For religion is planted in the heart of man by the strength of doctrine and presuasion, and is confirmed by living example, not the sword. We are all French and fellow citizens of the same fatherland; thus we must do things through reason and tolerance and not with rigor and cruelty, which serve only to irritate men.
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French princes are the heads of the nobility. I love you all, I feel myself perish and grow weak in your blood. The foreigner cannot share this feeling; the foreigner shares no interest in this loss.
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Your affectionate friend, HENRY
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As for these eyes, which God has given me principally to keep always open to the good of my fatherland,. . . through them I am forced to see it in flames. If, instead of bringing water, putting out the fire, helping to save what is still untouched (as I desire, and wish to have done and be no more), I am forced, in spite of myself, to set fire myself and to make my defense almost as horrible as the violence of those who attack me, either I would be the most insensitive of the insensitive ever, or my soul must receive a thousand times a day pain, torturing, and affliction that no pain, torturing or affliction could ever equal. Especially when I know that, of all these evils, evil men cause me to be the pretext of them, ignorant men cause me to be the source, and I myself still, who am able to justify myself with respect to them, proclaim that I am the occasion of them.
I know well that you have been able to order your preachers to insert in their sermons the maxim that there must be but one religion in one kingdom, and that the foundation of a state is piety, which cannot be everywhere where God is diversely served.
Now, I have always been given to reason, and still am. I, and all those of the new religion, shall always accept what a free council shall decide. This is the true way. But to believe that it can be obtained from us by blows of the sword, I esteem before God that it is an impossible thing.
Instruct me, I am in no way obstinate. If you show me a truth other than the one I believe, I shall surrender to it, and more, for I shall spare none of my party who will not surrender to it with me. You will make a great gain for God, and a beautiful conquest of consciences in mine alone. But to mouth us words and, without reasons, convince us at the sole sight of arms that we must be convinced, judge for yourselves, messieurs, if that is reasonable.
If you simply desire my salvation, I thank you. If you want my conversion only out of fear that one day I shall constrain you, you are wrong. My actions answer to that. The manner in which I live, both with my friends and with my enemies, both at home and at war, give enough proof of my nature. It is not probable that a handful of people of my religion could constrain an infinite number of Catholics to a thing to which this infinite number have not been able to reduce this handful.
Is it not a shame that there has been none among the great or the small in this kingdom who has not cried out against arms, who has not named them the constant and deadly disease of this State? And yet, right up until now, none has opened his mouth to find a remedy. That none in this entire assembly of Blois has dared to pronounce this sacred word of peace, this word upon the meaning of which depends the good of this kingdom, believe me, messieurs this remarkable and fatal stupidity is one of the greatest presages God has given us of the decline of this kingdom. . . .
What remedy is there? None other than peace; peace which reestablishes order in the heart of this kingdom; peace which, through order, gives it back its natural vigor; peace which, through order, drives out all the disobedient and malignant humors, purges it of the corrupt ones, filling it with good blood, good intentions, and good will, all of which, in sum, make it live. It is peace, it is peace we must ask of God, for its unique healing, for its unique remedy. Whoever seeks to do anything other than to purify this blood seeks to poison it.
I beseech, then, all of you by this letter, Catholic servants of my lord the king as well as those who are not. I call upon you as Frenchmen. I summon you that you may take pity on the State, on your very selves who, undermining it, will never find safety, and that this ruin will not fall upon you. As for me, even though you force me to see, to suffer, and to do things that, were it not for battle, I should die a thousand times rather than to see, to suffer, and to do, I beseech you to dispel these miserable passions for war and for violence that are dismembering this fair State, and that are distracting us, some by force, others by their own will, from obeying our king, and that are covering us with one another's blood, that have already so many times made us the laughingstock of foreigners, and that in the end will make us their conquests. We must, I say, abandon all our bitterness and embrace the sweetness of peace and unity, the will for obedience and order, and the spirit of concord through which the smallest states become powerful empires.
We have all done and suffered enough evil. For four years we have been mad, senseless, and furious. Is this not enough?
Who has ever heard of a state being able to endure when there are two factions within it bearing arms? What should happen to that in which there are three?
Put the case that God will bless the designs of our king, and that an end will be brought to all the mutiny in his kingdom. Will he have to have them all punished as they deserve? This would be horrible. What! Punish a huge portion of his cities, of his subjects? This would be too much. One must forget, one must pardon, and hold a grudge against our people, our cities, no longer than against a madman when he strikes us, or against a senseless person when he goes about completely naked. If on the other hand those of the League make so bold as to resist him, as it certainly seems to be the case, . . . what will become of us and of him? What will we say of the French? What shame in having driven away our king! . . .
What shall become of the cities when, under a false appearance of liberty, they shall have overturned the ancient order of this fair State, when they shall have as enemies all the nobility, and the lowlands envious and covetous of sacking them over and over because they imagine untold riches in their coffers and shops?
What shall their principal inhabitants do who hold all the offices of the monarchy either in Finances, in Justice, in Police or in Arms, and who, each one, counts among his private fortunes the value of his office? This is what is lost if the monarchy is lost.
Who will give them the free exercise of trading? Who will guarantee their possessions in the field of battle? Who will be the authority behind their justice? What shall be their degrees? Who shall command their armies? In sum, what will be their place? Poor abused ones! This madness will last a while, just as it is said that for a while a fever helps a sick person. But to think that upon the foundations of anger and violence can be erected a sound agreement and a lasting form of government, this is inconceivable, it never having been seen, or heard of, that a state has been changed without ruining its cities, which are always its main stays.
And you, people of France, when your nobility and your cities are divided, what will you have that remains? People, the granary of the kingdom, the fertile fields of this State, you whose work nourishes the princes, whose sweat slakes them, whose skills maintain them, whose industry gives them constant delight; to whom shall you have recourse when the nobility treads upon you, when the cities exact tribute from you? To the king who commands neither? To the officers of his justice? Where will they be? To his lieutenants? What will be their power? To the mayor of a city? What rights will he have over the nobility? To the head of the nobility? What is the rank, the degrees among them? Misery, confusion, disorder, poverty everywhere. And that is the fruit of war. . . .
Even though, more than anything else, I regret seeing the different factions in our religion, and, more than anything else, I hope for remedies, nevertheless, recognizing well that it is from God alone and not from arms and from violence that we can expect remedies, I proclaim before Him, declaring furthermore to the cities that will unite with me in this vast intention, and that will put themselves under the obedience of the king my lord, and under mine, that I shall not permit that anything be inaugurated, either in the government or in the Church, unless it concern the liberty of everyone. The true and unique means of uniting people in the service of God and of establishing piety in a state is clemency, peace, and good example, not war or disorder, by which vices and evil are born into the world.
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I am in excellent health, thanks be to God, swearing to you in truth that I love and honor nothing in this world as much as you, and shall remain faithful to you unto my tomb. I am on my way to Beaugency where I think you will soon hear about me. I am thinking of having my sister come soon. Plan on coming along with her. The king spoke to me of the Dame d'Auvergne; I think I shall make her take a bad spill. So long, my love, I kiss you a million times. This eighteenth of May. He who is bound to you with an indissoluble link.
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What you are asking: to put off the capitulation and surrender of Paris until a general peace is had; this can only be done after several trips and discussions, and is too detrimental to my city of Paris which cannot wait such a long time. So many people are already dead from hunger that, if we wait another eight or ten days, ten or twenty thousand more will die, which would be a horrible thing. I am the true father of my people. I resemble the true mother in Salomon. I would much rather have no Paris at all than to have it completely ruined and dissipated after the death of so many poor people. Those of the League are not like this. They do not fear to have Paris torn asunder so long as they have a part of it. This is why they are all Spanish or Spaniardized.
A day does not go by but the faubourgs of Paris suffer ruin in the amount of fifty thousand livres because of the soldiers who are demolishing them, not to mention so many poor people who are dying. You, Monsieur Cardinal, should have pity on them. They are your sheep, for the last drop of blood of whom you shall be responsible before God; and you also, Monsieur de Lyon, who are the highest above all the other bishops. I am not a good theologian, but I know enough in the matter to tell you that God will not stand for you to thus treat the poor people He has entrusted to you, in spite of the wishes and pleasure of the king of Spain, of Bernardino de Mendoza, and of his Excellency the Papal Legate. You will have your feet warmed for this in the next world. And how do you hope to convert me to your religion if you take such little account of the safety and the life of your sheep? This is poor proof for me of your sanctity. I should be most poorly edified by it.
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I have reestablished you in your houses. You were formerly in but small chambers, I have brought you back into my palace. I recommend to you the duty of your office; be as careful of that which is public as you are with what concerns you personally. Beware that the venom of passion does not enter into your heart. I love you as much as any king can love; my words are not of two colors, what is on my lips is in my heart.
By nature the French do not love what they see: seeing me no longer, you shall love me, and when you shall have lost me, you shall regret me. I recommend to you again the duty of your office, and watch that the poison does not get to the heart. France is the man, Paris is the heart. I have three foreign armies in my kingdom; God will do me the favor of chasing them out, and then I shall hold my lit de justice.
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Do that, then, for me. In acting for me you act for yourselves. I am leaving Wednesday. I am feeling well. I come at a trot and return at a galop. I need nothing other than money. I have lost my best horses; I must buy others here for my trip. It is not to be spent on shows and ballets, it is to chase the enemy back to their own land, and I hope to drive them there victoriously with my forces. I have six thousand Frenchmen; Sancy is bringing me three thousand Lansequenets; the Estates are sending me soldiers and I shall be having some help from England. All will go well if I have money. Help me and you will know that you cannot have a better king, who loves you the most and fears the least to risk his life.
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The advice had been well taken, the resolutions well made, the goals of well-doing very beautiful, the enemy soldiers surprised, their cities fear-stricken; but who, including God, is able to do something with nothing?
I am going to mount up and go review what is left me.
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My sweet, I shall not be seeing you for ten days; it is like dying. I shall not tell you of my unhappiness, you would be to haughty. Never have I loved you as I do now.
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I know well that there are corrupt practices in parlement, that seditious preachers have been raised up. It was the path that was taken to put up barricades, and to arrive gradually at the assassination of the late king. I shall be very careful about that; I shall cut at the roots of all factions and of all seditious preachers. I have leaped over city walls, I shall easily leap over barricades. Do not mention to me the Catholic religion; I love it more than you. I am the eldest son of the Church. . . .
I know everything that goes on in your houses, I know everything you do, everything you say: I have a little demon who reveals it to me. Those who do not want my edict to pass wish me war: I shall declare it tomorrow on those of the new religion, but I shall not be the one to wage battle against them; you will go, all of you, with your robes, and will look like the processions of the Capucins who used to carry muskets under their habits. . . .
I appeal to those of my council who found the edict good and necessary for the welfare of my affairs. Necessity caused it to come about. I wish to be obeyed. In truth, those involved in justice are my right arm, but if gangrene overwhelms my right arm, then the left one must cut it off. . . . There is not one among you who does not find me good when he has need of me, and there is not one of you who does not have to deal with me at least once a year; and yet, to me who have been so good to you, you are so evil! . . .
Let us not speak so much of the Catholic religion, nor of all the loud Catholic and ecclesiastic complainers! That I give to one of them a thousand livres of bénéfice, to another of them a rente, they will not say another word of it. . . .
The last word that you shall hear from me is that you follow the example of Monsieur du Maine. They tried to incite him to intrigue against my will: he thereupon said to me that he was too much in my debt, as were all my subjects; that he would always be among those who would expose their lives to please me, because I rebuilt France in spite of those who wanted to undo her. . . .
Give to my pleas what you would not have given to my threats; of these latter you shall not have even one. Do what I command you as soon as possible, I beg you. You will not be doing it for me only, but also for yourselves and for the sake of peace.
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For if there were to come about a change of reign or a movement towards war in this kingdom, how do you think it would be possible to meet such extraordinary expenses, since the entire revenue of the present state of affairs, excessive as its impositions are, can scarcely meet the charges and expenses of the kingdom? When my royal predecessors fell into such adversity, they had recourse to the alienation of their domains, the constitution of rentes, the creation of offices, the raising of taxes, gabelles, and impositions. But now all these things have been coming about in such excess that one can no longer draw from them any help, or even hope for it. What then? Must we let the State waste away, or hand it over to foreigners? I am positive that none of you has a heart so cowardly as to endure that. As for me, I should rather suffer a thousand deaths, and I hope to leave you children for kings who will not have less courage. For this reason, not knowing where to seek means elsewhere, be assured that the heart of the rentes is where we shall go for funds, as being the easiest source, and I fear finally that if such things continue or last too long, they or I shall be constrained to go bankrupt over this kind of debt by necessity, which is the law of all laws. This is something that I wish with all my power to avoid, and I shall avoid it infallibly if you contribute to my plan, which the age-old faithfulness of the French makes me hope from you.
This is why . . . I have resolved, in order to avoid such misfortunes, to negotiate for the purchasing back and amortization of the rentes, the principal lot of land-owners who have come by them loyally and in good faith. But before resorting to any method I wish to hear your council and to receive your opinions. And so to give you the opportunity of forming them, I wish that you not consider any other affairs, public or private, and that you assemble twice daily in order to find the most proper and advantageous way of facilitating my present intentions. I shall listen to it willingly, and shall approve it if its implementation can follow its proposal. Otherwise, I hope to make suggestions myself which shall not be rejected, not desiring to establish in this affair and justice other than that which can by right be practiced between two particulars. But whatever happens, hold for certain in your minds that I shall never desist from such a resolution, whatever difficulties and hindrances you might oppose it with, especially since I consider it not only just and useful, but of such necessity that the conservation of this State is conjoined and attached to it. Work then courageously and with heart in such a good cause, which is for you and for the good of all. . . . Remember that I shall never forget those who will have well or ill proceeded in this matter, but shall recognize each of them according to his merit, and that I wish to be informed of your deliberations in eight days.
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At Saint-Germain I am having continued what you have seen started there. You will find my park enclosed, my canal well advanced, and more than sixty thousand trees planted this year in the park, in little woods; all have taken root, and before this winter I hope to plant more than six or seven fruit trees in it. I had all my canals cleaned and groomed, those in the canal garden as well as others. My palisades are very beautiful. I already have three heron's nests which make me hope that since they have started I will have many more this year. My kitchen courtyards will be half finished, and the aqueduct I am having made to furnish water to the castle is being built in such a way that I will water all my gardens wherever I want. At Monceaux the stonemasons are finished in the castle and are working in the courtyard. In short, you will see upon arriving that I have been hard at work. The canal leading from Briarre to the river of the Loir will not be finished this year, but early the next.
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1 December 21,
1576. Guyenne was one of the ancient provinces of France, with Bordeaux
as its capital (Receuil de lettres missives de Henri IV, ed. Xivrey,
9 vol., Paris, 1843-59, I, 116). Hereafter all references to this collection
will be only the volume and page number in parentheses: (I, 116).
2 Early in 1577. Manaud de Batz was a Catholic gentleman who became governor of Eauze (Gers). He was known as being very devoted to Henry of Navarre. (I, 122)
3 February 4, 1580. (VIII, 165)
4 End of February 1580. Jean de Gontaut de Saint-Geniez was a Protestant captain in the service of Henry of Navarre. (I, 275)
5 July 19, 1581. Pomponne de Bellièvre was Surintendant des Finances and chancellor of France. He was sent on many diplomatic missions and served both Henry III and Henry of Navarre. Louis de Bourbon, Duke of Montpensier (1513-1582), married in 1570 Catherine of Lorraine who was sister of the Duke and Cardinal of Guise. She was instrumental in the actions of the League. (E. Halphen, Lettres inédites du roi Henri IV au Chancellier de Bellièvre, Paris, 1872, p. 9)
6 May 11, 1583. A certain Monsieur de Clairville had written to Henry for a discharge in favor of several Protestant churches that were complaining about the extreme poverty to which the taxes were reducing them. Henry's letter is a reply to Clairville's request. (VIII, 251)
7 May 1585. Armand de Gontaut, Baron of Biron (1524-1592), was lieutenant général in Guyenne ( see note 1 above). He became grand-maître of Artillery in 1569, rose to the rank of Marshal of France in 1577 and finally to that of governor of Burgundy, duke and peer of the realm. He was among the first to recognize Henry IV as king of France. (II, 60)
8 May 10,1585. James VI of Scotland (1556-1625) became James I of England upon the death of Elizabeth I on March 24, 1603. (II, 57)
9 Mid-June 1585 (1586?). Francois de Houdetot, seigneur de Herville, de Houdetot, was the eldest son of Guillaume de Houdetot. He was a chevalier de l'ordre du Roi.
10 July 21, 1585. Henry of Navarre is referring to the Guises when he speaks in this letter of his inferiors. (II, 96)
11 End of August 1585. These princes have not been identified. Henry speaks in this letter of the recent revolt of the house of Lorraine and of his opposition to it. (II, 130)
12 October 11, 1585. The Parlement de Paris was the most powerful of all the parlements of France. (II, 137)
13 October 11, 1585. The Faculté de Théologie was the largest and the most influential of the sections of the Sorbonne, and sought to maintain the authority of the orthodox Church. (II, 140)
14 October 11, 1585. See number 13 above. (Gabriel Boissy, Les Pensées des rois de France, Paris, 1949, p. 144)
15 December 1, 1585. The pope in question is Sixtus V who intervened vigorously in French affairs and who excommunicated Henry of Navarre in a Bull dated December 21 of this same year. (II, 148-149)
16 December 20, 1585. See note 4 above. (II 157)
17 January 1, 1586. (II, 171)
18 March 11, 1586. See note 2 above. Henry calls Batz by the name of Faucheur when he adopts an affectionate tone as in this and in the following letter. Henry could well understand Batz's amorous affairs. (II, 196-98)
19 March 15, 1586. See note 18 above. Probably Antoine Armand de Pardaillon, seigneur de Montespan. He was related to Madame de Gramont, Henry's mistress. (II, 199)
20 May 4, 1586. See note 4 above. (II, 213)
21 June 1586. Henry de la Tour d'Auvergne, vicomte de Turenne (1555-1623), was a somber and ambitious gentleman who converted to Protestantism in 1574. He carried much aid to Henry of Navarre in the battle of Coutras (1587), and Henry later created him Marshal of France in 1592. Turenne never ceased to conspire and intrigue in order to further his own intentions, and he died, according to Baugenault de Puchesse, without causing any sympathy or regret in those who knew him. Antoine de Roquelaure en Armagnac, baron de Laverdaux (1543-1625), was a fervent Catholic who remained all his life a faithful friend of Henry IV. He was appointed Henry's maître du garde-robe and later became governor of the county of Foix, lieutenant général in Guyenne, and, after Henry's death, Marshal of France. Antoine de Frontenac was the king of Navarre's squire, and often carried Henry's messages. He later became governor of Marans. Augustin de Constans, seigneur de Rebecque, was gentleman-in-waiting (gentil homme de la chambre du roi) to Henry of Navarre. (Baguenault de Puchesse, Mémoires du Vicomte de Turenne, depuis Duc de Bouillon, 1565-1586, suivis de trente-trois lettres du roi de Navarre (Henri IV) et d'autres documents inédits, Paris, 1901, p. 222)
22 June 4, 1586. Geoffroy de Vivans, seigneur de Doynac-en-Sarladois (1543-1592), was governor of Caumont and Saint-Bazeille as well as of Périgord and Limousin. He was wounded at the battle of Coutras (1587), and died in 1592 while defending the chateau of Villandreau against the Marshal of Matignon. (II, 220)
23 June 17, 1586. Madame de Gramont, née Diane d' Andoins. In 1567 she married Philibert de Gramont (1552-1580), and later became the famous Corisande, mistress of Henry IV. Although this letter does show Henry in one of his more poetic moods, it nevertheless emphasizes the fact that even in the deepest of bucolic scenes he does not forget the realities of war and peace: "One can live here pleasantly in peace, and securely in war." (II, 224-25)
24 June 17, 1586. Elsewhere in this same letter Henry shows his concern for the poor peasants. This awareness becomes an aspect of Henry's legendary love for the common people. (II, 224)
25 October 20, 1587. The battle of Coutras was a great victory for henry of Navarre. He refers to the Duke of Joyeuse who was to die in this battle, along with a great number of the Catholic nobility. Anne, Duke of Joyeuse (1561-1587), married in 1581 Marguerite de Lorraine-Vaudémont, sister-in-law of Henry III. (II, 308-09)
26 November 2, 1587. See note 2 above. Batz was also wounded at the fierce battle of Coutras. Saint-Justin is a small commune on the Douze river in the Landes. Nérac is on the Baïse river in the southwest of France. Henry of Navarre often held his court in this city. The Aire Henry refers to in this letter is that on the Adour river in the Landes. (II, 312-13)
27 March 1, 1588. See note 23 above. (II, 341)
28 March 8, 1588. See note 23 above. Clairac is on the Lot river in the southwest of France. For Nérac see note 26 above. (II, 342-43)
29 March 13, 1588. See note 23 above. (II, 346)
30 March 4, 1589. (II, 448)
31 March 4, 1589. See note 2 above. (II, 445)
32 March 4. 1589. This phrase is taken from the same letter as the preceding, according to Boissy (Pensées, p. 106); it fails, however, to figure in the copy of the Xivrey edition. (II, 445)
33 March 4, 1589. This fervent wish is taken from the same letter as number 30 above. The expense Henry refers to is that of the civil and religious wars. (II, 446)
34 March 4, 1589. This is a large portion of the letter from which numbers 30 and 33 were taken. Its tone is passionate and it shows Henry torn between the evil of suppression and that of the violence necessary to revolt against it. Henry pleas for peace and the safety of the State as the supreme good, and he describes at length and in detail what would happen in a divided state. The king he mentions is of course Henry III, and the three factions he speaks of are the royalists, the League, and the Protestants. (II, 443-458)
35 March 21, 1589. (II, 462-63)
36 April 1589. (Pierre de L'Estoile, Journal du règne de Henri III, ed. L.-R. Lefèvre, Paris, 1943, p. 625)
37 May 22, 1589. (II, 493)
38 May 22, 1589. This warning comes from the same letter as the preceding. (II, 492)
39 May 18, 1589. The Dame d'Auvergne Henry mentions is the queen of Navarre, his wife, Marguerite de Valois, sister of Henry III. Henry of Navarre married Marguerite de Valois on August 18, 1572. This letter is particularly interesting because of the spiteful commentaries Madame de Gramont inserted between the lines of Henry's phrases. There is a facsimile reproduction of it in the Xivrey edition. (II, 487-88)
40 May 22, 1589. (II, 490)
41 June 6, 1589. (II, 498)
42 November 7, 1589. Philippe Duplessis-Morney (1549-1623) was a knowledgeable and austere Protestant and one of Henry of Navarre's most trusted councillors. He wrote several works on religious doctrine, as well as letters and speeches. (II, 73)
43 January 25, 1590. Jean Louis de Nogaret, Duke of Épernon (1554-1642), was a colonel général of the Infantry. He was a mignon of Henry III after whose death he became governor of Metz, Toul and Verdun, Touraine, Anjou, Normandy, and other domainss. The duke refused to recognize Henry IV as king until the day the monarch converted to Catholicism. He has been accused of having had a hand in the assassination of Henry IV.
44 March 14, 1590. The battle of Ivry, along with Coutras, was an important victory for Henry of Navarre in that the Catholic army he defeated contained Spanish forces sent from the Netherlands by the duke of Parma. Only three months later the Paris Parlement issued its decree repudiating Spanish and all foreign influence "in the name of religion." Pensées, p. 122. See also Roland Mousnier, The Assassination of Henry IV, tran. Joan Spencer, London, 1973, pp. 119-120)
45 May 14, 1590. (III, 194)
46 August 1, 1590. (Le Prince Augustin Galitzin, Lettres inédites de Henri IV, Paris, 1860, p. 63)
47 August 6, 1590. This letter shows henry IV as a true "father of the people." One of these cardinals was Pierre de Gondi (1532-1616) of the famous Gondi family, several of whom were clergymen. Henri de Gondi was Cardinal of Retz, as well as his nephew Jean-Paul-Francois, while the first archbishop of Paris was Jean-Francois de Gondi. The other cardinal was the Archbishop of Lyons. Charles of Lorraine, Duke of Mayenne (1554-1611), was the son of François de Lorraine, Duke of Guise, and of Anne d' Este. The king of Spain was Philip II (1527-1598), son of Charles V and Isabela of Portugal. Bernardino de Mendoza was sent by Philip II to the general council of the League in 1590. The legate Henry addresses is probably a papal legate, sent from Rome on all important occasions involving the church. (Pensées, pp. 133-134)
48 November 21, 1590. Louis de Gonzague (1541-1595) became the Duke of Nevers through his marriage in 1565 with Henrietta de Clèves who had inherited the duchy of Nevers. He wrote a manual of royal conduct for the young Henry III.
49 December 28, 1592. Gilles de Souvray, marquis de Courtenvaux (1540-1626 was later to become the tutor of Louis XIII and Marshal of France. (III, 712)
50 April 20, 1593. Henry had first had a liaison with Mademoiselle de Montmorency-Fosseux before 1581, at which time he was drawn to Madame de Gramont, a widow since 1580 with two children. Their union lasted for over ten years until about 1592 when Henry is said to have fallen in love with Gabrielle d' Estrées who remained his mistress until her premature death in 1599. (III, 758)
51 December 8, 1593. See number 43 above. The Duke of Épernon had requested a post for his son. This is Henry's reply. Survivances were posts granted to members of the nobility that went from father to son.
52 December 17, 1594. (IV, 280)
53 End of 1594. (IV, 292)
54 End of 1594. This piece of wisdom comes form the same letter as the above expression of Henry's love for his mistress. (IV, 291)
55 May 1595. The body addressed is the Paris Parlement. The lit de justice was a meeting of the Parlement of Paris over which the king presided, seated on a lit, then meaning a pile of cushions. (IV, 414)
56 October 1, 1595. These passages are from Henry's harangue to the Paris Parlement, during which he demands money for his army after a series of defeats in Picardy at the hands of the Spanish. Fernandez de Velasco, Duke of Frias, connétable de Castille (?-1613), led the Spanish army in Franche Comté. He later came to France in 1603 on a diplomatic mission in an attempt to draw Henry IV into a Spanish alliance. Nicolas de Harlay de Sancy was a counselor to Parlement sent in 1589 by Henry III to Switzerland to raise troops. Lansequenets (Landsknecht) was the neme given to the German mercenaries of the Renaissance. (IV, 415)
57 October 1, 1595. The pope is Clement VIII, who had granted absolution to Henry IV less than a month earlier. (IV, 447)
58 February 25, 1596. Henri de Montmorency-Damville (1534-1614) was the son of Anne de Montmorency and Madeleine de Savoie. He was made connétable of France by Henry IV in 1593. (IV, 506)
59 April 15, 1596. Maximilien de Béthune, baron de Rosny, Duke of Sully (1559-1641), had been raised a Protestant and served Henry in early battles (Arques and Ivry). He became the chief finance minister and did much to balance the budget after Henry's considerable war debts. Henry IV was assassinated while on his way to a meeting with Sully in the Arsenal. (IV, 567)
60 April 23, 1596. Elizabeth Tudor, daughter of Henry VIII and Ann Boleyn, became queen of England in 1588 and reigned until her death in 1603. (IV, 574)
61 July 25, 1596. Martin Langlois was Prévôt des Marchands, replacing Luillier. (IV, 623-24)
62 August 17, 1596. The connétable addressed is the Duke of Montmorency. See note 58 above. (IV, 637)
63 October 31, 1596. Ferdinand de Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (1551-1609), was made a cardinal in 1562. He corresponded secretly with Henry IV and lent him large sums of money for military efforts. (IV, 655)
64 November 4, 1596. (IV, 657)
65 January 11, 1597. (IV, 670)
66 March 7, 1597. Arnaud d'Ossat (1536-1604) was bishop of Rennes from 1596-1600. He was made a cardinal in 1599, and in 1600 received the bishopric of Bayeux. He worked as an ambassador in Rome and helped effect Henry IV's reconciliation with the Holy See.
67 Same letter as in note 66 above.
68 Same letter as in note 66 above.
69 Same letter as in note 66 above.
70 April 13, 1597. (IV, 743)
71 June 4, 1597. Benjamin de Bernon, seigneur de la Guillemaudière (1561-16), was a Protestant who participated in the government of La Rochelle.
72 June 21, 1597. (IV, 789)
73 September 28, 1597. Catherine of Bourbon (1558-1604) was the sister of Henry of Navarre. Henry addresses her as princess of Navarre because it was not until two years later that she became through marriage the duchess of Bar. (IV, 855)
74 October 6, 1597. François de Luxembourg, son of Antoine II of Luxembourg, was made Duke of Piney by Henry III in 1576. He went on several missions to Rome as an ambassador and became a peer of the realm under Henry IV. (VIII, 674)
75 November 15, 1597. See note 60 above. (IV, 877)
76 May 8, 1598. See note 50 above. Guillaume Fouquet, seigneur de La Varanne (Varenne) (1586-1621), was a councillor in the Paris Parlement and Maître des Requêtes. He became Bishop of Angers in 1616. (IV, 983)
77 February 7, 1599. These passages are taken from Henry's address to the Paris Parlement concerning the registration of the Edict of Nantes. Parlement registered it two weeks later on February 25. Bénéfices were ecclesiastic charges with revenue; often the duties were negligible and were therefore sinecures. Rentes referred usually to annual revenues derived from placed funds. The monsieur du Maine Henry mentions is Charles of Lorraine, Duke of Mayenne (see number 47 above). This is another of those famous passages giving rise to the legendary "father of the people" image of Henry IV. (V, 90-94)
78 April 15, 1599. See note 73 above. (V, III)
79 May 1599. (Boissy, p. 147)
80 July 17, 1599. The states of Béarn had reacted violently to the Edict of Nantes which had in fact reestablished the Catholic religion in the region. In this letter to Caumont to be communicated to the states of Béarn, Henry demands obedience. Boissy sees in this a proof both of Henry's impartiality and of his compatriot subject's impudence. Jacques Nompar de Caumont (1555-1652) later became Duke of La Force and Marshal of France under Louis XIII. (V, 148)
81 November 3, 1599. (V, 180)
83 November 3, 1599(?). The precise date of this letter is not certain. We are giving that proposed by Xivrey. The subject is still the registration of the Edict of Nantes. (V, 181)
84 April 1, 1600. Nicolas II Brulart, marquis de Sillery (1544-1624) became councillor to the Paris Parlement in 1573. He subsequently performed several diplomatic missions in Switzerland, the negotiations of the Treaty of Vervins (1598) as well as of Henry's divorce from Marguerite de Valois and remarriage with Marie de Medici. Sillery became Garde des Sceaux in 1614 and later Chancellor of France. (Eugène Halphen, Lettres inédites du roi Henri IV à monsieur de Sillery, Paris, 1866, p. 5)
85 April 19, 1600. The queen Henry refers to here is not his own sister, but rather Elizabeth I of England. It was a common practice for princes of different countries to refer to one another as brothers, sisters, and cousins. Aymard de Clermont, seigneur de Chatte (1546?-1602), chevalier de Malte, governor of Dieppe, and ambassador to England, lent large sums of money to Henry IV and incited the people of Dieppe to recognize him as king, thus assuring Henry of a clear communication with England and allowing him to keep in abeyance the army of the Duke of Mayenne. Chatte later became Vice-Admiral of France. (Halphen, Lettres inédites, pp. 31-32)
86 Same letter as above. Henry asks that the importance of stopping piracy be made known to Elizabeth. He also speaks of marrying for the money he still owes her.
87 May 12, 1600. See note 84 above. The "aforementioned lady" is the queen of England. It is interesting to note that what Henry puts as a possibility did in fact come true only three years later: James IV of Scotland became James I of England.
88 May 31, 1600. (Halphen, Lettres inédites, p. 77)
89 Same letter as above. (Halphen, Lettres inédites, pp. 78-79).
90 June 1, 1600. Henry shows in this letter his careful and practical attitude toward large military enterprises. (Halphen, Lettres inédites, pp. 85-86)
91 June 27, 1600. (Halphen, Lettres inédites, pp. 98-99)
92 August 24, 1600. Marie de Medici, princess of Tuscany (1575-1642), married Henry IV in 1600. (V, 287)
93 October 16, 1600. Henriette d' Entragues, marquise of Verneuil (1579-16) was the daughter of Francois de Balzac d' Entragues. She became Henry IV's mistress in 1600. See note 50 above. Besides Henriette d' Entragues, Henry also had as mistresses both Jacqueline du Bueil and Charlotte des Essarts; he had five illegitimate children among them. (V, 321)
94 January 27, 1601. The queen addressed is Marie de Medici, queen of France since the preceding October 5, when she married Henry IV. The tone of this letter is ironical in view of Henry's open taking of mistresses. (V, 371)
95 September 3, 1601. This letter to the queen is much more sincere, especially since the subject is dear to the king. Plutarch also greatly inspired one of Henry IV's contemporaries: Michel de Montaigne. The last sentence of this excerpt serves as an epigraph to this project. (V, 462-63)
96 January 26, 1603(?). See note 43 above. (VI, 21)
97 May 17, 1603. (VI, 87)
98 February 6, 1604. See note 59 above. (Pensées, p. 145)
99 February 28, 1604. The parlement addressed is that of Paris. Rentes were annual revenues derived from moneys placed with the State. Gabelles were taxes on salt, and impositions, as Henry uses the term here, seems to refer to indirect taxes. (VI, 204-206).
100 October 24, 1605. The queen addressed is Marie de Medeci. See note 92 above. Boissy notes another of Henry's exuberant expressions of love for his country: "enjoying the air of the fatherland." (IV, 996)
101 December 5, 1605. The chassavant in sixteenth-century France was a foreman, or overseer. (VI, 566)
102 December 5, 1605. The entire title of the document translates as follows: "Reply of Henry IV to Monseigneur Pierre de Villars, archbishop of Vienne, concerning the remonstrances made to him in the name of the clergy of France, in the garden of the Tuileries, December 5, 1605. (VI, 565)
103 December 5, 1605. Same letter as above. (IV, 565)
104 May 3, 1607. Francois, Cardinal of Joyeuse (1562-1615) was first archbishop of Narbonne, and later of Paris. He was a french envoy sent to Rome in 1607 to mediate differences between the pope and the Venetian states, and finally became dean of the Sacred College of Cardinals. (VII, 219-220)
105 May 2, 1608. See note 93 above. (VII, 557)
106 Date unknown. Boissy drew this quotation from Joseph Nouaillac, Henri IV raconté par lui-même, Paris, 1913, p. 26.
107 Date unknown. (Nouaillac, p. 25) Boissy interprets this phrase of Henry's as an expression of pity over the naiveté of the Parisians.
108 Date unknown. (Pensées, p. 127)
109 Date unknown but previous to 1603, year of Elizabeth I's death. Boissy drew this quotation from Nouaillac, p. 23.
110 Date unknown. This phrase is not to be found in the letter Boissy cites in the Xivrey edition. (Pensées, p. 124)
111 Date unknown.
Francois de La Noue (1531-1591) was a Breton who converted to Protestantism
in 1558. He lost his left arm because of a wound received in battle, receiving
thereafter the nickname of Bras de Fer (Iron Arm). He is the author
of Discours politiques et militaires (1587). This letter was
written on the fourteenth day of the month, and one thinks immediately
of the Battle of Ivry as a possibility, fought on March 14, 1590. Although
plausible as a date for this letter, it is nevertheless uncertain.
(III, 171)