Henry IV, also known by the epithets Good King Henry or Henry the Great, was King of Navarre 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 pragmatically balanced the interests of the Catholic and Protestant parties in France as well as among the European states. He was assassinated in 1610 by a Catholic zealot, and was succeeded by his son Louis XIII.
The French Wars of Religion were a series of civil wars between French Catholics and Protestants from 1562 to 1598. Between two and four million people died from violence, famine or disease directly caused by the conflict, and it severely damaged the power of the French monarchy. One of its most notorious episodes was the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre in 1572. The fighting ended with a compromise in 1598, when Henry of Navarre, who had converted to Catholicism in 1593, was proclaimed King Henry IV of France and issued the Edict of Nantes, which granted substantial rights and freedoms to the Huguenots. However, Catholics continued to disapprove of Protestants and of Henry, and his assassination in 1610 triggered a fresh round of Huguenot rebellions in the 1620s.
The Catholic League of France, sometimes referred to by contemporary Catholics as the Holy League, was a major participant in the French Wars of Religion. The League, founded and led by Henry I, Duke of Guise, intended the eradication of Protestantism from Catholic France, as well as the replacement of the French King Henry III, who had acquiesced to Protestant worship in the Edict of Beaulieu (1576). The League also fought against Henry of Navarre, the Protestant prince who became presumptive heir to the French throne in 1584.
Charles de Lorraine, duc de Mayenne was a French noble, governor, military commander and rebel during the latter French Wars of Religion. Born in 1554, the second son of François de Lorraine, duke of Guise and Anne d'Este, Mayenne inherited his fathers' position of Grand Chambellan in 1563 upon his death. He fought at the siege of Poitiers for the crown in 1569, and crusaded against the Ottomans in 1572. He served under the command of the king's brother Anjou during the siege of La Rochelle in the fourth war of religion, during which he was wounded. While the siege progressed, his uncle was killed by a cannonball, and he inherited his position as governor of Bourgogne. That same year, his marquisate of Mayenne was elevated to a duché pairie. He travelled with Anjou when he was elected as king of the Commonwealth and was a member of his court there until early 1574 when he departed on crusade again. Returning to France, he served in the fifth war of religion for Anjou, now king Henri III of France, but his badly underfunded army was unable to seriously impede the Protestant mercenary force under Casimir. He aligned himself with the Catholic Ligue that rose up in opposition to the generous Peace of Monsieur and fought in the sixth war of religion that resulted, serving at the sieges of La Charité-sur-Loire and Issoire. During 1576, he married Henriette de Savoie-Villars, securing a sizable inheritance in the south west, and the title of Admiral on the death of her father in 1578. Mayenne was granted full command of a royal army during the seventh war of religion in 1580, besieging the Protestant stronghold of La Mure successfully, and clearing several holdout towns after the peace. In 1582 he was obliged to surrender his title of Admiral to Joyeuse, a favourite of Henri. The following year he was involved in an abortive plan to invade England, though it came to nothing due to lack of funds.
The War of the Three Henrys, also known as the Eighth War of Religion, took place during 1585–1589, and was the eighth conflict in the series of civil wars in France known as the French Wars of Religion. It was a three-way war fought between:
Charles-Emmanuel de Savoie, prince de Genevois and duc de Nemours was a French prince étranger, governor, military commander and rebel during the latter French Wars of Religion. The eldest son of Jacques de Savoie and Anne d'Este, Nemours was a member of a prominent princely family. He entered French political at the age of 18 as a partisan of the second Catholic ligue, rallying cavalry to the rebel army, and assisting in forcing Henri III to capitulate to their demands. In the following years, the king was compelled by the terms of the peace to make war against Protestantism. The former rebel ligueurs hoped the 'cowed' king would afford them advantage, but Henri was keen to dilute the authority of the former rebels. As a result Nemours' position as colonel-general of the light cavalry was diluted with several appointments of royal favourites. During this period, Nemours coveted the governate of the Lyonnais, which had previously been held by his father before 1571. When François de Mandelot, who held the office, died in November 1588, Henri was compelled to recognise Nemours as the new governor due to his political weakness. Frustrated at his continued capitulations to the ligue, on 23 December 1588, Henri assassinated the leader of the ligue the duke of Guise. In the wake of the assassination, Nemours and other ligueur leaders were arrested by the king. Nemours was however quickly able to bribe his guards and secure freedom.
The Edict of Beaulieu was promulgated from Beaulieu-lès-Loches on 6 May 1576 by Henry III of France, who was pressured by Alençon's support of the Protestant army besieging Paris that spring.
Henri de Bourbon, prince dauphin d'Auvergne, then prince de Dombes and duc de Montpensier was a French prince du sang, duke, military commander, governor and royal councillor during the final days of the French Wars of Religion. The son of François de Bourbon, Duke of Montpensier and Renée d'Anjou, Montpensier remained loyal to king Henri III after he entered war with the Catholic ligue (league) in December 1588. As a reward for his loyalty he was made first governor of Basse (lower) Auvergne, and then, upon the capture of the comte de Soissons he was established as governor of Bretagne.
Anne de Joyeuse, baron d'Arques then duc de Joyeuse was a French noble, governor, Admiral, military commander and royal favourite during the reign of Henri III in the French Wars of Religion. The eldest son of Guillaume de Joyeuse and Marie de Batarnay, Joyeuse was part of one of the most prominent noble families in Languedoc. His father served as the lieutenant-general of the province. Joyeuse began his career in the mid 1570s, serving in Languedoc in the fifth civil war before joining the main royal army during the sixth civil war and seeing combat at the Siege of Issoire in late 1577. Around this time he caught the attention of the king and entered into the circle of his favourites, he was made a Gentilhomme de la chambre then a Chambellan (chamberlain). By 1579 he would be one of the king's four chief favourites, alongside Épernon, Saint-Luc and D'O. That same year he became governor of the Mont-Saint-Michel. In 1580 civil war resumed and the king dispatched Épernon and Joyeuse to play important roles in the siege of La Fère. Joyeuse would be seriously wounded in the reduction of the city.
In the French Wars of Religion, the Day of the Barricades, 12 May 1588, was an outwardly spontaneous public uprising in staunchly Catholic Paris against the moderate, hesitant, temporizing policies of Henry III. It was in fact called forth by the "Council of Sixteen", representing the sixteen quartiers of Paris, led by Henri, duc de Guise, head of the Catholic League, and coordinated in detail by Philip II of Spain's ambassador, Bernardino de Mendoza.
François de Coligny (1557–1591) comte de Coligny and seigneur de Châtillon-sur-Loing was a French Protestant general of the Wars of Religion. He was the son of Gaspard II de Coligny (1519–1572), Admiral of France.
The Parlement of Rouen, also known as the Parlement of Normandy after the place where it sat, was a provincial parlement of the Kingdom of France. It replaced the ancient court of the exchequer of Normandy, set up by Rollo, first duke of Normandy.
Charles I de Lorraine, duc d'Elbeuf was a French noble, military commander and governor during the French Wars of Religion. The son of the most minor cadet house of the children of Claude, Duke of Guise, Elbeuf initially lacked the prominence of his cousins, however his succession to the Rieux inheritance made him important. Over the following decades he would gradually consolidate more of it under his authority, until by his death in 1605, all of the county of Harcourt belonged to the Elbeufs. A young man in 1573, he travelled with the king's brother to assume his kingship of the Commonwealth. Upon the prince's return as Henri III of France in 1574 Elbeuf would receive the honour of assuming the position of grand chamberlain during the coronation. After the establishment of the Ordre du Saint-Esprit in 1579, Elbeuf would be elevated as a knight of this chivalric body. The following year he supported the king's brother Alençon in his negotiations with the Dutch States General to assume the role of king. In the wake of these successful, if fraught, negotiations, he was nominated by Alençon as lieutenant-general of his army. Elbeuf and Alençon would travel to the Spanish Netherlands where they would relieve the besieged town of Cambrai, to much acclaim from the citizenry. Shortly after this, relations soured between Elbeuf and the prince, and Elbeuf retired back to his estates with the excuse of an illness, being refused when he offered to return the following year. In September 1581, his marquisate of Elbeuf was elevated to a peerage duchy, greatly elevating Elbeuf's social standing.
The Battle of Craon took place between 21–24 May 1592, between the French Royal army under the Duke of Montpensier and François de Bourbon, Prince of Conti, reinforced by English contingents under Sir John Norreys, against the combined forces of Spain, during their occupation of Brittany, and the Catholic League of France during the War of the Three Henrys and the Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604), in the context of the French Wars of Religion. Craon was besieged by the army of Henry of Navarre, but the defenders, supported by a Catholic relief force recruited by Philippe Emmanuel, Duke of Mercœur, resisted. At the end, Craon was relieved by the Spaniards under Don Juan del Águila, who defeated the Anglo-French besiegers.
Catherine-Marie de Lorraine, Duchess of Montpensier, was a French princess from the house of Guise who played a leading political role in the Catholic League during the French Wars of Religion.
François de Luxembourg, duc de Piney was a French noble, prince étranger, military commander and diplomat during the latter French Wars of Religion. Born into a sovereign noble family, Piney expected an esteemed place in the French court. He fought for Henri III during the sixth war of religion under the nominal command of the king's brother Alençon seeing combat at La Charité-sur-Loire and Issoire. The following year, 1578, he was elevated as a chevalier de l'Ordre du Saint-Michel, though he complained frustratedly to the secretary of state about how we was shut out from access to the king's person.
François d'Espinay, seigneur de Saint-Luc et baron de Crèvecœur was a French noble, courtier, military commander and governor during the later French Wars of Religion. Born into the middling Norman nobility as a son of Valéran d'Espinay and Marguerite de Groucher, Saint-Luc had his debut into French politics with his participation in the siege of La Rochelle in 1573 in which he was injured. When the king's brother Anjou was elected king of the Commonwealth he travelled with the prince to his new kingdom, serving as his Chambellan in the country. Upon Anjou's return to France as Henri III, Saint-Luc maintained his proximity to the king, holding various positions in his household. A man with significant skill in war, he served the crown during the fifth war of religion, fighting at Guise's celebrated victory of Dormans. In the following civil war he fought under the command of the king's brother Alençon at the sieges of La Charité-sur-Loire and Issoire. He was rewarded for his military service with command of various regiments and the position of maître de camp. At the end of the sixth war of religion, the duke of Mayenne secured the strategic Guyenne town of Brouage, which controlled a deep port and salt production. In December 1578 Saint-Luc was appointed governor of Brouage. In May 1579 he added the governate of Aunis to his responsibilities. In the autumn he accompanied Catherine de Medici, mother to the queen on her mission to negotiate with Henri's disgraced favourite Marshal Bellegarde who had set himself up in rebellion.
Bernard de Nogaret, seigneur de La Valette was a French governor, military officer, favourite, courtier and statesman during the latter French Wars of Religion. The eldest son of Jean de Nogaret and Jeanne de Saint-Lary, La Valette was born into a provincial noble family on the rise, his father elevating himself to lieutenant-general of Guyenne during his lifetime. La Valette received his first military service in 1570 under his father at Arnay-le-Duc before being introduced to the future king Henri III at the siege of La Rochelle in 1573. Unlike many other favourites of Henri, the Nogaret family would become close to the king late, and it was not until 1579 that La Valette began to enjoy the fruits of favour, when upon the death of Marshal Bellegarde Henri selected him to assume the governorship over Saluzzo and French Piedmont. By 1580, La Valette was among those in the king's inner circle with whom he travelled on private retreats. In 1582 he became Chambellan to the king, and then a member of the exclusive conseil des affaires. Henri planned further advancement for him with receipt of the provincial governate of the Lyonnais, however this would not materialise. In 1584 the king's brother Alençon died, and the prospective succession of the Protestant Navarre motivated the reformation of the Catholic ligue which successfully forced Henri to renounce Navarre's succession and make war on Protestantism. La Valette was established in Dauphiné to lead the fight against the Protestant commander Lesdiguières. The lieutenant-general of Dauphiné Maugiron allied with him in this fight, and resigned his charge as lieutenant-general to him in 1587.
Joachim de Châteauvieux, baron de Verjon puis comte de Confolant was a French governor, military officer, royal guard and favourite, during the French Wars of Religion and early Seventeenth-Century. Born into a noble family from Bresse with a history of royal service, Châteauvieux came to the attention of the royal family during the siege of La Rochelle in 1573, part of the fourth French War of Religion. The siege was led by the king's brother Anjou, and after Anjou was elected as king of the Commonwealth, Châteauvieux travelled with him to his new kingdom, serving as a member of his household during his brief reign there before he returned to France as Henri III. Back in France, Châteauvieux was again made a member of the king's household. In 1578, the king's long serving captain of the Scots Guard died, and Henri chose Châteauvieux for the prestigious post. In the following years he received both of the royal orders, that of Saint-Michel and Saint-Esprit.
The First French War of Religion was the opening civil war of the French Wars of Religion. The war began when in response to the massacre of Wassy by the duc de Guise, the prince de Condé seized Orléans on 2 April. Over the next several months negotiations would take place between the Protestant rebels (led by Condé and admiral Coligny and the royal party led by queen Catherine, the king of Navarre, duc de Guise, marshal Saint-André and Constable Montmorency. While the main royal and rebel armies were in discussions, open fighting erupted across the kingdom, with rebel Protestants seizing many of the kingdoms principal cities, and restless Catholics massacring Protestants. Negotiations finally ended at the start of July, with the Protestant army attempting a surprise attack on the royal army.
