Charles IX King of France. Charles IX, King of France - All the monarchies of the world. After Bartholomew's Night
[French] Charles IX] (06/27/1550, Saint-Germain-en-Laye - 05/30/1574, Vincennes), cor. France since 1560. One of the last representatives Valois dynasty, son of the French box Henry II and Catherine de Medici. During the reign of K., religious wars began in France, culminating in the mass destruction of the Huguenots during Bartholomew's Night. Baptized with the name Karl Maximilian, his godfather was Maximilian II of Habsburg (imp. in 1564-1576). Since childhood, he bore the title of Duke of Orleans. One of his teachers was French. humanist, translator from Greek. the language of Jacques Amiot. K. inherited the French. throne at the age of 10 after the death of his elder brother, Cor. Francis II (1559-1560). In the States General, convened by Francis II and gathered after his death in Orleans (December 13, 1560 - January 31, 1561), Catherine de Medici was appointed regent. Formally, the regency of the queen mother continued until K. came of age (1563), but even later she retained a strong influence on her son's policy. Crowned 15 May 1561 at Reims. The king was distinguished by poor health, from childhood he suffered from tuberculosis, from which he died at less than 24 years old.
The reign of K. was accompanied by continuous civil wars and confrontation between Catholics and Huguenots, the number of the latter in France by the beginning. 60s 16th century increased significantly (Calvinists numbered from 800 thousand to 1.2-1.5 million people, i.e. 6-8% of the population of France - Garrisson J. Les Protestants au XVI siècle. P., 1988. P. 120) . By this time, the formation of political and religious "parties" dates back: at the head of the ultra-Catholic "party" were representatives of the noble Lorraine family of Guise, the Huguenots were headed by the princes of the Bourbon blood. To maintain peace in the country, Catherine de Medici and her son tried to pursue a policy of tolerance and reconciliation of the warring parties. This was facilitated by the situation at the royal court: after the death of Francis II, the influence of Guise, relatives of his wife Mary Stuart, hertz. Francis of Guise and his brother card. Charles of Lorraine, somewhat decreased, Antoine Bourbon, who had returned from Calvinism to Catholicism, was appointed viceroy general of France, Cor. Navarre.
In accordance with the General States adopted in 1560-1561. the decision to convene the Council of the French. clergy, to-ry was to determine a set of measures against Protestants, as well as to select delegates to the next session of the Council of Trent (1545-1563), a general assembly of the French was convened in Poissy. clergy (July 31 - August 19, 1561). Catherine de Medici wrote that the purpose of the assembly was "to contribute to the complete pacification of unrest and the unification of the people in one religion" (Lettres de Catherine de Médicis / Ed. H. de La Ferrière. P., 1880. T. 1. P. 192). The meeting was attended by French prelates who converted to Calvinism: Ode Coligny, card. de Chatillon, Jean de Saint-Gele, ep. Yuzes. The Assembly condemned the abuses among Catholics. clergy (lush retinues of bishops, the secular way of life of some prelates, etc.). The canons adopted by the assembly provided for the reformation of the Catholic Church. Churches in France in the spirit of the decisions of the Council of Trent: the election of bishops from worthy and educated clerics, regular visits by bishops of dioceses, an increase in the level of education of the clergy, a stricter observance of church discipline, etc. Despite opposition from the Parlement of Paris and the University of Paris , the general assembly finally approved the Jesuit order in France. Probably, under the influence of the Calvinists, a list of desirable liturgical changes was compiled: the rejection of the use of images in churches, the simplification of the "baptismal ceremony", the introduction of readings, prayers and chants in French into the liturgical practice. language, holding communion on certain days under two forms. These proposals were presented by Jean de Montluc, Bishop. Valence (there were rumors that he leaned towards Calvinism, but he did not officially convert to Protestantism - Histoire et dictionnaire des guerres de religion / Éd. A. Jouanna, J. Boucher, D. Biloghi, G. Le Thiec. P. , 1998. P. 1115); the queen mother included them in an extensive message dated 4 Aug. 1561 to Pope Pius IV (for details see: Aubign é A., d "Histoire universelle / Éd. A. de Ruble. P., 1887. T. 2. P. 325-329), but to Rome it, apparently, was never sent (Valois. 1945. P. 246) At the initiative of Catherine de Medici, who sought to reconcile the warring political-religious "parties" and achieve mutual concessions during the discussion of controversial issues of dogma, 9 Sept. - On October 14, 1561, a theological colloquium was held in Poissy, attended by about 40 French bishops, including the Archbishop of Reims, card. Charles of Lorraine, who was accompanied by the French. theologian Claude d'Espans, Archbishop of Lyon, card. Francois de Tournon, as well as papal legate Hippolyte d'Este and general of the Jesuit order Diego Lines, and 12th Calvinist. ministers (pastors), headed by T. Beza, who arrived from Geneva. The infant king, accompanied by his brothers and sister, the princes of the blood, and the members of the Royal Council, attended the colloquium at Poissy and greeted the assembly with a short speech. The main theological dispute was the question of the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Calvinist. theologians regarded the colloquium at Poissy as a tribune for the open exposition of their religions. views. Already at the 1st meeting, Beza declared that “the Body and Blood of Christ are as far from bread and wine as the highest heaven is far from the earth” (cited in: Valois. 1945. P. 255). By order of the Queen Mother, a special commission was created from 5 Catholics. and 5 Calvinist. theologians, but the definition formulated by them after long discussions was rejected by the French. prelates.
Simultaneously with the dispute between Catholics and Calvinists at the General Assembly of the French. clergy in Poissy, the conditions of the so-called. financial contract; with the sanction of the Roman Curia, it was recorded in Oct. 1561 Franz. the kings repeatedly turned to the Church with requests for financial support, the clergy, with the approval of the Holy See, as a rule, paid the requested amounts to the king (Michaud Cl. L "Église et l" Argent sous l "Ancien Régime: Les receveurs généraux du clergé de France aux XVIe et XVIIe siècles, P., 1991. P. 14. Under the terms of the financial agreement of 1561, the demands of the king assumed a regular character, the royal treasury received new source fixed income (up to French Revolution 1789-1799). The contract concluded in Poissy was for 16 years (1562-1577). According to its terms, the clergy were initially obliged (from January 1, 1562 to December 31, 1568) to pay annually 1.6 million Turkish livres, which were to be used to redeem the once alienated royal domain, and from January 1. 1569 - redeem the rents of the Parisian municipality (rentes sur l "Hôtel de ville; for rents, see: Schnapper B. Les rentes au XVIe siècle: Histoire d" un instrument de crédit. P., 1957) in the amount of at least 700 thousand Tourist livres per year (Recueil des actes, titres et mémoires concernant les affaires du clergé de France. P., 1771. Vol. 9/1. P. 9; for details of the contract, see: Laferri è re J. Le Contrat de Poissy, P., 1905).
Continuing the policy of reconciliation, 17 Jan. In 1562, the king issued an "edict of tolerance", according to which the Calvinists were given the freedom to gather for worship without weapons outside the city limits. The Huguenots were limited in action during the Catholic. holidays and other celebrations (Déclaration sur la repression des troubles nés à l "occasion de la religion réformée // Recueil général des anciennes lois françaises / Éd. F.-A. Isambert e. a. P., 1829. Vol. 14. P. 124-129).However, already in March 1562, the nobles of Hertz Francis Giza attacked the Huguenots, who performed religious chants in rural Riga, 23 of them were killed and about 100 were wounded. Religious wars (1562-1563).Although the Huguenots were prepared for war, it ended with the victory of the Catholic army.According to the peace treaty signed in Amboise (March 19, 1563), the Huguenots were allowed to gather in the suburbs of only a few large cities (except Paris). Control over the execution of this and subsequent edicts of reconciliation with the Huguenots was entrusted to special royal commissioners.They had to sort out legal cases relating to religious issues, determine places for Protestant worship and for the burial of the dead, punish violators of the conditions of the edicts, engage in the recovery of property previously stolen or confiscated from the Huguenots (Calan, Foa. 2008).
Military operations, which K. led against the Huguenots, required serious financial costs: in order to pay for the army, the queen mother, on behalf of K., in May 1562, turned to the archbishops of Sens, Rouen and Reims with a request for an advance payment of 300 thousand Tourist livres out of 1.6 million livres not yet collected under the Poissy financial contract. Oct. the same year, due to a lack of funds, the annuities of the Parisian municipality were issued in the amount of 100 thousand Tourist livres, the interest on Crimea was to be paid by the clergy of the bishoprics of Paris, Beauvais and Meaux from the income from the beneficiaries (hypothèque sur le temporel de l " Église).In February 1563, the clergy undertook to provide income from new annuities in the amount of 200 thousand Turkish livres. The money was spent long before they were collected, and not for the purposes that were determined by the financial contract. When the French The clergy dared to indicate to the king that they had promised to pay debts on financial obligations concluded before 1561, and that new annuities issued after 1561 for 500,000 Tourist livres were not secured by anything (Collection des procès-verbaux des Assemblées générales du Clergé de France, depuis l "année 1560 jusqu" à présent / Publ. par A. Duranthon. P., 1767. Vol. 1. P. 4-5), K., despite protests from the clergy and the Paris Parliament , bypassing the Pope, achieved registration of Parliament om decision on the alienation (aliénation) of church possessions in an amount equivalent to 100 thousand ecu in rents (May 17, 1563). At the same time, the sale of church properties began. At the assembly of the clergy of France on 15 Sept. In 1563, a subsidy of 2.5 million Turkish livres was offered to the king; in addition, he retained the sums of money received from the sales that had already taken place, which amounted to 1.2 million Tourist livres.
Aug 17 1563 in Rouen, K. was officially declared an adult. So that the young monarch could get to know his kingdom and subjects better, his trip to France was organized (later historians will call it the “grand royal tour” - grand tour royal): for 2 years (1564-1566) the queen mother, the king, his brothers Henry Anjou (last. King of France) and Francis of Alencon, sister Margarita (last. Queen of Navarre and France), representatives of the highest French. nobility (Prince Louis Condé, Hertz Heinrich of Guise, Henry, Prince of Bearn (later King of Navarre and France; see Henry IV), Henrietta, Hertz Nevers, Albert Gondi, Hertz Retz, and others), the royal court and the highest state The apparatus traveled all over France. In Macon, Cor. Navarre Jeanne d "Albret, zealous Calvinist. On August 9, 1564, in Roussillon, K. signed an edict, according to which, among other indications, the year began on January 1 (Ordonnance sur la justice et la police du royaume. Art. 39 In the summer of 1565, in Bayonne and St. corr. Elizabeth, older sister K. and his Spanish wife. box Philip II. Spain. the queen was accompanied by Fernando Alvarez de Toledo, hertz. Alba, who informed K. and the Queen Mother that he was Spanish. the monarch is extremely dissatisfied with the French. policy of tolerance towards Protestants (these negotiations reinforced the suspicions of the Huguenots in the preparation new war against them). During the king's stay at Moulin (December 22, 1565 - March 1566), there was a discussion of a large judicial and administrative reform Kingdom, on the initiative of Chancellor M. de Lopital, a meeting of notables was convened, where Bud was considered. transformations.
K.'s policy towards the Huguenots changed after their leaders tried to capture royal family, so-called surprise in Meaux (surprise de Meaux), which finally determined the position of the French. king as protector of the Catholic Churches. In response to a major uprising in the Netherlands against the Spanish. dominion, in which the Calvinists played an active role (1566), Spanish. box Philip II sent a large army to Flanders, led by Hertz. Alba. At first, no one knew exactly where she was going. Fearing an attack, the Huguenots, on the initiative of the Prince of Conde, decided to strike a preemptive strike: an attempt was made to capture the king in the Burgundian castle of Monceau. K. and the queen mother managed to escape to Meaux, and then to Paris. These events gave rise to the beginning of the 2nd religion. wars (1567-1568). Prince Condé approached the capital with an army, but on 10 November. 1567 was defeated at Saint-Denis. In the beginning. In 1568, the Huguenots managed to push the Catholics back to Paris and besiege Chartres. Under these conditions, peace was concluded in Longjumeau (March 23, 1568), which confirmed the provisions of the most favorable “edict of tolerance” (Jan. 1562) for the Huguenots: Calvinists were given the freedom to gather for worship without weapons outside the city limits. During the 3rd religion. war (1568-1570), the Huguenots were first defeated in the battles of Jarnac (March 13, 1569, the Prince of Condé died) and Montcontour (October 3, 1569). However, Admiral G. Coligny, who commanded the Huguenot army, managed to radically change the situation: in March 1570, he approached Carcassonne, took Narbon, burned the villages near Montpellier and made a swift raid to the north. On June 18, the Huguenots sacked the abbey of Cluny, on June 20, the abbey of La Ferte-sur-Gron. On July 4, the admiral entered La Charite (now La Charite-sur-Loire). In the west, the Huguenots captured Maran, Lucon and Les Sables-d "Olonne. The cities of Niort, Bruage and Sept. surrendered to them. worship was allowed throughout the kingdom (on the outskirts of 2 cities of each tax district), Protestants could hold royal positions, the main representatives of the Huguenots, including Coligny, were included in royal council. To a Protestant. historiography, the terms of the peace treaty were often regarded as a trap designed to lull the vigilance of the Huguenots, but in the present. At the time, researchers generally believe that the royal government sincerely sought to reconcile the Huguenots and Catholics. K. called the Saint-Germain Edict "his treaty and his world," he considered it a divine favor, designed to help the king unite opponents in civil harmony, to ensure a return to religion. unity (see: Bartholomew's Night, 2001, pp. 24, 104).
The peaceful respite provided an opportunity for the Queen Mother to resume negotiations on marriage alliances. In 1571, K. was married to Elizabeth of Austria, daughter of the emperor. Maximilian II. From this union in 1572, the genus. daughter Mary Elizabeth († 1578). In July 1571, the French. the king introduced the officer. marriage proposal of his sister Marguerite of Valois and the leader of the Huguenots Henry of Bourbon, Prince of Navarre, his mother Cor. Jeanne d "Albret. The possibility of interfaith marriage alarmed Pope Pius V, who refused to give permission, citing a close family relationship between the bride and groom. K. took an active part in correspondence with the Papal Throne; in July 1572, the king brought to information of the new pope Gregory XIII that the wedding will take place in any case (Lettres de Catherine de Médicis. P., 1891. T. 4. P. 106-107).
After the signing of the Peace of Saint-Germain, Admiral Coligny gained special influence in the Royal Council, suggesting that the king rally the Catholics. and the Huguenot nobility in the new war against Spain on the territory of the Netherlands (an uprising began there, in which the Protestants played a significant role). In the spring of 1572, a detachment of volunteers departed there, allegedly acting at their own peril and risk; later he was surrounded by the city of Mons and surrendered to hertz. Alba. Contemporaries and after them some historians believed that K. enthusiastically supported Coligny's plans, because he envied military glory younger brother of Henry of Anjou, who commanded the royal troops in the battles of Jarnac and Moncontour (see, for example: Bordonove. 2002). The rapprochement of the 20-year-old king with Coligny was opposed by the queen mother, who feared an open war with Spain in the event of the implementation of foreign policy plans proposed by the admiral. Nevertheless, Coligny played a big role in negotiations with Cor. Navarre Jeanne d "Albret about the upcoming marriage of her son (according to the Venetian ambassador, Catherine de Medici promised, if successful, not to interfere with his communication with K. - Toleranzedikt und Bartholomäusnacht: Französische Politik und Europaische Diplomatie, 1570-1572 / Ed. I. Mieck. Gott., 1969. P. 14).
Aug 18 In 1572, the wedding of Henry of Bourbon and Marguerite of Valois took place (papal permission for marriage was not received). The ceremony was attended by the most prominent representatives of the Huguenot nobility. In Paris, the majority of the population of which were Catholics, rumors began to spread about a Huguenot conspiracy, the purpose of which was called, among other things, the assassination of the king. Aug 22 Coligny was wounded by an arquebus shot in the arm. The Huguenots demanded the punishment of the hertz. Heinrich of Guise, who was considered the organizer of the assassination (the shot was fired from a house owned by the Duchess of Nemours, Anna d "Este, the widow of Francis of Guise, who was killed in 1563 during the siege of Orleans). K., with the whole royal family, came to the bedside of the wounded Coligny and promised the Huguenots support and justice. However, on the night of August 24. in Paris, the destruction of Protestants began: about 2 thousand Huguenots who had gathered for the wedding, including Coligny, were killed. Pogroms took place in some provincial cities (Bordeaux, Toulouse, Orleans, Since the thesis about the premeditated extermination of the Huguenots in Paris is currently generally rejected by researchers (see: Crouzet. 1994), an opinion has taken shape in historiography that the decision to massacre was influenced by panic, fear of members of the royal family and a close court circle as before justice, which could convict them of involvement in the Guise conspiracy (obvious or imaginary) against Coligny, and before the excitement that prevailed in Paris and the growth of radical sentiments in the urban environment (See, for example: Diefendorf. 1991. P. 88-99, 176). Apparently, K. authorized the murder of the Huguenots under the persistent pressure of his mother and her entourage. On the morning of 24 Aug. the king ordered an immediate end to the unrest, but then declared that everything happened according to his will. Nevertheless, the Parlement of Paris, which soon met in the presence of the king (and, accordingly, was obliged to approve those decisions proposed by the monarch), did not annul the Saint-Germain Edict of 1570, but, on the contrary, confirmed its articles on religion. freedom (only the right of the Huguenots to own fortresses and have their own troops was abolished). The events of Bartholomew's Night were greeted with joy in Rome and Madrid, but in France the conflict escalated into large-scale wars. The Catholics unsuccessfully besieged the fortress of La Rochelle, which actually turned into the center of an independent Huguenot republic, which received help from the allies from the sea (from February to June 1573, 8 assaults on the city were undertaken; military operations were commanded by the Duke of Anjou). On June 25, a peace treaty was signed with the defenders of the fortress, which meant the defeat of the royal army.
K. supported the election of his brother, hertz. Henry of Anjou, in Polish. throne. Polish ambassadors who arrived to report on the election of Henry of Valois as king, K. gave a solemn reception in Paris.
10 Sept. 1573 French the king, whose illness worsened, and there were no direct male heirs, signed a document on the succession to the crown by his brothers (by seniority). Wishing to bypass the established order of inheritance, younger brother king hertz. Francis of Alençon joined the party of the "dissatisfied". This group of French the nobility was outraged that the power seized by "foreigners" - Italians and Lorraine, incites the mob to the extrajudicial destruction of aristocrats, who, by their position, could interfere with tyranny (among the "dissatisfied" were the first barons of France, the dukes of Montmorency - Francis, marshal France, and Heinrich Damville, Governor-General of Languedoc). "Dissatisfied" feared entry into the French. the throne of Henry of Anjou, a zealous Catholic and a close friend of the Guises, as it was believed, and were ready to support the ambitious plans for the throne of the Duke of Alençon. In con. 1573 K. and Catherine de Medici managed to prevent the active actions of the "dissatisfied": Prince Heinrich Conde was appointed ruler of Picardy, and hertz. Francis Montmorency was included in the Royal Council. The plot, during which on the night of Shrove Tuesday (mardi gras; 22-23 Feb. 1574) it was planned to capture the castle of Saint-Germain, where K. was dying, and impose the candidacy of the Duke of Alençon as king, was also revealed. However, the activities of the "disaffected" hastened the start of new hostilities: on March 11, in Normandy, landed from the English. Huguenot Gabriel de Lorge, Count Montgomery (soon was taken prisoner and executed in Paris), an uprising began in La Rochelle, Henry Montmorency-Damville concluded an agreement with the Huguenots of Languedoc (May 29, 1574), unrest swept other provinces. The princes of the blood who were at court, including Cor. Henry of Navarre tried to escape but were arrested.
Contemporaries evaluated K. in different ways. He was actively engaged in physical exercises, was a passionate hunter and compiled the “Book of the Royal Hunt” (Livre de la chasse royale), which was published only in 1625. K. had the ability for artistic crafts - chasing , painting, he was fond of history, languages \u200b\u200b(he knew Latin and Italian very well), poetry (the chancellor of France, the humanist M. de Lopital, wrote instructions to the young monarch in poetic form). The king patronized the French. poet Pierre de Ronsard. Under K., construction work continued (albeit at the initiative of Catherine de Medici) under the hands of. P. Lesko in the Louvre and the construction of the royal palace in the Tuileries began. K. was fond of music and theater. By royal decree (November 1570), the Academy of Poetry and Music founded by J. A. Baif was legalized, and K. drew up its charter. During religious wars publicists have created several. historical myths about K. In most pamphlets, it was about protecting the weak "boy-king", but after Bartholomew's night, K. appears as a Protestant. political propaganda as a hypocrite, a traitor, a tyrant who kills his subjects (this genre will be developed under Kings Henry III and Henry IV, for example, in the treatise Vindiciae contra tyrannos (A claim against tyrants, 1579), the authorship of which was attributed to a French Protestant theologian and publicist F. Duplessis-Mornet).
Lit.: Champion P. Catherine de Médicis présente à Charles IX son royaume: 1564-1566. P., 1937; Valois N. Les essais de conciliation religieuse au début du règne de Charles IX // RHEF. 1945. T. 31. N 119. P. 237-276; Cloulas I. Les aliénations du temporel ecclésiastique sous Charles IX et Henri III // Ibid. 1958. T. 44. N 141. P. 5-56; Guillaume P. La mort de François II a l "Hôtel Groslot, le 6 déc. 1560 et l" ouverture des États Généraux d "Orléans par Charles IX le 13 déc. 1560 // Bull. de la Société archéologique et historique de l" Orleanais. N. S. 1959/1960. T. 1. No. 6 bis; Sutherland N. M. The Massacre of St. Bartholomew and the European Conflict, 1559-1572. L., 1973; The Royal Tour of France by Charles IX and Catherine de Medici: Festivals and Entries, 1564-1566 / Ed. V. E. Graham, W. McAllister Johnson. Toronto; Buffalo; L., 1979; Un tour de France royal: Le voyage de Charles IX (1564-1566) / Ed. J. Boutier, A. Dewerpe, D. Nordman. P., 1984; Bourassin E. Charles IX. P., 1986; idem. Charles IX: La France divisee par Dieu. Ozoir-la-Ferriere, 1993; Diefendorf B. Beneath the Cross: Catholics and Huguenots in 16th Cent. P.; N.Y.; Oxf., 1991; Bourgeon J.-L. L "assassinat de Coligny. Gen., 1992; idem. Charles IX devant la Saint-Barthélemy. Gen., 1995; Crouzet D. La nuit de la St.-Barthélemy: Un rêve perdu de la Renaissance. P., 1994; Daubresse S. Christophe de Thou et Charles IX: Recherches sur les rapports entre le parlement de Paris et le prince (1560-1574) // Histoire, économie et société. P., 1998. Année 17. N 3. P. 389- 422; St. Bartholomew's Night: Event and controversy / Ed.: P. Yu. Uvarov. M., 2001; Bordonove G. Charles IX: Hamlet couronné. P., 2002; Elfond I. Ya. Charles IX // Culture of the Renaissance: Encyclopedia . M., 2007. T. 1. S. 747-748; Calan R., de, Foa J. Paradoxes sur les commissaire: L "exécution de la politique religieuse de Charles IX (1560-1574) // Histoire, économie et society. 2008. Année 27. N 2. P. 3-20.
N. I. Altukhova
IX Karl IX Career: rulers
Birth: France, 27.6.1550
Carl showed some interest in art and dabbled in poetry in the style of Ronsard. Not prone, generally speaking, to cruelty, he was subject to frequent fits of rage, during which he was capable of various evil deeds.
Charles was ten years old when, after this death of his older brother, he became king. The board for many years passed into the hands of his mother Catherine de Medici, a highly intelligent, quirky and treacherous woman. The brothers of Giza, who directed all the actions of Francis II, were pushed aside from power, although they retained a great influence on affairs. They were extremely popular among radical Catholics (and such were the majority in Paris), and as a result, the queen had to reckon with them. Catherine herself was more flexible in her policy. For some time it seemed more than that she was ready to reconcile with the Huguenots. At the beginning of 1562, the Saint-Germain Edict appeared, allowing the adherents of the new doctrine the freedom of worship outside the city walls and the right to assemble in private homes. But the announcement of indulgence in no way led to an end to the confrontation. In March, in Vassey, the Duke of Guise and his soldiers tried to disperse a gathering of Huguenots and killed more than sixty men. After that, nothing could stop the bloodshed: a civil battle began in France. In April, the Huguenots captured Orléans and other important cities in the Loire Valley. Royal troops under the command of King Antoine of Navarre, who converted to Catholicism, the Duke of Guise and the constable of Montmorency opposed them. The Catholics were opposed by a small but highly combat-ready Huguenot force, led by the Prince of Condé and Admiral de Coligny. Both sides fought with great ferocity. In November, during the siege of Rouen, the king of Navarre died. The Duke of Guise took Rouen, won a brilliant victory at Dreux, approached Orleans, but in February 1563 was treacherously killed by a Huguenot defector sent by Admiral de Coligny. Deprived of their best commander, the Catholics began to endure defeat. In March, war-weary parties made peace at Amboise. Under its terms, the rights of Protestants were significantly curtailed.
In July of the same year, Karl was declared an adult. But in fact, Catherine remained a sovereign ruler, due to the fact that the king was still a perfect child in his mind, and a prematurely spoiled young man in character. He thought only of amusements, traveled from grove to grove, hunting for deer, did not understand matters, did not care about them, and agreed to everything that his mother considered necessary to undertake. Like his older brother Francis, Charles was in poor health. However, in his actions you can see more energy and will. He could splendidly blow a hunting horn, shoe horses and shoot with unusual accuracy. Later, he enjoyed working in the forge, which he built for himself "in the Louvre. Karl showed some interest in art and tried his hand at poetry in the style of Ronsard. Not generally inclined to cruelty, he was prone to frequent fits of rage, during who was capable of various atrocities.
In 1565, Charles, together with his mother, brothers and Henry of Navarre (son of Antoine), traveled to different regions of France. The Huguenots, at the suggestion of Coligny, wanted to capture the royal family. But she successfully arrived in Paris under the reliable protection of the Swiss. This incident prompted the resumption of hostilities. This time the Huguenots suffered one defeat after another. In November, 1567, the Constable of Montmorency crushed them at Saint-Denis; further, then a truce at Longjumeau, they were again defeated at Jarnac (in March 1569). The Prince of Condé was taken prisoner in this battle and was killed by the guards of the Duke of Anjou. In October, Coligny, now the leader of the Protestant party, was once again defeated at Moncontour. But the enthusiasm of the royal army faded with the siege of the fortified areas near La Rochelle. In August 1570, a third peace was concluded between the Huguenots and the Catholics in Saint-Germain. At that time, the Huguenots were granted all the rights they sought: independence of conscience and worship. During the next two years there were no hostilities, but mutual wariness persisted.
At the beginning of 1571, Catherine de Medici began to insistently invite the admiral and the Navarre queen Jeanne to Paris. Seeing that they were avoiding a trip to the capital by all means, she began to fuss about arranging a marriage between the young Henry of Navarre (Jeanne's son) and her daughter Margaret. The same marriage, according to Catherine, was the only means for the final reconciliation of the parties. Vigorous matchmaking, flattering Jeanne's pride, allowed to melt the ice of mistrust. Coligny went to Blois, where he was received with expressions of the most sincere friendliness. Karl, hugging the Admiral, assured him that this was the happiest day of his life. He introduced the old man to the state council, granted estates, finances, and from that time called him in no other way than his father. The Huguenot nobles, one by one, began to follow the example of their leader and run into Paris, where they met with an invariably gentle reception. One celebration was replaced by another, and then balls were held. After one of them, at the beginning of June 1572, the Queen of Navarre fell ill with pneumonia and died five days later. It was believed that she died of a cold, but there was a persistent rumor that the poisoned gloves given to her by Catherine de Medici served as the cause of death. On August 18, the marriage of Henry of Navarre with Marguerite of Valois took place, and four days later, Admiral Coligny, returning from the king, was wounded by a musket shot and, by pure chance, remained alive. When the assassination was reported to Karl, he seemed desperately distressed. The king ordered to cover all the Parisian outposts with the exception of two, and ordered all the Huguenots to move to the microdistrict where the admiral's dwelling was located, under heavy guard of the royal guard. He himself visited the wounded man and promised to find the killer without fail. This attempt on the Huguenots produced a painful sensation. Some of them offered to hastily leave the capital, but Coligny, as if blinded, did not pay attention to their warnings. On the morning of August 23, special commissioners went from house to house and compiled a census of the Huguenots who lived in them, assuring that all this was done by royal command for their own benefit. At eleven o'clock in the evening, Heinrich of Guise cordoned off the Louvre by the Swiss. At the same time, many Parisians gathered in the city hall, where the merchant foreman John Sharon, the minion of Guise, passionately called on Catholics to take revenge on the Huguenots for past rebellions. After midnight, the sound of the tocsin in the church of St. Herman of Auxerre announced the coming of the night of St. Bartholomew. It was the agreed sign for the beginning of the massacre. Driven by a sense of revenge for the murder of his father, Heinrich of Guise with an armed detachment rushed to the house of Admiral Coligny. His henchmen broke in, stabbed the old man and threw the ashes into the street at the feet of the duke. After that, crowds of fanatics rushed to kill other Huguenots. Encouraged by the cries that the king ordered to kill the conspirators, they walked all over the city, leaving behind piles of bodies in the houses, on the streets and on the bridges. All the brave associates of the admiral, all the adherents of the princes of the blood, who came to Paris for the wedding of Henry of Bourbon, La Rochefoucauld, Teligny, Bricmont, Laforce, and in addition many other nobles and nobles, paid with their lives for the trust in the king. In the Louvre itself, nobles from the retinue of Henry of Navarre were slaughtered. Shameless ladies and girls of the court staff came to admire the beauty of the naked dead. In the narrow streets of Paris there was a continuous crackle of rifle shots, swords and daggers flashed, murderers roared and the dying croaked. Crowds of mob, led by nobles, burst into houses, stabbed and slaughtered the unarmed, and chased the fleeing. The king himself fired from the window of the Louvre at the fleeing Huguenots and encouraged the Catholics to kill with shouts of encouragement. During the night of Bartholomew and the next three days in Paris, more than 2,000 gentlemen were killed. For several days, the corpses were taken by wagons to the banks of the Seine and dumped into the water. Only a few Huguenot leaders survived. Charles after those long meetings with his mother and brother, the Duke of Anjou, decided to spare the King of Navarre and the Prince of Condé. The manifestos sent around the state said that the Huguenots were punished with
dead for a criminal conspiracy. At the same time, the leadership announced that the edict of religious tolerance remains in force, but the public worship of Calvinists is prohibited. However, villainy did not achieve its goal, the Huguenots remained as strong as before Bartholomew's night. The war resumed, but did not lead to the victory of either party. In 1573, the king signed an edict granting the Huguenots freedom of worship in the cities of La Rochelle, Nimes and Nontoban, and also in the possessions of the nobles. All other Huguenots were granted the will of conscience and the right to read a prayer in their homes.
The following year, the twenty-four-year-old Karl died, presumably from a chest disease, from which he had suffered for about a year. In the last weeks of his life, he trembled steadily, could neither stand, nor lie down, nor sit. According to some reports, before his death, something similar to remorse arose in him: he tossed about the bed and forever cursed those who incited him to kill.
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27th King of France
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Francis II |
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Henry III |
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8th Duke of Orléans |
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(under the name Charles III) |
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Louis III |
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Henry III |
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Catherine de Medici |
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Elizabeth Habsburg |
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daughter: Maria Elisabeth of Valois Marie Tuschesyn: Charles (Duke of Angouleme) |
Charles IX (fr. Charles IX), Charles-Maximilien (fr. Charles-Maximilien); was born. June 27, 1550, died May 30, 1574) - King of France from December 5, 1560 (until August 17, 1563 under the regency of mother Catherine de Medici). From the Valois dynasty. Son of King Henry II and Catherine de Medici. The reign of Charles was marked by St. Bartholomew's night - the infamous mass extermination Huguenots.
Charles was ten years old when, after the death of his elder brother, he became king. The board for many years passed into the hands of his mother Catherine de Medici, a very smart, quirky and treacherous woman. The brothers of Giza, who directed all the actions of Francis II, were pushed aside from power, although they retained great influence on affairs. They were very popular among radical Catholics (and such were the majority in Paris), and therefore the queen had to reckon with them. Catherine herself was more flexible in her policy. For some time it even seemed that she was ready to reconcile with the Huguenots. At the beginning of 1562, the Edict of Saint-Germain appeared, allowing the adherents of the new doctrine the freedom of worship outside the walls of cities and the right to assemble in private homes. But the announcement of indulgence in no way led to an end to the confrontation. In March, the Duke of Guise, with his soldiers, tried to disperse the meeting of the Huguenots and killed more than sixty people. After that, nothing could stop the bloodshed: France began Civil War. In April, the Huguenots captured Orléans and other important cities in the Loire Valley. Royal troops under the command of King Antoine of Navarre, who converted to Catholicism, the Duke of Guise and the constable of Montmorency opposed them. The Catholics were opposed by a small but very efficient Huguenot army, led by the Prince of Condé and Admiral de Coligny. Both sides fought with great ferocity. In November, during the siege of Rouen, the king of Navarre died. The Duke of Guise took Rouen, won a brilliant victory at Dreux, approached Orleans, but in February 1563 was treacherously killed by a Huguenot defector sent by Admiral de Coligny. Deprived of their best commander, the Catholics began to suffer defeat. In March, war-weary parties made peace at Amboise. Under its terms, the rights of Protestants were significantly curtailed.
In July of the same year, Karl was declared an adult. But in fact, Catherine remained a sovereign ruler, because the king, in his mind, was still a perfect child, and in character, a prematurely spoiled youth. He thought only of amusements, traveled from grove to grove, hunting for deer, did not understand matters, did not care about them, and agreed to everything that his mother considered necessary to undertake. Like his older brother Francis, Charles was in poor health. However, in his actions you can see more energy and will. He was excellent at blowing a hunting horn, shoeing horses, and shooting with extraordinary accuracy. Later, he enjoyed working in the forge, which he built for himself "in the Louvre. Charles showed some interest in art and tried himself in poetry in the style of Ronsard. Not inclined, generally speaking, to cruelty, he was subject to frequent fits of rage, during which he was capable of various mischief.
In 1565, Charles, together with his mother, brothers and Henry of Navarre (son of Antoine), traveled to different regions of France. The Huguenots, at the suggestion of Coligny, wanted to capture the royal family. But she arrived safely in Paris under the reliable protection of the Swiss. This incident prompted the resumption of hostilities. This time the Huguenots suffered one defeat after another. In November 1567 the Constable of Montmorency defeated them at Saint-Denis; then, after the truce at Longjumeau, they were again defeated at Jarnac (in March 1569). The Prince of Condé was taken prisoner in this battle and was killed by the guards of the Duke of Anjou. In October, Coligny, now the leader of the Protestant party, was once again defeated at Moncontour. But the enthusiasm of the royal army faded with the siege of the fortified areas around La Rochelle. In August 1570, a third peace was concluded between the Huguenots and the Catholics in Saint-Germain. This time the Huguenots were given all the rights they wanted: freedom of conscience and worship. During the next two years there were no hostilities, but mutual wariness persisted.
At the beginning of 1571, Catherine de Medici began to insistently invite the admiral and the Queen of Navarre Jeanne to Paris. Seeing that they were avoiding a trip to the capital by all means, she began to fuss about arranging a marriage between the young Henry of Navarre (Jeanne's son) and her daughter Margaret. This marriage, according to Catherine, was the only means for the final reconciliation of the parties. Vigorous matchmaking, flattering Jeanne's pride, allowed to melt the ice of mistrust. Coligny went to Blois, where he was received with expressions of the most sincere friendliness. Karl, hugging the Admiral, assured him that this was the happiest day of his life. He introduced the old man to the state council, granted estates, money, and from that time on he called him none other than his father. The Huguenot nobles, one after another, began to follow the example of their leader and come to Paris, where they met with an invariably affectionate welcome. One holiday was replaced by another, now and then balls were held. After one of them, at the beginning of June 1572, the Queen of Navarre fell ill with pneumonia and died five days later. It was believed that she died of a cold, but there was a persistent rumor that the poisoned gloves given to her by Catherine de Medici served as the cause of death. On August 18, the marriage of Henry of Navarre with Margarita of Valois took place, and four days later, Admiral Coligny, returning from the king, was wounded by a musket shot and, by pure chance, remained alive. When the assassination was reported to Karl, he seemed extremely distressed. The king ordered to close all the Parisian outposts with the exception of two, and ordered all the Huguenots to move to the quarter where the admiral's house was located, under heavy guard of the royal guard. He himself visited the wounded man and promised to find the murderer by all means. This attempt made a painful impression on the Huguenots. Some of them offered to hastily leave the capital, but Coligny, as if blinded, did not pay attention to their warnings. On the morning of August 23, special commissioners went from house to house and compiled a census of the Huguenots who lived in them, assuring that all this was done at the royal command for their own benefit. At eleven o'clock in the evening, Heinrich of Guise cordoned off the Louvre by the Swiss. At the same time, many Parisians gathered in the city hall, where the merchant foreman John Sharon, the minion of Guise, passionately called on Catholics to take revenge on the Huguenots for past rebellions. After midnight, the sound of the tocsin in the church of St. Herman of Auxerre announced the coming of the night of St. Bartholomew. It was the agreed signal for the start of the massacre. Driven by a sense of revenge for the murder of his father, Henry of Guise with an armed detachment rushed to the house of Admiral Coligny. His henchmen broke in, stabbed the old man and threw the corpse into the street at the feet of the duke. After that, crowds of fanatics rushed to kill other Huguenots. Encouraged by the cries that the king ordered the killing of the conspirators, they walked all over the city, leaving behind piles of bodies in the houses, on the streets and on the bridges. All the brave associates of the admiral, all the adherents of the princes of the blood who came to Paris for the wedding of Henry of Bourbon - La Rochefoucauld, Teligny, Bricmont, Laforce, as well as many other nobles and nobles, paid with their lives for the trust in the king. In the Louvre itself, nobles from the retinue of Henry of Navarre were slaughtered. Shameless ladies and girls of the court staff came to admire the beauty of the naked dead. In the narrow streets of Paris there was a continuous crackle of rifle shots, swords and daggers flashed, murderers roared and the dying croaked. Crowds of mob, led by nobles, burst into houses, stabbed and slaughtered the unarmed, and chased the fleeing. The king himself fired from the window of the Louvre at the fleeing Huguenots and encouraged the Catholics to kill with shouts of encouragement. In total, more than 2,000 people were killed in Paris on St. Bartholomew's Night and the next three days. For several days, the corpses were taken by wagons to the banks of the Seine and dumped into the water. Only a few Huguenot leaders survived. Charles, after long deliberations with his mother and brother, the Duke of Anjou, decided to spare the King of Navarre and the Prince of Condé. The manifestos sent around the state said that the Huguenots were punished with death for a criminal conspiracy. At the same time, the government announced that the edict of religious tolerance remained in force, but the public worship of Calvinists was prohibited. However, villainy did not achieve its goal - the Huguenots remained as strong as before Bartholomew's night. The war resumed, but did not lead to the victory of either party. In 1573, the king signed an edict granting the Huguenots freedom of worship in the cities of La Rochelle, Nimes and Nontoban, as well as in the possessions of the nobles. All other Huguenots were granted freedom of conscience and the right to pray in their homes.
The following year, the twenty-four-year-old Karl died, probably from a chest disease from which he had suffered for about a year. In the last weeks of his life, he constantly trembled, could neither stand, nor lie down, nor sit. According to some reports, before his death, something similar to remorse arose in him: he tossed about the bed and constantly cursed those who incited him to kill.
Charles Valois was born on June 27, 1550 in the royal castle of Saint-Germain-en-Laye. Before accession to the throne, he bore the title of Duke of Orleans.
Governing body
After the death of his elder brother Francis II in 1560, he inherited his throne at the age of 10. He was crowned at Reims on May 15, 1561; the first years of the regent was the mother, Catherine de Medici. At the age of 20 (November 26, 1570) he married Elisabeth of Austria.
Religious unrest
Chancellor Michel de Lopital recommends that the queen release the Amboise conspirators. During the Colloquium at Poissy, the Queen Mother hopes to bring the Catholic party, represented by the Cardinal of Lorraine, and the Protestant party, represented by Theodore Beza, into agreement, but in vain. The Huguenots do not go for any rapprochement with the Catholics. November 16, 1561 massacre in Cahors, which ended in the death of 30 Protestants, makes further negotiations impossible. January 1, 1562 the edict of Saint-Germain-en-Laye allows Protestants to worship outside the city walls.
However, the massacre at Vassy forces the Protestants, led by Prince Ludovic Condé, to take up arms. Having won several victories, they were defeated by Francois de Guise at the Battle of Dreux on December 19, 1562. The Prince of Condé was captured, but the Protestants were able to capture another Catholic leader, Montmorency. On February 4, 1563 Francois de Guise besieges Orleans and on February 24 is killed by three pistol shots in the back. 19 March The Edict of Amboise establishes the first fragile truce. August 19, 1563 Charles comes of age, but the real power remains in the hands of Catherine de Medici.
Peace of Amboise (1563 - 1566)
The Edict of Amboise did not satisfy anyone and was hardly implemented. The ban on Protestant worship in cities, given the fact that Huguenots were in the majority in many cities and provinces, simply could not easily catch on.
In March 1564, the Great Tour of France begins, organized by the Queen Mother, with the aim of showing the king to the people and the country to the king. It was also planned to pacify the kingdom in this way - the route passed through the hottest points of the kingdom starting from Sens and Troyes in Champagne.
April 30, 1564 motorcade enters Lorraine and stops at Bar-le-Duc from May 1 to 9. Charles of Lorraine and his wife Claude, the sister of Charles IX himself, baptize their offspring Henry, 6 months old. Charles and Philip of Spain are invited to be the godfathers of the young prince. True, the King of Spain was not personally present.
Further, the route of the royal motorcade ran through Ligny-en-Barrois, Dijon, Macon, Roussillon, Valence and Avignon. During his stay in Roussillon, the king signs the Edict of Roussillon, which establishes January 1 as the first day of the year throughout the kingdom.
After a three-week break, the journey continued. In Salon-de-Provence, the queen meets her astrologer Nostradamus. Then - Aix-en-Provence, the capital of Provence, where its parliament met, Hyères, where the court celebrated the Trinity, and after - Toulon and Marseille, which festively welcomed dear guests.
In general, we can say that the pacification of Provence was successful.
In Languedoc the young king passes through Montpellier, Narbonne and Toulouse. In the Protestant cities of Gascony, he is met with respect, but with restraint. In Montauban (March 20, 1565) it was necessary to negotiate the disarmament of the city, which withstood three sieges by Blaise de Montluc. Catholic Toulouse and Bordeaux turned out to be more calm.
The motorcade enters Bayonne on June 14, via Mont-de-Marsan. Catherine de Medici pursued two goals by this: to see her daughter, the Queen of Spain, which she succeeded in, and to conclude an agreement with Spain, which did not work out.
In July, the courtyard crosses Gascony again, and in August and September, the Charente. In these Protestant-majority regions, the truce is extremely fragile, and Protestants are extremely reluctant to comply with the Edict of Amboise. Nevertheless, the king is received with the greatest loyalty. The only disturbances occur in La Rochelle, where the protesters express their discontent, and in Orleans, where the king is met with street riots.
In 1566, the king stops at Moulin, where it was decided to initiate numerous reforms. At the suggestion of Michel de l'Hospital, the Edict of Moulin was adopted, asserting the inalienability of the royal domain.
Resumption of hostilities
In June 1566, in Pamiers, despite the royal appeasement, unrest resumes and Protestants besiege the Catholic churches. Catholics respond with real terror: 300 Calvinists killed in Foix.
In August 1567, Protestants develop a plan to kidnap the king and his mother. September 24 Charles and Catherine de Medici flee to Meaux.
On September 29, some high-ranking Catholics are killed in Nimes, and then in other cities of Languedoc. Protestant troops led by Condé and Coligny reach Paris.
However, the Protestants are defeated at the Battle of Saint-Denis (Constable of Montmorency) on November 10, 1567, at the Battle of Jarnac and at the Battle of Montcontour (Duke of Anjou). Finally, on March 23, 1568, Condé and Catherine de Medici sign a treaty at Longjumeau, confirmed by a peace treaty at Saint-Germain-en-Laye in 1570.
Peace of Saint Germain
In diplomatic terms, Charles IX draws closer to England and the Holy Roman Empire. There was even talk of his possible accession to the imperial throne. On November 26, 1570, Charles IX marries Elisabeth of Austria (1554-1592), daughter of Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor (1527-1576) and Mary of Spain. In March 1571, the King and Queen solemnly enter Paris. Leading cultural figures of that time participated in the organization of celebrations.
From this marriage was born a daughter, Mary Elizabeth, who died at the age of five. In addition, the king had a relationship with Marie Touchet, lady de Belleville, who bore him a son, Charles, later Comte d'Auvergne (since 1589), and then Duke of Angouleme (since 1619).
While the king hunts, the queen mother continues her efforts to reconcile Catholics and Protestants. In the autumn of 1571, Coligny meets with the king for several days.
The king, who once received the lessons of Jacques Amyot, was fond of literature. Known are poems written by him, as well as the "Treatise on the Royal Hunt", published for the first time in 1625, republished by Henri Chevreul in 1858.
Guillaume-Gabriel Le Breton presented him in 1569 with his tragedy Adonis.
Bartholomew night
The marriage of Karl's sister Margarita and the young Protestant Henry of Navarre was supposed to lead to a long-term reconciliation of the parties. But on August 22, 1572, a few days after the wedding, there is an attempt on Coligny. Fearing an uprising, Charles IX, on the advice of his mother and advisers, decides to liquidate the leaders of the Protestants, with some exceptions, including cousins, blood princes Henry of Navarre and Henry of Conde.
This decision provoked the St. Bartholomew's Night on August 24, 1572, which led to the death of thousands of people in Paris and other major cities of France. Determined to maintain order, the king ordered an end to the bloodshed beginning on the morning of August 24, but numerous calls for calm were continually broken.
This tragedy was a turning point in the reign of Charles IX. The trampling of the Edict of Saint-Germain and the atrocities perpetrated by the royal entourage completely destroy any confidence in the royal power on the part of the Protestants. Ended for a long time with attempts at peaceful coexistence, the monarchy finally embarked on the path of complete eradication of Protestantism. The war resumes and leads to the siege of La Rochelle.
In view of the rather unexpected and in many ways mysterious nature of the development of events, St. Bartholomew's night has always been an occasion for debate. In particular, historians are concerned with the question of the extent of the king's responsibility. For a long time it was believed that the massacre was directly inspired by the crown. From the 17th century, Charles IX was considered a fanatic who personally called for murder. The pamphleteers and romantics claimed that the king personally shot the protesters who ran under the windows of his palace, which has not been reliably confirmed.
After Bartholomew's Night
The king's health always left much to be desired. The tragic events of the Bartholomew night traumatized him even more. A conspiracy is brewing against him and the Queen Mother in order to put Francis (Francois) of Alençon on the throne. The plot has been revealed, but the king finds it increasingly difficult to endure such blows of fate. He retires to the Château de Vincennes, where he takes to his bed. He is tormented by a fever, breathing is difficult, and he dies on May 30, 1574, a month before his twenty-fourth birthday. The next day, Ambroise Paré performs an autopsy and establishes the cause of death - secondary pleurisy, which developed against the background of a tuberculosis infection.
His successor was his younger brother Heinrich, who, for the sake of French throne abandoned Polish. There is a version that it was he who poisoned Charles with a book soaked in poison, which was intended for Henry IV of Navarre. Other sources say that it was Francois - the youngest of the Valois brothers. However, all sources agree that the poisoner was sent by their mother Catherine de Medici
Widowed at the age of twenty, the young Queen Elizabeth returns to Austria. In 1576 she retired to the convent of the Clarissa, which she founded. Their daughter died in 1578.
From wife Elisabeth of Habsburg: Maria Elisabeth of Valois (died aged 5 - 27 October 1572 - 2 February 1578)
