The Valois Family:The Beginning of the End
The Valois Family:The Beginning of the End
Henri II was the last powerful Valois
Three weak sons followed: Francis II Charles IX Henri III
Catherine de’ Medici
controlled the sons: Was mother to
the boys Played both
sides in the civil war
Developed a reputation for cruelty
The Medicis and the Guises
• French King Henri II died in 1559– Weakness in the monarchy occurs– Power struggle between Guises, Montmorency, and
Bourbons• Catherine de Medici unsuccessfully attempts to
reconcile the differences between the Protestants and the Catholic Guises (dominant radical Catholic group of Eastern France) with the edict of toleration granting religious toleration
• 1562--The Duke of Guise massacres Protestant worshippers in a barn causing the French wars of religion
The massacre of worshipping Protestants at Vassy, France (March 1, 1562), which began the French wars of religion. An engraving by an unidentified seventeenth-century artist
The French Civil WarThe French Civil War There were two sides:
Guise family led Catholics in North Bourbon family led Huguenots in South Fighting for the royal inheritance
Catherine turns to the Guises fearing Protestant leader Admiral Coligny and the Hugenots would end her son’s reign and the Valois monarchy
After about ten years of fighting, the Hugenots gained the upper hand with the death of the Duke of Guise
A Marriage Occurs
• In hopes of maintaining her son, King Charles IX on the throne, Catherine arranges a marriage between her daughter and Henry of Navarre (a main leader of the Hugenots)
• In 1572, Hugenot aristocracy gathered in Paris for the wedding
St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre
August 24, 1572 20,000 Huguenots were killed• Catherine convinces her son King Charles IX that a
Huguenot coup was about to happen• Coligny and 3,000 Huguenots are massacred in Paris /
within three days 20,000 other Protestants are also killed in France
• Henri of Navarre, a Bourbon, survived due to converting back to Catholicism on the spotlater recants
• in response, Protestant writers call for an active defense of religious rights
Henry III• Guise family, unhappy with the marriage of
Henry of Navarre (Hug) and French king’s daughter, formed the powerful Catholic League to challenge the Valois dynasty
• Henry III and Catherine turned to Henry of Navarre to defeat the Catholic League
• AGREEMENT: Henry of Navarre will become the heir to the throne after defeating the Guise family
The French Civil WarThe French Civil War
Henri of Navarre defeated Catholic League
Henry III is assassinated Henry of Navarre becomes Henry IV King
of France. Effects of Civil War:
France was left divided by religion Royal power had weakened Valois family now replaced by
Bourbons
CatholicLeague
ProtestantUnion
CIVILWAR
Triumphal Entry of Henry IV Into Paris – Peter Paul
Reubens
Triumphal Entry of Henry IV Into Paris – Peter Paul
Reubens
Ended Spanish interference in France
Converted to Catholicism : Did this to compromise and make
peace This was an example of politique
[the interest of the state comes first before any religious considerations]
Passed Edict of Nantes in 1598: Granted religious rights to
Huguenots Did not grant religious freedom
for all
Henry IV of FranceHenry IV of France“Paris is worth a mass”
The Edict of Nantes
• a formal religious settlement that gave Protestants religious freedoms within their own towns and territories
• the violence stops, but hostilities remain• a Catholic fanatic assassinates Henry IV in
1610
Politiques
• intellectuals of the 1500’s criticized the religious strife between Catholics and Protestants
• rulers who urged tolerance and moderation and became indifferent to religion
“The Henry Bunch”
King Henry III Henry, Duke of Guise King Henry IV of Navarre
http://www.sitcomsonline.com/sounds/thebradybunch-1972.mp3
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