The Duke of Anjou and the Politique Struggle during the Wars of Religion PDF
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CAMBRIDGE STUDIES IN EARLY MODERN HISTORY Editors J. H. ELLIOTT OLWEN HUFTON H. G. KOENIGSBERGER The Duke of Anjou and the Politique Struggle during the Wars of Religion CAMBRIDGE STUDIES IN EARLY MODERN HISTORY Edited by Professor J. H. Elliott, The Institute for Advanced Study Princeton, Professor y Olwen Hufton, University of Reading and Professor H. G. Koenigsberger, King's College, London The idea of an 'early modern' period of European history from the fifteenth to the late eighteenth century is now widely accepted among historians. The purpose of the Cambridge Studies in Early Modern History is to publish monographs and studies which will illuminate the character of the period as a whole, and in particular focus attention on a dominant theme within it, the interplay of continuity and change as they are represented by the continuity of medieval ideas, political and social organization, and by the impact of new ideas, new methods and new demands on the traditional structures. The Old World and the New, 1492-1650 J. H. ELLIOTT The Army of Flanders and the Spanish Road, 1567-165 g: The Logistics of Spanish Victory and Defeat in the Low Countries Wars GEOFFREY PARKER Chronicle into History: An Essay on the Interpretation of History in Florentine Fourteenth-Century Chronicles LOUIS GREEN Gunpowder and Galleys: Changing Technology and Mediterranean Warfare at Sea in the Sixteenth Century JOHN FRANCIS GUILMARTIN JR The State, War and Peace: Spanish Political Thought in the Renaissance 75/6-/559 j. A. FERNANDEZ-SANTAMARIA Calvinist Preaching and Iconoclasm in the Netherlands 1544-1569 PHYLLIS MACK CREW Altopascio: A Study in Tuscan Rural Society 1587—1784 FRANK MCARDLE The Kingdom of Valencia in the Seventeenth Century JAMES CASEY Filippo Strozzi and the Medici: Favor and Finance in Sixteenth-Century Florence and Rome MELISSA MERIAM BULLARD Rouen during the Wars of Religion PHILIP BENEDICT Neostoicism and the Early Modern State GERHARD OESTREICH The Emperor and his Chancellor: A Study of the Imperial Chancellery under Gattinara JOHN M. HEADLEY The Military Organization of a Renaissance State: Venice c. 1400 to 1617 M. E. MALLETT AND J. R. HALE Prussian Society and the German Order: An Aristocratic Corporation in Crisis c. 1410 to 1466 MICHAEL BURLEIGH Richelieu and Olivares J. H. ELLIOTT Absolutism and Society in Seventeenth-century France: State Power and Provincial Aristocracy in Languedoc WILLIAM BEIK Religious Toleration and Social Change in Hamburg 1529—i8ig JOACHIM WHALEY Turning Swiss: Cities and Empire 1450—1550 THOMAS A. BRADY JR The Duke of Anjou and the Politique Struggle during the Wars of Religion MACK P. HOLT Andrew W. Mellon Faculty Fellow in History Harvard University The right of the University of Cambridge to print and sell all manner of books was granted by Henry VIII in 1534. The University has printed and published continuously since 1584. CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS Cambridge London New York New Rochelle Melbourne Sydney PUBLISHED BY THE PRESS SYNDICATE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE The Pitt Building, Trumpington Street, Cambridge, United Kingdom CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 2RU, UK 40 West 20th Street, New York NY 10011 -4211, USA 477 Williamstown Road, Port Melbourne, VIC 3207, Australia Ruiz de Alarcon 13,28014 Madrid, Spain Dock House, The Waterfront, Cape Town 8001, South Africa http://www.cambridge.org © Cambridge University Press 1986 This book is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press. First published 1986 First paperback edition 2002 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication data Holt, Mack P. The Duke of Anjou and the politique struggle during the wars of religion. (Cambridge studies in early modern history) Bibliography: p. Includes index. 1. France-History-Wars of the Huguenots, 1562-1598. 2. Anjou, Francois, ducd', 1554-1584. I. Title. II. Series. DC111.H65 1986 944'.029 85-20930 ISBN 0 52132232 4 hardback ISBN 0 52189278 3 paperback Contents List of maps page vi Preface vii Abbreviations xi Introduction i 1 Prologue: civil war and the early years of Franqois de Valois, 1555-72 3 2 From St Bartholomew's Day to the death of Charles IX, August 1572-May 1574 19 3 War and peace, May 1574-May 1576 45 4 The Estates-General and the renewal of civil war, May 1576- September 1577 70 5 Overtures from the Netherlands, September 1577-January 1579 93 6 Civil war, marriage, and more overtures from the Netherlands, January 1579-December 1580 113 7 Menage a trois: Elizabeth, Anjou, and the Dutch Revolt, January 1581-February 1582 146 8 Turmoil in the Netherlands, February 1582-January 1583 166 9 'The ruin of France', January 15 83-June 1584 185 Appendices A The household of the duke of Anjou, 1572-84 215 B The apanage of the duke of Anjou 219 C Income from the apanage of the duke of Anjou 220 Select bibliography 222 Index 235 Maps 1 France during the wars of religion page 8 2 Provinces of the Netherlands during the revolt 102 VI Preface At a time when French historical studies on both sides of the Atlantic have come to be dominated by the methods and techniques of the Annalistes and their imitators, the appearance of what is an essentially old-fashioned narrative history perhaps needs some explanation. Let me say at the outset that I am one of the keenest supporters of the 'new' social and economic history that is currently a la mode; indeed, my next book will be a modest attempt to emulate this kind of history on a small scale. Both types of history have much to offer, however, and they are by no means mutually exclusive. Clearly, events such as the crown's periodic decisions to wage war in the provinces made just as great an impact on the lives of most sixteenth-century Frenchmen as the changing birthrate or climatic transformations over the longue duree. Neither kind of history tells the whole story, but each can illuminate the other. Thus, I hope readers who find this study unfashionable may at least find it somewhat useful. In the spelling of all place names I have followed the usual practice of using an English form if one exists: Brussels, Antwerp, The Hague, Dunkirk, Flushing, etc. If there is no English equivalent, I have used the form currently employed by present-day inhabitants of the place in question: leper (rather than Ypres), Mechelen (rather than Malines), Aalst (rather than Alost), etc. A similar practice has been adopted for the spelling of all personal names. If an accepted English form exists, I have used it: Henry III, Philip II, William of Orange, etc. Otherwise, I have used the spelling employed by the person in question. Comparing sixteenth-century currencies is always a problem. The basic unit of account in France was the livre tournois, which was composed of 20 sous (and each sou consisted of 12 deniers). In 1579 the ecu was introduced as a new unit of account at the rate of 1 ecu = 3 livres = 60 sous. To keep all French currency uniform, I have usually converted all figures to livres after 1579 (and I have always noted such conversions in the footnotes). The standard English currency throughout the period was the pound sterling of 20 shillings each, while the basic unit of currency in the Netherlands was the gold florin of 20 pattards each. Comparisons are relatively simple for the second half of the sixteenth century, as the livre tournois was roughly equivalent to the florin in value, and both were roughly one-tenth the value of the pound sterling. Thus, a general guide for the period is £1 = 10 livres tournois =10 florins. vn Preface In France the New Year began on 25 March until 1567, when 1 January was adopted as the beginning of the calendar year. I have converted all dates prior to 1567 to the new style as if the year began on 1 January. Thus, the duke of Anjou's birthday is rendered 18 March 1555, not 1554 as it would have been to his contemporaries. In citing some English sources, however, I have used the form 'ioMarch 1575/6'to refer to the year being observed in England as 1575 and in France as 1576, as England refused to adopt the new-style calendar, with the New Year beginning on 1 January, until much later. Moreover, when Pope Gregory XIII added ten days to the Christian calendar in 1582, many Protestant states (like England) refused to comply. I have nevertheless adopted the Gregorian calendar for all dates after December 1582 when it went into effect, although in citing some English sources I have occasionally used the form' 10/20 March 1583/4' to refer to the day observed as 10 March 1583 in England and 20 March 1584 in France. A number of scholars have very kindly and generously shared their expertise and have made numerous suggestions during the preparation of this book, and I am grateful to them all. Primus inter pares is Professor J. Russell Major, who supervised the Emory University Ph.D. thesis from which this book has derived. Without his advice, his encouragement, and above all his friendship, this book would never have been completed. Only his other students (and there are many) can really appreciate what knowing him has meant. Dr Jonathan Powis and Professor Geoffrey Parker have both contributed to this study in countless ways. The former has read virtually every draft of the book (each time adding to its improvement), and has been a constant source of criticism and encourage- ment. The latter not only corrected a number of errors regarding Anjou's sojourn in the Netherlands, but also kindly introduced me to the archives in Brussels and The Hague, which has substantially strengthened the second half of the book. A number of other scholars have graciously either offered suggestions, answered queries, corrected errors, or read parts of the manuscript at various stages. And, although some of them may not agree with all of my interpretations, their disagreement has made this a better book: Dr Simon Adams, Professor Brian G. Armstrong, Dr Joan Davies, Professor Robert M. Kingdon, Dr H. A. Lloyd, Professor Hugo de Schepper, Professor N. M. Sutherland, Professor K. W. Swart, and the late Dr Frances A. Yates. I am also grateful to my editors, Professors J. H. Elliott and H. G. Koenigs- berger, not only for correcting countless errors and making a number of useful suggestions, but also for setting such high standards of scholarship with their own work. I also wish to thank Richard Fisher and Sarah Barrett of Cambridge University Press for seeing the book through production so conscientiously. The staffs of the many archives and libraries where I worked were all exceedingly helpful, but I would like to single out especially the staff of the Cabinet des manuscrits of the Bibilotheque Nationale in Paris, where most of the viii Preface research for this book was carried out. And I also must thank Emory University for awarding me a graduate fellowship from 1978 to 1981, which enabled me to carry out the bulk of the research. And I am also grateful to the Organized Research Committee of West Texas State University for providing funds to help cover the costs of preparing the index. The table in Appendix A was first published in my article, 'Patterns of clientele and economic opportunity at court during the Wars of Religion: the household of Francois, duke of Anjou', French Historical Studies, XIII (Spring 1984), 305-22; and I wish to thank the editors of that journal for permission to include it here. Finally, I wish to thank my wife, Meg, and my parents, all of whom have supported me when I most needed it. They know better than anyone else that I would have never finished this book without their continuous enthusiasm and encouragement. I dedicate it to them. July 1985, Paris M.P.H. IX
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