Part 140

"The Duc d'Anjou ... died in 1584; Henri III. was a worn-out and feeble invalid; the reports of the doctors and the known virtue of the Queen forbad the hope of direct heirs. The King of Navarre was the eldest of the legitimate male descendants of Hugues Capet and of Saint-Louis [see BOURBON, HOUSE OF]. But on the one hand he was a relapsed heretic; on the other, his relationship to the King was so distant that he could never have been served heir to him in any civil suit. This last objection was of small account; the stringent rules which govern decisions in private affairs cannot be made applicable to matters affecting the tranquillity and well-being of nations. ... His religion was the only pretext on which Navarre could be excluded. France was, and wished to remain, Catholic; she could not submit to a Protestant King. The managers of the League understood that this very wide-spread and even strongly cherished feeling might some day become a powerful lever, but that, in order to use it, it was very needful for them to avoid offending the national amour-propre; and they thought that they had succeeded in finding the means of effecting their object. Next to Navarre, the eldest of the Royal House was his uncle the Cardinal de Bourbon; the Guises acknowledged him as heir to the throne and first Prince of the Blood, under the protection of the Pope and of the King of Spain. ... The feeble-minded old man, whom no one respected, was a mere phantom, and could offer no serious resistance, when it should be convenient to set him aside. ... In every class throughout the nation the majority were anxious to maintain at once French unity and Catholic unity, disliking the Reformation, but equally opposed to ultramontane pretensions and to Spanish ambition. ... But ... this great party, already named the 'parti politique,' hung loosely together without a leader, and without a policy. For the present it was paralyzed by the contempt in which the King was held; while the dislike which was entertained for the religious opinions of the rightful heir to the throne seemed to deprive it of all hope for the future. Henry III. stood in need of the assistance of the King of Navarre; he would willingly have cleared away the obstacle which kept them apart, and he made an overture with a view to bring back that Prince to the Catholic religion. But these efforts could not be successful. The change of creed on the part of the Béarnais was to be a satisfaction offered to France, the pledge of a fresh agreement between the nation and his race, and not a concession to the threats of enemies. He was not an unbeliever; still less was he a hypocrite; but he was placed between two fanatical parties, and repelled by the excesses of both; so he doubted, honestly doubted, and as his religious indecision was no secret, his conversion at the time of which we are now speaking would have been ascribed to the worst motives." {1209} As it was, he found it necessary to quiet disturbing rumors with regard to the proposals of the King by permitting a plain account of what had occurred to be made public. "Henry III., having no other answer to make to this publication, which justified all the complaints of the Catholics, replied to it by the treaty of Nemours and by the edict of July [1585]. These two acts annulled all the edicts in favour of toleration; and placed at the disposal of the League all the resources and all the forces of the monarchy." Soon afterwards the Pope issued against Navarre and Condé his bull of excommunication. By this "the Pontiff did not deprive the Bourbons of a single friend, and did not give the slightest fresh ardour to their opponents; but he produced a powerful reaction among a portion of the clergy, among the magistracy, among all the Royalists; wounded the national sensibility, consolidated that union between the two Princes which he wished to break off, and rallied the whole of the Reformed party round their leaders. The Protestant pamphleteers replied with no less vehemence, and gave to the Pontiff's bull that name of 'Brutum fulmen' by which it is still known. ... Still the sentence launched from the Vatican had had one very decided result--it had fired the train of powder; war broke out at once."

_Duc d'Aumale, History of the Princes of Condé, book 2, chapter 1._

"The war, called from the three leading actors in it [Henry of Valois, Henry of Navarre, and Henry of Guise] the War of the Three Henrys, now opened in earnest. Seven powerful armies were marshalled on the part of the King of France and the League. The Huguenots were weak in numbers, but strong in the quality of their troops. An immense body of German 'Reiter' had been enrolled to act as an auxiliary force, and for some time had been hovering on the frontiers. Hearing that at last they had entered France, Henry of Navarre set out from Rochelle to effect a junction with them. The Duke of Joyeuse, one of the French King's chief favourites, who had the charge of the army that occupied the midland counties, resolved to prevent their junction. By a rapid movement he succeeded in crossing the line of Henry's march and forcing him into action. The two armies came in front of each other on a plain near the village of Coutras, on the 19th of October, 1587. The Royalist army numbered from 10,000 to 12,000, the Huguenot from 6,000 to 7,000--the usual disparity in numbers; but Henry's skilful disposition did more than compensate for his numerical inferiority. ... The struggle lasted but an hour, yet within that hour the Catholic army lost 3,000 men, more than 400 of whom were members of the first families in the kingdom; 3,000 men were made prisoners. Not more than a third part of their entire army escaped. The Huguenots lost only about 200 men. ... Before night fell he [Navarre] wrote a few lines to the French King, which run thus: 'Sire, my Lord and Brother,--Thank God, I have beaten your enemies and your army.' It was but too true that the poor King's worst enemies were to be found in the very armies that were marshalled in his name."

_W. Hanna, The Wars of the Huguenots, chapter 6._

"The victory [at Coutras] had only a moral effect. Henry lost time by going to lay at the feet of the Countess of Grammont the flags taken from the enemy. Meantime the Duke of Guise, north of the Loire, triumphed over the Germans under the Baron of Dohna at Vimory, near Montargis, and again near Auneau (1587). Henry III. was unskilful enough to leave to his rival the glory of driving them out of the country. Henry III. re-entered Paris. As he passed along, the populace cried out, 'Saul has killed his thousands, and David his ten thousands'; and a few days after, the Sorbonne decided that 'the government could be taken out of the hands of princes who were found incapable.' Henry III., alarmed, forbade the Duke of Guise to come to Paris, and quartered in the faubourgs 4,000 Swiss and several companies of the guards. The Sixteen [chiefs of sixteen sections of Paris, who controlled the League in that city] feared that all was over; they summoned the 'Balafré' and he came [May 9, 1588]. Cries of 'Hosannah to the Son of David!' resounded throughout Paris, and followed him to the Louvre. ... The king and the chief of the League fortified themselves, one in the Louvre, the other in the Hotel Guise. Negotiations were carried on for two days. On the morning of the 11th the duke, well attended, returned to the Louvre, and in loud tones demanded of the king that he should send away his counsellors, establish the Inquisition, and push to the utmost the war against the heretics. That evening the king ordered the companies of the city guards to hold several positions, and the next morning he introduced into the city the Swiss and 2,000 men of the French guards. But the city guards failed him. In two hours all Paris was under arms, all the streets were rendered impassable, and the advancing barricades soon reached the positions occupied by the troops [whence the insurrection became known as 'the Day of Barricades']. At this juncture Guise came out of his hôtel, dressed in a white doublet, with a small cane in his hand; saved the Swiss, who were on the point of being massacred, sent them back to the king with insulting scorn, and quieted everything as if by magic. He demanded the office of lieutenant-general of the kingdom for himself, the convocation of the States at Paris, the forfeiture of the Bourbons, and, for his friends, provincial governments and all the other offices. The queen-mother debated these conditions for three hours. During this time the attack was suspended, and Henry III. was thus enabled to leave the Louvre and make his escape. The Duke of Guise had made a mistake; but if he did not have the king, he had Paris. There was now a king of Paris and a king of France; negotiations were carried on, and to the astonishment of all, Henry III. at length granted what two months before he had refused in front of the barricades. He swore that he would not lay down his arms until the heretics were entirely exterminated; declared that any non-Catholic prince forfeited his rights to the throne, appointed the Duke of Guise lieutenant-general, and convoked the States at Blois [October, 1588]. The States of Blois were composed entirely of Leaguers," and were wholly controlled by the Duke of Guise. The latter despised the king too much to give heed to repeated warnings which he received of a plot against his life. {1210} Summoned to a private interview in the royal cabinet, at an early hour on the morning of the 23d of December, he did not hesitate to present himself, boldly, alone, and was murdered as he entered, by eight of the king's body-guard, whom Henry III. had personally ordered to commit the crime. "Killing the Duke of Guise was not killing the League. At the news of his death Paris was stunned for a moment; then its fury broke forth. ... The Sorbonne decreed 'that the French people were set free from the oath of allegiance taken to Henry III.' ... Henry III. had gained nothing by the murder; ... but he had helped the fortunes of the king of Navarre, into whose arms he was forced to cast himself. ... The junction of the Protestant and the royal armies under the same standard completely changed the nature of the war. It was no longer feudal Protestantism, but the democratic League, which threatened royalty; monarchy entered into a struggle with the Catholic masses in revolt against it. Henry III. called together, at Tours, his useless Parliament, and issued a manifesto against Mayenne and the chiefs of the League. Henry of Navarre carried on the war energetically. In two months he was master of the territory between the Loire and the Seine, and 15,000 Swiss and lanzknechts joined him. On the evening of July 30th, 1589, the two kings, with 40,000 men, appeared before Paris. The Parisians could see the long line of the enemies' fires gleaming in a vast semi-circle on the left bank of the Seine. The king of Navarre established his headquarters at Meudon; Henry III. at Saint-Cloud. The great city was astounded; the people had lost energy; but the fury was concentrated in the hearts of the chiefs and in the depths of the cloisters. ... The arm of a fanatic became the instrument of the general fury, and put into practice the doctrine of tyrannicide more than once asserted in the schools and the pulpit. The assault was to be made on August 2d. On the morning of the previous day a young friar from the convent of the Dominicans, Jacques Clément, came out from Paris," obtained access to the king by means of a forged letter, and stabbed him in the abdomen, being, himself, slain on the spot by the royal guards. Henry III. "died the same night, and with him the race of Valois became extinct. The aged Catherine de' Medici had died six months before."

_V. Duruy, History of France (abridged), chapter 45._

ALSO IN: _L. von Ranke, Civil Wars and Monarchy in France, 16th and 17th Centuries, chapters 22-25._

_W. S. Browning, History of the Huguenots, chapters 35-42._

FRANCE: A. D. 1585. Proffered sovereignty of the United Netherlands declined by Henry III.

See NETHERLANDS: A. D. 1585-1586.

FRANCE: A. D. 1589-1590. Henry of Navarre as Henry IV. of France. His retreat to Normandy. The battles at Arques. Battle of Ivry.

"On being made aware that all hope was over, this King [Henry III.], whose life had been passed in folly, vanity and sensuality ... prepared for death like a patriot king and a martyr. He summoned his nobles to his bedside, and told them that his only regret in dying was that he left the kingdom in disorder, and as the best mode of remedying the evil he recommended them to recognize the King of Navarre, to whom the kingdom belonged of right; making no account of the religious difference, because that king, with his sincere and earnest nature, must finally return to the bosom of the Church. Then turning to Henry, he solemnly warned him: 'Cousin,' he said, 'I assure you that you will never be King of France if you do not become Catholic, and if you do not make your peace with the Church.' Directly afterwards he breathed his last, reciting the 'Miserere.' This account is substantially confirmed by Perefixe. According to Sully, Henry, hearing that the King had been stabbed, started for St. Cloud, attended by Sully, but did not arrive till he was dead; and D'Aubigny says: 'When the King of Navarre entered the chamber where the body was lying, he saw amidst the howlings some pulling their hats down upon their brows, or throwing them on the ground, clenching their fists, plotting, clasping each other's hands, making vows and promises.' ... Henry's situation was embarrassing in the extreme, for only a small number of the Catholic nobles gave in an unqualified adhesion: a powerful body met and dictated the conditions upon which alone they would consent to his being proclaimed King of France: the two first being that within six months he would cause himself to be instructed in the Holy Catholic Apostolic Faith; and that during this interval he would nominate no Huguenot to offices of State. He replied that he was no bigot, and would readily seek instruction in the tenets of the Romish faith, but declined pledging himself to any description of exclusion or intolerance. M. Guadet computes that nine-tenths of his French subjects were Catholic, and the temper of the majority may be inferred from what was taking place in Paris, where the news of the late King's death was the signal for the most unseemly rejoicing. ... Far from being in a condition to reduce the refractory Parisians, Henry was obliged to abandon the siege, and retire towards Normandy, where the expected succours from England might most easily reach him. Sully says that this retreat was equally necessary for the safety of his person and the success of his affairs. He was temporarily abandoned by several of the Huguenot leaders, who, serving at their own expense, were obliged from time to time to go home to recruit their finances and their followers. Others were made lukewarm by the prospect of his becoming Catholic; so that he was no longer served with enthusiasm by either party; and when, after making the best arrangements in his power, he entered Normandy, he had with him only 3,000 French foot, two regiments of Swiss and 1,200 horse; with which, after being joined by the Due de Montpensier with 200 gentlemen and 1,500 foot, he drew near to Rouen, relying on a secret understanding within the walls which might give him possession of the place. Whilst preparations were making for the siege, sure intelligence was brought that the Duc de Mayenne was seeking him with an army exceeding 30,000; but, resolved to make head against them till the last extremity, Henry entrenched himself before Arques, which was only accessible by a causeway." A series of engagements ensued, beginning September 15, 1589; but finding that he could not dislodge his antagonist, Mayenne withdrew after some ten days of fighting, moving his army towards Picardy and leaving the road to Paris open. "Being too weak to recommence the siege or to occupy the city if taken by assault, Henry resolved to give the Parisians a sample of what they might expect if they persevered in their contumacy, and gave orders for attacking all the suburbs at once. {1211} They were taken and sacked. Davila states that the plunder was so abundant that the whole camp was wonderfully relieved and sustained." From this attack on the Parisian suburbs, Henry proceeded to Tours, where he held his court for a time. Early in March, 1590, he laid siege to Dreux. "The Duc de Mayenne, reinforced by Spanish troops from the Low Countries under Count Egmont, left Paris to effect a diversion, and somewhat unexpectedly found himself compelled to accept the battle which was eagerly pressed upon him. This was the renowned battle of Ivry. The armies presented much the same contrast as at Coutras. The numerical superiority on one side, the Catholic, was more than compensated by the quality of the troops on the other. Henry's soldiers, as described by De Thou, were armed to the teeth. 'They displayed neither scarf nor decoration, but their accoutrements inspired grim terror. The army of the Duc, on the contrary, was magnificent in equipment. The officers wore bright-coloured scarves, while gold glittered upon their helmets and lances.' The two armies were confronted on the 13th of March, 1590, but it was getting dark before the dispositions were completed, and the battle was deferred till the following morning. The King passed the night like Henry V. at Agincourt, and took only a short rest in the open air on the field. ... At daybreak he mounted his horse, and rode from rank to rank, pausing from time to time to utter a brief exhortation or encouragement. Prayers were offered up by the Huguenot ministers at the head of each division, and the bishop [Perefixe] gives the concluding words of that in which Divine aid was invoked by the King: 'But, Lord, if it has pleased Thee to dispose otherwise, or Thou seest that I ought to be one of those kings whom Thou punishest in Thy wrath, grant that I may be this day the victim of Thy Holy will: so order it that my death may deliver France from the calamities of war, and that my blood be the last shed in this quarrel.' Then, putting on his helmet with the white plume, before closing the vizor, he addressed the collected leaders:--'My friends, if you share my fortune this day, I also share yours. I am resolved to conquer or to die with you. Keep your ranks firmly, I beg; if the heat of the combat compels you to quit them, think always of the rally; it is the gaining of the battle. You will make it between the three trees which you see there [pointing to three pear-trees on an eminence], and if you lose your ensigns, pennons and banners, do not lose sight of my white plume: you will find it always on the road of honour and victory.' It so chanced that his white plume was the actual rallying-point at the most critical moment. ... His standard-bearer fell: a page bearing a white pennon was struck down at his side; and the rumour was beginning to spread that he himself was killed, when the sight of his bay horse and white plume, with the animating sound of his voice, gave fresh courage to all around and brought the bravest of his followers to the front. The result is told in one of his own missives. After stating that the battle began between 11 and 12, he continues: 'In less than an hour, after having discharged all their anger in two or three charges which they made and sustained, all their cavalry began to shift for themselves, abandoning their infantry, which was very numerous. Seeing which, their Swiss appealed to my pity and surrendered--colonels, captains, soldiers, and colours. The lansquenets and French had no time to form this resolution, for more than 1,200 were cut to pieces, and the rest dispersed into the woods at the mercy of the peasants.' He urged on the pursuers, crying 'Spare the French, and down with the foreigners.' ... Instead of pushing on towards Paris, which it was thought would have opened its gates to a conqueror in the flush of victory, Henry lingered at Mantes, where he improvised a Court, which his female favourites were summoned to attend."

_Henry IV. of France (Quarterly Review, October, 1879)._

ALSO IN: _H. M. Baird, The Huguenots and Henry of Navarre, chapter 11 (volume 2)._

_Duke of Sully, Memoirs, book 3 (volume l)._

_G. P. R. James, Life of Henry IV., books 11-12 (volume 2)._

FRANCE: A. D. 1590. The siege of Paris and its horrors. Relief at the hands of the Spaniards under Parma. Readiness of the League to give the crown to Philip II.