General Notes

Henry III (of France) (1551-1589), king of France (1574-1589), the last of the
Valois kings. Despite his considerable gifts, he failed to resolve the
religious civil wars in his country and brought it close to bankruptcy.
Henry was born at Fontainebleau on September 19, 1551, the third son of Henry
II and Catherine de Médicis. He was the leader against the Huguenots (French
Protestants) and took part in the victories over them at Jarnac and at
Moncontour in 1569. In 1572 he aided his mother in planning the Massacre of
Saint Bartholomew's Day. He was elected king of Poland in 1573, but after one
year returned to France to ascend the throne on the death of his brother,
Charles IX. The wars between the Roman Catholics and Protestants continued
throughout Henry's reign.
In 1576 Henry issued the Edict of Beaulieu, which accorded more privileges to
the Huguenots. Displeased with the edict, the Roman Catholics, under the
leadership of Henri I de Lorraine, 3rd duc de Guise, then formed the Holy
League and renewed the war with the Huguenots. The war ended in 1577 with the
Peace of Bergerac and the king dissolved the league after revoking some of the
concessions made to Protestants. The league was revived in 1584, however, when
the king's younger brother died, leaving Henry III of Navarre (a Huguenot,
later Henry IV of France) legal heir to the throne of the childless king.
In 1585, when the king, forced by the league, excluded Henry of Navarre from
the succession and repealed all the privileges granted to the Huguenots, Henry
of Navarre began the so-called War of the Three Henrys against the league and
the king. Defeated at Coutras in 1587, the king found his power rivaled by
that of the duc de Guise. In 1588, on the Day of Barricades, the citizenry of
Paris, led by the duc de Guise, revolted against the king, forcing him to flee
the city. The king subsequently had Henri de Lorraine and his brother Louis de
Lorraine assassinated and allied himself with Henry of Navarre, whom he
declared his successor. The two Henrys then became joint leaders of a Huguenot
army. While attempting to regain Paris on August 1, 1589, the king was stabbed
by Jacques Clément, a fanatical Dominican friar, and died the next day.