Civil WarIn France(1562-1598)

The Valois Family:The Beginning of the EndHenri II was the last

powerful ValoisThree weak sons

followed: Francis II (1559-

1560) Charles IX (1560-

1574) Henri III (1571-1589)

Catherine de’ Medici

controlled the sons: Was mother to

the boys Played both

sides in the civil war

Developed a reputation for cruelty

Francis II & His Wife, Mary Stuart

The Medicis and the Guises• French King Henri II died in 1559

– Weakness in the monarchy occurs– Power struggle between Guises, Montmorency, and Bourbons

• Catherine de Medici unsuccessfully attempts to reconcile the differences between the Protestants and the Catholic Guises (dominant radical Catholic group of Eastern France) with the edict of toleration granting religious toleration

• 1562--The Duke of Guise massacres Protestant worshippers in a barn causing the French wars of religion

The massacre of worshipping Protestants at Vassy, France (March 1, 1562), which began the French wars of religion. An engraving by an unidentified seventeenth-century artist

Statistics

• Only 10% of the French population was Calvinist.

• About 40% of noble families converted to Calvinism.

The French Civil War There were two sides:

Guise family led Catholics in North Bourbon family led Huguenots in South Fighting for the royal inheritance

Catherine turns to the Guises fearing Protestant leader Admiral Coligny and the Hugenots would end her son’s reign and the Valois monarchy

After about ten years of fighting, the Hugenots gained the upper hand with the death of the Duke of Guise

A Marriage Occurs

• In hopes of maintaining her son, King Charles IX on the throne, Catherine arranges a marriage between her daughter and Henry of Navarre (a main leader of the Hugenots)

• In 1572, Hugenot aristocracy gathered in Paris for the wedding

St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre

August 24, 1572• Catherine convinces her son King Charles IX that a

Huguenot coup was about to happen• Coligny and 3,000 Huguenots are massacred in

Paris / within three days 20,000 other Protestants are also killed in France

• Henri of Navarre, a Bourbon, survived due to converting back to Catholicism on the spotlater recants

• in response, Protestant writers call for an active defense of religious rights

St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDrUNhdPjVs&edufilter=scO_Mq_iPeSU9rbqR5CtTQ&safe=active

Henry III• Guise family, unhappy with the marriage of

Henry of Navarre (Hug) and French king’s daughter, formed the powerful Catholic League to challenge the Valois dynasty

• Henry III and Catherine turned to Henry of Navarre to defeat the Catholic League

• AGREEMENT: Henry of Navarre will become the heir to the throne after defeating the Guise family

The French Civil War

Henri of Navarre defeated Catholic League

Henry III is assassinated Henry of Navarre becomes Henry IV King

of France. Effects of Civil War:

France was left divided by religion Royal power had weakened Valois family now replaced by

Bourbons

CatholicLeague

ProtestantUnion

CIVILWAR

Triumphal Entry of Henry IV Into Paris – Peter Paul

Reubens

Ended Spanish interference in France

Converted to Catholicism : Did this to compromise and make

peace This was an example of politique

[the interest of the state comes first before any religious considerations]

Passed Edict of Nantes in 1598: Granted religious rights to

Huguenots Did not grant religious freedom

for all

Henry IV of France“Paris is worth a mass”

The Edict of Nantes

• a formal religious settlement that gave Protestants religious freedoms within their own towns and territories

• the violence stops, but hostilities remain• a Catholic fanatic assassinates Henry IV in

1610

Politiques

• intellectuals of the 1500’s criticized the religious strife between Catholics and Protestants

• rulers who urged tolerance and moderation and became indifferent to religion

“The Henry Bunch”

King Henry III Henry, Duke of Guise King Henry IV of Navarre

http://www.sitcomsonline.com/sounds/thebradybunch-1972.mp3

Directions

• Using what you know about the French Civil War, create a short song summarizing the events of the War of Three Henries

• Write your lyrics to the theme song the Brady Bunch.

• “and that’s the way we all became the Henry bunch”