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.
"The king, yielding to the councils of Biron and other
catholics, declined attacking the capital, and preferred
waiting the slow, and in his circumstances eminently
hazardous, operations of a regular siege. ... Whatever may
have been the cause of the delay, it is certain that the
golden fruit of victory was not plucked, and that although the
confederate army had rapidly dissolved, in consequence of
their defeat, the king's own forces manifested as little
cohesion. And now began that slow and painful siege, the
details of which are as terrible, but as universally known, as
those of any chapters in the blood-stained history of the
century. Henry seized upon the towns guarding the rivers Seine
and Marne, twin nurses of Paris. By controlling the course of
those streams as well as that of the Yonne and Oise--
especially by taking firm possession of Lagny on the Marne,
whence a bridge led from the Isle of France to the Brie
country--great thoroughfare of wine and corn--and of Corbeil
at the junction of the little river Essonne with the Seine--it
was easy in that age to stop the vital circulation of the
imperial city. By midsummer, Paris, unquestionably the first
city of Europe at that day, was in extremities. ... Rarely
have men at any epoch defended their fatherland against
foreign oppression with more heroism than that which was
manifested by the Parisians of 1590 in resisting religious
toleration, and in obeying a foreign and priestly despotism.
Men, women, and children cheerfully laid down their lives by
thousands in order that the papal legate and the king of Spain
might trample upon that legitimate sovereign of France who was
one day to become the idol of Paris and of the whole kingdom.
A census taken at the beginning of the siege had showed a
population of 200,000 souls, with a sufficiency of provisions,
it was thought, to last one month. But before the terrible
summer was over--so completely had the city been invested--the
bushel of wheat was worth 360 crowns. ... The flesh of horses,
asses, dogs, cats, rats, had become rare luxuries. There was
nothing cheap, said a citizen bitterly, but sermons. And the
priests and monks of every order went daily about the streets,
preaching fortitude in that great resistance to heresy. ...
Trustworthy eye-witnesses of those dreadful days have placed
the number of the dead during the summer at 30,000. ...
{1212}
The hideous details of the most dreadful sieges recorded in
ancient or modern times were now reproduced in Paris. ... The
priests ... persuaded the populace that it was far more
righteous to kill their own children, if they had no food to
give them, than to obtain food by recognizing a heretic king.
It was related, too, and believed, that in some instances
mothers had salted the bodies of their dead children and fed
upon them, day by day, until the hideous repast would no
longer support their own life. ... The bones of the dead were
taken in considerable quantities from the cemeteries, ground
into flour, baked into bread, and consumed. It was called
Madame Montpensier's cake, because the duchess earnestly
proclaimed its merits to the poor Parisians. 'She was never
known to taste it herself, however,' bitterly observed one who
lived in Paris through that horrible summer. She was right to
abstain, for all who ate of it died. ... Lansquenets and other
soldiers, mad with hunger and rage, when they could no longer
find dogs to feed on, chased children through the streets, and
were known in several instances to kill and devour them on the
spot. ... Such then was the condition of Paris during that
memorable summer of tortures. What now were its hopes of
deliverance out of this Gehenna? The trust of Frenchmen was in
Philip of Spain, whose legions, under command of the great
Italian chieftain [Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma, commander
of the Spanish forces in the Netherlands], were daily longed
for to save them from rendering obedience to their lawful
prince. For even the king of straw--the imprisoned cardinal
[Cardinal de Bourbon, whom the League had proclaimed king,
under the title of Charles X., on the death of Henry
III.]--was now dead, and there was not even the effigy of any
other sovereign than Henry of Bourbon to claim authority in
France. Mayenne, in the course of long interviews with the
Duke of Parma at Condé and Brussels, had expressed his desire
to see Philip king of France, and had promised his best
efforts to bring about such a result." Parma, who was
struggling hard with the obstinate revolt in the Netherlands,
having few troops and little money to pay them with, received
orders from his Spanish master to relieve Paris and conquer
France. He obeyed the command to the best of his abilities. He
left the Netherlands at the beginning of August, with 12,000
foot and 3,000 horse; effected a junction with Mayenne at
Meaux, ten leagues from Paris, on the 22d, and the united
armies--5,000 cavalry and 18,000 foot--arrived at Chelles on
the last day of summer. "The two great captains of the age had
at last met face to face. ... The scientific duel which was
now to take place was likely to task the genius and to bring
into full display the peculiar powers and defects of the two."
The winner in the duel was the Duke of Parma, who foiled
Henry's attempts to bring him to battle, while he captured
Lagny under the king's eyes. "The bridges of Charenton and St.
Maur now fell into Farnese's hands without a contest. In an
incredibly short space of time provisions and munitions were
poured into the starving city, 2,000 boat-loads arriving in a
single day. Paris was relieved. Alexander had made his
demonstration and solved the problem. ... The king was now in
worse plight than ever. His army fliers, cheated of their
battle, and having neither food nor forage, rode off by
hundreds every day." He made one last attempt, by a midnight
assault on the city, but it failed. Then he followed the
Spaniards--whom Parma led back to the Netherlands early in
November--but could not bring about a battle or gain any
important advantage. But Paris, without the genius of
Alexander Farnese in its defence, was soon reduced to as
complete a blockade as before. Lagny was recovered by the
besieging royalists, the Seine and the Marne were again
fast-locked, and the rebellious capital deprived of supplies.
_J. L. Motley,
History of the United Netherlands,
chapter 23 (volume 3)._
ALSO IN:
_M. W. Freer,
History of the Reign of Henry IV.,
book 1._
_C. D. Yonge,
History of France under the Bourbons,
chapter 2._
FRANCE: A. D. 1591-1593.
The siege of Rouen and Parma's second interference.
General advancement of Henry's cause.
Restiveness of the Catholics.
The King's abjuration of Protestantism.
"It seemed as if Henri IV. had undertaken the work of
Penelope. After each success, fresh difficulties arose to
render it fruitless. ... Now it was the Swiss who refused to
go on without their pay; or Elizabeth who exacted seaports in
return for fresh supplies; or the Catholics who demanded the
conversion of the King; or the Protestants who complained of
not being protected. Depressed spirits had to be cheered, some
to be satisfied, others to be reassured or restrained, allies
to be managed, and all to be done with very little money and
without any sacrifice of the national interests. Henri was
equal to all, both to war and to diplomacy, to great concerns
and to small. ... His pen was as active as his sword. The
collection of his letters is full of the most charming notes.
... Public opinion, which was already influential and
thirsting for news, was not neglected. Every two or three
months a little publication entitled 'A Discourse,' or 'An
Authentic Narrative,' or 'Account of all that has occurred in
the King's Army,' was circulated widely. ... Thus it was that
by means of activity, patience, and tact, Henri V. was enabled
to retrieve his fortunes and to rally his party; so that by
the end of the year 1591, he found himself in a position to
undertake an important operation. ... The King laid siege to
Rouen in December, 1591. He was at the head of the most
splendid army he had ever commanded; it numbered upwards of
25,000 men. This was not too great a number; for the
fortifications were strong, the garrison numerous, well
commanded by Villars, and warmly supported by the townspeople.
The siege had lasted for some months when the King learned
that Mayenne had at last made the Duke of Parma to understand
the necessity of saving Rouen at all hazards. Thirty thousand
Spanish and French Leaguers had just arrived on the Somme.
Rouen, however, was at the last gasp; Henri could not make up
his mind to throw away the fruits of so much toil and trouble;
he left all his infantry under the walls, under the command of
Biron, and marched off with his splendid cavalry." He attacked
the enemy imprudently, near Aumale, February 5, met with a
repulse, was wounded and just missed being taken prisoner in a
precipitate retreat. But both armies were half paralyzed at this
time by dissensions among their chiefs.
{1213}
That of the Leaguers fell back to the Somme; but in April it
approached Rouen again, and Parma was able, despite all
Henri's efforts, to enter the town. This last check to the
King "was the signal for a general desertion. Henri, left with
only a small corps of regular troops and a few gentlemen, was
obliged to retire rapidly upon Pont de l'Arche. The Duke of
Parma did not follow him. Always vigilant, he wished before
everything to establish himself on the Lower Seine, and laid
siege to Caudebec, which was not likely to detain him long.
But he received during that operation a severe wound, which
compelled him to hand over the command to Mayenne." The
incompetence of the latter soon lost all the advantages which
Parma had gained. Henri's supporters rallied around him again
almost as quickly as they had dispersed. "The Leaguers were
pushed back upon the Seine and confined in the heart of the
Pays de Caux. They were without provisions; Mayenne was at his
wits' end; he had to resort for suggestions and for orders to
the bed of suffering on which the Duke of Parma was held down
by his wound." The great Italian soldier, dying though he was,
as the event soon proved, directed operations which baffled
the keen watchfulness and penetration of his antagonist, and
extricated his army without giving to Henri the chance for
battle which he sought. The Spanish army retired to Flemish
territory. In the meantime, Henri's cause was being advanced
in the northeast of his kingdom by the skill and valor of
Turenne, then beginning his great career, and experiencing
vicissitudes in the southeast, where Lesdiguières was
contending with the mercenaries of the Pope and the Duke of
Savoy, as well as with his countrymen of the League. He had
defeated them with awful slaughter at Pontcharra, September
19, 1591, and he carried the war next year into the
territories of the Duke of Savoy, seeking help from the
Italian Waldenses which he does not seem to have obtained.
"Nevertheless the king had still some formidable obstacles to
overcome. Three years had run their course since he had
promised to become instructed in the Catholic religion, and
there were no signs as yet that he was preparing to fulfil
this undertaking. The position in which he found himself, and
the importance and activity of his military operations, had
hitherto been a sufficient explanation of his delay. But the
war had now changed its character. The King had gained
brilliant successes. There was no longer any large army in the
field against him. Nothing seemed to be now in the way to
hinder him from fulfilling his promise. And yet he always
evaded it. He had to keep on good terms with Elizabeth and the
Protestants; he wished to make his abjuration the occasion for
an agreement with the Court of Rome, which took no steps to
smooth over his difficulties; and lastly, he shrank from
taking a step which is always painful when it is not the fruit
of honest conviction. This indecision doubled the ardour of
his enemies, prevented fresh adhesions, discouraged and
divided his old followers. ... A third party, composed of
bishops and Royalist noblemen, drew around the cousins of
Henri IV., the Cardinal de Vendôme and the Comte de Soissons.
... The avowed object of this third party was to raise one of
these two Princes to the throne, if the Head of their House
did not forthwith enter the bosom of the Catholic Church. And
finally, the deputies of the cities and provinces who had been
called to Paris by Mayenne were assembling there for the
election of a king. 'The Satire of Ménippée' has handed down
the States of the League to immortal ridicule; but however
decried that assembly has been, and deserved to be, 'it
decided the conversion of Henri IV.: he does not attempt in
his despatches to deny this. ... In order to take away every
excuse for such an election, he entered at once into
conference with the Catholic theologians. After some very
serious discussion, much deeper than a certain saying which
has become a proverb [that 'Paris is certainly worth a Mass']
would seem to imply, he abjured the Protestant religion on the
25th of July, 1593, before the Archbishop of Bourges. The
League had received its death-blow."
_Duc d'Aumale,
History of the Princes de Condé,
book 2, chapter 2 (volume 2)._