Charles IX's grand tour of France

Charles IX's grand tour of France was a royal tour of the French kingdom which transpired from 13 March 1564 to 10 May 1566. There were several aims to this tour, to rebuild royal authority which had been damaged by the first French War of Religion, to show king Charles IX to his subjects, to undertake diplomatic meetings with foreign sovereigns, to foster connections between Charles and his nobility, and to see the implementation of the edict of Amboise and other royal ordinances across the kingdom. The edict of Amboise had brought the first civil war to a close, and allowed for a limited toleration of Protestantism, something which was resisted strongly in many parts of the kingdom, and by the Parlements, the eight highest courts of the kingdom that in addition to judging cases, also registered royal legislation before it could go into effect.

The tour started in Champagne, and would prove the occasion for the making of peace with England during its stay in Troyes during April. Moving into Lorraine, the court met up with duc de Lorraine (duke of Lorraine), and his wife, Claude of Valois. From here the court descended into first Burgundy and then the Lyonnais, where the one-time Protestant stronghold was subjected to a royal garrison and fortress. From here into Dauphiné, where the edict of Amboise was modified in a way unfavourable to the Protestants. Passing through the Papal exclave of Comtat Venaissin the French crown established a peace arrangement between the Protestants and Catholics of the territory, before heading on into Provence. Here, the court tried to temper the virulently Catholic parlement of Aix, and took the opportunity of being in Marseille to go out in ships on the Mediterranean.

Entering into Languedoc, the court was troubled by foul weather but buoyed by news that the Spanish king Philip II had consented to a meeting between his wife, Élisabeth and Charles/Catherine. The court tarried for a while in Toulouse, settling local disputes, and taking the parlement to account. Heading into Guyenne, the royal meeting with Élisabeth was undertaken in June, before the court reunited with the Protestant queen of Navarre, who Catherine unsuccessfully campaigned to tolerate Catholicism in her sovereign territories. Passing through areas of great Protestant strength such as La Rochelle, and the Saintonge, the crown took a harsh line, the reception in La Rochelle proving a particularly cold one. The court then moved up into Brittany, staying a while near Nantes before swinging back eastwards towards the heart of the kingdom.

Arriving in Moulins, the crown would attempt to quash a festering feud between the Lorraine-Guise and the Coligny-Châtillon. However, while achieving a formal reconciliation between the parties, the dispute would continue to burn on. The stay at Moulins was also the occasion for a wide-reaching legislative package, based on the conditions the court had observed throughout the kingdom in the preceding years. This was known as the Grand Ordinance of Moulins. Though its immediate effects would be compromised by the civil wars, it would leave a long legacy. Leaving Moulins, the court headed back for Paris, arriving there in May 1566. Catherine was pleased with the success of the tour, boasting on it to her ambassador in Spain, however, only a year later, France would return to civil war.