The Peace of Vervins or Treaty of Vervins was signed between the representatives of

Henry IV of France 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 (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 1610. He was the first monarc ...

and

Philip II of Spain Philip II) in Spain, while in Portugal and his Italian kingdoms he ruled as Philip I ( pt, Filipe I). (21 May 152713 September 1598), also known as Philip the Prudent ( es, Felipe el Prudente), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from ...

under the auspices of the papal legates of

Clement VIII Pope Clement VIII ( la, Clemens VIII; it, Clemente VIII; 24 February 1536 – 3 March 1605), born Ippolito Aldobrandini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 2 February 1592 to his death in March 1605. Born ...

, on 2 May 1598 at the small town of

Vervins Vervins (; nl, Wervin) is a commune in the Aisne department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. It is a subprefecture of the department. It lies between the small streams Vilpion and Chertemps, which drain towards the Serre. It is surroun ...

Picardy Picardy (; Picard and french: Picardie, , ) is a historical territory and a former administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region of Hauts-de-France. It is located in the northern part of France. Hi ...

, northern France, close to the territory of the

Habsburg Netherlands Habsburg Netherlands was the Renaissance period fiefs in the Low Countries held by the Holy Roman Empire's House of Habsburg. The rule began in 1482, when the last House of Valois-Burgundy, Valois-Burgundy ruler of the Netherlands, Mary of Burgu ...

Background

Henry had declared war on Spain in 1595 and after victory at the

Siege of Amiens The siege of Amiens (French language, 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 Se ...

in 1597, he then 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 ...

, on 13 April the following year. The Edict effectively brought the Wars of Religion in France including the

Brittany Campaign The Brittany Campaign or the Campaign of Brittany was a military occupation of the Brittany region of France by Spain. It began in the summer 1590 when Philippe-Emmanuel de Lorraine, Duke of Mercœur and governor of Brittany, offered the ...

to an end, which had spread to a European-wide conflict.

Treaty

The parties to the treaty were hosted by Guillemette de Coucy, co-seigneur of Vervins, in her Châteauneuf de Vervins. Close to the Spanish Netherlands, the

Thiérache The Thiérache () is a region of France and Belgium united by similar geography and architecture, including the presence of hedgerows, grassland, hilly terrain, scattered settlements, and traditionally-built stone or brick houses with stone dividi ...

region had suffered much damage in the recent fighting. Its numerous 16th-century fortified churches still bear witness today. The terms were worked out under the auspices of the

papal legate 300px, A woodcut showing Henry II of England greeting the pope's legate. A papal legate or apostolic legate (from the ancient Roman title ''legatus'') is a personal representative of the pope to foreign nations, or to some part of the Catholic ...

Alessandro de' Medici Alessandro is both a given name and a surname, the Italian form of the name Alexander. Notable people with the name include: People with the given name Alessandro * Alessandro Allori (1535–1607), Italian portrait painter * Alessandro Baricco ...

, the "architect of the treaty", according to Bernard Barbiche. By its terms, Philip recognized the formerly

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

Henry as King of France and withdrew his forces from French territory, depriving the remnants of the faltering Catholic League of their support. Additionally, the vitally important city of Calais and the coastal fortress of Risban, which had been captured by the Spaniards in 1596, were returned to the French.

Aftermath

Philip died on 13 September, but his heir Philip III respected the terms of the treaty. Carlo Emanuele, duke of Savoy, who had held back from the treaty, was defeated by Henry IV in 1599. He signed a separate Treaty of Lyon with Henry in 1601. Some historians have seen this as the final defeat of Philip II, who had furthered dynastic causes through championing ultra-Catholic principles, and a sign of the long downfall of Habsburg Spain and the gradual rise in European

hegemony Hegemony (, , ) is the political, economic, and military predominance of one State (polity), state over other states. In Ancient Greece (8th BC – AD 6th ), hegemony denoted the politico-military dominance of the ''hegemon'' city-state over oth ...

of France during the ensuing ''

Grand Siècle Grand Siècle or Great Century refers to the period of French history during the 17th century, under the reigns of Louis XIII and Louis XIV. The period was notable for its development of art and literature, along with the construction of the Pal ...

''.

Notes

References

Sources

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External links

Text of the treaty
{{Authority control Peace treaties of the Ancien Régime French Wars of Religion 1598 in France 16th-century diplomatic conferences Peace treaties of Spain 1598 treaties Treaties of the Spanish Empire France–Spain relations 16th-century military history of France