Huguenot Warrior: The Life and Times of Henri de Rohan, 1579–1638

237 Pages·1966·7.775 MB·English

by  Jack Alden Clarke (auth.)

HUGUENOT WARRIOR:
THE LIFE AND TIMES OF
HENRI DE ROHAN,
1579-1638
ARCHIVES INTERNATIONALES D'HISTOIRE DES IDEES
INTERNATIONAL ARCHIVES OF THE HISTORY OF IDEAS
17
JACK ALDEN CLARKE
HUGUENOT WARRIOR:
THE LIFE AND TIMES OF
HENRI DE ROHAN,
1579-1638
Directors: P. Dibon (Paris) and R. Popkin (Univ. of California, La Jolla)
Editorial Board: J. Aubin (Paris); J. Collins (St. Louis Univ.); P. Costabel (Paris);
A. Crombie (Oxford); I. Dambska (Cracow); H. de la Fontaine-Verwey (Amsterdam);
H. Gadamer (Heidelberg) ; P. Golliet (Nimeguen) ; H. Gouhier (Paris) ; T. Gregory (Rome);
T. E. Jessop (Hull); A. Koyre t (Paris); P. O. Kristeller (Columbia Univ.); Elisabeth
Labrousse (Paris); S.Lindroth (Upsala); P. Mesnard (Tours) ;J.Orcibal (Paris); I. S. Revah
(Paris); G. Sebba (Emory Univ., Atlanta); R. Shackleton (Oxford); J. Tans (Groningen);
G. Tonelli (Pisa).
JACK ALDEN CLARKE
HUGUENOT WARRIOR:
THE LIFE AND TIMES OF
HENRI DE ROHAN,
1579-1638
•
SPRINGER-SCIENCE+BUSINESS MEDIA, B.V. 1966
ISBN 978-90-481-8251-0 ISBN 978-94-017-1798-4 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-94-017-1798-4
Copyright I966 by Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
Originally published by Martinus NijhoiJ, The Hague, Netherlands in I966
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1s t edition I966
Alt rights reserved, including the rights to tranrlate or to
reproduce this book or parts thereof in a1!Jl form
For
Anna
with love
PREFACE
The purpose of this book is to describe the Duke of Rohan's role as
a political leader of the Huguenot party from 1621 to 1629 placing
somewhat less emphasis on his military achievements. It makes no
claim to biographical completeness. The narrative is based on con
temporary books and pamphlets and on manuscripts in the Biblio
theque nation ale, the British Museum, and the Public Record Office.
Research was also done at the Newberry Library, the Library of
Congress, and at the University of Wisconsin's Memorial Library,
notably in its Montauban, Tank, and French Pamphlet collections.
In the preparation of this book I have received advice and assistance
from many people. Personal thanks are due to William P. Kaldis,
Jack Ray Thomas, and Howard S. Miller for reading the manuscript
and to my wife Anna for typing several drafts of it. Marguerite Chris
tensen, reference librarian at the University of Wisconsin, helped me
secure a number of rare volumes on interlibrary loan. I would also
like to thank Cynthia Kaldis for translating a large number of diplo
matic letters from Seventeenth century Latin.
MADISON, WISCONSIN
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Preface VII
CHAPTER I. The Huguenot Heritage I
CHAPTER 2. The Party Seeks a Leader 21
CHAPTER 3· The Regency's Uncertain Course 48
CHAPTER 4· Revolt in the Midi, 162 I 70
CHAPTER 5· Peace Without Victory 94
CHAPTER 6. Fort Louis Provokes a Second War 109
CHAPTER 7· The Siege of La Rochelle 136
CHAPTER 8. The Huguenot Civil War 156
CHAPTER 9· An Exile's Bitter Cup 180
CHAPTER 10. Mountain Victory 197
Bibliography 215
Index 227
CHAPTER I
THE HUGUENOT HERITAGE
Eighteen miles northwest of Nantes, in Loire-Inferieure, the southern
most of the five departments comprising the ancient province of
Brittany, lies the village of Blain. Situated on the Isac River, the village
is surrounded by lakes and forests, one of which, Le Gavre, is the
largest domainal forest in Brittany. The countryside is a pleasant land
of broad valleys and swelling hills. Its farmhouses lie scattered and
secretive behind tall hedgerows. The province faces the ocean,
turning its back on the rest of France - a geographical aloofness
reflected in the obstinate and particularist strain of its people.
Half a mile outside the village stands the castle of Blain, once the
seat of the ducal Rohan family. The castle is rich in history; some of
the stones have been in place for nearly eight hundred years. Stoutly
built, with a circuit of massive walls behind deep moats, Blain Castle
was an important outpost of the Breton Dukes in the eastern Marches
looking toward France. What we see today, however, bears little
resemblance to the grim fortress of the Rohans. The original structure
was modified and largely rebuilt in a style of sixteenth century magni
ficence by Viscount Rene I. In 1629, Cardinal Richelieu's soldiers
razed the imposing line of fortifications. Only two stout machiolated
towers remind us of the feudal past.!
Within these granite walls Henry de Rohan, the last military chief
of the Huguenot party, was born on August 21, 1579. His father,
Rene II, Viscount of Rohan, Prince of Leon, and Count of Porhoet,
was the head of a family connected by marriage with many of the
reigning dynasties in Europe. His mother, Catherine de Parthenay,
boasted descent from the royal house of Lusignan which had ruled
briefly in the crusader kingdoms of Jerusalem, Armenia, and Cyprus.
1 For the full history of Blain Castle see L. Prevel, "Le Chateau de Blain, sa description
son histoire" Annalesde la societe academique de Nantes Fourth series, vol. IO t XL (1869) 7-149.
2 THE HUGUENOT HERITAGE
Catherine was the only child of the Huguenot general, Jean de l'A r
cheveque-Parthenay, seigneur de Soubise, from whom she inherited
vast estates in Poitou and Saintonge. As the heir to this illustrious
line, Henry de Rohan played a leading role in the bitter and uncompro
mising struggle of the Calvinist nobles and municipalities against the
centralizing policies of the monarchy.
Although the Rohans claimed descent from Ruhan, a son of Conan
Meriadec, the legendary first King of Brittany, the earliest ancestor
with their name appears to have been Alain I, Viscount of Rohan,
who was living in the year 1 1 19. Possessing princely fiefs and trained
to the profession of arms, the Viscounts of Rohan held an important
place in the history of Brittany, taking precedence in the provincial
estates immediately after the reigning Duke. It was a regal life they
lived at Blain. Their manors and forests extended over thirty !niles of
rolling country. They had their own courts ofseigneurialjustice which
levied taxes, settled disputes, and tried crimes. They had their own
prisons and gallows. Roi ne puis, due ne daigne, Rohan suis was the family
boast.1
Among Henry's immediate ancestors was Pierre de Rohan who
fought in Italy under the banner of Francis I and fell at Pavia in 1525.2
His son, Rene I, carried on the martial traditions of their house and
was killed at Metz in 1552 during the siege of that city by Charles V.
Left an orphan at an early age, Rene had been brought up by Margu
erite of Navarre, the talented sister of Francis I. Marguerite was a
precursor of the Reformation, the patroness of Clement Marot,
Theodore de Beza, and Jean Calvin. She became a second mother to
Rene and eventually found a wife for him in her sister-in-law, Isabel
D'A lbret. Their marriage had far reaching political consequences
since it secured to the Huguenot cause the most powerful Breton family.
Isabel D'Albret was a great aunt and godmother of Henry IV, the
future king of France and Navarre. Her grandson, Henry de Rohan,
was thus a second cousin of Henry IV and, in default of the Bourbon
line, the heir to the throne of Navarre.
Scholarly in her tastes and curious for new ideas, Isabel first became
1 Herve Du Halgouet, La Vicomte de Rohan et ses seigneurs (Saint Brieuc, 1921) p. VI and
passim.
2 Genealogical information on the Rohan family may be found in a variety of sources.
The following works are particularly helpful: Gui Alexis Lobineau, Histoire de Bretagne com
posle sur les titres et auteurs originaux (2 vols., Paris, 1707) I, 106, rr8-19, 131-32, 168; Anselme
de Sainte-Marie, Histoire glnealogique de la maison royale de France, des pairs, grands qfficiers de la
couronne et de La maison du roy 4th edition (Vols. 4 and 9 all published, Paris, I 868-g0) IV, 50-75;
Auguste du Paz, Histoire glnealogique de plusieurs maisons illustres de Bretagne (Paris, 1620).
THE HUGUENOT HERITAGE 3
aware of the reform movement at the court of Marguerite of Navarre.
She read with keen interest the new translations of the gospel. She
knew and respected the first propagators of the movement - Jacques
Lefevre D'Etaples and Gerard Roussel, Bishop of Oloron in Beam.
During her husband's lifetime Isabel prudently concealed her unor
thodox opinions, but shortly after his death she accepted the new faith
as "the truth of Almighty God." Influenced by Isabel's zeal, her three
sons, with many of their retainers, embraced the Reformed Religion,
its relentless logic, its discipline, and its mode oflife.1
Isabel was a staunch Calvinist who never wavered in the profession
of her faith. She found herself in a difficult position, however: "Brit
tany, among all the French provinces, delayed accepting the Gospel,"
Theodore de Beza wrote. "The majority of its people remained in
different although a portion of the nobility showed itself attentive to
God's word. The means which God employed to awaken their zeal
was Lord D' Andelot who in April of this same year (1558) arrived at
La Bretesche bringing with him Gaspard Carmel, known as Fleury,
minister of the Church of Paris and induced him to preach publicly
in his house of Lormais." 2
Fran~ois de Coligny, seigneur D'A ndelot, the youngest brother of
Admiral de Coligny, had acquired immense estates in Brittany through
his marriage with Claude de Rieux. In 1558, during an inspection
tour accompanied by Fleury and another pastor named L'Oiseleur,
he paid a courtesy visit to the Viscountess of Rohan. To D' Andelot's
delight Isabel warmly welcomed the pastors as "angels of the Lord
who come to announce the pure Gospel." That same evening Fleury
preached in the Great Hall of the Castle to the Rohan family and their
assembled vassals. This was the first recorded instance of Protestant
worship at Blain. Somtime after 1560, Isabel D' Albret openly espoused
Calvinism and sought royal permission to hold reformed services for
her household. The King reluctantly granted liberty of private worship
to the Rohan family, their servants, and a few others but he instructed the
Prince of Montpensier, then the Governor of Brittany, to keep a
watchful eye on these meetings. When Montpensier expressed asto
nishment at the large number of people at Blain (for Isabel had gather-
1 I am indebted to Professor R. Anthony for much of the biographical information on
Isabel d' Albret, though I do not share his belief that Isabel had little influence on the spread
of Calvinism in Brittany. See his "Ysabeau D'Albret, Princesse de Navarre, Vicomtesse de
Rohan." Bulletin de la Societe des sciences, lettres, et arts de Peu, Second Series LVII (Dax, 1934)
65-71.
2 Theodore de Beze, Histoire ecclesiastique des eglises riformees de France (3 vols., Anvers, 1580)
I, 151-52.