Hero or Tyrant? Henry III, King of France, 1574-89

374 Pages·2014·9.08 MB·English

by  Robert J. Knecht

Hero or TyranT?
Henry III, KIng of france,
1574–89
To Maureen
Hero or Tyrant?
Henry III, King of france,
1574–89
roberT J. KnecHT
University of Birmingham, UK
© robert J. Knecht 2014
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 the prior permission of the publisher.
robert J. Knecht has asserted his right under the copyright, Designs and Patents act, 1988,
to be identified as the author of this work.
Published by
ashgate Publishing Limited ashgate Publishing company
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Union road Suite 3-1
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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
a catalogue record for this book is available from the british Library
The Library of Congress has cataloged the printed edition as follows:
Knecht, r. J. (robert Jean)
Hero or tyrant? : Henry III, King of france, 1574-89 / by robert J. Knecht.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISbn 978-1-4724-2930-8 (hardcover : alk. paper) -- ISbn 978-1-4724-2931-5 (ebook) --
ISbn978-1-4724-2932-2 (epub) 1. Henry III, King of france, 1551-1589. 2. france--History-
-Henry III, 1574-1589. 3. france--Kings and rulers--biography. I. Title. II. Title: Henry III, King
of france, 1574-89.
Dc119.K58 2014
944’.029092--dc23
[b]
2013037802
ISbn (hbk): 978-1-4724-2930-8
ISbn (ebk – PDf): 978-1-4724-2931-5
ISbn (ebk – ePUb): 978-1-4724-2932-2
III
Contents
List of Illustrations vii
Preface xi
1 Childhood 1

2 Years of Apprenticeship 17
3 Catholic Hero 39
4 The Siege of La Rochelle 59

5 King of Poland 73
6 Homeward Bound 87
7 King of France 99
8 Henry III, the Man 119
9 The King’s Peace 145
10 A Tiresome Brother 163
11 The Court of Henry III 185
12 The Archimignons 205
13 The Catholic League 225
14 Annus Horribilis: 1588 251
vi Hero or Tyrant? Henry III, King of France, 1574–89
15 Paris in Revolt 275
16 Nemesis 295
Conclusion 315
Bibliography 319
Glossary 335
Index 339
List of Illustrations
2.1 Drawing of Henry III as a child by François Clouet. 21
4.1 Portrait of Henry duc d’Anjou about 1571 (Oil on panel) French
school, sixteenth century. Musée Condé, Chantilly. 67
4.2 Court fête in Paris in 1573 to honour the Polish ambassadors in
the presence of Catherine de’ Medici and Henry III (tapestry)
after Francois Quesnel (1543–1619). Galleria degli Uffizi,
Florence. 69
6.1 Arrival of Henry III of France at the Lido of Venice, 18 July
1574. Etching; Italian school, sixteenth century. Bibliothèque
nationale de France. 89
6.2 The Ca’ Foscari on the Grand Canal where Henry III resided
during his stay in Venice. 90
6.3 Frontispiece of Coronatio di Polonia et di Francia by Pietro
Buccio (Padua, 1576). Dedicated to Catherine de’ Medici, the
work celebrates Henry III’s visit to North Italy. Engraving by
Domenico Zenoni. 97
7.1 Portrait of Henry III of France (1551–89) by François Quesnel
(1543–1616), oil on canvas. Paris: musée du Louvre. 105
8.1 Drawing of Henry III by Jean Decourt or Étienne Dumonstier
(c.1576). More portraits exist of Henry III than of any of his
predecessors. He kept a close watch on how he was portrayed.
Note the Polish-style bonnet. 120
8.2 Autograph letter of Henry, duc d’Anjou, to the duchesse de
Nevers (December 1572). Bibliothèque nationale de France. 140
viii Hero or Tyrant? Henry III, King of France, 1574–89
8.3 The Phare de Cordouan in the estuary of the Gironde. One
of the few secular buildings commissioned by Henry III.
Unfinished at his death, it was completed by his successor.
Engraving after a drawing by Claude Chastillon (1559–1616). 143
9.1 Portrait of Catherine de’ Medici (pierre noire and red chalk on
paper) by François Clouet (c.1510–72). Bibliothèque nationale
de France, Paris. 147
10.1 Medal with profile of François, duc d’Anjou, Henry III’s
younger brother and heir presumptive. The inscription reads
FRANCOYS.DUC.DANJOU.ET.DALANCON. FILZ.
DE.FRANCE. 164
10.2 One of the monuments erected in the church of Saint Paul
by Henry III in honour of his deceased ‘mignons’ which were
destroyed by a Parisian mob in 1589. Woodcut. 167
10.3 The entry into Antwerp of Francois, duc d’Alencon et Anjou,
from ‘La ioyeuse [et] magnifique entrée de monseigneur
Francoys, fils de France, et frere unicque du roy, par la grace de
dieu, duc de Brabant, d’Anjou, Alencon, Berri, [et]c. en sa
tres-renomée ville d’Anvers’ (Antwerp, 1582) 176
11.1 The manor of Ollainville (Essonne) as it was in the eighteenth
century. Henry III acquired it in 1576 and went there from time
to time with a few friends. It was destroyed in 1831. 187
11.2 Henry III behind his barrier. Engraving from Vie et faits notables
de Henry de Valois. Disliking crowds, Henry tried to gain more
privacy by having a barrier erected around his table at meal times;
this proved so unpopular with courtiers that it had to be removed
only to be restored later. 196
11.3 Henry III presiding over the first chapter of the Order of the
Holy Spirit (w/c on paper) French school (sixteenth century)
Musée Condé, Chantilly. 198
11.4 Henry III dining ‘en public’. Drawing in Richard Cook’s account
of his stay in France in 1584. ‘La premiere partie du compte
de Richarde Cooke de Kent pour son voiage et temps employé
en France’. Henry III at table, foldout between f.62 and f.62b
[V.a.146]. The king is seated, his back to the fire, flanked by two