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 was assassinated in 1610 by François Ravaillac, a Catholic zealot, and was succeeded by his son Louis XIII.
Charles IX was King of France from 1560 until his death in 1574. He ascended the French throne upon the death of his brother Francis II in 1560, and as such was the penultimate monarch of the House of Valois.
Henry III was King of France from 1574 until his assassination in 1589, as well as King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1573 to 1575.
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 million people died from violence, famine or diseases which were directly caused by the conflict; additionally, the conflict severely damaged the power of the French monarchy. The fighting ended in 1598 when Henry of Navarre, who had converted to Catholicism in 1593, was proclaimed Henry IV of France and issued the Edict of Nantes, which granted substantial rights and freedoms to the Huguenots. However, the Catholics continued to have a hostile opinion of Protestants in general and they also continued to have a hostile opinion of him as a person, 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 King Henry III.
Gaspard de Coligny, Seigneur de Châtillon, was a French nobleman, Admiral of France, and Huguenot leader during the French Wars of Religion. He served under kings Francis I and Henry II during the Italian Wars, attaining great prominence both due to his military skill and his relationship with his uncle, the king's favourite Anne de Montmorency. During the reign of Francis II he converted to Protestantism, becoming a leading noble advocate for the Reformation during the early reign of Charles IX.
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:
Armand de Gontaut, baron de Biron was a soldier, diplomat and Marshal of France. Beginning his service during the Italian Wars, Biron served in Italy under Marshal Brissac and Guise in 1557 before rising to command his own cavalry regiment. Returning to France with the Peace of Cateau-Cambresis he took up his duties in Guyenne, where he observed the deteriorating religious situation that was soon to devolve into the French Wars of Religion. He fought at the Battle of Dreux in the first civil war. In the peace that followed he attempted to enforce the terms on the rebellious governorship of Provence.
Jacques d'Albon, Seigneur de Saint-André was a French governor, Marshal, and favourite of Henri II. He began his career as a confident of the dauphin during the reign of François I, reared with the prince under the governorship of his father at court. In 1547 at the advent of Henri's reign he was appointed as his fathers deputy, serving as lieutenant general for the Lyonnais. Concurrently he entered the kings conseil privé and was made a Marshal and Grand Chamberlain.
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 and a royalist army led by Anne, Duke of Joyeuse. Henry of Navarre was victorious, and Joyeuse was killed while attempting to surrender.
Gaspard de Saulx, sieur de Tavannes was a French Roman Catholic military leader during the Italian Wars and the French Wars of Religion. He served under four kings during his career, participating in the Siege of Calais (1558) and leading the royal army to victory in the third civil war at the Jarnac and Moncontour. A strong Catholic, he founded the confraternity of the holy ghost in 1567 which would be a template for other militant Catholic organisations across France. He died in 1573, shortly after the Massacre of Saint Bartholomew the assassinations of which he had helped plan.
Anne de Batarnay de Joyeuse, Baron d'Arques, Vicomte then Duke of Joyeuse was a royal favourite and active participant in the French Wars of Religion.
Roger de Saint-Lary de Bellegarde (1525-1579) was a soldier and Marshal of France. Rising to prominence as a favourite of Henri III he was quickly elevated to high office, becoming Marshal in 1574. Tasked with leading the main royal army in the fifth war of religion, he was not able to achieve success and the army disintegrated while he attempted to besiege Livron. Fighting again for the crown in 1577 he remained unable to achieve notable success on the battlefield. Having attempted to seize the Marquisate of Saluzzo which he had relinquished in hopes of attaining the governorship of Languedoc, he was granted the territory in a mediated settlement overseen by the duke of Savoy in October 1579. Several months later he would be dead.
Henry IV of France's succession to the throne in 1589 was followed by a four-year war of succession to establish his legitimacy, which was part of the French Wars of Religion (1562–1598). Henry IV inherited the throne after the assassination of Henry III, the last Valois king, who died without children. Henry was already King of Navarre, as the successor of his mother, Jeanne d'Albret, but he owed his succession to the throne of France to the line of his father, Antoine of Bourbon, an agnatic descendant of Louis IX. He was the first French king from the House of Bourbon.
Artus de Cossé-Brissac (1512–1582), lord of Gonnor and Comte de Secondigny, was a Marshal of France, an office he was elevated to in 1567. He served to administer the armies finances during the first of the French Wars of Religion and would lead the royal army in its pursuit of the Prince of Condé during the second civil war. His failure to catch the army led to his dismissal from overall royal command. During the third civil war he would again lead troops, beating a small Protestant force, before being defeated in the final days of the war at Arney-le-Duc. His long history of Politique leanings would push him into the orbit of the Malcontents for which he would be arrested in 1574. In 1576 he would be released and restored to favour before he died in 1582.
Guillaume de Joyeuse (1520–1592) was a French military commander during the French Wars of Religion. Originally destined for the church, he assumed the office of vicomte de Joyeuse upon the death of his elder brother in 1554. He was subsequently appointed at lieutenant-general of Languedoc, under the governor Antoine de Crussol. In this capacity he established himself as a harsh persecutor of Protestantism. When the civil wars broke out in 1562 he assumed his military responsibilities, regularly fighting with the viscomtes de Languedoc throughout the early civil wars. He achieved a notable victory against them in 1568 on the field of Montfran. He did not spread the Massacre of Saint Bartholomew into the territory he controlled and remained loyal to the crown during the fifth civil war, fighting with the Malcontents. In 1582 he was elevated to Marshal of France by Henri III. He found himself increasingly drawn to the Catholic League (France) after its formal formation and when Henri III was assassinated in 1589 he fought against Navarre for Charles, Duke of Mayenne and the league. He died in 1592.
Jacques II de Goyon seigneur de Matignon (1525-1598) was a governor and Marshal of France. Coming from a prominent Norman family, he assumed the role of Lieutenant-General of lower Normandy. In this position he came into conflict with the Protestant governor of Normandy Bouillon. During the first civil war Matignon would come into conflict with the governor, who occupied a third individual position between the crown and the rebels as he felt his authority eroded. In 1574 the governorship of Normandy which had become vacant was split into three separate offices between Matignon, Moy and Carrouges. He would hold the governorship until it was reunited in 1583 for Henri III's favourite Anne de Joyeuse
Antoine de Crussol duc d'Uzès (1528-1573) was Protestant military commander and peer of France. Raised in a Protestant household, Crussol was an early convert among the elite of France. In 1558 upon his marriage, his barony was elevated to a county by king Henri II. In the troubles that spread through the south in the wake of the Conspiracy of Amboise he was appointed as 'lieutenant and commander' to help bring order back to Provence and Languedoc. In this role he favoured the Protestants, much to the irritation of the Catholic consuls. When the French Wars of Religion broke out, he entered rebellion, accepting the nomination of Governor of Languedoc from the estates of the region. He appointed his relatives to senior positions in his administration.
Jacques II de Crussol, baron d'Acier (1540-1584) was a Protestant, then Catholic military commander and duke during the French Wars of Religion. Converting to Protestantism early due to the influence of his mother he would be acclaimed as defender of the Protestant church in Languedoc in early 1562. He would conduct a brutal campaign during the first civil war, capturing several towns and massacring their garrisons.
Guillaume de Montmorency, comte de Thoré was a French noble, and military commander during the latter French Wars of Religion. Thoré was among those Catholic nobles who were perceived as soft on Protestantism, and as such during the Massacre of Saint Bartholomew he feared for his life. Shortly after the massacre as France descended back into civil war, Thoré, lacking military experience and keen to prove himself militarily joined the siege of La Rochelle.
