The siege of Rouen was an unsuccessful attempt by

Henry IV of France Henry IV (; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry (''le Bon Roi Henri'') or Henry the Great (''Henri le Grand''), was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 16 ...

to capture

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine, in northwestern France. It is in the prefecture of Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one ...

, the historical capital city of

Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

. The battle took place as part of the

French Wars of Religion The French Wars of Religion were a series of civil wars between French Catholic Church, Catholics and Protestantism, Protestants (called Huguenots) from 1562 to 1598. Between two and four million people died from violence, famine or disease di ...

, the

Eighty Years' War The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt (; 1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish Empire, Spanish government. The Origins of the Eighty Years' War, causes of the w ...

, and the Anglo–Spanish War (1585–1604). Although he had claimed the throne in 1589, Henry, a

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...

, was not recognized by many of his Catholic subjects. He was forced to fight against a Catholic League determined to resist his rule, and which was aided by Spain. The siege began on 11 November 1591 with

Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex (; 10 November 1565 – 25 February 1601) was an English nobleman and a favourite of Queen Elizabeth I. Politically ambitious, he was placed under house arrest following a poor campaign in Ireland during th ...

confronting the town's governor, André de Brancas, Marquis of Villars, "with the sort of chivalric gesture which still was made on Europe's battlefields" and "challenged Villars to meet him in individual combat." At Rouen the combined French, English, and Dutch forces of Henry IV battled the troops of the Catholic League, commanded by Villars, and the Spanish forces led by Don Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma. The city resisted until the arrival of the Spanish troops, which defeated and forced the Protestant forces to lift the siege. As historian

John Lothrop Motley John Lothrop Motley (April 15, 1814 – May 29, 1877) was an American author and diplomat. As a popular historian, he is best known for his works on the Netherlands, the three volume work ''The Rise of the Dutch Republic'' and four volume ''His ...

described the abandonment, "Henry did not wait for the attack. He had changed his plan, and, for once in his life, substituted extreme caution for his constitutional temerity. Neither awaiting the assault upon his entrenchments nor seeking his enemy in the open field, he ordered the whole camp to be broken up, and on the 20th of April, raised the siege."John Lothrop Motley, ''History of the United Netherlands: From the Death of William the Silent to the Twelve Years' Truce to 1609'' (Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1895) p.146

References

Sources

* James, Alan. ''The Navy and Government in Early Modern France, 1572-1661''. First published 2004. Woodbridge, Suffolk, UK. * Janel Mueller/Joshua Scodel. ''Elizabeth I: Translations, 1592-1598''. The University of Chicago. Conflicts in 1591 Conflicts in 1592 History of Catholicism in France Battles of the French Wars of Religion Military history of Normandy Sieges involving France Sieges involving Spain Sieges involving England Sieges involving the Dutch Republic

Siege A siege () . is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or by well-prepared assault. Siege warfare (also called siegecrafts or poliorcetics) is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict charact ...

1591 in France 1592 in France {{Mil-hist-stub

See also

References

Sources