Henry IV (French: Henri IV, read as Henri-Quatre [ ikat]; 13 December 1553 14 May 1610),

also known by the epithet "Good King Henry", was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 to
1610 and King of Francefrom 1589 to 1610. He was the first French monarch of the House of
Bourbon, a branch of the Capetian dynasty.
Baptised as a Catholic but raised in the Protestant faith by his mother Jeanne d'Albret, Queen
of Navarre, he inherited the throne of Navarre in 1572 on the death of his mother. As a Huguenot,
Henry was involved in theFrench Wars of Religion, barely escaping assassination in the St.
Bartholomew's Day massacre, and later led Protestant forces against the royal army.
Henry, as Head of the House of Bourbon, was a direct male-line descendant of Louis IX of
France, and "first prince of the blood". Upon the death of his brother-in-law and distant
cousin Henry III of France in 1589, Henry was called to the French succession by the Salic law.
He initially kept the Protestant faith and had to fight against the Catholic League, which denied
that he could wear France's crown as a Protestant. To obtain mastery over his kingdom, after
four years of stalemate, he found it prudent to abjure the Calvinist faith. As a pragmatic politician
(in the parlance of the time, a politique), he displayed an unusual religious tolerance for the era.
Notably, he promulgated the Edict of Nantes (1598), which guaranteed religious liberties to
Protestants, thereby effectively ending the Wars of Religion. He was assassinated in 1610
by Franois Ravaillac, a fanatical Catholic, and was succeeded by his son Louis XIII.[1]
Considered a usurper by some Catholics and a traitor by some Protestants, Henry became target
of at least 12 assassination attempts.[2] An unpopular king immediately after his accession,
Henry's popularity greatly improved after his death, [3] in light of repeated victories over his
enemies and his conversion to Catholicism. The "Good King Henry" (le bon roi Henri) was
remembered for his geniality and his great concern about the welfare of his subjects. He was
celebrated in the popular song Vive le roi Henri and in Voltaire's Henriade.

Childhood and adolescence[edit]

Henry was born in Pau, the capital of the joint Kingdom of Navarre with the sovereign principality
of Barn.[4] His parents were Queen Joan III of Navarre (Jeanne d'Albret) and her
consort, Antoine de Bourbon, Duke of Vendme, King of Navarre.[5] Although baptised as a
Roman Catholic, Henry was raised as a Protestant by his mother,[6] who had declared Calvinism
the religion of Navarre. As a teenager, Henry joined the Huguenot forces in the French Wars of
Religion. On 9 June 1572, upon his mother's death, he became King of Navarre.[7]

Henry III of France on his deathbed designating Henry IV of Navarre as his successor (1589)

First marriage and Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacre[edit]

At Queen Joan's death, it was arranged for Henry to marry Margaret of Valois, daughter of Henry
II and Catherine de' Medici. The wedding took place in Paris on 18 August 1572[8] on
the parvis of Notre Dame Cathedral. On 24 August, the Saint Bartholomew's Day
Massacre began in Paris. Several thousand Protestants who had come to Paris for Henry's
wedding were killed, as well as thousands more throughout the country in the days that followed.
Henry narrowly escaped death thanks to the help of his wife and his promise to convert to
Catholicism. He was made to live at the court of France, but he escaped in early 1576. On 5
February of that year, he formally abjured Catholicism atTours and rejoined the Protestant forces
in the military conflict.[7]

Wars of Religion[edit]

Henry at the Battle of Arques

Henry IV at the Battle of Ivry, byPeter Paul Rubens

Henry IV, as Hercules vanquishing the Lernaean Hydra (i.e. the Catholic League), by Toussaint Dubreuil,
circa 1600

Henry became heir presumptive to the French throne in 1584 upon the death of Francis, Duke of
Anjou, brother and heir to the Catholic Henry III, who had succeeded Charles IX in 1574.
Because Henry of Navarre was the next senioragnatic descendant of King Louis IX, King Henry
III had no choice but to recognise him as the legitimate successor.[9] Salic law barred the king's
sisters and all others who could claim descent through only the female line from inheriting. Since
Henry of Navarre was a Huguenot, the issue was not considered settled in many quarters of the
country and France was plunged into a phase of the Wars of Religion known as the War of the
Three Henries. Henry III and Henry of Navarre were two of these Henries. The third was Henry I,
Duke of Guise, who pushed for complete suppression of the Huguenots and had much support
among Catholic loyalists. Political disagreements among the parties set off a series of campaigns
and counter-campaigns that culminated in the Battle of Coutras.[10] In December 1588, Henry III
had Henry I of Guise murdered,[11] along with his brother, Louis Cardinal de Guise.[12] Henry III
thought that the removal of Guise would finally restore his authority. Instead, however, the
populace were horrified and rose against him. In several cities, the title of the king was no longer
recognized. His power was limited to Blois, Tours and the surrounding districts. In the general
chaos there was still one power on whom the king could rely Henry of Navarre and his
Huguenots.
The two kings were united by a common interest to win France from the League. Henry III
acknowledged the King of Navarre as a true subject and Frenchman, not a fanatic Huguenot
aiming for the destruction of Catholics. Catholic royalist nobles also rallied to the king's standard.
With this combined force the two kings marched to Paris. The morale of the city was low, and
even the Spanish ambassador believed the city could not hold out longer than a fortnight. But
Henry III was assassinated shortly thereafter (2 August 1589) by a fanatic monk. [13]
When Henry III died, Henry of Navarre nominally became king of France. The Catholic League,
however, strengthened by support from outside the countryespecially from Spainwas strong
enough to prevent a universal recognition of his new title. Most of the Catholic nobles who had
joined Henry III for the siege of Paris also refused to recognize the claim of Henry of Navarre,
and abandoned him. He set about winning his kingdom by military conquest, aided by English
money and German troops. Henry's Catholic uncle Charles, Cardinal de Bourbon, was
proclaimed king by the League, but the Cardinal was Henry's prisoner at the time. [14] Henry was
victorious at the Battle of Arques and the Battle of Ivry, but failed to take Paris after besieging it in
1590.[15]
When Cardinal de Bourbon died in 1590, the League could not agree on a new candidate. While
some supported various Guise candidates, the strongest candidate was probably the Infanta
Isabella Clara Eugenia of Spain, the daughter of Philip II of Spain, whose mother Elisabeth had
been the eldest daughter of Henry II of France.[16] In the religious fervor of the time, the Infanta
was recognized to be a suitable candidate, provided that she marry a suitable husband. The

French overwhelmingly rejected Philip's first choice, Archduke Ernest of Austria, the Emperor's
brother, also a member of the House of Habsburg. In case of such opposition, Philip indicated
that princes of the House of Lorraine would also be acceptable to him: the Duke of Guise; a son
of the Duke of Lorraine; and the son of the Duke of Mayenne. The Spanish ambassadors then
selected the Duke of Guise, to the joy of the League. But at that moment of seeming victory the
envy of the Duke of Mayenne was aroused, and he blocked the proposed election of a king.
The Parlement of Paris also upheld the Salic law. They argued that if the French accepted
natural hereditary succession, as proposed by the Spaniards, and accepted a woman as their
queen, then the ancient claims of the English kings would be confirmed, and the monarchy of
centuries past would be nothing but an illegality.[17] The Parlement admonished Mayenne, as
Lieutenant-General, that the Kings of France had resisted the interference of the Pope in political
matters, and that he should not raise a foreign prince or princess to the throne of France under
the pretext of religion. Mayenne was angered that he had not been consulted prior, but yielded,
since their aim was not contrary to his present views.
Despite these setbacks for the League, Henry remained unable to take control of Paris.

Jeton with portrait of King Henri IV, made in Nuremberg (Germany) by Hans Laufer

Entrance of Henry IV in Paris, 22 March 1594, with 1,500 cuirassiers

"Paris is well worth a Mass"[edit]

On 25 July 1593, with the encouragement of the great love of his life, Gabrielle d'Estres, Henry
permanently renounced Protestantism, thus earning the resentment of the Huguenots and his
former ally Queen Elizabeth I of England. He was said to have declared that Paris vaut bien une
messe ("Paris is well worth a mass"),[18][19][20] although there is some doubt whether he said this, or
whether the statement was attributed to him by his contemporaries.[21][22] His acceptance of
Roman Catholicism secured the allegiance of the vast majority of his subjects. Since Reims, the

traditional location for the coronation of French kings, was still occupied by the Catholic League,
he was crowned King of France at the Cathedral of Chartres on 27 February 1594.[23] He did not
forget his former coreligionists, however, and in 1598 issued the Edict of Nantes, which granted
circumscribed toleration to the Huguenots.[24]
Royal styles of

King Henry IV
Par la grce de Dieu, Roi de France et de Navarre

Reference style

His Most Christian Majesty

Spoken style

Your Most Christian Majesty

Alternative style

Sire

Second marriage[edit]

Henry IV and Marie de Mdicis

Henry's first marriage was not a happy one, and the couple remained childless. Henry and
Margaret separated even before Henry acceded to the throne in August 1589, and Margaret lived
for many years in the Chteau d'Usson in the Auvergne. After Henry became king of France, it
was of the utmost importance that he provide an heir to the crown to avoid the problem of a
disputed succession. Henry favoured the idea of obtaining an annulment of his marriage to
Margaret and taking Gabrielle d'Estres as his bride; after all, she had already borne him three
children. Henry's councillors strongly opposed this idea, but the matter was resolved
unexpectedly by Gabrielle's sudden death in the early hours of 10 April 1599, after she had given
birth to a premature and stillborn son. His marriage to Margaret was annulled in 1599, and he
then married Marie de' Medici in 1600.
For the royal entry of Marie into Avignon on 19 November 1600, the citizens bestowed on Henry
the title of the Hercule Gaulois ("Gallic Hercules"), justifying the extravagant flattery with a
genealogy that traced the origin of the House of Navarre to a nephew of Hercules' son Hispalus.
[25]

Achievements of his reign[edit]

Itinerary of Franois Pyrard de Laval, (16011611)

During his reign, Henry IV worked through his faithful right-hand man, the minister Maximilien de
Bthune, Duke of Sully, to regularise state finance, promote agriculture, drain swamps,
undertake public works, and encourage education, as with the creation of the Collge Royal
Henri-le-Grand in La Flche (today the Prytane Militaire de la Flche). He and Sully protected
forests from further devastation, built a system of tree-lined highways, and constructed bridges
and canals. He had a 1200-meter canal built in the park at the Chteau Fontainebleau (which
may be fished today) and ordered the planting of pines, elms, and fruit trees.
The King restored Paris as a great city, with the Pont Neuf, which still stands today, constructed
over the river Seine to connect the Right and Left Banks of the city. Henry IV also had the Place
Royale built (since 1800 known asPlace des Vosges), and added the Grande Galerie to
the Louvre Palace. More than 400 meters long and thirty-five meters wide, this huge addition was
built along the bank of the Seine River, and at the time was the longest edifice of its kind in the
world. King Henry IV, a promoter of the arts by all classes of people, invited hundreds of artists
and craftsmen to live and work on the building's lower floors. This tradition continued for another
two hundred years, until Emperor Napoleon I banned it. The art and architecture of his reign
have become known as the "Henry IV style" since that time.
King Henry's vision extended beyond France, and he financed several expeditions of Pierre
Dugua, Sieur de Monts and Samuel de Champlain to North America, which saw France lay claim
to Canada.[26]

International relations under Henry IV[edit]

Engraving of Henry IV

Coin of Henry IV, demi cu, Saint L (1589)

The reign of Henry IV saw the continuation of the rivalry among France, the Habsburg rulers of
Spain, and the Holy Roman Empire for the mastery of Western Europe, a conflict that would only
be resolved after the Thirty Years' War.

Spain and Italy[edit]

During Henry's struggle for the crown, Spain had been the principal backer of the Catholic
League, and it tried to thwart Henry. Under the Duke of Parma, an army from the Spanish
Netherlands intervened in 1590 against Henry and foiled his siege of Paris. Another Spanish
army helped the nobles opposing Henry to win the Battle of Craon against his troops in 1592.
After Henry's coronation, the war continued as an official tug-of-war between the French and
Spanish states, but after victory at the Siege of Amiens in September 1597 the Peace of
Vervins was signed in 1598. This enabled him to turn his attention to Savoy, with which he also
had been fighting. Their conflicts were settled in the Treaty of Lyon of 1601, which mandated
territorial exchanges between France and the Duchy of Savoy.

Germany[edit]
In 1609 Henry's intervention helped to settle the War of the Jlich succession through diplomatic
means.
It was widely believed that in 1610 Henry was preparing to go to war against the Holy Roman
Empire. The preparations were terminated by his assassination, however, and the subsequent
rapprochement with Spain under the regency of Marie de' Medici.

Ottoman Empire[edit]

Bilingual Franco-Turkish translation of the 1604 Franco-Ottoman Capitulations between Sultan Ahmed Iand
Henry IV of France, published byFranois Savary de Brves (1615)[27]

Even before Henry's accession to the French throne, the French Huguenots were in contact with
Aragonese Moriscos in plans against the Habsburg government of Spain in the 1570s.[28] Around
1575, plans were made for a combined attack of Aragonese Moriscos and Huguenots
from Barn under Henry against Spanish Aragon, in agreement with the king of Algiers and
the Ottoman Empire, but this project floundered with the arrival ofJohn of Austria in Aragon and
the disarmament of the Moriscos.[29][30] In 1576, a three-pronged fleet from Constantinople was
planned to disembark between Murcia and Valencia while the French Huguenots would invade
from the north and the Moriscos accomplish their uprising, but the Ottoman fleet failed to arrive.
[29]

After his crowning, Henry continued the policy of a Franco-Ottoman alliance and received an

embassy from SultanMehmed III in 1601.[31][32] In 1604, a "Peace Treaty and Capitulation" was
signed between Henry IV and the Ottoman Sultan Ahmet I. It granted numerous advantages to
France in the Ottoman Empire.[32]
In 16067, Henry IV sent Arnoult de Lisle as Ambassador to Morocco to obtain the observance of
past friendship treaties. An embassy was sent to Tunisia in 1608 led by Franois Savary de
Brves.[33]

East Asia[edit]

Further information: France-Asia relations

During the reign of Henry IV, various enterprises were set up to develop trade with faraway
lands. In December 1600, a company was formed through the association of Saint-Malo, Laval,
and Vitr to trade with the Moluccas and Japan.[34] Two ships, the Croissant and the Corbin, were
sent around the Cape of Good Hope in May 1601. One was wrecked in the Maldives, leading to
the adventure of Franois Pyrard de Laval, who managed to return to France in 1611.[34][35] The
second ship, carrying Franois Martin de Vitr,