commune in the French department of Sarthe, in the Pays de la Loire region in the Loire Valley. It is the sub-prefecture of the South-Sarthe, the chief district and the chief city of a canton, and the second most po ...
(today the Prytanée Militaire de la Flèche). He and Sully protected forests from further devastation, built a system of tree-lined highways, and constructed bridges and canals. He had a 1200-metre canal built in the park at the Château Fontainebleau
Palace of Fontainebleau (; ) or Château de Fontainebleau, located southeast of the center of Paris, in the commune of Fontainebleau, is one of the largest French royal châteaux. The medieval castle and subsequent palace served as a residence ...
(which may be fished today) and ordered the planting of pines, elms, and fruit trees.
The King restored Paris as a great city, with the Pont Neuf
The Pont Neuf (, "New Bridge") is the oldest standing bridge across the river Seine in Paris, France. It stands by the western (downstream) point of the Île de la Cité, the island in the middle of the river that was, between 250 and 225 BC ...
, which still stands today, constructed over the river Seine to connect the Right
Rights are legal, social, or ethical principles of freedom or entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people according to some legal system, social convention, or ethical ...
and Left Bank
In geography, a bank is the land alongside a body of water. Different structures are referred to as ''banks'' in different fields of geography, as follows.
In limnology (the study of inland waters), a stream bank or river bank is the terra ...
s of the city. Henry IV also had the ''Place Royale'' built (since 1800 known as Place des Vosges
The Place des Vosges (), originally Place Royale, is the oldest planned square in Paris, France.
It is located in the ''Marais'' district, and it straddles the dividing-line between the 3rd and 4th arrondissements of Paris. It was a fashionabl ...
), and added the ''Grande Galerie'' to the Louvre Palace. More than 400 metres long and thirty-five metres wide, this huge addition was built along the bank of the Seine River. At the time it was the longest edifice of its kind in the world. King Henry IV, a promoter of the arts by all classes of people, invited hundreds of artists and craftsmen to live and work on the building's lower floors. This tradition continued for another two hundred years, until Emperor Napoleon I
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
banned it. The art and architecture of his reign have become known as the " Henry IV style" since that time.
An economic policy enacted by Henry IV was to reduce the amount of funds spent on imports of foreign goods and instead manufacture and grow those goods in France. He accomplished this in a couple of ways. Sumptuary laws were passed limiting the use of gold and silver cloth, which had to be imported. He also built royal factories to produce luxury commodities sought by the aristocracy: crystal glass, silk, satin, and tapestries (at Gobelins Manufactory and Savonnerie de Chaillot workshops. The king established a Commission that re-established silk weaving in Tours
Tours ( , ) is one of the largest cities in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the prefecture of the department of Indre-et-Loire. The commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabitants as of 2018 while the population of the whole metro ...
and Lyon
Lyon,, ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, third-largest city and Urban area (France), second-largest metropolitan area of F ...
, and increased linen production in Picardy and Brittany
Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period ...
. To promote agriculture, they distributed 16,000 free copies of ''The Theatre of Agriculture'' by Olivier de Serres, a manual that explained agricultural concepts.
King Henry's vision extended beyond France, and he financed several expeditions of Pierre Dugua, Sieur de Monts
Pierre Dugua de Mons (or Du Gua de Monts; c. 1558 – 1628) was a French merchant, explorer and colonizer. A Calvinist, he was born in the Château de Mons, in Royan, Saintonge (southwestern France) and founded the first permanent French set ...
and Samuel de Champlain to North America. France laid claim to New France (now Canada).
International relations
During the reign of Henry IV, rivalry continued among France, the Habsburg rulers of Spain, and the Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars.
From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...
for the mastery of Western Europe. The conflict was not resolved until after the Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battle ...
.
Spain and Italy
During Henry's struggle for the crown, Spain had been the principal backer of the Catholic League, and it tried to thwart Henry. Under the Duke of Parma, an army from the Spanish Netherlands
Spanish Netherlands (Spanish: Países Bajos Españoles; Dutch: Spaanse Nederlanden; French: Pays-Bas espagnols; German: Spanische Niederlande.) (historically in Spanish: ''Flandes'', the name "Flanders" was used as a ''pars pro toto'') was the H ...
intervened in 1590 against Henry and foiled his siege of Paris. Another Spanish army helped the nobles opposing Henry to win the Battle of Craon against his troops in 1592.
After Henry's coronation, the war continued because there was an official tug-of-war between the French and Spanish states, but after victory at the Siege of Amiens
The siege of Amiens (French: Siège d'Amiens) was a siege and battle fought during the Franco-Spanish War (1595–1598), as part of both the French Wars of Religion and the Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604), between 13 May and 25 September 1597.Jacq ...
in September 1597 the Peace of Vervins
The Peace of Vervins or Treaty of Vervins was signed between the representatives of Henry IV of France and Philip II of Spain under the auspices of the papal legates of Clement VIII, on 2 May 1598 at the small town of Vervins in Picardy, northern ...
was signed in 1598. This enabled him to turn his attention to Savoy, with which he also had been fighting. Their conflicts
Conflict may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
Films
* ''Conflict'' (1921 film), an American silent film directed by Stuart Paton
* ''Conflict'' (1936 film), an American boxing film starring John Wayne
* ''Conflict'' (1937 film) ...
were settled in the Treaty of Lyon of 1601, which mandated territorial exchanges between France and the Duchy of Savoy.
A major problem that Henry IV faced was known as the Spanish Road
The Spanish Road ( Spanish: ''Camino Español'', German: ''Spanische Straße'') was a military road and trade route in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, linking the Duchy of Milan, the Franche-Comté and the Spanish Netherlands, ...
, which followed Spanish territory through Savoy to the Low Countries. His first opportunity in taking down parts of the Spanish Road was in a dispute over the ownership of the marquisate of Saluzzo
Saluzzo (; pms, Salusse ) is a town and former principality in the province of Cuneo, in the Piedmont region, Italy.
The city of Saluzzo is built on a hill overlooking a vast, well-cultivated plain. Iron, lead, silver, marble, slate etc. are fo ...
. The last marquis left Saluzzo to the French crown in 1548 (when Savoy was occupied completely by France) but in absence of strong control during the Wars of Religion, the territory's ownership was disputed. The matter was placed before papal arbitration since the duke of Savoy was reluctant to recognize France's claim to the territory. He offered to cede Bresse
Bresse () is a former French province. It is located in the regions of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Bourgogne-Franche-Comté of eastern France. The geographical term ''Bresse'' has two meanings: ''Bresse bourguignonne'' (or ''louhannaise''), whi ...
to France if he could retain Saluzzo. Henri IV accepted this but Spain pointed out that ceding Bresse would remove a vital part of the Spanish Road. Spain promised the Duke full support if he rejected the agreement, and he did so. Henry IV was already at Lyon and had soldiers ready. Four days after the duke formally rejected the agreement, Henry IV launched an invasion of fifty thousand men against the duchy and in the next week, almost every area west of the Alps was French territory. In January 1601, Henry accepted an offer of papal arbitration in the dispute and gained not only Bresse, but Bugey The Bugey (, ; Arpitan: ''Bugê'') is a historical region in the department of Ain, eastern France, located between Lyon and Geneva. It is located in a loop of the Rhône River in the southeast of the department. It includes the foothills of the ...
and Gex. Savoy retained a narrow corridor of territory, the Val de Chézery. This allowed Spanish troops to cross from Lombardy to Franche Comté without going through France, but at this point the Spanish Road was just a single bridge across the Rhône River.
Even though the Saluzzo conflict was Henry IV's last major military operation, he still continued to try and counter Spain by providing subsidies to its enemies. He generously assisted the Dutch, and paid them over 12 million livres between 1598 and 1610. Some years, the payment was 10% of France's total annual budget. France also sent subsidies to Geneva
, neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier
, website = https://www.geneve.ch/
Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevr ...
after the Duke of Savoy's attempt to capture the city in 1602.
Germany
In 1609 Henry's intervention helped to settle the War of the Jülich Succession
The War of the Jülich Succession was a war of succession in the United Duchies of Jülich-Cleves-Berg. It lasted between 10 June 1609 and 24 October 1610, resumed in May 1614 and finally ended on 13 October 1614. The first round of the conflict ...
through diplomatic means.
It was widely believed that in 1610 Henry was preparing to go to war against the Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars.
From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...
. The preparations were terminated by his assassination, however, and the subsequent rapprochement with Spain under the regency of Marie de' Medici.
Ottoman Empire
Even before Henry's accession to the French throne, the French Huguenots were in contact with Aragonese Moriscos
Moriscos (, ; pt, mouriscos ; Spanish for "Moorish") were former Muslims and their descendants whom the Roman Catholic church and the Spanish Crown commanded to convert to Christianity or face compulsory exile after Spain outlawed the ope ...
in plans against the Habsburg government of Spain in the 1570s. Around 1575, plans were made for a combined attack of Aragonese Moriscos and Huguenots from Béarn under Henry against Spanish Aragon, in agreement with the king of Algiers and the Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
, but this project floundered with the arrival of John of Austria in Aragon and the disarmament of the Moriscos. In 1576, a three-pronged fleet from Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...
was planned to disembark between Murcia
Murcia (, , ) is a city in south-eastern Spain, the capital and most populous city of the autonomous community of the Region of Murcia, and the seventh largest city in the country. It has a population of 460,349 inhabitants in 2021 (about one ...
and Valencia
Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...
while the French Huguenots would invade from the north and the Moriscos accomplish their uprising, but the Ottoman fleet failed to arrive.
After his crowning, Henry continued the policy of a Franco-Ottoman alliance
The Franco-Ottoman Alliance, also known as the Franco-Turkish Alliance, was an alliance established in 1536 between the King of France Francis I and the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire Suleiman I. The strategic and sometimes tactical alliance was o ...
and received an embassy from Sultan Mehmed III
Mehmed III (, ''Meḥmed-i sālis''; tr, III. Mehmed; 26 May 1566 – 22 December 1603) was Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1595 until his death in 1603. Mehmed was known for ordering the execution of his brothers and leading the army in the L ...
in 1601. In 1604, a "Peace Treaty and Capitulation" was signed between Henry IV and the Ottoman Sultan Ahmed I. It granted numerous advantages to France in the Ottoman Empire.
In 1606–07, Henry IV sent Arnoult de Lisle as Ambassador to Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...
to obtain the observance of past friendship treaties. An embassy was sent to Tunisia
)
, image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg
, map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa
, image_map2 =
, capital = Tunis
, largest_city = capital
, ...
in 1608 led by François Savary de Brèves
François Savary de Brèves (1560, in Melay – 22 April 1628, in Paris) was a French ambassador of the 16th and 17th centuries as well as an Orientalist.
Diplomacy
In 1585, François Savary de Brèves accompanied to Constantinople his relativ ...
.
East Asia
During the reign of Henry IV, various enterprises were set up to develop trade with faraway lands. In December 1600, a company was formed through the association of Saint-Malo
Saint-Malo (, , ; Gallo: ; ) is a historic French port in Ille-et-Vilaine, Brittany, on the English Channel coast.
The walled city had a long history of piracy, earning much wealth from local extortion and overseas adventures. In 1944, the Alli ...
, Laval, and Vitré to trade with the Moluccas
The Maluku Islands (; Indonesian: ''Kepulauan Maluku'') or the Moluccas () are an archipelago in the east of Indonesia. Tectonically they are located on the Halmahera Plate within the Molucca Sea Collision Zone. Geographically they are located ...
and Japan.[''Asia in the Making of Europe, Volume III: A Century of Advance. Book 1'', Donald F. Lach pp. 93–9]
/ref> Two ships, the ''Croissant'' and the ''Corbin'', were sent around the Cape of Good Hope in May 1601. The ''Corbin'' was wrecked in the Maldives
Maldives (, ; dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖެ, translit=Dhivehi Raajje, ), officially the Republic of Maldives ( dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖޭގެ ޖުމްހޫރިއްޔާ, translit=Dhivehi Raajjeyge Jumhooriyyaa, label=none, ), is an archipelag ...
, leading to the adventure of François Pyrard de Laval
François Pyrard de Laval (; 1578 – ca. 1623) was a French navigator who is remembered for a personal written account of his adventures in the Maldives Islands from 1602 to 1607, which was part of a ten-year sojourn (1601–1611) in South Asia, ...
, who managed to return to France in 1611. The ''Croissant'', carrying François Martin de Vitré, reached Ceylon and traded with Aceh in Sumatra, but was captured by the Dutch on the return leg at Cape Finisterre. François Martin de Vitré was the first Frenchman to write an account of travels to the Far East in 1604, at the request of Henry IV, and from that time numerous accounts on Asia would be published.
From 1604 to 1609, following the return of François Martin de Vitré, Henry attempted to set up a French East India Company
The French East India Company (french: Compagnie française pour le commerce des Indes orientales) was a colonial commercial enterprise, founded on 1 September 1664 to compete with the English (later British) and Dutch trading companies in th ...
on the model of England and the Netherlands. On 1 June 1604, he issued letters patent to Dieppe
Dieppe (; Norman: ''Dgieppe'') is a coastal commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France.
Dieppe is a seaport on the English Channel at the mouth of the river Arques. A regular ferry service runs to N ...
merchants to form the Dieppe Company
The Dieppe Company (french: Compagnie de Dieppe) was a 17th-century French overseas trading company. It was founded on 1 June 1604 through the issuance of letter patents by Henry IV to Dieppe merchants, with an eye to Far East trade possibilities ...
, giving them exclusive rights to Asian trade for 15 years. No ships were sent, however, until 1616. In 1609, another adventurer, Pierre-Olivier Malherbe, returned from a circumnavigation of the globe and informed Henry of his adventures. He had visited China and India, and had an encounter with Akbar.
Religion
Historians have made the assertion that Henry IV was a convinced Calvinist
Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...
, only changing his formal religious allegiance to adjust, suit or achieve his political goals.
Henry IV was baptized as a Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
on 5 January 1554. He was raised in the Reformed Tradition by his mother Jeanne III of Navarre. In 1572, after the massacre of French Calvinists, he was forced by Catherine de' Medici and other powerful Catholic royalty to convert. In 1576, as he managed to escape from Paris, he abjured Catholicism and returned to Calvinism. In 1593, in order to gain recognition as King of France, he converted again to Catholicism. Although a formal Catholic, he valued his Calvinist upbringing and was tolerant toward the Huguenots
The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...
until his death in 1610, and issued the Edict of Nantes
The Edict of Nantes () was signed in April 1598 by King Henry IV and granted the Calvinist Protestants of France, also known as Huguenots, substantial rights in the nation, which was in essence completely Catholic. In the edict, Henry aimed pr ...
which granted many concessions to them.
Nicknames
Henry was nicknamed
A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...
"the Great" (''Henri le Grand''), and in France is also called ''le bon roi Henri'' ("the good king Henry") or ''le vert galant'' ("The Green Gallant", for his numerous mistresses). In English he is most often referred to as Henry of Navarre.
Assassination
Henry was the target of at least 12 assassination attempts, including one by Pierre Barrière
Pierre Barrière (died August 31, 1593) was a would-be assassin of King Henry IV of France.
Barrière attempted an assassination of Henry IV on 27 August 1593. He was denounced by a Dominican priest to whom he had confessed. He was executed on 31 ...
in August 1593, and another by Jean Châtel Jean Châtel (1575 – 29 December 1594) attempted to assassinate King Henry IV of France on 27 December 1594. He was the son of a cloth merchant and was aged 19 when executed on 29 December.
On 27 December 1594, Châtel managed to gain entry t ...
in December 1594. Some of these assassination attempts were carried out against Henry because he was considered a usurper by some Catholics and a traitor by some Protestants.
Henry was killed in Paris on 14 May 1610 by François Ravaillac
François Ravaillac (; 1578 – 27 May 1610) was a French Catholic zealot who assassinated King Henry IV of France in 1610.
Biography Early life and education
Ravaillac was born in 1578 at Angoulême of an educated family: his grandfather Fr ...
, a Catholic zealot who stabbed him in the Rue de la Ferronnerie
The Rue de la Ferronnerie is a street in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, in the Les Halles area.
History
* Before 1229 the name of the street was ''rue de la Charronnerie (ou des Charrons)''. The street had its current name in 1229.
* Henry ...
. Henry's coach was stopped by traffic congestion associated with the Queen's coronation ceremony, as depicted in the engraving by Gaspar Bouttats
Gaspar Bouttats the Elder or Gaspard Bouttats the ElderName variations: Caspar Bouttats, Gasper Bouttats, Gaspard-Martin Bouttats and Jasper Bottats (c. 1640 – 1695–96) was a Flemish printmaker and engraver of the Baroque period.
Life
He ...
. Hercule de Rohan, duc de Montbazon
Hercule de Rohan (27 August 1568 – 16 October 1654) was a member of the princely House of Rohan. The second Duke of Montbazon, he is an ancestor of the present Princes of Guéméné. His daughter was the famous Frondeur the '' duchesse de ...
, was with him when he was killed; Montbazon was wounded, but survived. Ravaillac was immediately captured, and executed days later. Henry was buried at the Saint Denis Basilica
The Basilica of Saint-Denis (french: Basilique royale de Saint-Denis, links=no, now formally known as the ) is a large former medieval abbey church and present cathedral in the commune of Saint-Denis, a northern suburb of Paris. The building ...
.
His widow, Marie de' Medici, served as regent for their nine-year-old son, Louis XIII
Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crown ...
, until 1617.
File:Assassination of Henry IV by Gaspar Bouttats.jpg, ''Assassination of Henry IV'',
engraving by Gaspar Bouttats
Gaspar Bouttats the Elder or Gaspard Bouttats the ElderName variations: Caspar Bouttats, Gasper Bouttats, Gaspard-Martin Bouttats and Jasper Bottats (c. 1640 – 1695–96) was a Flemish printmaker and engraver of the Baroque period.
Life
He ...
File:François Ravaillac.jpg, His assassin, François Ravaillac, brandishing his dagger
File:Pierre Firens - Le Roi Est Mort continues at the Palace of Versailles - 1610.jpg, Pierre Firens - "Le Roi Est Mort continues at the Palace of Versailles". 1610
File:Henry IV of France as he lay in state after his murder in the year 1610, engraving after Quesnel - Gallica 2010 (adjusted).jpg, Lying in state at the Louvre
The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...
, engraving after François Quesnel
François Quesnel (c. 1543–1619) was a French painter of Scottish extraction.
Biography
The son of the French painter Pierre Quesnel and his Scottish wife Madeleine Digby, born in Edinburgh while his father worked for Mary of Guise, Quesnel f ...
Legacy
In 1614, four years after Henry IV's death, a statue was erected in his honour on the Pont Neuf
The Pont Neuf (, "New Bridge") is the oldest standing bridge across the river Seine in Paris, France. It stands by the western (downstream) point of the Île de la Cité, the island in the middle of the river that was, between 250 and 225 BC ...
. During the early phase of the French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...
when it aimed to create a constitutional monarchy
A constitutional monarchy, parliamentary monarchy, or democratic monarchy is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in decision making. Constitutional monarchies dif ...
rather than a republic, Henry IV was held up as an ideal that King Louis XVI
Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was ...
was urged to emulate. When the Revolution radicalized and came to reject monarchy altogether, Henry IV's statue was torn down along with other royal monuments. It was nevertheless the first to be rebuilt, in 1818, and it still stands on the Pont Neuf today.
A cult of personality surrounding Henry IV emerged during the Bourbon Restoration. The restored Bourbons were keen to play down the controversial reigns of Louis XV
Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached ...
and Louis XVI
Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was ...
, and instead lauded the reign of Henry IV. The song Marche Henri IV
"Marche Henri IV", alternatively "Vive Henri IV" or "Vive le roi Henri", is a popular French song celebrating King Henry IV of France (also known as ''Le Bon Roi Henri'', "Good King Henry"). The melody was heard of as early as 1581, when it wa ...
("Long Live Henry IV") was popular during the Restoration. In addition, when Princess Caroline of Naples and Sicily french: Marie Caroline Ferdinande Louise
, house = Bourbon-Two Sicilies
, father = Francis I of the Two Sicilies
, mother = Archduchess Maria Clementina of Austria
, religion = Roman Catholicism
, signature = Italian signature of Maria Carolina ...
(a descendant of his) gave birth to a male heir to the throne of France seven months after the assassination of her husband Charles Ferdinand, Duke of Berry
Charles Ferdinand d'Artois, Duke of Berry (24 January 1778 – 14 February 1820) was the third child and younger son of Charles X, King of France, (whom he predeceased) by his wife Maria Theresa of Savoy. In June 1832, two years after the overthro ...
, by a Republican fanatic, the boy was conspicuously named Henri in reference to his forefather Henry IV. The boy was also baptised with a spoon of Jurançon wine and some garlic, as is traditional in Béarn and Navarre. This imitated the quaint manner in which Henry IV had been baptised in Pau.
Henry serves as a loose inspiration for the character Ferdinand, King of Navarre, in William Shakespeare's 1590s play '' Love's Labour's Lost''
.
The first edition of Henry IV's biography, ''Histoire du Roy Henry le Grand'', was published in Amsterdam in 1661. It was written by Hardouin de Péréfixe de Beaumont
Paul Philippe Hardouin de Beaumont de Péréfixe (1606 – 1 January 1671, Paris) was a French historian and clergyman. He was bishop of Rodez, then archbishop of Paris.
Biography
Born at Beaumont, Vienne into a family of Neapolitan origin ...
, successively bishop of Rhodez
Rodez ( or ; oc, Rodés, ) is a small city and commune in the South of France, about 150 km northeast of Toulouse. It is the prefecture of the department of Aveyron, region of Occitania (formerly Midi-Pyrénées). Rodez is the seat of the ...
and archbishop of Paris, primarily for the edification of Louis XIV
, house = Bourbon
, father = Louis XIII
, mother = Anne of Austria
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France
, death_date =
, death_place = Palace of Ver ...
, grandson of Henry IV. A translation into English was made by James Dauncey for another grandson, King Charles II of England. An English edition was published at London in 1663.
On September 14, 1788, when anti-tax riots broke out during the incipient French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...
, rioters demanded from those travelling through money for fireworks, and anyone riding in a carriage was forced to dismount to salute Henry IV.
King Henry's accomplishments were compiled in de Sully's ''Royal Economies'', published in 1611 after de Sully's fall from power. Upon closer historical analysis, it's clear that the memoirs are not entirely accurate. Forty percent of ''Royal Economies'' was made up of official documents from the reign of Henry IV, but subsequent research has shown that many were altered or even forged to make Henry IV's accomplishments look more notable. As well as de Sully's own part in them.
Genealogy
Ancestry
Marriages and legitimate children
On 18 August 1572, Henry married his second cousin Margaret of Valois
Margaret of Valois (french: Marguerite, 14 May 1553 – 27 March 1615), popularly known as La Reine Margot, was a French princess of the Valois dynasty who became Queen of Navarre by marriage to Henry III of Navarre and then also Queen of France ...
; their childless marriage was annulled in 1599. His subsequent marriage to Marie de' Medici on 17 December 1600 produced six children:
Second marriage
Henry's first marriage was not a happy one, and the couple was childless. Henry and Margaret separated even before Henry acceded to the throne in August 1589; Margaret retired to the Château d'Usson in the Auvergne
Auvergne (; ; oc, label= Occitan, Auvèrnhe or ) is a former administrative region in central France, comprising the four departments of Allier, Puy-de-Dôme, Cantal and Haute-Loire. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region Au ...
and lived there for many years. After Henry became king of France, it was of the utmost importance that he provide an heir to the crown to avoid the problem of a disputed succession.
Henry favoured the idea of obtaining an annulment of his marriage to Margaret and taking his mistress Gabrielle d'Estrées as his bride; after all, she had already borne him three children. Henry's councillors strongly opposed this idea, but the matter was resolved unexpectedly by Gabrielle's sudden death in the early hours of 10 April 1599, after she had given birth to a premature and stillborn son. His marriage to Margaret was annulled in 1599, and Henry married Marie de' Medici, daughter of Francesco I de' Medici
Francesco I (25 March 1541 – 19 October 1587) was the second Grand Duke of Tuscany, ruling from 1574 until his death in 1587. He was a member of the House of Medici.
Biography
Born in Florence, Francesco was the son of Cosimo I de' Medic ...
, Grand Duke of Tuscany
The rulers of Tuscany varied over time, sometimes being margraves, the rulers of handfuls of border counties and sometimes the heads of the most important family of the region.
Margraves of Tuscany, 812–1197 House of Boniface
:These were origin ...
, and Archduchess Joanna of Austria, in 1600.
For the royal entry of Marie into Avignon on 19 November 1600, the citizens bestowed on Henry the title of the ''Hercule Gaulois'' ("Gallic Hercules"), justifying the extravagant flattery with a genealogy that traced the origin of the House of Navarre to a nephew of Hercules
Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures.
The Romans adapted the ...
' son Hispalus.[The official account, ''Labyrinthe royal...'' quoted in ]Jean Seznec
Jean Seznec (19 March 1905, in Morlaix – 22 November 1983, in Oxford) was a historian and mythographer whose most influential book, for English-speaking readers, is ''La Survivance des dieux antiques'' (1940), translated as '' The Survival of t ...
, ''The Survival of the Pagan Gods'', (B.F. Sessions, tr., 1995) p. 26
Armorial
The arms of Henry IV changed throughout his lifetime:
File:Armoiries Antoine de Bourbon.svg, From 1562,
as Prince of Béarn and Duke of Vendôme
File:Henri de Boubon Roi de Navarre.svg, From 1572,
as King of Navarre
File:Arms of France and Navarre (1589-1790).svg, From 1589,
as King of France and Navarre (also used by his successors)
File:Grand Royal Coat of Arms of France & Navarre.svg, Grand Royal Coat of Arms of Henry and the House of Bourbon as Kings of France and Navarre (1589-1789)
Notes
References
* Vol. 2 (copie
1
2) at Google Books
Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google Inc. that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical ...
.
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Further reading
;Non-fiction
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
* Wolfe, Michael (1993). ''The Conversion of Henri IV: Politics, Power, and Religious Belief in Early Modern France''. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press
Harvard University Press (HUP) is a publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University, and focused on academic publishing. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses. After the retir ...
.
;Fiction
* George Chapman
George Chapman (Hitchin, Hertfordshire, – London, 12 May 1634) was an English dramatist, translator and poet. He was a classical scholar whose work shows the influence of Stoicism. Chapman has been speculated to be the Rival Poet of Shakesp ...
(1559?–1634), ''The Conspiracy and Tragedy of Charles, Duke of Byron
''The Conspiracy and Tragedy of Charles, Duke of Byron, Marshall of France'' is a Jacobean tragedy by George Chapman, a two-part play or double play first performed and published in 1608. It tells the story of Charles de Gontaut, duc de Biron ...
'' (1608), éd. John Margeson (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1988)
* Alexandre Dumas, '' La Reine Margot'' (''Queen Margot'') (1845)
* Heinrich Mann
Luiz Heinrich Mann (; 27 March 1871 – 11 March 1950), best known as simply Heinrich Mann, was a German author known for his socio-political novels. From 1930 until 1933, he was president of the fine poetry division of the Prussian Academy ...
, ' (1935); ' (1938)
* M. de Rozoy, ' (1774)
External links
* , a poem by Letitia Elizabeth Landon
Letitia Elizabeth Landon (14 August 1802 – 15 October 1838) was an English poet and novelist, better known by her initials L.E.L.
The writings of Landon are transitional between Romanticism and the Victorian Age. Her first major breakthrough ...
adjoined to a painting ''Henri IV and Gabrielle d'Estrées'' by Richard Westall
Richard Westall (2 January 1765 – 4 December 1836) was an English painter and illustrator of portraits, historical and literary events, best known for his portraits of Byron. He was also Queen Victoria's drawing master.
Biography
We ...
.
Henri IV – An unfinished reign
Official website published by the French Ministry of Culture.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Henry 04 Of France
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