Henry 3 of Valois - Duke of Anjou (until 1574), King of the Commonwe alth (1573-1574), King of France (since 1574) and, finally, the last of the Valois dynasty. Historians assess this man in two ways. For a long time he was considered a life-burner, whose faithful companions were vices and shortcomings. However, later researchers began to say that Henry III was completely different - a wise and progressive ruler. The assassination of Henry 3 of Valois was as stupid as all religious wars. And now about everything in order. Today we will not be inclined to one or another camp of historians, but only consider this, of course, an interesting person, from the point of view of facts.
Childhood
September 19, 1551 in the family of Henry II and his wife Catherine de Medici was born the third son. He was named Edward-Alexander and was immediately awarded the title "Duke of Anjou". The chances of the guy becoming king were very slim, because he had two older brothers. From a young age, Heinrich (in order not to get confused, we will call our hero that), like the rest of the children of the family, was sick a lot. He differed from his brothers and sisters in his love for outdoor activities - dancing and fencing. Maybe,it was thanks to physical activity that Henry grew up a strong guy and did not become a victim of tuberculosis, which took the lives of his brothers and sisters. Just imagine: out of ten children, only Heinrich and his younger sister Margarita survived Catherine de Medici.
Youth
In addition to dancing and fencing, Heinrich was very fond of reading, actively studied Italian and rhetoric. He was much more active and elegant than the brothers, for which he quickly became his mother's favorite. She called him “my little eagle.”
In 1560, Henry II accidentally died at a jousting tournament. His place on the throne was taken by his eldest son, Francis II. When the newly-made king died of illness, he was replaced by Catherine's second son, Charles IX. At the initial stage of his reign, the country was actually led by Catherine de Medici (as regent). At that time, she no longer hid that Karl was not as fond of her as Heinrich. Because of this, the relationship between the brothers did not develop in the best way.
In the period from 1564 to 1566, the hero of our story traveled around France along with the entire royal court. On the trip, he became friends with Henry of Navarre, his cousin.
First titles
In 1566, 15-year-old Henry was given three duchies to rule. A year later, when the religious war began, he was given the rank of lieutenant general and appointed the chief commander of the royal troops. Of course, the young man was helped by more experienced military leaders, but he always left the last word to himself. Thanks to this, at the beginning of his military career, Henry earned a reputation as a wise man.commander. Largely due to the energy, intelligence and talent of the young man, the royal troops won a crushing victory over the Huguenot army several times.
Despite military successes, Henry 3 of Valois did not like military affairs. Like his mother, he was a supporter of peaceful ways to resolve conflicts and preferred to engage in politics. Soon, Catherine insisted that the post of quartermaster general be established for Henry, which actually allowed him to share power with his brother and mother.
In 1750, when the Catholics made peace with the Huguenots, Admiral Coligny, the leader of the Protestants, appeared on the council of Charles IX. He quickly managed to win over the king and convey to him the charm of the idea of resuming the confrontation with Spain. Due to Coligny's influence on Charles IX, Catherine and Henry lost their political weight for a time. The admiral became an intermediary between the Protestant countries of Europe (especially England) and Catholic France. As a result of Coligny's policy, France faced a choice: war with Spain or another civil war with the Huguenots.
According to the calculations of military advisers, a new war with Spain will bring France a fiasco. And the resumption of religious differences was extremely undesirable for a country exhausted by upheavals. Therefore, if the first attempt to kill Coligny was conceived by Catherine and Henry, then they acted exclusively within the interests of the state. It is important to note that in those days Machiavelli's ideas were popular in Europe. Catherine shared them and tried to educate her children in the same spirit. It is possible that such views were expressedon St. Bartholomew's night.
St. Bartholomew and a broken heart
Two weeks before the terrible event, two weddings took place as part of strengthening relations between Protestants and Catholics. At the first of them, one of the leaders of the Huguenots - Prince Condé - was betrothed to Mary of Kyiv. The girl was brought up in the spirit of Protestantism, but for several years she was at the court of Charles IX. Heinrich passionately loved Mary, but his mother did not allow him to take the girl as his wife. There were two reasons for this. First, the family of Mary was not noble enough. And secondly, everyone knew that she should become the wife of the Prince of Condé. Obeying the will of his mother and the interests of the state, Henry 3 of Valois drowned out the voice of his heart.
After the terrible St. Bartholomew's night, a new religious war has become inevitable. The Huguenots chose the fortress of La Rochelle in southern France as their stronghold. Henry III had to return to military affairs and arrive at the walls of the fortress in February 1573 at the head of the royal army. Attempts to siege and storm the fortress were useless. And at the beginning of the summer, Henry had to leave from under the walls of La Rochelle to Poland. Having signed a peace treaty in haste, the man went abroad.
High position
What was the reason for such haste? The fact is that Henry III was elected king of Poland. Catherine turned this adventure while he was at war. The last king Sigismund II died, and he had no heirs. The choice of a new sovereign fell on the Polish nobles. The second contender for the high post was Archduke Ernest of Habsburg. Because ofrecent events, the reputation of the French monarchs in Poland has fallen, because here the bulk of the people leaned towards Protestantism. Nevertheless, Catherine de Medici decided that the royal throne would not interfere with Henry. In order for her son to win the elections, she sent Bishop Jean de Montluc to Poland, who worked hard to make Henry King of Poland.
It soon became clear that the Polish nobles, having elected Henry III as their ruler, provide him with only nominal power. This did not please the ambitious monarch and his mother. Henry began to have doubts about the Polish throne and initiated protracted negotiations. At the end of the summer of 1573, the current king of France begins to get sick and is forced to appoint his brother as heir to the crown. The fact is that the only son of Charles IX was a bastard, and official marriage gave him only a daughter. In December of the same year, Henry nevertheless accepted the Polish throne and slowly left his native country.
Only in January 1574, the new king arrived in Poland, where he soon held a magnificent coronation. Soon Henry 3 of Valois faced a number of difficulties. Firstly, the parliament and the senate held all power in their hands, which affected the self-esteem of our hero. And secondly, they wanted to marry him to Princess Anna, the 48-year-old sister of the late ruler. To reassure his subjects, the newly minted king began to live like a real Pole. This allowed him to gain time. What would happen next, one can only guess, because in the summer of 1754 Charles IX dies, and Henry, four days after receiving a letter from his mother with this news, secretlyleaves Poland.
Desired post and wedding
Heinrich arrived in France at the beginning of autumn, having held many meetings and negotiations along the way. Here he learns that Prince Conde fled to Germany without enlisting the support of his wife. Former passion flared up in the chest of Henry III, and he firmly decided to remind Mary of himself. Mother made every effort to delay the moment of their meeting. She was lucky, because at the end of October of the same year, Maria dies during childbirth. The news of the death of his beloved was painfully received by Henry III, which resulted in a long depression. The courtiers, accustomed to free manners, mocked the future king.
13 February next year, Henry III was crowned. Two days later, wanting independence from his mother, he married Louise de Vaudsmont, whose family was not very noble. Louise was an incredibly devoted wife. The only problem the new family faced was the inability to have children. Most likely, Louise was barren, but Henry's contemporaries blamed him, complaining about the absence of illegitimate children, which were normal in those days. Because of this, the king began to be considered a homosexual.
King Gentrich 3 of Valois himself was deeply convinced that infertility is God's punishment for casual relationships in which he had participated more than once before. The monarch even swore to himself to refrain from such acts in the future. The second reason why the king was considered a homosexual was his strangebehavior. Henry III was very elegant and liked to dress up, wear earrings, and use incense. The third and most important argument in favor of the rumors were the minions of Henry 3 of Valois. Their group consisted of four young people who enjoyed the special favor of the ruler. What caused such a relationship - high merit or still intimate relationships - only Henry 3 of Valois and his minions knew. It is only known that the favorites allowed themselves defiant behavior in relation to other nobles. Henry 3 of Valois sometimes even blushed for them. Shiko, one of the favorites, serving as court jester, allowed himself to speak to the monarch and his guests as if they were friends. And he got away with everything.
Be that as it may, but for several centuries it was believed that King Henry 3 of Valois, whose love affairs stopped after marriage, had a non-traditional sexual orientation. Later historians have questioned this judgment. Nevertheless, the minions of Henry 3 of Valois are deeply rooted in history.
Reforms
After gaining power, the newly minted French king adopted many promising reforms in the areas of taxation, the army, etiquette, legislation and ceremonial. However, due to the tense situation in the state, he had no time to implement them.
In 1576, after negotiations with the Huguenots, the king signed an edict providing freedom of religion throughout France. The document provoked a strong reaction from Catholics. They created their own League, which was headed by Henry of Giese. Due toThis was followed by two civil wars. In 1580, the situation stabilized, and the king began to pay much attention to religion. He used to be a deeply religious man, but now Henry's religiosity has reached its apogee. Many enemies believed that in this way he was trying to cover up his vices. Over time, the king organized two brotherhoods, whose members met once a week, prayed and even engaged in self-torture. For such an addiction to religion, Henry was nicknamed the Monk King.
Another coup
Four years after the last civil war, the unexpected happened: Francis, the king's younger brother, died. Thus, Henry of Navarre became the heir to the throne (historians called him Navarre, so as not to be confused with Henry III). After much hesitation, the king nevertheless recognized Navarre as his successor. This heir was decidedly not liked by the Catholic League, since he had long been the leader of the Huguenots. Spain supported the Catholics in this. Thus, in 1585, King Henry 3 and his mother found themselves in a double threat (external and internal). They had to sign an edict banning Protestant rites. Navarre automatically lost the opportunity to be the successor to the throne. This role was given to Cardinal Charles of Bourbon.
Navarre unleashed a war, which was called the war of the three Heinrichs (Valois, Navarre and Giza). The king found himself in a difficult situation, which was especially aggravated on October 20, 1587. On this day Navarre defeated the Catholics at Cautray. King of France Henry 3 Valois only thanks tohis cunning was able to save the Catholics from complete collapse. He paid the enemy mercenaries to retreat at the decisive moment of the battle. Therefore, after the defeat at Kotray, the king again had to sign an edict on freedom of belief.
The edict caused a wave of protests among the townspeople, who were already not very happy with their ruler. He was accused of all problems - both state and personal. Heinrich of Giese enjoyed greater popularity among society. As a result, on May 12, 1588, Guise organized an uprising. This day would later be called "the day of the barricades". Catherine once again showed her political talent. She entered into protracted negotiations with the rebels and thereby bought Henry time to leave Paris. She later initiated the adoption by the king of his sister's son, who was also Gizu's nephew. This would unite the interests of the two Heinrichs.
The King had to submit to the Catholic League and make Giza a lieutenant general. On this, the path of Guise to power only gained momentum. They subjected the king to constant humiliation and openly sent him to a monastery. Despite outward obedience, Henry 3 of Valois, whose biography became the subject of our conversation today, did not intend to give up.
Retaliation and its results
The right moment for a retaliatory strike presented itself at the end of the summer of 1588. The invincible armada of Spain failed in the battle with the fleet of England and was distracted from the support of the Catholic League. On the night of August 23-24, Henry 3 ordered to killGiza and his brother. This led to a major revolt. The Catholic League took power in Paris into their own hands, and the king had to ally with Navarre. Two Heinrichs went against the rebellious cities.
Gize's relatives asked for mercy, and the Catholic clergy called on parishioners for revenge. The search began for a man who could dare to become "the hand of divine justice." Finding a candidate among the Catholic fanatics was fairly easy. They became the 22-year-old monk Jacques Clement.
Meanwhile, Heinrich's army laid siege to Paris. The royal camp settled in the town of Saint-Cloud. Jacques arrived there on 31 August. Calling himself ambassador of the Catholic League, he asked for a royal audience. The king, who always tried to be a diplomat, agreed to receive the monk. A dagger was hidden in the folds of Clement's cassock. Having met the king, Jacques approached him to deliver a letter from the League. At that moment, he struck Heinrich several times with a dagger in the stomach. Clement's faith in the divinity of his act was so great that he did not even try to escape. The guards, who ran to the cry of the king, immediately got even with the monk.
The murder of Henry 3 of Valois was given to an amateur, so the king died only the next day. Before he died, he gave the throne to Navarre. Henry 3 is the last of the Valois, so he had no other choice. He advised his successor to put an end to religious strife and accept the Catholic faith. Navarra followed the advice, but after 4 years.
Conclusion
Henry 3 of Valois, whose biographybecame the topic of this article, was an extraordinary ruler, commander, hero of balls and a connoisseur of religion, which causes twofold emotions. However, the fact that he did many historically important things in his life is undeniable. Henry was the last of the dynasty, which ruled for 261 years, and this despite the fact that he had quite a few brothers and sisters. Henry 3 of Valois, whose years of reign are listed at the beginning of the article, managed to survive 9 civil wars. During 27 of the 38 years of the man's life there were religious skirmishes. And the murder of Guise is considered one of the most famous political massacres in history. That is why so many books feature Henry 3 of Valois. Doc. there is also a movie about him.
