King Henry IV
King Henri IV was born at Pau in Bearn on December 13, 1553. Raised by his mother, Jeane d'Albret (Queen of Navarre), Henri was brought up in a remote castle in the Pyrenees. He grew up amongst the peasant children of that area and raised on a diet of bread, cheese, and garlic. As a youngster Henri was brought up in the Protestant faith, which was the opposite of his father's wishes. As result, Henri was taken to Paris on his father's orders and given a Catholic tutor. However, he stubbornly refused to attend Mass. Consequently, after the death of his father, Henri was once again instructed by a Protestant tutor. By the age of ten, Henri had already changed religions twice. Remaining in Paris, Henri attended classes at the College de Navarre. Gradually he learned to speak and write fluent Latin and Greek, and he had managed to attain some Spanish and Italian. In 1567 Henri reestablished himself in Pau, reuniting with his mother and sister Catherine. His education was continued, this time including fencing and military arts. Five years later, after an outbreak of several religious wars, the marriage between Henri and the reining king's sister, Marguerite de Valois (a Catholic), was arranged so as to bring temporary peace to France.
After Henri's mother's death, the wedding took place. The two were wed on August 18, 1572 at Notre-Dame. Little did the new king know, that day would mark the prelude of a great tragedy. During the wedding, Catherine de Medici consented to the assassination of Admiral de Coligny. On August 22 he was shot at from a window but was merely injured. The Huguenots (French Protestants) were enraged. Queen Medici finally agreed that a general massacre was the only solution to terminate Admiral de Coligny. Before dawn on Sunday, August 24, 1572, the Duc de Guise's swordsmen broke into the Admirals bedroom. He was brutally skewered with a pike, then his corpse was thrown out of a window and hanged by the ankles from the public gibbet. The signal was given and the Paris mob was unleashed. The mob was totally merciless, savagely slitting the throats of all possible Protestants without the willing pity unto children and pregnant women. The Louvre was transformed into a slaughterhouse; the bodies of dead and tortured Huguenot bodies gathered along staircases and piled up against walls. Henri and his cousin Conde were spared only for the sake that they beheld royal blood within their vanes. After that, Henri was forced to change his religion for a third time. In addition, he remained prisoner at court for four years. After the death of King Charles IX, Henry of Navarre's cousin, Henri III became king. King Henry made peace with the Huguenots. After being defeated multiple times by superior Catholic armies, King Henri III turned to Henri of Navarre for help. The help of Henri of Navarre made it once again possible for Henri III to recover his lost powers. Together the pair soon controlled the entire area between the Loire and the Seine. On July 30 he besieged Paris with an army of 40,000. On the peak of this achievement, the king was stabbed by Dominican friar, Jacques Clement. Henry III died that night after ordering his followers to take an oath of allegiance to Henri of Navarre. As result, Henri by nam
Some common words found in the essay are:
Queen Medici, Edict Nantes, Henry IV, July Paris, Rouen Taking, Spanish Italian, France Henri, Navarre Henri, Duke Parma, Rouen April, king henri, edict nantes, henri navarre, henri iii, admiral de coligny, navarre henri, result henri, henri iv, accepted king, de medici, king henri iv, king france,
Approximate Word count = 1350
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
|
