Romancing the Renaissance:
the Feminization of Early Modern Culture in Twentieth Century Mass Media

English 339

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Henri de Navarre
Mike Messaros

A French king whose leadership, wit and womanizing have become legendary, Henri de Navarre once said "A chicken in every peasants pot every Sunday," epitomizing the concern he showed for the people of his once divided country.

Henri de Navarre, also referred to as Henri IV or Henri de Bourbon, was born Dec. 13, 1553 to Antoine de Bourbon and Jeanne d'Albret. In 1569, he became the leader of the Huguenot, or Protestant, party. In 1572, he succeeded his mother to become king of the Navarre region. In the same year, he married Marguerite de Valois, a marriage between Catholic and Protestant which caused a major furor, and resulted in the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre (Aug. 23-24). By converting to Catholicism, he saved his life, but on his escape to his home in Navarre in 1576, he converted back, and his marriage was annuled.

In 1584, he was named heir presumptive by Henri III. But Henri 3rd, Duc de Guise persuaded Henri III to send an army to force Henri de Navarre's conversion to Catholicism. The resulting war was termed the "War of the Three Henries." He defeated the king at Coutras in 1587 with a force of Protestants and moderate Catholics, but came to the king's aid in 1588 when Guise betrayed him and exiled him from Paris. After the assassination of Henri III in 1589, Henri became king and went on to defeat the Catholic League forces at Arques in 1589 and Irvey in 1590.

In 1594 he finally entered Paris as king after giving up Protestantism, saying that "Paris is well worth a Mass." During his reign, he went to war with Spain, a conflict that ended with the Treaty of Vervins in 1598. That same year, the Edict of Nantes brought an end to religious intolerance. He married his niece Marie de Medici in 1600.

Henri de Navarre was assasinated on May 14, 1610 by fanatic Francois Ravallaic and was succeeded by his 9-year-old son Louis XIII.

Henri de Naverre appears in:

- the French movie Queen Margot (1994, Miramax), played by Daniel Auteuil.

- the three act historical drama "The King has gone to Tenebrae," which premiered at Northern Michigan

University in 1985.

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