Henry IV of France and the Politics of Religion 1572 - 1596, Volume 1 & 2 , livre ebook

Intellect Books - N. M. Sutherland

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Henry IV's conversion to catholicism in 1593 and Papal absolution in 1595 were traversed by multiple problems and difficulties. These religious events were inseparable from concurrent political, diplomatic and military issues. The subject is therefore examined both within its civil war background and the wider, European context. This treatment is original, not least in its comprehensive coverage of the Papal dimension. Until now, the role of the Papacy has been consistently misinterpreted, while the manner in which the absolution was ultimately achieved has been known only through sketchy and misleading summaries. Volume I covers the period 1572-1589, ending with the murder of Henry III. This act of regicide precipitated the accession of Henry IV during a period of civil war. Volume II covers the remaining years 1589-1596, from Henry's accession to his abjuration and coronation, the end of the war with the Catholic League, the declaration of war with Spain in 1595 and, finally, the negotiation in Rome of his absolution. This fresh account of certain aspects of the life and career of Henry of Navarre makes a substantial contribution to the knowledge and understanding of the history of western Europe in the later sixteenth century, and of France in particular. It will be useful to scholars, research students and teachers, and may also be enjoyed by informed general readers.

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Philosophie et théologie

General officer

History of religions

Religion

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Cultural Studies

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Publié par	Intellect Books
Date de parution	01 octobre 2002
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781841508436
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,3500€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

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HENRY IV OF FRANCE AND THE POLITICS OF RELIGION 1572-1596
Volume II
HENRY IV OF FRANCE AND THE POLITICS OF RELIGION
1572-1596
N. M. SUTHERLAND
VOLUME II
THE PATH TO ROME
Printed in Paperback in UK in 2002 by
Elm Bank , an imprint of Intellect Ltd, PO Box 862, Bristol BS99 1DE, UK
Published in Paperback in USA in 2002 by
Elm Bank , ISBS, 5824 N.E. Hassalo St, Portland, Oregon 97213-3644, USA
Copyright 2002 A. M. Sutherland
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission.

Consulting Editor:
Keith Cameron
Production:
May Yao

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Electronic ISBN 1-84150-844-6/ISBN 1-84150-702-4
E-book ISBN 978-1-84150-843-6
Printed and bound in Great Britain by Antony Rowe, Eastbourne
TABLE OF CONTENTS
VOLUME II: THE PATH TO ROME
Chapter VIII: The Accession of Henry IV, August 1589
i) First Steps
ii) The Protestant King
iii) The Need to Prevail
iv) The Plight of Mayenne
v) Reluctant Allies
vi) The Disputed Succession
Chapter IX: Henry IV and Pope Sixtus V
i) The Disposition of Sixtus V
ii) The Legate s Instructions
iii) Caetani s Legation in France
iv) The Pope s Dilemma
v) The Mission of Luxembourg to Rome
vi) Olivares Protestestation
vii) After the Battle of Ivry
viii) The Death of Charles X
ix) Sixtus V, Evasive to the End
Chapter X: The Importance of Paris
i) Caetani and the Royalists
ii) The Peacemakers
iii) Parma and Mayenne
iv) The Siege of Paris
v) The Failure of the Siege
vi) Stalemate After the Siege
vii) Parma s Task
viii) Proposals for Peace
ix) The King s Isolation
Chapter XI: The Hostile Papacy, Gregory XIV
i) The Spanish Prevail in Rome
ii) The Plight of the Royalists
iii) The Spiritual Censures
iv) The Gallican Reaction
v) The Prelates and the Parlement
vi) Mayenne Under Threat
Chapter XII: The Rouen Campaign, 1591-2
i) The Normandy Agreement, July 1591
ii) The Arrival of Essex, August 1591
iii) The Queen s Misapprehension
iv) The King s Distress
v) Parma s Negotiation
vi) The Relief of Rouen
vii) The Mission of Sir Thomas Wilkes
viii) The End of the Rouen Campaign
ix) The King s Misserable Estate
x) Villeroy s Expedient
xi) Complex Negotiations
Chapter XIII: The Problem of Conversion
i) The King s Dilemma
ii) Pope Clement VIII
iii) The Voyages de Rome
iv) Conflict in Rome and the Concerns of Italy
v) Prelude to the Estates-General
vi) Mayenne and Feria
vii) The King s Perilous Position
viii) The King s Misgivings
ix) The Intervention of the Grand Duke of Tuscany
x) Stages of Commitment
xi) The Dual Problem of Religion
xii) The King s Proposal for Peace
xiii) The Final Quest for a Firm Foundation
xiv) The Intervention of the Parlement
xv) The Election is Abandoned
Chapter XIV: The Conversion of Henry IV
i) The Ceremony at Saint-Denis
ii) After the Abjuration
iii) The Instructions for the King s Envoys
iv) Nevers and the Reaction in Rome
v) The Embassy of Nevers
vi) Spain, Mayenne and the Peace Negotiations
vii) Relations with England
viii) Trouble with the Huguenots
Chapter XV: Henry IV and Rome
i) The Coronation
ii) The Recovery of Paris
iii) The Return to War
iv) The Pope s Anxiety
v) Gondi Restores Communication
vi) The Intrigues of Mayenne
vii) The Declaration of War, January 1595
viii) D Ossat s Negotiation in Rome
ix) The Spanish War
x) The Submission of Mayenne
Chapter XVI: The King s Absolution
i) Du Perron s Instructions
ii) The Negotiation in Rome
iii) The Bull of Absolution
iv) Coda
Appendix
Bibliography
Index
CHAPTER VIII: THE ACCESSION OF HENRY IV, AUGUST 1589
I: First Steps
Following the death of Henry III, on 2 August 1589, turmoil and perturbation seized the royal camp; these emotions were mixed with anger and outrage. Who but Henry of Navarre could hope to avenge the blasphemy of regicide? Without him, furthermore, the outlook would be grim for the late king s officials and supporters. But for many, however, this was a situation to be exploited. When a meeting was held by the late king s principal servants, discordant opinions were heard. Nicolas de Harlay, seigneur de Sancy urged upon the assembled company that France was a monarchy and must have a king. The transition from one king to the next was instantaneous, and depended upon God. Unless they, who were the royalists, recognised Navarre as Henry IV, no one else would do so. Anyone who could not support Navarre should withdraw forthwith; and some did, notably the ducs de Nevers and pernon. Among those who remained, agreement to recognise Navarre as Henry IV was only tentative and conditional. Marshal Biron (Armand de Gontaut, baron de Biron), who could have been a tower of strength, was more concerned to defend his personal interests than those of the monarchy. The comt de P rigord purchased his service but not his loyalty. 1 From the outset, Henry was ill-served, and grudgingly, and that restricted his freedom of action. With the timely support of Sancy, however, Henry s own vigorous action may have helped to sway opinion in his favour.
The next day, 3 August 1589, Henry summoned an army council. His first - possibly primitive - instinct was to retreat beyond the Loire. The gentry in his own forces had already extended the term of their commitment in order to partake in the assault upon Paris. Deprived of that gratification, many would quit and attend to the harvest. Henry IV was to be repeatedly beset by this problem - namely that he disposed of no reliable or standing force. 2 Jean de Chaumont, seigneur de Guitry, Navarre s envoy to Casimir in 1586, persuaded Henry of the unwisdom of abandoning recently occupied small towns in the Parisian region; and Sancy, who had just conducted the king s Swiss troops to Paris, prevailed upon them to serve his successor for three months. 3 Henry would remain in the north, and that was a beginning.
Henry of Navarre therefore had no realistic alternative but to accept the conditions of the princes and nobles. He did not, however, permit any conditions directly harmful to the huguenots; nor is it clear who drafted the declaration of 4 August 1589. While the promulgation of this document is very well known, its significance has often been misconstrued. Some contemporaries alleged, and historians have repeated, that Henry thereby promised to abjure; he did not. 4 Henry promised - quite explicitly - what he had already offered several times before. In the first place, the declaration recognised his accession by the use of his proper title, king of France and Navarre; his enemies persisted in styling him only prince de B arn . Henry undertook to preserve the catholic religion unchanged in all respects. Furthermore, and according to his previous declaration of 21 April 1589, when he crossed the Loire , he expressed himself ready and desirous to be instructed by a legitimate and free, general or national council, and willing to accept its conclusions. For that purpose, he would assemble a council within six months. Meanwhile, the religious status quo, as established by the trait de la tr ve , should obtain, until it was otherwise determined by a general peace, or by an estates-general, also to be convoked within six months. The clause relating to the convocation of some sort of council was unavoidably vague, since the nature of so problematic an assembly could not be determined. There followed undertakings about the command of cities yet to be captured, and the confirmation of state and court offices in recognition of services rendered to the late king. Finally, Henry agreed to pursue the regicides. 5
Reciprocally, and on the same date, the princes and nobles agreed to recognise Navarre as Henry IV, upon the terms of his declaration, and according to the fundamental laws of the kingdom. That suggests an admission that Navarre s claim to the throne was hereditary; separate and distinct from his religion, it was therefore indestructible. The League, however, had asserted the catholicity of the crown as fundamental law, and also advanced the convenient principle of election. The nobles then inserted two additional conditions: firstly that Navarre should hold an assembly of the servants of the late king, within two months, to deliberate upon, and resolve, the affairs of the kingdom. This probably related to their second condition: namely permission to send notable persons to Rome. These persons were to explain and justify the nobles adherence to Navarre, and also to obtain from the pope that which they knew to be necessary for the good of Christendom and the service of the king and the state. Finally the nobles required that the regicides be brought to justice. Did they know that the pope had, at the least, applauded the regicide? According to Sancy, who was present, these convolutions meant that the nobles proposed to seek Papal assistance to achieve the abjuration of the king, and his blessing upon it - the word absolution was eschewed. 6 The duc de Luxembourg was chosen to represent them in Rome; but this was not announced until 6 September 1589. He did not, apparently, leave in any great hurry. Thus, from the first days of his reign, Henry IV had agreed to representations in Rome with a view to his abjuration; that much is fact. It is impossible to say whether the king welcomed this move towards Rome, which he was in no position to make himself; neither was he in any position to prohibit it. By the time the outcome was known, his circumstances might be notably different.
If this, unique, account of Henry s accession is true, it reflects an extraordinary naivety on the part of the royalist catholics - two of whom were cardinals - and an apparent ignorance o