Henri IV - The King of France (1589-1610) - The Good King

[Music] one could not make up better fiction than the real life events taking place in france during the days of henry of bourbon the facts alone provide all the romance suspense intrigue and cunning deceit one could ask for in a story henry iv was arguably one of the ableist monarchs to sit on the throne of france but the long drama leading up to henry's reign is an entire story in itself rivalries appeared between different branches of the royal family the story of the kings of france is no bed of roses by the time henry of naval first of the bourbon kings of france succeeded to the throne in 1589 paris was in chaos after 260 years the house of valois came to an inglorious end queen catherine the great matriarch could not help but view her nephew as a threat because of this and the fact that he was raised in the protestant faith he would spend many years being controlled manipulated and even imprisoned by the royal family to prevent him from becoming a leader of the huguenots [Music] once able to escape the court and catherine's grasp henry fought battle after battle as king of navarre in hopes of securing religious tolerance for france finally all his cousins dead with no sons born to them he was proclaimed the next king of france and had to fight his way across france and into paris to claim his throne [Music] initially angry king of navarre is not destined to become henry iv king of france navarre it is because he is descended from the bull bones one of the capistia family branch by his father antoine de bourbon that angry is descendant of saluii henry of bourbon was born halfway into the 16th century in 1553 a child of the renaissance at the time of henry's birth the changing cultural political and religious climate in europe referred to as the renisos was nearing its end renaissance rebirth a time of discovery and change in the world was roughly from 1375 to 1575. this time frame corresponded almost exactly with the reign of the valois dynasty in france but it was not until the early 16th century when francis the first while fighting in italy discovered their exciting new ways of looking at the world and brought the italian renaissance home with him to france by the late 1500s the great crowned princes of europe had achieved a strong measure of unity within their own countries naturally the next move for the ambitious and adventure seeking crowned princes of europe was to look to expand their wealth and power beyond their borders kings could either attack and overtake their neighbors lands or claim new ones the acquisition of new colonies strengthened the position of spain and its king charles v considerably as a result france began to feel vulnerable it took francis the first and later his son agri ii a long time to restore france's position opposite charles v and later his son philip ii of spain in 1517 early in the reign of francis the first of france a german monk named martin luther began to question the teachings of the established church echoing earlier religious descent that had been present for centuries prior luther objected to the church's greed corruption and lack of spirituality expressing shock at the wealth of rome and the lack of faith that was commonplace there the popes had become sumptuous princes who had no hesitation in going to war and did little to relieve the suffering of the poor luther wrote down his objections in a document called the 95 theses articles and nailed them to the church door in wittenberg this act marked the start of the religious movement known as the reform luther preached the reform or transformation of the catholic religion other reformers like the frenchman in geneva jean calvert went even further in their criticism of church practices calvinists felt the ceremonial trappings of the roman church and the need for an intercessory like a priest kept the people from experiencing god the landlords who chose calvinism the protestants are under the influence of calvinist preachers the famous teodor de bes recognized as an excellent orator for example explains that they must give up catholicism because it has become idol worship what does that mean to pray to saints to worship statues in front of every church that is not being a christian the message of christ comes from the gospel it has to be read directly in the bible all this criticism eventually led to a breakaway from the catholic church and the setting up of churches for the reformed religion there were more and more followers of the reformed religion who were beginning to be known as protestants most of germany the scandinavian states and britain took on the ideas of the reformation these new national churches no longer recognize the spiritual and moral authority of the pope those lords liked it very much first of all they liked the simple and logical theology and also it took power away from the church and gave a part of it back to them in parts of the realm that converted to protestantism they suppressed taxes paid to the church which meant more money for them because of the nearness of calvin's geneva the reformation spread to france the bitter feud building between the catholics and the french protestants known as huguenots during francis the first and his son henry ii's reign would erupt into the wars of religion a civil war that would break out in 1562 when henry of navarre was just nine years old and last for almost 50 years the people have to be converted as quickly as possible to the new religion churches are whitewashed statues of saints are broken wooden ones are burnt and people become protestant this is a growing movement the catholic party owning the power sees itself stuck having to make arrangements having to fight when needed it was a dreadful period of time because the country was being wrecked [Music] the wedding of henry iv's parents took place in the fall of 1548. antoine of bourbon a direct descendant of louis ix by way of his sixth son robert de bourbon was the first prince of the blood heir to the french throne following the descendants of the valois king francis the first also a direct descendant of saint louis his bride jean dalbrey was the king's niece and daughter to henry dalbrae king of navarre the marriage bond may have supplied the additional benefit of supporting his political aspirations but he and his bride married for love jean del mare's mother the mystical and learned marguerite of naval was the adored sister of king francis the first francis knew his sister possessed a powerful political mind and was an invaluable asset to the throne margaret invested all of her mind talents and energies in her beloved brother the king as a consequence when she begot her first child jean she too was placed at the service of the royal favor jean grew up the daughter of two kings and two courts king france's plan was to keep zhan close and use her where he found her most beneficial to his kingdom thus her early years were spent far from her father's chateau of paul and in the castles of laura and blue she was impulsive and headstrong rejecting several suitors until finally settling on the handsome antoine de bourbon [Music] francis the first was succeeded by the eldest of his four sons henry ii and his wife catherine of medicis became queen thus it was henry ii who was present at his cousin jan's wedding in 1548 during the 1550s france was still caught up in the never-ending wars with the empire jan did not like to be away from antoine in the early years of their marriage she was very often joining him at the war camps in piccadilly even when she was pregnant she stayed close to her husband roaming the countryside in hopes of being able to meet up with him antoine not eager to see his child born in an army camp was able to join her in september for the long journey southward to the country of bayan in the small kingdom of navarre they reached the chateau de po in early december 10 days later on the 13th of december 1553 jean gave birth to a healthy boy from his birth henry's life took on a legend-like quality legend has it that once born henry's grandfather wrapped the baby in a fold of his cloak handed his daughter a gold box containing his will saying that's for you but this is for me having long dreamt of regaining the large part of his kingdom that had been conquered and usurped from his parents by the habsburg ferdinand of aragon in 1512 he was sure that the prince would grow up to restore the kingdom of navarre to its former glory but the old king did not live long enough to see his dream unfold he died on the 24th of may 1555 leaving his daughter jean d'albre queen of navarre renjan as her people would call her jean continued to follow her husband everywhere the commonly used image depicting henry as a little peasant who becomes king of france is incorrect it is true that henry has been raised like a peasant his grandfather henry of albert king of navarre wanted it like that he entrusted a noble family from around pow the meal sends his son and told them he must have the games of a children his age and he must speak bernais the language of the peasants of that land the difference was that at certain times of the day henry was being instructed by a preceptor who taught him to write french and latin and henry was very intelligent and gifted [Music] when it came to the long-standing feud with the habsburgs king henry ii simply carried on where his father francis the first had left off he decided to turn to charles v of spain's enemies the german protestant princes the king promised to help them if he was allowed to pick up three rather useful fortresses in lorraine along the border with germany tulle mess and verda the princes agreed henry and the princes combined were too strong for spain charles had to make peace next he decided to try like his father had to invade italy with the intention of ensuring french rather than habsburg domination of european affairs he began the italian war of 1551 sometimes known as the habsburg valois war [Music] [Music] charles v had abdicated to his son philippe in 1556 and by 1559 both sides were exhausted and running very short of cash henry ii and philip ii signed the piece of kato kombresis in april of that year in the end henry ii was denied italy but picked up kele from the english peace was formally restored the long series of conflicts between france and spain were temporarily ended the piece was short-lived henry ii is a strong handsome man who practiced many physical activities in that sense he was very much like his father francis the first henry is very fond of one of the king's favorite sports he defies the captain of his guard montgomery montgomery's spear breaks a tiny piece of it passes through the helmet's visor into the eye of henry ii [Music] the queen mother immediately found herself in an extremely vulnerable situation religious tensions were leading up to the civil strife that would devastate the country from within her husband had left her with five young children a kingdom divided and three other families vying for the throne although she felt secure with four sons in line for the throne they were very young and easily manipulated she was left to jockey and defend her role as primary advisor among several other potential powerhouses rivals to her sons were their cousins the bourbon princes of the blood young henry's father antoine and his brothers charles or cardinal borbon and conde and two other contending families the houses of momorenci and giese and mamarenci was the high constable of the kingdom he was a catholic but he had three huguenot nephews among them the talented admiral gaspar de collini the momoresis were conveniently positioned with a foot in each camp the geezes were fanatical catholics although they had no royal lineage they had supplied a queen to scotland marie de geas married james v of scotland and a queen to france their niece maui stuart was married to francis catherine's eldest son [Music] while henry ii laid dying at the old palace of the tourell and it was concluded her husband would not recover from his wound catherine gathered her children and fled to the louvre with the geese family right behind her her eldest son francis just 16 was immediately proclaimed king francis ii and crowned at the cathedral in rance on july the 10th [Music] the conspiracy of amboise takes place in march 1560 what we call conspiracy is in fact a movement led by some protestant lords who consider that the young king of france francis ii and his family are not able to reign because they are being manipulated by some tyrannic catholic princes the princes of the house of lorraine the geese those conspirator protestants are actually going to be arrested [Music] another king's sudden death however allowed the trial to be discontinued resulting in condi and naval's release francis ii had died struck down by mastoiditis an infection in the ear which led to an abscess in his brain prince henry of navarre only six at the time had started his instruction in the protestant faith when his cousin charles catherine's next oldest son inherits the throne at age nine charles ix was only a few years older than henry catherine was finally able to grab hold of more control ruling as regent until charles came into his majority since the advent of charles ix catherine de medicis is inflicting jeopardy between the geese and the huguenots in 1561 antoine de bourbon is made lieutenant general of the kingdom blinded by his promotion and further promises of a restored navarre switches sides his vanity left him blind to the manipulations of catherine and the geese family having accepted the reform two years ago he defects to the queen mother's religion when he struggles to get his wife to renounce protestantism too their marriage is never the same once it is clear that jan dalbrae would rather die than abjur her faith she is ordered to leave the court in 1562 but her son henry is ordered to stay but antoine dies at the end of the year as the result of wounds received fighting for the catholic side during the first war of religion jan dalbrey returns to court and the prince once again is brought up in the calvinist religion henry was nine in 1562 when the french wars of religion began and his father died the bitter feud between the two factions which had been rumbling for many years at last erupted like a volcano the major engagement of the first civil war occurred at rua drew and oglion the siege of rohar took place from may to october 1562. the battle of dru in december of 1562 saw the capture of kandi by the geezes and momoronsi the governor general by the bourbons but the protestants held fast at the battle of oleon with momoransi and conde captured and naval dead the duke francis of ghez knew that if he could just win aurelia he would be the most powerful man in france this formidable leader of the house of lorraine would most likely have become master of the kingdom and the sole guardian of a royal child had he not been murdered by a young squire named paultroll the popular unrest caused by the assassination coupled with the fact that orlean was holding out in the siege led catherine to mediate a truce and the edict of amboise of 1563 meanwhile at court henry attends the college of navarre named by francis the first after his sister margherita navarre his classmates were the new duka de ghis henry and his royal cousin prince henry the future henry iii these three henries were to grow up and play starring roles in a drama that would determine the fate of france [Music] adding to catherine's fears is the fact that she is unable to seduce jean del bre with the trappings of her sumptuous renaissance court jean remains unimpressed with the painted ways and vices of court finally in 1567 tired of feeling despised as the protestant protagonist jean finds a way to leave with her son and return to pour the renaissance palace of his birth in the loire valley from her hilly kingdom of bayan walled in by two catholic powers she lent to the rising movement aid council money and arms the second civil war is fought that fall huguenots provoked france in a six-month conflict ending in march with the peace of london the juxtaposition of jean's return to navarre in the civil war further implicates her in catholic's eyes as a conspirator the following year 1568 the crown formally revoked the edict of january which had since 1562 allowed the greatest measure of religious liberties to the huguenots practicing protestants were reduced to acts of sedition while at po henry completes his education and begins his training as the future king of navarre makes the prince lieutenant general of the kingdom of navarre he was taught to be a skilled swordsman how to handle polax halberd or sponton and the pike an infantry spear 18 feet long jean presents henry to the huguenot army he then participates in campaigns under the only remaining huguenot leader admiral de colini the battle of jharnak in march of 1569 and of moncontour in october [Applause] [Music] the scheming florentine queen proposes a strategic marriage of her daughter princess margherita to prince henry henry ii promised his daughter to henry of navarre and catherine of medici as a sharp politician agrees to fulfill her husband's commitment she would make her daughter marguerite marry henry by choosing her nephew she was primarily aiming to end the civil wars that were threatening the stability of the valois monarchy the alliance was an attempt to regain her power and take credit for bringing peace jan del bre reluctantly agrees to her son's marriage to the catholic princess she doesn't like the idea of this wedding at all besides this idea of a catholic getting married to a protestant will create a very complicated situation the pope doesn't give his authorization but the cardinal archbishop in paris is told that the authorization has left rome but hasn't arrived yet catherine definitively wants this marriage she thinks it will give her big power over the protestants but before she can see her son mary queen jean dies after a very brief illness contracted upon her arrival at court upon his mother's death henry of naval becomes king of navarre and plans for the royal wedding continue tensions were extremely high that summer france was deeply divided by the wars of religion raging across europe catholics and protestants had been fighting and killing each other for years this marriage perceived as an act of peacemaking with the protestants causes a lot of huguenots to come to paris especially henry of navarre's friends suddenly the catholic people of paris strongly react and say we agree to make peace with the huguenots but what are they doing in paris first they marry the king's sister what is coming next on august the 18th in the midst of such tension king henry of navarre is wed to margherite devalua henry ii's last surviving daughter the city seethed with discontent and whispered incitements to murder a stifling heatwave that hit paris was yet another provocation for a city already on the verge of rebellion just six days later all hell would break loose many historians believe the saint bartholomew's massacre in paris was inspired by religious zealotry but the true cause was political catherine of medici still a very fine politician wants another protestant dead this man is admiral gaspar of kalinich and he's very close to the king there was probably a conspiracy scheduled between charles ix and catherine of medici in order to eliminate him and a few protestant leaders on august the 22nd unbeknownst to charles colliny became the victim of a botched assassination attempt catherine and geez desperate for a way to cover up the bungled plot chose to order the massacre of all the protestants in paris like hiding a needle in a haystack they would hide colony's murder among many murders but how to convince charles to order it catherine's scheme that their best bet was to manipulate him into thinking that the protestants were planning a revolt against him on the night of the 24th of august the wily queen wasted no time she utilized all her devious resources to turn charles against colin she revealed the truth that it wasn't just ghees but that she and his brother henry had been in on the attempt on colin his life he was told that colleen was not a true friend that he was only using charles for his plans to go to war with spain and that he was at that very hour planning a revolt against the royal family fear and anger triggered charles's madness what happened on this day of august 24th it is hard to say whether this conspiracy aimed to kill so many protestants i personally don't think so i think it was just about killing a few leaders but everything went wrong navarre and his cousin prince cordee were summoned at dawn to the king's chambers their attendants were asked to stay in the hall charles informed them of the intended massacre and told that if they observed their faith they would be spared their attendance was slain by the royal guards in the palace corridors navarre and conde were forced to listen to their comrades screams unable to do anything as they were hunted down and killed [Applause] henry's swiss guards were easily taken down and the admiral was stabbed in his bed and thrown out of the window where the dukdegis was waiting below to finish the deed this done he sent the signal the clanger from the belfry of saint-germain-loksihua action the entrances to the city were closed off and the catholics commenced to murder all the protestants in paris whose houses had been pointed out beforehand the bodies were washed down the sun people were thrown in the sun and if they did not appear to be drowning fast enough they were taken out of the water with a spear stabbed and then thrown back in again [Music] the royal cousin had barely escaped death despite the humiliation given the chance to forswear his faith and save his skin henry of navarre took it a month later he and conde became the principal figures in an elaborate ceremony whereby they publicly abjured the reformed faith young henry of navarre finds himself locked in or at least under very strict surveillance court since the day of saint bartholomew in august 1572 he would stay in this very complicated situation from 1572 to 1576. catherine's third son henry duke of anjou was offered the polish throne in 1573 charles ix succumbed to an early death he died in may months after his brother's appointment upon the death of his brother henry of aung zhu was called home from poland to take the throne as henry iii despite his mother's letters urging him to hurry home so that she could witness her favorite son crowned king henry takes a full three months to return to france preferring to luxuriate in an italian summer the epicenter of the renaissance on february the 13th 1575 henry iii was crowned king at rand's cathedral another botched escape attempt during king charles's funeral left navarre resigned to his fate he affected an agreeable and compliant demeanor at the court of the new king henry iii perhaps viewing it as his best chance of getting away alive navarre played his part well maintaining the fabulous fiction of a court of friends in reality life at court was tense and fraught with potential danger marguerite amused herself with numerous admirers and navarre took a mistress of his own charlotte de sov would be the first of henry's infamous mistresses a predilection for which he would come to earn the nickname revere gallon but after three and a half years of semi-captivity in an idle and hostile court navarre grew weary the encouragement of his friend and follower agrippa dobin spurred him to action in 1576 [Music] the ten years following henry's flight from the louvre marked an idyllic interlude in a very action-packed life having lost control of his royal cousin a few months after henry's escape the king signed the edict of boulder granting many concessions to the huguenots years of comparative peace in france allowed navarre time to establish his own court and hone his skills as a young galant a new political party quietly formed during this time the worst of the catholic hardliners were sharply opposed to the king's latest attempts to reconcile the two opposing factions so they founded a movement called the catholic league henry the first duke of geese son of the famous catholic hero was leader of the activists a few years later henry takes up an affair with a young girl of fifteen at his court manual la fosus when his mistress becomes pregnant marguerite is eventually asked to help with the delivery of the child margarite uses henry's affair as a pretence for leaving court when in fact she had already been growing bored stifled by the huguenot austerity in march of 1582 after four years with henry at nerak and po henry's wily wife returns to her brother's court henry nonplussed by the change in circumstance continues to gallantly avail himself to the available young women of gasco and guyen the following year he falls deeply in love with the contest the grammar a friend of his sisters henry is absolutely charmed by corissand as she is called [Music] on the 10th of june 1584 catherine's fourth and youngest son hercules later known as francis de valois died his death left his cousin king of navarre the heir presumptive the death of the king's brother kicked off the war of the three henries the three men that had attended the college of navarre together as boys now found themselves in direct competition for the crown the war of the three henrys begins in 1587. the three henrys are henry iii king of france henry de geas king of the league and henry of navarre leader of the huguenots from henry de naval's flight from the court until his avenue in 1589 a long way awaits him a political struggle and a military fight for his position in the summer of 1587 he led an elite army of the huguenot cause in a strategic attempt to lead the royal army south into hugueno-controlled lands and destroyed through attrition fighting a hundred petty skirmishes always on the front lines he thrived on risk and the hardships of war living in the saddle for months at a time by late summer henry was preparing to attack the league on its own ground queen elizabeth finally agreed to secretly supply money to augment his troops with german mercenaries at the start of the battle of kutra henry was caught a little off-guard by the closeness of the royal army nevertheless he inspired his men with his optimism looking at the enemy and yelling they are ours glory be to god service to the king our sovereign lord may honor be ours and salvation to the state they did fight hard by midday they were victorious the battle of kutra was henry's first major victory in five years and his first great military victory as commander won by his own courage and tactics it was a win unparalleled in the history of the religious wars ending the catholic league's last hope for eradicating the huguenots in march 1588 navarre is dealt a terrible blow he writes corizone one of the greatest tragedies i could ever fear has just happened to me this is the sudden death of the prince the hot and fiery huguenot was believed to have been poisoned grande's death was a triumph for the league the huguenots had lost a daring leader would this be a final blow to navarre his weary troops were no match for henry of ghees and the league to astrologers and other seers of the period 1588 was a year of dreadful portent it was not known which kingdom was destined to endure the catastrophe the major drama of the religious conflict would take place this year ghees had always been in secret communication with philip ii he was paid to fight for the abolition of the reformed religion and hindered the protestant prince from ever reaching the throne the support had paid off by this time the catholic league was now the most powerful party in the realm in paris these demagogues had intimidated parliament undermined the king's authority at any opportunity and convinced the populace that they were protectors of the faith by may of 1588 henry of ghies had the devotion of the populace the political backing of the roman church and the monetary and military support of spain even the king who was known for avoiding bad news entirely could not deny the revolutionary atmosphere growing in the streets of paris the relationships between henry iii king of france and the leader of the catholic league the duke of geese up to a point where the king of france banned the duke from the court in 1588 [Music] his confidence grew daily overtaking the king's orders the duke of ghez comes back to paris in 1588 he was welcomed by the people as jesus christ would have been when he walked into jerusalem people touched his coat when he passed by the women fell to their knees for the king this scandal is unacceptable how could anyone challenge the king's authority so directly the king who was more catholic than anybody who sat on the throne by divine right whom god's holy oil had sealed many hardline catholics saw in this movement the salvation of the roman church which was all the justification needed it is not known what was said but after some discussion catherine and geez headed to the louvre passing the gathering crowds the city watched and waited with excitement in anticipation of a power move by the heroic geese after two meetings with geez henry grew even more fearful he was clearly losing hold of paris but to attack the league would inflame his people against him his tacticians came up with a strategy to defeat the league without any bloodshed the king sends his troops consisting of soldiers from his french and swiss guards he orders them to settle on the crossroads and places an order to gain position all over paris the plan was a good one and it was executed brilliantly but the league had a plan of its own parisian bourgeois members of the militia take their weapons gather in the streets and then close the streets to set up barricades it is the first time this word is being used it comes from the word barik barrel in french because people used barrels that they would fill with soil or bricks to close the streets they would tie chains and the french and the swiss troops would become prisoners inside the city not able to fight or maneuver anymore so that they will have to lay down their weapons and surrender this is one more great humiliation for the king of france to find himself defeated by the bourgeois from paris backed up by the duke of ghees and the catholic league [Music] after that day henry iii cannot deal with the situation anymore and will lock himself in the castle of the louvre and then flee the danger finding refuge in shots the duke of ghees is the man of power in spring 1958. he demands from king henry iii a declaration stating that the crown of france can only be granted to a catholic prince henry was to surrender half the great strongholds and all the chief posts in his kingdom to the league geez was to be made lieutenant general of the kingdom the king of france accepts but he is deeply humiliated by those terms even if he is a catholic king and has no sympathy for the protestants he is very much devoted to the defense of traditions the months leading into winter tensions between the duke and the king had grown ghees was alerted to rumors of assassination he threatened the king with all-out war he decides to hold general estates in blue giving the duke of ghees all the possible guarantees of his safety early in the morning on the 23rd of december the duke de geas and his brother louis ii cardinal of giz headed to a meeting of the king's council at the chateau of bloes in the courtyard of the castle and on the winding steps of the famous renaissance stairway of francis the first the duke remarked there were an unusual number of royal guards as they arrived in the council chamber ghees was told that the king wished to see him in the private room adjoining the royal bedroom once there guardsmen murdered the duke outright and then took down the cardinal henry put his foot on the dead duke in triumph to make sure that no contender for the french throne was free to act against him the king had the duke's son imprisoned this is henry iii vengeance for all the humiliations and this is when he officially decides after having killed the duke of ghees and the cardinal of lorraine his brother to make alliance with henry of navarre he lacked the foresight to see that his murder of the widely popular duke would inflame the people it took almost no time before parliament instituted criminal charges against the king and the pope excommunicated him for the murder of a cardinal any hopes catherine had for her family to prevail were crushed she was too old and sick and tired to fight anymore in less than two weeks on january the fifth the great matriarch mother of three kings was dead henry of bourbon immediately saw an opening peace would only be achieved by the restoration of a strong monarchy he saw in the overthrow of the king the ruin of the country he went to the king to offer his support this time henry iii was in no position to refuse his protestant cousin and the two formed an alliance against the league on the 1st of august 1589 henry iii lodged with the royal army at san cle or descen and was preparing for an assault to retake paris when a young fanatical dominican friar jacques clemont carrying false papers was granted access to deliver important documents to the king the monk gave the king a bundle of papers and stated that he had a secret message to deliver the king signaled for his attendance to step back for privacy and clemor whispered in his ear while plunging a knife into his abdomen clemmer was killed on the spot by the guards in effect it was a useless assassination for the catholic cause for the king's successor was a protestant before he died he proclaimed i beg you as my friends and order you as your king to recognize after my death my brother here and to have for him the same affection and fidelity that you have always had for me the following morning he died within the course of 30 years henry ii catherine de medici and four of their sons were dead three having taken a turn of being king and not one was able to produce an heir the valuer dynasty had given way to the house of bourbon to which the new sovereign belonged thus henry iv starts the bourbon line after the death of all his brothers-in-law his claim due to his seniority in the house of mormon and his descent from louis ix of france but henry's solid claim was not enough to ensure him the throne henry iv had inherited a kingdom that did not want a protestant king and paris refused itself to him just as marguerite had five long years pass demanding of him great vision courage and patience before he can finally enter paris and be crowned henry iv of france and novar his ultimate achievement was no less than extraordinary from his earliest years henry had been a witness and a participant in the dynastic and religious drama which was to culminate in a struggle centered in his own person [Music] as the leader of a hunted opposition he faced overwhelming adversity his mother dead his friends and mentors murdered by his own kinsmen he found himself quite alone his life spared he was not spared the humiliation of being forced to convert to catholicism of being wed to a woman who refused him and of being detained at court against his will for years excellent survival instincts had him swallow his pride and affect a harmless and frivolous disposition in order to divert his enemies suspicions once freed and bent on earning back the admiration of the protestant rebels he heads the protestant army fighting bravely and tirelessly enduring crushing reversals with unshakable optimism as commander he proved to be a brilliant strategist a courageous leader and a daring soldier once he was the heir apparent he turned down repeated invitations by his valois relatives to return to paris letting his political acumen guide him watching and waiting until the timing was right when henry iv was proclaimed king in 1589 it was under the most inauspicious conditions as the successful rival to the geese claims to the throne he was hated by the holy league the powerful catholic party and literally denied the throne by the pope but henry's natural gaiety his love for his country and the people of france spurred him on episode 2 of henry iv picks up at this point in time with an apparently insurmountable dilemma if henry follows his conscience embracing his mother's religion and those he fought side by side with for so many years he will never be crowned king of france and if he absorbs his protestantism submitting to the league's condition for supporting him he stands to alienate his lifelong allies in england germany and switzerland as well as his protestant brethren at home the skill with which he resolved that dilemma achieved his lifelong goal of peace and religious freedom makes abundantly clear why since his reign and to this day he is known as henry the great

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Rating: 4.647059 out of 5

Keywords: documentary, history, France, kings, monarchy, archives, French King, king, monarch, royal family, kings of france, King of Navarre, Reformation, Catholic, Protestant, religious war, dynasty, prince, europe, colony, religion, war, martin luther, reform, transformation, reformation, church, huguenots, catholic, catholicism, emperor, king of france, documentaries, empire, french empire, french, doco, ruler, kingdom, battle, political, religious, royal, nobility, royalty

Id: Q64JqxVY0F8

Length: 49min 50sec (2990 seconds)

Published: Mon May 17 2021