MASTER NEGA TIVE NO, 93-81247 MICROFILMED 1993 COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES/NEW YORK as part of the "Foundations of Western Civilization Preservation Project" Funded by the NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES Reproductions may not be made without permission from Columbia University Library COPYRIGHT STATEMENT The copyright law of the United States - Title 17, United States Code - concerns the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or other reproduction. One of these specified conditions is that the photocopy or other reproduction is not to be "used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research." If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excess of "fair se," that user may be liable for copyright infringement. This institution reserves the right to refuse to accept a copy order if, in its judgement, fulfillment of the order would involve violation of the copyright law. A UTHOR: ANKE, LEOPOLD VON II JutL. CIVIL WARS AND NARCHY IN FRANCE FLA CE: WYORK DATE: 54 COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES PRESERVATION DEPARTMENT Master Negative if KWrJ ' \\ DIDLIOGRAPHIC MICROFORM TARGET Original Material as Filmed - Existing Bibliographic Record ■ iwj _^ ii j ^W H I II »*•►■ Restrictions on Use: / '^yi y Ranke, Leopold von, 1795-1886. Civil wars and monarchy in France, in the six- teenth and seventeenth centuries: a history of France principally during that period. Tr. by 1!. A. Garvey ... New York, Harper, 1854. 484 p. Translations of books 1-6 of the author's "Franzosische geschichte," ending with 1593, ■■ ' ' ■^»— ^1 ^" TECHNICAL MICROFORM DATA FILM SIZE: IJi^'H^^ REDUCTION RATIO: IMAGE PLACEMENT: lA ^^ IB IIB DATE FILMED: .*ll_Ll?^ INITIALS Z*1_-0__C^ FILMED BY: RESEARCH PUBLICATIONS, INC WOODBRIDGE. CT I \x r Association for information and Image iManagement 1100 Wayne Avenue, Suite 1100 Silver Spring, Maryland 20910 301/587-8202 Centimeter 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 mm llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllIlM f rri'TVTji'y 1 1 1 1 1 ( rrrrvTtTtTT 'TVT'i i m m ii ii 1 1 1 1 1 m m i m m | m Inches T I I I I I I I I I I I I I 2 3 1.0 IM 1 2.8 IIM I. |3.2 ■ 63 lUbu 1.4 2.5 2.2 2.0 1.8 1.6 I.I 1.25 MflNUFflCTURED TO nilM STflNDfiRDS BY APPLIED IMAGE, INC. THE LIBRARIES N CIVIL WARS AND MONARC.HI EVENTEE^H CENTURIES: IN THE SIXTEENTH AND S V. , . ^.^m •=—•<»■•' A HISTORY OF FRANCE PRINCIPALLY DURING THAT PERIOD. BY LEOPOLD RANKE, AUTHOB OF 'A HISTORY OF THE POPES IN THE SIXTEENTH AND SEVBN- TEENTH CENTURIES.' TRANSLATED BY M A. GARVEY m N E \A' Y O li K : HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISH BUS. 3 a « If 3 3 1 P E A R I. S T R K K r. FRANKLIN SQUARE. 1851. 1 i \.^ ■ '' THE AUTHOR'S PREFACE. 9^/' /T/.: As a German I venture to say a word upon the History of France. Grreat peoples and states have a double character — / one national, and the other belonging to the destinies ! of the world. Their history, in a similar manner, presents a twofold aspect. So far as it forms an es- sential feature in the development of humanity gen- erally, or records a pervailing influence exercised upon that development, it awakens a curiosity which ex- tends far beyond the limits of nationality ; it attracts the attention and becomes an object of study even to those who are not natives of the lands whose story is narrated. Perhaps the difference between the Grreek authors who have treated on the history of ancient Rome in its flourishing period, and the Romans themselves, consists in the fact that the Greeks have regarded the subject as it affected the whole world, while the Romans have looked at it nationally. The object is the same : the writers differ in the positions from which they view it, but together they inform pos- terity. Among modern nations none has exercised a more A ?5a%€ ■'■I# u PREFACE. 4 1 PREFACE. Ill 1 manifold and enduring influence upon others than the French. It is not wonderful to hear men say that the history of France — that at least of modern ages — is the history of Europe. I am myself very far from sharing this opinion. France has by no means shut herself up from the impulses springing out of the four great civilized nations of Europe by which she is surrounded. From Italy she has receiv- ed literary and artistic culture. The chief founders of her monarchy in the seventeenth century took Spain for their model. The tendencies to religious reformation were derived from Germany; those to political regeneration from the example of England. It is, however, unquestionable that general ferment- ations, at least throughout the Continent, have for a long period taken their rise principally in France. The French have always taken the liveliest interest in the great problem of the State and the Church, and expounded it to all others with peculiar power of ut- terance : it has ever been their manner to centralize the free efforts of intellect — to give to a theory, once conceived, a practical application. But the realm of opinion is not the only one in which they have sought to rule. Ambitious, warlike, and incited by feelings of national pride, they have kept their neighbors in a state of constant excitement and armed exercise, for causes springing from the claims of their system, or even without them — now assuming an attitude defi- ant and aggressive, now one of defense against actual or imaginary dangers; sometimes liberating the op- pressed, still more frequently oppressing the free. Epochs have occasionally arisen in which the national history of France has, through the importance of the events whose occurrence it details, and the extent of their operation, acquired in itself a universal character. Such an epoch is that which I have undertaken to depict in the following pages. Characters like those of Francis L, Catherine de' Medici and her sons, the Admiral Coligny, the two Guises, the great Bourbon Henry IV., Mary de' Medici, Richelieu, Mazarin, and Louis XIV., belong as well to universal history as to that of France. All these personages, distinguished whether by great and good qualities or by the opposite, derive their distinct- ive character from their connection with the politico- religious contest which extended generally over the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. This contest did not arise so much from the antagonism of the two systems of doctrine, for within the boundaries of France, neither on the one side nor the other, was there much addition made, as it did from the rela- tions in which those who struggled for ascendency stood to the State and to parties. The supreme au- thority was often disputed, and nearly overwhelmed, limited less by law than by insubordinate threaten- ings, until at length by inconceivable efforts it secur- ed and fortified itself, and the kingship arose from amidst all the storms which assailed it in a fullness . of power such as royalty had never before attained in any Romanized German nation. The phenomenon i of unlimited monarchy in itself— the desire of imita- tion it excited— its pretensions and enterprises — as well as the resistance it called forth, made France for a long period the central point of the movements which agitated Europe and the world. Much has been written upon the history of this IT PREFACE. II m epoch, but to me it appears that the appropriate con- ception of the times has scarcely been attained. The contemporary writings carry in their vivid coloring the impress of the moment in which each originated ; they are for the most part imbued with the peculiar views of parties or of private individuals. Of the tra- ditional history which has been formed since Meze- ray's times, and the manner in which Sismondi has extended it, learned Frenchmen have long since re- marked how insecure the foundation is upon which it is based. In a few instances this traditionary author- ity has been departed from, but it has been on the whole submitted to. For a closer examination of the truth of facts, the original documentary matter published in France during the last ten years, as well as that which has appeared in the Netherlands and in Italy, none of which has ever before been used, I have found of the greatest value. I have, in the process of the work, had opportunities of drawing my information from a vast number of unprinted documents: — Italian rela- tions from the Venetian Embassadors and the Papal Nuncios at Paris, to their respective courts, extending over the whole period ; Spanish and English corre- spondence relating to some of the most important years, the former having reference to the sixteenth, the latter to the seventeenth century ; letters and proclamations of French kings and statesmen ; rolls of the Estates, and records of the parliamentary debates ; diplomatic communications, and many other original sources of information, much of which deserves to be published in its entire extent. These documents have given me valuable information at all times, and « 1 PREFACE. * ▼ have not unfrequently decided my historical convic tions. I may take another opportunity of giving a detailed account of them. They are to be found, not in the French and English libraries alone, but also in the archives of Italy, Germany, and Belgium— for all took an interest in that which affected all. I have not desired, even had I the ability, to pro- duce a history arranged according to the models of the ancient and modern masters of narrative ; for such a work it would require a whole life devoted to the un- interrupted study of the archives of France and neigh- boring countries. It will be sufficient for me if, unaffected by the re- ciprocal complaints of the contemporary writers of the age, and avoiding the frequently limited conceptions of later authors, I may flatter myself with having, through authentic and credible information, succeeded in placing before the reader the great and true feat- ures of the facts accomplished. I have not devoted much space to less significant events ; but this has enabled me to pay the greater attention to those whose importance is of world-wide extent. Finally, I am of opinion that the internal arrange- ment of an historical work should accord with the object of the author, and with the nature of the prob- lem proposed for solution. I ' CONTENTS. BOOK I. THE EARLIER EPOCHS OF FRENCH HISTORY. CHAPTER I. The Elements of the French Nation 13 CHAPTER n. Origin of a French Kingdom 26 CHAPTER III. Epoch of the English Wars 44 BOOK II. POLITICS AND WAR FROM 1450 TO 1550. CHAPTER IV. The Crown and the Great Vassals 67 CHAPTER V. Francis the First 89 CHAPTER VI. Henry the Second and his External Relat.^ons 118 / viii CONTENTS. BOOR III. APPEARANCE OF EFFORTS FOR ECCLESIASTICAL REFORM IN FRANCE. CHAPTER VII. Introduction. — ^First Movements of Ecclesiastical Inno- ^• VATION J3J CHAPTER VIII. Glance at the Reformation in Geneva 142 CHAPTER IX. The Last Years of Henry the Second 155 CHAPTER X. Administration of Charles, Cardinal of Lorraine ] 68 CHAPTER XL , Deliberations of the Estates and Parliaments 188 BOOK IV. FIFTEEN YEARS OF RELIGIOUS CIVIL WAR. CHAPTER XII. Religious Civil War 205 CHAPTER XIII. Commotions of 1562 and 1563 £08 CHAPTER XIV. The Universal Religious War in France from 1567 to '''' ;..222 CONTENTS. ixJtS' CHAPTER XV. Dissensions between the Queen Mother and Coligny. — St. Bartholomew's Day 248 CHAPTER XVI. Transition of the Government from Charles the Ninth TO Henry the Third 279 BOOK V. HENRY III. AND THE LEAGUE. CHAPTER XVII. / Introduction >^ 305 CHAPTER XVIII. Henry the Third and his Government during the Peace 307 CHAPTER XIX. A Glance at French Literature 316 CHAPTER XX. Complication of the Foreign Relations 324 CHAPTER XXI. Origin of the League . 333 CHAPTER XXIL The Renewed War against the Huguenots 345 CHAPTER XXIII. The Barricades 357 CHAPTER XXIV. The Estates of Blois, 1588 374 3*^ '« CONTENTS. CHAPTER XXV. Eksolution and Catastrophe of Henry the Third 38!) BOOK VI. HENRY IV. IN CONTEST WITH THE LEAGUE. CHAPTER XXVI. Elevation of Henry the Fourth 491 CHAPTER XXVII. Campaign of 1589 and 1590 4|g CHAPTER XXVIIi;. Preponderance of the Spaniards in France.— Principles OF THE League and of Spain 431 CHAPTER XXIX. Campaign of 1591 and 1592— Assembly of the Estates «^^^»3 44g CHAPTER XXX. Religious Change of Henry the Fourth ^qq BOOK I. THE EARLIER EPOCHS OF FRENCH HISTORY. / i V A '■;^-vii,. 'IT' J t. HISTORY OF f LJBilAllY, t ■x '^XOf^K FRANCE. CHAPTER 1. THE ELEMENTS OF THE FRENCH NATION. There are many kinds of war, and many degrees of heroic renown, but the highest praise is due to those who, by their victorious arms, have opened new scenes for the civilization of mankind, and overcome barbarism in some important por- tion of the world. Under this point of view Julius Caesar i has earned for himself one of the greatest of names, and, as regards the West, unquestionably the greatest of all. It is impossible to mention any wars which have had a greater and more enduring influence upon the extension and consoli- dation of the general civilization of the world than his cam- paigns in transalpine Gaul. It may appear surprising that we should comprehend the ^ribes of Iberian, and especially of Celtic race, which held possession of that territory, under the designation of barba- rians. In fact, the products of their manual skill, which have been brought to light out of their tombs, attest their acquaint- ance with various arts. They were in possession of municipal institutions and other elements of society. A peculiar system of opinions extended over their social state, of which it is to be regretted that no authentic monument gives us a nearer view. But at the same time we find in their manners traces of a savage — rather than merely rude — condition, which, sus- tained by a religion that consecrated human sacrifices, and by an hereditary arrogance which despised every thing in comparison with itself, would hardly have permitted a free participation in the progress of the human race to arise among / / !/ 14 HISTORY OF FRANCE. ELEMENTS OF THE FRENCH NATION. 15 them. However doubtful this may seem from an ethno- graphical point of view, it is not so historically. The ancient Celts made their appearance as the most formidable enemies of the civilized nations on whose confines they dwelt, and whom for centuries they threatened with destruction. Their sole occupation was war, which, repelled by no natural boundaries, they waged, as an inborn passion for adventure suggested, in vast masses and with irresistible force. They overflowed upper and middle Italy, and conquered Rome. They scattered the hitherto invincible phalanx of the Mace- donians, and carried to Tolosa the treasures of the Delphic temple. They seized the ships which were to have prevented them from crossing over into Asia, and by their means eflTec t- ed the passage, and for a time the ancient Ilion was their stronghold. It became a vital necessity for the polished nii- tions of the ancient world to free themselves from the«ie enemies. When, after long and severe conflicts, this had been effected, Julius Caesar sought them out in their own homes, and sul)- dued them in those memorable campaigns./ By these means not only were the two great peninsulas of the Mediterranean and the adjacent islands and coastis, upon which the Greek and Roman culture unfolded itself, for a long period at least, secured against all danger from the interior of the European continent, but at the same time in the very midst of it new abodes were prepared for civilization. Tribes of an inexhaustible vital energy, brave and ingeniouis; were drawn within its circle and subjected to its ideas. Afttd their defeat the Gauls begin for the first time the genereil cultivation of their native land,* and to enjoy the advantages which its geographical position aflbrded for peaceful occupsi- tions. The Romans filled the country with those great woriis which every where indicate their presence — amphitheatres, baths, aqueducts, and military roads; which last, as they traversed the land in various directions, were the chief cause of the progress of the Gauls, for they brought every portion into immediate connection with the principal centres of Ro- * Strabo, iv. 1, 2: vw di uvayKa^ovrat yeopyoiv, KaraOifitvot rd man influence. Lyons became the transalpine Rome. It were to be wished that a computation could be made of the number of persons of Latin or Italian extraction who settled in Gaul : the first centuries were characterized by a colonizing and civilizing activity which produced here an entirely new world ; but there is no doubt that the native inhabitants united with the new comers with joyful alacrity. From the blending of the tribes and races which had hitherto inhabited the land with the colonies of the conquerors, there arose a new people — a great and distinct Romanic nation./^ In the second century Gaul was the most populous, and in tne fourth, one of the most civilized of the Roman provinces, although iu the interior many national peculiarities were still preserved. Wherever the peculiar genius of the native races came m contact with some branch of the Latin culture, they attained at once to a remarkable degree of perfection. For a long time there were no schools more frequented than those in Gaul; Romans themselves learned Latin eloquence, in the | acceptation of the age, on the banks of the Garonne. The ' most important operation of this change was its effect upon the religion of the primitive races. It has been remarked that the religion of the Gallic Druids was the only one whose peculiarities the Romans did not tolerate ; wherever altars are found on which the Celtic gods are represented, together with those of Greece and Rome, they appear simply as idols, without any reference to nationality or polity ; the human sacrifices had to disappear. This prohibition can not be re- garded, however, as a mere political transaction. The Em- peror Claudius, who destroyed the Druidical system, was, vsrithout knowing it, an ally of the universal religion of hu- manity, which even then was beginning to appear in another place. When Christianity then made more and more progress in its contest with the various systems of Pagan idolatry, the Romanized Gauls, among others, were most deeply interested in its doctrines, and in the questions to which it gave rise. They accounted it an honor that the house of the Roman emperors which, in the contest between the various religions, gave the decision in favor of Christianity, had its chief abode in Gaul; it was there, it was said, that Constantine had 16 HISTORY OF FRANCE. ELEMENTS OF THE FRENCH NATION. 17 (! placed the sign of the Christian faith upon the Labarum. Some time elapsed, however, before the people were con- verted. It was not till the second half of the fourth century that the Pannonian warrior, St. Martin, appeared, who, ex- posing his own person, destroyed before the eyes of the people the objects of their worship— the conic monuments and sacred trees of the native gods, as well as the temples and statues of the Roman deities— for both had stood, and now both fell together— and erected Christian churches on their ruins. He founded the great Minster at Tours, which was succeeded hy many other monkish institutions, both in the interior of the land and on the neighboring islands, seminaries alike for theo- logical studies and for the service of the Church, which gave bishops to the cities, and missionaries to the rural districts. Thus complete was the incorporation of the Gauls in the system of the Roman Empire, in the progress and decline oi" its civihzation, and in the alteration which took place in itH rehgion. The external changes which the Empire experi- enced must, therefore, of necessity have afiected them imme- diately, and with full force. In the earlier times, if ever the conquered made an attempi; at insurrection, they were reproved by being informed that the supremacy of Rome guaranteed them from the hostilit}- of neighboring states, and prevented a universal war of na- tions ; but after the lapse of a few centuries, the Empire n& longer possessed the power to occupy the proud position of defender of the obedient, and repeller of their enemies. The boundaries of the province ceased to extend themselves into the territories of the neighboring tribes, and were soon after overstepped by them in turn\V The expedient of taking Ger- man troops into pay for the defense of the frontiers brought but a momentary respite. They were of necessity impelled and driven forward by the inundating motions of a still semi- nomadic world behind them, and at the same time being involved in the disputes of the Roman governors, they took a decided and hostile direction toward the interior provinces ; so that the elements which had been at first repelled with all power, now pressed forward as if by the/orce of necessity, into the Gallo-Roman territory. In Southern Gaul, the troops which had been brought in for the defense of the land settled themselves down as its lords and proprietors. The Burgundians compelled the chiefs of the Roman provincials to grant them possessions in the Se- quanian and Lugdunian districts, and it is believed that the remains of their settlements, in the mountain regions, may still be discerned, the plains and cities have remained with their ancient possessors. The West-Goths, in conflict with the highest powers of the State, sought to obtain settlements in the very centre of the empire, and then, desisting from the attempt, fixed themselves in Aquitanian Gaul. The con- fusion was already so great, that even the regulations which they ordained on taking forcible possession of that region, were less oppressive to the native inhabitants than the bur- den of tribute which they had been compelled to bear pre- viously.V^ In Northern Gaul, where some efibrts for independence had formerly been made, there was raised at the same time, upon the ruins of the fallen Empire, a very irregular power, in which, if we do not err, the influence of German ideas is dis- cernible. It was a kind of Romano-Gallic monarchy, but in- capable of coping with the aggressive power of the neighbor- ing Prankish kings, which was far more firmly grounded in the hereditary customs and ideas of their subjects. Clovis entirely destroyed it in one pitched battle, and made himself master of its territories. Other portions of the intruding people disappeared again ; and we see the Germans who were once expelled by Caesar from the Gallic soil, nearly the only strangers who remained and became citizens of the country. An earlier possession would have been of less importance to the history of the world, since they would have united with barbarous or semi-barbarous people only; now it was of eminent consequence, because the Gauls had become Romanized, and therefore, by a union with them, the Germans entered into relations with the civilized world, which could not again be interrupted. If we ask what it was that subjected the conquests to a fixed rule, and put a stop to the popular flood, which at one time pushed on gradually, at another rushed on vie- 18 HISTORY OF FRANCE. I ELEMENTS OF THE FRENCH NATION. It 1 lently ; the answer must be, first, the idea of the Empire, which was acknowledged by the Germans, and entered into their ideas; and secondly, and with far greater force, relig- ion in the ecclesiastic form — ^for, although we can not say with certainty in what manner it was generally effected, Christianity had now taken throughout Gaul the form of a hierarchical system^ The adoption of Christianity by Clovis and his followers was not perhaps an event proceeding from any lofty spir- itual impulse; but it was one of incalculable historical importance, not only to Gaul, but to the whole world ; for this warlike confederacy immediately spread the faith among their kindred races, the Franks and other German tribes, up to the Rhine, and even beyond that river, and thus put an end to the ancient enmity of the German peo- ple against the Romans and the Gauls. Had not this oc- curred, a complete Germanizing of the people, such as took place in the valley of the Rhine, the Netherlands, and Brit- ain, could not have been prevented on the banks of the Marne and Seine. Religion, as its mission is, smoothed down the most stubborn national contrarieties. The Franks could no longer wish to destroy the places where they wor- shiped ; on the contrary, they united with their teach(;rs, and gave themselves up with vigorous zeal to the form of faith and worship which these had communicated to them. The strife between the Catholic and Arian creeds was :iiot yet terminated. The latter, to which the West-Goths s.nd Burgundians adhered obtained an accession of power in Gaul, through the immigration of these peoples, to the deep dis- satisfaction of the orthodox bishops. But they found assist- ance among the Franks, with whom many of them had long stood in close alliance. St. Remigius, who received Clevis and his people into the bosom of the Church at Rheims \i^as renowned, not only as a destroyer of idols, but also as a suc- cessful antagonist of the Arians,\\ The ambition of the Frank- ish military monarch, and the religious zeal of the Romish bishops, entered into the closest union. Supported by the population of the land, Clovis and his sons overturned, through- out Gaul, the power of the German kings, who were Aria.ns, and obtained the mastery in all the provinces, as they also extended their dominion far toward the interior of Germany. They accomphshed what the Roman Empire had no longer power to effect ; they averted from Gaul the pressure of the colonizing Germans, and suppressed the varying sects in the interior ; the conquerors protected the Romanized nationality, and the unity of the Catholic church ; and when the Roman Empire failed in force of arms, the common ruin was prevent- ed by the converted barbarians. Many of the yellow-haired kings appeared, as it were, and voluntarily did so, as priests of God. They bestowed large treasures upon the Church, for the' manifest purpose of increas- ing the pomp of its external ceremonies ; but at the same time their generosity had reference to the conquered people. The chroniclers of the age record that one of the chief motives to the endowment of the Church was that it might have the means of being liberal to the poor, so that those who possessed nothing might not be left altogether without a resource. The decree of the Council of Orleans is well known — according to which a portion of the income arising from the lands bestow- ed by the king was to be devoted to the support of the poor, and to the redemption of captives. The Church brought the very lowest class, which had been hitherto totally neglected, with its necessities, into relation with the conqueror.) J A deliberate and systematic destruction of the Roman sys- tem no longer lay within the range of possibility. Roman- ized persons were in the immediate service of the kings, and appear to have been throughout the most distinguished and wealthy proprietors of the soil. The Frankish kings, like the Roman emperors, claimed obedience and duty from their sub- jects. They preserved the old finance system as nearly as pos- sible in its integrity : the ancient tribute was levied on landed property as well as the person, which includes a continuance of the former state of things in general. We even hear that the games of the Circus were revived under the Merovingian kings. The Roman royal prerogative was brought into operation, and men might have believed that they still lived under the old empire. Notwithstanding all this, however, an unex- ampled change had taken place, not only in the material 20 HISTORY OF FRANCE. ELEMENTS OF THE FRENCH NATION. 21 m condition, but in the very thoughts of men : its extent may he conceived from the fact (if great changes can be described in few words) that the supreme power was regarded as a personal possession, which might be transferred and divided by gift (^r inheritance. The old kings insisted upon an unconditional hereditary right ; and, in ordinary cases, we hear nothing of an election, nor of any part taken either by the populace or the aristocracy in the elevation of the monarch to the throne. The great officers of the state, both Romanic and German, swore fealty to the person of the king, and he rewarded them with fiefs from the lands of the Crown. The govemmeiit was intimately connected with the palace, and the majcr- domo of the royal house was also the chief officer of the king- dom ; but since that office and the emoluments connected wir.h it were also in their turn regarded as personal and irrevocable possessions, the whole system had a tendency to individual independency and arbitrary power. "We soon hear the kiuja^s complaining : some that all their honors had passed over to the bishops of the cities ; others, that the temporal princes had deprived them of both property and power. They saw themselves surrounded by independent nobles, who claimed, as a reward for the share they might have taken in the erection of the new kingdom, a participation in the enjoyment of powtsr. The principle of personal power, when once it had been trans- ferred to others, rebelled against the prince, who regarded it as his own peculiar property. It seemed almost as if the old Gallic spirit of clientship under the chiefs of the tribes, and of subjection to the priesthood — ^which had vanished before tlie dominion of the Romans — were now again emerging from the deep, and renewing itself in this power of the bishops and of the great nobles ; even the native peculiarities began to make their appearance once more.W, At all events Gaul, under the successors of Clovis, attained" a far greater variety of social life than it had exhibited under the Romans- Power was every where free, and developed itself in distinct forms by means of the division of princd- palities, which were held together, and at the same time kept separate, by the dynasty. This however had the effect of enfeebling that social union and subordination without which the idea of a state is inconceivable. The violent attempts made from time to time by the kings to enforce their authority only served to display their weakness, and it soon became doubtful whether the Prankish kingdom would be able to maintain itself; for there were other powers, of a totally dif- ferent character, better knit together, or depending upon the more free exercise of masculine bravery — powers which re- garded the world as an open arena for the conquest of domin- ion. Bursting forth from the wildernesses of Arabia, the might of the successors of Mohammed rolled on with resistless arms ; subdued the Romano-Greek territories, Syria, Egypt, and Africa ; overthrew in its rapid course the advanced Germanic kingdom in Spain, and already, in alliance with the natives, had obtained a footing on the hither side of the Pyrenees. How could it be expected that the Merovingians, whose power of action was dead, and whose authority was paralyzed by in- testine divisions, would be able to withstand the threatening storm ? It appeared indeed as if what had happened in Spain was about to take place in Gaul also. |( It is the merit of the house, afterward called the Carlovin- gian, that at the head of their warlike Austrasian followers they met and withstood the irruption, and saved the Christian Franki^ nation from the utter destruction that seemed to hang over it. Every power that will rise must be grounded upon some great service ; for every great service secures au- thority and power. It was to this defense of Gaul against the Arabians that the Carlovingians were indebted for their elevation to the royal dignity. The race of weaklings van- ished before a succession of great men. '■ ' The Carlovingians were also in alliance with the Church ; not however with the Gallic branch, which was then chiefly intent upon increasing its possessions, and obtaining an inde- pendent position, and upon which they imposed the severest duties of obedience, but with the general Church of the West, which had just separated from that of the East, and which had a thorough conception of the danger with which Islam threatened the Christian name. In that respect, as in its strife with the Eastern Church, it needed the assistance of thi§ 22 HISTORY OF FRANCE. ELEMENTS OF THE FRENCH NATION. 83 ^ir^ I' powerful race, and was not ungrateful for it. The power of the Garlovingians depended not alone upon its victorious arms, but also upon the sanction of the Church. In this struggle Prankish Gaul received a fresh accession of German energy through the armies which chiefly fought her battles, and which, being afterward retained for the de- fense of the country against the foe, and for the preservation of order, finally settled down here. The nation thus attained a greater and stronger form. The union with Germany gave it a warlike, that with Italy an intellectual and philosophi- cal impulse. Every one felt conscious, whether willingly or unwillingly, that he belonged to an all-embracing religious and political whole — the established Empire — and was bound to it in his whole personality. As in former times, war was again the sole occupation ; but it no longer depended upon the irregular impulses of the people or their leaders, and did not threaten civilization : the idea of war was penetrated with that of the defense of religion, and of the extension of a great monarchy, upon which was grounded an organization which was all-pervading, and which required unconditional obedi- ence)^ Meanwhile, however well-constructed the empire of the Carlovingians may appear, it wanted the very key-stone of its constitution. The question concerning the continuance of the supreme power in the ruling house was not yet determined. Powerful also as the monarchy might be, its power was not equal to its pretensions. On the firm land it had subdued every foe, and within its well-fortified frontiers it had scarcely any thing to fear, but it was deficient in that which consti- tutes the half of all national strength — the marine power. It appears sometimes as if whole generations were smitten with blindness, for while they are contending among them- selves, they are preparing the way for the common enemy. While the successors of Charlemagne were at discord about the inheritance of the monarchy, the peoples became again disunited ; the powerful militia which had been called out for the defense of the countiy dissolved away ; the great and influential men of the kingdom took different sides, and a struggle commenced Avhich engrossed all their attention and all their power. Meanwhile, the sea-ruling Germans of the north, among whom heathenism, expelled from the rest of Europe, had once more concentrated its entire energy, spread themselves over all the maritime territories of the kingdom from the mouth of the Elbe to the mouth of the Garonne. )| The peculiar geographical advantages which the western provinces possess over the eastern, the French over the Ger- man, consists in the diversified course of their rivers, which bring the land into connection with the sea in various direc- tions ; but from this very circumstance now arose their great- est danger. The Northmen seized the mouths and islands of the rivers, and the adjacent shores. The Somme conducted them to Amiens, the Seine to Paris, the Loire up to Tours and Amboise, and the Garonne up to Toulouse. The land between the rivers was laid waste far and wide, and here and there the inhabitants apostatized frorn Christianity, and associated themselves with the invaders.// The Carlovingians were not in a position to check this evil. The German territories on which their power rested were scarcely in a state to defend themselves from similar attacks, and possessed neither the power nor the organization which would have enabled them to lend assistance to distant allies. The supreme power was again united in one hand, but that was the most incapable. It may be regarded as the last act of the undisputed dominion of the Carlovingians, that Charles, surnamed the Gross, when with a great body of both tongues — the Latin and the German — he had encountered the united Northmen before Paris, did not venture to give them battle ; on the contrary, he ceded to them for the winter a portion of territory lying higher and more remote in the kingdom, and in addition pledged himself to pay them a con- siderable sum in money. * At last, it appeared inevitable that the Northmen must be received into the kingdom, or rather that the settlements they had made there by force must be acknowledged : this was done under the stipulation — as it is * Abbo De Bellis Paris, i. 2. 338 : clearer than the annalists, " an- nuiturque fens licitum Scnones adeundi," etc. ; which agrees with the ' Annales Sancti Columbaj Senonensis,' in the year 886, " 2 kal. Dec. ascenderunt Nortmanni Sennis a Parisiis." etc. 24 HISTORY OF FRANCE. ELEMENTS OF THE FRENCH NATION. 25 called in an ancient treaty — that they should now defend the realm. Soon after this they became Christians, and exceeded all others in zeal ; and upon this conversion, rather than upon the promise they had given, depended that protection which they lent the kingdom against any further attacks from the heathen sea-kings. How powerful and decisive for the progress of the world appears the idea of religion in this event also ! The collect- ive development of the West depended upon the fact that Gaiul did not also fall under the dominion of the Saracens, whose yoke the Spaniards were compelled to bear for so many ccm- turies.\| But those enemies whom the Gauls would never have been able to drive back by force were won by conversion, and entered the communion of the Church, which made necessairy at least a conditional support of the State ; and their influ- ence diffused with the faith also the need of peace among their distant kindred tribes. What seas and frontier forts could not effect, religion accomplished ; a dominion of secju- rity. As far as can be discerned by the eye which survejys the history of the world, nothing is to be perceived whi(?h, opposed to the existing fundamental condition of Gaul, could have done it injury. It is remarkable how many different popular elements met together in Gaul, in consequence of these events. The basis of the population throughout the land was still the Romanic race, nearly related in speech, traditions, and peculiar institu- tions, with the Italian and the Spanish, which still preser^'^ed itself under foreign domination ; next to them appear the relics of the ancient Celtic race in Brittany, which, being strengthened by immigrations from Britain, took pleasure in mocking at every thing like law and subjection ; of the Iberian, in the Basques, whose subjection was always doubtful, and from time to time was interrupted by violent outbreaks of hostility. The German settlers, on the other hand, Iiad heartily embraced the ideas of Church and State. Their descent might still for the most part be discerned. The Goths themselves renewed their race and name on the borders of the Spanish frontier .'\\ The Prankish and Romanic elements most thoroughly interpenetrated each other on the Middle Seine, where the Merovingian kings had had their favorite residence, and where a powerful dukedom now arose, called France, comprehending the territory round Pans. The Lat- inized Franks separated themselves but slowly from the Germans, with whom they harmonized in customs, manner of thinking, and the principles of political order. Finally, the Northmen had appeared, and brought the French coasts into connection with the distant North. The aboriginal population of Western Europe, the Romanic world, which still held possession of so large a portion ot it, and the Germanic race, which has obtained the dominion ot the world by land and sea, met together on this soil and withm its boundaries. . . The history of the formation of peoples has something m it of the history of the earth— it bears, one may say, a geologic character-the formations of the different epochs may be dis- tinguished ; but in the history of men and of peoples there is nothing inanimate : all that are included within common limits operate ceaselessly upon one another, striving contmu- ally after an organic union in an entirety. The attention of history is now called to the manner in which these men descended from such various races, dwelt together, and united with one another. B ft/ -^ H. CHAPTER 11. ORIGIN OF A FRENCH KINGDOM. As yet Gaul had never constituted a distinct political whole. The ancient population of the country belonged to several races, and the tribes from which it had been collected together stood in doubtful association with one another. The Romans united them all, but it was by making them a province of that universal Empire which stretched alike over the East and the West. When the Merovingian royalty arose in tlie Gallic territory, it was unable to effect a permanent union ; It embraced besides a large portion of Germany, whence it had originally proceeded. It was upon this German portion that the Carlovingian monarchy was principally grounded ; but its tendency was far more comprehensive— it contained in itself the idea of the renovation of the Roman Empire in the West. In the ninth century it was clearly seen that this kingdora would hardly be able to preserve its unity. If the victories over the Saracens had been one of the most important founda.- tions of the Carlovingian power, it must now have been deeply shaken by the circumstance of its incapacity to lend any aid against the Northmen. Still this was not followed by the origination of another political power extending over Gaul ; the diversified composition of the different provinces rather tended to raise up so many independent dominions.^/ The origin of a new organization embracing the whole land may be dated from the moment when, under the influence oi' the ancient German hereditary right, the idea of a separate West-Frankish kingdom by the side of the Empire, which wau afterward gradually realized, began to be entertained. Th(5 frontiers had long been determined, which separated it from ORIGIN OF A FRENCH KINGDOM. 27 the East Franco-Gei-manic monarchy, to which both Lorraine and the Empire then belonged. Powerful also as the dukes and great feudatories who were masters of the provinces might have been, such a monarchy was indispensable to their existence, for it united finally in itself all the legal authority which had passed from the Romans to the Merovingians, and from these to the Carlovingians. Each single vassal derived his power from the monarchy by concession or by recognition. They needed a king, or else each of them must have declared himself king and even emperor. Just at the very time when the warlike power of the Carl- ovingians showed itself so feeble against the Northmen, and when all other countries more or less openly and unreservedly withdrew themselves from it, a few West-Frankish nobles, laymen, but chiefly clergy, who thought they could by their consecration supply the defect of birth, made an attempt to elevate a native race to the place of the Carlovingians.// It was a race which, it appears, had not long since immi- grated from Germany,* and, through an alliance with the royal house, as well as by valiant deeds and great possessions, raised itself to a position of predominant authority. It can not be said that it could boast of heroes like Charles Martel, King Pepin, or Charlemagne, upon whose conduct depended the destiny of the world ; but it produced highly endowed and great-minded men, who in the confusion of a ruinous war preserved lands, and cities, and churches from destruction. The ancestor of this race in France was Robert of Anjou, surnamed the Brave, who distinguished himself against the Northmen in the second half of the ninth century. A monk- ish chronicler, who knew no more exalted illustration, com- pares him to Judas Maccabseus for his deeds in defense of his faith and of his country. His death, which happened in * The genealogical combination by which the male line of this race is united with the Carlovingians can not be maintained. If the elder genealogies rejected the Saxon origin, it happened chiefly because they found it first in Aimoinus, and that for the name of Wittekmd they found no other authority than that of the author of the " Chronicon Uspergense" (compare Le Gendre, 'Des Antiquites de la Maison de France,' p. 49). This objection is now, however, removed, for we find the same legend authenticated by Richer, an author of the tenth century. 28 HISTOaY OF FRANCE. ORIGIN OF A FRENCH KINGDOM. 2d ' t" battle, while fighting j'allantly, was regarded as a token of Divine wrath against the land. At the defense of Paris liis son Odo earned the highest praise ; he was especially rcnow n- ed for the animating influence his presence exercised upon the exhausted warriors — that fortunate gift of personal suj)e- riority by which he could calm the alarm of his followers. He knew the right moment at which to gather them all around him, and thus often with thousands defeated tens of thousands. This Odo, the West-Franks, who were destitute of a leader at a time of imminent danger, elected for their king, y But ancient dynasties are not so easily overturned, and new ones founded, in Europe — not even in those violent times ; Odo was not able to unite the forces of the whole country, nor to master the enemy, however frequently and bravely he fought with them. After him the Carlovingians were once more acknowledged. A period then followed, during which these Eobertinians, as they may be called, remained in possession of the dukedom of France and other territories, sometimes waging war against the descendants of Charlemagne, sometimes favoring and sup- porting them, but they were always powerful. There were now in fact two rival powers in France. The nephew of Odo, son of a Robert, who had also worn the crown — Hugh the Great, by the grace of God, Duke of the Franks, as he styled himself, but who was designated by others as Duke of tlie United Gauls, or simply as The Duke — was only restrain«3d by a peculiar religious awe from setting the crown upon bis own head. But of his son Hugh, surnamed Capet, already might the eventful sentence have been repeated — he was king in fact, while the Carlovingian king Lothaire had only the name. I would not, however, assert that the Carlovingians were iin the same condition that the Merovingians had been. The Carlovingians had not, like these, delivered over their whole power to a new authority which took their place ; they still firmly maintained all their cJaims. They were by no means Bo d.egenerate in power and action ; they undertook too much, rather than too little, as their ill-planned attempt to annihi- 3. late the power of the Northmen, among others, sufficiently proves, y^ It was precisely the union in them of personal ambition and immeasurable pretensions, as opposed to a multitude of great nobles who possessed the land, that was totally destruct- ive of their power in a conjuncture of unfavorable circum- stances. King Lothaire died, and soon afterward his son Louis — sur- named, with great injustice, if the title indicate moral blame, Le Faineant, for he died in consequence of a fall from his horse before he could undertake any enterprise. The right of succeesion passed to his uncle Charles, who then administered the duchy of Lower Lorraine, in the East Frankish kingdom, \mder the emperors of the Saxon line ; for on the accession of Lothaire the earlier Carlovingian custom was so far altered that this Charles was not assigned any portion of the power or wealth of his ancestors ; and now the question arose, Should he who had been thus excluded and insulted be called to the throne ? Various objections were raised against this course in the assembly of the French nobles, which was held immediately after the death of young Louis. Duke Charles, it was said, was a vassal of the German Emperor, and mar- ried to a consort who was not equal to him in birth, and whom the powerful nobles could not therefore honor as their queen ; he was of a violent disposition, surrounded by a crew who only thirsted after wickedness and crime ; in short, he was unworthy of the crown, and would bring misfortune upon the land if he were elected. //And did it not indeed behove them to take care, lest, surrounded as he was by a number of warriors, attached to his person and ready to engage in any act of violence, he should be desirous of re-establishing in all their fullness those indefinite prerogatives of the Carlovin- gians which were limited by acts rather than by law? The chief opponent to the calling in of Charles was Adalbero, Archbishop of Rheims : who had been personally threatened by the last king, and just freed from the necessity of justify- ing himself by Hugh, Duke of France, and moreover the tendency of the clerical leaders was then to exalt the right obtained by election and consecration above that of inherit- 30 HISTORY OF FRANCE. ORIGIN OF A FRENCH KINGDOM. 31 If ance. He declared, before the assembled nobles, that the laws of inheritance were not unconditionally binding. * He ap- pealed to the change of emperors in ancient Rome — a fact which is doubly remarkable as taking place in the tenth cen- tury. Should they, however, decide upon postponing the he- reditary right, upon whom could they cast their eyes, except upon the possessor of the most important authority ? Adal- bero recommended to the assembly his friend Hugh Capet, who was dangerous to no one, and who would devote him- self to the conservation bf the rights won by them all, as well as of those of the state ; * more than one king might be counted among Hugh's ancestors ; he himself stood well, personally, with the most powerful of the nobility, and the possession of some great abbeys gave him at the same time considerabhj ecclesiastical influence. Without considering the scruples which had prevented his father from seizing it, he took th(} crown that was ofiered to him, and afterward obtained pos- session of all the remaining territories of the Carlovingians by formal conquest. Still it was not the intention to change France into an elective monarchy ; it was considered, on the; contrary, that such an alteration would indubitably lead to the greatest embarrassment and confusion. What, if the newly- elected king should die during a campaign like that in which they were actually engaged ? the army would not know whom it was to follow, contentions would break out among the leaders, and the monarchy would incur danger. After some opposition from the Archbishop, the son of the newly elected king was the same year appointed his successor, f Thus did the kingdom of the Western Franks, within its frontiers as already defined, " from the Maes to the Ocean," pass over to a new race. Motives of the most diverse kinds conspired to bring about the event — the actual power of this house and its traditions ; the close alliance of Hugh himself * Speech of Adalbero, Archbishop of Rheims, Richer, iv. 11 : " Leg^ imus clarissimi generis imperatoribus . . . alios modo pares modo ira- pares successisse. Promovete ducem, actu nobilitatura, copiis clarissi- mum, quem non solum reipublicae, sed et privatarum reruni tutorem in- venietis." t Hugh urged it on the ground " ut heredem certum in reffno relin- queret."-Richer, iv. 12. with the great leading dignitaries of the Church ; the analogy of his power, which still remained ducal, with that of others ; and especially the security to all existing conditions which he. gave reason to expect as the consequence of his election. ! There was nothing in this that indicated hostility to the German Emperor, although the claims of a prince had been rejected, who belonged to the Empire, and would have drawn his military power from one of its provinces ; on the contrary, a restoration of the vigorous Carlovingian dominion would have been formidable to him. A still more perfect emanci-1 pation from the connection with Germany, however, is un- \ questionably discoverable in this event. The Western king- dom now attained a condition of complete independence, when a native race, which possessed no authority or source of power beyond its confines, acceded to the throne. The change of dynasty jnvolved an alteration in the entire position of the ^ realm, jl The Carlovingians, however hampered by circumstances and events, still possessed, through their origin and the an- cient sanction of the Church, a general claim upon the West- ern kingdom, and even upon Germany and the Empire, while they demanded nothing less than unconditional obe- dience from the West-Franks. The Capetians, as the Rober- tinians were afterward designated, could make only an ex- clusively West-Frankish claim, and here it rested altogether upon the consent of the nobles. The sons could not be asso- ciated with the fathers, except by a free resolution, after the manner of the German monarchy. It was no newly founded power that was transferred to them, but the old West-Frankish monarchy formed by the course of centuries, necessarily limited by the manner in which it was bestowed, and depending on the assent of the nobility.* For a long time the new monarchy bore the appearance of a dominion which encroached but slightly, only holding together the various districts by the bond of feudality.)! Whoever desires to investigate the history of the nation, must seek particularly for its traces in the territories of the * Hugh Capet once said this explicitly. 38 HISTORY OP FRANCE. ORIGIN OF A FRENCH KINGDOM. 33 * great vassals who had set the king over themselves. A 8 then> the personal distinctions, resting upon national extraction, van- ished gradually, and in their stead arose those provincial pe- culiarities attributable to the character of the climate and soil, and the mingling of the blood of different races, the language developed itself into two nearly related, and yet very distinct, idioms ; the system of chivalry sprang up and obtained especial centres in the courts of the great vassals in Normandy, Cham- pagne, Burgundy, and Flanders, as well as in the South, at Toulouse, Poitiers, and Clermont. The native nobility joined with them in relations similar to those which they themselves had formed with the king : equal to whom in descent, and but little controlled by legal subordination, they attempted various foreign enterprises, which, whether successful or un- successful, set all Europe in a state of fermentation. Odo II., Count of Blois and Champagne, undertook to enforce the right of his consort to the kingdom of Burgundy nay, he aimed still higher, even at the dominion of Italy, and the seat of the emperor at Aix-la-Chapelle ;* but he met a powerful opponent in the first Salic emperor, by whom he was defeated, and the Capetian King had no ground upon which he' could deny the right of the Emperor to pursue his victory over one of his vassals even on the French soil.)) On the other hand, the Duke of Normandy succeeded in making one of the most important conquests which has ever been recorded . England, which had constantly withstood the attacks of the ancient Danes and Northmen, was subjected by him to the Romanized Norman nobility. The whole of the inhabitants of the French sea-board took part in the enterprise, and a multitude of other persons from for more distant regions : a Count Odo of Cham- pagne, grandson of Odo IL, makes his appearance shortly after as Earl of York. And while these Normans pressed forward toward Northumberland and the Scottish border, or carried on the unfinished struggle of the Anglo-Saxons with Wales, their kinsmen were fighting with the Greeks on the Neapolitan ♦ Hugo Flaviniacensis, 1037 : " Sumpta tyrannide ad regnum capit aspirate. Annalista Saio, 1037 : " Corde elato Aquisgrani palatium invadere decrevit " Glaber Rodulphus, iii. 9 : " Pr^stolabantur legati ex Italia directe deferentes ei arram principatus totius Italic." waters, and renewing the opposition of the Christian name to the Saracens in Sicily. Meanwhile the nobles and gentry of Aquitaine associated themselves together under the banner of the King of Castile and Aragon, and fought by the side of the Cid. A young count of Burgundy won the hand of a daughter of the Castilian king, and with it a territory on the sea-coast, out of which Portugal has since arisen. All these, however, were separate undertakings, which con- tributed nothing to the union of the nation ; to this end it was of the highest of importance that at last an enterprise was undertaken in which all could join. In the present disposition of the nation, and the bias of men's minds, it only required that the old idea of rescuing the Holy Sepulchre from the power of the Saracens should be openly propounded in order to carry all away with it.^ This idea had its origin in the common feeling of western Christendom. It had no special relation to the West-Frank- ish kingdom, but it made the most vivid impression on the people speaking the French tongue ; and the chief leader of the movement to which it gave rise belonged to the house of BoiHogne, which had also recently taken part in the conquest of England. The others were French, from Normandy or Champagne, from Flanders, and even from the France of the Capets itself The most powerful of all was the prince of Aquitanian Gaul, Raymond of Toulouse, to whom, the chronicle says, flowed all the people between the Alps and the Pyrenees, and to whom the Papal legate himself appealed for protection. How many new sovereignties were grounded in the course of time by this movement ! Syria was immediately brought into the closest relationship with France ; and in later times the French name extended itself over Greece and all the islands of the Mediterranean, for the ages of immigration were follow- ed by those of expansion. These enterprises were the first actions of the nation, formed out of so many mixtures of races and by so many popular struggles, and united by a great ide%, In these expeditions, which rested on a general impulse and individual free resolution, with their forms, which united inde- pendence with subordination, the nation at that time appears to have found an expression which satisfied all its vital impulseg. 34 HISTORY OF FRANCE. ORIGIN OF A FRENCH KINGDOM. 35 H ' III li ' These were the times in which Northern French and Pro- venfal song developed itself, the groundwork of modern phi- losophy and theology was laid, and the architecture of the Middle Ages produced those marvelous works which still awaken our admiration. All the tendencies of the nation displayed a living power and energy. Among them we nov/^ meet with an idea of more national importance than the rest, which had its foundation in a pressing need of the interior ol' France, which now first came to light. Amidst so much that was splendid, the individual and uncontrolled exercise of power hy all the great barons gave rise to ceaseless intestine war and the oppression of the feeble, and was followed by the most monstrous and intolerable evils. The Church sought to check this frightful system by preaching and announcing eveiy where the " Peace of God," or the " Truce of God ;" but although in the first warmth of feeling these proposals were received with alacrity, they were verj' far from fulfilling the intended object.* In the immediate territories of the King freedom and prop- erty were least secure ; private wars and oppression, without the slightest respect for law or authority, were the ordeiTof the day. The dangerous state of the times may be learned from the complaints of Fulbert, Bishop of Chartres, against the violence of one of his knightly neighbors, who not only repaired a castle that had been razed by the King, but also built a new one, so that the bishop was now attacked and harassed on both sides. |j He had hitherto in vain sought assistance from the King and his son. He now wrote again to him, entreating his help, and stating that if it were not ac- corded to him he would forsake his bishopric and the kingdom, and perhaps carry his complaints to some foreign king, or to the Emperor himself, whom he would inform that the King of France either had not the will or did not possess the power to defend the Church. f Thus did the Church, which would willingly have favored the monarchy of the Capets, in order that with its increase * Compare Glaber Rodulphus, iv. 5. t Fulbert's letter to the King, in Duchesne, iv. 172 : he describes his antagonist as a man " qui nee Deum nee potestatem vestram se revereri satis superque indicat." she might herself grow strong, and obtain that immunity from the common disorders which she could no longer purchase with her wealth, now in the extremity of her distress cry for help to the royal authority. No one could well doubt the right and the duty of the supreme power to protect the (^press- ed ; but their existence was nearly forgotten, they had lain so long unexercised ; it was necessary that men should feel anew that there was a supreme power over them, nay it must be itself reminded anew of its existence and its duties. At the same time with Abelard, the master of philosophical speculation, and St. Bernard, the father of the mysticism of positive belief, appeared a practical brother of the cloister, the Abbot Suger, of St. Denis, who, from the study of the ancient imperial laws, which were not neglected in the cloisters, had thoroughly imbued himself with the idea of the peculiar voca- tion of the supreme power, and formed in his mind a strong conception of law and of justice, of their connection with the royal power, and of the duty of the government to devote itself to their administration. ff He found no difficulty in filling with these opinions the energetic mind of the prince, who was his personal friend. It was he who incited Louis VI. to his efforts " for the good of the kingdom and for the public interests," and it was through him chiefly that they were crowned with suc- cess. He afterward recorded them with that vividness which a personal participation communicated.* This enterprise arose from a quarrel of the monastery with a fierce and pow- erful neighbor, Bouchard de Montmorency. Bouchard had refused to submit to the judgment which had been, in all form, pronounced against him, and the king determined to compel him by force, and thus, on the boundaries between the Abbot and the Baron, was the authority of the king renewed. All the other barons soon experienced the same treatment as Bouchard, who was the most considerable among them. The barons who were tenants in capite, in the ancient dukedom, were without exception reduced to obedience. What the ♦ E. g. De Vita Ludovici Grossi, c. 1, " Ecclesiarum utilitatibus pro- videbat ; aratorum, laboratorum, et pauperum quieti studebat." 0. 8 : " Regni administrationi et reipublicae, sicut se rei opportumtas offerebat, sagaciter providere, recalcitrantes perdomare, castella et fortahtia occu- pare, . . . strenue satagebat." 36 HISTORY OF FRANCE. ORIGIN OF A FRENCH KINGDOM. 37 1^ 5 if IS l| father had begun the son carried forward, and under the same influence. The letter is generally known, in which Abbot Suger summons Louis VII. to return from the crusade in which he was engaged, and conjures him by the oath which he haft taken at his coronation, of reciprocal duty between the prince and his subjects, "not to leave the flock any longer in the power of the wolf." In the towns men sought defense by uniting in sworn associations ; and when the Crown recog- nized these associations and took them into its protection, it only did that which expressed the growing consciousness of its proper duty, for the universal violence that prevailed through- out the realm must have been put an end to, either by the royal authority or by some foreign power. The kings pro- claimed the public peace, and succeeded in maintaining it fully, without re^ct of persons, although it cost them many strenuous eflJbrts. yy In the former generations of this house, before its accession to the throne, we find merely men of a brave and aspiring nature; after them followed others, who, disposed to peace, through their habits of thought, and through their position, bore ahnost a priestly character* — their royalty was rather a dignity than a power. Now, under altered circumstances, appear men of the same race, who unite the impulse of uni- versal ideas with activity. After they had established the authority of the supreme power and of the law in the several provinces, a far more extensive and important field for their active energy was opened by the inevitable course of events. The power of the great vassals, which had been limited by the monarchy, and which, according to the meaning and intent of that institu- tion, must have been limited by it, received in the twelfth century an unexampled extension by the sudden union of sev- eral rights of inheritance in one race : so vast was the power thus acquired, that the kings found it intolerable, and were compelled to venture upon a contest against it. A few words on these well-known events may be permitted here. * Ivonis Carnotensis Epistola ad Regem : '* Decet regiam majestatem, ot pactum pacis, quod Deo inspirante in regno vestro confirmari fecistis, nulla lenocinante amicilia \e\ fallente desidia rideri permittatis.'* The male hne of William the Conqueror had become ex- tinct. His grand-daughter, who appears in the chronicles as an empress, " L'Emperreis Mahault," for she was the widow of a German emperor, had married, a second time, the Count of Anjou and Maine. Her son by this marriage, the first of the Plantagenets, having ascended the English throne, united these rich and favorably situated provinces with England and Normandy. He then married Eleanor of Aquitain, the rich- est heiress in the then known world, and thus to his sons ., came seven important provinces in the south of France.^ They moreover laid claim to Savoy, and their authority over Brittany grew to be a complete and absolute dominion. It has been computed that more thaCn half of the modern France was in their hands, while scarcely a fourth part, we will not say obeyed, but merely adhered to the King. This power created a new centre for the greatest part of France : the splendor of the monarchy grew dim before it, and would have been thrust aside altogether, had it not at its head an able prince, who, in the very midst of the contest, found means to raise the country to a higher degree of united development than it had previously attained. The father of Philip Augustus had had only female children before his birth, and it was said that this son was granted in answer to his prayers and those of the whole land. Philip came to the throiie very early : his mind was formed by busi- ness. Chiefly from the poetry of his time, which was inex-^ -" haustible in wonderful invention, he learned that Charlemagne, who was popularly spoken of as King of France, had been master of the whole land, as well in the north as in the south, to the summit of the Pyrenees, and to become like him in thi« respect was now the object to which he directed all his efforts In the midst of men who placed happiness and honor in a/* extravagant mode of living at court, he showed himself econ omical. He held the warlike multitudes who won his vie tories for him in control, and deprived them of their booty He undertook one thing after another, for too many objectt at the same time would have distracted his mind. He ap- peared, as the lines of a poet depict him, terrible as a lion and vehement as a bird of prey, but mild and forbearing, $8 HISTORY OF FRANCE. ORIGIN OF A FRENCH KINGDOM. 39 once he had established peace ; his whole being breathes dis- cretion and energy. / In the struggle which was now going on among the Plant- agenets themselves, it happened that Arthur of Brittany, the nephew of King John, was taken prisoner in a war which he was carrying on against his uncle, with French assistance, and, according to the expression of the writer who is most gentle on the subject, disappeared in prison. The estates of Brittany, in the first assembly recorded to have taken place among them, did not hesitate to declare John guilty of the murder of Arthur, and demanded justice from the French king. John objected, not without reason, that he was at the same time King of England; and to answer a charge of mur- der would be a derogation of his dignity. Philip Augustus replied that the King of France could not lose his rights in consequence of one of his vassals obtaining power ; that he felt it his duty not to suffer any one, either in his own imme- diate dominions, or in those which were united under his suzerainty, who might be able to do so, to withdraw himself from his jurisdiction. In this he had the common voice, and especially that of the other magnates of the kingdom, on his side. This occasion, on which the peers, in their relation to the French crown, appeared as the equals of John, was, it is believed, the first on which they assembled as a great judicial tribunal.* John was formally summoned before their court, and as he did not appear, was condemned, and all his posses- sions on the French side of the Channel declared forfeited. The King swore by the matron saints of France to execute the sentence of his barons. )( In- this he found little difficulty. After he had once con- quered Normandy, neither Anjou, Touraine, nor Poitou was able to make any resistance. The submission of the people every where outran even his determination. The fundamental ground of the power of the vassals lay in the diversity of the character of the land, and of the races by which it was in- habited, who were desirous of maintaining their several * Beugnot, Les Olim. t. i. preface iliv. Here also, as far as I can •ee, the rule adopted in later times was observed, viz., that even if a few peers only sat in the court, it was sufficient. peculiarities under the rule of distinct chiefs. What then was the meaning of provinces, differing from one another most widely, being under the common authority of a prince who was not even their king ? They felt the immediate power exercised over them so oppressive, that the establishment of a supreme authority was for them an act of emancipation. John was not, however, without friends ; in the universal prevalence of the party distinctions of the time, he found means to bring about a sort of coalition, which had for its object the repression of the growing power of the King, and even a partition of the French territory ; but the Barons and the Commons emulated each other in their support of the King, who thus remained stronger than his opponents, and was able to repel the attack of the confederates on the battle- field of Bouvines. We are not introducing any foreign element into these re- ^ mote times, when we maintain that the first movements of a common national feeling in France were associated with these / events. In all the different territories of the land, to its most ^ distant borders, says a contemporary, the joy of this victory*) was felt with like vivid emotion— in every town and village, / in every castle and rural district : what belonged to all each^ made his own, a^d a single victory gave occasion for a thou- ) sand triumphs, i' To the great advantage thus obtained by the Crown, was speedily added a second and not much less important acquisition, of a somewhat different character. In the enterprise of the Pope and his Legate against Raymond VI. of Toulouse, it was by , no means their object to augment the power of the French Crown ; they wished to destroy the Albigenses, with their doctrines, whom Raymond protected, and therefore bestowed the conquered land upon Simon de Montfort, the most zealous leader of their army, because he alone appeared capable of upholding the strictest Catholicism in its integrity. They therefore" held, that since the King of France had done so little toward the conquest of the land, he had no right to as- sume any authority over it.=«= But the Montforts were far from possessing the substantial power necessary to realize * Bzovius, Annales Ecclesiastic!, 1215, no. 9. 40 HISTORY OF FRANCE. ORIGIN OF A FRENCH KINGDOM. 41 'i^i, \i I I I If-' their newly-acquired title, and of their own accord transferred their rights to the King of France. The nobles of the king- dom, in their assembly at Paris, consisting of five-and-twent]^ temporal lords and seventeen archbishops and bishops, recom- mended the King to accept the offer, and for that purpos<} promised him especial obedience and assistance.* As in the Anglo-Norman affair, so also in this of the Albigenses, the nobility of France promoted the advantage of the monarchy ; yet the latter case was of a different character, for it was on a spiritual sentence that the proceedings rested, and the King assumed the claims of a prince appointed by a Council. Philip Augustus hesitated to accept it : his son, Louis VIII., who had resolved on it, was slain in the struggle ; his widow, Blanche, a Spanish princess, upon whom the regency of the kingdom devolved, as well as the conduct of the war, found herself in circumstances of great peril, but, being well coun- seled and supported, she had the ability at last to bring all things into order.'^ The Count of Toulouse was compelled to abdicate, which, ^to follow the observations of a Roman writer, was a circumstance as favorable to the Church and the Crown as if he had been taken prisoner in open battle. Two-thirds of the territory passed into the immediate posses- sion of the Crown ; the Count himself held the remaining part for life ; but he conveyed the exclusive right of succession to his daughter, who was to marry Blanche's third son. Thus did the West-Frankish crown succeed in establishing its authority throughout the whole of its territories. Thescj two enterprises — the one to execute a temporal and the other a spiritual sentence of deposition — gave to the supreme powe r a superiority in the realm such as it had not possessed sincij the death of Charlemagne. Louis IX., Blanche's son, after the tumultuous changes which had characterized recent times, sought to bring about a condition of things regulated according to law, and corresponding with the moral and relig- ious notions with which his own mind was imbued. In re- gard to the South of France, he entered into a convention ♦ " Propter amorem Jesu Christi et fidei Christianae nee non et hon- orem carissimi domini nostri Ludovici regis Francorum illustris."— Preuves de THistoire de Languedoc, iii. no. 161. with the King of Aragon, who was descended from the ancient Counts of Barcelona, by which the relations of the two kingdoms were regulated and their boundaries ascertained. It was not, however, without the opposition of his Council that he restored to the King of England some of the provinces of which he had been formerly deprived ;* but by doing so, he obtained the advantage of bringing the English monarch to Paris (1259), where he accepted these provinces as fiefs, and in return formally renounced his rights to Normandy, Anjou, Tours, and Poitou. Normandy was permanently united to the French crown ; and from that time the power of the kings of France rested ujpon their immediate government of France and Normandy. // The old forms of the feudal monarchy remained unchanged : but as in the earlier times division and the arbitrary exercise of private power prevailed, so now order and obedience had the ascendency. It was not without its value, to the general comprehension of the people, that the mother of Louis Vlll. derived her birth from the Carlovingians, and expressly from Charles of Lower Lorraine, whose right of inheritance she was judged to have brought to the Capotians : by this means ever>' thing assumed the appearance of legitimacy. The dukes and counts of Burgundy, Brittany, Aujou, Poitou, Toulouse, and Artois belonged all of them to the family of the King. Eight dynasties are reckoned to have arisen from this stock.f The King appeared as the natural head of all these races. This very circumstance constituted one of the motives which actuated Louis IX. in enfeoffing the King of England, for he also belonged to the relatives of the King's blood. This genealogic connection of the members of the royal house exercised a combining influence on the State. Even in the twelfth century the notion of an elective monarchy was entertained. In the thirteenth, it was no longer spoken of: all submitted to the authority of the King, and, in an especial manner, to his jurisdiction. ♦ Tillemont, Vie de St. Louis, iv. 163. t Compare Mignet's "Essai sur la Formation Territoriale," etc., Notices, ii. 173. 42 HISTORY OF FRANCE. ORFGIN OF A FRENCH KINGDOM. 43 The law-books of the time continue to acknowledge a cer- tain degree of juridical independence in the separate territo- ries of the great barons ; but the King, they add, is sovereign over all, for to him belongs the common care of the kingdom : no one is so great that he may not be brought before tlie judgment-seat of the King. // As tradition had associated with the name of dueen Blanche the revival of the Roman law in France, so did it regard her son, Louis IX., as the most distinguished foimder of an orderly legal system, in which character he is chiefly remembered. The administration of justice was esteemed by him as the highest duty of a prince, and one expressly en- joined by religion. The King's court of justice had been re- garded of old as the supreme tribunal of the realm ; but its importance and influence were now greatly increased, not alone by the extension of the royal power so far beyond its former limits, but also and chiefly because this augmentation of authority had been acquired by the execution of judicial sentences. The great jurisdictional institution of the king- dom, the Parliament, separated itself gradually from the King's court (as its composition proves, being constituted of peers of the kingdom, a few officers of the court, and a num- ber of spiritual and temporal lords), but it was not totally disconnected from that political institution : although in a position essentially distinct, the chief difference between the two consisted in the circumstance that the numerous lawyers belonging to the spiritual order which were in it soon ob- tained the ascendency in the Parliament. Their discussfons show what a powerful ally the common authority of the king- dom had gained in them .♦ The courts of justice of the differ- ent provinces in union with the Crown appeared almost as mere delegations from the supreme tribunal of the King. The services and eminence of its members, and the uprightness of the King, who inculcated the consideration of foreign rights as well as his own, obtained for it a universal acceptation. * Beugnot, Preface to the Olim. vol. i. Ixxxix. collects from them "que la cour royale etait pleinement entree (sous Louis IX.) dans urie voic de conquetes successives, d'empiements lents, mais assures, sur I'autorite seigneuriale." It is well known, however, that the King was by no means thereby lord and master of the collective judicial system ; many of his own purposes indeed remained unaccomplished with respect to it. Louis IX. had not in general broken up the feudal system ; on the contrary, while he controlled the extravagant exercise of the arbitrary power of individuals which had characterized it, he succeeded in giving it a fonn compatible with the unconditional necessity of social order. While in all other countries the flames of feudal strife were burning, peace reigned undisturbed in his dominions, and France increased both in population and in progressive civili- zation. That a peaceful and moderate man, who was chiefly concerned for the salvation of his soul, and who was never very persevering or industrious, should be able to hold in check so many powerful princes and warlike vassals, pre- sented to the world at that time an object of universal ad- miration. Louis IX. did not hesitate to withstand even the clergy and the Papal see itself when he^Tconsidered their demands unjust; but otherwise he lived altogether in the idea of the unity of Christendom, and in ecclesiastical obedience ; even in his last will he recommended his son rather to yield some- thing to the Church than to contend with her. He avoided taking any part in the struggle between the Popes and the Hohenstaufens, but he was always ready to exert himself on behalf of Constantinople and the Holy Land.=^ His aid to the crusaders was frequent and valuable ; he himself took the cross twice, and each time with unfortunate and fatal results. In Egypt he was taken prisoner, and he lost his life before Tunis ; even in his last moments his thoughts were occupied with the extension of the faith. * As Pope Urban IV. describes his disposition, 1262 : " Ad ea quae Christian® fidei exaltationem et ipsius Roman© ecclesiae respiciunt, totis conatur viribus, . . . proximi Iffisionem abhorret . . . metuit anmi® hinc peccatum." EPOCH OF THE ENGLISH WARS. 46 I : CHAPTER III. r EPOCH OF THE ENGLISH WARS. There is a twofold conception of supreme authority dis- cernible in those who possess it. There are kings who regard the possession of their crowns, and even the existence of their kingdoms, as subordinate to higher purposes — the mainte- nance of a divinely appointed order of things, the promotion of civilization, the administration of justice, the consummation of the idea of the Church, and the extension of religion. There are others, on the contrary, who consider themselves as the administrators of the peculiar interests of their own country ; the extension of their power appears to them a dignified aim in itself; they attack foreign states without scruple, whenever such a step appears to them to be advantageous ; the consoli- dation of the inward strength and of the exterior greatness of their dominions seems to them at the same time their mission and their renown. The former are by nature personally ele- vated, gentle, and religious, to whom a legal limitation is rather grateful than distasteful ; the latter are men of native energy of will, partial views, and not unfrequently of severe; temperament, who scoff at all real limitation. The first may be said to belong rather to the Middle Ages, the second to- modern times, yet both make their appearance at all periods After the Capetian race had produced, in Louis IX., a prince who might have been regarded as an original and model foi all religious kings, there arose from the same line a character of a different description. Philip the Fair is distinguished from all his ancestors by a violent recklessness of character. The earlier kings had, like him, extended their power, but, as a German chronicler expresses it, it was within the limits assigned to them : they lived in peace and friendship with the German empire, which had acquired long since, with the | crown of Aries, a few provinces in southeastern Gaul. Philip the Fair was the first who, with determined ambition, broke through these boundaries, and seized possession of territories on the further side : as to the hostility of the German empire, which he had thereby excited, and the treaties he had vio- lated, he did not trouble himself— he knew or felt that he wag in alliance with the nature of things. When he took posses- sion of Lyons, he laid the foundation of a connection which extended of itself The power once formed drew to itself, with the irresistible force of nature, all the regions related to one another by speech. The earlier kings had maintained a union with the Pope- dom, and each power had promoted the other by mutual serv- ices ; Philip the Fair made no conscience of destroying this ancient alliance. His quarrel with Boniface VIII. arose from subordinate differences, but very soon embraced the most important questions concerning the temporal rights of Ronje, which this Pope struggled for with the fiercest zeal. The King even laid something like an anathema upon any of his successors who should ever acknowledge any power upon earth as superior to theirs in temporal things, and caused the bull to be burned in which the Pope had set up his claim in oppo- sition. Boniface ere long experienced the truth of what one of the King's lawyers had told him, that claim without true power signified nothing. For centuries the nation had directed its chief strength toward the East, but without the slightest result : Jerusalem had long since fallen again into the hands of the Saracens ; even Constantinople was unable to maintain itself The enterprises of St. Louis, and the plans of his blood-relation Charles of Anjou, King of Naples, had foundered, and at length Ptolemais was attacked by the Sultan Al- Aschraf King Philip the Fair refused to do any thing for the defense of that city,* but looked on calmly while it fell into the enemy's hands ; for these expeditions against the East were not merely indif- ferent to him, they were hateful. * " Consideratis negotiis quae incumbunt, et rebus ut nunc se haben- tibus "—Letter of Pope Nicholas IV., in Reinaldus, 1290, 9. 4« HISTORY OF FRANCE. EPOCH OF THE ENGLISH WARS. 47 The most powerful and the hravest of all the orders cf knighthood, which had been estabhshed expressly to carry on the war with the unbelievers, and with the existence of which a hope was yet associated of the reconquest of the Holy Se])- ulchre, was annihilated by him in the most violent manner. We do not inquire into the truth of his charges against tlic Templars, nor into the justice of his proceedings ; it is enough for us to observe the alteration of ideas. There was a legen d that every year, on the anniversary night of the abolitioii, there appeared an armed figure issuing from the Templars' tomb, wearing the red cross on the white mantle, and crying, "Who will hberate the Holy Sepulchre?" to which it was answered from the vault, " No one I no one I for the Temple is destroyed."* The times which had been animated with the idea of a common Christendom had passed away; the estates, whoise incomes were intended to sustain the efibrts for the reconquest of Jerusalem, were withdrawn from that purpose and made subservient to the uses of the monarchy. The great objects of inquiry respecting all men of active en- ergy is wherein the sum of their thoughts lies. St. Louis livcid in the idea of Christendom. With Philip the Fair the thoughts of the crown and of the kingdom were superior to all othen» ; through his whole being there breathes the decided air of mod- em times. The vast number of concessions, in which he united the judicial, the legislative, and the executive power, t is astonishing ; he brought the idea of the royal power into connection with all the relations of life. From the Parlia- ment an all-embracing tribunal separated itself Things we re no longer regarded from a religious point of view : the rights of maje«ty form the chief topics of consultation — taxes, chara- bers of revenue, the granting of imposts, even the primaiy right of the Crown to all the gold and silver in the kingdom, whose value it might settle as it thought proper ; the inde- pendence of the temporal power, and even of its authority m spiritual matters ; the assemblies of the States, and those of * This tradition is derived from a communication of Augustin Thierry. Martin, Histoire de France, v. 199. t Guizot, Cours de Histoire Modeme, tome v. the towns ; the natural freedom of all men, and the emanci- pation of the serfs. The character of this prince may be conceived from the circumstance that Dante, the great poet of the epoch, who lived only in the contemplation of universal freedom and in the consciousness of higher laws, felt an antipathy toward him, which breaks out into loud reproaches, while modern times salute his reign as the dawn of their own day. This position of an isolated policy, regardless of other lands, and directed toward the French state system only, was hardly attained however, when an event occurred which threw the whole realm into confusion, and cast it entirely on its own resources. In the line of the Capets the royal dignity had hitherto descended regularly from father to son. Philip the Fair left a blooming family, but none of his three sons left any male issue. After the death of the last of them, Edward UL, King of England, who was the son of his daughter, claimed the French crown as his inheritance. In virtue of this same right, the feudal principalities in France, the crowns of the Pyrennean Peninsula, and the En- glish crown itself had been inherited. Edward III. caused his claim to be investigated by the English lawyers, and, fortified by their opinion, undertook to make it good by force of arms.* On the other hand, the male line had always succeeded in the German principalities, in consequence of the union of official power with the possession of the land ; and the same rule of succession had been observed in France, on the late occasions, in which the crown had passed from one brother to another, to the exclusion of the daughters of the former ; yet this took place rather in consequence of a treaty, which stipulated a compensation for the daughters, than by any * As " causa fontalis" of the wars, Henry V. sets forth : — " Progen- itorum nostrum ac nostras hereditatis et jurium ad coronam FrancisB detentionem injustam, quam profecto causam progenitor noster incly- tissim® memorise Eduardus per se et maximum consilium suum, magnae conscientiffi viros in jure divino et humano summe instructos, penes quos maxima sapientia viguit et quibus factum rccens erat et ad oculum patuit, iterum atque iterura examinari jussit, ac omni remoto scrupulopro parte sua didicit fore justam/'— Lettresdes Rois, ed. ChampoUion.ii 360. ^r 48 HISTORY OF FRANCE. EPOCH OF THE ENGLISH WARS. 4» I h hi legal recognition of the right; and besides, whether the son might not succeed his mother, and whether any right existed to transfer the crown from the reigning branch of the royal family to a collateral line, was still open to dispute. But the political bearing of the question engaged much more attention than its legal character. Men did not inquiie whether the royal authority was more an inheritance or a power pertaining to the office ; it was simply, whether the claims upon the French crown made by the prince of a foreig n nation should be admitted. The most distinguished of the French nobility, the peers and barons, were firmly resolved not to allow themselves to be brought under the power of the English * They held in this case firmly by the German rule of succession, which they designated as the Salic law ; it was to them a security for their independence, and they therefore acknowledged Philip of Valois the next collateral relative; ; but they were not able to give effect to their decision with- out a sanguinary struggle. When Edward reached his majority, and resolved to en- force his right, how ruinous was the blow which he gave to the nobility and gentry of France, who had scorned his do- minion ! In the battle of Cressy there fell eleven princess, eighty nobles, and twelve hundred knights. In the battle of Poitiers, King John, the second of the house of Valois— whose father, in dying had enjoined him not to draw back from the war, which was carried on for a good cause — was taken prisoner by his enemies, fighting gallantly. There were few distinguished houses in the kingdom which had not either to lament for some one slain, or to ransom some one from captivity. The English remained victors also in a great sea-fight : they conquered Calais, and constituted it an En- glish colony. Not only was the predominant and aggressive position which France had hitherto occupied before the world altered by these events, but the war and its results exercised a decomposing influence upon the interior of the kingdom itself To these circumstances also it may be attributed that a new power in the state — the power of the towns, which * Continuator Guilielmi de Nangiaco, " Non lequanimiter ferentes aubdiregimini Anglicorura," ii. 83. had been growing sil-ently, sustained by all the popular ele- ments which were at work in tl>e depth of the nation — was completely unfolded, raised to a political position, and took its station beside the barons and nobility. It is an error of the earlier representations to ascribe the rise of the civic communities in France to the roya^ power : the movement from which they sprang w^s original and spontane- ous, in the north of Fraiice as well as in Italy and the Neth- erlands. But the kings of France had from the beginning taken these communities into their peace a,nd protection, and confirmed to them the freedom they had of themselves ac- quired. The towns, in return, fought the battles of the kings, aaid always took their side in their eontests with the nobles. St. Louis, in his later years, used to relate with plea- sure how once, during his minority, when he was on a jour- ney to Paris, and had nearly reached that -city, lie was assail- ed by the insurgent barons, and how the population of Paris rushed from within their walls and defended him from all danger. The towns assisted Philip the Fair in his wars with large sums of money : not only did they allow him to tax consumable articles, but they also granted him an income- tax, which produced an important revenue. Philip was glad to see them about him in separate assemblies; and in his noted contest with the Pope, when it was his object to oppose the voice of the united nation to the Romish claims, he brought them into tlie Diet of the Estates, where they sup- ported him with decisive declarations. Their ambition led them to iako part with him, who was striving for tire com- plete independence of the kingdom. When, soon after, in the reaction of the provinces against the ascendency of the Crown, which commenced after the death of Philip the Fair, it became necessary to make no in- considerable concessions to the proprietors and nobles ia the shape of provincial charters, the towns also acquired a great privilege — the right to arm themselves for the defense of their own rights, as well as those of the King. In the fourteenth century we find in general the two ele- ments of our states, the feudal-hierarchic power and the pop- ular power of the towns and cities, standing opposed to each C \ / r p» 50 HISTORY OF FRANCE. EPOCH OF THE ENGLISH WARS. di other and armed for battle, in France as throughout tho whole Continent ; and this great party division became no\^' connected with the contest of the succession. It was chiefly through the gentry and nobility that the; house of Valois had acquired the crown ; its members there- fore always took part with the aristocracy, or stood at itf: head. One of the first enterprises of the new King was t(» march to the assistance of the Count of Flanders, in his strug- gle with his towns : his deliberate object in doing so was to prevent the civic movement, which was every where ferment- ing, from penetrating into France.* Edward III., on the other hand took part with the Flemish towns, by whom ho was chiefly urged to make good his claims upon the crown olf France. The defeats which he gave the French had a two- fold result : they excited discontent among the people against the government and its conduct, to which they attributed these misfortunes, and they weakened the nobility, on which it depended, personally by the slaughter of its members. After the battle of Poitiers, which cast a doubt even upon ths bravery of the nobility, a division commenced in France which , properly speaking, was never again healed up. In the Assembly of the Estates of the north of France, which was convened for the purpose of finding means for carrying on the war and for ransoming the King, a committee was appointed, in which the representatives of the burgher class were as numerous as the other two estates taken tct- gether, and strove with all their power to alter the govern- ment. The extent of the rights which the Estates under the leading of the committee demanded is worthy of special rts- mavk — a right not only to take part in the raising of the im- posts which they had granted, but also in dispensing the funds which they produced ; the privilege of assembling upon an appointed day without being summoned ; the force of law for the resolutions which they should adopt ; and a partici- * Chronicon Comitum Flandriae, in Smet. Collection de Chroniquos Beiges inedites, i. 203 : " Consilium fuit omnium, quod rex illuc exer- citum mitteret in adjutorium comitis Flandrise ad domandos rebelles', ric si tenninos sues exirent attrahere sibi posscnt communitates alias Fi- cardiffi et Francia, et sic magnam confusionem facerent nobilibus atque regno." pation of their committee in the deliberations relating to war or a suspension of arms. So complete and comprehen- sive was the idea of a government by Estates, which it was sought to realize in France, under a popular impulse, in the fourteenth century. But neither the time and circumstances, nor the disposition of the nation, nor even the leaders them- selves, were calculated to accomplish any thing. The behavior of Robert Lecoq, the most distinguished chief of the party, was of a thoroughly factious character ;* his ob- ject was to make another prince of the blood, Charles of Na- varre, who was just then asserting a title to the crown, King of France, in order that, at his side, as Chancellor, he might take the power into his own hands. Lecoq had already declared that it was competent for the Estates to depose a king and to change the succession ; he afterward gave free course to the most violent attempts against the existing gov- ernment. A large portion of the councilors of Parliament were expelled, the chamber of revenue altered, and two marshals, the most distinguished counselors of the Dauphin, who acted as regent, were murdered before his eyes by an excited mob, who broke into the palace under the leading of Stephen Marcel, the chief magistrate of the city. It is not to be denied that the towns had just grievances to complain of; but their violent and lawless conduct stood, itself, in the way of their efforts for redress, and aroused in the breasts of their opponents a consciousness that they were contending for a good cause. As the attack was directed at the same time against the authority of the Crown and the prerogatives of the gentry and nobility, it caused an intimate union between both. The Dauphin, supported by the nobility, obtained the victory, and the former mode of government was re-established. To him alone is it to be attributed that a fearful vengeance was not at once exacted. Soon after the peace of Bretigny, the stipulations of which corresponded with the ill success of the war and the internal confusion of the kingdom, transferring as they did to Edward III. a third part of the territory of * Articles contre Robert le Coq, communicated by Drouet d'Arq. Bibliotheque de I'Ecole des Chartes, ii. 378, art. 82. i 1 52 HISTORY OF FRANCE. EPOCH OF THE ENGLISH WARS. 53 France, the Dauphin himself ascended the throne, under the title of Charles V. All his thoughts were now devoted to the recovery of what had been lost ; but this was impossible without internal peace. He understood thoroughly the art of bringing over to his side the opposed parties — not only the nobility and the military leaders, but also the towns: to many of them he gave charters of civic freedom ; several of them went over to him, not a single one fell off from him. The wisdom of the King, and the greatness of the object in which all were interested, and which proceeded successfully, suppressed all party strife as long as he lived, Charles V. of France was a man who, at that time of life which is usually the period of manly vigor, saw a speedy death before his eyes, and never took the field in person, for he could not even have wielded a sword. But his mind was reflective and his genius brilliant and witty, as his sayings prove, which are still remembered. He was a man also who thoroughly understood how to maintain the ascendency of patriotic opinions. No sooner had his peaceful influence dis- appeared, than the ancient hostilities, excited by the general disposition of the age, broke out once more with the fiercest animosity. The latter decades of the fourteenth century, and the first of the fifteenth, were marked by continual fluctua- tions in the struggle between the public power and the pub- lic spirit. The question concerning which the contest was renewed was by no means without significance ; on the contrary it had a meaning of the most essential kind in reference to thtj internal constitution of all European nations — it was how far it was requisite for the Estates to make the grant of supplies periodical ; for with this all the other rights of the Assembly were closely connected. The French of those times took uj) the question with the livehest interest. Paris and the other municipalities opposed the levy of taxes without the grant of the Estates ; and the discontent of the people broke out into an insurrection, in which all the passions of the time took fire, and the property of individuals was endangered. The nobility of France, which ranged itself around th(} throne, were not altogether badly advised when they turned their arms first against Flanders, for a distinguished merchant had there deprived the Count of the government, and become the leader of the entire movement. The danger that threatened the nobility from this quarter was unquestionably great ; had it fared with the French chivalry as it did with the Austro- Suabian at Morgarten, it is possible that the north of France would have become a republic. The population of Paris were already thinking of demolishing the fortress of the Louvre, and the Bastille, which was then in progress of erection. The decision of arms in Flanders happened, however, to be in favor of the nobility ; they gained a complete victory at Roesbeke (November 23, 1382), and brought the land into subjection to its sovereign. At the beginning of the battle, just as the banner of the kingdom was unfolded, the thick clouds suddenly opened, and the sun shone forth : the nobility believed it to be an immediate token of divine protection ; they brought back the baimer to St. Denis with great solemnity and devo- tion, and then directed their eflx)rts against Paris. Here the population had entirely lost courage ; the citizens came out to meet the King with tokens of honor, but he would not accept their congratulations — they had too deeply injiired the royal house. The barriers were torn down, the gates taken oft' their hinges, and the iron chains with which the streets were closed up at night removed. The people were compelled to deliver up all their weapons, and the building of the Bastille was finished, the civic privileges, especially the right to elect the Prevot des Marchands and his Echevins, with all the judicial authority, were resumed. The old taxes on consumable articles were proclaimed once more with the sound of trumpets, and no one ventured to oppose their levy. The opinion was even broached that the King had a right to deal with the taxes in as uncontrolled a manner as he did with his own domains ; and, although no one dared to utter the thought boldly, yet it was held that no new grant of the revenue was necessary to the King.* For a long series of years subse quently the Estates General did not again assemble. * The ' Chronica Caroli Sexti' (Chronique des Religieux de St. Denys), the chief authority for.this, does not express itself altogetliei clearly, i. p. 242 : " Quaj (subsidia) quamvis occasione sopiendarem. 64 HISTORY OF FIANCE. EPOCH OF THE ENOLISH WARS. 55 In the Assembly of the Estates, held in 1357, the towns pre- dominated, and took measures to obtain possession of the entire government ; in the year 1382 they were deprived of even their mmiicipal privileges. As the events, so did opinions fluctuate. Then the doctrine had been occasionally propounded that a government could do nothing without the consent of the people ; * soon after, the contrary opinion was maintained, that, owing to the original distinction of the Estates, it was necessary to limit each to its peculiar sphere. For a long time it was held lawful to kill tyrants; afterward the most distinguished promulgator of that notion was himsdf con- demned ; and then occurred another change of opinion, which brought the first theory into repute once more. The questions in dispute had their influence also upon the division between Orleans and Burgundy, although in itself it originated from totally difierent causes. The house of Or- leans and the Armagnacs were at the head of the knightly class, which had finally triumphed. The Duke of Burgundy, who was now also Count of Flanders, took up the cause of civic privileges. Under his influence the municipal rights of the capital were restored in 1409 ; the citizens were once more permitted to arm themselves, and to elect their own magistrates ; a militia, which consisted chiefly of the hered- itary proprietors of a great manufactory, sustained the author- ity of the house of Burgundy, and the faction which had at that time obtained the ascendency in the city. The Court sought to free itself from both, but the attempt was immedi- ately followed by an insurrection, in which the opinions which had been suppressed thirty years before, sprang into activity guerrarem, et reparatione edificiorum regiorum, forent nuper introducta, hucusque a tempore Caroli defuncti sine popular! consensu ut antiquitus fiebat persoluta. Quidam ipsa subsidia non modo iterum repetenda, Bed et deinceps sicut merum dominium et coram regis judicibus dignum ducebant tractanda." I might lay greater stress upon the words " non modo repetenda," than e. g. Felibien, ' Histoire de Paris,' i. 699, who had this passage before him ; it was intended not only to renew the old taxes, but also to increase them — a measure which would easily have excited a general insurrection. * " Reges regnant suffragio populorum." once more. An ordinance was hastily drawn up, which, among other principles, insisted upon that of election in the judicial system, limited the right of chase, and especially de- manded that the several branches of the public service should be re-organized in accordance with the wishes of the people. The King and the princes were compelled to adopt the white hat, which was the badge of the party, to proceed to the Palace of Justice, and there publish the ordinance as law. The change of circumstances appears at times also in the case of subordinate persons- A man who had been present at the murder of the marshals in 1357, was executed for that crime in the year 1382. In the year 1413, an old physician ap- peared at the head of the adherents of Burgundy, of whom it was said that he had in his boyhood taken part in that first insurrection. The white hat was the sign of revolt in Flan- ders, whence it had been adopted by the Parisians in 1382. The Armagnacs retained possession of the authority for some time, and exercised it with great violence ; at length the citizens rose against them, in the year 1418, and took fright- ful vengeance on them. The dead bodies of the rulers, whom the people were heretofore compelled to obey, were bound toge- ther and publicly exposed, that they might feed their eyes upon the terrible sight. Meanwhile, the English war had broken out afresh, and there was a time when all these questions, however little they had in common originally, merged in one another. The chivalry of France sufiered once more one of those murder-' ous defeats, which the English were in this war accustomed to inflict upon the stormy, rushing armies of France : eight thousand gentlemen at least must have been slain at Agin- court. The rage of faction burned more fiercely than ever between the princes of the blood. When Duke John of Bur- gundy was slain in the presence of the Dauphin on the bridge of Montereau, the son of the murdered Prince held himself justified in renouncing his connection vnth the Dauphin, and eflecting the treaty of Troyes, according to which, Henry V., of England, was recognized as future King of France, and at the same time as Regent of that kingdom. Under the influ- ence of the Duke, the city of Paris did not scruple to accept 56 'HISTORY OF FRANCE. EPOCH OF THE ENGLISH WARS. 57 M ^ the terms of this treaty : they were adopted by the members of Parliament, the University, the clergy, and especially by the civic magistracy, with 'loud acclamations, in a solehm assembly. Never, since the days of Philip Augustus, had a king been better received in Paris than was Henry V. : on his entrance into that city, the people greeted him with the most tumultuous joy; even the assembled Estates adopted the treaty and subjected themselves to new taxes, in order to sup- ply him with money.* The French believed that the privi- leges of their Estates and municipalities could be secured only by their union with England ; they did not bestow a thought upon their political independence. The Dauphin, by a kind of legal process, was declared to have forfeited all bis rights to the crown. When the intelligence was brought to him, he answered that he would appeal from that judgment to the point of his sword. It was something gained,, thus to depend upon him- self Yet the sword, as he then wielded it, could hardly have saved him : it was necessary, if he were in reality to become king of France, that he should first separate himself from the blood-stained faction of the Armagnacs, which then surround- ed him. For the accomplishment of his purpose he found assistance of the most diversified character. The first was given him by the nobihty, who gradually re- united themselves viith their king. They were the Count of ^Anjou and Provence, with whom the King had entered into afEnity ; the Duke of Brittany and his gallant brother, Kiche- mont ; and, finally, the Duke of Burgundy, whose accession to the English party had gained Henry the kingdom, and whose renunciation of it was therefore likely to deprive him of it again. They were all by degrees made conscious that it would be more advantageous to them to have a native king than a foreign one and his deputy. The sons of those who had fallen at Agincourt were now also come to maturity, and attached themselves to their natural king, in order to avenge the death of their fathers, and to reconquer the towns that had been lost. * " Comme si le monde eut du ofTre sont renouvellee et establj en per- petuelle et pennancnte felicite." — Chastellain, Chron. du Due Phil. 64. Finally, there appeared from the humblest class — ^the cul- tivators of the soil — one of the most marvelous phenomena which the world had yet seen — ^the Maid of Orleans. In order to understand the character of this singular being prop- erly, it is necessary to call to mind how the French royal family, the Royaux de France, and the crown of lilies were invested with a traditional reverence. In the territory of the Archbishopric of Rheims, where so many churches were dedicated to St. Remigius, in one of which the Maid herself was baptized, the right of the anointed Kings of France was regarded as an institution immediately originating from the Divinity. Joan of Are aroused this national religio^^ feehng in the masses ; yet she knew well that the conviction of the King's right was not sufficient. The objection was once made to her, that, if God desired to free the land from its enemies, he was able to effect it without the assistance of sol- diers — to which she answered with appropriate spirit, *' The warriors must fight, and God will then give the victory." The inhabitants of Paris had long been weary of the En- glish rule, and after the falling off of Burgundy from that party they immediately returned to the cause of their heredi- tary king. It was magnanimous conduct on the part of Charles VII., that when he again became master of the city he took no vengeance upon his ancient opponents. For a whole century, the alternate triumph of parties had filled the capital and the provinces with mutual slaughter ; on this oc- casion care was taken that one party should not be expelled as heretofore by the other, and deeds of violence enacted which might have conjured up anew the ancient storms. While the internal divisions caused by the operation of the English war had become in the highest degree dangerous to the integrity of the kingdom, the reconciliation thus effected by Charles had the result of strengthening the antipathy to the English dominion. All classes, from the highest to the lowest, worked together, in order to re-establish the monarchy, so that now, from the deepest ruin, it arose once more, aU- protecting and all-comprehending. We pause a moment, to contemplate the circumstances that marked this great and saving conjuncture, in which the French 58 HISTORY OF FRANCE. EPOCH OF THE ENGLISH WARS. 59 monarchy, while struggling for its very existence, acquired at the same time, and as the result of the struggle, a firmer organization. The expedients adopted to carry on the contesit grew, as in other important cases, to national institutions. The Pragmatic Sanction, in which the King and the clergy then joined, must not be regarded as merely an act of spiritual jurisdiction — it was rather the perfecting of those earlier measures by which the King, and the clergy who adhered to him, sought to counteract the influence of the Pope, who favored the English and Burgundians. " Experience showed us," said King Charles VII.,* "that Pope Martin bestowed the episcopal sees and other important benefices of our king;- dom either upon foreigners or upon such as were attached to the party of our opponent. We have therefore ordained, with the advice of an assembly of prelates, clergy, and distinguished laymen, that no one shall succeed to a benefice in our king- dom except such as have been born in the same and are welJ- affected to us. The holy father who succeeded (Eugenius IV.) has also day after day conferred the benefices of our kingdom upon men unknown to us, who arc not natives of the realm, and who belong to the party of our enemy." It could not have effected much, simply to repeat this determin- ation. In order therefore to uproot the evil thoroughly, the King made his appearance at the Council of Bale, which was then assembled, whose decisions in favor of national churches entirely corresponded with his wishes, and satisfied all tho necessities of the case. In a great assembly at Bourges, in the year 1438, at which there were present five archbishops, twenty-five bishops, and a great number of clergy of inferior rank, the decrees of the Council of Bale were adopted, with some slight alterations, and formed into a statute, which hau been designated by the solemn title of the Pragmatic Sanction. The French Church by this recovered the important right of free election ; f and in the present temper of the nation there * Lettres de Charles VII., par lesquelles il ordonne, que nul ne sersi re9U aux benefices ecclesiastiques, s'ii n'est du royaume, et aflectionn^ au Roy. March 10, 1431-2 : Ordonnances, xiu. 178. t It is the Decretum de Electionibus, twelfth session of the Council of Bale. was no reason to fear that it would fall upon the opponents of the King or the adherents of his enemies. The denial of the demands for money made by the Roman Curia, which Philip the Fair had once the boldness to make, could now for the first time be carried out thoroughly on the authority of a general decree of the assembly of the Church. To Rome there could be nothing more offensive than thus to settle ecclesiastical afi^airs without the interference of the Pope, Just as the contest in which men were engaged demanded it, all gathered themselves round the King, ,.. The revival of the Parliament stood in intimate connection with the establishment of the clergy in a Gallican character. The Parliament of Paris, which properly had been established by the Duke of Burgundy, and which had taken the oath of allegiance to the English king, had never been recognized by Charles VII. He had constituted his Parliament at Poitiers of such members of that at Paris as had fled to him and re- mained true to their allegiance, and after he had triumphed over his foe he led them back to the capital. In this he saw *' the strong arm of his justice ;" and as this now renewed the ancient fundamental maxims of the French administra- tion of justice in all respects, so did it maintain the rights in reference to spiritual affairs with which it had been invested ever since the times of Philip the Fair, and assume an atti- tude of defiance against the claims of the Romish Court. " The Bishop of Rome," said Pius II., " whose diocese is the world, has no more jurisdiction in France than what the Parliament is pleased to allow him ; it even believes that it has the power to forbid the entrance of spiritual censures into the kingdom." Meanwhile it appeared urgently necessary to organize in some measure the royal administration, and the pecuniary economy of the Government. The domains of the Crown had for the most part fallen into the possession of private persons, or had been granted away, so that they no longer produced any revenue, and therefore the building of fortresses could not be sustained from that source.* The taxes which the former kings had levied Charles VII. was compelled to * Preface aux Ordonnances, tome xiii. p. 70. €0 HISTORY OF FRANCE. EPOCH OF THE ENGLISH WAES. 61 dispense with, otherwise he might have lost the popular favor, ibr the English and Burgundian party had not demanded them. He was thus obliged to fall back upon the sparing and insecure grants of the Estates, which still remained faith- ful to him. From this state of financial disorder and the want of money originated the independent power of the free com- panies of warriors which filled the land. The. captains who fought on the King's side frequently refused obedience to the commands of his marshals, and behind the walls of thcdr fortresses practiced the most licentious and contemptuous violence : sometimes it was found necessary to expel them altogether from the kingdom, in order that they might do real service to be re-admitted. Charles VII. sought as soon as possible to put an end to their plundering by appointing to them, in the several dis- tricts which they occupied, either a settled amount of income or provisions in kind for man and horse. It was like a forc(;d contribution ; the otherwise inevitable evils olf war had been purchased off by a regular tribute. In the year 1439 the King had brought the whole kingdom mto a state of harmonious arrangement, and at the same time to a position of high political importance. In an assembly held at Orleans in the year 1439, at which the delegates of the Dukes of Orleans, Burgundy, and Brittany, and those of the Count of Armagnac and of the city of Paris, were present, the conviction universally prevailed that it would be impos- sible to control the troops required for the continuance of the war, unless they were regularly paid and placed in subordin- ation to the commands of a single chief It indicated an unexampled change, that an ordinance could have issued on the counsel, as it is stated in the original document, of the princes and barons, the prelates and clergy, the gentry and people of the good towns, which established this regulation. '»^ Those nobles who had become neariy independent did, it is true, disclaim the authority of the ordinance which forbade the raising and maintaining of troops without the license of the King, and claimed for themselves the exclusive right to ♦ Lettres de Charles VII, pour obvier aux pilleries et vexationcs d.. gens de guerre, Nov. 2, 1439. (Ordonn. des. Rois de France, xiii. 306. ) appoint the captains, who should be held responsible to them for every unlawful act committed by their respective com- panies. They consented however to be prohibited from laying tallages upon their subjects by their 'own mere authority, or from increasing those which should be laid on by the King. It was the great object of the King to be allowed to raise a gen- eral tax for the pay of troops from the subjects of the great nobles, as well as in his own immediate territories. It may be regarded as certain that the most considerable of the great barons were not moved to this concession without the assur- ance of a pecuniary indemnity, and even then they voted only for a small amount of tallage, out of all proportion with the number of the troops.* The revenue system obtained by these means a totally different form. The King assumed that as the army was to be permanent the grant should be perpetual ; and then com- menced a strong and thorough system of administrative reg- ulations. An assembly of the three Estates had, immediately after the victory, accorded the re-establishment of the taxes. The place of the elus of the Commons, who had hitherto been intrusted with the assessment of the imposts, was taken by royal officers, who also bore that name. The Treasurers of France — the produce of the domain was the original treasure — who were charged with the duty of recovering what the Crown had lost, occupied a very comprehensive sphere of action, t Charles VII. considered the case of the provinces separately, with respect both to their peculiar circumstances and the services they had rendered to his cause, and did not enforce his system with uniform severity. From the province of Languedoc, which had given him the most energetic support, he accepted an equivalent for the taxes, and also granted it a separate Parliament at Toulouse, on account of the diflerence of the law which prevailed there. It appeared to him suffi- ♦ Comines asserts it expressly, i. 384. The Venetian embassador Zrevisan, to his account of the amount of the revenue in 1502, adds the words : " Di quel danaro il Re paga la pension ordinaria di signori, come ordmo Henrico VII." (a mistake for Carlo). t Lettres portant reglement sur les fonctions et pouvoirs des tresoriers de France. August 12, 1445 : Ordonnances, xiii. 444. eg HISTORY OF FRANCE. cient to renew the ancient privileges here and there ; and therefore, when he was requested to summon the States Gen- eral, he did not accede, for he had been informed by men of high authority that it would only give occasion for unneces- sary expense — that it was not the desire of the country, which was content with the present state of things. I find, in an English author of the seventeenth century,* the remark, that the Estates of France would have obtained greater im- portance if they had attached themselves to the throne in this war. Although it was not without the participation of the Assemblies of the Estates, yet it happened chiefly in conse- quence of the conquest, and the necessities produced thereby, that the monarchic institutions predominated in the founding of a comprehensive administration, which depended solely upon the will of the King, and of a regularly paid military power. After some pecuniary means had been obtained, a thorough purification of the army took place : those only were retained who had conducted themselves well ; they were separated into companies, and measures were adopted for securing them regular pay. This was the first instance of a standing army in modern Europe. Few in number as were these Compag- nies d'Ordonnance — there were originally only fifteen, each constituted of one hundred lances, and each lance of six men — they formed the nucleus of an army, round which the feudal troops, which had been brought into better order, and an infantry raised in return for an exemption from the imposts, grouped themselves.! Jacques Coeur, a wealthy merchant of Bourges, who had enriched himself by the Syro- Egyptian commerce, provided the extraordinary pecuniary means which were necessary in order to place the new war- like power — that of the artillery, which first produced any great efiects during this century — in a proper condition ; for standing armies, imposts, and loans all originated together. ♦ James Harrington, the " Oceana." t Lettres de Charles VII., April 28, 1446, pour Tinstitution dea Francs Archers. The intention was to carry on the war against the English, " sans ce qu'il soit besoing de nous aider d'autres, que de nos dits subjests." — Ordonn. xiv. 1. EPOCH OF THE ENGLISH WARS. 63 An army now appeared in the field, from whose advances the ruin of the provinces which it was to occupy was not, as formerly, to be apprehended, and whose discipline was more complete than that of any other which Gaul had seen since the ancient Roman times. Before this host the English were unable to maintain themselves either in Normandy or Gui- enne, and the world was astonished when the French banner was not only waving in Normandy, but also when the English were forced to quit Aquitaine, of which they had held posses- sion for a century, and were deprived of all their continental possessions except Calais. As great an advantage perhaps for the conquered as for the conquerors, for the two nations must have separated, if each was to develop itself according to its own proper nature and genius. i III llf BOOK II. POLITICS AND WAR FROM 1450 TO 1550. CHAPTER IV. tHE CROWN AND THE GREAT VASSALS* la In the Italian arsenals they call the great central beam, round which the smaller pieces of wood are laid to form a mast, the Soul; in the Dutch dock-yards it is named the King. True kingship consists in the power which holds to- gether the people and the Estates, which maintains their equilibrium and supports them through the storm. It may be safely asserted that the royal house of France, notwithstanding many weaknesses, had, in raising itself to a position of such high importance, been of signal advantage to the French nation. At a period of the greatest confusion in the internal organization, when the conflict of parties was fiercest, it was chosen as the embodiment of the idea of legal power — at least of that idea which had been formed of legal power amidst the strife of the age — and at length the time arrived when that idea might be fully realized through the accomplishment of its fundamental objects. The principle of monarchy caused it to penetrate all the popular elements, and hold them together. A war then broke out, which ap- peared at one period as if it must force the nation into an unnatural union with another, whose development, although somewhat related to its own, was grounded upon essentially difierent principles : this war fortunately brought the Valois branch of the Capetian line to the throne, and both Estates and nation preserved their proper position. All these provinces, so variously composed, and the Estates, at discord among themselves, united again with the Crown, in whose power alone they felt lay their safety and freedom. Not that all internal disputes had been determined and dropped : the collection of ungranted imposts met with great opposition, especially in the provinces most recently recovered bS HISTORY OF FRANCE. from England. An historical writer of the time* gives the opposite arguments with which the inhabitants of the prov- inces and the royal officials met each other ; but the imposts were moderate, and they were paid. The unity was not by any means either oppressive or arbitrary. Justice was ad- ministered every where in the name of the King, but through the instrumentality of great, well-organized corporations, which were not in the slightest degree dependent upon mo- mentary caprice. The clergy also gave in their adhesion to the Throne, principally, however, in order that they might be maintained by it in their independence. The paid troops were not numerous, and could not therefore detract from the military importance of the nobility. The great vassals still laid claim to the right of being present at the consultations concerning the general circumstances of the kingdom, and when the claim was formally discussed, Charles VII. did not venture positively to reject it.f His son, Louis XL, as Dauphin, took up the cause of the barons against his father, and his brother, the Duke of Berry, did the same against Louis himself Still, however, these provincial sovereigns had a position in France not much less important than that of the nobles of the same rank in Germany, who were hereditaiy princes. The Dukes of Brittany could refuse to accept the Pragmatic Sanction, and even entered into an alliance against it with the Pope : in defiance of the King, they styled themselves " dukes by the grace of God," and founded a university by their own authority. The Counts of Anjou and Provence had not yet forgotten their claims upon Syria and Jerusalem, which gave them a place among the independent powers of the world. To many a traveler their castle at Angers, where they held their court, and which had more than twenty towers, appeared to be the strongest fortress in the world ; they had here collected and arranged, in caverns and grottoes, all kinds of remarkable objects, both natural and artificial, from every quarter of the globe. The court of the Dukes of Orleans, at Blois, was the most distinguished spot in Europe for knightly * Amelgardus, whose work well deserves to be printed, t Arguments for and against, in Monstrelet. THE CROWN AND THE GREAT VASSALS. 69 accomplishments ; one of the last of them, who possessed an admirable talent for poetry, had there given a peculiar tone to society, and numbers of men, whose names have been re- nowned in history, assembled round him. The court of the Dukes of Burgundy was, however, by far more splendid, and more numerously frequented than any of these ; foreigners were astonished at the vast number of knights, counts, and even of princes, that crowded in troops round Philip the Good, and still more so at the treasures he allowed to be exhibited to them — " a hundred thousand quintals of coined gold, be- sides an infinite quantity of the most costly jewels."* We have already mentioned the party efibrts of the House of Burgundy ; now for the first time, however, it entered upon a course which was of importance to the history of the world, and exercised a decisive influence upon both the ex- ternal power and the internal development of France : it arose from the relationship of the great nobles to the chief of the state. When the earlier kings conferred vacant fiefs upon the members of the royal house, they did so in the belief that they were Thereby increasing its strength. King John might have been actuated by this motive when, in 1363, he be- stowed the dukedom of Burgundy upon the youngest and most valiant of his sons, who accompanied him in his cap- tivity. The vigorous ofiihoot which he had thus planted flourished in the most rapid manner : in a few generations it had acquired Flanders, with those cities which constantly exercised so powerful an influence upon northern France ; the neighboring territory of Brabant ; the warlike Walloon provinces, Artois, Hennegau, Namur, Luxemburg ; the lands on the German sea-coast, which had been won from the ocean with obstinate industry — territories stretching far be- yond the boundaries of the French feudal sovereignty. At a time of universal division and faction, it was impossible chat the elevation of a branch of the royal house to a position of independent power could conduce to the advantage of either the head of the house or of the nation. We have noticed the * Journey of the Bohemian noble, Leo von Rozmital ; in the Library of the Literary Union at Stuttgard, vii. p. 161, et seq. !v 70 HISTORY OP FRANCE. THE CROWN AND THE GREAT VASSALS. 71 I union of Burgundy with England. When Philip the Good broke off from it, and joined the interests of the crown oi' France once more, he did not do so without obtaining the greatest advantages — he stipulated for the extension of hiu territories to the banks of the Somme. The Duke of Burgundy was the first peer of France, and all the efforts of the great vassals found in him a natural support. How splendid was his appearance at the coronation of Louis XL, at Rheims I He had given him an asylum in his dominions, and he now had brought him back. The modest figure of the young King vanished in the blaze of splendor with which the Duke was surrounded. When he came to Paris, immediately afterward, he was received with so many indications of attachment to the house of Burgundy, that it was not impossible to believe that the city would have been still more rejoiced to have greeted him as king. Between a vassal such as this, and a monarchy occu- pied with the project of increasing its power, no enduring alliance could exist, however personally friendly their relations might be. When Louis XL desired to take advantage of the right to restore the cities of the Somme to the Crown, by paying an equivalent, which the treaty of Arras had guaranteed to him, he aroused the hostility of the youthful heir of Burgundy, who soon after became duke, and who asserted that the con- trary had been promised to himself personally. After a short time it came to a conflict immediately between Burgundy and the Crown ; but one in which all who felt for their own < independence took part with the claims of Burgundy. In the year 1465 all the great vassals were seen once more united against the Crown; Armagnacs and Burgundi- ans fought in the same camp, and Louis XL, after the loss of a pitched battle, was forced to a peace. In the articles of this peace, he was obliged to relinquish his claims upon the cities of the Somme, and not only so, but to submit to humili- ating conditions. A commission, composed of thirty-six nota- bles, from the clergy, the nobility, and the lawyers, was to take into consideration the reforms which were deemed most urgent in the kingdom, and especially those relating to the privileges of the Estates, concerning which their determina- tions were to be final. A few years afterward, when Louis had incautiously placed himself in the power of Duke Charles, it was a matter of consultation whether they should not call in the Duke of Berry, brother to the King, and, under the authority of the next prince of the blood, establish regulations to the advant^ age of the great vassals of the kingdom. The King would then have been held in strict restraint, and a government of the great lords have been set up. But it was the good for- tune of the King that his antagonists were not much interest- ed in the contemplated regulations. The Duke of Brittany protested against the commission, as derogatory to the rights of his dukedom ; and the Duke of Burgundy was contented when the King promised to give him military assistance against the city of Liege, which was then under the protec- tion of Louis himself The circumstances of the French Crown were now fraught with peril, had Charles the Bold been able to accomplish his designs, by extending his power over the Netherlands, Lor- raine and Alsace, to the borders of Switzerland. It was even mooted in the Estates at Dijon that the time had arrived for Burgundy to renew its ancient independence on the Crown. In case of the vacancy of Provence, which appeared likely to take place soon, the Duke hoped to obtain possession of that province also. A new kingdom, embracing Lorraine and Burgundy, would thus have been established in the east and south of France, while on the north and west it would have been narrowed by the independence of Brittany and by the English, whose claims the Duke of Burgundy stirred up anew. France, in short, would have become a petty power in the world. Historical philosophy often flatters itself with being able to pomt out the unbroken continuity of a system that has com- menced growing as if it proceeded from an inner necessity. We confess, however, that all the reunions which appear so pompous in catalogues, even the constitutional foundations of power, were only of a preparatory nature, and would have had but little significance if such a principality had been es- II 72 HISTORY OF i%,ANCp. THE CROWN A]>fb THE GREAT VASSALS. 73 tabhshed by the side of the throne ; it would have allied it- self with all the tendencies of internal independence. If we ask whether the Crown had in itself the power to obviate this danger, we must acknowledge that the affirma- tive can not be maintained. Was it not under obligation to the great vassals, who had rendered it such essential service in the war with the English ? and would not these carry with them a large portion of the nobility over whom they naturally had great influence ? The attempt to form a na- tive French infantry had not succeeded. It can not indeed be doubted that the general voice of the nation was in favor of the royal cause. An author, otherwise well disposed to- ward the Burgundian party, has described the complaints which were made in every direction, concerning the conduct of Duke Charles : it was thought horrible that the subject and vassal should attack his king, and seek to tyrannize over him by means of his own power, rather than with foreign assist- ance. An Assembly of the States, which was summoned in 1467 by the King, took up his cause with decision, at least against the Duke of Brittany and against his own brother. But were they either able or inclined to direct the arms of France against the Duke of Burgundy, and to cast him down from his position ? The general aspect of things does not make this impression. As Duke Charles, however, was now striving to obtain the standing of a European power, it was quite certain that the King would obtain assistance in his struggle with him from allies out of his kingdom. The Duke of Burgundy, in his progress, came especially mto collision with the union formed in the high German regions between powerful cities and a gallant peasantry, the Swiss Confederation. King Louis XI. offered them his alli- ance. The French government is distinguished from all the other powers of that period by the circumstances that it was legit- imate and firm, and at the same time possessed the pecuni- ary resources necessary for carrying out its purposes freely. Louis XI. increased those ungranted imposts upon which his father had grounded the new condition of the state ; not so much however of his own will, as under the pressure of ne- cessity. As to the claims of the great vassals to a portion of the revenue arising from these imposts, he did not give them any attention. He gathered money with the most ex- treme severity ; but then he spent it with a certain generos- ity, and without reserve. In the autumn of the year 1474 that treaty was complet- ed which was fraught with the most eventful consequences to the Swiss Confederates, not less than to the French mon- archy — by virtue of which it was stipulated that, in return for the payment of a considerable sum of money, the King could reckon at all times upon the aid of Swiss auxiliary troops. Treaties were also entered into with the separate cantons ; and as they would have to bear the taxes and expense of the Confederation, the King assigned to them a certain annual sum, to be paid out of his treasuries in Languedoc and Lau- guedoil, so long as the troops should remain in his service.* This was not a common or usual alliance ; but its most extraordinary feature was that the leaders of a powerful re- publican union should lind it to their personal interest to make their own the cause of the supreme power in France, whose most distinguished authority consisted in the right to raise money. The Swiss constituted still the only considerable infantry * I give the words of the security given to Zurich (May 4, 1475), from the Zurich State Archives, Loys, etc. : " S^avoir faisons que nous, considerant les grans alliances et confederations, prises ct accordees entre nous et les villes et pays de Taneienne Ligue de la haulte Alle- maiorne, et que pour icellcs entretcnir en ensuivant les poincts ct articles contenue es dites aliances et confederations conviendra faire plusieurs grands frais mises et depenses ii aucune des bonnes villes des diets hautes Allemagnes et autres particuliers des dits ])iiys, pour eux cntrc- tenir en nostre service au fait de nos giierres et autrement, a icclles bonnes villes et autres particuliers des enemy. The personal splendor which surrounded the military char* acter of his father did not altogether descend to him ; m) action of his could be mentioned comparable to that of Ma* rignano. Of philosophy and the arts he understood nothing, and he was satisfied if he could express himself without faL tering. But he was more to be depended on in his friendships, .BJid immovable in the resolutions which he once adopted. He was not deficient in industry : every day he devoted some hours to the regular sittings of the council ; at table he wan to be spoken to about private afiairs, and after dinner he gav Florentine " II Portinaro." This word appears in the English dis patches as a proper name, Portinary ; and he is spoken of as having: been in the 'service of Henry VIII. N HENRY THE SECOND. 123 The power which seemed to be established in its strength for ever was dispersed with one blow, and their independence restored to the German Protestants on the one hand, while on the other the possibility of a political existence was secured for the Italian states ; France amidst them rose once more to the position of a powerful nation. Notwithstanding his declaration that he desired to protect :rerman liberty, the King at the very outset of the campaign took possession of the German cities Metz, Toul, and Verdun which lay nearest to France. The pretext was that the Emperor intended to have made them subservient in a special manner to the advantage of his house, and that therefore Henry was compelled by necessity to take them under the protection of his power. This protection was little less how- ever, than complete subjection. Distracted by internal con- tention, the German Empire had allowed these places to fall without defense, into the hands of its most formidable neigh- bor ; It was unable by any efforts it could make to recover them. Siena also, in the general agitation, having seized the favorable moment, cast off the authority of the Emperor and was protected by the French troops which had been sent to assist the Farnesi, and were immediately at hand They were not able to defend it, however, against the arms and intrigues of Duke Cosmo of Florence and the Spaniards • but . they maintained the name of the Sienese Republic in Monte' Alcino, and, with many other positions in Italy, they retained possession of the Maremme. As Genoa did not cast off its connection with the Emperor, it furnished the French with a pretext for attacking Corsica, which then belonged to Genoa • they took possession of Ajaccio, and of the whole island with the exception of a few places. They still ruled in Piedmont • and with the assistance of the Ottomans, and especially of the Dey of Algiers, obtained the ascendency in the Mediterranean over the Spaniards, and at the same time over the English in the Channel ; they also sent out a colony to Brazil. It appeared as if the superiority which the French Crown possessed m its most flourishing period had returned to it again : and that the proud growth of the Burgundo-Spanish 124 HISTORY OF FRANCE. power bowed before it. A prelate, animated with the fiercest hostility against the house of Austria, ascended the Papal chair, and planned an attempt to expel the Austrians from. Italy, with the assistance of the French, to whom Naples wafi to be restored.* Soon after, however, it became apparent that there was on the side of the opposite party a military power, which a^ young prince had brought together with infinite exertion. Fortune, which had become untrue to the old Emperor, inclined once more to his son Philip II. He saved Naples, and established his power in Upper Italy ; he gained repeated victories in the Netherlands ; and the conductor of the wa:: and first minister of the French — the Constable Montmorencjr — himself fell into his hands. In the year 1558 the aspect of afiairs had become so com- pletely altered, that the question was forced upon the consid- eration of the French whether they were capable of continu- ing the war any longer. For, as we have seen, the militarjr establishment of Francis I. was only possible when sustained by imposts, which shook that internal order upon which the nation rested ; but the campaigns of Henry II. had been still more expensive, for he did not possess his father's disposition for a regular system of finance : it has been calculated that each year of the war under Henry II. cost as much as four \ years of war under Francis I. In the year 1558 the debt was already thirty-six millions, and the deficit in the annual balance amounted to two millions and a half The King called an assembly of the Notables, which is described as one jf the Estates, and they resolved to cover the deficiency. Of the three millions which Henry asked, the clergy under- took to provide one, and the third Estate the two others ; but the usual taxes could not now be collected without violent measures and the hardest oppression. How much mor3 severe therefore would be the pressure of these extraordinary imposts ! The nobility were exhausted by the services of the ♦ That these considerations did not occupy the principal point of ▼iew, as Thuanus and those who follow him observe, has been already remarked by Walkenaer on Henault, Abrege Chronologique de I'His - to»e de France, p. 665 HENRY THE SECOND. 125 war and the money which, in their private capacity, tiiey paid for ransoms, as those of the lesser gentry were set at ten thousand, and of the greater lords at from one hundred thou- sand to two hundred thousand golden crowns. The whole burden fell upon the rural population, who in many cases, it has been said, forsook their villages in order to escape from the intolerable oppression. The distress of the Netherlands and of Spain, however was not much less. The Spaniards had made prodigious efforts m the year 1558, and brought into the field a larger force than at any previous period, without doing any serious dam- age to the French. On both sides there must have been a consciousness that, under such circumstances, they had no further advantage to expect from each other. France had not allowed herself to be oppressed, nor Burgundy to be sep- arated. The two powers must co-exist, and conclude a peace. The equally-balanced power and fortune of the negotiating parties made it exceedingly difficult to come to an agreement Ihe bpamards demanded the surrender of all the towns and provmces which had been taken by the French, and especially of Savoy and Piedmont ; the French, on the other hand, al- ready grown used to the possession of them, would not listen to the proposal, but offered an indemnification to the Duke of Savoy in the interior of France. The Spaniards, on their part, could not consent that the claims of a prince who had united his fortune with theirs should be superseded by the donative of a possession which did not guarantee his independ- ence, nor could they bring themselves to suffer the presence of the French in Italy. They went on the principle that the peace was to be perpetual, but if the French should insist upon retaining Piedmont, it would be a proof that they con- templated the renewal of the war in Italy. They asserted that mountain-ranges are the true boundaries between great countries, which, although they may be occasionally over- stepped, yet the invaders can not maintain themselves on the other side. They desired to see the Alps as well as the Pyrenees recognized in the treaty a» the frontier divisions yj. 126 HISTORY OF FRANCE. HENRY THE THIRD. 127 between both nations. The French hesitated to make so great a concession, and even in March, 1559, it was feared that the whole negotiation would come to nothing ; they would have consented, if at all, with great difficulty, had not a corresponding compensation been offered on the other side.* England had again made common cause with Spain in the war, and the destiny of both countries appeared to be united in the most intimate manner, as the King of Spain was at the same time the consort of the Q,ueen of England ; this, however, gave the French an opportunity of making them- selves masters by a sudden attack of Calais and Guines, the last relics of the ancient English conquests. The English were compelled to abandon these towns and the districts be- longing to them, which were peopled anew by the French — now for the first time lords and masters of the entire territory and soil of the kingdom, and determined never again to give up so much as a foot's breadth of it to strangers. In this resolution all the estates of the realm were at one with the sovereign. Philip 11. would not have it said of him that he had given up an ancient possession of one of his allies to the French, and. among the places whose surrender he demanded Calais was; numbered. The aspect of affairs had altered, however : Mary, the consort of Philip II., was dead, and her successor, Elizabeth., could not flatter herself that the King of Spain would hence- forth regard the affairs of England so completely as his own The Duke of Alva agreed to all the English had stated con- cerning the advantages the Netherlands derived from theii* possession of Calais, but he remarked that, in order to retakes it from the French, it would require a war of from six to seven campaigns, the ' resources for which they hardly possessed. Elizabeth was apprehensive that the Spaniards would con- * Granvella mentions, in a letter to the Conde da Feria, Quesnoy, April 3, 1559 (v. 585): "El desconcierto que hubo el jueves santo en la negociation de la paz, y como los Franceses fingieron de quererso partir y lo que succedio el biemes que viendo nos firmes los dichoti Franceses volvieron al negotio." elude a separate peace, and, lest she should have to bear the burden of the war alone, she so far controlled herself as to give up Calais to the French,* she agreed to this for a certain time only, but the nature of things was stronger than treaties, and Calais was never afterward recovered. As the mountain- ranges on the one side, so should the waters of the sea on this side, divide the nations. The King of Spain overcame the difficulties connected with the conquest of the three bishoprics more easily. After he had in vain given himself so much pains to obtain the imperial diadem, he had no desire to come forth as the champion of the Empire and of its claims, be they ever so just ; he said, simply, that the affair did not concern him. It is impossible to deny that the possession of Calais and the three bishoprics was of greater importance to France than that of Piedmont. As Calais was a defense against the English by sea, so was Metz by land an impregnable bulwark against Germany. The peace of Cateau Cambresis was concluded on the 12th of April, 1559, and, although it secured to France most es- sential advantages, it awakened throughout the kingdom dis- satisfaction and complaints of a vivid character ; but this was occasioned by the fact, that the rival power which they had had a prospect of dissolving still continued to maintain itself in its full strength. The losses caused by cession on the part of Spain affected those powers only which had been its allies but were so no longer ; the Spanish monarchy itself obtained a firmer footing than ever by the agreement. It was an incalculable gain for its position before the world, to have attained the object toward which it had continually striven — the exclusion of the French from Italy — which if not literally effected, for they still retained Saluzzo, was accomplished in its essence * Elizabeth's instructions, Feb. 19, 1559. The declarations of the Spaniards give her reason "to take it for a lykelyhod of a great dispo- sition in them to peace." The embassadors were to conclude defini- tively if they remarked that the Spaniards " might be tempted to con- clude their peace without our satisfaction." Forbes, Public Transac- tions, 59. 12S HISTOHY OF FRANCE. and intention. The most glittering prize of the contest — the superiority in Italy — remained with the house of Bur- gundy. That the great struggle was not thus brought to a close, that it would again set the world in commotion, was mani- fest ; but now other interests, connected with the interior policy of states, and in an especial manner with religion, were to occupy men's minds. BOOK III. APPEARANCE OF EFFORTS FOR ECCLESI- ASTICAL REFORM IN FRANCE. CHAPTER VII. INTRODUCTION. Among men who had carefully studied the past, there could be no doubt as to whether the rise of Protestantism was or was not, a necessary event. Modem Catholicism itself is indebted to it for its improvement, and without this opposition would not be possible. As the royalty of modern ages was established in the conflict between the German and Romanic systems, the hierarchy in the storms of popular movements and amidst the formation of peoples, and the system of govern- ment by estates and civic companies amidst the dangers of general violence and arbitrary power ; so, when the time was, oome (for all things on earth have their times and seasons] divinely appointed). Protestantism arose from the inner im- pulses of European life. Fav from involving a principle con-i tradictory to religion, Protestantism sought to comprehend it in a more spiritual and unselfish disposition, in opposition to a worldly priesthood. It endeavored to bring back the doc- trines of the faith from the accidental formations of the hier- archic epoch to their essential intent and their universal ap- plication. Still in its very existence it included the moving causes of a most exasperating and formidable struggle, for the questions it affected were not merely ecclesiastical, but, on account of the intimate connection between the Church and State, upon which the whole system rested, in the highest degree political also. If in Germany, under the conduct of profound and enlight- ened spirits, and sustained by the almost universal approba- tion of the nation, the Protestant movement only partially succeeded, and even that not without a perilous and bloody 132 HISTORY OF FRANCE. ECCLESIASTICAL INNOVATION. 133 i struggle, how much more inevitable was such a struggle in France, where for centuries the union between the monarchy and the Church was of the most intimate description. The difference between the two cases may be comprehended if wc consider that among the Romanic populations the Church, though not actually older the State, was yet older than the existing form of the State, and than the monarchy, while among the Germans the Church was indebted to the sympathy of the principalities chiefly for her establishment. But these commo- tions were unavoidable even there ; they sprang from the com- mon soil of life and thought, which was the same throughout Europe, and touched a living chord also in the Romanic, especially in the French, mind. FIRST MOVEMENTS OF ECCLESIASTICAL INNOVATION. Master Jacob Lefevre, of Estaples, may be regarded as the patriarch of the Reformation in France. While the King and his chivalry were carrying on the war in Italy, Le- fevre made several visits to that country for the purpose of thoroughly mastering the principles of the newly-awaked learning. The study of the classics had led him, as it had la many Germans, to revolt agaiVist the doctrinal system of the monks and the scholastic method ; numerous eager scho- lars assembled around him. Lefevre was a man of insigni- ficant, almost despicable appearance, but the extent and so- lidity of his acquirements, his moral probity, and the mild- ness and gentleness which breathed throughout his whole being, invested him with a higher dignity. When he looked round upon the world, it appeared to him. both near and far, to be covered with the deep gloom of superstition, but that with the study of the original records of the faith there was associated a hope of reformation, which he told his most trusted pupils they would live to witness. He himself pro- ceeded in his course with a circumspection amounting almost to hesitancy. He could not wean himself from the practice of kneeling before the figures of the saints, and sought for aigumenta to defend the doctrine of purgatory ; in the prov- ince of learning alone had he courage : there, in a critical dispute, he ventured first to renounce a tradition of the Latin Church in favor of the opinions of the Greek ; he afterward drew from the Pauline Epistles certain maxims concerning jus- tification and faith, which were in unquestionable antagon- ism with the prevailing representations of the objective value of good works,* and suddenly obtained a universal import- ance through the appearance and efforts of Luther, which took place at the same time. Lefevre possessed, in connec- tion with a daily attention to study, an undiminished vivacity of spirit ; even in the most advanced age which man is permit- ted to attain, he commenced a translation of the Bible, which forms the basis of the French version of the Scriptures : t when he wrote it he had already passed his eightieth year. In France also the literary deviation became speedily asso- ciated with the mystico-practical direction of the intellect, which urges the application to life of the recognized religion! The episcopal power itself seemed desirous of promoting the Reformation. The bishop of a large diocese, William Bripon- net, of Meaux, an old friend of Lefevre's, and who held sim- ilar opinions respecting the doctrine of justification, and went with him in his consequent opposition to the notion of exter- nal sanctification by works, undertook to reform his diocese in accordance with these principles, although in other re- spects he was greatly inclined by nature to a life of peaceful contemplation. It appeared to him intolerable that his parish priests should speak of nothing at any time but their own dues, while they neglected their duties, and that the chattering monks who supplied their places never promulgat- ed any opinions except such as were directed to their own gain and advantage. He endeavored to disembarrass himself of both the one and the other, and, in close association with * Compare Count Jacobus Faber Stapulensis, in Niedner's Journal of Historical Theology, iii. 1, p. 4L The question concerning the priority of Lefevre's Reformed opinions, raised once more by Merle d'Aubigne (Histoire de la Reformation, tome iii. 492), can be answered only when his earlier writings, and especially his Commentary on the Pauline Epistles, have been considered apart from his later works ; as to their originality there is no doubt. t Meyer, '* History of the Exposition of the Scriptures," vol. ii. p. 312. 134 HISTORY OF FBANCE. lillii Lefevre, and his disciples, Farel, Roussel, and Aranda, to give another form to life and dt^otrine. They were roused to this attempt in an especial manner by the religious treatises of Luther, which were finding their way rapidly into France. Briponnet was desirous of being a bishop in the right and an- cient intention of the word, and he ascended the pulpit himself. These efforts were, however, destined speedily to find in France the most stubborn opposition. In Paris was the great theological university, which had always been the champion of Latin orthodoxy. The poor masters, for whom Louis IX., had originally founded the College of the Sorbonne, constitut- ing as they did at the same time the theological faculty, had become a power in the world. On one occasion, in the four- teenth century, when the Romish Church had canonized Thomas Aquinas, the doctors of the Sorbonne renounced all variation from the Thomist system, and submitted themselves unconditionally to its doctrines, which, they declared, enlight- ened the Church as the sun illuminates the world.* They clung to the ancient dogmata with irrefragable obedience, and declared it to be a deed offensive to God only to read a book which had not been expressly ordained to be read in the schools. Every deviation from what was usual found in them irreconcilable antagonists : they condemned Marsilius of Padua, the doctrinal novelties of the Nominalists, the spir- itual ones of the Flagellants, Wycliff, and Huss ; Jerome of Prague fled before them. During the fifteenth century, and the first part of the six- teenth, they maintained a supervision over the doctrinal opin- ions of nearly the whole Church, and assailed every innova- tion. When Reuchlin, in his dispute with the Dominicans, at Cologne, reckoned upon a certain degree of respect from the Paris University, especially as he had studied thwe, and done honor to the liigh school by his writings, he found himself mis- taken : they disowned their son, as it was expressed, in order to prevent their sister, the University of Cologne, from falling. It was then to be expected that so decided an attack as Lu- ♦ Decretum pro Doctrina M. Thomae, 1325, proceeding from the bishop, "vocatis omnibus sacrce theologies doctoribus," in Argentr^, Collectio JudicioTum, i. 282. ECCLESIASTICAL INNOVATION 135 ther's upon the ancient system would most completely awak- en their repugnance and wrath, as if foreseeing what would arise from Luther's movement, when his controversial writ- ings were laid before the faculty, they named a Delegation in Matters of Faith, similar to that which had been chosen at the time of the Council of Constance,* on whose oflScial report Martin Luther, because he despised the opinions of the Doc- tors and the decrees of the Councils, was condemned, and designated as a rebel, whose pretensions should be combated with chains and bonds, and even with fire and sword. This delegation continued, with many renewals, for more than half a century, and offered to Protestantism an opposition little less important than that of the Papacy at Rome itself Their efli- ciency was owing to the fact that heresy was regarded as a civil crime ; and that the Parliament, which exercised the criminal jurisdiction, held the judgment of the Sorbonne, in relation to heretics and heretical books, as decisive and final. t Lefevre, already suspected, on account of the Greekish tend- ency of his opinions, was now in addition looked upon as a Lutheran. He retired to Meaux, in order to escape being treated as a heretic ; but there his activity and that of his disciples was not to be endured. The monks, who com- plained of the bishop, found attention to their complaints in the Parliament. The Sorbonne condemned some of the arti- cles as connected with the innovation, which had been adopt- ed there, and demanded their recall. The society of Reformers could not long withstand their united power — it was totally broken up and dispersed. The bishop now bethought himself that it was time for him in some measure to re-establish his reputation as a faithful Catholic, and for the rest he took shel- ter in his mystic obscurity. The organ of ancient orthodoxy exercised an almost inde- pendent power. Was there not, however, an able and ener- getic king in the land ? What position, it may be asked, did he assume in the contest ? Francis I. loved neither the Parliament nor the Sorbonne, * Compare Argentre, Collectio, ii. 1. t Roussel to Farel. " Senatus a parte theologorum stat, et (juod i| decreverunt cunctis comprobat calcHlis." 136 HISTORY OF FRANCE. With which he had a fierce dispute on account of his Con- cordat. The monks, however, he liked least of ill, and had long entertained the project of founding a philosophical insti- tution, and placing at its head Erasmus, the most distin- guished opponent of their method of thinking and their man- ner of teaching. The religious spirit of the time did not leave the kmg untouched. With his mother and sister he frequently read the Scriptures, and they virere heard to remark that the divme truth— which seemed to them to be there— ought not to be designated as heresy. Dr. Luther and his writings were spoken of in terms of praise at the court, and the Sorbonne lamented that the persecution of the followers of the heretic, and the destruction of his books, met with obstructions from that quarter. The supervision of the press, which belonged to the Sorbonne, was to have been restricted, but, by their mtelhgence with the Parliament, they held out all the more vigorously on that point. As the faculty was about to con- demn a writing of Lefevre's, the King removed the case to his own court ; but the Sorbonne was not deterred from placing the writmg in the index of forbidden books. The dispersion of the Reforming association at Meaux was not acceptable to the King. His sister still carried on a mystic religious corre- spondence with the bishop, and he himself saw no reason why Roussel or Aranda should not preach at the court. Louis de Berquin enjoyed the special favor of the king. He was, of aU then living, perhaps, the man who united in himself most vividly the notions of Erasmus with those of Luther. With a taunting ridicule, hke the former, he at- tacked the disorders of the cloister and the evils of celibacy regardmg them from a rehgious and moral point of view, and fully exposing their corruptions ; but he also showed a great esteem for the depth of the latter-for the maxim that all Christians were priests, and an almost enthusiastic concep- tion of the doctrines of grace and faith, and of the true church communion. The King, one time, soon after his return from fepain, hberated Berquin from the ecclesiastic prison ; but he made it a point of honor not to retreat before such enemies, and considered himself able to convict Beda, the Syndic of the Sorbonne, and the leader of the delegation, of holding ECCLESIASTICAL INNOVATION. 137 heretical opinions. What Francis I. might have done had the contest he undertook in Italy ended in victory on his side, we can not say ; but, as Erasmus once remarked, in a warn- ing to Berquin, the defeat which the king suffered had weak- ened his authority even in domestic affairs ; and when Ber- quin was once more charged with heresy, the royal influence was insufficient to save him a second time, and he was burned on the Place de Greve in the year 1529. The people, over whom the preachers of the Sorbonne had always preserved the greatest influence, showed less sympathy for the unhappy victim than at other times for the most abandoned criminal.* After that the Sorbonne proceeded in a course of systematic opposition to the King. They endeavored to cramp the ac- tivity of his college for the cultivation of the ancient lan- guages, when it was established. They made loud com- plaints that the Lent sermons preached at the Louvre were not altogether orthodox. Their pupils in a scholastic com- edy ridiculed the evangeHcal tendencies of the King's sister, and even himself was charged not indistinctly with heresy! Francis I. on one occasion commanded Beda and his most distinguished colleagues* to quit the city ; but we soon find them returned back again, and engaged in their old occupa- tions. On the next occasion the King was induced by them to take part himself in the work of suppression. Although he suffered a certain variation, yet it was within very narrow limits : neither the principle of the hierarchical orders, nor the mystery of the Eucharist, must be trenched upon. The King frequently boasted, in his negotiations with the Imperi- alists, that there was not a single heretic in his kingdom. Now, however, a public attack was made through the overweening zeal of some innovators, who formed too high an estimate of the favor they enjoyed, as well as of their own power and numbers, upon the adoration of the Sacrament— a practice consecrated by the usage of ages. It appears even as if the Anabaptist fanaticism, which then aimed at a uni- versal change, and prevailed to some extent throughout the ♦ Erasmus ad Carolum Utenhofium, cal. Jul., 1529: "Sic omnium anmios m iUum excitdrant qui nihU non possunt apud simpUces et imperitos." » 138 HISTORY OF FRANCE. ECCLESIASTICAL INNOVATION. 139 whole of Germany, had arisen in Paris also * Not only thei clergy and the populace, but the King himself, were thrown, into a state of violent agitation : he came in person to thei city, in order to propitiate the Deity, offended by these crimes, by a solemn procession, in which the whole pomp of the-. CathoHc ceremonies was displayed. The persecution com- menced again, and eighteen of the accused — they were called insurgents — suffered death by fire. This, however, did not prevent the King from carrying on negotiations concerning a religious union with the German Protestants, with whom he was anxious to establish a poHti- cal connection. He was surrounded by churchmen of insight and moderation, who filled the highest offices of the court, and, like a contemporary school in Italy, thought they might be able; to control the abuses of the times, and to establish peace. They reckoned also upon the co-operation of the most peace- fully disposed of the Protestant party. The King had even an intention of calling together a great free congress of theo- logians on both sides, and had already invited Melancthon tc» take part in it ; but the Sorbonne opposed every attempt at approximation, whatever might be* its character, and held, firmly by the maxim that the corrupt members must be cut off from the Church, and that any community with heretics was dangerous*t What could be expected from a conference with persons who denied "the principles"? The principles; were the traditions of the Church, the Decretals of the Popes, and the decrees of the Councils. So long as this high school possessed its authority, a free conference upon matters of re- ligion, such as had taken place in Germany, was not to be thought of in France, much less an understanding of any kind between the opposed parties. * Compare a letter of Granvella (Papiers d'Etat, ii. 283). The churches were to have been fired, and the Louvre plundered. Sturm's letter to Melancthon is more impressive : he describes the innovators as " homines furiosi, qui metuerunt parum multos fore suarum partium, nisi astutis, ut ipsis videbatur, sed utres indicavit stultissimis et se- ditiosissimis rationibus regna et gentes perturbarent." t Instnictio data magistro nostro Balue et Bauchigni : Argentr^, i., ii. 386. Codicillus quo ostenditur non esse disputandum cum hereti- cs, lb. 384. « In the immediate circle of the King sympathy for the Prot- estants was excited — in part indeed of a kind calculated to do them little credit.* He himself did not possess that deep and persistent earnestness which the accomplishment of an ecclesiastical enterprise would have required. He regarded the preservation of the French territory, the maintenance of his own great political position, and the contest with the Emperor, as constituting the problem of his life. It could not have been expected of him that he would resolutely oppose the Pope, and by that means compel him to take part with his antogonist, nor that, while he was uniting all the power of the kingdom to resist the Emperor, he would favor a movement which would have divided the nation. In the year 1543 the Sorbonne issued an instruction to the preachers, which contained a declaration concerning the dis- puted dogmata, the scope of which was in the most direct and complete opposition to Protestantism ; and this the King was forced to confirm, for he must by all means avoid a schism in doctrine, which would have resulted in an insur- rection. In the time of Francis I. variations of an extensive charac- ter were overlooked, but still nothing had been done to mod- erate the rigor of the canon law for the future. Even un- der him — the king of civilization, who looked upon it as an honor not to shed the blood of his subjects — the most revolt- ing executions took place : whole congregations of innocent Waldenses were massacred. Francis I. had long resisted these proceedings, and when at last he consented to them, he was, as his successor asserted, deceived by false intelli- gence.! It is remarkable that what the potent monarch could not even think of undertaking, was attempted, and to a certain degree accomplished, by his incomparably less powerful sister, Glueen Margaret of Navarre, in her narrow dominions. * The Spanish embassador says, November. 15, 1546, Madama de Tampes (Estampes) se tiene en gran manera de la disciplina Luther- ana. t Proclamation of Henry II., March 17, 1549 : " Sur ce que I'on auroit fait entendre au dit seigneur Roi qu'ils etoient en armee," etc. 140 HISTORY OF FRANCE. We have already mentioned Q,ueen Margaret, and noticed the boldness and grace of her literary talent, as well as the part which her brother permitted her to take in state affairs!. To the Venetian embassador, Dandolo, she appeared as the ^ ablest person he had ever met with in France. He admires her observations on political matters, as well as upon the complicated religious questions of the time.* She looked upon her brother as ahnost the beau ideal of a man, and accom- pamed him through life with that enthusiastic admiration and sympathy which finds the satisfaction of its own ambi- tion in the good fortune of another, and often probably came to his assistance in the transactions of government with the superiority of her calm, clear, feminine intellect, which was untroubled by any passion. Her sympathy with religion was stUl more independent ; she wrote upon the subject : a book of hers 18 remarkable from the circumstance that it says no- thing of purgatory or of the intercession of the saints, but speaks simply of the merits of Christ. Her rehgious poetrv has something of an enthusiastic, we might almost say Zin- zendorfish character-referring to what appeared at a later period-but at the same time a right feehng of the relation which, amid the temptations of the world, erring creatures have with the Dmne Being, from whom they derive their portion of the fullness and consciousness of universal life- but she also confined her deviations within narrow limits, and took care not to touch the mystery of the Eucharist.f Roussel whom she had made Bishop of Ol^ron, proceeded in his epis- copal labors m entire accordance with her views. He preached twice, sometimes three times a day; he founded schools, and taught in them himself, for th J hopes of the world appeared to him to depend upon the young; L income * Questa credo sii la piu savia, non dico delli. ,1™^. a: v forse anco delli huomini; in cos'e di sudo no" cXche h'^Ii ?' T mighor di^corsi, et nella dottrina Christiana coTbe" nteluLite e dotta been very corrup, but .tilMiT la l; dtys a LTwe have'^er^ """^ v\^ ECCLESIASTICAL INNOVATION. 141 he divided among the poor. His religion rested entirely upon a lively conception of justification by faith, and of the invis- ible church. Thus the virork which commenced at Meaux was carried on in the territory of Beam, which was unaffected by the immediate influence of the Sorbonne. The aueen gave refuge to other exiles also, and Lefevre himself died in her neighborhood. It was at last one of the greatest pleasures of her retirement to search the Scriptures, and endeavor to com- prehend their meaning, in the society of friends like-minded with herself; and this practice she continued till she felt the approaches of death. She believed that she had been fore- warned of her dissolution by an apparition, which showed her a bunch of flowers, with the word Soon. THE REFORMATION IN GENEVA. 143 CHAPTER VIII. GLANCE AT THE REFORMATION IN GENEVA. There were still other peoples who spoke the French tongue, but were independent on either the religious or polit- ical power of France, among whom the same seed ripened to even a more important and flourishing harvest. In the territory of ancient Burgundy, which was unsubdued by the French crown, and which, although acknowledging the Emperor, enjoyed in fact complete independency, the dukedom of Savoy and a few of the towns of the Helvetic Confederacy came into collision as they sought to extend their limits, the one in a monarchical and Catholic sense, and the other in a popular and, although not exclusively, yet chiefly Protestant sense. The spirit of the Reformation had taken invincible hold of German Switzerland ; but, though pro- ceeding from the same principles as those from which it had arisen in the German Empire, and agreeing with the Lutheran movement on the whole, it varied decidedly in the compre- hension of doctrine and in practical forms. At this time William Farel, of Gap, in Dauphine, the most energetic of the disciples of Lefevre, and one of his coadjutors at Meaux, after the society there had been dispersed, retired to Switzerland, and joined the leaders of the Reformation, who were there engaged in the heat of the contest, and b}' whose experience his original convictions were deepened and confirmed. These Reformers were just then in m.uch embar- rassment. A difficulty presented itself to the further exten- sion of their doctrines in the Romanic border-lands, which they knew not how to overcome — the difference of language. It appeared to them then an inestimable acquisition — and it was so in fact — to obtain a man like Farel, whose return into France was forbidden, and who was qualified to undertake the mission in the Romanic border-lands. Farel, whose zeal was thoroughly steeled by his second exile., • was just the man for such an enterprise. It was his delight to come forth suddenly in the midst of his opponents, to pro- voke their anger, to hold forth in the midst of the wildest tumult, and to endure the rage of the excited multitude. When the churches were closed against him he preached in the open air, in the church-yards, the market-places, and the fields. But sometimes also he forced his way into the churches, and while the priest was reading the mass, ascended the pulpit. His followers at times interrupted the consecration of the host ; on one occasion he himself is said to have snatched the relics, which a priest was carrying, out of his hands and flung them into the water. * For this he was waylaid, in his wander- ings, by armed enemies, under whose blows his blood gushed out and reddened the wall against which he stood ; but even in this condition he could not be brought to ofior the custom- ary reverence to the image of a saint, considering it to be idol- atry ; even while their blows descended upon him he raised his voice against the practice. Men like this can not, it is true, be compared with the Apostles, but it may be said of them that in their devotedness, the zeal of later converters of the heathen, such as St. Martin, was revived in another form. It is not to be supposed, however, that Farel would have succeeded in his enterprise had not the Helvetic Confederacy encouraged it, and the council as well as the community of Berne both stimulated and sustained him. They saw their own interests promoted by the success of his labors : with the word of the preacher, the authority of the powerful commu- nities which favored him gained ground every where, and at the same time the free movement of the civic population, under the protection of the first general peace of Capel. Farel reformed, by degrees, Aigle, Morat, Neufchatel, Valan- gin, and Moutiers, and was the first who carried the doctrines * Kirchhofer's doubt concerning this, in his life of Farel, must give way before the fact that the circumstance is mentioned in the most an- cient manuscript records of the time. (MS. Genev. 14). 144 HISTOEY OF FRANCE. of tlie Reformation to Geneva, where it came into opposition with kindred, yet still peculiar relations. The constitution of Geneva was of a very peculiar charac- I ter. It was formed of three distinct powers, interpenetrating one another : the power of the Bishop, to whom the princely authority belonged ; that of the Duke of Savoy, who had ac- quired the vicegerency ; and that of the Burghers, who, al- j though not very numerous, yet insisted on their rights with coolness, determination, and energy. In the sixteenth century the Dukes of Savoy sought to increase their authority by unit- ing with the bishopric, as had been done in many other places, hoping thus to obtain the actual sovereignty ; the citizens, on the other hand, united with the potent Confederacy, which was advancing its influence in their neighborhood, from which the republican party in the city took its name of Eidgenots. They entered into civic relations with Freiburg and Berne, and, with their assistance, had abready frustrated several at- tempts of the Duke. In the year 1534 they were once more threatened in a most formidable manner. The nobility of Savoy and Vaud cut oft' their supplies, and, from time to time, beleaguered the town. The adherents of the Bishop, who had been expelled, took possession of a castle in the neighborhood, which gave them a strong position, from which they could harass the citizens ; and woe to the Gene- vese who happened to fall into their hands I After this the entrance of Protestantism aroused fresh contentions. The re- ligious parties within the walls rose against one another, and sanguinary brawls took place between them at their public banquets. Their patron states themselves were divided: Freiburg, which remained Catholic, relying upon the power which Catholicism had again obtained in the Confederacy by the revolution of affairs after the battle of Capel, was on the side of the Romish party ; while Berne declared itself, though not without hesitation, on the side of the Protestants. If we look away from single events and their incidents, it will appear plainly that the Protestant tendency must, from the very nature of things, attain a predominating influence. Thus it necessarily brought with it the character of a struggle of the towns, directed chiefly against the spiritual power. The THE REFORMATION IN GENEVA. 145 Bishop, in close alliance with the Duke, had pronounced sen- tence of excommunication against the city, which was repeated by the Metropolitan, and even by the Pope. Within the pale of Catholicism there was no right to resist such a sentence : if the city, therefore, desired to maintain its freedom, and to continue the contest, there remained for it no other resource than to embrace the Protestant doctrine, which was chiefly opposed to these sentences of excommunication. The intimate union between the spiritual and temporal power, which had chiefly aroused the resistance of the citizens, impelled them also toward Pi-otestantism. The little congregation which had formed itself round Farel / when he first appeared, although compelled to yield in the beginning, was able to maintain itself, and even without any clerical leaders it increased, and exhibited a permanent vital power. When Farel visited it again some time after, he pro- duced an indescribable effect by his preaching ; priests were seen to throw off- their vestments before the altar, and to pro- nounce the confession of the new doctrine. A religious con- ference, which was appointed to consider, not whether preach- ing should be tolerated, but whether it should not prevail alone, had the effect of bringing over to the Protestant cause even those who contended on behalf of the Romish system. All the adherents of the old ritual were looked upon as, at the same time, partisans of the external enemies of the city. An attempt to poison the most distinguished preachers having been discovered, the community, in a state of high excite- ment, laid before the chapter and the religious synods the simple question, whether they could still say any thing in defense of the Mass ; and when these felt neither called upon nor inclined to take up the dispute afresh, the Council and the citizens held themselves justified in issuing a formal edict, by which the further celebration of the Mass was strictly for- bidden : * whoever did not accede to this was compelled to leave the city ; among others, the Sisters of St. Clare passed the * Compare the notes to Spon's Hist, de Geneve, i. 260 ; here near- ly identical with Rucbat, v. 300, according to Vuliiemin (continuation b^ Muller, i. 260) there is no mention of this decisive edict in the Coun- cil's books. 146 HISTORY OF FRANCE. 1^ gates, conducted by the magistracy, and scarcely recognizing again the world, from which they had been so long separated As these proceedings necessarily aroused the hostility of the neighboring powers to twofold animosity, the position of the Genevese became more urgently perilous than ever ; but Berne at length resolved not to allow them to be destroyed, and at the same time to bring her own ancient quarrel with Savoy to the decision of arms. Berne took possession of the Canton de Vaud, and by this act not only saved the inde- pendence and the Protestantism of Geneva, but gave them permanence. A general council of the Genevese citizens was y held on the 21st of May, 1536, at which the first Syndic put the question to the Assembly, whether any of them had any objection to offer to the manner in which the Gospel was preached among them. They declared unanimously that they regarded the evangelical ritual as the proper form of worship, and that it Was their resolution to renounce the Romish Church for ever. ^ It is an event in the history of the world, that here, in the centre of Europe, and among a Romanic population, a system , of doctrine should take root which forbade and denounced the verj'^ ceremonies that had hitherto constituted the strength of their faith and worship. In its first progress it was incor- porated with the efforts of a community struggling to emanci- pate itself from the double yoke of ecclesiastical and temporal power, to which it had been previously subject. With these it triumphed, though it had not originated in them ; but it gave them a foundation and a deeper impulse in the principle of Protestantism, without which Geneva could not have ex- pected any assistance from Berne. i To maintain in their purity the principles of Protestantism ; among men habituated to a totally different method of think- ing, and who had adopted them amidst the pressure of stormy events, v/as almost a more diflicult task than that of planting them originally. The pupils of Farel, continually engaged in spreading the new doctrines, and in storming the strongholds of Catholicism, were not quaHfied for the quiet cultivation of the grovnng opinions, and were moreover fully occupied with their missionary labors in Vaud. THE REFORMATION IN GENEVA. 147 Just at this juncture appeared in Geneva John Calvin, of Noyon, a Picard, as was Lefevre. Calvin belonged to the second generation of Reformers, was not necessary for him, in mastering languages, first tc ^. quire skill by a painful application of rules— in a short time he attained such proficiency in Latin, the language of the learn- ed world, that he could perfectly express his thoughts in it ; he learned Greek and afterward Hebrew under good masters. Neither was it necessary in his case to fight through the bat- tle with the principles of the hierarchy from the beginning : his attention had been directed by a friend to the new system of doctrine, which was already established, and which appear- ed to him to contain the truth. He did not adopt it, however, as something in itself complete and indisputable, he endeavor- ed to form a fresh and thorough comprehension of it for him- self, through the study of the sacred Scriptures. He was disgusted with persons who, when they had conned a few positions out of Melancthon's Manual, held themselves to be thoroughly learned divines; for his own part, he was accustomed to study till late at night, and, when he awoke m the morning, to review, in quietness and retirement, all that he had read : these undisturbed habits of feeling and thinking contributed greatly to his success. He often said that he had no higher wish than to continue these practices throughout life, for he was timid by nature, and disposed to avoid strife. But in those times a learned or religious life, entirely devoted to its own peculiar objects, and at the same time tranquil, was not conceivable. In the persecution of the year 1534 Calvin was compelled to depart from France. The storm carried him to Geneva, where he arrived just at the period of the decision ; his intention was merely to pay Farel a visit, and then to continue his journey, in order to see and to learn still more than he knew already. Farel, however, who immediately perceived his vast ability, was resolved not to allow him to depart, and, when Calvin refused his entreaty to remain, he announced the wrath of Almighty God upon him should he follow out his design, for God, he said, would make the quietness of study a curse to him. Such was the manner in which these men dealt with one another. Calvin 14S HISTORY OF FRANCE. said it appeared to him as if he had seen the hand of God pctretched forth from above to hold him back — he dared not resist it. ( Even in that century the different epochs of the Reforma- tion have been distinguished from one another. In Luther men have recognized the great emancipator, and seen in the subsequent epoch the introduction of the Christian life as the principal problem of the later Reformers. For Farel and Calvin the latter was the course enjoined by existing circum- stances ; but while they were proceeding in their duty, they met unexpectedly an invincible opposition. One of the articles of the Confession which had been adopted by the citizens in their various circles, and which confirmed the sentence of excommunication for gross immorality, found in its execution an obstinate resistance. Many had adopted the Reformed system in the expectation that it would allow them greater freedom in their personal habits : how could they then submit themselves to the strict and, in fact, petty discipline of the new preachers ? Whether there were also Anabaptist movements in the city, I can not positively say, yet such an opinion has been maintained.* After a few years of hard struggling, the inflexible preachers were ex- pelled, and obliged to leave the city unheard. Calvin was far from caring too anxiously for his person. He had been obliged to endure opposition, combined with agonies of conscience, which he declared were more bitter than death, and the mere remembrance of which made him afraid. He began now again in fact to wander and to learn ; in par- ticular he commenced a correspondence, in writing, with the German Reformers, and formed a closer acquaintance with * Vie de Farel, MS. at Geneva : "lis eurent rudement a combattre centre les vices et les vicieux, et surtout centre une faction d'Anabap- tistes." One of the chief causes of contention was the adorning of brides, the " plicatura capillorum," which the preachers, according to 1 Peter iii. 3, would not permit. In the Registries of the Republic, May 20, 1537, we find that the mother and female friends who were present when a bride appeared " avec les chevcux plus abattus qu'il en se doit faire," were also subjected to punishment. The new preachers placed themselves under an obligation to permit the benediction of the bride on cheveui pendans.*' c«nt III., of 1199 and of 1216; Decretale Gregorii XI. lib. 5. cc. 7, 9, 12 t Beaumanoir, ed. Beugnot, c. xxx. p. 413. 158 HISTORY OF FRANCE. punishments. The poor people appealed to the Parliaments, which generally ordained some commutation within certain limits, leaving the punishment, however, still terrific ; royal edicts appeared from time to time, for the better regulation or for the alteration of the proceedings, but they were very far from moderating them in the main point. Death by fire, and confiscation of goods, was the universal punishment for all who felt scruples concerning the sacrament or the worship of the saints ; according to the edict of Compiegne, those also were to be put to death who brought forbidden books into the kingdom, or even circulated them.* While all contradiction was thus punished with fire and sword, the abuses of the Church, by which that contradic- tion had been called forth and animated, increased daily. The Concordat, which placed the presentation of ecclesias- tical benefices so entirely in the hands of the King, produced the most ruinous and corrupt effects. The King rewarded with them services rendered him in his own house, and in court or in war, and gave them to the younger children of the nobility as means of living ; many persons received them in the name of their children ; an Italian is mentioned who drew from the property of the Church an annual income of 10,000 ducats in the name of his little son, and after his death his right passed to his wife. All, however, did not think it necessary to inscribe under another name the bene- fices they received : there were soldiers who possessed rich abbacies in their own name, and at the same time were lead- ing their companies of foot. Many, too, who wej« totally unqualified, undertook themselves the administration of the oflSces they had obtained. Men who yesterday were engaged in mercantile affairs, or who were courtiers or soldiers, were seen to-day in the episcopal stole and ornaments, or officiat- ing as abbots. Personal merit, a good moral reputation, even mere scholarship, were not required or looked for : all de- pended upon the relation in which men stood to the court. What was to be said when even the mistress of the King, the * Derived from an extract from the Parliamentary registers of Don- gois (t 1717), by Tallandier, Memoires sur les Registres du Parlement ■ous Henri II. (Memoires des Antiquaires de France, xvi. 386.) THE LAST YEARS OF HENRY II. 159 Duchess of Valentinois, had in her hands the distribution of the ecclesiastical benefices ?* In proportion as the general moral susceptibility was awakened to deeper sensitiveness, a state of things like this must have appeared horrible: no respect was paid to any thing that might be said in its excuse, and the worst tales told of the corruptions of ancient times were readily believed. The Constable and the Cardinal of Lorraine were regarded as equally selfish and avaricious with the Duchess. The Constable saw so little injustice in the multitude of offices and dignities which were accumulated upon him, and which produced him a surprisingly large income, that, on the con- trary, he was proud of it ; he formed a device out of their msignia, with the motto "God and my Service." But they were all like-minded. The divisions which we have ob- served between them were caused less by any expressed and significant opposition, than by their personal interests ; each party and family desired to get the King into their hands exclusively. Henry II. did not possess sufficient native energy— or, if we may use the phrase, was not in reality suf- ficiently King—to break through the circle which his nobles and courtiers had drawn around him : he granted them all that they desired. It was universally asserted that the Mar- shal St. Andre, whose personal intercourse was particularly agreeable to the I^ing, used to urge the persecutions on, sim- ply because he wished to enrich himself by the confiscations. This is so far not impossible, as the confiscations formed a part of the royal income,— the ''parties casuelles;' which it was customary to bestow in presents But what an impres- sion must it have made, when men perceived that perse- cution was an ally and a promoter of the avarice of the no- bility, under a king who did not look after matters himself. Whoever desires to understand the ideas and opinions of those times fully, must read Rabelais. In the picture of licen- tiousness, full of repulsive nudities, which he unfolds, lies con- cealed a profound seriousness. Rabelais is one of the few masters of satire who has depicted the failings of a whole * Soranzo . « Particolarmente la dispensatione delli benefici ecclesi- Mtici e in man soa." ■' i. 160 HISTORY OF FRANCE. THE LAST YEARS OF HENR^ II. I6i epoch in great and truthful outlmes. He cites the errors of all classes before the tribunal of sound human understanding ^ — the extravagance of the chiefs of the land, permitted by over-indulgent kings ; the disorders of the capital, which the King, to the astonishment of strangers, did not better suppress by the administration of justice ; the abuses of justice itself — its forms confusing and entangling the causes — its multiplied documents in the process — and at last its decisions arrived at as if by the chances of the dice ; the grinding of the revenue chamber, which knew how to draw its drink-money from all that came before it.* How little do they know him who think that his allusions are chiefly directed to the trifling occurrences which took place at court, or to insignificant per- sonages I The manifold grievances and anxieties of the nation, which did not yet venture to show themselves openly, appear in the ingenious fancy-pieces of the patriot in the fool's-cap. His most important aim, however, is the state of religious affairs. The adventurous and gigantic heroes, in whose edu- cation the change of times is represented, share the convic- tions of the Protestants : they will no longer endure the false prophets, and, in gratitude for their victory, simply cause the true Gospel to be preached. In accordance with the disposi- tion of the age, he mocks in the bitterest manner the hypo- critical monks who mark their abodes by disgusting de- bauchery. But the satirist leads us still deeper into the secrets of the clerical condition. He depicts the Golden Book of the Decretals, with its marvelous power of conferring happiness upon the faithful, and of destroying the unbelievers ; the prisons in which the new heretics were pining, and the pun- ishments they endured ; until at last we see the monster itself, £rom which all these torments proceed — at the same time a ravening wolf and a fawning dog, whose paws are full of blood, its claws like the claws of a harpy, and above its lair the image of Injustice. There is something sublime in the terrific grotesques of this description. "While such opinions and notions prevailed in the nation, * As to the question whether the fifth book, in which these repre- sentations are given, was written by Rabelais himself, the most learned of his early editors, our Duchat, holds that it was, and with him I agree. \i :? ^ and forced their way into its literature, we can not wonder that the number of Protestants continued to increase constant- ly. The persecutions they suffered gave them fresh vital energy. Even in the time of Francis I. entire towns, such as Caen, Rochelle, and Poitiers, showed a decided inclination to the Reformation ;* it was not openly promulgated, but the magistrates did not think it expedient to inquire after private opinions. During the disturbances caused subsequently by war, there was necessarily a period of still greater relaxation. In the" year 1555 a congregation at Paris ventured to perform a bap- tism. In a short time little societies were formed in Nor- mandy, along the Loire, in Orleans, Tours, Blois, and Angers, in Poitiers, all through Saintonge, and among the seafaring population of the neighboring islands. It has been maintained that the influence of the Waldenses was favorable to the Reformation in Dauphine and Provence, and that some remains of the Albigenses entered into the com- position of the new church of Languedoc ; but this has never been pointed out with that accuracy which the historian could desire. The former statement is, however, exceedingly prob- able, for in those regions the new doctrines flourished in an especial manner. In the year 1558 it was believed that there were already! in the kingdom 400,000 persons who were declared adherents] of the Reformation, and men were astonished at the close union that subsisted among them. In fact they cherished the intention of giving themselves a common organization, and carried it out shortly after at Paris, in May, 1559, in the very face of the stake and scaffold. The principle of the Genevese Consistory was now introduced into the French con- gregations. No congregation was to have the right of inter- fering with another ; for the care of the general interests, assemblies of delegates, conferences or synods, were consti- * Cavalli : " Li maestri di Sorbonna hanno autorita estrema di casti- gare li eretici, il che fanno con il fuoco, brustolandoli vivi poco a poco. Ma il Luteranesimo e tanto ampliato ora per tutto, che non solo si trova qualche eretico, ma le citta intiere ; che vivono non gia in palese, ma con tacito consenso privatamente tutti a costume de' Protestanti — Caen. Rochella, Poictiers. e simili assai in Provenza." m HI'' 162 HISTORY OF FRANCE. THE LAST YEARS OF HENRY II. 163 tuted, according to the narrower or wider extent of their dis- tricts, and a general confession of faith was adopted. We may easily comprehend that the Sorbonne and the clergy, when provoked by the increasing numbers of the Sep- aratists, made use of all their legal resources, and of their influence upon the mass of the people, to annihilate them, for that was the object of their enmity. We may ask, how- ever, whether these views must necessarily have prevailed with the legal tribunals and with the government. ^ Notwithstanding their intimate union, there prevailed a permanent and marked difference between the spiritual and secular powers, in consequence of which the former was not in any way permitted to exercise immediate action. When, it was on one occasion seriously proposed to introduce into France the regulations of the ecclesiastical inquisition, whigk had been renovated and sharpened at Rome, and had proved very efficacious in Italy, the Parliament opposed it, " becauscj the subjects of the King ought not to be delivered up to the arbitrary will of the bishop's officials."* It retained in its own hands the decision of spiritual processes. But if the independent authority of the secular tribunal were acknowledged, it must have an effective operation, for otherwise it would be without meaning. The members of ; the Supreme Court of Justice stood a grade nearer to public opinion than the members of the Sorbonne. In contending fo r strict Catholicism, they were not so completely advancinj,^ their own cause ; neither could they have possibly remained ^ altogether unaffected by the religious tendencies of the time. Especially must it have been apparent to them, from the pro- gress of the secession, which was already organized as a nev/ Church, that its repression in the manner hitherto practiced could never be effected. In the year 1559 there appeared in the Parliament a de- liberate intention to moderate the proceedings against heretics. Seguier and Harlai, two men of the highest judicial authority, ♦ " L'authorite et souverainete tant du Roi que de sa couronne seroit grandement diminuee quand les sujets naturels du Roi seroient pre- venus et entrepris par un official ou Inqusiteur." — Crispin, Histoire des Martyrs, 463. I ' 1 were then at the head of the criminal department, called La Tournelle, and a lew young men, having been charged be- fore them with heterodox opinions concerning the Mass, which they refused to renounce, the judges ventured to condemn them, not to death, as the letter of the law required, but merely to banishment. This afiuir excited the greatest atten- tion, not only on account of its own importance, but also be- cause of the men engaged in it. As the contrary proceeding had hitherto been always followed, it was considered proper to discuss the question solemnly in an assembly of all the Cham- bers of Parliament. It is possible that this motion proceeded chiefly from the enemies of the religious innovation ; but even its friends were not opposed to such a course : they hoped to see the moderation of the proceedings established as a universal rule. Under such circumstances the sittings commenced. In the early ones the ancient councilors, who had hitherto followed the rigorous mode of procedure in the great Chambers, spoke and declared themselves for its continuance. In the follow- ing sittings however, the younger men spoke, and uttered opinions of a very unexpected character. Some thought that the accused should be allowed half a year to return from their errors, and if after that time they refused to recant, that they should be allowed to leave the kingdom with their property ; others insisted that it was necessary to await the decision of the Council upon the doubts which had been raised before taking further measures, for until that was delivered no persecution of the new opinions ought to take place, since nobody could say whether or not they were heretical.* We are assured, in the most detailed official report of these sit- tings, that this view of the question was received with great applause. It was just before the period in which the festivities were to be held in solemnization of the marriage which had been * La Vraye Histoire de la fausse procedure contre Anne Du Bourg, Memoires de Conde, i. 220 : " Faire sursoir la persecution et jugeraens capitaux contre ceux qui tiennent les propositions qui n'ont encore este jugees ny determinecs heretiques par le jugement de I'Egiise Catho- lique." 164 HISTORY OF FRANCE. THE LAST YEARS OF HENRY II. 165 agreed upon in concluding the peace. The Protestants had already among them men of such great authority in the king- dom that they entertained the design of presenting, during the festivities, a petition praying for toleration, which, concurring with the judgment of the supreme court of judicature, might have produced an extraordinary result. It appeared all the more urgent to the champions of the rigorous system to prevent such a decision ; for what would be the consequence if the supreme tribunal should renounce the ecclesiastic doctrines which France had held from of old time ? — the entire religion would be lost. But personal mo- tives blended with their zeal. A memorial was seen in the King's hands, presented by Guy Le Maistre, the First Presi- dent, in which the members suspected of an inclination to Protestantism were named, and their estates and benefices, which, should they be condemned, could be distributed anew, specified ;* and there were persons reckoning upon them al- ready, either on their own account or of that of their relations. The King's attention was then especially directed to the old edicts, according to which no member suspected on account of his religion should be allowed to retain his place in the Parliament, and their violation pointed out. They wished the King in person to see and hear that such was the case. The question itself, whether an amelioration in the laws was. necessary, and in accordance with the interests of the State, was not investigated ; all who were inclined to such a course; were described to the King as guilty of disobedience to the; edicts he had issued. Although in his nature far from being inclined to acts of violence, Henry II. was carried away bj' the representations which had been made to him. In the Mercuriale — as assemblies of this kind were named — the youngest councilors who were most inclined to the new opin- ions had yet to speak, and it was concerted that the King, who had been always considered as the chief President of th(; Parliament, should appear there unexpectedly on the 10th of March, 1559. * " Quarum pars eaque opimior vulturiis aulicis destinabatur, partem illi filiis suis poscebant." — Thuanus, who was informed of it by his fa- ther, Christopher de Thou, lib. xxii. 452. All that had been anticipated came to pass. Tne presence of the King inflamed the professors of the Protestant doctrine, and instead of reserving their opinions they advanced them with all their zeal. Some declared against the defects of the Romish Curia, and demanded a council ; others showed in an energetic and vivid manner the contrast between the crime and infamy which were tolerated, and the innocent doctrines which were so fiercely persecuted. The King, who had been previously prepossessed against such opinions, and particularly enraged by certain expressions which he thought reflected upon his personal connections, declared that he per- ceived clearly that there were in that place both good and bad — that he would preserve the good, but the bad he would remove. He immediately ordered the two who had expressed themselves most energetically, Du Four and Anne Du Bourg, to be seized and imprisoned in the Bastille. The judgment of the Tournelle, which had been drawn up with great for- bearance, was revoked to the Royal Court for the purpose of being revised. In a short time there appeared a circu- lar from the King, addressed to the Parliaments and to the judicial tribunals, in which they were urged to proceed against the Lutherans with the greatest severity, and the judges informed that they would be held responsible should they neglect these orders, and in which he declared plainly that as soon as the peace with Spain was concluded, he was determined to make the extirpation of the heretics his principal business.* King Henry II., in the reasons he advanced for these pro- ceedings, frequently referred to the ancient and intimate con- nection between the Church and the Crown, to the example and edicts of his predecessors in the thirteenth century, and to his title, "the Most Christian King." The deductions from these views are sufficiently clear ; but on the other hand it was manifest that the State was not at the same time the Church, and that it had duties of a peculiar nature, diflerent from those of the Church— that Henry II. had acted differ- ♦ Lettres Patentes of Escouen, cited in the " Histoire des Martyrs," liv. vii. 506 b. Tallandier, 456, etc., asserts that the registers for this year are lost. 166 HISTORY OF FRANCE. ently from the majority of his predecessors, and even from his father, to whose conduct he constantly appealed. Francis L had left the law to take its course as administered by the tribunals ; but the conduct of Henry II. was very different, when he himself interfered with and quashed the judicial sentences of the courts, as delivered by his most distinguished judges. Moreover, whatever might be thought of the young- er members, neither Seguier nor Harlai could be regarded as Protestants ; and what shall we say when this interference was not prompted by any personal feeling on the part of the King, but induced by a clique which looked upon the affair from a personal point of view, and merely followed their own interests? The Protestants never believed that the hostility against them proceeded from the King himself, but from the faction that ruled him — a faction in close alliance with the ancient enemies of the realm. It was said at the time, that in the conclusion of peace the suppression of the Reformation had been formally agreed to between France, Spain, and Savoy, but this has never been demonstrated. It is unquo^ionable, however, that the ex- tension of Protestantism was mentioned in the negotiations, as a proof of the necessity of peace. On the Spanish side it • had always been said that Spain was~influenced in the treaty by a desire to set the hands of the King of France at liberty for the extermination of heresy ;^ besides, the relinquishment of the jwlicy which had hitherto been of service to Protestant- ism involved a corresponding danger to it. Under these circumstances the most anxious apprehension« prevailed among the adherents of the Confession ; it was be- lieved that the King would make a progress through the kingdom, and enforce the suppression of Protestantism with all his power, and that in concert with the Duke of Savoy he would attack Geneva, the metropolis of Calvinism, and de- stroy it with its colonies, when the intelligence spread abroad that this prince, who was yet in the prime of life, and bloom- ♦ The Duke of Alva reminded the French afterward that Spain had concluded the peace, "para que le (Henry IT.) quedasse la mano libnj para reniediarlo (lo de la religion)." — July 7, 1671; Gachard, ii. 181. This is literally correct. I THE LAST YEARS OF HENRY II. i67 ing in vigorous health, had been suddenly killed by an acci- dent of a most extraordinary character. At one of the fetes given in celebration of the marriages, Henry II as was his custom, took part in a tournament, m the colors of his lady, the Duchess of Valentinois, and, mouirted on a war-horse of his new brother-in-law, the Duke of Savoy's, which he rode with peculiar pleasure. As after a number of brilliant courses he was running one more, which he said should be the last for that day, his opponent's lance broke upon his vizor, and the splinters entered his forehead • he was carried out of the lists in a state of unconscious-' ness, and expired a few days afterward, on the 26th of July The Protestants recognized in this event the almost visible judgment of God, though as far as they were concerned they could not expect that its consequences would be favorable to them. The successor of Henry, Francis II., who was still a boy, gave his entire power into the hands of a man whom they regarded as their fiercest adversary— the Cardinal of Lorraine, of the house of Guise. , We must here say something of his extraction and personal character. '^ ^:,L '?.?^ " ^f '"" ^' Principi," iii. 196, there is an accurate descrin- dei Re KT^::' -■ :; >^. «"'«• ""=• ^cheggie, fen la fronte sopra nXalKo a' r»1"' ^ "^'"'"''"r"" '' »<='^W<' ^-^i profondamente." Th« Cario xar^ .."""'^'P''"'^" "'"^ "X' °""°"''' of VieilleviUe and „f froTttm ^^""'"' '™""""' '" S""""^- I have departed totally H-i •"•p THE CARDINAL OF LORRAINE. 169 CHAPTEU X. J ADMINISTRATION OF CHARLES, CARDINAL OF LORRAINE. Rene of Lorraine, who fought with Charles the Bold, an.i who more than once brought the claims of his house upoin Provence, Naples, and Jenisalem to remembrance, ordainei in his last will that Antoine, the eldest of his sons, should succeed him in Lorraine and Bar, and that the second, Claudes should inherit his possessions lying in France : these were estates scattered throughout Normandy, Picardy, FlanderiS, and the Isle of France, with the baronies of Joinville, May- enne, Elboeuf, and the counties of Aumale and Guise. Among the chivalrous military leaders of Francis I. Ave find this Claude, who named himself" of Guise," which had been raised to a dukedom, making a brilliant figure. His bravery and miraculous preservation at the battle of Marig- nano, the part he took in preserving the peace of the king- dom during the King's captivity after the battle of Pavia, and the presence of mind he displayed on the second invasion of Charles V., made him a great name in the realm. Even Paris felt endangered by the advance of the Emperor, ard Lorraine entered into immediate connection with the popu- lation of the capital. He had married a princess oi the royal blood, Antoinette of Bourbon : it was a fortunate marriage, from which sprang six sons, filled with vital energy ; three of whom devoted themselves to the Church, and three to the military service ; sometimes he appeared at Court in their company, for he was fond of showing them, considering that in them his own hfe was multiplied sixfold. He gave his daughter in marriage to James V. of Scotland, and Maiy Stuart was his grand-daughter. Of the sons we have already frequently mentioned Francis Guise, the eldest, who was the conqueror of Calais ; the next, Charles Guise, Cardinal of Lorraine, played a part not less important during the whole reign of Henry II. Charles Guise acquired in his youth the scientific knowl- edge which accorded with the requirements of the clerical profession ; he spoke the majority of living languages, and the Italians remark with admiration the excellence with which he expressed himself in theirs. Henry II. took him into his confidence at the age of three-and-twenty, and he showed himself fully equal to the management of affairs. While the Constable gave offense by his severity and rude- ness, Charles Guise gained favor by his agreeable and flatter- ing address. He was elevated in early life to the Archbish- opric of Eheims, and omitted nothing which a great prelate could effect to establish in his diocese an imperishable remem- brance of his actions : he caused unhealthy morasses to be drained and turned into gardens and meadows ; he caused the wood for the edifices at Rheims to be felled in his forest at Joinville, and the old sentence was applied to him, that he had found a city of clay and left it of marble ; he founded at Rheims a university, a theological college, a seminary, and a convent for a lay fraternity ; for in no respect did he neg- \ lect his clerical and episcopal duties — he provided that the! parish priests should discharge the duties of their office, he preached himself occasionally, and fronuto time held provin-^iV^i cial councils. Though the youngest oftne French cardinals, he put them all to shame by his self-control and his zeal in the duties of his position. Hounds and falcons were never seen in his house, and at Easter ever}^ year he retired to some cloister in order to give himself up to spiritual exercises. He was a man of imposing exterior : his person was tall, and he was particularly distinguished by his broad, lofty, and intel- ligent forehead ; when he spoke all hung upon his lips — his discourse, sustained by a never-failing memory, flowed from him intelligibly and gracefully.* * The Venetian embassadors depict him thus unanimously. I can not repeat what was said of him in common ; the indecencies in Brantome, which have been referred to him, relate to his uncle, and to the times of Francis I. H 170 HISTORY OF FRANCE. THE CARDINAL OF LORRAINE. iVl "With all these various and splendid endowments, he failed in the most distinguishing quality of great men— moral ele- vation and forgetfulness of self To obtain power all means were right in his eyes, and when he possessed it he gave him- self no concern about any one else in the world. He was looked upon as envious and unkind, slow in the bestowal of favors, but always prepared to do an injury— not to be depended upon by his friends, and revengeful against his enemies.* His niece, the young Clueen of Scotland, having been mar- ried to the Dauphin, the Cardinal and he became united in the closest connection. The Dauphin was adorned with the crown matrimonial, and regarded with ambitious eagerness the prospect which the rights of his consort opened to him of possessing the full royalty. Even during the hfetime of Henry II., the Cardinal and his brother, with the Dauphin and Dauphiness, used all their influence and efforts to give to the French policy and military force a direction hostile to En- gland ; at the same time they formed the closest union among themselves. I On the change of sovereigns the conduct of affairs fell, as I if spontaneously, into the hands of the Cardinal of Guise ; nor ■ is it necessary to repeat the smaller causes that contributed to that event, with which the contemporary narratives are i'^**^ ..filled. The experienced uncle, by the side of the young King, his nephew, not yet quite sixteen, must have virtually possessed the royal authority. Montmorency, who had at length recovered his great influence, received together with all his friends, marks of personal disfavor, and was com- pelled to leave the Court ; however, he had opposed the de signs against England, which now entirely occupied tht thoughts of the Court. On their accession to the throne Francis II. and his young consort assumed the title an^' arms of England, and at their solemn reception in the greai cities were greeted as the pair through whom Gaul and Britain were united. * Chiefly from the Venetian official reports. Micheli speaks of the, " odio universale conceputo contro di iui per i molti effetti d' offesa chv, mostrd verso ognuno mentre nel govemo ebbe 1' autorita." If any doubt could be entertained respecting the position which a Cardinal of the Romish Church would be likely to fake in reference to the religious controversies of the time, it was speedily removed by these circumstances. Within this 1 circle dueen Elizabeth had long been regarded as illegiti- j mate, and not entitled to the crown ;* an alliance with the Romish Court was naturally formed, which claimed anew the right of decision in this case, and through that an alii- ^ ance with the strictest Catholic opinions generally. The question which at that time chiefly occupied men's minds had reference to the renewed demand of some members of the Parliament, that the judicial proceedings against the Protestants should be moderated, at least till a new Council, to be called, should have pronounced authentically concern- ing the sacraments. When the Cardinal laid these questions / once more before the Sorbonne, it is difficult to see in his • coriduct any thing like concession to public opinion ; for what could have been expected from the faculty except a judg- ment completely rejecting the demand? Their sentence stated that such a view could not even be taken into consid- eration — that it was even itself sacramentarian, heretical, and thoroughly corrupt and destructive, calculated to break up alike both the State and the Church. Thus completely^- was all idea of moderation rejected.! After the delivery of this judgment it was impossible for those who stood accused on account of the opinions they had uttered in the Parliament, to reckon further upon any grace. Du Bourg applied in vain to all the courts of appellative in- stance appointed by the ecclesiastical constitution in France ; he was rejected every where. A German Prince, the Elector Palatine, hoped to save him by calling him to the Professor- ship of Law in his University of Heidelberg, but the times were past when intercessions of this kind would hav'3 been respected on account of political relations. Du Bourg suf- * Killygrew A ; Jones to the Queen, January 6, 1560, in Forbes, 293. The Marshal St. Andre told him, " that immediately after the death of Queen Mary, the Queen (Mary Stuart) did take the title (of England) upon her, as justly aperteigning to her." t Censura sanctissimse Facultatis, August 29, 1559. Argentre, ii. 279. JY2 HISTORY OF FRANCE. fered the punishment of heresy, by the halter and fire on the square before the Hotel de Ville, in December, 1559. The Cardinal rested his personal authority in the State on his severe administration of the ecclesiastical law : he knew that his popularity among the masses would lose nothmg by such proceedings ; the people of Paris, imbued with anti-Calvm- istic notions by the preachers of the Sorbonne, took delight m the executions. All secret meetings for religious purposes were forbidden, under pain of death to their promoters ; every favor shown to an accused person was set down as a crime in itself; whoever betrayed the hiding-place, of a con- demned person was entitled to half his estate as a reward, but whoever should dare to protect such a person, or to con- ceal him in his house or strong place, against him they threatened to march with arms, and to raze his house or castle to the ground. , , • . u In the affairs of the interior the Cardinal proceeded in the course which King Henry, not without his influence, had marked out, with this difference, however, that what the King had only threatened, the Cardinal undertook to carry out: men of name and rank, who had previously been passed by, were now dragged to execution. To the foreign policy, on the other hand, he gave a decided tone of hostility against England, for the immediate purpose of counteracting the in- fluence of that kingdom upon Scotland, and to confirm* the CathoUc interests of the Stuarts, which were at the same, time those of the Guises, and in this particular conjuncture appeared to be the interests of France. We need not expati- ate upon the hostilities, both religious and political, which h(5 aroused by these proceedings. Even Spain was by no meanu favorable to him. Besides all this, however, he fell into in- superable difficulties through his own personal position, aiul the financial condition of the kingdom.- _^ Even in 1547 it was computed that, of the income of the country, which might be about sixteen million francs, thrcj milUons were assigned to creditors, and that the domains, to the value of perhaps fifteen millions more, were mortgaged. The deficit which occurred in the income by these means, as well as the continuous expense of the war, it was sought to THE CARDINAL OF LORRAINE. 173 M Ni cover by raising the taxes, and by laying on fresh imposts ; but these, for the greater part, could not be collected, and the attempt only awakened a thorough and universal discontent. What shall we say of these measures when we read the credi- ble assurance, given from various quarters, that the peasantry in the most fruitful provinces forsook their villages because they could no longer bear the grievous burdens laid upon them ? But even in the towns the oppression produced agita- tions, and here and there the idea of the fifteenth century was revived, that the King had no right to lay on taxes arbitrarily ; and thereby the Government found itself in the most urgent embarrassment. Henry II. had left an unfunded debt of con- siderable amount, the interest of which could not be obtained ; many salaries were in arrear, and much service which had been rendered remained uncompensated. The Cardinal en- deavored to obtain some relief for the people, and at the same time to introduce some economical measures. He succeeded m reducing the expenses of the royal household by half a mill- ion, but in doing so he caused fresh discontents among those who were affected by his proceedings. Meritorious officers^ who had served in the war, were driven from the Court with harshness. The restoration of credit was not to be thought of It could not happen otherwise than that this condition should be attributed to the Cardinal, even though not with entire justice ; especially as he had conducted the administra- tion of the finances under the previous reign. It was re- garded as indefensible that he should be preparing armaments for the purpose of interfering in the affairs of Scotland, which was ascribed to his personal connection with that country, and nothing else. To this was added a second cause, of universal operation. It was asserted that the existing government was not strictly according to law; that King Francis 11. , who numbered barely sixteen years, and who, weak in mind and body, was incapable of forming any resolution for himself, was, in point of fact, still in his minority ; but that in such cases the Re- gency belonged to the princes of the blood, and that an assem- bly of the Estates should be called ; that the next princes of the blood, the King of Navarre and the Prince of Conde, had 174 HISTORY OF FRAI^CE. THE CARDINAL OF LORRAINE. 175 been excluded from the government, and removed from the court under various pretexts ; that even the Constable and his nephew, Coligny, were supplanted ; and that all the power of the state lay in the hands of two strangers — for the Guises were, strictly speaking, strangers, and in opposition to the monarchy, their house having contended against the Crown for entire provinces, as Provence and Anjou. Claude Guise and Vendome had at one time labored to- gether for the protection of the kingdom ; their sons now stood at the head of two hostile parties. The sons of Guise were in possession of the government, and exercised it as seemed to them good, while round the sons of Vendome, the Bourbons, were closely united all who were in opposition to the Cardinal. A peculiar disposition of the time was in favor of the latter. Not long before, the Scottish nobility had put a cardinal to death who sought to unite the political power vdth the eccl% siastical : at the same time, in the Grumbach Transactions, ^he gentry of the German empire rose, in order to recover their independence from the pen and the crozier. To this impersonal rule, where a prince resigned his authority to the clergy and legislature, opposition was offered even in places where obedience was more complete than in either Scotland or Germany. It was this which some time afterward agitated the Netherlands from their foundation. The prince was re- garded less as a ruler than a leader ; men would yield obedi- ence when the command was personal, and especially from personal concession ; but the abstract notion of the State was not yet fully recognized. This was more especially the feeling of the French nobility ; they believed themselves justified in opposing an authority which was exercised over them under the name of a prince who himself possessed no power ; it was their duty to obey those only who were descended from the royal house of France ; the great King Francis had maintained the distinction between the royal princes and strangers, which it was now sought to abolish ; by princes of the true blood only would France be governed. From such various motives of the interior and foreign policy of the State and of religion, of the general opinion, and of momentary embarrassment, sprang the move- ments of opposition to the power of the Guises. It could not continue long in France without coming to an outbreak. The Christaudins, as the Protestants were at first called, who expected merely toleration it their secret meetings for worship, but for that were dragged before the tribunals and mishandled, suddenly made themselves remarkable for their opposition when they comprehended that the authority over them was not legal. Sometimes the prisoners, who were con- ducted through the country in considerable numbers, were rescued from their guards, and sometimes those who were condemned were liberated by a sudden attack as they were dragged to the place of execution. At this time an idea was suggested among those who had fled to Geneva of the greatest political and religious consequence : they held it possible and lawful to overturn, by a sudden coup de main, the govern- ment of the Guises, which weighed so heavily on the realm. Calvin had been spoken to on the subject, but he was totally opposed to it ; if he were to concede that, because the author- ity the Guises exercised was unlawful, an attack might be lawfully made upon them, a requisition from the princes of the blood must first be laid before him — nay, that a declara- tion of the Parliament against them would be necessary.* The most distinguished contriver of this scheme was De la Renaudie, a gentleman of Perigord, who had fled from Bur- gundy, where he had a lawsuit, and now obtained leave to return to France for the revision of the legal proceedings — a man who sought to take personal vengeance on the Guises who had caused his brother-in-law to be executed ;t for the rest he was neither to be relied on nor of a blameless charac- ter, but he possessed uncommon adroitness both in conduct and speech. At Nantes, in Brittany, he succeeded in gaining over a number of French gentlemen to his enterprise ; they were persons who were discontented on religious and political grounds, who thus agreed in the conviction that the power * " Qu'il valoit mieux que nous perissions tous cent fois que d'estre cause que le nom des Chrestiens de I'Evangile fust expose a tel oppro- bre." — Letter of Calvin, in Henry's 'Life of Calvin,' iii. app. 164. t Compare Barthold, ' Germany and the Huguenots,' i. 263. f76 HISTORY OF FRANCE. of the Guises was a usurpation, and irjight be lawfully over- turned. La Renaudie did not scruple to tell some that the Prince of Conde was the real head of the enterprise, but that he wished it to remain a secret, or to assure others that, ac- cording to the judgment oAhe German theologians and jurists, the undertaking was perfectly lawful. Such a judgment has never come to light authentically ; and it is impossible that it could have proceeded from Calvin and his friends. But it can not even be said, with historical accuracy, whether La Renaudie ever spoke with Conde on the subject. Historians of the time, who were near the events, have related it ; the Prince always denied it, and the supreme tribunal subsequent- ly acquitted him of all blame in the matter. Over the entire case there remains an obscurity which has never been cleared up. Was La Renaudie actually in correspondence with the dueen of England, who regarded the Guises as her personal enemies ; and who ascribed to them the appearance of the French in Scotland, and who could not but wish for a move- ment against them in France ? Did such men as the Chan- cellor L'Hopital of a latter period, as it is asserted with still greater positiveness, share in the conspiracy ? It is assumed that the attempt was to be made at Blois, and that the sudden removal of the Court to Amboise frustrated it; but the removal of the Court, according to the narrative of the En- glish embassador, was determined upon on the 28th of January, whereas the meeting at Nantes did not take place until the beginning of February. We therefore renounce the attempt to penetrate the secret movements of the conspirators, and shall merely observe the course of affairs in Amboise, concern- ing which we have official information from day to day. The Court without any apprehension, proceeded thither by the most circuitous route, by Vendome and Chateaurenaud ; but when there it soon became aware of certain hostile indi- cations around it. The reason why the Guises had not yet seriously interfered in the affairs of Scotland was, because they apprehended that the beginning of the war would occa- sion a general outbreak. As early as the 7th of March there was some rumor of the discovery of a conspiracy. Suspected persons were arrested ; the two Guises surrounded themselves THE CARDINAL OF LORRAINE. 177 with armed guards, and fresh troops were drawn together. In the district of Tours, horsemen were taken up, carrying pistols and ammunition, and in Tours itself some bloody skir- mishes took place between the assembled gentry and the royal troops. Here the name of Huguenots originated, which at first designated a tumultuous crowd, suddenly appearing, and which may have some connection with the tradition of the place of the wild-hunt of King Hugo.* The Huguenots of the State were distinguished from the Huguenots of the Church. The English embassador finds it difficult to de- scribe, with sufficient force, the confusion and bewilderment that filled the Court on the tidings of these events. No one knew whom to trust or whom to suspect ; those who were dismissed yesterday were rpcaUed to-day, and those who to- day enjoyed the most entire confidence could not be counted on to-morrow ; seditious persons, chiefly of the lower classes were arrested, and immediately afterward dismissed again with small presents. A number of gentlemen, who had as- sembled in a neighboring castle for the purpose, as they said, of presenting a petition, were compelled to surrender, but under the guarantee of good treatment, and brought' into Amboise. The most remarkable incident in the whole affair occurred on the 17th of March, though even that was of lit- tle importance. On the morning of that day, about a hun- dred and fifty horsemen marched to the castle of Amboise, and, having arrived at its gates, they fired a few pistol-shots at a neighboring church ; meanwhile they heard the drums rolling in the court-yard of the castle, and the soldiers calling for their horses and arms ; the horsemen were convinced that they were the weaker party, and retreated precipitately, but * As in all countries the legend of the Wild Huntsman has been con- nected with the most renowned names, Arthur, Waldemar, and Charie- niagne, so in France it was associated with that of Hugh Capet. Com- pare Grimm, German Mythology, p. 894. Since the time of Mezeray, It has been customary to derive the name from Eidgnos. It is not for me to deliver a definite opinion upon the question. It is quite true that the old Genevese song, " Tes Aignos sont au-dessus ; tes Mamonellus sont ruez jus," was not yet forgotten ; still it is remarkable that in a learned work (Memoires de Conde, iii. 235), the author of which knew that this song was remembered, the name Huguenots is not referred to it. \ 178 HISTORY OF FRANCE. the royal troops rushed out, pursued and dispersed them ; several were cut down, and others were captured and brought back to the castle. The previous forbearance was now ex- changed for severity : some were hanged, and others drown- ed in the river ; eighteen military officers of distinction were decapitated with the sword, and their heads set upon pales — among them was seen that of the most distinguished leader of the party, La Renaudie, who had fallen fighting bravely. But the Guises considered themselves by no means secure against a new attack, and began to fortify Amboise.* Calvin compared the enterprise to an adventure of knight- errantry, and as he had condemned the scheme, so did he the school-boy hesitation with which its execution was at- tempted, congratulating himself that he had opposed it from the beginning. If we do not err however, though the act it- self came to nothing, yet the movement of which it appeared as the central point and expression, produced the most pow- erful effects. In the prospect of the coming storm, the Cardinal of Lor- raine became more moderate in his policy : thus, immediately after the first disturbances, and before the attempt upon Am- boise, he issued a decree, which is described as being ready to appear on the 8th of March, by which the prisons were opened and the Protestants confined in them set at liberty. He offered to all those who solemnized the Lord's Supper and baptism according to the Genevese ritual, or who had at- tended the services of the Calvinistic preachers, pardon and the remission of punishment, upon condition that they should henceforth conduct themselves as good Catholics and true sons of the Church.f The preachers themselves only, and those who had commenced the violent proceedings, or had been implicated in conspiracies against the Crown and the State, were excepted from the amnesty. The Cardinal soon ♦ The most* direct description of the occurrence that has come beforo me is given in tlje dispatches of Throckmorton, Forbes, 378. The ac- counts of this conspiracy, given by La Planche, Beze, and La Popeiiniere, agree, for the most part, literally, and are in fact identical ; only occa- sionally are there traces of their having been somewhat elaborated. t Edit d'Abolition en faveur des Heretiques : Isambert, xiv. 22. THE CARDINAL OF LORRAINE. 179 after, under increasing apprehension, promised to all who had showed a desire to advance toward Amboise a general pardon if they would return to their homes. The effect of this was incalculable. For the first time the Government had relin- quished the severity with which the law had been adminis- tered, and declared of its own accord that the carrying out of the edicts was impossible ; that the King must not mark the first year of his reign with a multitude of executions, which would amount to a massacre. The prisons were open- ed every where, but how could it have been expected that those who were liberated would return to the Catholic rites ? They had in the prosecutions against them stood upon the justice of their cause, and now for the first time they felt that it was completely secure.* In the new edict given at RomorantJn, in May, 1560, the assemblies for worship were forbidden in harsh terms, and full power given to the inferior courts for their suppression ; but even in this the Government did not revive the entire severity of the earlier proceedings. They refrained from inquiring into ^ mere profession, for, as the Chancellor said, the weeds had grown so strong in the field of the Church, that they must abstain from attempting to eradicate them ; but it was impos- sible to reconcile this remission of punishment for religious opinions with the prohibition of meetings for worship, for it is in the community of worship only that religion finds its full utterance. The Protestants felt aggrieved that their meetings for divine worship should be classed with rebellious assemblies, and the revocation of the new edict was demanded in all the provinces. An opportunity presented itself in the summer of 1560 for bringing forward this requisition in the most impressive man- ner. In the midst of its constantly increasing ecclesiastical, financial, and political embarrassments, the Court thought good to appoint a general consultation of its chief advisers at * Micheli : " Onde ne furono liberati et cavati di prigione di Parigi et di tutte le altre citta del regno un grandissimo numero, che rimasero poi nel regno, praticando (not predicando, as it is printed ; the MS. in the Archives has the correct reading) liberamente et parlando con og- nuno et gloriandosi," etc. / ?» 180 HISTORY OF FRANCE. THE CARDINAL OF LORRAINE. 181 m Fontainebleau . The marshals of France, the members of the Order, and the councilors of the Supreme College assembled ac- cordingly. The Constable and the Admiral were also present. Admiral Coligny had been long decided in favor of the new opinions, although he had not yet professed them publicly. He had just acquired fresh merit by the service he had ren- dered in the pacification of Normandy, and now undertook to bring the great questions with which all the troubles of the kingdom were connected to a decision. In the very first sit- tting of the assembly of the Notables at Fontainebleau (August 23, 1560), after the King had opened the proceedings, the Admiral rose and presented to him two petitions from the faithful dispersed in different parts of the kingdom — for the adherents of the ecclesiastical reformation thus designated themselves. The contents of these petitions were very re- markable. In the first they formally renounced any partici- pation in enterprises like the recent attempt against Amboise, as such could be approved of by Libertines and atheists only. *^In the second they set forth the impossibility of renouncing their meetings for worship ; and, in order that they should not be compelled to hold them in secret, they demanded that the King should grant them churches for the preaching of the Gospel and for the solemnization of the sacraments — a requi- sition resting completely upon the principle of individual relig- ion, but which had also not only an ecclesiastical but a high po- litical significancy : it was in antagonism with the ideaon which the entire principle of the accord between the Crown and the decrees of the Catholic Church was founded. This idea of I the inseparable union between the spiritual and the secular ' power was that which had given their character to the Mid- dle Ages ; the modem period began with its dissolution, or with opposition to it. "While the Protestants in France again professed themselves obedient to the secular authority, they • pressed for this concession, without which they could not exist ; but their demand indicated a change in general notions. It constituted in itself the commencement of an epoch, that in the full council of the Most Christian King, one of the most noted men in the kingdom should bring forward and recom- mend such a requisition, although he was not able to attain his object. The Cardinal had been able to open the prisons, with the proviso that each person liberated should return to the ancient faith ; to allow the Protestants to have churches lay without his range of vision ; he said that the King by do- ing so would ratify their idolatry and forfeit his own everlast- ing salvation. * In this assembly, however, there were other proposals made, to which he could not give such decisive opposition. Charles de Marillac, Archbishop of Vienn^,%e same who in former years resided as embassador at the court of Charles v., had acquired a certain degree of experience in the nature of the ecclesiastico-political troubles of the time. He showed himself penetrated with the conviction that an isolated posi- tion, such as that which the French Government had assumed, could not be maintained in opposition to a universal move- ment. He found that a government by Estates, such as haf* been formerly in full operation every where, was indispensable for France also, and stated that in several of the provinces it was rumored that the imposts would no longer be paid with- out the grant of the Estates. He also proposed the immedi-* ate calling an assembly of the Estates for financial purposes, and a national council, such as had been so frequently con- templated in Germany, for settling the condition of the Church ; he spoke on this subject with manly emphasis, and at the same time with singular adroitness, placing his proposals in that light which made them most evident, and which secured to them the assent of his hearers. The young King him- self received a visible impression. The Cardinal had not so much objected to an assembly of the Estates as he had to the calling of a council. By means of the former he hoped to pacify the nation as regarded the administration of the finances, as well as to re-establish the public credit ; but the latter, he said, was at least unnecessary, as the Church had long smce decided upon all the questions. At length, how- ever, he acquiesced in both. A resolution was adopted, toj call together a national council in January, 1561, and an as-' * "Quant d leur bailler temples, ce seroit de tout approuver leur idolatne et que le Roi ne le seroit faire sans etre prepetuelJement damne. — Maier, Discours des Etats Generaux, x. 299 182 HISTORY OF FEANCE. THE CARDINAL OF LORRAINE. 183 sembly of the States General the month previous, that is, in December, 1560. The letters of summons were immediately issued. In Spain and at Rome men were astonished at the conces- sions of the Cardinal of Lorraine. The Venetian Soriano as- serts that he was never at any time sincere in making these proposals — that he wished merely to throw dust in the eyes of those who were desirous of innovations, that he might pacify them first, and afterward get the leaders into his power, by whose chastisenient he hoped to stifle the entire movement.* I do not altogether rely upon the Italians when they speak of guileful calculations for the future, yet it is obvious that the Cardinal agreed unwillingly, and partly by compulsion, to the calling of an assembly for consultation ; he could not conceal from himself that it must expose him to great storms. "The foreign afiairs of the kingdom had also proceeded unfor- tunately. The party of the Guises and of the French in Scotland had been compelled to come to an agreement of a disadvantageous character, which confirmed the influence of England, and was followed by the loss of that of France , and although he might with justice have attributed this to the internal agitations of the kingdom, yet the position of a lead- ing minister must always be endangered by the mere fact that he has been unsuccessful. If violent measures formed part of the Cardinal's original plan, it is incomprehensible how he could have intrusted the Great Seal to a man of mild disposition like L'Hopital. The prospect of a free expression of opinion in matters •of religion and concerning the State was hailed generally through- out the country as one of the happiest and most promising of all the innovations. In the provincial assemblies, the old idea of a universal reform, which had been so often before brought forward, and as often rejected, was once more the subject of discussion. Papers were distributed from house to house and from province to province, in which the fiercest war was * Soriano, Commentarii (relation of 1562) : " Con la deliberatione del concilio si venne a dar pasto a chi cercava di far mutatione nella fede, e con qiiella di far li Stati si venne a dar intentione di mettere nuovo ordine nel govemo." ' tBR declared against the clergy and nobility, who, it was stated, had forsaken their original vocation — against the Parliaments, where every thing was done for money, and nothing without money — and against the abuses of the administration : and it was asserted that these were the opinions of ten out of the thirteen governments. It was vain to seek for any thing like unity of design or certainty of execution in this adminis- tration of afiairs ; nothing was to be seen but unscrupulous severity while the government was unopposed, and resiUency in the moment of danger— yielding and pliability under for- eign pressure— and yet, amidst all circumstances, the design of retaining and confirming its power. There can be no doubt, however, that the Guises hoped to be able to subdue all opposition to their authority, and for this purpose they concentrated the entire power of the State in their own hands and those of their friends. During the tumult at Amboise, Francis, Duke of Guise, was appointed the King's Lieutenant-General, and invested with the com- mand of the military force. Notwithstanding the claims also which the Prince of Conde possessed, according to the French custom, upon the government of Picardy, which had been wrested from Cohgny, it was withheld from him, and given to Marshal Brissac, who immediately united with the ad- herents of the Guises. With the other members of the house of Bourbon, who were in possession of governments, were associated lieutenant-generals chosen by the Guises ; with the Duke of Montpensier, in Anjou, Touraine, and Maine, Le Roy, Lord of Chavigny, who a short time previously had fallen off' from the Montmorency party ; with the Prince of Roche-sur-Yon, in Orleans, Philibcrt de Marcilly, Lord of Cypierre.* Smaller governments were separated from the greater, and intrusted to hands that could be relied on. It was a period when the power of these provincial rulers, in which were united the military- and civil political authorities, w^as made dependent upon party, and a portion of its ma- chinery. What the predominating intentions were, is discovered, among others, in the instructions which were given to the * Le Laboureur: Additions to the Memoirs of Castelnau, i. 608. 184 HISTORY OF FRANCE. THE CARDINAL OF LORRAINE. 185 Marshal Thermes for Perigord and Limousin, in which it is set forth that people in these provinces lived as if they were in Geneva, which was contrary to God's honor and the King's : the Marshal was to search out and arrest the most distinguish- ed preachers, and the officials who should give them any com^ fort or assistance, and to punish hoth in a proper manner.* The repression of the new faith now commenced generally : we hear everywhere of books burned, preachers persecuted, im- prisonments, condem.iiations, and executions. The old knights who had served in the previous wars were excited to madness when they came toward Amboise, and saw the heads of their former companions in arms fixed upon the pales : " Ha I" said old Aubigne, '' they have beheaded France, the hangmen I" The French Protestants have been sometimes reproached for having joined a political party, but how was it to be avoid- ed under these circumstances? The Guises directed their most determined hostility alike against the Protestants and the princes of the blood ; those were to be suppressed and these excluded : the inevitable consequence was, that a strict alliance was formed between the two. Calvin did not expect much from the Estates, and nothing from the promised ecclesiastical assembly, which was sure to refer every decision to a General Council ; on the other hand, he hoped for great things from the quiet opposition of the King of Navarre and the Prince of Conde. Meanwhile he exercised all his influence to prevent violent proceedings on the part of his adherents, such as taking forcible possession of churches in the provinces. He learned with pleasure that his coadj utor Beza had reached Bearne in the midst of the disturbances that fiUed the provinces, and under circumstances of great danger, in order that he might there come to an understanding with the King of Navarre. To arouse him to make a great demon- stration, was Calvin's idea. The King was to place himself at the head of the nobility of Provence, Languedoc, and Nor- mandy, in opposition to the Guises ; would he only venture to do so, he could break the power of these violent men with- \j out shedding a drop of blood. Calvin was convinced that it ♦ Le Roi au Marechal de Tennes, October 1, 1560, at Paris, Nego- ciations soua Francois II. required simply the show of opposition in France to effect an alteration among those who adhered to the Guises, for they had only joined them as the possessors of the supreme power. He believed even that Glueen Catharine might have been reckoned upon, as she was one who would well know her own interest.* Beza's mission was by no means fruitless ; it furnished the first opportunity of carrying out the Reform in Beam, though it failed in accomplishing its. immediate object. King Anthony of Navarre was an amiable, generous, and well-educated man, and heartily inclined to Protestantism, but yet incapable of forming a bold and manly resolution. When he was summoned to the Court, in spite of numerous warnings, and under the dangerous circumstances of the time, he did not venture to decline attending : he flattered himself that no one would dare to lay hands upon him or his brother Conde, who accompanied him. The Court was then at Or- leans, making preparations for the assembling of the Estates. The suspected magistrates had been seized and imprisoned. The old bands of Piedmont and Picardy, and the companies which had returned from Scotland, were all drawn together at Orleans, so that the Cardinal of Guise was completely master of the place and of the surrounding country. The two Princes had not long arrived, when Conde was arrested, and / placed in strict custody till the examination which had been* commenced respecting the attempt upon Amboise should be concluded. It was seriously contemplated that judgment of death should be pronounced upon him. It was even said that Anthony of Navarre would have been killed one day by the young King of France with his own hand, had not his courage failed him ;t but this tale appears to have taken its rise more fro^n the apprehensions and timidity of Navarre, than from any actual fact. However this may be, the executions that filled the realm concurred with these obscure proceedings and ♦ Calvin's Letter, Baum, Life of Beza, ii. 116, 124. t Olhagaray, ' Histoire de Foix, ' maintains that he had this from the mouth of Queen Johanna, and had taken it out of her Memoirs (I'original dont j'ai tire mot a mot ces paroles), 628. The words agree with the narrative of La Planche, but do not add any thing to its credibility. 4> I 186 HISTORY 05^ FEANCE. occurrences at the Court to fiU the minds of men generally with anxiety ; and under these circumstances the delegates of the Estates met at Orleans. It was then asserted that the Cardinal wished to make the presence of the Estates sub- servient to his purposes, first in authorizing his proceedmgs against the Princes, and then in condemning the Protestants by a solemn determination. The members of the assembly were compelled to subscribe a Catholic confession of faith, and the same was required, throughout the kingdom, from the magistrates and private persons in every parish ; who- ever refused was delivered over immediately to the severity of the courts of heresy. Columns of soldiers marched through the land in all directions to enforce the execution of these edicts, and to secure the CathoHc power of the Guises upon a permanent foundation.* I have found much by which these assertions are corrobor- ated, but nothing which places them entirely beyond doubt. It is difficult to know with certainty what are the ultimate designs of parties striving for power, or whose possession of it is endangered, before we see them in their actual results ; but these did not now at least proceed so far. While every thing was thus expected from the Cardinal, and the apprehension he caused and the hatred against him had risen to the highest degree, his power was already at an end. The young King, • upon whose connection with the Cardinal depended all his power, and whom he had never allowed to take an active part in any affairs, died suddenly, December 5, 1560, before the opening of the Estates. This was the prince whose birth, seventeen years before, was hailed as the greatest and happiest event that could have occurred for France ; but the early death of his father, and the combination of circumstances through which the strict Catholic notions which were embraced were associated with the efforts of parties before he had attained sufficient expe- * Memoires de Castelnau, 2. ch. 12. A. C. xlu. 79. Mergey, whosc^ infonnation refers to the Duchess d'Usez, " qui possedoit fort la RemtJ Mere " Ibid." 41, 51. The Queen said afterward to the Cardinal Ip- polito d'Este, tliat they thought "far fere la confessione della lor fedc! Ttutti i consiglieri e a tutti gli officiali reggii," and that this had been already spoken of during the time of Francis II.' THE CARDINAI^OF LORRAINE. iS7 ^ rience to interfere in them independently, made the short time he reigned a period of present and future misfortune. The Cardinal of Lorraine entertained the idea of boldly usin^ for his own purposes the influence he had acquired with the clergy and upon a portion of the Estates, as well as that which he might draw from the notion of Catholic unity and the great military force that stood at his disposal. He counted upon the enterprising spirit of his brother, and upon the sup- port of the Glueen Mother, who had always been on his side, and to whom he said that she, a stranger and disliked, would not be able to maintain her position without him and his friends. But his brother was the first to withdraw from him. ' The Duke of Guise knew the nobility, and shared in their roy- alist feelings ; he felt that it would not be possible to preserve a form of government not legally justified. But the Cardinal had miscalculated still more upon the Q.ueen Mother. She' longed for the moment when the domination of the Guises should come to an end : it was barely tolerable only because it was in accordance with the wish of Francis II., and there- fore not to be avoided. She intended to show the Guises that the public hatred excited by the last reign was directed, not against her, but against themselves. "When all was lost," said Beza, "behold the Lord our God aroused himself." An alteration followed in the aspect of affairs, not suddenly, but by degrees, and on that account the more decided. The idea of Calvin prevailed over that of the Cardinal. X^ DELIBERATIONS OF THE ESTATES. 189 \/ CHAPTER XI. DELIBERATIONS OF THE ESTATES AND PARLIAMENTS. ' t — The difference between the present and the former demise of the Crown lay in the circumstance that now there was an unquestionable minority, and all the rights which had been previously exposed to opposition could now be enforced with — full authority. The Gtueen Mother herself had a certain claim, although it was not accurately defined. Catharine de' Medici did not spend much time in lamenting her lost son. She appeared in the Council leading by the hand the eldest of her surviving sons, upon whom the succession to the throne had devolved : this was Charles IX., who was then in his eleventh year. The boy, at the command of his mother, appointed those as- sembled Chief Councilors of the Crown. The claim of the princes of the blood to the chief conduct of affairs was, however, beyond all doubt, in accordance with the ancient laws and customs of the kingdom. The Council resolved that the opinion of the first prince of the blood, the King of Navarre, ought to be heard in all matters. This was exactly what Calvin had wished for, and what he had con- templated as the result of a great demonstration, but which now came to pass spontaneously. The French nobility saw now actually at their head the prince in whom naturally, as well as on account of his openness, bravery, and affability, they had placed their confidence. The Estates were opened on the 13th of December, 1560. The Cardinal had expressly forbidden them to utter any opin- ions on religious matters, but now that he had lost his power these formed the chief subject of their consultations. Mi The proposals of the third estate aimed at nothing less than an entire alteration in the constitution of the Church. The objectionable personal character of so many members of the higher as well as of the inferior clergy, suggested the design of re-establishing the custom of election, and even of giving it a wider extension than it had ever had previously. The pastors were to be chosen by the congregatiflfns, and the selection simply ratified by the bishop ; the examination of their qual- fications was to be conducted publicly by men of learning and reputation. In the election of the bishops the pastors of the towns were to take part, together with the secular notables. The archbishops were to be chosen by their suffragans, with the canons and parish priests. The property of the Church was not to be reserved exclusively for the enjoyment of the clergy ; a third part was to be devoted to the relief of the , poor, and another third to the building of churches and pious establishments, hospitals, and schools. We perceive that the proposals of the third estate would have given the Church a civil constitution. A great part of the nobility went still further than this, and from the opinions dehvered by them we learn in how 'large a number of districts the Protestant doctrines had obtained the ascendency. The nobility of Touraine demanded, in the language of German Protestantism, that the Church should be re- formed according to the pure Word of God, without any thing being taken away from it or any thing added to it, and that for this purpose a free ecclesiastical assembly should be called, in which every one should be at liberty to express his opinionT Avithout any apprehension of being called to account for them afterward.*^ There exists a remonstrance of the nobility from fifty-two districts in Normandy, Guienne, Poitiers, Tou-j louse, and Brittany, in which the same views predominate. All disorders are ascribed to the conduct of the clergy in not * " Pour faire un bon accord sur les differends qui sont aujourd'hui en la doctnne de la religion, et que toutes les disputes y soient decidees par la Parole de Dieu, contenue aux livres canoniques du Vieux et ^ou^eau Testament."— Des Etats Generaux, torn. xi. p. 189. Cahier #1 Tiers Etat, x. 279 190 HISTORY OF FRANCE. / preaching God's holy word, Jipd a free council demanded, in order, as it states, that all disputes may be decided according to the word of God contained in the canonical books of the Old and New Testaments. Deputations from the Eeformed churches, who had been hitherto deterred from approaching the Court by the Cardinal's threats, now hastened to strengthen these demands by r«E[uisitions of their own. They also de- sired a free consultation, with the liberation of those whci had been again imprisoned under the last administration, and, above all things else, permission for their religious as semblies for the solemnization of the sacraments as well as for preaching. Nothing, however, could now be done in these matters, for all commissions, it appears, were determined and dissolved by the death of the late King. L'Hopital considered it suffi- cient that the regency of Catharine was recognized by the majority — not, as he asserts, without his zealous intercession. '"^ While he dismissed the Estates, he announced at the same time that a new Assembly would be speedily summoned, to which, in order to diminish expense, each of the thirteen governments would be required to send but one deputy from each estate; he also required that a preliminary consultation should be held in every province and official district, con- cerning the instructions which they should give to their delegates. > It is easy to conceive how profoundly men s minds weire impressed and agitated by this revolution of affairs, in respect both to persons and measures. r^ Four principal parties, says the Venetian embassador Bar- ■ ■ baro,t now acquired consideration — ^the Glueen Mother, eager \ to govern all, and jealous of every rival in power ; the King I of Navarre, whom she suspected of a design to deprive her of authority, and to grasp the government in his own hands * In his will he stated : " Etant done iceuxs induits, on par equite, on jyar nostrc continuellc pours'uitc, donnercnt a la Rcine Mere la chargre ct tutelle du Roi et de ses biens, luy associant pour ayde ct conseil Ic Koi de Navarre." — Duchesne, Chanceliers, 645. t Relatione di M. Marc' Antonio Barbaro, 27 Luglio, 1664. MS. in the Venetian Archives to be carefully distinguished from the spurious copy printed in Tommaseo'* collection. <• |'% L,m r DELIBERATIONS OF THE ESTATES. 191 exclusively ; the house of Guise, which had acquired import- ance through the last administration ; and, finaUy, the Con- stable, who, as supreme chief of the army, and on account of his personal abilities, held a position of great consequence. The factions which had joined these several party chiefs were all divided between themselves. What a position was that of France at this moment !— her king a boy, the government m the hands of a woman, the great nobles all at enmity with one another, and the people in a state of insurrection on ac- count of religion. I will not here depict the antagonism of these factions, the movements of their chiefs, nor the fluctuations in their influ- ence ; the oscillations of the needle in the balance of ascend- ency, which now inclined to one side, and immediately after- ward to another— especially since the accourrts of them which have been transmitted to us are both defective and contra- dictory. All that can be said with certainty is that such fluctuations actually took place. The aueen succeeded, through the energy of her character m estabhshmg a good understanding with the princes of the blood. Anthony of Navarre resigned to her the general con- duct of affa*rs, content that he should be acknowledged as Lieutenant General and representative of the person of the King m all the territories within his allegiance. The Estates m which Navarre had a powerful party, were forbidden even to consult concerning the composition of the government ; enough seemed to have been done to satisfy the law, when in the edicts the princes of the blood were named who had taken part in forming them.* Conde was acquited, and re- sumed his place in the Council. The Admiral also took his seat again, and, in connection with the Chancellor, the Bishop of Valence, and occasionally with the Bishop of Orleans powerfully represented the moderate tendencies of the time'/ Still, however, the Guises and their party were by no means entirely subdued ; Brissac, Thcrmes, St. Andre, and the Car- dinal of Tournon set themselves in opposition to these tenden- cies, and rendered it impossible that matters could be arranged K. * "^ o?!? ^" ^?V ^^ ^^ ^«^« Mere et du Roi de Navarre ; Fontaine- bleau, 30 Mai. Mem. de Conde, ii. 279. 192 HISTORY OF FRANCE. with firmness and decision tiv^the will of those in supreme authority. Meanwhile the Protestants were bestirring themselves every where ; they would not suffer themselves to be impeded any longer in the public exercise of their religion. Calvin him- self was astonished at the numbers, from all parts of France, who crowded his doors, entreating him to send them preach- ers, as if every thing had been already decided. The proceed- ings aroused the populace, and tumults were created against them in various places, but the Reformed took arms, and the attacks of the one party and defense of the other filled the whole kingdom with commotion and contention. The Council, influenced by the newly-introduced element, issued, occasionally, decrees of a milder character. A riot, which had been raised in the city of Beauvais, and which terminated in acts of sanguinary violence against the Protest- ants, occasioned an edict by which they were formally taken under the protection of the State, and which ordained that individuals should enjoy security in their own houses or among their friends, proclaiming that it belonged to the magistrates and officials alone to deal with recusants according to law, but that no others, under any pretext of the previous edicts, should disturb the rehgious assemblies, and stating that it was the King's wish, on the contrary, that all who had forsaken the kingdom on account of their religion, should return to their homes. This declaration, however, awakened the liveliest opposition among both the French and foreign Catholics ; the Spanish embassador looked upon it as a formal toleration of the Prot- estant assemblies, " to the scandal of all Christendom." * The government thought it right, under the altered circum- stances, to lay the questions once more before the Parliament I of Paris (July, 1561). All the members and the peers deliv- ered their opinions ; the Duke of Guise spoke with peculiar vehemence, and the Admiral with not much less. The votes were taken down, and afforded an opportunity of seeing that a vast change had taken place in this corporation : what was * Lettre de Chantonnay a la Reyne Mdre, 22 Avril : Mem. de Conde, ii. 6 DELIBERATIONS OF THE ESTATES. 1^3 regarded two years before as an unheani-of mitigation, name- ly, that simple heresy should not be punished with loss of life and property, but merely with exile, now obtained the pre- ponderance of opinion, and was approved of by a formal reso- lution. There was also an important number of votes in favoP of allowing the Protestants the right to hold religious meet- mgs, and the contrary was decided, some say by a majority of three, according to others, of seven votes, in an assembly of one hundred and fifty. A new edict, named the Edict of July was issued, forbidding all assemblies of the Protestants, espe- cially for the celebration of the sacraments in any other but the Catholic form, with weapons or without weapons, under pain of death and confiscation. * Meanwhile the Estates assembled once more. The clergy were summoned to a special consultation at Poissy ; the dep- uties of the nobility and the third estate met at Pontoise. In accordance with the regulation of Orleans, a small number only had been elected, but they were furnished with the in- structions of the provinces. Their feelings were totally op- posed to the tenor of the new edict, and the demands which they made were altogether unexpected. ^ The opinions expressed by a portion of the nobility at Or- leans, appeared at Pontoise as the universal determination of that estate. The representatives of the nobles holding gov- ernments made a collective demand that the decisions of the religions disputes should be in accordance with the doctrines of the Gospel, and of the word of God contained in the Old and New Testaments, and that until such decision took place no prosecution should be allowed against any one who held the Aposcles' and the Athanasian creeds. Tliese views had now taken a powerful hold of the third estate also. In a memorial which they presented to the King, they urged him to call a free national council within three' months, and to preside over it himself; and prayed him to take measures that no one should be allowed to vote in it who * Edit sur la religion, St. Germain-en-Layc, Juillet ; in Isambert, 14, 109, especially art. 4, 6. La Place (130) and Thuanus contain some notices. Languet is particularly instructive: Epistt. Arcanae, ii. i^ I' .1^ 194 HISTORY OF FRANCE. was personally interested k ., 200 HISTORY OF FRANCE. DELIBERATIONS OF THE ESTATES. 201 the ruin of the State itself. Thus in France also Protestant- ism presented itself as a bulwark against the anarchical and destructive movement which had sprung from the general con- fusion of all conditions.* In order that the mitigation of the laws might have a basis corresponding with the constitution of the kingdom, it was re- solved to call an assembly, to be composed of members from all the Parliaments, for the purpose of consulting as to the measures to be taken for this object. After %ome delay the assembly was opened, at St. Germain, on the 5th of January, 1562. There were present some who still thought that every thing might be accomplished by strictness and severity. The Chancellor L'Hopital asked if the King was expected to de- stroy so many of his subjects, who were in every relation worthy and estimable people ; he wished to be informed what fruits the severity of the previous edicts had produced, and stated that the question there was not, which was the true religion, but how men could live together. He convinced the largest part by far of the assembly that a legal position must be accorded to the Protestants. When it was asked after- ward, however, whether they were to be granted possession of churches, or simply the right of holding assemblies, the same agreement did not prevail. It is not without interest to ob- serve the proportion of the votes which appeared on the divi- sion at either side : of the forty-nine members present there were twenty-two for granting the churches, and sixteen for merely giving the right of assembly : with the latter, the se- vere Catholic party, who originally w*uld have rejected every idea of a legalized position for Protestantism, now associated themselves.! Upon the basis of this resolution, an edict was promulgated ♦ LangTiet, Epp. ii. 150, Sta. Croce al CI. Borromeo, from the mouth of the King of Navarre, 14 : " Una gran parte del popolo crede a costoro talmente che col mezzo lore si potranno ridurre alia via buona, come che altrimtffite siano per diventare Anabatisti o jtegfno."* t It is easy to see, from the letters of the Cardinal-Legate Ippolyto d'Este, how greatly this conclusion exceeded his anticipations. He said that it was brought about chiefly through the members of the Council, " nonostante che la maggior parte di questi huomini di robba lunga havessero tirati neUa sinistra parte :" %e tells it as a piece of good news. m January, 1562, by which all the punishments ordained up to the present time against Protestants assembling for worship, whether within or without the towns, were abolished, and their preachirtg, prayers, and religious exercises formally al- lowed. They were to bind themselves, however, by a solemn oath to teach no other doctrines than those contained in the books of the Old and New Testaments and in the Creed of the Council of Nicaea, to submit to the municipal law, and not to hold their synods without permission from the royal officers. The preachers accepted it with joy, and published it with a special commentary of their own, in which they confirmed it from point to point. It was not all they desired or aimed at, but, compared with the illegality of their previous condition, it was an incalcula- ble gain. They were now actually received into the peace of the kingdom, under certain stipulations, as the German Prot- estants had been formerly : they were not excluded from any province nor from any place in the kingdom. The Parliament of Paris refused for some time to verify the edict ; but it could discover no other means of pacifying the discontents which were increasing before its eyes, and, upon the urgent desire of the Court, consented finally to reg- ister the edict ; several members absented themselves on the occasion, in order to avoid taking part in the act. Thus, what Henry II. had but two years and a half before prevented by his arbitrary interference, was now fully accomplished. The great corporation, which formed the bulwark of legal order, even then held a mitigation of the canonical decrees against heretics to be necessary, and, although purged of all elements having an affinity with Protestantism, it had shown a strong disposition to pursue a similar course six months pre- viously, and was restrained from it by only a small majority ; now it proceeded in that course after the judgment of all the other cognate corporate bodies had been delivered in its favor. A license was thus granted to the Protestants, before which they deemed that the Papacy would hardly be able to main- tain its ground — so much did they expect (doubtless too much) from the resistless power of the Confession, if allowed freedom I* 202 HISTORY OF FRANCE. ^ he would be put in possession of Sardinia, or of a conquered l56^:?I"t:^ ^^ ^^"p^ ^- ^^^ i m 210 HISTORY OP FRANCE. territory on the African coast, but stated that, m order to obtain either, he must incline toward the Catholic^ovement. The embassadors of the Catholic courts unitedly urged it upon him ; the Constable and St. Andre carried him away with them, almost against his will,* and he conceded that the edict just promulgated should be once more altered. This was indeed far from being a legal authorization, but it was sufficient for persons who without it were bent upon a decided course of action. On one occasion, during the previous parliamentary debates, when the renewal of the penal edicts was carried by a small majority, Francis Duke of Guise exclaimed that this resolu- tion must not be neglected, and that his sword should not re- main, in the sheath if it were required to carry the decree into execution. He now offered to fulfill this promise.f In himself, this gallant soldier was not disposed to deeds of violence ; he is represented as rather of a quiet, and even phlegmatic temperament ; he was praised for the mildness he exhibited toward conquered enemies, and for the self-con- trol with which he endeavored to rectify any injustice that might have been committed, and was thought to know, in a superior degree, the duties of man to man, and what be- came them. Still ther^ had been always observed in him a certain dependency upon others ; he appears to have had an arm to execute, rather than a head to design. The universal rage which the cariying out of the edict excited in the Catho- lic world now seized him ; an unusual refractoriness displayed itself even in his own government ; he may also have be- lieved that his honor was pledged through the words he had spoken. ) However this may be, his first proceeding led %o a fatal event. As he was returning from Joinville to the neighbor- ing town of Vassy, he found a Calvinistic congregation, who, under the protection of the edict, were just beginning their Sunday's worship in a barn, and among whom were many of his subjects. Guise told them that he wished to * " Era persuaso da essi, contro pero la sua natural volonta." — M. A. Barbaro : he himself had negotiated in the affair with Anthony. I Lettres de Pasquier, iv. 10. COMMOTIONS OF 1562 AND 1563. 211 speak with such of the Joinville people only as were pres- ent ; but while he, with his followers, filled with hate, and with swords by their sides, rushed upon the congregation, and they endeavored to shut the doors against their assail- ants, a collision took place, which ended in a bloody mas- sacre of the helpless people.* Whether the Duke intended it or not, it is enough that he did not prevent it : the deed was his, and upon his head must rest the applause and blame of it, with its consequences. Public morality was still so low, that this sanguinary incident was hailed by the zeal- ous Catholics as a great transaction ; and when Guise appear- ed at Paris, where the civic mob had been prevented from perpetrating similar deeds by the precautions of the govern- ment, which they looked upon as almost an encroachment upon their municipal freedom, he was received, according to the statement of the Venetian embassador, almost as if he were the King himself Conde, with his preachers and his armed followers, conscious that they would not be able to de- fend themselves against this alliance, left the city, and im- mediately a complete alteration took place, under the guid- ance of the civic authorities. All who professed an inchna- tion to the new opinions were compelled to leave the city. The constable caused the pulpits of the preachers, and the benches of their hearers, to be burned, for the satisfaction of the populace, while the Cardinal of Lorraine, on the other hand, commenced preaching in the old Catholic style, and was once more esteemed as surpassing all other men in elo- quence and philosophy; ''numerous processions traversed the streets ; the members of the parliament swore to the confession of faith which had been drawn up a few years before by the Sorbonne. Th« citizens, who had been disarmed, received * In the " Discours Entier de la Persecution et Cruaute exercees en la Ville de Vassy par le Due de Guise, le 1'. Mai," there is a very de- tailed report on the part of the Huguenots : Mem. de Conde, iii. 124. In the " Discours au Vrai," which immediately precedes, there is a letter on the subject from Guise himself The difference is that he asserts that stones were first thrown at him ; he acknowledges that he rushed on the barn with his followers. With respect to Davila's re- presentation, I have expressed myself at length in an Academical ex- ercitation. 212 HISTORY OF FRANCE. COMMOTIONS OF 1662 AND 1563. 213 their weapons again, and in a short time appeared to the » number of twenty-four thousand, all of Catholic minds, as they boasted, practicing themselves in military exercises. It is in itself a great event that the capital, which, ever since the times of Louis XL, had been continually increasing in population, and the influence it exercised upon the coun- try, now strove to become the spiritual metropolis of the kingdom, almost identified its municipal pride with Catholic- ism, and surrendered itself to the exclusive idea of the per- secuting religion. The confederates could not call themselves masters, how- ever, till the queen was drawn within their circle. As to the intentions of Catharine at this period, there is no room for doubt. " Her design," says the Papal legate, Ippolyto d'Este, " is directed not only upon religion, but also on the government."* She favored the Reformed, in order not to show disfavor to their leaders. At a sitting of the Council, on one occasion, she required that St. Andre, whose connection with the King of Navarre was adverse to her, should leave the capital and retire to his government, which gave rise to a warm dispute between them. She was now at Fontainebleau, with her son and the Court ; and the let- ters remain in which she implores Conde to take the chil- dren, the mother, and the kingdom under his protection, and to save them from those who wished to ruin all. But be- fore Conde had formed any resolution, the confederate Ca- tholic chiefs arrived at Fontainebleau, for the purpose of bringing her back to Paris. It apffears that she had an in- tention of escaping from them at Melun, but they had taken precautionary measures to prevent her.f On her arrival in the capital, she was informed that she would not be depriv- ed of her part in the government, so long as she lent her aid to the maintenance of religion. | She yielded to what was * " Che ha reso," he adds, " tutti questi negotii tanto tanto piu tra- vagliosi." t Thuanus, lib. ixix. Elaboration of the contemporary account which is contained in the Memoires de Conde, iii. 195, but with valu- able contributions of its own. X Chantonnay (Mem. de Conde, ii. 33) : *• Ont prorais et jure que oncques ne Tavoient pense (de lui oter le gouvemement), ne le feroient, inevitable. The energetic Catholic combination which had been formed in despite of her, must henceforth lend author- ity to her name and to that of her son. The Confederates did not think it advisable at present to | revoke entirely the edict of January, but they abohshed it ' without delay in the capital and its environs. Their design was to enforce the revocation of the edict in the principal cities first, and then throughout the whole king- dom. The King of Navarre* said this expressly to the Span- ish embassador, and took the same occasion to remind King Philip of the favor he had promised in the indemnification for Navarre, the negotiations concerning which were resum- ed ; for the majority of the governors had given in their ad- ' hesion to the Guises, and were besides bound to place the armed power collectively at their disposal for the suppression of the Huguenots. In order to reach this end the more easily, they made a trial of the Prince of Conde's firmness without delay. Louis Prince of Conde was remarkable for his versatility! and enjoyment of life, he was fond of jesting and laughter, and not inaccessible to sensual indulgences, which brought him into frequent collision with the severity of Huguenot mo- rahty. It was thought that, not being wealthy, the offer of a principality, which it was intended to make him, would prove irresistible, and bring him back once more to the Pa- pacy ; but they were mistaken in him : the doctrines he pro- fessed had for him an importance beyond the momentary authority with which they invested him, and he declined all the offers that were made him. There was in him a certain elevation of mind which displayed itself in a natural elo- quence, that awakened the admiration of his friends ; his temperament was such that difficulties and dangers were more salutary to him than a life of ease and prosperity. HT would have thought it a disgrace to refuse the offered con- test. tant qu'elle tiendroit la main k la conservation de la religion et auto- former ^^^ ^^"" '" self-evident, the emphasis rests on the * Chantonnay, May 29 ; p. 29, etc. ii9 214 HISTORY OP FEANCE- i If, when the Guises had formerly conducted the govern- ment in the name of Francis II., the legality of their posi- tion was questioned, and resistance to their authority held to be justifiable, how much more was that the case now, when they opposed, on their own mere authority, a law which had been established with all formality — when they had begun their resistance to it with deeds of sanguinary violence, and brought the persons of the king and queen into their power, not without compulsion ! The Prince of Conde declared that the queen mother and the young king were held in captivity by the Guise party, and that the best service he could do them was to be effected with arms in his hands. Were it otherwise, however, and they were in freedom, he would cast himself to the ground before them. Animated with these ideas, the nobility from all the prov- inces of the kingdom gathered round him. The leaders were his own nearest relatives : there were the three Chatillons, the uncles of his consort ; the Count Porcian who was married to his niece ; Francis de Rochefoucault, Who was married to his sister-in-law, and of whom it was said that he could bring an army into the field composed of his friends and vassals in Poitou alone. The Viscount Ren^; de Rohan led the Bretons, Anthony Count de Grammont the Gascons, Montgommery was present from Normandy, and Hangest de Genlis from Picardy. At Orleans, wherie the Prince took his position, there assembled in a short time threes thousand gentlemen, of whom Languet says, *• If they were destroyed, the very seed of masculine virtue would have been annihilated in the kingdom." An association was formed among them, to continue until the King himself grasped thei reins of government, when all that had been done would be justified. f^ The Protestant clergy examined the question whether it was lawful to have recourse to arms in the present state of things, and pronounced it to be not only permitted, but en- joined as a duty, for the liberation of the King and the Glueen, for the defense of religion, and for the maintenance of the; edict which had been solemnly enacted and promulgated. Like the nobility, the cities of the second rank generally ! COMMOTIONS OF 1562 AND 1363. gift joined Cond6, or were taken possession of without difficultr -m the jmr^ediate neighborhood, Blois, Tours. Bourges and Angers; an Po.to„ Poitiers; and Rochelle in Aul^l ' i„ ,tT"'"y^^"^',^'«PP«' --i Caen; and further, Chll'on," sur-Saone. Macon, Lyons ; the chief towns of Dauphin^ gTp and Grenoble; all the Venaisin and Vivarez, the tols 5 he Cevennes ; and important places in Languedoc arMon tauban, Nasmes, and Montpellier. While the ed ct of lanua^ was revoked m Paris, the Prince of Conde promuirltedTt ,^ a kill?::::;''"'' acknowledged hi™, fo'r he ha^d l^t d conduct ^^'''''"""'"* '^'*"" '^ " '"^'ol^W^ la^ i^ h» Jnedlt?^!^ ^'*i'' ''"'' "P"^^ *° •'^"h other, fully of battle : between them the government of a boy Td a woman disappeared. ^ * In England and Germany the proofs advanced bv the Pnnce of Conde, m justification of his proceeding, were ac! gave tne Marshal RoUshausen leave to advance into France wth some thousands of cavalry and arquebusiers, for as it rtionThVw ^ :*r^^ r ~ *° ^^-^ *« «^ - ation 01 the Kmg and his mother, it might be undertaken w.th a good conscience, ftneen Elizabeth, besides th" re " garded the possibility of the Guises obtaining auth r ty ;;: the nejghbonng ports in Normandy as dangtrous to LZlf I smce the members of that house were her particular enemTes but the Huguenots were obliged to promi^ that ihTZm dehver liavre-de-Graee into her possession provisionTur^ n Kt r f rir; s 1" ' *'^'" ^'^"^ ^'*^ -^ - -"S- in xxovember, 1562, Conde was strong enough in native and I foreign forces to take the field. The death of hifbLher Anthony, who lost his life in consequence of a wound he re ceived m an attack upon Rouen, gave Conde greater claims o authority than he possessed previously: in\is broth? place he now demanded that he should be himself acknoll edged as Lieutenant-General of the King. His k ent „n was" to proceed directly to Paris, and to decide the cause bvlne great blow ; and, from the excellent appearance anlcoL^: 'X 216 HISTORY OF FRANCE. of his troops, his friends believed that the design must suc- ceed.* The Guises meanwhile had also collected a body of auxil- iaries — German mercenaries who came for pay ; members of the Helvetic Confederacy from Lucerne and the Forest-cantons, who came, as the inscription on their banners stated, in order to support the King of France and the old religion ; some thousands of Spaniards also arrived ; and the Guises had th(i adroitness to amuse the Prince with negotiations until all were collected, and even the fortifications of Paris in some measure completed. The Prince, whose associates had from the beginning dis- approved of his negotiations, confessed at length that there was nothing to be effected here, and directed his coursci toward Normandy, where the struggle had commenced with the greatest fury. The province had in part fallen into the hands of his antagonists, but the English had already arrived and brought him a sum of money. He intended to surprise Chartres, to throw himself then upon Pont-de-l'Arche, and to take possession of the towns and strong places on both sides of the Seine. The English embassador, who was with him, confirmed him in this intention, and urged him to its execution. This was, however, the course which the Catholic confeder- ates were least disposed to allow, and they therefore placed themselves directly in his way, on the plains of Dreux. Oji the 19th of December, 1562, a collision took place on ths banks of the Eure — the first between the two parties in the open field. It well deserves an attempt to recall its principal traits. •" The two armies stood inactive before each other for a con- siderable time, while the artillery played on both sides, yet without doing much damage. Conde's chief gunner showed himself particularly^ incompetent. Among the French gentrjr on both sides the reflection was excited that they had noAi^ opposed to them companions in arms, fellow-countrymen, and ♦ Liters Beix ex pago Sti. Arnolphi, 14 December (MS. at Geneva) : "NuIIte usquam copiae instructiorcs vel alacriores ;' the negotiations had taken place "multis frementibus et nostris reclamautibus, sed tmetH." COMMOTIONS OF 1562 AND 1563. ' a„ blood-relation. proved in many a former struggle- for a com- mon cause^ But the new and great questions^lhich .^vid^ them could not be otherwise decided— thev m,«t m V another „, ,he deadly field. Cond. tas t'e fi^ to LT adherents of the new faith, and the mosfc practiced in the use onZn TheT '^'I'^'^V''' ''^"^^'^ thre^ t iZ contusion The Constable, who commanded it, was thrown from hts horse but caused himself to be lifted into h s tdl Ecrde^st*'' '^*'''' r "^^ '^"^^ prisoner mI;; of tie tentr ThTh TT "''""^'^ "P°" '"^^ «^^« battalions rout of the':. ? ''f ''""^"""^ ^"" notwithstanding the rout oi the cavalry, and now advanced to meet the assaUant, whom they repulsed with loss, and presented to ttirTp^S attacks an impenetrable forest of lances. While theTattle was ragmg here, Francis Duke of Guise, who led the vln.^d immovable and many mistook Guise's motives: but he tne issue of a battle does not depend so much upon sinrie advantages as upon the total victory.. When the Huguenote were thrown into disorder by the pursuit of the routS fndThe ZiZ^t 'r • fr '■'"^^'^- -tion.:s^thfdS tte field ^T r battalions poured itself over , the field, crushing down all before it. Conde brought Z ' fresh troops without ceasing, to resist Guise's movemeTa^^ was at last himself wounded and taken prisoner. Thtw ver did not decide the affair. The%roops which Ze unbroken collected themselves under the Admiral, behi^ " pile of felled tmiber, which was more in favor of tie assailed the last ■'""'. Pt- " ""' "''° "^""^ ^'^ ^'-P' *°g«tter to the last, cried Coligny, '.carries off the fruit of the battle." Uere he found means to maintain his position gaUantly agamst all the attacks of Guise and St Andr6. AmonJ many other men of name who fell was the Marshal St. Andll 1^ li J'^r^^^^'^ ^^« lO'^' t" the Huguenots, but Coligny was able to retreat unmolested. K Guise 218 HISTORY OF FRANCE. The Protestants were very far from regarding themselves as conquered. " Our infantry," said the Admiral, in a letter to the aueen of England, "has suffered a defeat without fighting, but our cavalry, which alone fought the battle, is undamaged, and wishes for nothing*nore ardently than to meet once more," without delay, the enemies of God and of the kingdom ; these will deliberate whether to attack us or to await an attack from our side."* After the prisoners had been placed in security, the Admiral in a short time repassed the Loire, .and renewed the war in Normandy. But Guise was also strong, and took the field in force ; he undertook the siege of Orleans, without doubt the most im- portant place in the possession of the Huguenots. Here, however, he was himself destined to give a proof that the worst consequences of political or religious passions are not those which arise from their giving themselves vent in open battle. That which characterizes other Romanic nations even at the present day, the habit of repaying violent deeds with violent deeds, was then the general custom of France also. The Duke of Guise had caused a number of English and French Protestants, who had fallen into his hands in Noi- mandy, to be shot, in return for which the Prince of Conde caused all those who had borne arms against him in Pluviern, which he had just conquered, to be hanged. If a Protestant counselor was deprived of life at Paris, a Catholic must die for it at Orleans ; and now this furious passion of retaliation with injustice and cruelty, for injustice and cruelty suffered, took a personal direction against Francis Guise himself The deed he perpetrated at Vassy was regarded as the horror cf horrors, and he himself pointed out as a destroyer of men ; prayers were offered in the rehgious assemblies that God would liberate his people from the tyrant. Calvin asserts that long * Ducamp a Mem. January 2, 1563, in Forbes, ii. 247. Bcza, De- cember 27, 1562 (MS. Genev.) : " Noster equitatus est integer, exceptis equitibus ad summum 150 partim captis partim interfectis -, apud host'?? infinita sunt vulnera et csdes maxima." COMMOTIONS OF 1562 AND 1563. 219 previous to this the offer had been made him by persons of resolution to rid the world of the Duke, and that they were prevented from doing so only by his dehortations. Now how- ever. Guise who was besieging the chief stronghold of Protest- antism with the aid of a powerful force, appeared more for- midable than ever, and there he was assassinated by a fanat- ical Huguenot, a young man named Poltrot de Merev who was m the service of the Duke of Soubisc. Poltrot hadlpoken to the preachers of his having received, as he believed, a special mission for the accomplishment of this deed, but they had ex- horted him not to undertake it, and warned him of the spirit- ual dangers which he would incur by it, yet not altogether so powerfully as to change his intentions. As it was main- Hflhe P ''^ ""^^- ^^^^^ ^^--1 -d his brother, a^rU as of the Prince, were known to have been concerted by the Catholics Poltrot ventured to give the Admiral himself some hmts of his intention. Coligny guarded himself from givin. he fanatic any encouragement, but, on the other hand, he did he ^"X , '-"i"'""^ '' sufficient that he had warned , the Duke of a similar attempt formerly. Poltrot remained / persuaded that he ought to avenge upon the Duke the wick ' IZltea t r""^''''i '^""^' P^^^ ^^^^«^-"^' ^-d felt animated by religious zeal to prevent similar deeds for the tore; even in the churches the act was spoken of as a righteous judgment of God. Before the fanatical conception of religion, the morality which lies at the foundation of all civilization and of aU human society vanished. A mingling of resignation with enmity, of rehgion with hatred, took place, such as the world had never before witnessed. It was like a bloodv religious feud, m which those who held the same principled regarded themselves as one famUy. Whither would this have led in process of time I After the leader had faUen, the further continuation of the war was not to be thought of; to the others also who had occasioned the recourse to arms it had brought only disaster -Navarre and St. Andr6 were slain, and Montmorency was m prison. The aueen could now, as she had always desired, \\ bnng about a peace. I' n 220 HISTORY OF FRANCE. COMMOTIONS OF 1562 AND 1563. 221 \ Having given Conde his liberty from the Catholic prison, and obtained that of Montmorency from the Huguenots, she contrived a meeting between both on an island in the Loire — owa; Bcruvieres — near Orleans. She had a kind of cham- ber erected for them on a barge, but they preferred the open air, and conversed, while walking up and down, of the past and the future : the first subject discussed and determined upon was the liberation of the prisoners. The next day the Glueen herself appeared on the island, and an earnest con- ference took place concerning the establishment of peace. Conde insisted upon the renewal of the edict of January, which had been issued in consequence of a peculiarly formal and solemn consultation : Montmorency answered, " that it was impossible the edict could be acknowledged by the ad- herents of the Pope." They then returned to the consider- ation of proposals somewhat similar to those made by the Glueen at the last negotiations in the neighborhood of Paris, and at last, by mutual concessions, they came to an agreement, which was promulgated in the form of an edict on the 19th of March, 1563, at Amboise. The Protestants were by this edict guaranteed the liberty of worship in those towns in which they exercised it, and, besides this, in each official district a place was to be assigned to the Huguenots for the exercise of Divine worship. All noblemen should have the right to live according to the Confession in their own houses ; the barons and holders of high jurisdictions, together with their tenantry and subjects. Upon one exception alone did the Glueen insist with firmness — the exercise of the Reformed religion must remain prohibited within the metropolis and its district. Among the towns which had been engaged in the war, Paris had taken a distinguished part ; the citizens had armed them- selves, and furnished money for the army, chiefly from their own resources ; they were unconquered, and would not allow themselves to be forced once more to receive the Huguenots. What would not Conde have given to be able to appear there again at their head ! he declared that the danger alone with which such a step menaced the Crown had induced him to give way. * The pacification thus took place like a treaty of peace be- tween two hostile powers, which confirms to each the results obtained by the changeful fortune of arms. It did not guar- antee to the Protestants what they had previously possessed, nor what they still laid claim to, but yet it gave them much more than their opponents wished to concede. They werei' still so strong that the Parliament dared not refuse to verifyj and promulgate the edict ; and now, under the protection of ( legal authority, and re-established once more in the King's peace, they were at liberty to erect their churches, and to attempt an imitation of the religious and civil life of Geneva. |i RELIGIOUS WAR FROM 1567 TO 1570. S23 CHAPTER XIV. THE UNIVERSAL RELIGIOUS WAR IN FRANCE, FROM 1567 TO 1570. Another feature, of a more political character, appeared in this event. There was still a royal authority in France. We have seen how it was almost taken possession of by a party, and that aueen Catharine did not dare to oppose the )Duke of Guise. * She lamented his death in a seemly man- ner, but was heard to say soon after, that if it had happened earlier, it would have been better for the welfare of France. Navarre and St. Andre were also dead. The war had re- moved the chiefs who had imposed their willupon her ; she could now indulge the thought of being able to govern by herself, as far as in the confused state of afiairs it was pos sible. : The first step \vas to establish this pacification, and the i heads of the hostile parties, both Montmorency and Conde, were obliged to lend her their assistance. ' By this she acquired the merit of having once more united the power of the kingdom, and of having directed it against Havre-de-Grace. The EngUsh had founded great hopes upon the possession of this town, and expected at least to obtain Calais once mere in exchange for it ; but the want of supplies in the fortress, a virulent sickness which broke out among the garrison, as well as the course and nature of things, rendered jit impossible to maintain the place. Newhaven, as the En- ^glish named Havre, fell again into the hands of the French, * M. A. Barbaro : " Ne gli si poteva la Regina apertamente contra- porsi, dubitando ella non ni far nemica la parte Cattolica, la (qual) s' appoggiava e dipendeva du esso -Duca totalmente, come suo capo " . to the no small honor of the dueen, who was known to have urgently insisted upon the undertaking. * In order that every objection to her government should be removed, the Glueen Mother caused the young King, who had just entered his fourteenth year, to be declared of full agg^ This declaration was accompanied with a renewal of the edict of pacification, which was confirmed in all its points ; the suggestion of the Parliament of Paris against that course having been rejected with some asperity. / The enmity of the parties, which from time to time blazed ' forth, was a source of much perplexity to her Government. The widow of the Duke of Guise implored vengeance for the murder of her husband, and innumerable disputes arose con- cerning property and legal titles. The Glueen endeavored, if not to satisfy both parties, at least to keep them in something like a state of moderation. She conducted herself, says the Venetian Barbaro, with sagacious deliberation toward both parties. She formed her resolutions from the actual state of circumstances, and carried them out in accordance with new considerations ; she had the skill to fill both parties at one time with hopes, and at another with apprehensions. The offices rendered vacant by the death of the Duke of Guise, she distributed among his relatives, without regarding the complaints of the Constable, who claimed for himself the dignity of a grand-maitre ; soon after, however, she appeased his discontent by bestowing an extraordinary favor upon his son. In December, 1563, the Constable and the Admiral appeared at court, surrounded by retinues greater than that of the King himself The Parisians observed, with suppress- ed rage, that among them were the very men who, some time before, were desirous of conquering and plundering the city ; the Q/Ueen, however, did not interfere. The Prince of Conde, who was not wanting in activity at the siege of Havre, appeared at the Court at Fontainebleau, in the beginning of the year 1564, and was most cordially received. As he had distinguished himself by his bravery in the field, he now desired to shine through his versatility, by * Barbaro : *' Essendo seguita questa impresa quasi per sola volonta sua I ) 224 HISTORY OF FRANCE. taking part in the knightly festivities of the Court, in which it was then the fashion to represent the heroic fables of the Greeks, and, in accordance with his nature, allowed him- self to be but too easily ensnared by the pleasures of the Court. When the Court left Fontainebleau, on the progress through the kingdom, which brought it as far as Bayonne, the pres- ervation of the peace of the capital, which was in a state of ceaseless fermentation, was intrusted to Francis de Montmor- ency, the son of the Constable. A prohibition against carry- ing fire-arms, which had been issued a short time previously, was indispensable to him for this purpose, and he enforced it even against the Cardinal of Lorraine himself The Cardinal, confiding in a prerogative granted him by the dueen, wished to bring his two nephews. Guise and Mayenne, into Paris with an armed escort, but Montmorency met and disarmed them on their entrance : he was of opinion that he ought not to allow the general law to be infringed in his government, and, besides, he had a strong objection to that privilege of the Cardinal, as well as to his manner of making it subserve his purposes. The public saw in this a movement of the old party spirit which animated each faction with a desire to inflict a blow upon the other. The Q,ueen did not rest until, on her return to Moulins, the feud was extinguished, at least in appearance. The Admiral Coligny declared, before the secret council of the King, as if he had been in the presence of God, that he had had no part in the murder of the Duke of Guise, and was acquitted of all blame in the matter. A sceTie of recon- ciliation ensued, which, for a time at least, gave a pledge of peace, and which might have guaranteed its continuance further, had not the general European character of the great religious opposition to the old Church, which was constantly ;pn the increase, reacted upon France also. I The Council, which the adherents of the new opinions had {so often demanded, had at length been held, but in a form alto- fgether different from what they had proposed ; and its conclu- |Bions amounted to a rejection of every opinion which varied I from the ancient system, to which it gave a definite constitu- RELIGIOUS WAR FROM 1567 TO 1570. 285 tion, and to the hierarchy generally a connection of parts and a discipline which it had never previously possessed. / In France there was no intention of submitting inconsid- / erately to the decrees of the Council respecting the constitu- j tion of the Church and its reform. A number of presidents and members of the Parliament, before whom the Court caused the decrees to be laid, declared that they were incom- patible with the rights of the Crown and with the preroga- tives of the Gallican Church.* It was impossible that the French Legislature, which was at the very moment occupied with measures for the protec- tion of the jurisdiction of the kingdom from all foreign influ- ence, and for its centralization in the hands which wielded the supreme power, could adopt decrees which vindicated the old complete independency of the spiritual jurisdiction. The efforts of the Chancellor L'Hopital were directed much more to the subjection of the spiritual to the secular jurisdiction, and four-fifths of his colleagues in the Council held similar opinions. The dueen, as she could expect no satisfactory j result from the articles of the Council of Trent, entertained / the design of bringing the most distinguished princes together I to a consultation, in order to compel the Pope to several things in which he had hitherto shown himself exceedingly obstinate, for she thought that he would not be able to withstand the authority of such great princes. So far as we have authentic information of the dueen's intentions at this period, there is no room to doubt that she desired earnestly to maintain this condition of peace, after which well-disposed men, like De Thou, the historian, yearned in after times ' The misfortunes of the last war," said she, in a letter to hei embassador at Vienna, " have taught men that religion is not to be restored by force of arms ;" and added, that she had opposed such a course from the begin- ning, but had not then the power to prevent it, and that, * The articles mentioned by Matthieu, " Histoire de France," i. 279, and which also exist elsewhere, of a delegation which was to be held at Fontainebleau, in February, I can not regard as genuine ; they are in discordance with the letters of the Queen, Feb. 28, and of Morvilliere, March 3, 1664. 1 226 HISTORY OF FRANCE. RELIGIOUS WAR FROM 1567 TO 1570. 227 now the pacification was effected with such infinite pain, she would, if it were necessary, lay down her own life to preserve it* Whatever conduct the Court might have adopted, the spirit of party, which had never been subdued, wrought in the depths of men's minds, and, in association with the re- ligious agitations, especially with the doctrine and teaching of the Jesuits, who had established themselves in France in defiance of all opposition, caused an antagonistic movement in the nation. The natural indwelling aversion of the pro- fessors of an acknowledged and prevailing doctrine to all variations from its standard, was fanned to a glowing hatred; expressions indicating a thirst for blood, at which men stood aghast, were heard among the mob of Paris. When the Court came to Lyons, information was conveyed to it that if the King and his advisers should continue to re- sist the impending general rising against the Huguenots, it would be turned against himself; and the eagerness for the possession of the estates to be confiscated already showed itself In the south of France anti-Protestant associations were formed, of which the Court was very far from approv- ing. ! The influence of Spain was also felt anew; it had rejected every thing like toleration' within its own bounds, and it sought to make things retrograde in France also. It is perfectly true, as it has always been narrated, that at the meeting between the Glueen Mother and her daughter of Spain, which took place at Bayonne in June, 1565, the Duke of Alva left no means untried to urge upon tke French Court stronger measures against the Huguenots; in which he found the liveliest co-operation among some of the French who ac- companied the Court. The Duke of Montpensier, who wished to place himself at the head of a Catholic association, Blaise Monluc, who was eager to acquire a religious and chivalrous reputation in the contest with the Huguenots, the Cardinal of Lorraine, and others, cordially agreed that two great re- * "Je veux conserver la tranquillite d'aujourd'hui jusques a y employer ma propre vie." — Le Laboureur, Additions to Castehiau, ii. 829. sources must be brought into operation against the Hugue- nots. The one was to expel the whole body of their preach- ers from the country ; the other, at once to assassinate the unhappy men who stood at the head of the faction — in num- ber from four to six, and upon whom all depended — or in some other way to render them incapable of doing mischief. It is a great error to believe that either the young King or Glueen Catharine was a party to these designs, or that the plan, as concerted, was to be executed by them. Charles IX. expressed his dislike to violent measures, and on one occa- sion, when it was proposed only to renew the war, with such emphasis, that Alva remarked, ironically, he appeared to have learned his lesson well. Catharine also rejected with decision a suggestion that L'Hopital should be dismissed from office. She even spoke, at one time, of a national ecclesiastical coun- cil, to inquire whether the decrees of the Council of Trent could be accepted.* The Spanish Court would not now pro- ceed further in considering the French proposals for a new alliance of the two houses, by means of a marriage, to take place at a future time ; and both parties separated from each other with coolness. Alva did not on this account abandon his projects ; he gave expression to the most extensive and daring designs, and de- clared that if the French government refused to participate in them, he was himself ready to unite with the leaders of * This is the import of Alva's letters to King Philip from June 13 to July 4, from which H. Martin has given an extract, x. 682. St. Sul- pice (in the Raumer letters from Paris, i. 117) was not welJ informed. The assertion, so often repeated, that the murder of all the Huguenot leaders, a kind of Sicilian Vespers, was proposed and resolved upon here in Bayonne, just as it came to pass afterward, is stated with em- phasis by Gio. B. Adriani, " Storia di Suoi Tempi," 1583, m. 740. t was intended to carry the scheme into execution at the proposed meet- inff at MouUns, but it was given up " per alcuni sospetti che appanvano nelli Ugonotti." He does not say that he has this from any special source of information : " Questo fatto non si seppe allora per alcun pnn- cipe, ma il tempo I' a poi scoperto." Thuanus caused this narrative to obtain some credit by suggesting that it might have been derived from the papers of Duke Cosmo of Florence ; " ex Cosmi Etruriae Ducis, ut verosimile est, multa hausit" (the words of Adrian remind us of the ex- pressions which appear in the biography of the Admiral, pubhshed in 1575). This narrative has henceforth predominated in history. 228 HISTORY OF FRANCE. RELIGIOUS WAR FROM 1567 TO 1570. 229 jthe Catholic party, who had already manifested their adher- /ence to King Philip, and emulated his own subjects in the /confidence they placed in him. Montpensier said that if his / heart were opened the name of Philip would be found written on it. Some time after this, we find Catharine still true to her maxims : when, in consequence of the severity of the Span- ish measures, commotions broke out in the Netherlands, she thought it fortunate for France not to have experienced so great an evil, and stated that all the French were concerned in respecting it was, to preserve their own country in a peace- ful condition.* It was, however, one of the most difficult of all the problems of political science, in a time of universal disunion, when the spirit of party agitated all Europe, and broke out in various contests, to preserve the independent position of a state in whose interior the same elements were fermenting. It re- quired a firm, decided mind in the general conduct of afiairs, and a definite object. ; In Catharine, whose personal peculiarities we shall notice ; hereafter, there was so much consciousness of the true con- i ditions of authority, that she endeavored to keep down the rage of the several parties. Her love of peace had no other foundation than a dislike of war. She declared a thousand times to the Papal nuncio, as well as to the Spanish and Venetian embassadors, that she hoped yet to be able to re- establish the old condition of things. The opinion that she cherished an inclination to the Huguenots and their doctrines, was one that she always contradicted with a kind of ofiended anger. She was seen once more assisting, with her sons, at the ecclesiastical processions ; she removed from the Court all the ladies who had ceased to attend the Catholic services and ceremonies ; wherever the Court appeared, no Protestant worship was permitted for many miles round. The edict of pacification was limited by partial arrangements, now in one * " Qu'il se fallait mettre en peine de s'y conserver (en repos) e d'y demeurer hors des maux que havoient les aultres."— From one of her letters, in BouUle, ii. 383. A collection of Catharine's letters is indis- pensable to a detailed history of those times. way and now in another, without any respect to the com- plaints of the Huguenots, however well grounded. They gnashed their teeth, but they did not stir, as the state of things in general gave no cause for dissatisfaction. There has never been any proof brought forward that an understanding existed with King Philip, when he sent an Italian and Spanish army into the Netherlands under the Duke of Alva. On the contrary, we find that the towns were ordered to be fortified, lest, little as it was expected, they might possibly be attacked by the Spaniards; that, a short time previously, an alliance was again formed with Switzer- land, in direct opposition to Spain ; and that a fresh enlistment of troops was effected there in the year 1567, amidst impedi- ments constantly thrown in the way by the Spanish faction. It was not possible, however, for the government, as the leaders of the Huguenots required, either to make the move- : ment in the Netherlands subserve the political interests of < France, or to oppose the passage of Alva's troops. Conde had founded the most ambitious expectations upon these pro- jects ; between him and the dueen's second son, the Duke of Anjou, whom she was endeavoring to place at the head of the armed power, because she deemed him personally more to be relied on than the King, an angry explanation took place at the supper-table. " Cousin," said the Duke, " if you strive to obtain what belongs to me, I will make you little in the same degree as you imagine to become great." * The times were past when the Prince could have flattered himself with the hope of acquiring a leading influence in general affairs, and of moderating the portions of the Edict of Pacification which were unfavorable to his co-religionists. These very pretensions of his excited the Glueen's antipathy against him No sooner had the champions of the Huguenots left the Court than the Cardinal of Lorraine appeared there and took his old place in the Council. "With all his apparent modera- tion and much vacillation in his ordinary conduct, he was * What Brantome narrates concerning this incident in the life of Conde (Hommes Illustres, iii. 218) receives a peculiar illustration from the intelligence which reached Germany. — Schardius, De rebus gesti- bus sub Maximiliano, ii. 64. TTTOm/M^ir /\TS Ti-n a 1LT/-1T1 230 HISTORY OF FRANCE. RELIGIOUS WAR FROM 1667 TO 1570. Ul ever the same — unchangeable in his views, and, despite of all reconciliation, implacable. He was not yet master in the highest Council, but he might be so at any moment. The tidings of Alva's arrival in the Netherlands had mean- while reached France, and of the arbitrary measures he had taken against all who had hitherto been powerful, and whom he looked upon as hostile, or even as not cordial. The Protest- ants throughout Europe regarded Alva's mission as a common danger — as the beginning of a hostile enterprise affecting them all ; but the danger was nearest and most imminent to the Huguenots in France. \] Even the French government conunenced arming. New captains were appointed to the civic militia of Paris ; the companies of the hommes d'armes were raised to their full number. The newly enlisted Swiss, who were to have de- fended the frontiers, were, to the number of six thousand, all zealous Catholics, drawn into the interior of the kingdom. This was the ancient resource of the supreme power in its intestine as well as in its foreign wars. The Lieutenant- Governor of Champagne, Barbezieux, made it publicly known that their destination was against the Huguenots ; they were warned of the same by those members of the Council, who with their assistance hoped to be able to resist the Cardinal. The most fearful apprehensions took possession of them. Their King was a child, the Q,ueen a woman upon whom no dependence could be placed, and in whom no one confided : how easily might she be persuaded that what she had held to be impracticable could be accomphshed without difficulty, or even, as in the year 1562, be carried away by the hostile faction, to give an apparent consent to their proceedings ! The Huguenots were determined not to allow this to take place a second time. How could it be expected, said they, that we should continue to make requests to them, and to wait inactively for their answers, until through the power of our enemies at the Court we be condemned afresh and over- powered — until we are thrown into prison or chased like wild animals in the woods, should we flee from the tyranny? With the power they possessed they declared that such pusil- lanimous conduct would bring them into contempt with all \ f the warriors in the world. They determined on this occasion to anticipate the movements of their enemies — to compel the Court to remove the Cardinal, and to dismiss the Swiss troops — for French history teaches that that party only which was master of the Court could accomplish any thing."^ Had Calvin lived, I am of opinion that he would have ap- proved as little of this deviation from the regular course of justice, in which the faithful should ever be consistent, as he did before of the plot at Amboise ; the Admiral Coligny, the coolest and most penetrating of the French leaders, was also against it at the beginning. But the urgency of the gentry, who were always easily aroused, and now excited with Protestant sympathy, and goaded by vague apprehensions, was not to be resisted : it appeared to them that all their actions would be justified when they had a prince of the blood at their head like Condc, who was now as zealous as any. They resolved then ^ to take up arms, a course for which they were always prepared. On the 27th of September, 1567, the movement took place simultaneously in all parts of the kingdom. While the dis- tant provinces rose separately, the Huguenots from the stir- rounding country assembled at Roye-en-Brie, and took their way toward the residence of the Court, which was then at Monceaux, near Meaux, hoping to surprise it during the pre- parations for the solemn observance of Michaelmas. / In the secrecy with which the plan was formed, and the irapidity and precision of Its execution, the learned men of the Vge could find nothing in the whole course of history to be compared with it, without going back to the times of Mithri- 4ates, king of Pontus. \ The Court, however, was warned at the critical moment, ,'and returned to Paris under the protection of the Swiss — so jfar therefore the enterprise of the Huguenots had miscarried ; but they had the upper hand in all parts of the country, and menaced the capital, and the Cardinal was in fact compelled to leave th^ Court : he took an opportunity to escape during the tumult, and fled to Rheims. It appeared to him very possible that the Huguenots might obtain the mastery in the struggle, and force the Crown to a * La Noue, Memoires Anc. 01. xlvii. 169. I'- is 232 HISTORY OF FRANCE. RELIGIOUS WAR FROM 1567 TO 1570. 233 treaty, which might have the effect of expelling him and his family from France. The offers which the Cardinal made, under the influence of this fear, to the King of Spain, are not only curious for the moment, but also oi consequence for later times. He called the attention of the monarch to the claims he possessed upon the crown of France in right of his consort, and offered to /place himself altogether under his protection and to deliver into his hands some strong places on the French frontiers. Both the King and his general, Alva, were inclined at this time to accept the offer of the strong places, but of nothing more ;* they were also afraid that the Huguenots would suc- ceed in reducing the Court to terms, in which case they re- solved to carry the war themselves into France, for the es- tablishment of Catholicism. / This time, however, things did not come to so decided a f ruj^ture between the parties. The Huguenots, on the failure ■ of their first attempt, contented themselves with making de- mands for their security ; and the whole question now was whether the Court would accede to these demands. They first brought forward the oft-discussed state of the nation, in association with their own particular case. There were many grievances of which all complained — the unworthy occupation of offices, the imposts continually increasing, even in times of peace, and which went for the most part to enrich the Italian bankers, and the presence of foreign troops : they also demanded that the Estates should be again convoked ; but, as was said to them, they had in these demands en- croached upon the royal office.! In the second memorial therefore they left all these grievances out of view, and asked only for liberty, " to call upon God publicly according to the purity of the Gospel without distinction of place or persons, in order that they might be able to yield lawful obedience to the King, whom they were subject to next after God." Their * We leam this from a letter of Alva to King Phillip II., Nov. 1, 1567, in Gachard's Correspondence de Phillippe II., i. 693, No. 673. t Popeliniere, xii. 21, 23, has both articles. Serranus remarks that the Queen declared " caput illud de onerum levatione" to be rebellious, and thereby caused it to be altered : iii. 92. "\ request implied no doubt a complete equality of rights, though , expressly they merely asked for the repeal of limitations which \ had been made to the Edict of Pacification. The Court, however, now in the midst of its orthodox capi- tal, did not feel so weak as to yield to the necessity of conced- ing even this immediately : furnished with a sum of money by the clergy who were assembled in accordance with the agree- ment made at Poissy, it felt itself able to send a force into the field from the walls of Paris against the Huguenots. Old Montmorency had placed himself once more at the disposal of the King, stating that he was willing to die at the foot of the throne : the leading of the troops was accordingly in- trusted to him. The two armies met on the 10th of Novem- ber, at Sk^Efifiis, and a fierce, short, and bloody encounter en- sued. The Huguenots lost the day, but the Catholics also suf- fered severely ; Montmorency himself was mortally wounded, and died a few days afterward. It rested with the Glueen alone to bring a more considerable armed force into the field. The Duke of Alva had offered to enter France with an army of 5000 cavalry and 15,000 in- fantry, and to terminate the whole matter if she desired it.* Her refusal of this offer is easily comprehended, if it arose from a hesitation to introduce into France a power which would have imposed laws on herself; but how is it to be ac- counted for that she made no opposition to the enlistment of troops in Germany for the Huguenots, t and even requested those who were engaged in preparations for arming them to hasten their operations, as likely to promote peace ? John Casimir, of the Palatinate, who was ^zealous for his creed, and always prepared to fight, entered France at the head of seven thousand five hundred cavalry and some thou- sands of infantry — not, as he declared, to make war upon the King, for should even his co-religionists attempt such a course, he would himself turn his arms against them, but to defend them against the enemies of their persons and their religion. Immediately afterward the Huguenots formed a junction with the German auxiliaries, and the united force directed' its march ♦ Alva's letter, December, 1567, in Gachard, 608, etc. t Such is the report of Hubert Languet. — Epp. Arc. i. 43. /;iti 934 HISTORY OF FRANCE. upon Chartres. It appeared as if the city must in all proba- bility fall into their hands, when the Court (March 28, 1568) ^ resolved in reahty upon peace, granting to the Huguenots what they had demanded from the beginning, namely, the restoration of the Edict of Pacification to its full operation. I A request that they should receive a guarantee for the ful- fillment of these promises, was declined by the Court as an indignity, and the Huguenots resolved not to insist upon it. In fact, the gentry, fatigued with the hardships of a winter campaign, longed for their homes ; they imagined they had accomplished their object, and hoped now "to be able to honor God, and to serve the King in peace." The Germans, in like manner, returned to their own country. It seemed as if the balance of power between the two parties would be again restored, even in the midst of the universal storm. ° Was this in reality to be expected, however, from the nature of affairs and relations in France, or from the personal char- acter of those who guided them ? I can not concur in the statement so often repeated, that this peaceful agreement was formed with the deliberate in- tention of breaking it immediately. It had been brought about by the Chancellor L'Hopital and the Bishops of Limo- ges and Orleans, the most moderate members of the Council, who held that concession was necessary, and upon that ground- ed all their policy, and who, no doubt, would have observed it willingly. But the spirit of party division had penetrated the Council itself, and by the side of the members who loved peace, sat men of another disposition— men who rejected every thing like concession, as fundamentally inadmissible. The Cardinal of L(?rraine had again taken his place there, after the storm had blown over, and now received more countenance from the aueen than formerly. However her language might vary, she could not pardon the last rising of the Huguenots, the disrespect they had shown for the royal dignity, and the embarrassment into w^hich they had brought the Court. Be- sides this, the Cardinal was indispensable to her, since his authority in the capital, which, being thoroughly CathoUc, placed the utmost confidence in him, would most easily in- duce the citizens to grant her suppUes of money. King Philip RELIGIOUS WAR FROM 1567 TO 1570. 235 once more offered his assistance in the most respectful terms : he especially magnified the political motive of the rebellious proceedings which had taken place at Meaux : it might bo thought, he said, that he wished to sow discord in France for selfish purposes, but that such arts were foreign to him as a knight and a man of honor ; with all that he was and all that he possessed, he was ready to serve the French Crown in its contest with the rebels. * Many others also, greatly exaggerating the objects of the Huguenots in their movement upon Meaux, reminded the young King Charles that he was not bound to observe either truth or consideration toward rebels who had attempted his life and his authority. In Alva's letter to him, appear the most inflexible maxims of religit)us and political absolutism. " A prince," said he, '* who enters into a treaty with his sub- jects can never again reckon upon their obedience. It is not competent to him to make concessions in matters of religion, for in doing so he interferes with foreign rights— the rights of God, who will not suffer it ; better is it that a kingdom should be ruined by war, than that it should be allowed to apostatize from God' and from the King for the advantage of Satan and the heretics, his retainers." t His suggestion must have been all the more influential, since he had succeeded in keeping the Netherlands in subjection. To this advice, the Cardinal added that the conduct of the Huguenots was a revolt against the Deity ; that the King had it in his power to punish such rebellion, and that, if he neglected to do so, he might justly fear the vengeance of God. Pope Pius V., in the harshest terms, expressed his disapproval of the agreement that had been made, and enjoined the King to purge his kingdom of heretics, and his court of the corrupt counselors by whom he was surrounded. i A feeling akin to that expressed in these counsels and ad- monitions had been awakened in the interior of France. The / ♦ " Che si vaglino delli Stadi della persona e di quanto ha".— The Venetian embassador in Spain : November 10, 1567.^ t " II vaut beaucoup mieux avoir un royaume ruine, en le conservant pour Dieu et le Roi, que de I'avoir tout entier au profit du demon et des heretiques ses sectateurs."— In Gachard, 609, etc. 236 HISTORY OF FRANCE. anned rising of the Huguenots, however well grounded it might have heen, and the violent proceedings they had com- menced, excited the aversion of all who did not belong to them. The blending of religious with political partisanship fanned all the passions of the time to a raging flame : the Venetian Correro asserts that he was not acquainted with one person who was not in a kind of fury on account of either his own affairs or those of his friends. The unanimity and pro- gress of the Huguenots, had held their opponents in terror for a long time ; but the peace had now a twofold effect — its conditions aroused the old Catholic pride, while the disarma- ment of the Huguenots gave their opponents resolution to declare against them. In the towns, where their place was now taken by royalist garrisons, the majority of the inhabit- ants, who were Catholics, would not hear of the fulfillment of the conditions of peace, and wherever the Huguenots raised their voices against this injustice, they were subjected to the violence of the mob. In several places the governors refused to lend their authority to the renewal of the Edict of Pacifi- cation. Associations were formed, in many of the provinces, between the governors, the nobility, and the clergy, which were called "Christian and royal," but in whose declarations there were clauses which breathed a spirit by no means roy- alist, as that of the union in Champagne " for the defense of the Catholic Church in France, and for maintaining the royal authority in the house of Valois," to which was appended the significant proviso, " so long as it should govern in the Catholic and apostolic religion."* Was not this rather a threat than a promise ? It is still more broadly equivocal than the pledge once given by Francis Duke of Guise to Glueen Catharine, that he would obey her if she would protect religion. Under these circumstances the more moderate party could not maintain their position in the Council. L'Hopital was once requested by a German friend still to attend the sittings occasionally, since, although he might not be able to efl^ect any thing good, he might probably be the means of prevent- ♦ Serment des Associes de la Ligue Chrestienne et royalle de la province de Champagne, 25 Juin, 1568. — Journal de Henry HI., 1744, iu. 31. RELIGIOUS WAR FROM 1567 TO 1670. 237 ing much evil. The Chancellor replied that in the Council his ver}" appearance was hateful, to say nothing of their at- tending to his advice. He states in his will that the young King himself did not dare to utter his opinions ; in all deci- sions Catharine, the Cardinal, and the President Birago, who had a thorough understanding with them both, carried every thing in their own way. . A full execution of the treaty of peace was, as we have i already hinted, not to be expected. Violence on the one side, and resistance on the other, with alternate charges and com- plaints, filled men's minds every where with new discord. The Catholic party, once more in possession of the supreme authority, had a decided preponderance, and, while the others dispersed toward their several homes, they took possession of the towns, the strong places, and the passages of the rivers, with their troops and devoted adherents ; for they had not dismissed either the Swiss or the Italians, or even the French companies. Their first design seems to have been to keep the heads of the Huguenots separate from one another in the pro- vinces where they resided — Montgommery in Normandy, Gen- lis and Mouy in Picardy, Andelot in Brittany, Rochefoucauld in Angouleme, and Conde and the Admiral in Burgundy. But their plan went still further. We know, with as much certainty as the state of affairs allows, that the government ordered Tavannes, governor of Burgundy, to seize Conde in his castle at Noyers. Tavannes belonged to the sternest sec- tion of the Catholic party, but he scrupled to break the peace, and especially to lay hands upon a prince of the blood ; be- sides this, such proposals, coming from a woman, a priest, and a lawyer, were not at all approved of by the old soldier and gentleman, who contrived in some manner to send an obscure yet significant warning to Noyers.* The Admiral also hap- pened to arrive there just at the moment. He had submitted to the treaty of peace only in accordance with the universal wish, and never properly approved of it, for he saw beforehand the results in which it would issue. The passages of the rivers were not, however, so closely watched that it was im- * Memoires de Tavannes, A. C. xxvii. 40. Popelini^re asserts that all the governors had similar orders. 238 HISTORY OF FRANCE. j (J ! possible to flee : the Prince and the Admiral, with their wives and little children, fortunately saved themselves, and escaped to Rochelle, the inhabitants of which had taken good care; not to receive a royal garrison, and which was now the place of general refuge. The Cardinal Chatillon, being threatened in his residence, in violation of a personal assurance which, had been given him, fled to Treport, where he was fortunate enough to find a vessel, in which he passed over to England. The Counts Egmont and Horn had been executed a few months before in the Netherlands, and there is no doubt that, had the leaders of the Huguenots fallen into the hands of their enemies, a similar fate would have awaited them. It appeared as if the proposal made formerly at Bayonne, and afterward dropped, were about to be carried into execution. The Edict of Pacification was, upon the demand of the *ope, solemnly revoked ; the preachers were ordered to quit the kingdom within fourteen days ; no Reformed person v/as jto fill any public office ; the mere freedom of conscience wais ^granted to those only who should keep quiet in their homes, but the public exercise of any other religion than the Catholic was forbidden under pain of death. The Glueen allowed herself to be persuaded that the meas- ures which she herself had helped to frustrate, in the previous administration under King Francis, were now salutary, and every thing seemed to lead back to the courses which had been forsaken. The Holy Father moreover yielded, as a rare favor, to a request' that he would allow an alienation of the ecclesiastical property, but under the condition that the pro- duce, amounting to about a million and a half francs, should be applied to the war against the Huguenots. When the war broke out he also sent an army himself across the Alps, witli orders to avoid all intercourse with the Huguenots, and, iJ" they should hear of any unchurchlike treaty with the heretics, immediately to separate themselves from the French. Alva enjoined the leaders of the troops which he sent into France tj contrive that the example which he had given in the Nether- lands should be folloAved in that kingdom also. Thus did the universal movement affect France. By the relations in that country alone the rising of the Huguenots in RELIGIOUS WAR FROM 1567 TO 1570. 239 September, 1567, could not be explained, much less justified ; it was the response of the Protestant spirit to Alva's proceed- ings in the Netherlands. But opposition ever begets opposi- tion. The effect of their enterprise was to arouse a violent spirit of reaction among the Catholics of France, and to draw to their assistance allies from all parts of Europe. Disputes between states ceased for a moment, and the interest of the great ecclesiastical quarrel absorbed all others. The peculiar spirit which it occasionally called forth is worthy of remark. The Huguenots, both the princes and the common people, had given up their valuables and their savings the year before, in order to pay the German troops that had come to their assist- ance ; in like manner the money to pay the Catholic army was collected in the places devoted to the Church from volun- tary contributions. Money was also collected in the English churches to sustain the Protestants in France and in the Ne- therlands. We have seen that the Catholic enterprise was joined with a common poHtical tendency, namely the realization of that abstract authority which was to arise from the union of the spiritual with the secular power ; but this tendency had also its antithesis. I know not whether the alliance, which was at that time the subject of negotiation between the leaders in France and those of the Netherlands, actually took place ; the mere sketch of such a union is all that exists, but the motives insisted upon in it are in the highest degree remarkable. They declare that they have no quarrel with the King, but merely with his ad- visers, who, in order to found a personal tyranny of their own, seek to suppress at the same time the true religion, the no- bility, and that important civic class without which no royal authority can exist, and that it was necessary to save the royal authority itself from this abyss.* In Germany and England no one would admit that either Conde or the Prince of Orange were rebels, for it was felt in * Projet d'Alliance, Aout, 1568, in Groen, "Archives de la Maisou d'Orange-Nassau," iii. 282 : " Leur intention est d'exterminer la vraye religion et aussy la noblesse et autres gens de bien, sans lesquels les rois ne peuvent ^tre maintenus en leurs royaulmes." I 840 HISTORY OF FRANCE. RELIGIOUS WAR FROM 1567 TO 1570. 241 both countries that the very foundations of the existing royal authority were threatened by the progress of this ideal hier- archical power, according to the decree of the Council of Trent. In July, 1568, dueen Elizabeth was informed of new attempts for her destruction. A bull of excommunication was prepared in Rome, which deprived her of all her rights. The countries might be different, and the dangers nearer or more remote, but the cause was the same. \ Thus began the war which, in many respects, was a uni- j versal one, and may be regarded as unique in the course it I took in the Netherlands and France. / In the year 1568 the war was carried on principally in ./ the Netherlands, where Alva struck down all opposition with iron determination. In France numerous bodies of armed men eager for the contest stood opposed to each other, but without further collision than a few skinnishes of some mag- nitude, until a severe winter put an entire stop to any move- ments which might have issued in a battle. In the year 1569, on the other hand, the weight of the con- tesF rested olTFrance. It is not quite clear that this was the result of any formal resolution of the Protestants of both coun- tries, as was then stated :* but every one felt that there was a connection in the sequence of events. When the Cardinal of Lorraine applied to the King of Spain for assistance, his chief argument was that the good fortune of the Duke of Alva had turned the storm upon France, and that, should the Cathohc cause be unsuccessful there, the whole power of the insurrection would be again thrown back upon the Ne- therlands. King Philip declared that the French cause did \ not lie less near to his heart than his own. The Prince of ■Orange also went himself into France, for he knew that he ^contended there against Philip as he had done in the Nether- ilands. i In the open field the fortune of arms was not favorable to ' the Protestant armies : they lost the battle of Jarnac in May, 1569, and the Prince of Conde was slain while fighting among / * " D'establir premierement leurs affaires en France, comma au plus grand et principalieu, et que par apres il leur sera bien aise de les establir aux Pays Bas "— La Mothe Fenelon, 28th November, 1568. (Dep i 21 ) the bravest. Another Palatine Prince, Duke Wolfgang, of Deuxponts, had just then conducted over the French borders an army which had been raised with the help of English sub- sidies ; this force has been estimated at about seventeen thou- sand men, composed of High-German infantry, with jcavalry from Lower Germany and Huguenots. They succeeded in forcing their way amidst numerous diffi- culties, and although their leader died on the march into the interior of the country, but the fortune of the field was not retrieved even with their help. They were again beaten in a great battle at Moncontour, which was fought in October, 15G9, and at which people professing the opposite creeds from all countries were engaged. The Germans were subjected in this afiair to a fearful massacre. The Reformed were, how- ever, too numerous, too well organized, and had struck their roots too deeply, to be subdued by the loss of a few pitched battles. Many zealous Catholic commanders complained that in obedience to the royal edict they were obliged to spare the Huguenots in their own houses, and that by the persons thus spared, both men and women, the Huguenot army was sup- plied with necessaries, and received from them the best and most useful intelligence. ^'^ It was of the greatest advantage to the Huguenots that they had made the district lying round about Rochelle an almost exclusively Protestant territory. Rochelle had always been one of the first commercial places in France ; it was well known to the English under the name of the White Town, as they called it, from its appearance when the sun shone and was reflected from its rocky coasts. It was also much frequented by the Netherlanders ; there were, it is known, merchants belonging to the place who had each as many as ten ships at sea at one time. The town had besides enjoyed extraordinary municipal franchises ever since the period of the English wars. It had by its own unaided power revolted from the English domin- ion, for which Charles V., in his customary manner, conferred upon the townsfolk valuable privileges — among others, that * Commentaires de Blaise de Montluc, A. xxv. L I n 242 HISTORY OF FRANCE. RELIGIOUS WAR FROM 1567 TO 1570. 243 I of independent jurisdiction in the town and its liberties. The design of Henry II. to erect a citadel within their walls they had been enabled fortunately to prevent, through the favor of the Chatillons and the Montmorencies.* Rochelle exhibited Protestant sympathies at an early period. A Genevese preacher arrived there in 1556 on his return from an unsuccessful missionary enterprise to Brazil, and founded a church among the Rochellers ; with the rough and hardy population, habituated to the sea, a teacher like this, who had boldly performed his voyage across the ocean in a little vessel, must have found great acceptance. In all the reactionary changes and alternations of party during the civil war the Protestants held the ascendency, chiefly because their reli- gious claims concurred with the municipal rights of the city. The inhabitants of Rochelle would not suffer themselves to be again deprived of the public exercise of their religion, which had been accorded by the edict of January ; and after the government had consented to withdraw its ganison and to intrust the fortress to the custody of the burghers, they could not be persuaded to receive any royalist troops within their walls. They preferred associating themselves with the Prince of Conde, whose whole argument in proof of the ille- gality of the power opposed to him they adopted as their own ; they acknowledged his deputy as their governor, and took an oath of obedience to him. It was of incalculable value to the cause of the Huguenots that their leaders, when suddenly beset in their own residen- M ces in the year 1568, were able to find a secure refuge in Rochelle. The Glueen of Navarre also came thither with. ^ her son and a considerable military force : situated as she was on the borders between France and Spain, she felt herself in danger from both sides, and attributed to the Cardinal oi Lorraine a design to annihilate the House of Bourbon. The idea was entertained of taking possession of Poitou, in the neighborhood of Rochelle, where the Protestant nobility had the prepgnderance, and afterward adding Guienne, which were to be erected into a Protestant state, acknowledging: ♦ Aroene, ' Histoire de Rochelle,' i. 302, from the contemporary nar- rative of Barbot. M the supremacy of the king, but substantially independent — a sanctuary for all those who could not obtain toleration in the other districts of France. A number of strong places and towns situated within these limits had fallen into the hands of the Huguenots — St. Jean d'Angely, the wealthy and in- dustrious Niort, the ancient residence of the Counts of Poitou and Fontenay le Compt — in short, so completely masters were they in this part of the kingdom, that when they proceeded to alienate the ecclesiastical lands, they actually found pur- chasers for them. It was perfectly natural that the victorious Catholic army, after the battle of Moncontour, should direct its first efforts to I' the subjugation of this district. Some places fell into their hands easily, in others they met with a stubborn resistance. The garrison of St. Jean d'Angely, when the King, who was himself present, summoned them to surrender, ventured to reply that they had been placed there by their governor, the Prince of Navarre, and that to him, and to no other, were they answerable. They were compelled at last to yield ; but the ^ury and resolution of the enterprise against the Huguenot territory was broken by this siege. The Protestants showed themselves still stronger than they had been reckoned ; they even found means in Rochelle to equip a small fleet, consisting of nine ships of war, with their barks and shallops, by means of which they kept the whole of that coast in subjection, and brought in many a richly- laden vessel of their enemies, which they regarded as lawful booty, .and sold for the benefit of the Prince. Nismes, in Languedoc, fell into their hands by a fortimate surprise ; Ve- zelay, in Burgundy, successfully resisted all attempts at cap- ture ; in the Bourbonnais, a castle was defended for two months by a lady, Marie de Braban9on ; and in all parts of the country there were strong castles and towns, both small and great, occupied by brave garrisons devoted to the Hugue- not party. What immense efforts, what hazards and blood- shed, would be necessary in order to obtain the mastery over them I After a little time the Admiral appeared once more in the field, not, it is true, with what might be properly call ed an army, but at the head of a body of cavalry, the nucleus 244 HISTORY OF FRANCE. RELIGIOUS WAR FROM 1567 TO 1570. 245 of which was formed by 3000 German horse, and to which the presence of the two Princes, Navarre and Conde, ga,ve great importance in the sight of the country. From the Dor- uogne they traversed the country rapidly to the Rhone, and from thence to the Loire, and even beyond it. The plan of the Admiral was to threaten Paris, or to occupy the great roads leading to the capital, in order that the Court might be fright- ened into a disposition for peace.* The energy of these warlike proceedings did, in fact, awak- en once more the thoughts of peace. The King, it was said, may indeed be superior in troops and money to the Huguenots ; these, however, are not oiily inured to war, but resolved upon extremities — nay, driven to despair ; they know better how to economize their money, and they will never want for assistance from foreign coun- tries. They have been beaten in two great battles, but wjiat has been the advantage ? Even should two more be won, it would not be sufficient to extirpate them — that could be ac- complished only by a long and profitless struggle, which would fill the kingdom with fire and slaughter. On Lh# other hand, the fortune of battle was uncertain. What if victory should incline to the side of the Huguenots ? — the consequence would be a new and still greater secession from the Catholic party to theirs ; and who could say that the re- lation of subjection to the Crown could ever again be re-es- tablished ? Disaffection was already on the increase ; i^he chiefs on both sides had attained to a dangerous state of in- dependence ; the people, habituated to the appearance of free- dom, might probably conceive the notion of forming them- selves into cantons, and living after the manner of the Swiss. To these motives were added others arising out of the state of the foreign relations of the kingdom. The intimate alliance with Spain which now appeared to exist, and which was necessary for the continuance of the war, ran too strongly against the character of both nations * Aluise Contarini, who expressly states this motive, "Relationhen, m spite of all his precautions, his chief rampart was . taken by the enemy, he disdained to give ground with the flying, and coolly allowed himself to be seized bv a Spaniard Iwhom he informed that he need not look for any further booty' /as his prisoner was the Admiral of France. He has himself described this siege, not because he wished to excuse himself (for should any one complain of his conduct, he knew how to answer him as became a man of honor), but because so much that was false had been published to the world : every one who was present at an affair was bound to rectify erroneous representations of it. His simple narrative, a memorial of historical conscientiousness, shows, at the same time, a patri- otic self-dependence and strong spiritual feelings. He sees the cause of misfortunes in the will of God alone— in that in- scrutable will to which he must submit as a Christian, with- out attempting to explore it. His change to the Reformed doctrine is usually dated from this imprisonment. In the full occupation and tempest of war, he could hardly have found the time for attending to religious questions with that close- ness which their importance and his own disposition would have demanded: his captivity allowed him the involuntary Ueisure which they required. Calvin maintained a corre- Jspondence with him and his consort. When he was set at liberty by the peace, he introduced by degrees into his castle at Chatillon the Protestant domestic system, an example which many others afterward followed. 250 HISTORY OF FRANCE. ST. BARTHOLOMEW'S DAY. 251 i'< |l;l \ He himself conducted the raorning worship, and collected all who belonged to the household, upon appointed days and at certain' hours, to hear sermons and to join in the singing of psalms ; before the administration of the sacrament he en- deavored to reconcile all whom he knew to be at enmity with one another. It was not his destiny, however, to live in the simplicity of the patriarchal state, as the priest and father of his household ; he was, as a great party chief, implicated in the affairs of France and of Europe. I do not estimate the external struggles in which he was engaged by any means so highly as those he endured within. The former were the lot of every man then living. The con- tradiction between religious notions and civil duties, which no longer ran concurrently as formerly, made it necessary for every man to seek out his own course independently. Every step the Admiral took had to be weighed and con- sidered ; but the great vital question was the first that called for decision. When Guise with his confederates took posses- :- sion of the power of the State in 1562, and began to sap the j edict of January, upon which rested the security of the Prot- ■ estants, Coligny understood perfectly the extent of the power which the enemy had succeeded in attaining, and the impo- tence of the opposite party, which had as yet no permanent form. He knew what fallings off, what misfortune was to be expected there, and what danger, exile, or, it might be, death He asked his wife if she had sufficient firmness of soul to en- counter all this, and also the ruin of her children. This lady Charlotte de Laval, was at this moment even more resolute; than the Admiral himself, for it was not, she said, to oppress; others that he took up arms, but for the rescue out of the fangfi of tyranny of his brethren in the faith, whose torments woulci not permit her to sleep. He must renounce the wisdom of the world ; God had lent him the talents of a captain, and ht; was bound to use them, and if he did not fulfill his duty, sh(; added that she herself would, when the day arrived, bear wit- ness against him before the judgment-seat of God.* * Aubigne, who, for example, knew nothing of the meeting at Bay- onne, in whose book the excerpts from Thuanus, De la Planche, and Whatever difficulties and dangers they might have resolved to brave, there were still heavier in store for them than they could have foreseen. In the mi^st of the wild passions which were inflamed by the union of party spirit and religion, of self- defense, of justice, and o/* vengeance, the way led at times to a moral abyss. When Poltrot undertook to avenge on their author the sufferiag brought on his co-religionists by Guise, Cohgny did not encourage him, but neither did he prevent him : he aJlowed the retribution, as he understood it, to take its course. How also, it will be asked, could he reconcile with the innate loyalty of his principles his conduct in opposing an army col- lected in the name of the King? Coligny always assever- ated that he fought against a faction only, which had abused the name of the King. All that had been done against him, the judgments that had been issued against him, and the proclamation of outlawry, he attributed to the fact that this faction hated him because God was making use of him for \ the good of his Church.* While the enemy were plundering his house of his wealth, he would not touch valuables bel^ng- . ing to the Court which fell into his hands. He never spoke without deep respect of either the King, the Qiiieev Mother, or of the Duke of Anjou; who stood opposed to him in arms. With these divided feelings he carried on the irar. The whole responsibility of the movement, with all the hatred to which it gave rise, fell by de^ees upon his head ; yet he was not completely master of the cause in which he was engaged. Recourse was had to arms, and agreements were concluded, without his full approval. This is the ordi- nary position of a party chief It was only in actual warfare, when engaged in battle with the enemy, that he paid no attention to the suggestions of his others, may be distinguished, often, however, states portions of his own experience, and immediate communications of great value, which must be kept separate ; we here follow his narrative (Histoire Universelle, i. iii. 2 :) he sets a high value upon it : " Comme une histoire que j'ai ap- prise de ceux qui etaient de la partie." * " Par la seule haine, qu'on me veut, de ce qu'il a pleu a Dieu de se servir de moi pour assister son Eglise."— Letter to his Children, Oc- tober 16, 1569. 252 HISTORY OF FRANCE. ST. BARTHOLOMEW'S DAY. 253 followers: on such occasions he was the general, and they were mere soldiers. He declared that it was much better he should be blamed without ca\jse among his friends than that the enemy should have reason to turn him into ridicule. He was often defeated in the open field, but his nature was of that deep and persistent character wlwjse masculine vigor increases with ipisfortune. "We had been ruined," said he once, in the words of the ancient Greek, " if we had not been I ruined." Coligny, like William III., and Washington in after times, showed himself stronger than ever after he had suf- fered a defeat. His authority was not founded upon the enthusiasm which triumphs awaken, but upon the profound feeling that he was indispensable to his party. When he fell sick on one occasion his value was immediately made plain by the errors which were committed in his absence. Every thing yielded before his proud and dispassionate temperament. The discipline and subordination in which he kept his army was admired as a merit of the highest order. He entered into the nature and feelings of the German cavalry, and, as the French said, controlled their rude bizarrerie with the same firmness which he exercised in dominating the natural liveliness of the French lobles with whom he had to do ; over all his influence was as coHiplete as if he had had a right to the chief com- mand. Among co-religionists and companions in arms, who were all his equal*, he appeared at the same time as a censor ^ and a king. The fe^v intimacies he formed made the deeper impression on account of his habitual reserve, and men boasted of his confidence among their friends.* i His was one of the greatest positions a subject ever occu- k pied in a monarchy ; but let us not mistake it, for it was at \ the same time the most anomalous : a powerful party, armed j and proceeding to the accomphshment of their object, resign f themselves without conditions to the guidance of a private * The Venetian Aluise Contarini compares him with Hannibal, and extols him, " che avendo perso tante battagJie si e conservato sempre in riputatione, massime i Reistri e Lancichenech, i quali se ben crano creditori di molte paghe, e se ben hanno molte volte pert !c ^"e baga- glie e carrette piene di rubbamenti che avean fatti, mai pero si sono ammutinati." / nobleman, and by their obedience to his commands and their pecuniar}^ contributions, raise him to a position of almost inde- pendent power, acknowledging his authority to call them to arms at any moment. But his connections extended far be- yond France. All who were inchned to the Protestant opin- ions in the territories of the King of Spain had their «yes upon him ; he himself said that not only in the Netherlands, but throughout all the Spanish provinces, it required but a httle of his powder to set them in a blaze. The German princes, who dreaded, as they said themselves, the effects of this European conflagration so near their own walls, regarded him as their champion ; the troops which served under him bore his name in Eastern Germany. With all this there is no trace that he ever desired to render his position subservient to any personal object ; he was ambitious, but his ambition was of a religious and patriotic character. No one felt more deeply than he how important it was to put an end to this intestine war, with all its horrors — horrors which he, as a chief leader, witnessed and deplored, but had not the power to prevent. He was fortunate in being again on good terms with the King, for all these connections were to be employed for the advantage of the Crown, of the king- dom, and of religion. France had now dropped the alliance with Spain, and I showed an inclination toward England. It was the Admiral's brother. Cardinal Chatillon, who suggested a marriage be- tween aueen Elizabeth and the Duke of Anjou. Judging from the earnestness with which the negotiations concerning the religious stipulation were conducted, we should conclude that there was something more than mere appearances in these proposals. The negotiations finally failed on account of the French prince demanding freedom for the exercise of the Catholic religion, which was incompatible with the laws re- cently enacted in England. The plan was not allowed to fall altogether to the ground however ; his youngest brother, the Duke of Alen^on, was ready to submit to any conditions for the hand of the Glueen, and Catharine promised her em- bassador such rewards as embassador never before received if he succeeded in bringing about this marriage. Had it taken 1 ^^ 254 HISTORY OF FRANCE. II place, the design was to reinstate Mary Stuart in Scotland, not under Spanish influence, but under the united influence of England and France. The jealousy of the two powers against Spain was aug- mented by the alUance which Philip II. formed with the Vene- tians and the Pope against the Ottoman Porte, and greatly in- creased after the great victory gained by the allies at Lepanto. European history will always hnger with peculiar interest upon the political aspect and disposition of those times which brought forth an event of such vast significancy as the origin I of the United Netherlands. The men and the circumstances of the age were calculated to make it possible. Without the common opposition of the English and the French against Spain, the ships of the Prince of Orange would unquestionably have been destroyed; and when the Chieux succeeded in gaining possession of the Brill and Flushing, they could not I have maintained these places if the conquest of Mons, which \ was effected principally by the French Huguenot troops under ^ Count Louis of Nassau, had not compelled the Spaniards to divide their forces. - The state of religious affairs in France opened still greater prospects of another kind. It faciUtated the concurrence of the house of Valois with the house of Austria in reference to the Crown of Poland ; it was even rumored that at the next / vacancy of the imperial throne the King of France might be ' called to it, because he was bound alike to Protestants and '. ^ Catholics, and showed himself disposed to uphold the princi- i \ pies of the Pacification. To this it is to be ascribed that a complete understand- ing and reconciliation took place in France, if not between the two parties, at least between the royal house and the government on the one side, and the Huguenots on the other. The government of the day was not in the habit of appoint- ing or dismissing ministers, except very occasionally. This alteration in the system was owing to the circumstance that the men whose opinions corresponded most with those of the supreme power at the time, took possession of the places to which, as members of the Council, they had a common right, ST. BARTHOLOMEW'S DAY. 255 and the others, whose opinions were different, retired to make room for them. Thus the sons of the Constable, and the Marshal Francis de Montmorency in particular, were especially powerful in the State. They had concluded the peace, and represented the principle of reconciliation. The proposition of a marriage between Margaret of Valois, the youngest daughter of Cath- arine, and Prince Henry of Navarre, who was regarded as the head of the Huguenots, came from the Montmorencies.* Charles IX. agreed to it readily, for it would serve admirably to reconcile the hostile parties, and even the Huguenots them- selves, after some hesitation, were not opposed to it. The Prince was firm enough not to allow himself to be drawn into the designs of his mother-in-law ; on the contrary, he would be hkely to exercise a salutary influence upon the King, his future brother-in-law, in favor of religion. The hopes of a thorough understanding were so strong, that the Adfliiral, notwithstanding the enmity he had so often ex- perienced, formed the resolution of repairing to the Court in person. In a consultation held upon it at Rochelle, the ma- jority of his friends declared themselves against such a step, as the great leader, upon whom the salvation of the cause depended, should not venture into the midst of their old en- emies. The Admiral, however, insisted upon it : he had had so much success in opposition to the King, that with his power they must obtain all they desired ; he had often yielded to the opinions of others, he said, and now begged that he might be permitted to follow the dictates of his own judgment. He did ^ so, and when he arrived at the Court, was received in the best I manner. The aueen showed him every mark of favor and friendship ; King Charles IX. told him he was as welcome as I any one who had been at the Court for many years,! and mani- fested for him all that admiration which a youth of warlike dis- position would be likely to feel for an experienced ojd warrior. * So says Margaret herself, Mem. p. 24 : " La maison de Montmo- rency etaient ceux qui en avaient porte les premieres paroles." t This was communicated to the English Court by Walsingham, and by the embassador De la Mothe Fenelon to France; the Kinff said it was quite true, i. 208. 256 HISTORY OF FRANCE. / ST. BARTHOLOMEW'S DAY. 257 it In fact, Charles IX. felt strongly disposed in favor of the Admiral's views and propositions. ^ It gave him great pleasure to hold intercourse with mili- tary officers, to listen to their experience of war, to learn its rules, and to cherish the hope of performing future actions himself He believed himself destined to assert by his arms the ancient rights of his predecessors. He regarded Milan as his unquestionable property, and loved to see Italian emi- grants around him. He looked upon the proposed marriage of his sister to the Prince of Navarre, as likely to afford him . an opportunity of carrying the war beyond the Pyrenees. I The refugees from the Netherlands were also received by him, and, among others, Louis of Nassau. He held long con- versations, which often continued till late at^ night, with the Admiral, who seemed destined to guide the fortunes of France, and was now esteemed as powerful as the Constable had formerly been at the court of Henry II. Coligny himself, stimulated by these circumstances, began to form plans of the boldest character. Indirectly to promote the Protestant cause in the Netherlands was no longer suffi- cient for him: he used all his influence to bring about an I open war with Spain. His reasons were these. King Philip II. was destitute of money ; the French forces, after so many actions in the interior of the kingdom, were superior in mili- tary exercises to the Spanish ; by a foreign expedition the King of France would be able to unite all the domestic fac- tions ; he had only to throw himself with his undivided power upon the Netherlands, and all the provinces would submit to him. Against such a course there were many objections, and the adverse party did not fail to bring them forward. They de- clared that it would manifest the most crying ingratitude if the King were to attack those from from he had received such important assistance in the last war ; that Philip II. was not so weak as not to be able to re-establish order in his pro- vinces, when he might turn all his power against distracted France ; but admitting even that the King of France were victorious over Philip, even that would be highly dangerous, since the King would in that case be indebted to the Hugue- nots for his success ; that these would then become stronger and stronger, take the guidance of all affiiirs, strive to obtain possession of the supreme power in temporal and spiritual things, and perhaps force the subjects of the King who be- longed to the ancient religion to rebel against his authority, for if the Catholic people had nothing good to expect from their King, they would attach themselves to the great Catho- lic nobles. A plan was devised, in accordance with which the Catholic associations were to be united under the several governors of the provinces and one trustworthy chief, as closely as the Huguenots were on their side, in order to in- flict upon them some great blow. It was not yet possible to destroy them totally ; the King must be compelled to acknowl- edge that he was in error. ''^ This consultation indicated the whole difficulty which a nation distracted by two parties must necessarily experience, should it resolve to interfere with foreign concerns : in such a case each party will bestow more attention upon its own interests than upon the common interests of the State. What a vast revolution in afiairs would it have caused, had the Huguenots succeeded in identifying the great external in- terests of the French kingdom with their own special views I The result of their design was, however, that all the advantages which the enterprise which they fur- thered promised, were not obvious to the zealous Catholics, who saw nothing in it but danger to the Church and to the State. In July, 1572, the war against Spain appeared inevitable. A body of mercenaries which had been drawn together by the Admiral, attempted to penetrate into the Netherlands under Captain Genlis, but were met in the district of Mons, defeated, and dispersed. A letter fell into the hands of the Duke of Alva on this occasion, which proved beyond question the participation of Charles IX. in the expedition.f In this * Discorso sopra gli umori di Francia, di M*" Nazzaret : 1570 Bibl Barb, at Rome. t Alva to Zayas : " J'ai en mon pouvoir une lettre du Roi de France, qui vous frapperait de strepeur si vous la voyiez."— July 19, 1572 hJ Gachard, ii. 269. ' # 7 { 7 258 HISTORY OP FRANCE. letter he promised the Count of Nassau to devote all the power which God had given him to the purpose of liberating the Netherlands from the burden that oppressed them. Distrustful friends had once more warned the Admiral, re- minding him of the hostility of some members of the royal house a^s well as of the Council, and of the old threats which had issued from Bayonne ; but it is easy to conceive that such suggestions made no impression upon him. He knew well that he had enemies, and dreaded the hostility of the Duke of Anjou even more than that of the dueen, but he hoped to win his favor by meritorious services. The King, he said, was bound by his connections with the Netherlands, with England, and with some of the German princes; God had inclined his heart, and in his disposition there was room for praise only. He had sent a fleet into the neighborhood of Rochelle, but it was an unworthy suspicion to imagine that it was intended to act against that town ; it was destined to intercept the Spanish fleet, to conquer it, and then bear up for Flushing. In these maritime prospects, Coligny acted for the most part in accordance with the title which he bore. It was an old thought of his to found Protestant colonies in America. His first attempt had failed through the incom- petency of the person to whom the enterprise was intrusted ; to the second, which was sent to Florida, the Spaniards, out of national and religious jealousy, had put a frightful termin- ation. But in the year 1571 Coligny sent out a sea-captain named Minguetiere, with orders to explore the territories in South America, and to bring back correct information re- specting that continent.* He had formed the idea of separating the Netherlands fron Spain, and at the same time assailing the power of King Philip in the Indies, to place himself at the head of the powers which would then have the maritime superiority in the southern world, and thus obtain for his nation and his faith a share in the dominion of the other hemisphere. He was so occupied with these speculations that he despised all warnings, whicli, for the most part, were founded upon the observation of trifling * " Pour bien remarquer les lieux . . . dresser une parfaite repre- sentation de tous ces quartiers." — Popeliniere, ii. lib. 25, p. 21. ST. BARTHOLOMEW'S DAY. 259 circumstances only. He appears to have felt that the sus- picions which led the Huguenots to take up arms in the year 1567 were unfounded, and he was unwilling to disturb him- self, or to allow his old age to be troubled by a repetition of similar errors. Rather would he die than spend the remain- der of his days in continual apprehension of a power which was now once more above him. Compared with the great plan which he had conceived, life itself had no value for him unless it could be devoted to its execution. There was appa- rently every prospect of its success. The miscarriage of the expedition under Genlis, the cruel treatment of the prisoners, and certain ofiensive expressions of Alva's, which, as the King said, amounted almost to put- ting him on his trial, caused a general agitation in Paris ; all was in favor of the war, and the King himself seemed to de- sire it. The Venetian embassador, who had been sent to France by his Signoria, in order to prevent the outbreak of a war between that country and Spain, which would have ren- dered all further undertakings against the Ottoman Porte im- possible, asserts that the war then appeared inevitable ; that orders were issued every hour for raising and arming troops, and that a multitude of ofiicers, both cavalry and infantry, had oflered their services to the King. * There was still one question to be decided — ^What would Uueen Catharine de' Medici, who had hitherto given the de- ciding impulse to all the transactions of the kingdom, say to this undertaking ? Let us endeavor to recall her position and her qualities at this the most important moment of her life. The house of Medici, at Florence, to which Catharine be- longed, had distinguished itself in the fifteenth century by high cultivation, superiority of intellect, and a successful policy, which preserved peace in Italy; in the sixteenth it ♦ Juan Micheli, 1572 : " Success© non solo molestissimo all' Amira- glio, ma a tutta la Francia, trovandovisi un gran numero di gentilhuo- mini e di persone di respetto. ... La guerra per quattro o sei giomi continui fu tenuta per ferma, et se ne parlava publicamente come di cosa accordata. E gia si erano fatte, et si facevano tutte 1' ore, espedi- tioni di cavalleria et fanteria." That the defeat of Genlis should have discouraged the French is not to be thought of. 260 HISTORY OF FRANCE. contended with all the resources of power for the maintenance of its disputed sovereignty. This conflict gave occasion for Machiavelli's book, entitled ' The Prince :' it was written for Catharine's father, Lorenzo de' Medici. Next appeared those sprung from another line, Cosmo, the founder of the Grand Duchy, of whom the emigrants said, that as in former times justice and honor were prized in their beautiful Tyrrhenian land, so now he appeared to be most highly valued who was most deeply stained with blood, and had made the greatejst number of widows and orphans. Cosmo maintained his authority by severity, guile, and vengeance. Catharine's earliest recollections carried her back, not to days of infancy such as most other princesses remembered, when they grew up in peace amidst the most watchful atten- tions and cares, but to scenes of the fiercest religious and political animosity. As a fatherless and motherless orphan, she was placed in the Convent Delle Murate, at I'lorence, but the nuns took part for and against her, * so that it was found necessary to remove her from the convent ; she left it weeping violently, for she feared she was about to be put to death. \ "When she grew up, her worldly-wise uncle, Clement VII., I contrived to bring about a marriage between her and the I second son of King Francis I. The King, in consenting to tbe V j match, was moved chiefly by the fear that, if it did not tal^e • place, she would be given in marriage to the Duke of Milan, and that France would be thus more completely excluded from Italy. t On the other hand, on the occasion of this marriage, the view of erecting a great Italian principality founded on both the French and Medicean claims, was more definitely main- tained. Urbino, Modena, Pisa, and, if possible, Milan and Genoa, were to belong to it. This was a plan, however, the execution of which could never have been possible. Catha- * Varchi, " Storia Fiorentina," xi. 374 : " Si comincio prima a bis- bigliare e poi a romoreggiare." t Loaysa to Charles V., June 9, 1531 : " Es grande el temor que tiene (el Rey de Francia) que el Papa case su sobrina con el Duque ile MUan." ST. BARTHOLOMEW'S DAY. 261 nne was not to spend her life as an Itahan, but as a French princess : here her intellect and her destiny led her on from step to step in a continual ascent to power. At first the elder brother of her husband stood in the way, but his death, wliich plunged the country and her husband in deep sorrow, opened to her the immediate prospect of a throne. Her friends, however, reproached her all the more that she remamed childless for a long period. We have mentioned how at one tmie she was in danger of being repudiated by her husband ; but her readiness to suffer all that might fall upon her— either to retire to a convent, or to remain at court, m order to wait upon the more fortunate wife who should succeed her — disarmed all antipathy. At length she had children, and as the consort of a king and the mother of future kings she took a high position ; but even this was not accomplished without difficulty. The Duchess of Valentinois, no longej probably a rival of Catha- rine in the peculiar sense of the word, still exercised an in- describable influence upon her husband. Catharine was com- pelled to show a resignation to this state of things, which she was far from feeling, in order now and then to obtain some slight satisfaction for her ambition. Excluded from all afikirs she appeared to live only for her husband, her attendants, and a few personal favorites. She was not wanting meanwhile in the almost hereditary predilection which distinguished her family for art and splendor. The income appointed her, which was not by any means insignificant, was never suffi cient for her liberalities : ^ she thought she did something peculiarly French, when she kept the court as magnificent - as it had been in the time of Francis I. ; she made it her occupation, and showed a special talent for it. For proces- sions, dances, and plays she possessed a naturally inventive faculty, and was the soul of every festivity ; after the fashion * Lorenzo Contarini, Relatione, 1550: "E donna piu giovane del Ke 13 giorni solamente, non bella, ma savia. . . amata da ognuno e dal Ke particolarmente per il suo ingegno e bonta, e quanto alle cose ordi- nane assai ben trattata; ha 200 m. sc. da spendere ogni anno, se ben non le bastano, perche e liberalissima, ha gran corte di uomini e di ' aonne." 262 HISTORY OF FRANCE. ST. BARTHOLOMEW'S DAY. 263 'U of the time she also took part in the manly recreations ; she 'was esteemed amiable, ingenious, and affable, and those who listened to her discourse were pleased and instructed. She said in after times that nothing lay then upon her heart buit the love of her husband, and that her sole anxiety was that she was not beloved by him as she desired ; * when he wa.s absent from the Court during the campaigns she wore mourn- ing. < She asserted that she possessed that inexplicable quality cf a common family consciousness, the existence of which hcis been constantly denied, and which is yet perpetually pre- tended to, by which things and events removed both in place and time appear as if present, and that she was made aware ■ beforehand, either by an apparition or a dream, of every mis- fortune which befell any member of her family ; she even ' stated that she had had a presentiment of the fatal accident ; , which deprived her of her ^usband in the tournament alie^ib . 'mentioned. She would never afterward enter the pla'M where it was held, and her carriage took a round whenever^, it was necessary to pass that way. Under the government of her eldest son, which followed that of her husband, she took some share in the transacti.Dn of state affairs, especially in authorizing the public decrees with her signature. A thorough influence over them she could not attain, in consequence of the ascendency of tbc Guises, which she was compelled to endure; Mary Stuart also took precedence of her ; yet such was the state of things at that time that she had it in her power, and sometimes ^ ventured, to mitigate in some measure the prevailing severity. ( With the accession of her second son to the throne the \ time at length arrived when she could perform a political part, } and when she believed it necessary to take it upon herself The personal and dynastic character she exhibited under these circumstances was peculiar. She accounted it a crime * Letter to Elizabeth of Spain : " Vous m'aves veue si contcnto , comrae vous, ne pensant jeames avoyr autre trisbulatyon que de n'estrc asses aymaye a mon gre du Roy vostre pere, qui m'onoret pluls que je ne merites ; mes je Taymai tant que je aves toujours pcur, comme vaus saves." — Paris, Negociations sous Fran9oys IL on the part of the Guises that they should have formed the design, immediately after the death of Francis IL, of marry- ing Mary Stuart to Don Carlos of Spain, because she had destined her youngest daughter for that Prince ; she looked upon it as intolerable that subjects should presume to enter into rivalry with the house of France. When she looked round her, however, in the confusion of parties she could discover no other reliable support : as she said in one of her letters, God had taken away her husband and her eldest son, and she was left with three httle boys in a kingdom full of divisions, where she did not know one man in whom she could place confidence, but where all sought their own interests with passionate selfishness. "I will, however, strive," she adds, " to maintain my power for the preservation of my children." In her earlier years a predilection for the Protestant re- ligion was ascribed to her, and it is possible she may have had her fits of ecclesiastical heterodoxy like other Court ladies of the time ; but a real earnest inclination to Calvinism was not to be looked for in a gay Itahan princess, who enjoyed life keenly, and whose antecedents connected her so closely with the Papacy. She was always of opinion that Catholi- ' cism must be the religion of Kings and States ; she was not on this account however devoted to the severest doctrines of Catholicism ; her experience of the world, and even her con- nection with the Papal See, taught her to see in religion not religion merely. Her principal object was to sustain the sovereign power 1 which belonged to her sons, and the administration of which idevolved chiefly upon herself, although a stranger, and with but a dubious right to such a position. According to the general fashion of the age she was dis- posed to search, in reference to pubhc events and circumstan- ces, for the mysterious and marvelous agencies that were believed to co-operate in their production. On one of the towers of her castle at Blois, a pavilion is pointed out which was used by her astrologer for his observations and calcula- tions, for she was as much attached to the science of the stars as her uncle Clement VII. She has been charged with 264 HISTORY OF FRANCE. ST. BARTHOLOMEW'S DAY. 265 atheism, of which a sort of school was then founded at the French Court by another Florentine, Pietro Strozzi, who v^as her relative. It may have been such an atheism as charac- terized the Italian philosophy of the age, which revived the doubts of antiquity respecting the immortality of the soul, but which, on the other hand, attributed unbounded power to the heavenly intelligences, and to the influence of demons. Am- ulets are also exhibited, which are said to have been worn by Catharine de' Medici, and to be composed of human blood, the blood of beasts, and of all kinds of metals, inscribed with the names of demons, and with magic figures ; one of her brace- lets exhibits a variety of talismanic characters, and among them the name of God. The co-operative powers of Hca\en and Earth, which it was sought to discover r-nd to dominate, were to serve to bring forth or restrain the personal fortune of the individual. Catharine de' Medici was of a large and, at the same time, firm and powerful figure; her countenance had an olive tint, and her prominent eyes and curled lip reminded the spectator of her great-uncle Leo X. Continuous and even violent ex ercise was absolutely necessary to her ; she rode to the chase ^ by the side of the men, and having boldly followed the game on horseback, through brakes and thickets, over stocks and stones, she gave herself up without reserve to the pleasures of the table. At the same time, however, she was indefatiga- bly occupied in her own personal affairs, such as her buildings, of which she had always four or five in hand, and the train- '[ ing and education of her children, and more especially with the general affairs of the state, both domestic and foreijpi. She may be said to have possessed power, but she was vcTy far from being in a position to use it as she thought proper. She found herself in the condition of a person who, having been raised to power by the force of circumstances, and see- ing his authority every instant in danger, is compelled to / I \ rality of her house — which looked upon all means as lawful y by which power was attained or preserved. After the peace of 1570 general efforts were made to brimg about a reconciliation ; Catharine was not only not opposed to them, but, on the contrary, saw with satisfaction that her younger children associated themselves with the various par- ties : her second son, the Duke of Anjou, made common cause with the Guises ; the third, the Duke of Alen9on, joined the Montmorencies ; her eldest daughter was married to a mem- ber of the house of Lorraine, and the youngest she gave to tlie youthful Bourbon, the head of the Huguenots. And upon these connections she founded the most extensive projects. Her children felt from time to time that they were made sub- servient to a purpose ; they were disunited among themselves, and did not love their mother, but yet they were always ruled by her. A man now. rose to great authority in the midst of the universal fluctuation of parties — one who was zealously Jit- tached to his religious views, and who undertook to bring the policy of France into concurrence and co-operation with tfie opinions he had embraced, by leading that kingdom to an open war with Spain. Catharine, who had become Q-ueen of France in oppositian to Spain, could not be much disposed to favor Spanish inter- ests ; but an open war with this power, whose resources she i estimated as immense, and which represented a principle, which though she did not adopt she was unwilling to frus- trate, did not lie within the range of her policy. Besides, she could not be expected to consent to an enterprise which ST. BARTHOLOMEW'S DAY. 267 would have been decided by an influence not only independent of her, but actually opposed to her.=* The mutual confidence between her son and the Admiral had been for some time highly distasteful to her ; she complained that the King saw ahe Admiral too frequently and herself too little. Should Coligny's wishes influence the King, and should his designs succeed, he would in that case become as intolerable to her as ever Francis Duke of Guise had been. The aueen was on a visit to her daughter of Lorraine, at the time when the outbreak in Paris threatened to lead to a war, and hastened to the capital, determined to put an end to the warlike movement, whatever it should cost her. Charles IX., upon her representation, founded on experience, consented immediately that before the affair proceeded further it should be once more discussed in Council. Coligny objected to such a step, stating that the Council consisted for the most part of men whose temperament and position in life made peace appear desirable to them, and that it could answer no purpose to dispute with persons who were not open to conviction. The King promised that he would summon to the Council men experienced in war, such as the Dukes of Montpensier and Nevers and the Marshal de Cosse, against whom nothing could be objected. Under these circumstances the project of war came to a fresh deliberation. The Admiral delivered his opinions with warmth and eloquence, hoping to draw those who were hesi- tating to his side, by the force of his reasons. In this assem- bly, however, the feelings of the members were not favorable to him. The King's mother and his brother, the Duke of Anjou, were decidedly against the Admiral, and finally the King himself agreed with them, so that Coligny's proposal was unanimously rejected. He was not disposed, however, to rest satisfied with this decision. He had himself promised assist- ance to the Prince of Orange, and now observed, that the * Aluise Contarini, Marzo, 1572: "Per moiti inditii si vede che la mente della Regina Madre non e di lasciar romper 1' amicitia colla ^pagna, per i pericoli e danni che potria correr la Francia delle armi di J^pagnoli, abondanti di danari, copiosi d' amici, gagliardi di forze, uniti. accorti." 268 HISTORY OF FRANCE. ST. BARTHOLOMEW'S DAY. 269 King would, it was to be hoped, have no objection to his ren- dering such assistance by means of his friends and perhaps in his own person. This disclosure was received with astonish- ment ; one word followed another, and a warm dispute arosvf. " Madame," said Coligny at last, "The King now withdraws from a war which promises him advantages ; God forbid that another should break out, from which he may not b3 able to withdraw." Although these words were intended to allude to the war in Flanders, which in one way or other must have implicated France, yet the Glueen took them as a threat, as if the Admiral had determined to excite new troubles and to kindle once more the flames of civil war. She was an Italian — she had not yet settled her account with Cohgny. Had he not on one occasion opposed her regency ? Had he not on another attempted by a sudden surprise to get the whole Court and even herself into his power ? She asserted that one of her most trustworthy con- fidants and retainers had been destroyed by the contrivance's of the Admiral. She had entertained the design of taking vengeance upon him as early as the year 1568, but he wiis too strong, and had compelled her to consent to peace, and now he wished to force her into his political views. The Admiral, whom the regular income arising from the contribu- tions of the Huguenots provided with considerable pecuniaiy resources, possessed, moreover, through their unconditional attachment to his person, a power which was almost indepen- 9ent. It was said of him that he could raise a better army in four days than the King could in four months. He was not merely hated by the Glueen, but while he lived she was in danger ; she resolved to get rid of him. The period had arrived when the marriage between h(?r daughter and Henry of Navarre, by which the parties were to be reconciled, was to be solemnized. The Huguenots had assembled in great numbers to witness the ceremony. How different were the designs and projects b/ which the festivities were interrupted ! The Admiral had attended the Council which was held in the Louvre on Friday, the 22d of August, and was returning to his residence, when just as he was passing by a house be- longing to an adherent of the Guises, a shot was fired at him ; he was indebted for his life to an accidental movement which he made at the moment, but the bullet struck him in the hand and arm. Every one attributed the deed to the vengeance of the Guises, and the King threatened them with punishment for it. Cautious observers, however, rejected that explanation from the first, for it was said, how could the Guises venture, in the very precincts of the Court, to give free course to their revenge ? Meanwhile the suspicion contained a portion of both truth and error. The Papal nuncio gives the following account of the matter. When the dueen had finally decided upon a course hostile to the Admiral, she immediately took into her counsels the wid ow of Fr ancis Duke of Guise. This lady was, like her- i 's^,lin Italian, anOliH'aTready-repeatedly, though always in vain, prayed for vengeance for the death of her husband. The Q,ueen now assented to her desire ; the two bound them- selves together to procure the destruction of the Admiral, and took their sons, the one the Duke of Anjou and the other the Duke of Guise, into their confidence. The most extravagant plans were proposed. Young Guise was of opinion that his mother should with her own hand shoot the Admiral when in the Court circle he should be among the (Queen's ladies,* for in those times ladies learned the use of fire-arms in the chase. This proposal was, however, rejected, and the murder- ous enterprise intrusted to a person on whom they could rely, who had concealed himself in that house and waited till the Admiral should be riding by. The majority of those who were near the event, have as- serted that if the Admiral had been killed on this occasion, the Glueen would have been satisfied with the one victim ; but he had escaped, and was now for the first time in a posi- tion to become truly formidable. The Huguenots crowded round him with redoubled zea], and demanded justice : their requisitions sounded like threats ♦ Salviati, August 24, 1512 : *' Madame di Nemours fu da Msgnr. di Guise suo figlio stiraulata a tirare I' archibusata mentre I' Amiraglio fusse con la Regente." cT^ 270 HISTORY OF FRANCE. ST. BARTHOLOMEW'S DAY. 271 \ proceeding from a confident knowledge of their power. The general suspicion soon fixed upon the most important and real originator of the deed. Certain expressions came to her ears one evening at supper ; they were probably exaggerated , but at any rate they gave her grounds for apprehension on her own account. The consideration of the personal and gen- eral danger incurred by the deed already perpetrated, excited her still further to the designs of blood and violence which had lain latent in her mind. The Huguenots were in her hands — it was only necessary for her to will it, and they were all destroyed. It has always been the general opinion that Catharine de' Medici had for years been preparing every thing for this catastrophe ; that all her apparent favors to the HuguenotH, all her treaties and conclusions of peace, were simply so many guileful pretexts in order to win their confidence, that she might then deliver them over to destruction. Against this supposition, however, it was observed long ago, that a stratagem laid so long beforehand was contrary to the nature of French modes of proceeding, and is in itself nearly impossible.* We have ourselves seen, as we have proceeded, many circumstances which render it extremely improbabLj. The notion which some have maintained that the King of Spain and the Duke of Alva were informed beforehand of thie design to massacre the Huguenots, and had approved of it, must be rejected without hesitation. We find, so far from this, that the Spaniards were just then in full expectation cf the outbreak of the war. The Cardinal of Lorraine had even sent a special courier of his own to warn the Duke of Aha of the hostility of the French Court. The Clueen herself was also in earnest, as her letters prove, in the affair of the En- glish marriage, which had been suggested by the most moder- ate party in the Council : her dynastic and maternal inter- ests were involved in it, and these could not be simulated. Besides, the marriage between her daughter and the King cif * Cavalli advances these good reasons : " Se prima dell' archibuggiata vi fusse stato questo pensiere di distruggerii (Ugonotti), cosi facilmente si poteva far come segui da poi senza poner in dubbio, che per la fenta buona parte se ne andassero." — Relatione di 1574. Navarre, which is regarded as the last step in the whole pro- ceeding, was proposed, not by the Glueen, but, as we have already noticed, by the peaceful Montmorency. Do they take the right view of the affair, we may inquire finally, who attribute the whole to a momentary fit of rage on the part of the Glueen, or to a sudden burst of vengeance among the mob of Paris ? Against this view there are cer- tain historical events which can not be explained away, and which render its adoption impossible. It is not altogether without its significancy that the Clueen had always declared she would revenge herself upon the Hu- guenots. She mentioned in confidence the example of Q,ueen Blanche, who had subdued, at the same time, both the rebels and the heretics, and revived the authority of her son : she had read an old chronicle in which this was recorded, and on one occasion told the Venetian embassador that she did not wish the Huguenots to know that she was acquainted with this history. Although she had not first proposed the mar- riage of her daughter with Navarre, yet she had zealously promoted it, and insisted that it should take place in Paris. In reference to the intent of this, hints were given to the Pa- pal legate and to the Papal nuncio, which were of unequivo- cal significancy. The Legate, the Cardinal of Alessandria, who had been sent to France for the purpose of obstructing the marriage and proposing a different one, frequently com- plains, in his dispatches, of the small progress he has the opportunity of making ; at last, however, he announces, unexpectedly, that he has received an answer. not unfavora- ble ; * he does not communicate the nature of this answer in so many words, but the man who then accompanied this Cardinal as auditor, and who afterward himself occupied the Papal chair, Clement VIII., has recounted, that the King said he thought of nothing but how to revenge himself upon his enemies, and that he had no other means of doing so than * " Lettere e Negotiati delSr. CI. Alessandrino," in the Corsini Li- brary at Rome. Letter to Rusticucci, March 6, 1572 : " Con alouni particolari che io porto, de' quali ragguagliero n. Sne. a bocca, posse dire di non partirmi affatto mai expedite." 272 HISTORY OF FRANCE. 1^ what this plot aftbrded.* The nuncio Salviati likewise as- serts that the King told him at Blois, that he had favored the idea of this marriage merely for the purpose of freeing himself from his enemies, t It must not be forgotten, neithei, that at one time, among the Italian republics, marriage jes- tivities had been made subservient to great party massacies. What then is true, and what is false ? Was there a grsat deed of violence contemplated long beforehand, and prepara- tions made for its execution ? Or were the negotiations con- cerning the English match, which had been carried on with the greatest vigor, and the at least indirect hostility agaiast Spain, during the summer, meant in earnest ? The question would never be decided, if we had to do with a person of a simple, straight-forward mind, in which contradictory plans of necessity exclude each other ; but there are characters with whom this is not the case, persons with whom it is a natural necessity to have two strings to their bow, that if one break, they may have another in reserve — in whom there is a native duplicity, which enables them to contemplate opposite courses at one and the same moment. While Catharine pursued zealously the plan which corresponded with the course of her desires and interests, she cherished, in the depths of her soul, the feeling that the measures she took to accomplish that plan, might also be made subservient to another purpose. A recon- cihation with the Huguenots was not distasteful to her, since, by means of it she would acquire a loftier and more brillis.nt position in Europe ; but, at the same time, she saw th(;m streaming into Paris with a secret pleasure, when she thought of their coming into the midst of a populace which required merely that the reins should be slackened in order to destroy them. Were they to go further than she contemplated or desired, or any other event occur, she had in her hands an infallible resource. Since Conde's residence in the capital, the Parisian populace were filled with rage against the Huguenots, they would not suffer any of that way of thinking within th(;ir * The letter of Ossat of September 22, 1599, cited by all against Lingard. Lettres d'Ossat, lib. v. no, 26, t Salviati, in Mackintosh's History of England, iii. 336, app. ST. BARTHOLOMEW'S DAY. 273 walls ; even during the negotiations of peace, they threatened with death and destruction those of their opponents who had come into the city on that occasion. The authority of the Court and its expressed will, were necessary to control the people, and for this purpose it was that the civic militia was orgamzed The confidence alone of Coligny, in the great- ness and future success of his cause, which he believed des tmed to the conquest of the earth, makes it conceivable, how he could have ventured in the midst of this hostile, agitated and easily roused mob, which endured his presence and that of his foLowers, only with suppressed fury. All who observed the antipathy between the elements that now came into con- tact, forboded evil consequences. The preachers in Geneva and the Cardmals at Rome foresaw and predicted a catastro- phe The Admiral Coligny reposed an unlimited confidence in the word of the young King. After he had been wounded the Huguenots consulted whether they ought not to leave the city armed as they were, and, notwithstanding his condition carry him away with them : young Teligny, his son-in-law' however, assured the others that he knew the King to the . very depths of his heart, that he was certain he was to be relied on, and that there was no ground for apprehension * And no wonder that Charles IX. should appear to be sin- cere for he was so in reality. All that had been compre- • hended by him, m his mercurial way, of what was passing had entirely escaped him in the martial effervescence of the last few days. Catharine was different. That she had from the beffin- ning a design against the Admiral, connected with the invita- ion to the nuptials, is in the highest degree probable, yet the design was contemplated rather as a possibility, and expressed rather as a justification. She allowed Coligny to proceed on his course until he became intolerable to her, and hen caused him to be shot at. This act brought matters to state in which they could not possibly remain. Several for what tnnV 7 ' '"'' bio^aphy of Coligny is a valuable authority ^e^^^sB ^ ^'"^ Huguenots, as it is from the notes of an M* 274 HISTORY OF FRANCE. Italians took a principal part in Catharine's counsels. Bi- rago, a native of Milan, and now keeper of the great seal, who constantly condemned the hesitation which was felt, and ad- vised that the suspected leaders should be secured, Lodovico Gonzaga, Duke of Nevers, Albert Gondi, Duke of Retz, all these were of opinion that the security of the king and queen required that the leaders of the Huguenots should be got rid of by murder. The Duke of Anjou, and Angouleme, a na- tural brother of the King's, as well as Marshal Tavannes, took part in the consultations, and declared themselves of the same opinion. There only now remained to obtain the con- sent of the King. Charles IX. was still convinced that the attack upon the Admiral should be punished, and every movement of the civic populace in favor of the Guises suppressed. He was now in- formed for the first time that the attempt upon Coligny's life had not been made by these alone, but that his mother and brother had had a share in it. He was reminded of C harry, one among the few of his trustworthy confidants, a person to whom he had been indebted for his education, and whom the Admiral had caused to be put to death — of the design he had expressed in early years, and never altogether given up, to take vengeance for every injury he had received — of the danger now to be feared from a rising of the Huguenots, which would be directed against the queen ; that now they were masters of them, and had them all, as it were, in a cage, were they to open it and allow the lion to fush forth, what devastation would he not make I Already it was ru- mored that the Huguenot forces had been summoned to meet 'speedily at Melun. They must not wait till this took place ; they must not allow a war to break out, which would be fraught with the most ruinous consequences to the Crown and to the country. It was a monstrous step to which the young king was urg- ed. Notwithstanding all the political motives advanced by the Glueen, she was in this matter what she was in reality, a revengeful and ambitious Italian. She had associated with her cause the passions of other private individuals, and was he who possessed the sovereign authority to forget the sacred ST. BARTHOLOMEW'S DAY. 275 character of his office, to approve of the vengeance of a party to the bloodtbrstmess of a portion of that Parisian populace which he had up to the present moment controlled and re- pressed That Catharine de' Medici wished him to do'o constitutes her great political crime against her son, against / her house, and agamst the royal authority generally. She felt only as a party chief, who had obtained possession of sovereignty by usurpation, somewhat like her cousin-german Cosmo not hke. a queen born to her dignity. In the condi- tion into which she had now fallen she was tormented with apprehensions for the security of her position, and even for her hfe, and sue saw no way of calming her terrors except by proceeding to the execution of the sanguinary design which she had long contemplated as possible in such a caL However unlimited the authority was which Catharine ex- I ercised over her son, she had on this occasion to encounter f some resistance on his part. The proposal appeared to him I horrible. She answered him with an Italian proverb, - Mild- ness IS sometimes cruelty, and cruelty mildness." He feared the evil impression it would make upon mankind generally but he was answered that the enmity of the two parties, and the name of the Guises, would carry all the blame. He could not resolve upon sacrificing friends with whom he was on terms of the most confidential intercourse, such as Coli^nv and La Rochefoucauld, who had spent this very evening with him in pleasant jesting and conversation. Catharine how- ever, insisted, and it went so far that his mother and brother threatened to leave the Court,* since they could not induce him to take precautions against the ruin with which he was „ * f '^T""!" ^f^]'- R^'^'ione di 1574 : " Stette piii d' un ora e mez^a remtente ; finataente, combattuto della madre et del fraWlo consent. ; e vedendo la Regina, che, se la cosa si fusse diferi a 3 portava poncolo d. scoprirsi, venne a questo per far risolvere i Re di report of M.cheh has been of more assistance to me than that of c"! vall, ; .t deserves to be printed. I would only observe, that the nar^- Uve put into the mouth of the Duke of Anjou appears to me, o^r^ry grounds, which W.11 be investigated elsewhere, to be spuriois; a^o have been derived from another source. 276 HISTORY OF FRANCE. •caift threatened, and which might be so easily averted ; finally, she reproached him with want of courage, which put an end to all his reluctance, and Charles IX. yielded, nay adopt- ed the proposed scheme with all the native vivacity of his temperament. Late on the evening of August 23d, Charron, Prevot des Marchands, and his predecessor Marcel, who had just retired from the office, were summoned to the Louvre. The question was laid before Marcel, who was known to be well acquainted with the capital, and very influential^ — supposing the King, under very urgent circumstances, should need the assistance of the Parisian populace, upon what number of them could he reckon ? Marcel answered that the number would be in proportion to the time allowed him for assembling them; that in a month he could have a hundred thousand men ready. •* But how many in a week ?" He named a proportionate number. " And this very day how many ?" He thought he might be able to collect twenty thousand, or perhaps more.. These inquiries were made not so much on account of an)' embarrassment felt in finding agents for the execution of the design they had determined upon, but because they always contemplated an armed resistance on the part of the Hugue- nots as possible. Charron was charged to summon the citi- zens to arms in their several quarters, and to close the gates. A few years before Catharine de' Medici had herself ex- perienced a fierce opposition on the part of the Parisian mob, and now she formed with the same mob this terrible alliance. Revenge, ambition, a conviction of the danger of her position at the moment, all now prompted her to call to her aid tlnJ fury of the populace. Still, however, all was not to be left to the blind impulses of the multitude : the most frightful feature in the whole transaction was that in all the confusion there was a certain order observed. They wished to spare the two princes, Navarre and Conde, but those of their companions who were to be slaughtered, were pointed out to the Duke of Montpensier. * The murder of the Admiral, and of those who were most ♦ The report sent to Spain by Olargui, Secretary of the Embassy Gachard, in the Bulletin de rAcaderaie de Bruxelles, xvi. 252. ST. BARTHOLOMEW'S DAY. 277 closely associated with him, was undertaken by Guise, Au- male, and the Bastard of Angouleme. According to one ac- count, which wears the appearance of truth, the Admiral was assailed in his own chamber, without any respect shown for his gray hairs ; he was mortally wounded, but before life be- came quite extinct, he was dragged to the window and flung out. It is said that he had laid hold of a column of the win- dow with his left arm, and received repeated wounds before he relinquished it, but was at last hurled into the court-yard, where Guise and Angouleme stood by while he expired.* La Rochefoucauld and his son, Teligny, the Admiral's son- j in-law, Briquemont, his sons, and all who were with them, were then killed, and their bodies thrown into the street, where they were stripped by the populace. The "Paris Matins," as the massacre was called — a name suggested by the remembrance of the " Sicilian Vespers" — had meanwhile commenced in all quarters of the capital. The tocsin was sounded every where, and the populace storm- ed the houses of the Huguenots, murdering them and plunder- ing their property, with the cry, " The King desires and com- mands it." They had come confiding in the hospitality which had been offered to them : they were surprised in their beds, and indiscriminately slaughtered ; there was no distinction made between those who had borne arms and those who had not, between the illustrious and the obscure, the master and the servant. The King of Navarre's bed was sprinkled with the blood of friends, strangers as well as natives, who had come from the remotest parts of the kingdom to witness the ceremony of his marriage. The zealous reformer of the Uni- versity, 1/3. Ramee, was hunted out in his hiding-place by one of his colleagues, whose ignorance he had frequently exposed, and by him given up to a party of paid murderers. It was a combination of private vengeance and public condemnation such as the world had never seen since the days of Sulla's proscriptions. To repress the horrors arising from civil war, was the final cause which had built the moral foundation of * Serranus, iv. 33 : " Nondum mortuus Amiralius brachio fenestrse columnam complectitur, ibi acceptis aliquot vulneribus in aream detur- I batur." $78 HISTORY OF FRANCE. the monarchy. In this act it forgot its historical origin, and made common cause with the very party whose hatred it should have controlled ; its traces were lost altogether in these orgies of blood. Oral orders, which were carried from town to town with the swiftness of the wind, authorized the rage of fanaticism every where. According to the most moderate calculations, there fell two thousand persons in Paris alone, and the num- ber massacred in France was not less than twenty thousand. From time to time the flame broke out afresh, even after or- ders had been issued to restrain it. The rage of the multitude lived in its own movements, longing for blood, and nourished with blood. The minds of men were filled with wild fanta- sies, which made them afraid of themselves, and caused the very elements to appear fraught with terror. Charles IX., about eight days after the massacre, caused his brother-in-law Henry to be summoned to him in the night. He found him as he had sprung from his bed, filled with dread at a wild tumult of confused voices, which prevented him from sleeping. Henry himself imagined he heard these sounds ; they appeared like distant shrieks and bowlings, mingled with the indistinguishable raging of a furious multitude, and with groans and curses, as on the day of the massacre. Messen- gers were sent into the city to ascertain whether any new tumult had broken out, but the answer returned was that all was quiet in the city, and that the commotion was in the air. Henry could never recall this incident without a horror that made his hair stand on end. CHAPTER XVI. TRANSITION OF THE GOVERNMENT FROM CHARLES IX. TO HENRY m. It sounds incredible, and yet it is quite true, that even after the events of the bloody wedding dueen Catharine pro- fessed still to sustain the character of a mediatrix, while on both sides nothing else was thought or could be thought of the whole occurrence than that the French Court had joined the irreconcilable reactionary party in their efibrts against Protestantism. The Glueen avoided receiving the Papal legate, who just then arrived ; and when his entrance could no longer be deferred, she left Paris, in company with her son, in order not to witness it. The Duke of Alva spoke to his friends of the whole trans- action as it had occurred with strong disapproval, for the in- formal violence to which the fanaticism of the mob had been excited was in direct contradiction to his habits of thought arid disposition. He expected from it, however — especially now that the most formidable enemies of his King were removed, that the policy of the French Court, might be brought to concur with that of Spain. King Philip felt him- self moved by the event, which was totally unexpected by him, to an approximation with France, and caused to be mad<» to the French Court an offer of his assistance toward the com- plete extermination of the Huguenots. The Court, however, answered him with pompously sounding, and, under the cir- cumstances, memorable words, that " a King of France needed no allies but his own people." The fearful deed had come almost unexpectedly upon the very person who perpetrated it — ^the dueen. She was not 280 HISTORY OF FRANCE. HENRY THE THIRD. 281 ■PI prepared for an alteration of her policy ; she was firmly de- termined to raise her son, the Duke of Anjou, to the throne of Poland ; she also hoped that either he or the Duke of Alen9on might he called to the office of Protector of the Ne- therlands, and hoped to see him married to the Glueen of England. She thought, under the impression of the uni- versal terror, to put an end to the domestic commotions, by a declaration she made, to the intent that, although she had forbidden meetings and preachings, she did not wish to lay any restraint upon individual liberty of conscience. That that was the arrangement to which Catholicism had submit- ted in England. The English Embassador told her that the only difierence between the two cases was, that his sovereign had not bound herself to the contrary. To this it must be added, that no one trusted in these new promises of Catharine's. There were some among the Huguenots who were inclined to make their peace, and held it to be almost a duty, since the King their master was now a man, and directed the gov- ernment himself; and many, under the influence of the terror that overspread France, reconciled themselves to the Mass. The greater part, however, were of opinion that no guarantee of any kind deserved their confidence ; of two evils, said they, the lesser was manifestly to be chosen, and that consisted in the continuance of hostilities : in distrust alone was their safe- ty : how much more wretched was it to be slaughtered by hired murderers than to fall in a struggle which was justified in the sight of God and man ; for they were not contending against their King, but against criminals who gave loose to their fury under the shelter of his name. Nismes and Sancerre, follow- ing the example of Rochelle, refused to receive royal troops. Fiery preachers, putting all at hazard, inflamed the minds of their hearers, and summoned them to the serviceof the judg- ment of God, whose arm was already raised against the guilt- stained authors of the massacre, and exhorted them to destroy the tyranny in the tyrants. Four royal armies took the field in order to force the towns to submission, the strongest body marching against Rochelle. But here there appeared another kind of reaction arising from 1 what had taken place ; the assailing troops were disunited among themselves. Many of the bravest soldiers were seized with horror at the idea of being associated with the men who had murdered the Admiral, or who bore the blame of that deed, and would not serve with them. In the midst of their social enjoyments, the remembrance of blood intruded itself: on one occasion the company imagined they saw drops of blood under the dice which young Guise had just thrown upon the gaming-table, and the play was given up in horror. When the English fleet approached, the two princes of the blood who were in the army, Alenfon and Henry of Navarre, formed the resolution of escaping to the ships, and fleeing to England. There appeared among the troops a party of dis- contented persons who were, in secret, Protestants. In the camp itself the notion was entertained of demanding justice against the murderers, and even, if necessary, of compelling it by force. It does not follow from these circumstances, however, that the attack was not carried on with great earnestness. Many thousands must have fallen in the attempts to storm the for- tress ; but the defenders never forgot that they were contend- ing not only for all spiritual good, but for existence itself. The union of the towns-people, with the refugees in the great principle of religion, made them invincible. The most des- perate assaults were heroically resisted, and the most daring sorties made by the besieged, and the Catholic banners which they took were displayed upon the walls ; fortunate accidents were regarded as visible tokens of Divine favor, and proofs that God had heard his people when they cried to him in their deepest distress. Three causes wrought concurrently in favor of the Hugue- nots — the heroism of the defense they made, the divisions among the besieging troops, and the moderate tone which had been adopted in the foreign policy of the kingdom. The con- sequence was, that in July, 1573, they obtained a tolerably favorable edict, by which the free exercise of their religion was guaranteed to those who possessed the highest jurisdic- tion, and to all others liberty to follow their several occupa- tions in peace. This extended to the three towns of Rochello, ■^ \ . 282 HISTORY OF FRANCE. HENRY THE THIRD. 283 Montauban, and Nismes. Sancerre, which had suffered a siege resembling that of Numantia in ancient times, obtained peace through the mediation of the Polish embassador, by whom the Duke of Anjou received the invitation to assume the crown of Poland, for the possession of that dignity also rested then upon a position of reconcihation between the two relig- ious parties. Upon the anniversary of St. Bartholomew's Day the Prot- estants felt themselves again strong enough to demand, at an assembly which they held in the town of Milhaud, complete freedom for the exercise of their religion. The disunion of the camp had meanwhile transferred itself to the Court. After the departure of the Duke of Anjou the precedence which he had always possessed was claimed by his brother, the Duke of Alen9on, and as it was not granted he commenced an open opposition. He was charged with having joined Henry of Navarre— iu allusion to the conspiracy of La Mole and Coconas— in order to expel the Glueen from the Court, or even to get her murdered — that is, the mother by the son. Catharine thought it necessary to place the two princes iu close custody, and to send their chief confidants, the Marshals Cosse and Montmorency, to the Bastille. From what appears in the state documents concerning these transactions, it is impossible to apportion the mass of guilt with accuracy ; the impression they make is one of astonish- ment at the very extraordinary condition of this court, and the disposition of the minds of those who belonged to it. Alen9on believed that he wa.s hated by his mother— that she not only postponed his claims, but wished to destroy him ; the King of Navarre was more than once apprehensive that his death had been determined on. On the other hand, the King and dueen trembled for their own lives at the slightest movement ; and much was spoken of wax-figures, and cer- tain superstitious and heathenish ceremonies, by which it was intended to shorten the King's life. Magic and mys- terious superstition play a part also in reference to other persons. The Itahans, ready for any undertaking, daring and trust-worthy, had the chief hand in these matters, Buch as Cosimo Ruggiero, the tutor of Alen9on, who could not be forced to make a confession by all the agony of the torture. In this, hour of confusion the eye involuntarily turns toward Charles IX. In his earlier years he had excited much sym- pathy ; he appeared to be a good-tempered, interesting, and generous youth, and showed a taste for poetry and music. For the purpose of invigorating his weak frame various kinds of physical exercise were thought necessary, and to these he gave himself up almost passionately. A smith's forge was erected for him, and it gave him pleasure to be found there bathed in sweat, while he was at work on a suit of armor. He often rose and took horse at midnight in order to ride to Che chase, and thought it the greatest honor if he could excel every one in his bodily exercises. The consequence of this was, however, that little was done for the education of his intellect, and nothing for the formation of his morals. To reflect on the affairs of the State, in which nothing could be done without him, or to devote any thing like earnest attention to them, was not in his nature.* His passion, when excited, vented itself in a storm of wild imprecations. His ambition and his imagination had been long occupied with warlike schemes against Spain, with campaigns for the conquest of Milan, under the leading of the Admiral, or for the recovery of Na- varre. But the natural vehemence of disposition which he cherished was capable of receiving another direction amid the passionate impulses of the religious and political parties by which he was surrounded, and then even the friends and companions in whose intercourse he had found pleasure appeared to him as his most dangerous enemies. Thus, after some shght resistance, he allowed himself, in an evil hour, to be seduced to the commission of that deed which has consigned his memory to the hatred and execration of succeeding ages. He himself was never entirely free from its effects ; he felt conscious that he was regarded as a man of bad heart, in whom slumbered an indomitable savageness. It was remarked that he never looked any one straierht in the face : in his audiences he generally kept his eyes shut, and ♦ Sigismondo di Cavalli, 1574 : " Al Re pareva bella cosa aver chi el govemasse, e senza altro fastidio potere attendere ai suoi piaccri." 284 HISTORY OF FRANCE. HENRY THE THIRD. 285 when he opened them he directed them upward, and imme- diately afterward cast them down upon the ground. He now, for the first time, communicated his intention of beginning himself to reign, and to be king in reality, but it was too late. The violent gusts of passion to which he gave way, and were followed by corresponding depression of spirit ; the distraction caused by conspiracies which were continually discovered round him ; the excessive and continued efforts of a body otherwise weak and full of corrupt humors, led to early death on the 30th of May, 1574, before he had completed his four-and- twentieth year.'^^ He had never, in fact, awoke from the in- toxication of passion and excitement to a full self-conscious- ness, nor ever emancipated himself from his mother. A few hours before he expired he appointed her Regent till the return of his brother from Poland ; his last word was " My mother." Catharine, in whom we find no trace of emotion that inter- fered with her energy, effectively preserved the peace of the country generally, but she succeeded in doing so only because she held those who were really able to disturb it — the twc' princes and the two marshals — in her custody. Meanwhile all was still full of fermentation, and of new manifestations; of disaffection and threatened revolt. One fact may be regarded as certain, and is expressly stated by the Venetian embassador, namely that all men of under- standing, without difference of creed, regarded the massacrt; as a deed of horror and scandal. Absolute power, said they, had at least an acknowledged jurisdiction, but this was a deed of lawless tyranny. Must it come to such a state of things in France that men can no longer lay themselves down to sleej) in their beds without the dread of being murdered during thcj night ? Deeds of this description, they stated, would be im- * That the representations in the " Henriade," among others, ar*? exaggerated, may be seen from the almost medical report of the Flor- entijke Embassador, in Alberi, p. 416. Sig. Cavalli is also very correct : " La morte del povero Principe si causo per una pessima abitudine, ac- quistata dal raal modo di vivere, per la quale cased ammalato da una estraordinaria ebulitione di sangue, che tutta la massa era corrotta, e sa bene parve che da essa se ne levasse, pero da poi mai stette bene ;*' to which must be added his mental disquietude. possible, except to the Glueen, descended from the tyrant race of the Medici, and to her Italian companions.* It was not thought incredible even that she had taken the Turkish gov- ernment for her model. When, however, the idea of violence which characterized the usurping sovereignties which had subjected the Italian repubhcs, had, through a combination of persons and circum- stances, acquired influence over a great monarchy whose fundamental principles were in direct contradictit)n to that idea, it must of necessity have excited the opposition of the principles it had infringed. This opposition had in fact man- ifested itself some time before. ^^ Even in the reign of Henry II., La Boetie had published al small brochure in opposition to the spirit of faction which prevailed under that monarch. In this pamphlet he treats the supreme authority as the domination of faction depend- ent upon a single person, and proposes the question why all the others do not unite against that one. Up to the present time this little book had been circulated in private only, it now was published. But the transaction of St. Bartholomew's Day called forth far different utterances of the aversion which sought a theory for its justification. In opposition to it the idea of the sovereignty of the people now makes its appear- ance in French literature. Francis Hottmann, a Frenchman^ ( was one of those who had narrowly and with the utmost difficulty escaped the slaughter of 1572. He took refuge in Switzerland, and was the first who, leaving out of view the religious aspect of the question, which was that dwelt upon by the clerical writers and especially by the Jesuits, argued it upon political and historical grounds. He had studied the history of the ancient Franks, and confounding the aristocrat- ico-military assemblies of the Champ de Mars with the body politic, he maintained that the King ought to be elected, and that the whole mass of the people should concur in the elec- tion, for free men were not created to submit to despotic * Micheli : " Attribuendolo alia Regina, come Italiana, Fiorentina, et di casa di Medici, di sangue, dicono essi, tiranno, percio odiosissuna, siccome per causa sua e in universale tutta la natiore Italiana con per- icolo che un giomo non la faccia male." 286 HISTORY OF FRANCE. i4^ I dominion, nor lo be driven like herds of cattle. The same views prevailed in another work called "Junius Brutu;3 against the Tyrants.'* In this it was affirmed that the authority of the King could not e5:ist without the sauction of the people — that the right of election was an inalienabl<3 franchise of the people ; first the people, then the King, and the King must be amenable to the people. They departed as widely from the fundamental principle of the Romanic Ger- man states as the disciples of Machiavelli ; after the terrific experience of the past year, such views were received witli applause — thoughts that were before whispered in the ear in secret, were now proclaimed from the house-tops. ^ Another result of the massacre was the rise in the country of a new form of the opposition which was promoted by the general discontent. The governor of a great province, who was not particularly disposed to favor Protestantism, undei- took voluntarily to defend a principle which was by no means that of the government, and to insist upon it with urgency. When the peace which was concluded in the year 1568 was immediately afterward violated, and moderate courses once more forsaken, there appeared a new party, composed of persons possessing great authority, who wished to obser\c the treaty from political considerations, and which was there- fore named the party of the Politicians. At their head a])- peared the sons of the Constable, the Marshal Francis de Montmorency and his brothers, who, like their father, were Catholics, but systematic opponents of the Cardinal of Lor- raine ; for every thing, however general its bearing, was now again dependent upon the combinations of faction. The sons of the Constable had, as we have mentioned, obtained a mo- mentary ascendency by the peace of 1570, and exercised it lo establish the measures of reconciliation which were adopted. On this account, however, they were the more afiected by the sudden relapse to violent proceedings, and the Marshal him- self escaped the general slaughter by a mere accident. The discontented in the camp before Rochelle immediately united with him in his views, and there is no doubt that he took part in the agitations with which the Duke of Alenqon filled HENRY THE THIRD. 287 the Court. The aueen kept him personaUy m prison ; his brother, Henry de Montmorency, named Damville, Governor of Languedoc, was not less suspected by her : she was eager either to get him into her power, or to remove him from the province. Damville maintained positively that there was a design to get him murdered. Catharine, however, found in Damville a man who was not only cautious, but who was ready to defend himself with arms. He did not willingly aUow the delegates of the aueen to come near him, and surrounded himself with a guard devoted to him personally. Much was said of a tame wolf he had— however rare such a phenomenon is— which showed a wonderful attachment to him. That powerfuf man. Captain Aragon, who with one blow had cut in two a noble beast upon the bridge of Avignon, slept in his chamber. The aueen deprived Damville of his government, and assigned It to another ; but he met this movement by forming a still closer connection with the province, and with both the re- ligious parties. Since the bloody nuptials the Protestants in Languedoc had become thoroughly organized. They possessed a number of castles and small towns, and in every district where they had the authority they appointed a chief who should send military assistance to any that were attacked. Montauban was the central point for Upper Languedoc and Guienne ; Nismes for Lower Languedoc, Rovergue, and the Cevennes. Deputies from the several districts were associated with the military commanders. The Reformed did not find favor with the multitude here any more than in other places ; but they had a great part of the nobility on their side, about two hundred gentlemen in Languedoc, chiefly young men who had been engaged in study, and a large number of the better class of burghers and artisans, whose spirit had not been broken with labor. It did not appear quite certain that they would join with Damville, who did not belong to their creed, but they fully recognized his merit. He was the first man, they said, who aroused men's minds from the torpor into which they had been thrown as by a general paralysis, and remembered that he owed duties to God and the Crown, and at the same time to the mass of the people. Their union with the princes 288 HISTORY OF FRANCE. HENRY THE THIRD. 289 V of the blood had, after a long struggle, obtained for them the assurance of peace ; their union with the governor of a great province must, now that that edict was revoked, secure for them its re-establishment ; for Damville and his whole political party demanded the renewal of the Edict of Pacification as a preliminary condition to any further negotiation. A great portion of the Catholic nobility who had relatives among the Huguenots, and had been reproached on that account with not having opposed them earnestly enough, now also joined the governor. The Parliaments held firm by the fundamental maxims of the persecuting religion, and this furnished another motive to the nobility to take the part of the Huguenots, for they hated these lawyers, by whom their rights were limited, and themselves treated with injustice. A preliminary ar- rangement was made at Milhaud in August, 1574, the Hu- guenots declaring themselves ready to acknowledge Damville: as Governor of Languedoc, while he on his part pledged him- self not to introduce the Catholic service into any town in. which they were masters. A council composed of members of both creeds was to assist the governor in his administra- tion." * Thus was it attempted in this province to re-establish the Edict of Pacification, which the Government had abolished, and to make it possible for both parties to live together. The; arbitrary manner in which it was done, they excused by as- severating that a faction composed of foreigners, had obtained possession of the supreme power, and was striving with all its authority to annihilate the kingdom, the nobility, the princes of the blood, and with them every thing like education and pure morality. It was hoped that when the new king arrived, and learned the real state of affairs, he would confirm all that had been done. There was some reason to expect this, for when Henry HI., without altogether renouncing his Polish kingdom, yet left it with a degree of impatience which looked something like a flight, he sent for Damville, as he was coming from Ycnicr. on his return to France, in order to consult with him concern- ing measures of pacification. The Marshal met the King in * Vaissette, Histoire de Languedoc, v. 3S2. Piedmont, who assured him of his intention to establish peace, and recommended him to return to Languedoc and to wait for what should be further effected.* When Damville arrived at Beaucaire, he caused all the bells to be rung, and an- nounced to the assembled burghers that it was the King's will that both parties should live peaceably with each other. It a private man who loves his native land, and is removed to a distance from it, where he is less affected by the mo- mentary impression of events, feels impelled to weigh its cir- cnmstances thoroughly, and to devise that which would be most advantageous to the general interests, how infinitely more IS this to be expected from a prince who hastens to undertake the government of a country. Henry HL, oft his journey, ap- pears to have cherished designs which he afterward regretted were not earned into execution. He intended, immediately on his arrival, that a general assembly of the Estates should be summoned, in order to conclude with both parties the measures most conducive to the benefit of all. He might ' have reckoned upon obedience to ordinances issued on the authority of resolutions of the Estates, and would have been III a position to compel it if refused. In this assembly meas- ures were to be taken for liquidating the debt, and for regu- lating the expenditure of the Court, and of all the other gov- ernmental departments ; it was then to be announced to the neighboring powers that the new monarch desired to maintain friendship with them, but at the same time required definite treaties, and an unequivocal understanding of their positions relative to himself A settlement of the religious, financial, and external affairs, would have made a fortunate and pow- erful government possible.! It is not clear whether any consultation was held concern- ing these ideas. The members of the Council commissioned to oppose them by the aueen, could not, as far as they them- * This is narrated by Damville in his manifesto, November, 1574, Le Laboureur, ii. 135 ; he says nothing of the plots to which he' is said to have been exposed. t Letter to Villeroy, in Groen van Prinsterer, Suppl. 232 : " II falloit moy, venu a la couronne, faire une assemblee d'Etats, et resolvant tant avec les uns qu'avec les autres, ce qui pouvoit reunir le tout, faire le jurer et le signer par tous les principaux et les compagnyes " N 1 i J 290 HISTORY OF FRANCE. selves were concerned, be in favor of the King's notions. They had no ideas of commencing a new system of govern- ^lent, but rather of carrying on the previous system without alteration. Catharine insisted that it was the final desire of Charles IX., that those who had last risen against him, should be punished, and that its fulfillment was incumbent upon his successor. The Cardinal of Lorraine was with her in these views, and tendered the power of his convincing eloquence to prevent any deviation from the system of severity.* The -whole transaction ended with Henry's adopting the political principles of his T3rother, whom he succeeded, and went even a step further back. He caused it to be announced that he acknowledged liberty of conscience, but that he would not tolerate any religious practices which deviated from those of Catholicism. He promised peace, but it was only to those who would lay down their arms and submit to his authority. The renewal of the policy of Charles IX., necessarily aroused all the old hostilities against the government. Montmorency, cited before the tribunal at Lyons, and, at the same time, assailed in Upper and Lower Languedoc, as well as from the side of Provence, now formed a definite alli- ance with the united Huguenots of the south and west. They acknowledged him as their chief, and he took their leaders into the council by whose advice he desired to be directed in the affairs of justice, policy, and finance. Regular provincial and general assemblies were ordained, for the general arming, on the principle of mutual toleration. In the places where the professors of the two creeds dwelt promiscuously, both were to vow, with their hands lifted up to God, that they would observe the peace toward one another. The name of Montmorency attracted the nobility to take share in the pro- ceedings, and they associated themselves with Damville in no small numbers, adopting his views and joining their arms to his. The conduct of the Count de Ventadour is particularly remarkable. He demanded once more the calling of a na- tional council, in order to put a final end to all doubts re- ♦ This fact we learn from the speech of Henry IV., delivered to the deputies of the Parliament of Guienne, on November 3, 1599. — Lettres Missives, iv. 183. HKIijRY THE THIRD. 29, specting religion, and declared that, until this decision was urnved at every man mast take part with the one orT^ other Confession. • Political demands were, however, co„! sTieof offi '°" "'"""^ *" "''^'°- the abohtion f the sale of offices was urged ; the caUing of the States General • the dimmution of th« tavps t,.™,i,o* .u • "-''="'="'. Francis T TK. , ^ ^^"^ "^^"^ '" t^^ «>™« of francis I. The provmcial Estates of Dauphine, Provence I and Burgundy. ra.sed their voices loudly for'thes and Zl' lar concessions. ' The attack of the royal troops upon Languedoc was not of much consequence. Damville said it would have been r^uch Zwl:dt" *°"^r '^'-f th^to retain his confederate. \..r +1, * r • ^ . ^^gaiiy, as the new King also was ruled iCttrk^gtr ^'"•^ '- ~"*'^ '^-^^ - - ■ ^r''i'^'''/"t'?°»*y ='«q«i'-ed another considerable acces- B.on by the adhesion of the Duke of Alenpon, who found an opportumty at last of leaving the Court! and joining the war L tv, ir"' """ """' "" '""eer spoken of, but a war for the public mterests, as in the time of Louis XL ;1 but although the name of the Huguenots was thus put some- what m the background, the religious element still continued from the Court, young Henry of Navarre left it also, and deemed U expedient to return without delay to the Reformed confession^ The bond of union between the parties was^he prom.se of the Politicians to labor for the re-establishment of the edict of January, which constituted the great object to- ward which the wishes of the Reformed were directed Ihe dispute, however, was not to be decided this time, either, without the interposition of neighboring nations, and peoples who were related in their religious views. auLritvT/'.V """"'T"'-/- '**• ®^"^'"" " probably the best . authority for this penod, and contams the most detailed inform..;!™ coneemuig these projects. Thuanus also has a^ extc , ,. "aT^O il fj aT' ^■"'^^^'' '"® '■ " No" considerandosi per c^po principale i f 292 HISTORY OF FRANCE. En.„4. i.- ''"^'=*'»^ie a weaJc said, that a^ma^n ^J^l^ ^^^^^^ rex:utrcrrr^ -tWity of the French JgZ.Tth to consenf ■ T P°^'»"'".,'>« ^'^W ^ould not permit him consent. I see no arm." adds the embassador, " which Regarded in themselves, the Guises were by no means e.. pable of effecting all the embassador states. Thdr S tat possessions were unimportant, and they exerci J over h'^ fXm Thaf h" h f ^ r^ '' '""^ ^'"^ "^^^ « death d'Angely: the G:iS ^1 /eHt ! "f '-7 at St. Jean handed it over to the DukHf SveL "'"''''• ''"' «^« inctrto't'';t;iSeT^^^^ proved of a serious In t!. '■''' """^ '' ^^id to have ap- but all her Zd cou„lr"".T°f ''"' ^'°^ "^ Navarre ft by her son. Sa lasUhev * ?''"' "^^ '''^'''y ^-'^^ - it- Henry III^ X^r^'^^^l^ ^" ^ ^ begged her never again tolr/.7''-''^J'' ^'' °"" ^'o^^' ^nd This was a reLaSle Tut at' the '"'T'* 'urn of circumstancer TK « *.«.^amc time a necessary rekindled thrWs old an^'p f ™'"^ "' '''' ®"'^«^ ^al a-sed his aiSftoir^h^^ rd^rivr.^'- mcreased and strengthened by ev;ry thing th'w ''" eurred. until it had at last become almo J V ^ '""'" ""■ He was in that eond.tion that hT^^^d tslr^ * Morosini, in Tempesti, Vita di Sisto V i 380 e Lorraine. M. de Gui.e nV eWt e™l '^' ^'' ""''""» ^^ « «l^ found no proofs of this sufficient To „r.!' „ ^S*"*""- 297. I have ■■otassert it, but I can not a^ther^if """"' ' "'"■'^-' -» -MXl'Xi"'?r t^el^^^^^^^^^^^ '"^ ^-io. aner- «eording to him Heniy saTd "Essetdot T.^""" ^^ tempesti; ^M." i. 373. ^ " ^ """ ™'«f« P'i ingerire in questi 362 HiSTOEY OF FRANCE. THE BARRICADES. 363 I I to those against whom he was engaged in war, and to dread those who stood upon his side. As the mediation of the Clueen Mother was now also at an end, the state of things assumed daily a more and more threat- ening aspect. The Guises presented obstacles to Epernon's taking possession of the government in Normandy. They refused to admit royal garrisons in Picardy. In both prov- inces they had a large party ; in the latter, the entire nobility were on their side. The King caused Aumale to be sum- moned to receive the royal garrisons in Picardy, and to quit the province, with the threat that if he did not obey, the King himself would come and cast his head at his feet.* Aumale replied, "that if he were to be forgotten, as well as his father, who had fallen in battle before the King's eyes, he had still heart enough and friends sufficient to defend both his life and honor." The Nuncio had already informed the Pope of the increas.- ing danger of a war among the Catholics themselves. The ladies of the palace remarked, that the whole afiair might have a tragical issue. On their side, the confederate nobles assembled first at Nancy, in the palace of the Duke of Lorraine, and afterward at Soissons, in just as hostile an attitude as ever. The con- tempt with which they regarded the proposals of the King may be seen from a letter of Guise to the Spanish embassador. " He is determined not to allow the Picards to be injured fur- ther than by threats, and not even this shall they have to bear ; the King shall not have traveled far from Paris, when he (Guise) will so order matters, that he will be compelled to return again." t A manifesto immediately appeared, in which the old demands of the religious and political opposition were advanced afresh. It appeared as if the confederates them- selves intended to come to Paris, in order to present it with the greater publicity. * " Altrimenti sarebbe cgli andato m persona con tutte Ic forzo, per gittarli la testa a pindi."— From the reports of the Nuncio, in Tempest?, i. 390. t *' Si le Roy part de Paris, je le feray plustot penser a revenir qu'il n'aura approche les Picards d'une joumee :" in Bouille, iii. 260. During these proceedings, the fermentation in the capital increased daily. There is nothing in the world blinder than the suspicion, so wise in its own eyes, which interprets all that happens in accordance with preconceived opinions. The city had not the most distant idea of the peculiar position of Henrv III. in reference to the Guises. The people regarded him who had formed an alliance with a foreign king, and one op- posed to French interests, as a defender; while the King, who had at least preserved the honor of France, they looked upon as a traitor and an enemy. In April, as a preacher, who had delivered rebelliou? harangues, was about to be brought before the King, or prob- ably to be put in prison, an armed mob assembled with the determination to prevent it. This resistance might without doubt hare been suppressed, but the Court avoided violent measures, thinking it better to occasion no further alarm. This advantage, however, gave the members of the League still greater confidence. Much was said to the King of the military organization of the city in its five quarters, each of which had its own leader.* Upon the declaration of the Parisians, that they were strong enough, and prepared for any enterprise, and that they wanted nothing further, except the presence of Guise, he answered that they should not have long to wait for him. The city was now filled with men of sus- picious appearance. The civic authorities made one attempt to remove persons of that description, but they found it im- practicable. The King was now in the greatest embarrassment. Should he leave the city, it would be lost to him ; while by remain- ing in it, his authority, if not his personal safety, would be endangered. He resolved to bring into the suburbs of St. Denis and St. Martin a detachment of the Swiss and French guards who were quartered in the neighborhood. He counted upon finding a moderate party among the citizens, who ad- * Proces Verbal de M. Poulain, at the end of the 'Journal dc L'- Etoile ;' Petitot, xlv. 434. This is the Polledro of Davila, and the Polinius of De Thou, who plays so important a part in the writings of this historian. The credibility of his statements has been always dis- puted, but that they are authentic has never been questioned. 364 HISTORY OF FRANCE. hered to the chief magistrate, the Prevot des Marchands, and among whom were a few of the trainband captains. The question which occupied all men's minds did not refer so much to the dispute between the Huguenots and the Catho- lics, as to the opinions of the Catholics themselves concerning the'position they occupied in regard to the Huguenots. The one party insisted that the heretics should be exterminated with fire and sword— that the Church principle was the foundation, which should be maintained by all, and uncondi- tionally. The others answered that that would result in the destruction of the country, and the ruin of the State, upon the order of which every thing rested. This matter was spoken of in all companies, and where men came together in large numbers it became the subject of debate. The King, driven for a moment from his usual policy, returned to it again, and appeared as if he wished to lean upon that moderate party \, which had been named Politicians ; but upon this very point arose the excitement of the popular confederacy. A rumor was spread abroad that the King wished to make the Politi- cians masters of the city, and to expel the members of the League, nay to arrest the most distinguished and best affected of the citizens ; a list of those who were said to be devoted to destruction was circulated from hand to hand. To the re- ligious and political passions of the people was now added apprehension for their own lives; and, if it had not been done previously, the Duke of Guise was now requested to come to the capital and protect the true Catholics, his adherents. Duke Henry of Guise, like the King, was the son of an Italian mother ; they had grown up together, and, like their mothers, had been united with each other in good and evil, but the nature of the Duke had taken a development alto- gether different from that of the King. The Italians could not sufficiently admire the harmonious union of mental energy and corporeal vigor which was displayed in Henry Guise. On one occasion he was seen to swim against the current ol a stream in complete armor. In the game of tennis, in pugilism, and all military exercises, he was unrivaled, and no hardship seemed to fatigue him. He was a tall and fine- looking man, with fair flowing hair and lively piercing eyes ; THE BARRICADES. gg^ ctelTThTTeir T "' '^!f ^""' '^ ^ ^^- - -^ of his cheeks the relic of a wound received in battle-it seemed rather to increase his soldierly appearance ; in the iud— orougnt up in the lap of luxury, he cheerfuUv put ud xrifh the pnvations and difficulties of the camp, /e read notWut tures He d d Tfv T',''"' """'^^^^"' '" ""^"y d"-g adven- tures. He did not think long consultations and reflection neces- S teir ""tt:; ^.^^^^ ^^^-^ ^'-^^^ depended :;:„ „.n„: ^''^?'*"'"- Under the impression of coucurrin.. intelli- he w^rfol h' Tf *^ ""''''"'^ — - --pan he would form his plan, from the accomplishment of which he would not afterward allow himself to be diverted bv anv objection^ As he was willing to share in the pals and Lbo^ of his soldiers, so was he also desirous of dividing whh them pamted his portrait is asked why he had not given him a laurel wreath around his brows. The poet himself answer^ his own question on behalf of the painter, by sayin. that th^ totsTI '^'^ P'""'^" """^^^ ^^^-^ and'distributed lem was o. what he wished to be ; but he avoided every appear- ance of overweening arrogance. His letters of whTch many vrio thoU ; r;' ''^'"" """^^^^y- ^e eondeLTd:! even to those of the lowest rank, and seldom refused an in- Sx Ve itr ' "^'''"^' °' ^"y °*- ''--t^ estivity. He had been seen to cross the street, hat in hand to salute an acquamtance, sometimes of mean condition. Ir; a company of hundreds he distinguished, at the first glance turn of i V ? u"''T' ^^ ^ '"''^*'™<'"* "f th« «ye or a turn of the head, that he recognized them. In short he possessed that quality which attaches men more tha™ thing else-carelessness for himself, combined with attention i«;rs:;":ttrttitr"^^ ^. ^ave, attraeva fa .»teVl'„,o": relS^X.-ctpa^- I 366 HISTORY OF FRANCE. to others. He was also generous, though far from being rich. Let us figure to ourselves a man posseesed of these qualities, and, at the same time, of illustrious descent and exalted rank, in the midst of an excited multitude, whose most passionate feelings he shared in hatred against the pro- fessors of another creed. How could it otherwise he than that all should cling to him ? King Henry III. once said that it was true he wore the crown, but that Guise was the king of minds.* There is no doubt that Guise's conduct, if conformable to his nature, was, at the same time, calculated for the produc- tion of such effects ; for Henry Guise was, in the most dis- tinguishing characteristics, a party chief He united in him- self, as men even then observed, the heroic qualities of his father and the subtlety of his uncle. Of the manifold motives which determined him at any time in a particular course, he knew just as well as his uncle how to present those which were most consonant with the disposi- tions of those with whom he was treating. The others he reserved even from his most confidential friends — his own brothers could not extract them from him. His word or promise was not to be relied upon. We have seen through .>hat a miserable subterfuge he considered himself relieved from the stipulations of the treaty of Nemours. He was not fond of regular preparation, even in political affairs ; he was at home in disorder and tumult ; and looked for all success as the result of his popularity and his star. He obtained a certain superiority over the King by the fact that the latter, while prince, had belonged to the same party ; that they had borne arms together against the Hugue- nots ; prepared together for St. Bartholomew's Day ; and that the League of 1576 was their work in common. The King had since adopted another policy, and while Guise set him- self in opposition to it he retained a certain sympathy in the King's early reminiscences, and in the strict Church-maximfi he had formerly recognized, and from which Henry III. could not emancipate himself In the Duke, on the other hand, ♦ According to Morosini, it was once said to King Henry III., " Egli (il Duca di Guisa) e il Re nell' affetto, se la M. V. e Re nell' effetto." .THE BARRICADES. ggy Bion of the government of that province GuLlw T"" resolved to carry out his own I^^T' The K nThad ^vt M"iSio?or;h ir/nr " -r ^ ^"^' ^^^^^ juncture asw.n '^V ^P'''^"* P''^'™'^'' "^ the con- junctait, as well as from apprehension and ambition the ^arldT Ihl *" '7r T"*'"" '" *'^ P""'''''*-. -d t peared m the capital on the 9th of May, 1588 • his attend anee was small, but he did not require a^greater! He abghted at the palace of the Queen Mother, with whom at one view all the consequences of his arrival, trembled as she gazed on h.m. She asked what had brought him to Paris so unexpectedly; he answered, with some Warmth, bat he had heard there was a design in contemplation to su prii th! Cathohcs and destroy them in one night, and that he ba^ come to defcnd them, or else to die with them It has beel sa.d that he expressed himself in a similariy disrespectfu" manner to the King; but the most credible reports Tnit n proof of b.s havmg done so. Henry III. saw Guise, forThe first time after his return, in the apartment of the ftueen Consort, and, collecting himself for the effort, he spoke S of Epernon, who he said was bis friend, and therefore had cla ms upon the friendship of the Duke of Guise. The Duke , replied, that Epernon must first learn to acknowledge the dif- : ference which existed between them, both in nature as weU ' as birth, and afterward they might be friends.* Those who saw the King and the Duke together would never have sus- 1 pected that there existed between them a feeling of discord which was so soon to break out with violence. Even as lati ' ♦ This is the report of the Nuncio to Sixtus V. It is as a ve^inn 368 HISTORY OF FRANCE. as the 11th of May Guise fulfilled his office of Lord Steward of the Household at the supper-table with all the duty and observance of a contented subject. Uneasiness and apprehension increased however, each sue cessive moment, through the arrival of zealous and authorit- ative members of the League, such as the Archbishop Espinac of Lyons, as well as through the boundless popularity which Guise enjoyed. On one occasion an old woman forced her way through the crowd, and told him that she was now will- ing to die, since God had vouchsafed her the grace of seeing, with her own eyes, the preserver of the faithful. A tiler, at the risk of his life, jumped down from the roof of a house upon which he was at work, in order to have a nearer view of the Duke, who was passing in the street below. What would have been the consequence if the address of Soissons had been presented under these circumstances, and Guise had undertaken to be the interpreter of the general desire ? How could the King have ventured to offer any resistance ? the universal voice would have overpowered him. I do not find that Guise had any further object immediately in view, or that he contemplated the employment of force. The King was also far from being disposed to such a course. But the presence of so many strangers of equivocal position and character, and the doubtful fidelity of the civic mihtia— a division of which had abandoned an important post with- out orders — suggested to the Council, at a sitting held on the 11th of May, in which Catharine de' Medici took no part, the resolution to bring the French and Swiss troops, which were quartered in the suburbs, into the city. But where such hos- tile elements come into contact, there is soon no authority that can prevent a collision and the shedding of blood. The troops consisted of eleven Swiss companies and nine French. On the morning of the 12th of May they marched through the gates with fifes and drums, and took possession of the Halles, the Place de Greve, and the bridges and streets round the Louvre, and in the Cite. They also occupied the posts which had been deserted by the citizens. Altogether, with those which were already in the city, the troops might have amount- ed to about six thousand men. It is amazing that any one THE BARRICADES. ^ gg^ could have dreamt of overpowering- with so smlll « f city filled with armed burghers Paris had Z T A '\* ably half a million of inhabit nts^^^^^^^^^^^^^ the slightest resistance be offered they ruirb;ea^^^^^^^^^ houses and abuse the inhabitants, while the women w^^ be given up to the brutality of the Swiss soldTerT ' f The umult mcreased, the civic authorities in favor f h' rova! shTLThT ^^P^"^^' r ^^'^^^ ^PP-^^^^ - theiVroom wh shared the views and feelings of the maiorltv Tu 7 of the whole fell into the hands of a fTw of Tli ! ""''^'''' members of the Leairue aZ^ I """'* ""'^^"^^ more powerful intre uptHh! fo^seTf Te T^^t ^ Count Charles of Brissac, th'e son tfThTBLlrof^S^^^^^^ f whom It was said that he was a lion, and led a tiS,?^/ lions into battle. The voun^pr T^.- V 7 1 ^ * by Henrv ITT .n/ ^ T! ''^"^ ^^^ ^^^^ neglected uy xienry in., and now wished to nrnvo +« i,- t.- • ance by opposing him He til I ■ V ™ *"' "^i^"^' ti,o 1 • ^°°^ "'* position at the head of It U """• '" *' ^"'^^'''' ^^'■"- -here the student from the University joined him. The royal troops, on The and fifty thousand soulsbut th.t .^ ^ ' t"""""^^ '» Ave hundred hundred thousand '' "'^^ ^""^ "'^° ''^^n ^^duced to four G«L?'^'VJ;;;Sic?tiord;;r:: ",^»''-'™- Entrepnse de M. de est avenu dans cet e ville de Paris" rP,?, 1 tres-ventable de ce qui m, the last-named con Is the best^i^forZ- ' \l''"t ^'''"'PP^<=' *■ to be from the oen of Stvl! I 'nfomiation : it has been supposed oip.e. of the'L-r^-ur 'v^ThoTuI ;: fr^^" ton3t''rFr- to the events of ThSv St vln • . ^ ^"1*^"^ ^^^^ '^^""^^S author. ^^wsday. St. Yon is at most but the editor not the 970 HISTORY OF FRANCE. I I other hand, took post on the Place Maubert, under the com- mand of the brave Crillion, who; had he been allowed to act according to his own judgment, would probably have gained the superiority over the citizens. He had, however, received peremptory orders not to fire ; and as leave was not given him at the critical moment, he retired. A plan had long since been formed by the citizens to defend the streets with barricades, as in earlier years they had been defended with chains — a plan which had often been attempted elsewhere in the fury of civil war. As far as we know, Guise himself was not for having recourse to this extreme measure. Brissac, as he asserted, ordered all and conducted its execution. There is no doubt that he erected at least the first barricade at the opening of the Rue Galande in the place from which Crillion had retreated.* The same was done in a moment in all the neighboring quarters, and with the most decisive results. By mid-day the troops were every where efiectually separated from one another, shut up within barricades, and the citizens mas- ters universally. Marshal Biron, the commander of the troops, said even then to the King that each street was a town, which must be conquered. Biron, with a few attendants, went on foot up to one of the great barricades in order to speak of peace. There however, when he would not concede the de- mands made, he found the arms of the citizens pointed at himself. The demand of the mob was the total removal of all the troops, and again it was Brissac who commenced hos tile operations to compel them to yield. At the head of the armed men of the Place Maubert, he commanded the Swiss to extinguish their matches, and when they refused com- menced an attack on them in front, and in the rear from the Rue St. Jacques.f The Swiss immediately exhibited their rosaries in their outstretched hands, to show that they were Catholics, began to beg for quarter in their broken French. ♦ " El papel, que dio el agente de M. de Brissac," in the Archives of Simancas, contains these words : " Le Compte de Brissac, contre I'opin- ion de feu M. de Guise, dressa les barricades avec les gentilshommesi et le peuple de Paris, et degamit cinq ou six milles hommes de guerre . . qu'il confesse etre arrives comme par miracle." t " Jamais on ne vit chose mieux conduite, ny plus heureusemenl; Bucceder." — Lettres d'Et. Pasquier, liv. xii. p. 334. THE BARRICADES. g^j and allowed themselves to be disarmed - iV.. . . . . on the March. Neuf ; and J^X' hT^t he" ^S S should all «^' V"^"' *° '"^^ *«""• g'^^^ orders that xney snouid all assemble round the Lonvm- K»+ *i,- to be accorraplished so easily; he was Wms^lf T/°* solicit the aid of his enemy Guise. """"^^'^ *° Gmse had made preparations for defense in his palace on the same mormng. The garden was filled with ams and he g..und.floor occupied by persons prepared for ba^e In' Bv m"d dav t^ •^^^"''"rf *>>« opportunity to fightforhim • Guise wis seJn t • "^ ? ""'"'' ^^ ^"^''^'^ abandoned. iZl ZT l'^^;'™"^ tl^^ n^^'rest streets in company with by the mob. From time to time intelligence was brought to h.m from the central parts of the city, and the joy with wh Ih vLo^T " """*' ''°"'' *•*"* ""' was'confident o? .n.t'r''l' ^T"""""' ^" "^"^ ^'"^"^- Appealed to for assiet- truggle. He was on horseback, but without his cuirass or any arms, except a staff which he cdrried in his hand. Where- ever he showed himself the uproar was immediately stilled. He first liberated the French guards from the house into which they had been forced ; then the Swiss from the Marche Neuf and afterward all the others. They were now able, unde; he guidance of Guise and his friends, to assemble round the Louvre. Through all this, however, no trace of arrogance or insolence was noticeable in his behavior ; he only complained that people should have given him this trouble, saying that 0,1^"^ Pr'I.^ ''""11? ?'" "•"' "■""• •»» had been sent to him by the Queen, and he h,n,«If showed him his preparations. (Davila. Hisforil t Young Augustus de Thou, the historian, saw him under these cir cumstances: "Mihi videri in vnl.u Guisii a^ suorum earn fidudam e^ n H UI H "": "k""''" ?l' '"•• *"' "'• 18^- The palace is the p"et cls^n f r^'™'- " ''"'' '^™'"'y ''«'™g»'J t° 'he Constabfe de Da seTln^T^ "" "•''*' P""^''*^^'' '" ^553 by Guise's mother; it passed into the possession of the Prince of Soubise afterward 372 HISTORY OF FRANCE. those who kindled the fire should in all reason extinguish it. He did not even show any ill-will toward his antagonists, but treated them with that admirable courtesy which was pecu- liar to him. That danger and the victory were in truth equally unexpected by him. It was thought in the city that all was now accomplished, and that Guise would for the future rule next to the King. The King was counseled to go through the streets in company with the governor of the city, the Duke, and perhaps his moth- er, and endeavor to persuade the people to remove the barri- cades. He could not, however, bring himself to take a step iu which he would have to experience at the same moment the power of the detested party chief and the scorn of the multitude ; nor could he be certain that things would remain in the state at which they had now arrived. It was told the King that Brissac had once more collected an armed crowd in the neighborhood of the University, with the intention of seiz- ing the only gate in the King's possession — that next to the Louvre, and most probably of making an attack on that pal- ace.* Must he at length fall into the hands of his enemies ? He finally determined to use the moment while the keys of this single gate — the Porte Neuve — still remained in his hands, and his opponents had not yet appeared before the Louvre, and to quit the city. Accompanied by the courtiers and councilors who had the means of taking horse, he set out and took the road to Chartres. Thus did this momentous event take place with but a tri- fling contest. The population of the city, which had once thrust out the Huguenots, and afterward, incited by the Court, 80 horribly butchered those who ventured among them, now turned their arms against the King himself. The prince who had helped to provoke the fury of St. Bartholomew's Day, saw, when king, the popular passions directed against himself ♦ " Ho saputo," said the King to the Nuncio, " che il Sr. de Brissac raunava gente nell' Universita di scolari per muoversi il palazzo regio et impradonirsi della Porta Nuova, onde io rimaneva assediato et in potere di miei nemici, nelle mani di quali era risoluto di non cadere :" the Porte Neuve was between the Louvre and the Tuileries, not far from the quay. (Dulauire, Hist, de Paris, v. 45.) THE BARRICADES. 373 He was as good a Catholic as any of them. He had as he once sa.d. done more for the prosperity of the eity than any ten of h.s predecessors taken together But benefits re" ceived are soon forgotten ; they bind none but those who have mborn feehngs of gratitude, and least of all the multitude among wh.ch though they attain in the mass a flourishing cond.t.on, st.ll each feels only i„ his own case what is sw! wantmg to h,m. Partly through his own fault, and JaZ hrough that of others, the King had lost his pers;„al author- v'fl 1 "tT '"*" ^™'"^ '=°"'^'°" ^'^^ P°P"lw opinion chiefly through has tolerant policy and his efl-^; to establish peace. The ngid Catholic element, once aroused, victorious; and mdependent, now strove to obtain unconditional dominion It deemed Itself to possess an ecclesiastical and political right to an exclusive existence in France. That the King was compelled to take other measures against the partisan efforts of a powerfd house and the influences of a foreign power, was not considered by the multitude ; impelled forward by the fanat- .ca preachers who ruled their party, they felt nothing, sus- pected nothing, but blindly followed their Guise, who w^s all the while m the pay of the Spaniard Had Henry remained in Paris, even had no worse results followed he would have been compelled to govern in accord- ance with the views of the city and of the victor. Now that he had saved hmiself, and was acknowledged as king in the country, negotiation at least was still possible. THE ESTATES OF BLOIS. 375 V CHAPTER XXIV. THE ESTATES OF BLOIS, 1588. The deliberations of the Estates, for the assembhng of which at Blois, toward the close of the year 1588, the King caused the letters of summons to be immediately issued, can only be regarded as negotiations. The King held it to be necessary previously, as it were, to adopt the notions of his adversaries, and to submit himself to them. In a new edict, promulgated in July, 1588,* he prom- ises to destroy heresy, and requires from his subjects an obli- gation upon oath that after his death they will never accept for their king any one who shall be a heretic, or a favorer of heretics. He required another oath from them in addition, by which they were to pledge themselves to abstain from all other alliances and connections, whether within the kingdom or in foreign countries. He would not hear the word League any longer ; under the term union he understood the legal connection and aUiance between the Catholic subjects of the realm and their Catholic King. He so far controlled himself in this preliminary proclamation as to announce an amnesty for w'hat taken place in Paris. Favors were even bestowed upon Guise ; and when he came to the Conrt he was received in a gracious manner. Epernon lost his new government, and was removed, and the whole Council wa3 dismissed, be'cause it appeared indissolubly associated with the previous political administration of affairs. All questions were to be freely investigated in the Assembly of the Estates, and new forms of government decided upon. ♦ Edit du Roi sur runion de ses sujets Catholiques : Mem. dp la ligue, ii. 336, Artiples accordes »u nojn du Jlpi, ib. iii. 59, When the Estates assembled at Blois in October, the King flattered himself that the free elections would have brought together in the Assembly men who were' not connected with the League, and who would lend a willing ear to his repre- sentations. I know not that ever a French King delivered a more remarkable discourse than that with which Henry III. opened these Estates. It was animated throughout with a feeling that an understanding, in the Catholic sense, as well as in accordance with the monarchy and the Estates, was still practicable by means of consultation. Henry III. commenced with a eulogy upon his mother, who sat upon the highest step immediately below the throne. He promised agaiA to oppose heresy, even at the risk of his life, as he had done before in battle ; he could not find a prouder grave than amidst the ruins of heresy. He prom- ised, in addition, a searching reform in reference to the finances as well as in the appointment to official places, for he said that his honor depended upon the prosperity of his subjects and the welfare of the kingdom. Some of the abuses com- plained of he declared to be abolished on the spot. He con- jured the Estates to unite with him for the purpose of putting an end to all disorder, by the memory of the ancient Kings his predecessors, by whom they had been happily and mild- ly governed, and by the name of true Frenchmen, who al- ways passionately reverenced their natural and legitimate kings. " I am your King," said he : " I am the only person who can say this. In this monarchy I desire to be nothing more than what I am. Monarchy is the best form of government. The monarch inherits from his predecessors not only the high- est dignity, but also the zeal to use it for the honor of God and for the preservation of all." "He had been told, it was true," he continued, " that an Assembly of the Estates could easily shake the royal author- ity ; such an event could happen, however, only when that authority was exercised to promote bad objects ; but when its objects were pure, as in the present case, an Assembly of the Estates would rather strengthen the legitimate power, and, therefore, he had called them together in spite of all 376 HISTOPtY OF FRANCE. V such objections. The object of the Assembly he placed in the good advice of the subjects and the sacred resolutions of the prince.* ** The decrees which should be agreed upon in this man- ner, he promised to swear to upon the Evangelists, and never under any pretext to violate. It might, indeed, appear that by giving these pledges he compromised the royal authority, which by law was made superior to the law itself; but he knew that the true magnanimity of a good prince consisted in regulating his intentions and proceedings according to good laws. Should he, however, by his present conduct diminish the royal power, he would only have made what remained of it the more firm and enduring." There is no reason to think that King Henry III. was guilty of either untruth or hypocrisy in these declarations ; his mean- ing was to limit the Crown, whose original independence he firmly maintained, by subjecting it to laws which he himself should adopt freely. In this manner he thought to mediate between the monarchy and the Estates, in the ancient dispute which had agitated previous ages, and which was to agitate later times still more fiercely. The fundamental laws of the kingdom were to be renewed, or newly established, by a change freely concurred in by all its authorities ; and upon these fun- damental laws, thus altered, the monarchy was to be bound by an inviolable oath. Never did a French King approach nearer to the demands of the Estates than Henry III. at Blois. Was he not, it may be asked, taken at his word, and the difficulty of his position made use of in order to limit definitively the mutual rights of the Throne and of the Estates ? But there prevailed in the Estates ideas not only extended much further than the King's, but that rested upon grounds ♦ " Cette tenue d'Etats est un remede pour guerir, avec les bons conseils des sujets et la sainte resolution du Prince, les maladies que le long espace de temps et la negligente observation des ordonnances du royaume y ont laisse prendre pied." — Harangue faite par le Roi, etc. ; also in the Mem. de la Ligue, ii. 481. It has been said that the speech was not published exactly as it was delivered, that there were in it some strongly offensive expressions in reference to Guise. I leave this un- decided ; it does not affect the principal matter. THE ESTATES OF BLOIS. 377 altogether different. We learn them especially from the schemes proposed at Paris.*. The declaration of Henry III. that there could not be a Protestant, or, as it was said, heretical King in France was : not, accordmg to their scheme, satisfactory. The view pro- pounded was that should a King only favor heresy, it mattered not whether directly or indirectly, by the very fact he forfeited his right to the Crown, and the French people were released from the oath of allegiance which they had sworn to him In order to establish this view, the following theory was ad- vanced. Kings are not Kings naturally, but by the grace of ^od, namely the sanction of the Church, as it was-made out to be, after an exposition replete with false history ; this grace ol God, imparted by anointing and consecration, gave them more right to the Crown than either nature or birth. Should a King refuse to bind himself by the fundamental laws of his kingdom, his authority at once reverted to the successors of those who had at first invested the royal race with royal author- ity, that IS to the Estates themselves.f It is a singular com- pound of the sovereignty of the people and of clerical preten- sion from which they seek to derive the power of the Crown Without the Estates, the King was neither to declare war to conclude peace, nor to levy taxes ; the pardons he might grant or even the powers and authorities he might confer, they were to have power either to confirm or to recall. They were to have their procurators at the Court, in order that all their ffriev- ances might be brought instantly before the Council. In each oi the superior tribunals there was to be a Chamber elected by the Estates, whose duty should be to decide in the last instance upon the limits of their jurisdiction, and to control any excess in their sentences and judgments. A hierarchy, as It were, of the Estates, was to exist alongside of the royal tribunals and the Privy Council. Two systems of limited monarchy here stand in opposition, * "Articles pour proposer aux Estats et faire passer en loi fonde S:ud,'xiiX°^^''' ''' ""'''' ^"^- ^^"- '- Memoire:, 55,'T93: leuV^^ratoL'.'' ''''""' "^ '"^- P---— ^ -estu leurs roys, '!l7>i TTTSTOTIV nV VT^KNCV. 378 HISTORY OF FRANCE. THE ESTATES OF BLOIS. 379 both Catholic, and both intended for the reform of abuses, and therefore not essentially contradictory, yet separated from each other by an impassable chasm. The ideas of Hottmann and of Bodin meet, as it were, on another grade. While the King sought to preserve the original and hereditary rights c»f the Crown in their integrity, and would have made eveiy limitation dependent upon his own resolution, and its dura- tion upon his oath, the Estates laid claim to all original rights for themselves, maintaining that the King was intrusted with the exercise of those rights by them with the sanction of the Church, and that therefore it devolved upon them to take the largest share in the administration and superintend- ence of affairs. These are precisely the antagonistic principles which ha^'e always contended for the ascendency in the monarchies cf Europe. Had it depended on the consultations of the Estates, what system should henceforth prevail in France, their decision would not have been equivocal. In these Estates the only principles represented were those of the League. When it was spoken of at first as possible that other opinions besid<;s those of the League might have influence in the Assembly, Guise declared openly that his friends in the provinces would know how to prevent such from being the case. In all the three Estates the most zealous adherents of the League were chosen presidents : the clergy elected the Cardinal of Guise ; the nobility, the Count de Brissac, whose acquaintance "^^ made at the barricades ; and the third Estate, the mosit enthusiastic member of the Council of Ten, Marteau, the Prevot des Marchands. The propositions also of the Estates are in every respect correspondent with the ideas of the League. The first and most important was that their decrees should have an immediate validity, and that the Parliaments should O^ no longer verify but simply register them ; that above all things they should not be first submitted for approval to the Royal Council, but that they should be published as resolved upon. They cited the examples of Poland, Sweden, and En- gland, and other neighboring nations, where that practice was customary. The King remarked, that in Spain, where the Crown had never possessed so much power as in France, the custom and manner was different. He caused proceedings of the Cortes to be printed, in which the grievances of the Estates' deputies appeared by the side of the King's instruc- tions ; what profound reverence did these documents display toward the Sovereign I We may venture to suppose, however, that no one conceived himself to be refuted by this. Another claim made by the Estates was that they should have the supervision of the finances, and that, in order to put a stop to the violence of oppression and exaction practiced by the partisans and other revenue officers, and to punish them for their excesses, a chamber of inquiry should be established, in the organization of which the Estates would have a pre- ponderating influence. The King might appoint six of its members, the Assembly of the Estates eighteen; the Procura- tor-General was also to be chosen by the three Estates, and this oflicer should be an upright and impartial man, who should receive information from all the provinces of the acts of oppression, with the names of the transgressors ; but they were to receive an income according to what they had paid, and which had not been already returned by the produce of the lands.'* The next subject that occupied attention was the immedi- ate alleviation of the public burdens ; and here measures of a most extensive character were proposed. All the alienated domains of the Crown were to be resumed from the purchasers. The taxes introduced under the present government were to be immediately abolished, as well as all the other extraordi- nary imposts except the taille, and that was to be reduced at once to its amount under Francis L, and in time to that which it bore under Louis XII. It is manifest that the Treasury was here threatened with a deficiency which could not be calculated. The King represented to them the condition in which he was already placed, and the few favors he bestowed ♦ "Et que la nomination d'un Procureur General seroit faite par las trois ordres, pour faire choix d' un homme roide et entier, qui auroit un gubstitut en chaque province de la France," etc. Des Etats Gen XV. 41. 380 HISTORY OF FINANCE. THE ESTA.TES OF BLOIS. 381 y upon his attendants. He showed them his clothes, which must last him three months more. He was certainly no longer a spendthrift ; his household was maintained upon a very humble footing ; if two capons were thought too much for his table, he would content himself with one. He had not at the present moment a single sou in his purse ; some- times the money was wanting even for dispatching a courier. If they were not willing to find some substitute for the im- posts they were about to abolish, then their proceedings in- volved his destruction ; but that which happened to the King happened to all. The Estates, however, insisted that the welfare of the people was the supreme law, and threatened to leave Blois if he would not consent to their views, and B^en- ry, about the beginning of December, 1588, found himseli' at last under the necessity of complying. Although, he said, it had been represented to him that, in doing so, he reduced himself to the position of a Doge of Venice, yet he was deter- mined to do it. He must be either very good and very ^^a- cious, or very bad and obstinate. He also consented to the reduction of the taille, but on condition that the necessities of the State should be supplied in some other manner. I'he present income of the Government might amount to about nine million and a half of crowns. If his debts were assumed by the Estates he would endeavor to carry on the administra- tion with five millions, and this he thought they ought at least to do. Meanwhile, however desirable and easy it might be for the Estates to point out the necessity of abolishing the imposts, it exceeded both their power and their intention to find a substitute for the revenue they produced. They iell upon the expedient of securing the public income by means of the personal security of the richest members of the Assem- bly of the Estates, which was neither more nor less than a republican idea, only that there were no men there who were republicans enough to carry it out. The subscriptions which were collected proved very scanty. In fact, everj^ cne desired to live by the State, rather than by previous personal sacrifices to make it possible to do so. The greatest embar- rassment was the natural consequence ; every thing came to a standstill, and all proceedings were paralyzed. The Duke of Savoy availed himself of the helpless condi- tion of France to promote his own interests. At the very commencement of these difficulties he had entered into the closest connection with Philip II., for the purpose of invading and taking possession of Saluzzo, which was most conveniently situated for him, but which at that time belonged to the French.* In the Assembly of the Estates some declared it to be their opinion that every thing else should be postponed until the Duke was punished as he deserved, lor having dared to give offense to France with so disproportionately insignificant a power. It is not true, as some maintain, that Guise had a full understanding with the Duke of Savoy in regard to this enterprise ; he considered it at least very unseasonable. But as Savoy was a member of the great European League, to which the King of Spain and Sixtus V. also belonged, Guise had no wish to take arms against the Duke ; such a step would have given his policy a totally difl^erent character. The disposition of the predominant party in the Estates was much more to renew with all vigor the war against the Huguenots and the King of Navarre, and to commit its direc- tion to the Duke of Guise. They would not listen to a pro- posal that Navarre should for form's sake be once more re- quested to return to the bosom of the Catholic Church ; he had been sufficiently often requested, and always in vain, and now, that he was openly in arms, it was not the time to negotiate with him. They declared Henry of Bourbon to be a notorious and relapsed heretic, guilty of oiTense against the Divine and human Majesty, unworthy of succeeding to the throne, and that his present and future heirs had forfeited all the rights of a Prince ; he and they urged the King to remove him from his government of Guienne. They felt no embarrassment as to the cost of this war, for they intended that the estates of the Protestants should be confiscated, and applied to that purpose. They even laid down a plan, in accordance with which one of thelnost con- * He was in Spain at the close of March, 1585. '' Ha lasciato," says the Venetian embassador of him when lie had taken his departure, 'opmionc in tutti non piu di Picmontese, nia di Spagnolo." 382 HISTORY OF FRANCE. THB ESTATES OF BLOIS. 383 siderable of the inhabitants in the chief town of each distri(!t was to be appointed as receiver of the funds to arise from the sale of the estates.^^ The third Estate, which had at firsit hesitated at describing the King of Navarre as a heretic, as they considered that it did not belong to the laity to judge cf such matters, adopted the word at last, because it involved the loss of property and hereditary rights. A general confis- cation of the estates held by Protestants was contemplated, in consonance with the severest decrees of the ecclesiastical lav^, similar to the sentence which had been formerly executed upon the Albigenses. Henry of Guise had a leading hand in all these proceed- ings. His conduct at the opening of the Estates was remark- able, when, in discharging his office of Lord High Steward, he knelt at the foot of the throne, and cast upon the assem- bly round him a glance which expressed his assurance of the general admiration and devotion with which he was regarded as the commanding chief of a great party. He was master in the Estates, as well as in the Council of the King. The leaders in the Assembly consulted him upon ever}^ step thejr wished to take, while in the Council no one presumed to con- tradict him. He leaned upon the great principles both eccle- siastic and popular, which alike excluded absolute govern- ment founded upon the right of birth. Whither then tended his designs ? "Was it really, as is asserted, his ambitious in- tention to set aside the King, and shut him up in a cloister, as the Carlovingians, from whom he was descended, did tho last monarch of the Merovingian race ? In apiece addressed to Guise, and written immediately before the assembling of these Estates, t mention is made of Charles Martel, who, after he had raised himself to the dignity of Major-domo, made uso of that post, as a means to raise himself to a more exalted * " Que tous heretiqucs, de quelque etat, qualite, ou condition qu'il.'J soient, soient punis de peines indictes et portees par les ordonnanceH des defunts rois dc France, Francois I. ot Henri II., et leurs Mens! einployes au^ frais de la guerre," etc. — Cahicr du Tiers Etat, Etnt!; Gren., et autr. Ass. Nat., torn. xv. p. 156. t " Instruction a M. de Guise retourne en Cour, par rArchevesquc ie Lion," somewhere about August, 1588, in the Memoirs of Villeroj;, 1665, ii. 266. position ; born a private man, he had left his children heirs to a throne. Did Guise actually^aim at the high object of founding a Hew dynasty ? I. think I may assert that this wa^ not the case. Moreo, who conducted the first negotiations with the Guises, asserts that Guise had promised the King of Spain that he would not for himself make any attempt upon the French crown.* It may have been that Philip II. re- served some claim of this kind for his own house, or that the elevation of a private man to a crown, even though a confed- erate of his own, was displeasing to him. It is enough that Guise, who could not for a moment dispense with the assist- ance of the King of Spain, was fettered by the promises he had exacted. His ambition was not of that aspiring kind to which imagination gives birth ; but the cool and practical ambition of a man of intellect, who always seeks to attain what lies nearest to him first, proceeds from position to posi- tion, and allows his efibrts to be directed by the course of cir- cumstances. Even the King did not regard him as a rival of his'dignity, so much as of his powder. He had formed the idea that Guise aspired after the place of Constable, and would if necessary accept it even on the nomination of the Estates, in order that once invested with that authority, he might at their command undertake the war of persecution against the Huguenots. The King was apprehensive that he would be forcibly compelled to return to Paris, and there, in the midst of his rebellious subjects, be made the instrument to carry out their designs. The most extraordinary scenes took place at Blois. On one afternoon a sanguinary affray occurred between the pages of both parties. Guise was at the residence of the aueen Mother ; the noise of the riot reached him from the castle, and at the same time some of his friends appeared to receive his orders. He sat on a stool by the fire-place, never altered a feature, did not look round on any one, but kept his eye steadily fixed upon the fire. The King meanwhile armed himself in his own chamber with a coat of mail, firmly * He told the assembled Leaguers at Rouen, "que uno de los arti- cuics de la capitulation era, que el dicho M. de Guisa no avia de in- tentar alia corona."— Papers of Simancas 384 HISTORY OF FRANCE. persuaded that his rival would make an attempt on hiis life. • Such was the condition of affairs. Henry III. was not himself fully convinced of the truth of his own notions of a power limiting itself by law, yet still firmly retaining the ideas of the monarchy ; all the resolutions of the Estates proceeded upon the ideas of a limitation which derived the origin and sum of power from another source. He perceived a system- atic attempt to annihilate his authority, and to force him to the adoption of measures which of all others were the most odious to him. He endeavored once more to bring Guise to coincide with his views. While walking with him in the; garden, he spoke to him of the two most important requisi- tions of the Estates — the adoption of their decrees without considering them previously in the royal Council, and the wai- against Henry of Navarre without summoning him anew to return to the Catholic Church — and sought to convince him. of the impossibility of his agreeing to them. Guise, however, not only remained unmoved in his opinions, but appeared to be irritated, and let fall words concerning the secret whisperings to which the King lent an ear, and which ren- dered the regular course of affairs impossible, and finally held out a threat of demission.* Had this threat been put in. execution, it would have been most probably the signal for a, general insurrection against the King. Henry III. controlled himself while speaking with Guise ; but when he returned to his own chamber, he gave free vent to his passionate emo- tions. The Italian blood boiled in his veins, and he conceived the idea of getting rid there, in the very palace, of the man whom he regarded as his most dangerous personal enemy. A dream, which had formerly made a deep impression upon him, rose to his remembrance : he thought he was attacked by the wild beasts of a menagerie ; and now this vision seemed to be fulfilled. He regarded the Duke as the lion by which he had feared in his dream he was about to be torn in pieces, and he was determined to be on his defense against him. * Cayet, " Chronologic Novennaire, in Michaud, Nov. Coll., xii. 78. There is a little variation in Miron*s ** Relation de la Mort de Ms. de Guise," in Petitot, xlv. 464. THE ESTATES OF BLOIS. 355 In this he was confirmed by his most trusted attendants. lh# old expression of a Pope in reference to the last Hohen- staufien and the first Anjou in Naples— that the death of the one was the fife of the other, and the life of the one the death ot the other— was applied to the present case. The Itahan proverb, - with the serpent dies its poison," was quoted. The Kmg was reminded of the monition which once reached him Irom the Papal court, that he should punish those by whom he was injured ; and this, it was added, was no longer pos- sible accordmg to the usual forms ; for although Guise had committed a number of actions each of which deserved to be punished with death, yet so numerous and powerful was his party in the kingdom, that any attempt to proceed against him in a judicial manner would only create new disturbances and fresh confusion. The King himself gave expression to this thought subse- quently, and added that he had struggled with himself for six whole days* before he could come to the resolution to take the Duke's life, for he feared it would be an offense in the sight of God. At last, however, he considered that, as a kmg by the appointment of God, it was his duty to secure obedience to his authority. '< I resolved," said he, on another occasion, - rather to allow him to be killed, than to wait until he killed me." Formerly a great chief of the Huguenots attained a position m which the exercise of the supreme power appeared to rest in his hands. Now their hereditary foe, the champion of the Catholics, was ascending with deliberate progress the very steps of the throne, and his adherents looked forward to his actually taking his place upon it. Then Catharine, in order to destroy Coligny, let loose the fanaticism of the capital to which she had invited him. Now her son, in his own palace, * To Morosini : " Per sei giomi continui ero stato risolutissimo di non volerlo fare, temendo di offendere Dio :" in Tempesti, ii 135 The fate of Martinuzzi, of Escovedo, and others, appears to set forth a theory ot those times according to which transactions of this kind were lawful for crowned heads. (Compare St. Priest, " Les Guises," Re- rue des Dei« Mondes, May, 1850, p. 810.) We perceive, however, that Henry III. did not, properly speaking, shelter himself under this R 386 HISTORY OF FRANCE. resolved to lay violent hands upon Guise, who was a guest beneath its roof. Guise, like Coligny, received a warning, but, like him too, he thought himself too strong for any one to make an attempt upon him. He was acquainted with the revengeful disposi- tion of the King, hut he considered him too irresolute and too much of a coward to undertake any thing against him. ** And should it he attempted," said he, in one of his letters, ** 1 shall carry out my design with more vigor than at Paris : let them beware of me." Against secret plots he believed him- self secured by the personal influence he had acquired over some of the King's immediate attendants. By nature he was to a certain degree careless. While he bade defiance to his King, he maintained a connection of illicit love which fully occupied him. How was it possible he could have anticipated that his own brother, Mayenne, should have sent to the King the most urgent warnings against him and his designs ?* "Without apprehension of either secret or open foes, he went about, trusting in his position and in the condition of affairs, and despising his antagonist, who was preparing every thing meanwhile to destroy him. Henry III. had forty-iive body-guards, whom he kept round him for his personal security : all resolute men, and devoted to him for life and death. From these he chose, as the executioners of the deed upon which he had determined, such as appeared to him most suitable, either through their skill in arms or other qualities, and appointed them their place in or near his old cabinet, and not far from the chamber in which the Council held its deliberations. He was per- fectly secure of his victim. "When Guise appeared in the Council on the morning of December the 23d, he was called to the Cabinet. The guard answered his salutations as he passed along, with a dead silence. As he opened the curtain which led to the Cabinet, he was attacked with the cry, * In the "Declaration centre le Due dc Mayenne"' it is fully shown that Henry was warned by Mayenne himself of the speedy execution of an attempt upon him : " Que nous prissions bien garde a nous . . . que le terme etoit si href, que s'il ne se hatoit (i. e. the messenger), il etoit bien a craindre qu'il n'arriveroit pas assez a tems." THE ESTATES OF BLOIS. 337 *' Ah I traitor I" thrown to the ground, and while all at once comprehending the affair, he defended himself with his teeth and hands like a wild beast, for he had not time to draw his sword, murdered at the foot of the royal couch. Henry was waitmg for the execution of his order in a room lying further back, in company with the Corsican, Alfonso ; in the cham- ber underneath lay his mother, Catharine de' Medici, on her death-bed. The noise was heard in the hall where the Council was sittmg ; at the same moment the Cardinal of (xuise, who was there, was arrested. The fate of yE tins was involuntarilv remembered, who be- cause he had grown too powerful, was, out of fear and hatred murdered by the Emperor and his attendants in the palace at Kavenna. • The constitutions of the Romanic-German kingdoms, which associated the monarchical authority with the right of de- scent, were originally designed to avoid the violent struggles tor it which mcessantly shook the Roman system, and to set insuperable barriers to the ambition of powerful and aspiring men. When, however, such attempts were made, the most trightlul actions were the result. Without any regard to his ecclesiastical dignity, the King caused the Duke's brother the Cardinal of Guise, to be executed also : he deemed thlt a King of France had a prerogative which set him above ex- communication. Catharine de' Medici, who had not been in her son's confi- dence, collected all her strength, and made a visit to the Cardinal of Bourbon, who was also arrested, though not yet condemned to death. He attributed all the blame to her, and told her she could not rest until she had brought them all to the slaughter-house. She was deeply affijcted ; and, under the impression made upon her by these words, as well as in view of the dangers which menaced her son, v^dth respect to which she was not deceived, she breathed her last. Liberated from his antagonist, Henry III. might have once more for a moment felt himself as sovereign and master. At Blois, in his neighborhood, all was submissive. But it was not possible to prevent the politico-religious elements that 388 HISTORY OF FRANCE. filled his kingdDm from exhibiting a fiercer agitation against him after such a deed. The chief had fallen, the Estates were fettered, but the hatred of the excited people now for the first time broke out. in general and uncontrolled rage. CHAPTER XXV. RESOLUTION AND CATASTROPHE OF HENRY Hi. No sooner did the authorities at Paris receive intelligence ol the event, than they shut the gates of the city, and held a council under the presidency of the Duke of Aumale. It was just m the Christmas holidays ; the preachers began to rouse the people, and the fury of the mob was directed immediately against those who were regarded as friends of the Kin«r-_the party named Politicians—both in the Parliament and Imong the clergy. In the Sorbonne, the younger members, who were imbued with the doctrines of the Jesuits, and carried away by the tide of popular opinion, obtained the predomi- nancy. Without at all considering that the right of excom- munication belonged to the Pope, and not to the faculty of a university, the Sorbonne, upon the question being submitted to it by the city, decided that because the King had broken the public faith to the disadvantage of the Catholic religion, the French people were absolved from their oath of allegiance to him, and justified in uniting and arming themselves against him.* After this, they no longer gave the King his title, and they refused to receive his heralds. What had taken place in Paris was repeated in nearly all / the great towns of the kingdom. In Picardy, the towns of Amiens and Abbeville—in Normandy, Havre and Rouen— in * When Argentre (ii. 483) remarks that there is no trace of this sen- tence or of four similar ones in the books of the Faculty, it mef ely shows that they were erased from the books. The Procurator-General, to whom the champions of the Sorbonne appeal, denies not the fact, but ine guilt of It : "Virus novitii ac feri domatis a recentibus scholis sus- ceptum," lb. 489. r ~ 390 HISTORY OF FRANCE. Champagne, Troyes, Rheims, and JSens — Burgundy, Brittany, and Provence, were nearly unanimous in following the ex- ample of Paris. Toulouse carried the cities of Languedoc in the same direction ; Orleans requested that the King would remove the governor of the citadel, and when he refused to do so, the city rose in full insurrection, paying no attention to ' his threats. The mayor, aldermen, and Catholic inhabitants of Lyons, came to a resolution to obey no commands, from whomsoever they might come, to the disadvantage of the holy Union. In their manifesto they mention the deposition of Saul by the Prophets, and the mission of Jehu against Ahab ; for men's minds were every where filled with that singular mixture of popular and spiritual notions which inflamed their zeal to resistance, and appeared to justify it. In Paris meanwhile they proceeded to the establishment of a new government, not without the participation of the Span- ish embassador. On the 17th of January, 1589, a general council of the Union was held at the Hotel de Ville. It comprised a few of the Catholic princes, the most zealous of the bishops, and the most distinguished theologians and parish priests, members of the Parliaments and of the nobility, and a number of citizens, the intention being to constitute some- thing like a committee of all the Estates. =* The deputies from the different towns had places in the Council also. The Duke of Mayenne — who, although he had warned the King to be on his guard against the Duke of Guise, never imagined that it would have resulted in his brother's death — did not hesitate, now that that event had occurred, to place himself at the head of the confederates. The King made one more attempt to bring over him and his house, and made him of- fers of the most extensive and valuable nature.! Was it, however, in his power to offer any thing corresponding with the prospects which the leaders of a universal movement in a contest against him might have contemplated ? Beside this, his word had now lost all credit. Mayenne replied to all the ♦ Maheustre et Manant : " lis firent elirc par le peuple un Conseil General de I'union des Catholiques." t Cayet, 418, gives a slight, Morosini, in Tempesti, ii. 183, a satis- factory notice of these negotiations. RESOLUTION OF HENRY III. 35, me royal title, but called him a miserable wretch a ^tifnl creature, who by his last treacherous act haTrendereHt e must be met openly, and opposed in arms by all who de- sired to save themselves from destruction. In a shoTt t;!l we see the Duke of Mayenne at the head of the armv of .T Union, taking the field against his King ^ '^^ LeJiTe "Ttr'' *' °^'" ^'' ^^**^^" *•»« King and the League. At the moment ,t appeared as if the former could not possibly resist his enemies ; his entire power wasTimi ed ::r:id^~t -c:' '''-' '-' -^ ^ '- p'- ^ It was of incalculable advantage to him that there was stil a power in France which was unaffected by the IJZ U consisted of five thousand ordinary infantry, five hunZd harquebusiers, and five hundred cavalry, but' hey we"e "u brave soldiers, inured to war, excellently disciplined I^d fuU of devotion tp their leader; among the troojs of the time XchTssrtr' *^ T '""P"^''^"'- '"'"^^ '^i^^ 01 March 1589, this army directed its march from Guienne oward the Loire^ A feeling immediately prevailed all the troops on both sides, that they were no longer enemi^^ and whenever they met, they mingled with each otherTa kind of military fraternity. I„ fact, this could not have^eu long delayed, for the two princes had but one and the sa^e enemy. On the 3d of April a treaty was adopted in the form of a truce for one year, between the Kin. of F ance and the King of Navarre, but this truce signified^ Ml com! r^unity of interests and of arms. Henry HI. acknowird that, m coming to his assistance, the chief of the Huguenf 's who might otherwise have carried on the designs of his parj far and wide to the destruction of the Catholics, had given I proof of his duty as a true subject, and of his principle as a genuine Frenchman. He returned to that state of the Pa cfication, which, though perhaps not in exact accordance with his opinions and wishes, was the best suited to his na- V 392 HISTORY OF FRANCE. ture and to the condition of the country, and declared the free exercise of the Reformed religion to be lawful in aU places where his confederates might happen to be, m the camp, as well as in appointed places in each district of the kingdom * The stipulation for a secure passage over the Loire, made by the Reformed, could not be fulfilled without difficulty, owing to the independent manner in which the authorities of the age exercised their power. At length it was accompUshed. Saumer was delivered up to Duplesws- Momay, who had chiefly conducted the negotiations, and was one of the most trusted servants of Navarre. He swore to maintain this place for the two kings, and restore it in a better condition than it was when he received it into his possession.! The meeting of the two kings in the park at Plessis-les- Tours was looked upon as a great event. Not only were the banners united, but from out of the tumultuary contests of the time at last arose ideas in which men of different relig- ious views might unite. Henry III. declared that he would no longer allow the Protestants to be called heretics, the word was not so used in former times ; whoever confessed the Gos- pel was a Christian, and petty differences ought not to occa- sion enmity and hostility. The Protestants, in return, revived the strict principles of royalty. They maintained that the Christian doctrines required obedience to the temporal au- thority—that the Prince rules through the will of God— that God directs his heart according to his own will — and that whoever resists the Prince is a rebel against the law of God. They excused the murder of Guise upon the grounds that his crimes and treasons against the King could not have been punished had the insurrection been let to break out ; and that the King was answerable to God alone for his proceed- ings. As on the other side anti-royalist and exclusive Cath- * Memoires de Momay, i. 906. What appears in Isambert, xiv. 645, as " Lettres d' Armistice," is rather an account of it than the treaty itself t According to the Biography of Duplessis-Mornay, 131, Henry re- ceived the intelligence in the house of M. de Menu. In the itinerary to the edition of the Letters it does not appear when he was there ; it may have been the 13th or 14th of April. RESOLUTION OF HENRY III. 393 olic doctrines were closely associated, so on this the principles of royalism and of tolerance were united. It was the bravery of the Huguenots that now mainly saved Henry III. from the hostile attempts of Mayenne. How frequently in the skirmishes that ensued have they appeared in their white scarfs at the critical moment, and decided the affair in favor of the King I Henry III. obtained other assistance also, and still from the side of the Protestants, from Switzerland. That which was a matter of doubt among the Swiss in 1587 — namely, whether they would not be damaging the King by marching against Guise, was doubtful no longer ; affairs had come to maturity; the cause of the French Crown now coincided with the proper interests of the Protestant cantons. After the Duke of Savoy had made himself master of Saluzzo, he began to entertain the old design of reducing Geneva and Vaud ; he was observed to be strengthening his garrisons in this neigh- borhood. The provincial nobility took part with him, and a formidable Tfonspiracy sustained by him was discovered in Lausanne. Geneva solicited aid from the Swiss confederacy. Harlay de Sancy, who had been sent as Envoy Extraordinary from Blois, at a time of the greatest distress, when they had not even the means of living, in order to enhst Swiss auxiliary troops, had, though destitute of money, the ability to turn these circumstances to advantage. He mediated an alliance be- tween Berne and Geneva, in consequence of which he was permitted to enroll a considerable body of troops, and was even granted a subsidy in money by Geneva.* It was evident to the Genevese that unless France were strong enough to coun- terbalance the power of Spain and Savoy, they must be lost. * " Ceux de Berne et de Geneve, desirans prendre cette occasion pour se revancher des torts a eux faits par le Due de Savoye, monstrent avoir quelque volonte d'assister le Roy en cette affaire et le secourir en sa necessite de quelques deniers comptans, et autres inventions neces- saires a cette entreprise." — From the " Memoires de M' de Silleiy" (MS. at BerUn), which gives the best view of the state of things in Switzerland. There exists a " Discours fait au Roi sur T Occurrence de ses Affaires," by Sancy, in which he gives the prominence to hig own skill and activity, which have, however, been since the time of Mezeray passed over by historical writers. K* 394 HISTORY OF FRANCE. RESOLUTION OF HENRY lU. 395 Sancy led his force first against Savoy, captured Thonon and the strongly fortified Ripaille. Considering that he had thus done enough to give employment to the Duke, and as the other Swiss cantons did not wish to see the power of Berne too much increased, the whole army was satisfied when he suddenly led them toward the Upper Rhine. Here they formed a junction with a body of German cavalry and har- quebusiers, and then directed their march toward the interior of France. Had not Henry III. been certain of this assistance he would hardly have ventured to pass the Loire. And now that he had not permitted himself to be oppressed he found a third source of aid in the reviving allegiance of the nobility. From all sides the Catholic Royalists now joined his banners ; among them were observed the well-armed squadrons of Epemon. At Pontoise the King saw himself once more at the head of an army of forty thousand men. For the first time in his life perhaps his heart was elevated to the decision of great designs emanating freely from his own mind. His nature was like that of Sardanapalus, which in seasons of prosperity abandoned itself to enervating luxury, but in adversity became courageous and manful. He took his way directly toward Paris, for, said he, the enemy must be wounded in the heart, and Paris is the heart of the League. He appeared before the city at the close of July, expecting in a short time to enter it, and take vengeance upon his enemies, for he knew well that he had a great number of friends and adherents within the walls. This termination of the campaign did not appear impossi- ble even to those who were within the city. As the King continued his march without interruption to Paris, the Poli- ticians raised their head once more, and the civic magistrates held it advisable to disarm them, and to double the guards. The King, however, conquered Senlis and Pontoise, and en-^ camped his army at St. Cloud. Upon this it was thought necessary in the city to make sure of the persons of the most distingidshed Politicians, who were placed in custody in con- vents and strong houses, while the less dangerous, whose number was said to be six hundred, were forbidden to leave their dwellings. In the Sorbonne even there were some dis- j sentients; but in general the extreme opinions prevailed, and another decree, of the most disrespectful and wildest character, was agreed to. It was not enough that the legiti- mate King was not to be mentioned in any of the prayers of the Church ;* it declared that there were two species of tyrants — the one which only exercises violence against private persons, the other which injures at the same time the common weal and religion; that Henry III. belonged to the latter class, and that, according to the maxims of the ancient spiritual doctors of the Church, he might be lawfully put to death by a private hand. This decree gave the tone to the discourses delivered in all the pulpits ; an avenger was de- manded for the murder of Guise, and the slaughter of the tyrant proclaimed to be a meritorious work. Often were the relics of the saints belonging to the city, whose service was imperiled by the treacherous King, carried through the streets ; the people followed in multitudes, and with a devotion which astonished even the Spaniards. From this, however, it was not to be concluded that they would defend themselves with equivalent bravery. When the aid promised them by the Duke of Parma from the Nether- lands delayed its appearance, a sensible diminution of courage was perceptible. The citizens refused to man the walls, and the soldiers, badly paid, showed no ardor ; many went over to Henry III., in the hope of being able to return with him when the city should be plundered. The Spanish embassador himself was of opinion that Paris could not hold out longer than for a fortnight. Fanatical opinions, in general, exercise their full power on individuals rather than on great corporations. From the midst of the common fermentation there now arose a monk, who resolved to perpetrate a fresh deed of horror. This was a young man, named Jacques Clement,! of the Dominican * Arrest et Resolution, Mem. de la Ligue, iii. 540. In Buleus and Crevier the search for these afiairs is vain. t In Boucher's book, " De Justitia Henrici III. Abdicatione," which appeared after the deed, there are some remarkable notices oi Clement, especially at page 451. I have followed chiefly the narrative sent to Spain by Mendoza, "Relacion del subcessode lamuerte del Rey Chris- tianissimo de Francia, Henrique III., 1 Aug. 1689." 396 HISTORY OF FRANCE. order, who had been recently ordained a priest ; to persons of his own age and to his friends he was an object of ndicule rather than of respect ; he was weak in body and simple in mind : but such are the natures upon which fanatical doctrmes make the most profound impression. Clement felt himself so filled with the notion that a tyrant who sought to destroy religion and the common weal might be lawfully killed by a private hand * which was then promulgated especially by Boucher, that his priesthood alone made him feel any scruples. He laid before his superiors the question, whether it would be a mortal sin for a priest to kill a tyrant. The superiors an- swered that it would be an irregularity, but no mortal sm.f Nothing, however, confirmed him so much in his design as the monitory of the Pope against the King, which resembled an excommunication. The King appeared to him as a monster, who was eager to swallow up both religion and the State. He believed he should perform an infinitely meritorious act, if he saved tliem both from him. He was desirous of falling in the service, for he feared that if he succeeded and remained aUve, the admiration of the French nation would be unsalu- tary to the state of his soul. With cool blood, and the most serious deliberation, he bathed his knife in a decoction of herbs, which he himself at least believed to be poisonous. He then provided himself with a letter directed to one of the King's attendants, for the purpose of obtaining access to his presence ; and having left a little money to pay some trifling debts, he set out upon his journey with a few companions. When he came within sid^ of the lines he took leave of his friends, loosened his frock, and with rapid strides directed his course toward the enemy's camp. He succeeded in obtain admission to the King's presence on the following morning. Henry was sitting on his close-stool, and hoping to hear some proposals for an accommodation on the part of the city ; he caused the monk to approach : he did so, and immediately stabbed the * Boucher, 266 : " Tyrannum qui communis se boni, id est religionis ac patriffi, hostem prsebuerit, talisque a republica judicatus sit, et publica et privata auctoritate de medio tolli posse." t '• Question. Si p«ccava mortalmente un sacerdote que raatasse a un tiranoi Ansicer. Que quedava el tal sacerdote irregular." CATASTROPHE OF HENRY HI. 397 King in the abdomen Clement was instantly killed, but he la^t of LTh Tv"f '• '"' ^^^'^^^^ hours afterw'ard th! last ol the House of Valois ceased to exist In the trenches before Paris an attack of the royal troops was momentarily looked for; the Spanish embasador had appeared there to animate the citizens to resistance, when the tidmgs of the Kmg's death were announced. The green scarf of Lorraine was immediately displayed ; Jacques Cle- ment was celebrated as a martyr in the pulpits ; the Catholic popular faction carried its head higher than ever, and hoped yet to triumph. ^ '<\ ;i' BOOK VI. HENRY IV. IN CONTEST WITH THE LEAGUE. } CHAPTER XXVI. ELEVATION OF HENRY THE FOURTH. Saint Louis left two sons, from the elder of whom descend- ed the last Capetians, and the line of Valois ; from the younger the Bourbons. Of these there were also two lines : to the one belonged the Constable, in whom it terminated ; to the other, his contemporary and antagonist, Duke Charles of Vendome, who did as much for the defense of France as the Constable did to endanger it. The sons of Vendome were Anthony, who became King of Navarre by his marriage with Johanna d' Al- bret ; Charles, Cardinal of Bourbon ; and Louis, first Prince of Conde. Anthony's son was King Henry of Navarre ; he was descended from St. Louis in the tenth generation, and was, by the same hereditary right to which the house of Valois was indebted for its elevation, the undoubted heir of the French throne. When Henry was bom, in December, 1553, it could not have been supposed that he was destined to occupy the throne of France, for the house of Valois was then flourishing in its full strength. His grandfather greeted in him the heir of Navarre and Bearne, the maintainer of the ancient independ- ence of the French provinces united under his dominion, and of the Crown of Navarre. It has been narrated a thousand times, how he summoned his daughter Johanna, when her time was near, to his mountain castle at Pau, on the Gave ; how she, in accordance with his wish (for she was vigorous as the native women, and every thing was to be conducted after the manner of the country), while in the pains of child- birth, joined in the prayer in the traditional tune customary in Bearne ; and with what strange ecstasy the grandfather 402 HISTORY OF FRANCE. received the new-born infant ; how he carried him to his own chamber in his ample mantle, filled a golden cup with native wine, allowed the perfume of it to approach the nose of the babe let fall a drop of it into his mouth, then kissed him, and prophesied that he would be a true Bearnais.=^ A peasant woman, who lived near the castle park, was the first nurse to whom the boy was intrusted ; he was afterward sent to Coirraze, in the mountains, where, in company with boys of his own age, bare-headed and bare-footed, he ran through the mountains, and became familiar with their steep paths. His mother Johanna too, who was naturally of a lively and cheerful temperament, and possessed indomitable energ>% cherished a feeUng that her native land would not be annihi- lated as it was sometimes threatened to be by the great pow- ers v^hich surrounded it. But she also contemplated another mission for her son. The early death of Anthony, who, as m other matters, vacillated as regarded the religious instruction of his son,t left her at Uberty to conduct it as she thought best. She did not hesitate for a moment, but brought Henry up in the Protestant faith, which she had made the prevailing religion in her territories. She taught him to sing Marot's Psalms ; she appointed a learned Protestant to be his tutor, who also read with him the classics, such as Plutarch and Csesar, and, proud to think that he was trained in accordance with the pure word of God, she conducted him at he age of fifteen to Uochelle, among the Protestants, who were there united to resist their enemies. Young Henry was received with a pompous figurative oration. '' I do not know how to speak as well as you," he answered, '= but I assure you that I will act better than I speak."1: He was immediately drawn into the midst of the war, and after the death of his uncle, the Prince of Conde, acknowledged as the head of the Huguenots. His ♦ Favyn, " Histoire de Navarre." A manuscript contemporary biog- raphy of Henry IV., in the Bibliotheqae Nationale, contains some no- tices of the earlier events of Henry's life and of his education ; not so much new matter, however, as might be expected, but in other respects it is valuable. t Ippolyto d'Este, April 4, 1562, notices this. ^^ t From the notes of Amos Barbot, in Arcere's " Histoire de Rochelie, i. 370. ELEVATION OF HENRY IV. 403 mother girded on his sword with joy. She took pleasure in narrating how she had once, during her pregnancy, dreamt that she had brought a young cock into the world, with strong colored feathers on his neck and wings, and his comb erected for battle. After the battle of Moncontour, Henry accom- panied the Admiral, whom he regarded with unlimited rever- ence, in that adventurous cavalry expedition through France which brought about the pacification of 1570. It was, as De La None says, a good school for the formation of ideas and plans according to the state of things. During the peace, the Prince felt animated by another wish, springing from the desire for more exalted renown. Charles IX., who felt a stronger personal attachment to him than to his own brothers, promised him that he would, as it were, share with him the exercise of his authority, and make him, as he expressed it, his right arm. Henry, in consequence, contem- plated measuring himself with the Spaniards, whom he would not sufier to retain Navarre, of which they had taken posses- sion, and with the Turks, who were encroaching upon Christen- dom. Upon no one did the victory of Don John of Austria, at Lepanto, make a deeper impression than upon young Henry. He envied the Bastard in being celebrated as the hero of Europe. To appear at the head of a French army, and to win two great battles, one against the Spaniards and the other against the Ottomans, was the dream of his youthful imagination, and the object that occupied his soul. His course was, however, turned in a totally different direc- tion, by his union with the Court of the house of Valois. Henry's marriage with the sister of Charles IX. was the Bloody Wedding. The proud companions with whom he hoped to perform such glorious deeds were murdered before his eyes ; he was spared himself only through his near rela- tionship and his change of religion ; on no account, however, would he be allowed to return to his home. What a con- trast was this residence at court to his mountain-life, by the side of his mother, with her faultless morals, and the aspiring Admiral, who associated the loftiest principles with all his enterprises I Henry was compelled to take part in campaigns which in his heart he execrated ; he was implicated in the 404 HISTORY OF FRANCE. movements of Alencon, whom he disliked, against the dark power of the aueen Mother, who held every one in control ; he was united to a clever hut unchaste woman, against whom he could never, even with a word, testify his displeasure. The servants which were placed round him were spies, if not enemies, whose wickedness he was compelled to evade con- tinually. It was another school where was to he learned to suppress the moral sentiments, and to restrain the internal feelings from rising to the surface. But there was something in Henry IV. which corresponded with the life at court : he plunged into the very whirlpool of passion and of pleasures ; he appeared to live only for the chase, the tennis-court, and love ; and those pleased him hest whose folly seemed most extravagant.* He formed the centre for all the gay and pleasure-seeking youth of the Court. From time to time, however, the religious impressions of earlier years would re- turn : a trusty servant heard him once, in the loneliness of the night, complain, in the words of the Psalmist, of the darkness into which he had fallen ; he must also have felt the prospect of living for the future in a state of semi-captivity, as at pres- ent, intolerahle. When the general state of things was favor- ahle, in 1576, he seized the opportunity, which his apparent self-abandonment procured him, of escaping, and returned once more to his former friends and his old religion. We have noticed how he afterward assisted in bringing about the pacification which gave France repose for a period. He then in reahty took possession of that post for which his mother had long destined him, as King of Navarre and pro- tector of the Huguenots. The power and authority which he now possessed was by no means unimportant. From his small kingdom, which the care of his mother and grandfather had brought into a pros- perous condition, he could bring into the field three hundred mounted gentlemen, and six thousand harquebusiers. He had an arsenal at Navarreins, and a university at Orthes. With the sums accruing to him from Foix, Armagnac, and the Bourbon hereditary estates, his whole income might have amounted to 300,000 francs. His position as protector of the * Memoires de Villegomblain, i. 817. ELEVATION OF HENRY IV. 405 Huguenots gave him still greater consideration, since their military force was at his disposal. There were now what •may be called three strongholds of Protestantism in France: Beam, which was regulated after the manner of a German principality ; Rochelle, powerful at sea ; and the Cevennes, important for their strong places and brave population. But besides this the whole south was studded with Protestant communities ; it was stated that one might have traveled from the Pyrenees to the Alps through places connected through the new religion alone. In Dauphine there were four hundred gentlemen, and in Poitou and Saintonge five hundred, ready at any moment to take Ijorse for the cause of religion. A few councilors from these provinces attended the King of Navarre in order to assist him in the political affairs of the party. The little court which he established at Nerac emulated the court at Paris, especially when his consort, Margaret of Valois, whom Henry III. would not allow to remain in the capital, made her appearance there ; and this rivalry was not always in the most praiseworthy things. There was, however, still a great difference. At Nerac there was no- thing heard of favorites or of wasteful extravagance. The court was also a school for captains ; merit in war gave to each his rank ; the ladies incited their knights to warlike enterprises : a petty war took its name from that circum- stance. Henry won his first honors in a street-battle at Ca- hors, in which he took part, for personal bravery was still the foundation of the most distinguished renown. In the middle of his guards he scaled the barricades which had been erected for the purpose of resisting his attack, his feet cut and bleeding from the sharp stones with which they were formed. But he also showed himself already as a skillful leader. He thoroughly weighed the probabilities of each enterprise, and occasionally decided upon a course opposed to the advice of his captains ; he knew his people personally, and addressed them by their names ; he was the first on the field of battle, and the last to leave it. By degrees he erased the opinion which had been formed of him on account of his conduct at Paris, and which attrib- II 406 HISTORY OF FRANCE. uted to him levity of character, dependence upon others, and unworthiness of trust. An author whom he asked to write his life, and who answered that he must first accomplish something worth recording, found in the course of time ample materials" for a biography. In the conduct of afiairs Henry showed both decision and expertness, and in personal rela- tions the natural gift of managing men— in all things an original and just comprehension, which gave every one satis- laction. His conduct gave rise to the opinion that he was born for the accomplishment of great things. As one of his most prudent friends, Duplessis-Mornay, expresses it : here was what the world longed for, what it thirsted to behold— a true king ; it only required that he should stand forth, to be acknowledged. In this Mornay shows that he did not know the world, whose admiration and recognition must be forced from it by great deeds : before his prince there was still a struggle of the most painful and difficult nature. The union between the Guises and the Spaniards was di- rected against him personally. At first the King of Navarre, who, while at the French Court, had been very intimate with the Duke of Guise, offered to decide the whole affair with him in personal combat ; the inequality of their rank was not to be any hindrance. He was content that it should be a duel between them both, or between two against two, ten against ten, or twenty against twenty, with the arms usual in affairs of honor between knights. Guise was at liberty to appoint the numbers, and to choose the place of battle, even out of the kingdom if he wished, provided only that it were neutral and secure. The King's friends entreated that he would not forget them if it should come to a trial of arms between num- bers. Guise, however, declined the proposal, stating that he did not fight for personal matters, but for the cause of religion. After some time Henry was destined to experience another disappointment, when even his king and master, with whom he thought he stood on the best terms, made common cause with Guise. We know, from his own reminiscences, that the intelligence of this change nearly unmanned him. Many a one will recognize that self-torturing anguish of soul which ELEVATION OF HENRY IV. 407 arises when we despair of all earthly things, and see in our fellow-men only enemies, threatening and urging forward our destruction. When the tidings reached Henry he laid his head upon his hand, and when he aroused himself from the benumbed state into which they had thrown him, a portion of his hair had turned gray.* In the year 1586 a great military force was put in motion against the Huguenots in the provinces generally, against him and his government in particular. He was advised to give way to the storm for a moment, to betake himself to Germany, where he might obtain some auxiliary forces, and then come back and march immediately upon Paris. Others, however, represented to him that in doing so he would cast the sword from his hand, and become a Don Antonio of Portugal, and with them he agreed.f *' They have surrounded me," he says in one of his letters, "like a wild beast of chase, but I will make myself a way over their bodies. "$ He was de- sirous of terminating the affair rather in the bloom and vigor of his youth, than when he should be laden with years and infirmities. Among the Protestants he had in this determination no ally more enterpising or powerful than Lesdiguieres in Dau- phine. While a student in papal Avignon, Lesdiguieres had renounced both his studies and Catholicism, and thrown himself into the Huguenot war, persuaded that by resisting the Guises he would render the best service to his king and to his native land. He acquired reputation and authority by the side of Montbrun, who among many others who deserved the same distinction, acquired the title of The Brave by his gallant actions and great authority in Dauphine. When he was at length taken prisoner and put to death, Lesdiguieres appeared as his natural successor. He was indebted to the influence of Henry of Navarre for his recognition by the prov- * Mathieu, to whom he told it, Henry III., 501. t The considerations were Duplessis-Momay's originally, " Vie de Duplessis-Momay," 95 ; but still they were those which determined tho King's resolution : " A souvent temoigne le Roi qu'il (Dup.-Mom.) luy avoit ete auteur de cette resolution." The resolution was embraced spontaneously, not as the result of a debate. t To De Batz, March 11-12. i 408 HISTORY OF FRANCE. ince and received from him the half of a broken piece of gold, and he promised that as soon as the other was sent to hmi he would immediately take arms * , ^ T^ -n Of still greater value was the resistance made by Damville :/ de Montmorency, the leader of the party called Politicians to ' the attempt made by the Guises to draw him over to their side This may be looked upon as one of the most import- ant effects produced by the hatred between the two houses. Montmorency caused the union between Protestants and Cath- olics to be confirmed in an assembly at Pezenas. and the Court of Justice at Beziers to pledge itself on oath to the ob- servance of the edict of 1577, without any respect to that last issued by the League ;t and having done this, he mounted his war-horse to place himself at the head of his troops. He bore on his black cloak a white cross, adorned with the hlies of France, and said that this campaign would result in either the complete victory of the house of Montmorency or in its extinction. „r i i j * ^ When it is remembered that Henry IV. also had contem- plated a similar equality of condition between the two rehg- ious parties in Guienne, and had taken Catholics into the pro- vincial council which he assembled, it will be seen that the re- sistance offered to the League was founded, not upon the one- sided interests of party, but upon the expediency of enabhng those who held different religious views to live together. This direction of men's minds, through the gradual course of events, now opened a grand prospect for the whole kingdom. It had been long regarded in France as a decree of Destiny that the house of Valois should become extinct. It was re- lated that Catharine de' Medici practiced those arts by which it was believed that what was removed in time and place could be regarded as present, and that, while staying at the castle of Chaumont on the Loire, on one occasion she caused the whole series of French kings to pass before her, and that each of the shadows, as it was called up, made the round ot the magic circle as many times as there had been years m his reign. After all the others came her own sons ; and last ♦ Videl, " Histoire de Lesdiguieres," 92. t Vaissette, " Histoire de Languedoc," v 410. ELEVATION OF HENRY IV. 409 of all Henry III., who was still living, made his appearance He passed round the circle fifteen times, and then suddenly vanished. His mother still continued to gaze with eagerness to know whether another king of her blood would arise, when the Prince of Navarre, vigorous and active as she knew him, stepped forth to view. Many prophecies of a similar import were circulated, and their fulfillment observed to take place by degrees for five'and- twenty years, until at last the death of Alen^on brought it home to the general consciousness of the nation. From this time it was also observed that the ideas of Henry of Bourbon, perhaps involuntarily, far more than previously, were directed toward the State in general. He had never as yet communi- cated to any one an idea that the throne of France was des- tined for him ; on the contrary, he often stated that there was no probability of such an event, since the reigning King was of like age with himself, and could take better care of himself than he could who was in arms. Who can doubt as to the genuineness of the dynastic feel- ing which animated him at that meeting in the park of Pies- sis ? Great tears rolled down from his eyes sts the King, who was once more his friend, came in view ; his ambition went no further than to be acknowledged as first prince of the blood, and to fulfill the duties of that position by the side of the King. The fortune of his arms soon brought him to Blois, where a short time before it had been formally declared by the Estates of the kingdom that he had forfeited all his rights and possessions. " W^hat has more authority," said Henry, " than a decree of the assembled Estates of the kingdom ? But the Almighty has revised the process and re-established me in my rights." The letter containing this unpremeditated effusion is directed to the Countess de Grammont, at that time his mistress— for in every act of his life his passion accompanied him — who, after the manner of such ladies, added some very cool and very selfish remarks. Another trait in the character of Henry was displayed in the fieiy impulse which urged him forward to the siege of Paris. The reputation of such an enterprise, he said, would S 410 HISTORY OF FKANCE. be a magnet which would draw all the iron in France round him ; boldness is the mother of opinions, from this springs power, from power victory, and thence follows security. King Henry III. was complaining one day that he, a good Catholic should have been eicommunicated, a proceeding which had not been taken even against those who had once taken Rome itself by storm. " That is," said Henry, " because they were victorious : only let us conquer, and the sentence of excorn- munication which has been spoken over us will be speedily Tpo 3.1 led And yet there is no doubt but that even a victory might have been dangerous to him, for Henry III. v^as pleased at the service rendered him, but not w^ith the honor and personal confidence which they acquired who rendered him the service ; and besides he adhered firmly to the principle that the hrst prince of the blood must be a Catholic ; and as Henry ot JNa- varre was not disposed to yield to him, it was evident that after the conquest of the capital he would be compelled to return once more to Guienne, and to re-occupy the old party position. Meanwhile Henry III. was slain. The monk who mur- dered him because he was not Catholic enough, prepared the way to the throne for the Huguenot prince. The French nation had once gathered round the house of Valois in a mighty struggle for its independence. With the manifold phases of that struggle, however, arose internal dis- cords which the Princes had not the power or skill to master 80 easily. These were, first, such as sprang from the Estates, then the towns, and those of a clerical and religious nature. Through the confusion in which the last members of that house were implicated, they sought more than once to make their way by deeds of the greatest violence, until at length, from the midsst of that orthodox party which they in general defended, arose the blood-avenging arm which terminated their existence. In what condition did they now leave the country . A Spaniard compared the French monarchy at the time to a pomegranate whose shell was burst open, leaving only the kernels to be seen, with something of the partitions that di- ELEVATION OF HENRY IV. 411 vided them ; for unity was not to be thought of. The power- ful magnates exercised the authority formerly intrusted to them by the kings, as they thought proper, for the promotion of their individual interests ; their designs tended to the form- ation of provincial satrapies. The leading men in the towns held it possible to become free commons.* A great clerical party developed the idea of independence — upon which all ecclesiastical union necessarily reposes — until it reached the character of hostility against the Crown, and was supported in the attempt by the richest and most powerful prince in the world, as w^ell as by chiefs and leaders of the hierarchy. With all these the contest of the new Prince was more severe than that of his predecessor. The religious party had been formed expressly in opposition to Henry of Navarre, but other adversaries also arose against him. The first question laid before him afiected his connection with his confederates. The Royalists, who had adhered to Henry III., did so be- cause they were convinced of the soundness of his Catholic- ism, and that they might expect from him the preservation of the Catholic religion in the kingdom. Now, however, they gave expression to the fiercest opposition against the Hugue- not who was making preparations to take possession of the throne of the Most Christian Kings. A few monks, with torches in their hands, were performing their ceremonies over the body of the murdered King, when the new monarch, accompanied by his most trustworthy at- tendants, with his cuirass, however, under his doublet, entered the chamber. He was not received with any acclamation ; those present, who had all belonged to the household of Henry III., spoke among themselves in a state of high excitement : they were seen to clench their hands and pull their hats down over their faces. They swore that they would rather sur- render to the Leaguers at Paris than acknowledge a Hugue- not King, and this they said aloud within a few paces of him, so that he must have heard their words. Henry at the first moment feared that the Catholics in the * Commentarii : '* I ricchi e potenti delle citta pensarono a una in- stitutione di republiche in loco di monarchia, et li nobili aveano la mira di aver delle satrapie particolari." r 4J2 HISTORY OF FRANCE. camp would unite against him with the people of Paris, and there was in fact a meeting in the city of the chiefs on both Bides and a common consultation proposed, so that Henry 8 friends recommended him to withdraw himself with his trusty Huguenots, from the rage of the enemy, until the approach of more favorable times. Had he done so, however, he would have given tip at the very first moment the claim to the sovereign authority, the possession of which devolved upon him by the law of the nation and have failed in his duty to maintain that author- ity • but it soon became evident that there was no reason to fear a union between the Royalist Catholics and the Catho- lics of the League. Mayenne would hear nothing of the pro- posed meeting, and it is difficult to see how the Royalists could have made common cause with those among whose number had been the murderer of the King. They contem- plated rather avenging that deed upon their adversanes. It was always a circumstance of importance that there were in the camp so many Swiss attached to the European anti- League interests. They were more attached to Henry IV., who shared their creed, than to his predecessor, and did not hesitate, upon the requisition of Sancy, who had hitherto led them, to acknowledge the new King. They were, however, foreigners and Protestants, and had no power to decide the principal question. This depended upon the resolution of the Council, which had assisted Henry III., and through which the royal authority had been adminis^ tered. From this Council all public ordinances had hitherto issued. It was invested with great authority, from the fact that it consisted not merely of ministers, but of the most pow- erful political and military chiefs. It has been stated, upon credible authority, that the opin- ions of the Council in reference to the hereditary right were in a few instances somewhat unexpected ; * that the remote- ♦ We are not sufficiently informed concerning the particulars of these transactions. Angoulemc required to be much more full, in order to jus- tify his pretension to a thorough investigation of the matter. IJupieix and Mathieu contain some particulars, but they are guided by the dis- course of Sancy, whose truth I do not question, but who mamtama merely a special and personal position. ELEVATION OF HENRY IV. 413 ness of the relationship between the King of Navarre and the house of Valois was discussed, and the proposition made that at first he should only be acknowledged as chief director of the war. But even in the midst of the greatest disorder and confusion, those laws which prescribe limits to the desires of individuals, make their influence felt. One of the chief causes of this war was the refusal of Henry III. to subject the fun- damental law of legitimate succession according to birthright, to the pretensions of the Church. Those, therefore, who had drawn the sword to maintain this fundamental principle, could not deny its practical application at the very first moment it became practicable. It was another thing, however, with the difl^erence of religion. Henry III. had assumed that his successor would come over to Cathohcism. A separation of the Crown from its old union with Catholicism did not appear admissible to him or to his adherents. The latter now lost no time in demanding that the lawful heir to the throne should make this change with- out delay. They gave two special reasons for this : the one, that if it were not complied with, a great number of their present confederates would go over to the League ; the other, that the rights of sovereignty might perhaps be exercised by the new King in favor of the Huguenots : from these dangers they urged him to secure himself. Henry's decision of this great question, the influence of which extended far beyond the fleeting moment and the men then liv- ing, was not to be embraced definitively, but only provisionally. Had the object to be efiected been merely his recognition as first prince of the blood, he would never on that ac- count have changed his religion, for the duty of self-preserva- tion would have always predominated over every other. The crown was a higher prize, and Henry may have said then or subsequently that it was worth a mass. But the right thereto which had now immediately fallen to him imposed on him a more comprehensive duty : he must save royalty in the midst of the general confusion, in order that the whole nation might once more unite round it ; he ought not to reject the only means by which this could be efiected, unless his religious convictions were essentially opposed to the change. fff 414 HISTORY OF FRANCE. To his companions in arms, who urged it upon him, he declared, as he had already frequently hinted, that the relig- ion which he had professed in his youth he might prohably give up in his manhood ; not however upon compulsion, not from the force of violent pressure, but only if he should he better instructed. He gave some expectation of his accepting such instructions from a national council, to be called within six months— a doubtful promise, and but of slight obhgation, according to the significancy of the words, but at the same time of profound meaning. The legitimate hereditary King did not reject the notion that the Crown must be indissolubly united with Catholicism. His Protestantism was neither so well defined nor so immovable as to prevent him from mak- ing so strong a theoretic approximation. Besides this, Hemy allowed two other generally restrictive practical obligations to be imposed on him. He promised to allow the exercise of the Protestant religion in those places only where it might have taken place by virtue of the last agreement with Henry in • and, further, to fill the offices about to be vacated with professors of the Catholic creed only. In order to understand Henry's proceedings at this time, we must remember that the party with which he came to this understanding was not that of the League, which persecuted the Huguenots for life and death • but rather the middle political party, with which he had always been in alliance. They were the ruling party, with more or less consciousness, in the Council, in the army, and in the anti-parliaments constituted by Henry III. at Caen, Romans, and Tours. The Council, which had hitherto exercised the royal authority, controlled all these ; it adopt- ed the King, rather than subjected itself to him and to his designs.* * In the Collection of Sillcry there is a letter, directed to the Swiss from the members of the Council, in which these views are expressed. They have acknowledged " nostre dit Roy estre legitime successeur, et que le droit natural nous obligeoit d lui rendre fidelite et obeissance. Nous aurions, en luy prestant le serment, pourvu a la seurete et con- servation de nostre religion Catholique par la promesse qu il nous auroit faiste, par lui signee et juree, de n'y rien innover, amsi la mam- tcnir et conserver ;" by which even the damage otherwise to be expected from despair was warded off from religion. ELEVATION OF HENRY IV. 415 Thus was a union established between the legitimate royalty which had devolved upon a Protestant, and the Catholic Royalists. It was, however, only a very loose con- nection— one that contemplated a distant object, and a prep- aration for future power, rather than a foundation for present authority. Who could say whether it would ever consolidate itself into such an authority ? The agreement by no means satisfied all those who had hitherto fought tocrether The most powerful of the magnates of the day, Epemon, quitted the camp, and it was a matter of satisfaction that he did not immediately join the League, as many others did. The military undertaking in which the army was engaged was given up of necessity. In the first sitting of the Council It was proposed to proceed with the beleaguering of Paris ; but, with so many secessions from his side, Henry could not consent to that enterprise. He said he would first withdraw beyond some of the rivers, and then he would be able to give his confidence to those who remained steady to him. A por- tion of his troops marched to Champagne, another to Picardy, and with the third Henry betook himself to Normandy, where he was acknowledged by Caen, Dieppe, and Pont-de-1'Arche. It was a vast advantage to him that he was not at the other side of the Loire, hemmed in in the distant south, but that he had a firm footing in the north of the kingdom ; still this was very far from being what his title indicated him to be— King of France ; and his enemies had already placed in op- position to him another, whose claims to the same title they acknowledged. CAMPAIGN OF 1589 AND 1590 417 CHAPTER XXVII. CAMPAIGN OF 1589 AND 1590. The population of Paris, on the intelligence of the death of Henry III., abandoned themselves to joy and hopes. The authority of the preachers was augmented by the event, since the Prince, whom they had overwhelmed with their curses, had been actually destroyed in accordance with their pre- dictions. They spoke of Jacques Clement as a martyr, and likened him to Judith. They declared every one to be ex- communicated who should acknowledge Heni7 of Navarre. But, as in the camp, so in the city, the adoption of a great resolution was now indispensable. The Duke of Mayenne was nominated Lieutenant-General of the kingdom and of the crown of France in opposition to the living King, after whose death the office was not to continue. It was even very seriously discussed whether Mayenne, disregarding the old and infirm Cardinal, should not declare himself king : by the boldness of such a step he was told he would carry away the Nobility and the Estates, and unite all France around him. In Mayenne's council, however, it was thought that such a step was surrounded with too many difficulties, and above all, that the Spanish embassador's opinion upon it must be heard. This embassador was Don Bernardino de Mendoza, who was once compelled to leave England because Queen Eliza- beth found his presence too dangerous for the peace of the kingdom. He lived and moved exclusively in the great Cath- olic combination which embraced Europe. The failure of the attempt upon England in 1588 deterred him as little as it did his master from contemplating a second. The anni- hilation of the heretics in the Netherlands, the union of the English crown with the other Spanish crowns, the settlement of France in a similar manner — all these were to him ob- jects which it was desirable to accomplish, either simulta- neously, or oiie after another.* He had already remarked how necessary a condition it was of the possession of America by Spain, that England should not remain in the hands of heretics. In order to maintain in France a condition con- sonant with these views, he did not consider any expense too great. The rigid Catholic principle, from which he derived all his notions, and which led him to a political orthodoxy, from the consequences of which there was no escape ; the power of the Prince whom he represented ; a natural talent for popularity, and finally, the money he expended, secured for him an overwhelming influence. When the attack upon the city was apprehended, he re- paired to the walls, which he found full of monks and priests, and told them he would die with them. Upon receiving in- telligence that the Bearnais, as he always called Henry of Navarre, had assumed the title of King of France, he paid the Duke of Mayenne a visit, and declared to him officially, as Spanish embassador, that his master would never recog- nize a heretic as King of France ; and at the same time he oiTered on the part of his master to the French Catholics all the power of his kingdom, in order to prevent such a succes- sion to the throne.f The proposal which was now made, however — that in constituting the League such a political power as was neces- sary under present circumstances, no further notice should be taken of the Cardinal of Bourbon, but rather that Mayenne ♦ "Estirpar las heregias en desarragarlas de los Paises Baxos, y ganar la Inglaterra (empresa que no puede empedir Francia en el esta- do que se vee), lo uno (the Netherlands) patrimonio y lo oltro (England) conquista, que se puede tan justamente encorporar con las demas co- ronas ... en beneficio de las de Espanna, para la conservacion de las de Indias, que heregcs no posseen a Inglaterra." — Papers of Simancas. t Mendoza's Letter to Philip, August 8 : he had declared " que V. Md. de ninguna manera permittiria que esta corona viniesse en manos de hereges, y gue como Ambr. suyo ofrescia a el y a los demas Ca- tolicos deste reyno sus fuer9as y armas para impedillo." — Papers of Simancas. riAMPAir^N OT? 1.*;R9 ant> ikqo. 11Q 418 HISTORY OF FRANCE. himself should be left in possession of the power which he might exercise under the authority of the King of Spain — ' was one with which Meridoza was not at first inclined to concur. He did not wish the Cardinal of Bourbon to be put aside, because in the original bond of the confederacy he had been described as the future King of France, and in that capacity had taken upon himself definite obligations, especially in ref- erence to Beam. Mendoza did not consider it advisable to urge the immediate submission of the French to the King of Spain, for he believed that they would perceive by-and-by, that without such submission they would be unable to de- Btroy heresy in France — that it was, in fact, their only means of safety. The French, in his opinion, must be dealt with as the physician treats his patient : the most nutritious food must not be permitted at first, in order to restore his strength, but that which is weaker and better suited to his powers of digestion.* The more cautious of the French Leaguers also declared themselves in favor of this view, though upon difl^erent grounds. They found that it concurred with the resolutions of the last Estates, which they were of opinion should be firmly adhered to. One of the ministers of Henry IH., dur- ing the earlier part of his reign, and perhaps the ablest of them all, Villeroy, had now a seat in Mayenne's council. He was opposed to Mayenne's arbitrary proceedings, and de- clared that he would separate from him if he should attempt to disturb the arrangements already eflTected. Urged by representations on both sides, Mayenne at length yielded. The Cardinal of Bourbon was proclaimed King, under the title of Charles X., in solemn edicts, by the Parlia- ment, the Council of the Union, and the civic authorities. Thus was the public authority in some measure arranged, but unquestionably in a most anomalous fonn. * To this, he writes, his King had moved him : " El considerar, que el nombrar al Cardinale pour Rey no derogasse los contratos secretes 6? Beame y Cambray, que se hizieron quando la Liga en favor de V. Md. ne la pretension de V. Md. al ducado de Borgona, ni la de la Se- nora Infanta al ducado de Bretagna." — Compare Villeroy, Mem. i. 130. 5^ •nrr-mr^-nxr r\-n T7"0 A Arr^T? CAMPAIGN OF 1589 AND 1590. 419 A prince was acknowledged as king, whose right was doubtful, and who was himself a poor prisoner, in the power of the very man he was set up to oppose. His substitute was a powerful niagnate, who was himself only deterred by the diflEiculty of the enterprise, from stretching forth his own hand to the crown, and who was at the same time dependent upon foreign subsidies. . Henry of Guise had received at one time or another three millions in gold from Spain ; the Duke of Mayenne also had already received about eight hundred thousand gold-scudi. Without this money, neither would the former have been able to elevate himself to the authority he had possessed, nor the latter to maintain himself in the posi- tion he occupied. It had always been the principal object of their solicitude, to have the Spanish money placed in their own hands, and not to have it distributed immediately among their companions in arms, lest such a course should weaken their personal authority. It was upon this very connection, above all others, that the influence of the Spanish embassador rested ; yet he agreed with Mayenne in generalities only ; he did not pursue any object which could be properly called French, his aim was altogether of a universal character — the dominion of the rigorous Catholic idea, and still more that of his King, over the whole world. He was mysterious and subtle in his pro- ceedings, and immovable in his designs, for the accompHsh- ment of which he neglected no means. The clergy and the mob were dependent upon him ; the former for the sake of the clerical maxims ; and the latter, tumultuous and mov- able, more eager for freedom than capable of appreciating it, easier to be induced to submit to privations than to yield con- tributions, and perfectly content that these should be made by others. However little this deserved the name of an organization, it yet had the superiority of power in the beginning. The army which left Paris in order to take the field in September, 1589, and which was composed of Swiss and Germans col- lected together by means of Spanish money, might have amounted to about twenty thousand men. Mayenne boasted that the Bearnais must either fling himself into the sea, or h^ / nAMPATa^ nv iksq awti icon JOl '#' 420 HISTORY OF FRiVNCE. would in a short time lead him in chains through the Fau- bourg St. Antoine * In Henry IV., however, he found an enemy who was not only prepared for the worst, and determ- ined to defend himself to the very last, but also one who, beneath the appearance of levity and carelessness, possessed a profound, almost religious conviction of his rights. It was no mere phrase with Henry, when he replied to a friend who drew his attention to the disproportion of his force compared with that of his enemies, that they must take his allies into consideration— God, and his good right. But he was at the same time a captain, who lived and moved in his camp— all effort, nerve, and courage. Behind his intrenchments at Arques, which he had thrown up with skill, and which he frequently defended himself, pike in hand, he was invincible even when assailed by a for,ce four times stronger than his own. The enemy found himself compelled to give way be- fore Henry, not only at Arques, but also at Dieppe, where a previous attempt had been made. It soon came to Henry's turn to take the initiative. The military men whom he had left before Paris now drew round him in greater numbers ; the English supported him, and by these means he found himself strong enough to appear once more in the open field. In the beginning of November he approached Paris again, and took possession of a portion of the suburbs, and even his enemies were of opinion that it was possible for him to force the city to a surrender.f But his little army would have lost itself in the mazes of Paris, and his views lay not in that direction. His idea was first of all only to get possession of the towns on the Loire, which had always been steadily attached to hk predecessors. Mean- while he had the satisfaction of being recognized, more sol- emnly than hitherto, as King of France by the parliament of ♦ The " Vrai Discours de ce qui s'est passe en Tarmee jusqu'a la fin de 1589," Mem. de la Ligue, iv. 49, contains an original and contempo- rary narrative of this circumstance : it is given nearly verbatim in Cayet's " Histoire Novennaire," as well as in the " Histoire des Troubles," of Mathieu. Thuanus, 97-319, rests upon it also, and is frequently only a translation. t Comnientarii : " Se havesse fatto un poco di sforzo, haverebbe preaa la citta." CAMPAIGN OF 1589 AND 1590. 421 Tours, and at the same time by a European power, the re- public of Venice. After he had cleared Anjou and Maine of the Leaguers, and taken fresh assurance of Epernon's peace able intentions, he directed his course once more toward the north of France. He relieved and besieged towns, he con- quered some, others he lost again, but upon the whole the advantage was his. His friends remarked with admiration and astonishment that within the space of two months he had traversed with his artillery one hundred and forty leagues. In the beginning of February he commenced the investment of Dreux. For a town so thoroughly devoted to the League, Mayenne felt that he must venture something, especially since its fall would have endangered the capital. At the order of tho King of Spain some Italian and Spanish troops, as well as some heavy Low Country cavalry and Walloon hackbuteers, marched to his assistance from the Netherlands ; he there- fore resolved to risk a battle. In Paris the doctrine that there could be no communion with heretics was renewed, and on the special ground that the Church had even commanded that they should be put to death. In the camp of Henry IV., on the other hand, both Catholics and Protestants prayed for the legitimate King. In the districts which obeyed him processions took place as well as preachings. Henry himself regarded the coming conflict as the medium of God's judgment, almost in the same man- ner as the ancient Franks at Fontenoy. He prayed that God might bless his arms if it should conduce to the welfare of France and of the Christian world, but, if otherwise, not to give him success. On the 14th of March, 1590, the two armies approached each other upon the plains of Yvry. A battle ensued, in which, although the resources of modern warfare were brought into operation, the decisive force consisted, as of old, in the cavalry. It appeared as if Henry IV. must succumb to the superior force of the enemy : further and further backward was his white banner seen to retire, and the great mass ap- peared as if they designed to follow it. At length Henry cried out that those who did not wish to fight against the enemy 422 HISTORY OF FRANCE. might at least turn and see him die,* and immediately plunged into the thickest of the battle. It appeared as if the Royalist gentry had felt the old martial fire of their ancestry enkindled by these words and by the glance that accompanied them : raising one mighty shout to God, they threw them- selves upon the enemy, following their King, whose plume was now their banner. In this there might have been some dim principle of religious zeal, but that devotion to personal au- thority, which is so powerful an element in war and in policy, was wanting. The royalist and religious energy of Henry's troops conquered the Leaguers. The cavalry were broken, scattered, and swept from the field, and the confused manner of their retreat so perplexed the infantry that they were not able to maintain their ground ; the German and French were cut down ; the Swiss surrendered. It was a complete victory for Henry IV. ♦' We have," said the King in one of his letters, " brojcen through the enemy, dispersed his cavalry, taken his infantry prisoners, and captured his cannon and his white banner. How roughly we have handled his Burgundians I (meaning the Spanish Netherlanders) ; God has shown that he favors right more than power." t The letters and poems in which others announce this vic- tory sound like one great shout of triumph. Du Bartas com- posed an excellent and elaborate politico-religious admonition to the enemy in his mihtary song of victory.* Henry IV. now directed his course toward the capital in real earnest. It was, according to an expression of the time, the black in the target at which he aimed. By means of the garrisons of Mantes and Vernon he had interrupted the connection between Pans and Normandy. Soon after he took Corbeil, upon the upper Seine, which was regarded as the key by which the city was supplied from the interior. He then captured Lagny, by * So in the "Discours Veritable," from which Cayet derives his notices ; his variations seem to be arbitrary. The best description by far is in the " Memoires de M. Duplessis-Momay," u. 55. t " Dieu a determine selon son equite."— Receuil de Lettres Miss, de Henri IV., torn. iii. p. 169. " Dieu a monstre qu'il aimait mieux le droit que la force."— To De la Noue, March 14, 1590, p. 161. t Cantique sur la Victoire d'Yvry : (Euvres, 687. CAMPAIGN OF 1589 AND 1590. 423 \J which he was enabled to close the Marne, and Creil. by which the Oise was commanded. By the end of April the bridge of Charenton was in his hands, and his cannon planted upon Montmartre. The Parisians, he said, were disobedient children : so he must show them the rod in one hand and the apple in the other, and then they would yield to him. He could not conceive how they could prefer to him, in the bloom of masculine vigor, with a victorious army before their gates, the old Spaniard, already broken with deadly diseases, Philip II., at a distance, whose death was approaching, and whose kingdom after that event must fall in pieces Before the battle many of the affluent inhabitants of the city, and even a few members of the Government, had given expression to similar sentiments,* but the old hatred ani- mated the mass of the people with imdiminished power. It was said that Henry IV. would come and take vengeance for St. Bartholomew's Day, and bathe his arms to the elbows in blood. The new Papal Legate, Gaetano, whose views coin- cided with those of Mendoza, caused the oath of union to be. renewed just before the battle, after a solemn religious service by all the city officials, from the Prevot des Marchands down to the standard-bearers in the different quarters. They swore never to acknowledge a king who should not be a Catholic, and the population of the quarters repeated the oath. The theological faculty declared that Henry of Bourbon, even should he receive ecclesiastical absolution, could never be acknowledged as King; and they held by this opinion now during the progress of the siege. The distress caused by it in the city only helped to exalt the influence of the Spanish clerical party. The monastic orders made extraordinary efforts for the support of the poor, and the impression these made was doubled by the emaciated figures of the monks as they were seen coming out of their cloisters. Bernardino Mendoza sold his plate to purchase bread for the poor ; as * Letter of Mendoza, March 5 : " Siendo los ricos deste lugar los que mas dessean el accordarse con Bearne, y los de mediano estado y commun pueblo son contrarios a ello y fervientes en la defensa de la religion." May 6, he remarks : " Yr crescendo en los mas principales tsiempre el deseo de accordarse en que inclinan los mas que tienen voz en cosejo y mano en el govierno." 424 HISTORY OF FRANCE. the scarcity became more intense, he taught the people how to make food from oats, after the manner of the Scotch : he 'caused great caldrons to be set up before his own house for • cooking oatmeal porridge, and thus preserved the lives of thousands. As he passed through the streets he was greeted with cheers for the King of Spain. In May intelligence ar- rived that the Cardinal of Bourbon was dead ; and the eflect of this upon the population was to revive, with redoubled power, their wish to subject themselves to the King of Spam. The opposite ideas, however, exhibited themselves also. A Hucruenot woman wandered through the streets, and re- proached the monks with their sins. She would no longer wear any thing red, because the Legate appeared in clothing of that color. She sang her psalms with a loud voice, and the clergy, who tried to stop her, were astonished at her knowl- edge of the Scriptures ; she poured out her aspirations in the most vehement and beautiful prayers ; she asserted that she had seen a human figure in the clouds, with a sword in his hand, and that he had commanded her to tell the Duchess of Montpensier that she ought not to use paint, and the Cardmal Legate that he ought to make peace. She was one of the molt beautiful women in Paris, and closed her career by dying in the hospital.* Among the multitude the Catholic and Spanish notions retained their great predominance. In the beginning of August the famine had become so in- tolerable, that it was resolved in the city to send a deputation to Henry IV. The object was not so much to propose sub- mission to his demands, as a general pacification, in which the King of Spain should be included. Henry IV. answered, that he did not wish his subjects to be indebted to the King of Spain for the peace they desired. t The chief cause of the resolution which the people main- tained, was the intelligence promulgated by the preachers, ♦ 1/Etoile, ii. 40. , ^ ^. i o a ^. t "Recueil de ce qui s'est passe en la Conference du br. A. de Gondi et Archeveque de Lyon avec le Roi."— Mem. de la Ligue iv. 317 Comeyo's " Discours brcf et veritable des choses plus notables Lmvees au siege de Paris," is credible as far as concerns what was spoken publicly, but the manner in which he mentions this mission shows that he was unacquainted with the negotiations themselves. CAMPAIGN OF 1589 AND 1590. 425 that the prospect of Spanish assistance was near. Yet his assistance was constantly retarded, almost to the despair of Mendoza. At length, in the most critical and urgent mo- ment, it appeared. Philip II. had given money and enlisted Ibreign troops ; he had also, again, sent a force of his own. Now he did more : he ordered his nephew Alexander Famese, of Parma, who was then engaged in subjugating the Netherlands, to postpone his proceedings in that country, and to march into France with his whole army. As regarded himself, Alexander Farnese was not favorable to such a step. According to his view, France and Spain ought to maintain friendly relations, and for a hostile move- ment against Henry IV. the present moment appeared to him, at least, unsuited. Besides this, he intended, in the course of the summer, which was very dry, and therefore favorable for his operations, to make an attempt upon Holland and Zealand. It was impossible for him, however, at the same time to invade France, and to overpower the Netherlands; and should he attempt both objects, he would be unable to attain either of them. At the Spanish court, meanwhile, that vast complication of all the Catholic interests was the object of steady contemplation. King Philip and his Council of State fostered, moreover, the opinion that Spain could never have peace with Henry of Navarre. Should he win Paris, and with the city the crown, nothing could in that case prevent him from rushing with his Huguenots, intoxicated with victory, upon the Netherlands, or Italy, or even upon Spain itself; while by attacking him in France, the Nether- lands would be most efiectually defended.* The Duke of Parma was somewhat displeased that the necessities of the * For this I have drawn from " Gulielmi Dondini Bononiensis e Soc. Jesu Historia de rebus in Gallia gestis ab Alexandro Famesio, Parma et Placentiffi Duce III., supremo Belgii praaefecto (Nuremberg, 1675), p. 118, who had valuable sources of information; according to page 259 he had access to the Diary of Alexander of Parma. " Hispani triumviri (namely Mendoza, Moreo, and Tassis) ita cum foederatis age- bant ut ad Alexandrum referent omnia, communicatisque inde consiliia communes ad Regem literas darent ; quffi nobis liters ad intima con- siliorum pernoscenda adjumento fuere." 426 ' HISTORY OF FRANCS. war should be judged and decided by the cabinet at a distance from the scene of operations ; but when the will of the King was decisively announced, and the necessary funds sent, he had no alternative but to obey. . , ^ , . i . •♦ if He first of all put Mayenne's army, which had not let itseii be shut up within the walls of Paris, into a condition for taking the field, and then he himself parsed the French borders m themiddleof August, 1590. . ,, . r*i. He was received every where as the principal leader oi the League, and the money destined for its support passed en- tirely through his hands ; upon his approach to Laon, the keys of the city were presented to him upon a silver salver. On the way to Meaux, he was met at Lizy by Mayenne, and a general review of their troops took place ; the numbers of the army amounted to seventeen thousand infantry and four thousand cavalry.* The Spaniards showed a certain miUtary elegance which astonished the French, and many of thein seemed to be aware, for the first time, that there was a civil- ized world beyond the boundaries of France. The united army now moved in the direction of Paris. Alexander Far- nese was commissioned either to relieve the city, or, if he should find it already captured, to seek out the enemy amid its smoking ruins. • ^ .-x But his mere approach was decisive, and the inhabitants of Paris were astonished when, on the morning of the 30th of August, the enemy was no longer visible before the city. All rushed to the walls, in order to convince themselves of ♦ « Spectaculi frequentia major ad oppidum Lisiaci fuit, ubi ut lus- traretur foederatorum exercitus primi et secundi agminis copi® intei Farnesium et Maineum . . . convenerant."— De rebus in Gallia gestis ab Alex. Famesio. p. 218. Tassis, who did not know the name of the place, describes it as "pagus quidam, qui est in media quasi Meautii via," i e between Meaux and La Ferte Milon. (De Tassis, Commen- tarii p 505 ) We see here also how difficult it is to ascertain num- bers' Tassis, in a letter dated Lagny, September 3, gives the army of the prince at 12,000 infantry and 2400 cavalry, and that of Mayenne at 6000 infantry and 2000 cavalry ; the musters were not complete. Tassis remarks that so powerful an army had not been seen in France since the last great war (1659) ; he calculates the army of the King at 16,000 infantry and 4000 cavalry; others make the cavalry amount to 70*00. CAMPAIGN OF 1589 AND 1590. 4fi7 the fact ; some immediately joined processions, which were formed without delay ; others betook themselves to the camp, where they rejoiced at finding a few tents not altogether empty, while innumerable wagons laden with supplies of provisions covered all the roads leading to the gates of Paris in unbroken lines. Henry had found it impossible to continue the beleaguering of the city, and at the same time to withstand the advancing enemy. The latter object appeared to him the most urgent and promising, and he therefore broke up his camp, determ- ined to force the Duke of Parma to a battle in the open field. Henry's infantry was not quite so numerous, and far from being in as good condition as that of the enemy, but he placed all his hopes in the superiority of his cavalry. There were in his camp four thousand French gentlemen, who wished for a pitched battle with np less eagerness than their ances- tors in the old Flemish and English wars. Henry IV., who himself ventured very close to the enemy, in order to observe his movements, encamped upon the heights of C belles, directly opposite to him, and in his way. He felt himself fortunate when he saw a detachment from the enemy take post upon the opposite heights on the morning of the 2d of December, and putting themselves in order as if determined to accept the battle. He believed that he saw the Star of Yvry beam- ing upon him. "We perceive from his letters that his whole soul was resolved upon the impending event — that he was fully determined to keep his ground, and to die rather than yield to the enemy. With these intentions he advanced into the plain, in order to give the enemy a better opportunity of commencing the attack. It had never been Famese's intention, however, although he was vehemently urged to it by the impatience of the French Leaguers, to risk the fate of the whole enterprise upon one battle. He was not indebted for his previous successes to the fortune of the battle-field, but to well-chosen positions in strongly fortified places, skillful movements, and persevering sieges. Although the constituent elements of both armies had much in common, yet were they almost the representa- tives of two distinct systems of tactics, standing opposed to W^\ 428 HISTORY OF FRANCE. CAMPAIGN OF 1589 ANB 1590. 429 I each other. In the army of the King the chief strength con- sited in the French nobility, who came into the field volunta- v'\ rily, and, without pay, attached themselves to the service of » Hheir lawful sovereign with unconditional devotedness, and y thirsted for the renown of battle only. The strength of Far- nese's army consisted, on the other hand, in paid veteran troops— Spanish, Walloon, Italian, and German regiments, which constituted a firmly united and easily directed military body. The object of the Duke's movements was merely to occupy the King, and meanwhile to capture Lagny, one of the most important places in his possession, and which pre- vented the approach of supplies to Paris by the Marne, as well as from the camp. Having succeeded in this, he coolly left things to take their course. He remained immovable, even when Henry made a rapid movement upon Paris, and at- tempted an assault upon the suburbs ; he knew well that that could lead to nothing further. Henry meanwhile could not sustain a war of this kind ; his talent was not developed for it, and the condition of his troops rendered it impossible. The impatience of the nobility to leave the army, now that the prospect of a battle, which they desired so eagerly, and which had drawn them together, vanished, was equal to their former alacrity.* The letters remain in which they represent to their king and leader how much they had done for him, what losses they had suffered, and how necessary it was for them to return to their homes for the purposes of ordering their domestic affairs, and promising to return to him again. Henry IV. knew by experience that it would be vain to endeavor to withstand such a desire, and therefore, although it was but the middle of December, he divided his army. He dismissed the nobility to their several provinces ; with the auxiliaries he garrisoned the fortified places, and a body of select troops he kept by himself in order to maintain the petty war to which his operations were reduced. In this manner did the cam- ♦ To Montmorency, October 8, Lettr. Miss. iii. 266 : " C'est une humeur que je ne suis pas a cette heure de reconnaitre, m'estant aper9U assez de fois qu'ils n'en reveinnent jamais et ne sert rien de les y con- tredire." In the serai-official narratives he rather seeks to conceal the true reason. paign, in despite of all his efforts and victories, turn out to his disadvantage. A few simple observations will show how large and overwhelming a share the Spaniards had in bring- ing about these results. Bernardino Mendoza held the Paris- ians together during the siege. The arrival of the Prince of Parma raised the siege of the capital, and his strategic move- ments occasioned the dissolution of the royal army. In Paris preparations were made, by the advice of Mayenne, to receive the victorious general with the greatest festivities ; and many a lady flattered herself with the prospect of making a conquest of the hero around whom beamed the double glory of victory and religion. Alexander of Parma withdrew from it all. Once only, and that incognito, did he visit the city. It was enough for him that by the conquest of Corbeil he had made the Seine free, and thus provided for the supply of provisions to the capital. Having accomplished that, he directed his march once more toward the Netherlands. Henry followed him on his return, and occasioned him some loss. He had maintained his position in the provinces, and now again took possession of Corbeil, and conquered Chartres, but he was not yet King of France, nor could he by any means be regarded as the first military leader in the world, as his flatterers would have had him to believe. He said that it was money only which made the difference between him and the Prince of Parma, and that with better pecuniary resources he would also have been able to maintain his army in the field. It is very certain that an army like that of the Spaniards, and a general like the Prince of Parma, would have been im- possible without regular pay. The silver of Potosi contributed to develope the spirit of standing armies in Europe ; but an organized state system, and stable political arrangements, were also necessary to it. At this period how greatly did the Spanish monarchy appear to transcend the French kingdom I the former embracing South America, Eastern Aeia^the Pyrenean and Apennine peninsulas, proceeding on the con- tinent from victory to victory, united by a great principle, armed and prepared In the best manner ; the latter without subordination, troops, or money, torn with internal contentions, 43b HISTORY OF TRANCE. vacillating between two religious parties. After the Duke of Parma's successes, things wore in part an appearance as it the French kingdom were about to be absorbed in the system of the Spanish monarchy, and to become a dependency of the Spanish crown. CHAPTER XXTIII. 1 PREPONDERANCE OP THE SPANIARDS IN FRANCE. PRINCIPLES OP THE LEAGUE AND OP SPAIN. Bernardino Mendoza had formed the design of making France a province of the great Catholic monarchic system, which, under his king, was to govern Europe and the colonies. Since the death of Henry HI. the idea of making the King of Spain Protector of France had been mentioned in all the negotiations with Mayenne^who in general appeared to con- cur in the proposal. A formal act was already prepared and submitted for signature. The negotiations were especially difficult with regard to defining the rights of the Protector. Mendoza required that he should have almost sovereign au- thority. The Minister of the Protector was to take part in I the Council in affairs of state, of war, and of finance ; and, I after the death of Charles X., the succession to the throne! was to be regulated in accordance with the will of the Pro- tector, whose rights were still to continue.* It is easy to conceive that though Mayenne and his coun- cil, especially Villeroy, might make some difficulty in sub- * " Punctos que se apuntaron para concierto en las juntas que ha avido entre el Duque de Umaine y nosotros ;" in the papers of Simanca». The first clause indicates, '' que el partito Catolico pede la proteccion de S. M. como remedio unico de su salvacion ;" another, " que se pon- ga,n en execucion los punctos a que obliga la Liga ;" in the same man- ner the promises concerning Beam. Further, " Anadierasse a esto la intervencion de ministros del Protector en los consejos de estado guerra y hacienda ; la obligacion de nunca tratar 6 determinar cosa de la suc- cesion del reyno en caso de muerte del Cardinal sin intervencion del Protector, et estendar a proteccion en cabe^a de la corona de Espana." I. leave it undecided^ whether Mendoza actually proposed all this in so niany words. II 432 HISTORY OF FRANCE. scribing to articles which involved their own subordination to the Spanish embassador, Mendoza did not give up his o^^ on that account; he still hoped to accomplish it through the aid of the multitude. a a^ ^f From Mendoza's letters we learn the nature and mode ot his diplomatic demagogic activity. The members of he civic association and the Prevot des Marchands used to visit him, in order to ask for his advice. His transactions with Lm were, however, very cautious^ What he wished to accomplish he never proposed as his own idea for the French " said he, " are jealous of every thing that does not come from themselves."* He spoke to them of what he wished to propose, as if it were a report he had heard. H^ friends then repeated it in the meetings of their party ; and, in a short time, others made their appearance at his residence - to lay before him as something they deemed advisable the very opinion that had at first proceeded from hmiself. He then spoke in favor of it, and the matter was afterwad debated in the more numerous a^mblies, where it assumed by degrees the form of a resolution. Mendoza swayed the JemL of the Sorbonne in a special manner : they were at that time, men of little learning or intellect but they ^Issessed a certain fluency of speech and m that their who^ lalent consisted : they thus furthered his views His mflu- ence was all the more effective, the more completely it was ''Snifter the re-appearance of Hemy IV in the suburbs of Paris, on which occasion a few of his adherents had dis- played some activity, the question was exammed m the SmbUes of the Lea'gue, -hose chief and -^amenta pnn- ciple it was that under no circumstances could a reconcili^^^^^^^^ take place with him, in what manner they couW ^^^^^^^^^ themllves against him by force. It was observed, that fo this purpose, there were only two resources e.ther to umte al the French Catholics, or to intrust themselves wholly to the King of Spain ; and that as the former wa^ unattainable, on * Mendo^ October 30, 1689. The disposition of the nation was ^'es "^hrTl estr'angero, por mas que aya menester su amis- tad, no satisfaxiendoles nada que no sea de su nacion. SPAIN AND THE LEAGUE. 433 account of the oblivion into which the interests of religion had fallen with so many, the latter only remained, and they must assure themselves of the King of Spain's protection Here, too, it was proposed that King Philip II. should in all f form be named Protector of France.* Objections were not ^ wanting to this course, but they were all removed by Men- doza and his friends. It was objected that King Philip would introduce the Spanish Inquisition, fill the offices of the state with foreigners, demand unusual subsidies, and oppress the country with his troops ; that he might perhaps make himself master of the French towns, and that there would be a danger of the entire nobility's renouncing his authority. To this it was answered that the boards of hearth-money were more severe than the Spanish Inquisition ; the native troops often more violent than the Spanish; as to other attempts, they could be warded off by means of the Estates General ; and that, as to the French towns, they had more J to fear from England than from Spain. Among many of the French, whose religious feelings were excited to a high pitch, ecclesiastical zeal so completely predominated over their wonted national ambition, that they could calmly contemplate the possibility of a great loss of territory. With less extent it was said, the kingdom, if once purged from atheism and heresy, would be able to do more for itself, and to contribute more to the welfare of Christendom than it otherwise could even if it possessed all Asia.f There was stiii one cause of hesitation ; the possibility that by adopting this course the French might fall under the gov- ernment of the Spaniards. Mendoza endeavored to remove it hy saying that the administration of a great monarchy was conducted something like the government of a monastic order, which was constituted out of many nations, though united ♦ " Incommodites, qu'aucuns disent pouvoir advenir si on appelle I'EspagnoI comme protecteur de nostre Roy et royaume," 1689 : Ar- chives of Simancas. > " Quand le royaume seroit de moindre etendue qu'il n'est, si est CO qu'etant repurge d'heresies et d'atheisme, il pourroit plus faire de bien a republique ct a soi-meme, qu'il ne pouvait faire avec la corruption presente quand il seroit plus grand que toute I'Asie. ' T SfT'",, l< 434 HISTORY OF FRANCE. under one head. An Italian guardian conld not issue orders to the French ; nor a French to the Germans ; each brother was a foreigner to all who were not of his nation and yet all unanimously acknowledged the supreme chief of the Order The Constitution of Spain, he said, was sumlar to this ; and that to the great advantage of the provinces. It was manilest, for example, that the " county" of Burgundy was more pros- perous under the Spanish government than the " duchy ot Burgundy under that of France ; and that the inhabitants ot Artoise were in better circumstances than those of Picardy. It is in fact extremely probable that the condition of the neigh- boring French-speaking Spanish provinces, which was m gene- ral satisfactory, lent weight to the representations of Mendoza ; at all events he succeeded in bringing the citizens by degrees to a complete adoption of his opinions. He hoped that he would be able to win the Catholic nobility also, and reckoned especially upon the example and influence of the Count de Brissac, for the accomplishment of that ob- ject. He recommended him to the King for a reward, and also the Prevot des Marchands, who had formed a party through his friends among the citizens. He recommended the citizens simply to guard themselves against the nobility, but not to arouse the ancient hostilities, which might be in the highest degree ruinous. The question was discussed very seriously with Mayenne and his council. The Duke attaxshed great importance to his being acknowledged as the head of his house, and once actually said that he would be an obedient subject to King Philip II. The other members of the council which he had recbutly form- ed, gave the prominence to general principles. They were not opposed to the recognition of Philip II. as Protector of France ; but they required that he should then come forward, not merely as an ally, but formally as generalissimo, and take the cause entirely into his own hands, Mendoza answered that that would occasion such prodigious expense, that the King could not in return be content with being simply acknowledged as Protector, but must require certain prerogatives of sover- eignty. The French hesitated to bind themselves to a defini- tive confirmation of such rights ; they remarked that all which SPAIN AND THE LEAGtIE. 435 Philip did for France conduced to the advantage of the Cath- olic religion, and so far to his own advantage. Mendoza answered, that the cause must, beyond all comparison, be of more interest to the French ; he presumed they did not wish to cease to be Catholics, or that they desired to abandon Paris to the enemy ; but where, he asked, was the man among them, who could at the same time preserve religion and the state ? Mendoza had no doubt but that he would at length attain his object. Sometimes he appears full of enthusiasm at the prospect about to open for his prince ; the gates of a foreign kingdom would be opened to him by its own citizens ; he would speedily unite it with his other Crowns, or, if he pre- ferred that course, he might bestow it upon a third party. The notion of the Spanish protection met among the cividj members of the League with unconditional approval, unrelj strained by any long investigation. As long as the King-'f Cardinal Charles X. lived, the embassador discouraged every manifestation, for during the lifetime of one who had been acknowledged King by himself, Philip II. could not receive them as his vassals. After the death of Charles, during the siege, every thing appeared ready for the subjection of France to the King of Spain, and Mendoza only complained that he was not commissioned to carry it into effect.* The influence of the Duke of Parma did not operate altogether in accordance with the embassador's views. Mayenne effected arbitrary alterations in the city ; still all this did not prevent a formal offer of submission to Philip's authority from reaching Mad rij^ in 1590. The instructions are in existence with which the Sorbonne sent the Franciscan Matteo Aguirre to King Phihp, furnished with full power to entreat him to take under his protection the city of Paris, true to God, obedient to the Apostolic See, devoted to the King of Spain, and the Mother of Learning, and to preserve it from the cruel enemies of the Catholic religion. The members describe theniselves as the » March 22 : " Esta villa y d su imitacion otras muchas braman por echarse en las manos de V. Md." May 19, he interrupted the negoti- ations with the Catholics, who only wished " de entregarse i V. Md. sin por no tenir orden V. Md., ni dar me de Flandes claridad del tiempo preeiso en que podran^venir las fuer9as." 1/ ^36 HISTOEY OF FRANCE. tWomans whom God had Bet over his people Aguirte alSXt the cities of Paris. Orleans, Amiens, Beauvais P„ Sens, SoiBsons, Meaux, and Chartres, had through l^M^tesre^^aestedihe doctors to consider the means of their de egai h ^^^^^ ^ ^^^^^^ ^o express rmfeltrmo^^^^^ than he does in their names ! S have commissioned me," he says, '« to cast rnyself at vour Maresty's feet, and to implore you to take pity upon Ihem tforge the many injuries their forefathers have done tZ Catholic Crown, to turn upon thern an eye of favo^^^^^^^ accept them as your vassals, to come to their aid, and hence- n\nress IndlnV of the city, which continued after the siege had been raised, contributed not a little to this step^ As Hefry continued to repeat from time to time his attempts on Pari^the prevailing faction of the Sixteen determined h? February 1591, not altogether with the goodwill of Ma>. enne tha^a garris;,n of Spaniards and Neapolitans should be Wed within the walls ; their safety from the enemy, and at Te same time the defense of the city, appeared to depend Ln Spanish assistance alone. Affairs proceeded in a similar Tuner t^the provinces ; in the majority of places the League was able to maintain itself only by the assistance of Spanish ^^iiltstranuel of Savoy had, before the catastrophe at E, promised to come to the assistance of the League, as iras Henry HL should unite hirnself with the Kmg of Navarre. It was only the successful progress of the Royal frmsTn the spring of 1589, and the dread of a day of vengeance. Tt heB ^^^^^^ at that time. After the murder of Henry m he gave free course to his ambition. He even fancied hat as Indson of Henry H. he might lay claim to the Crown ti He caused homage to be rendered to him m Saluzzo, ^d the lilies every where vanished before the white crosses. Meanwhile the Eslates of Provence, closely pressed by the ad- herent of H.nry IV. and only sustained by the assistance of SrDuke, formluy elected him as their Count and Sovereign. * "Reciba de baxo de su proteccion a la ciudad de Pans, ponga lo. ojoB.de la clemencia en eUos, y los reciba per sfis vasallos. SPAIN AND THE LEAGUE. 437 On this occasion they never thought of their ancient connec- tion with the German empire — of their relations with the house of Lorraine, from whom the province had been wrested with violence, for the purpose of uniting it in a tyrannical manner with the Crown of France. They now, as they de- clared, knew no one who could protect them frcm the heretics and their patrons, except the Christian and Catholic, the victorious and good duke of Savoy : they entreated him to accept them as his vassals, to protect their freedom, and to maintain the Catholic faith.* In the middle of Novemberpv 1590, Charles Emmanuel made his solemn entrance into Aix ^ as Count of Provence and Forcalquier. Although he declined all marks of honor reserved for the Kings alone, in other respects he acted as Sovereign of the country ; he formed a council, appointed officers, and summoned the Estates. The royalist governor of the province, La Valette, was not, how- ever, thereby deposed; although it was impossible for his master to come to his aid. yet Montmorency from Languedoc, and especially Lesdiguieres from Dauphine, rendered him assistance. In order to overpower him, the Duke betook himself to Marseilles, where he was joyfully received, and set sail for Spain, whence he returned in July, 1591, with fifteen galleys freighted with Spanish auxiliary troops. He reduced the strong place of Berre, and made himself, if not master of the province, yet, with his adherents there, very powerful. Languedoc presented a complete example of the manner in which the provinces were broken up into parties, and how they waged war with one another. The Leaguers, under the Duke of Joyeuse, held some of the principal towns, such as Toulouse and Narbonne ; a por- tion of the provincial nobility was on their side. On the other hand Montpellier, Beziers, all the Protestant towns and * The speech from which these words are taken is given from the Memoires of Von Mauray, secretary of La Valette, by Dupleix, Henry IV., 61. — He asserts that Charles Emmanuel made this appointment the sole condition of his ftirther assistance, a circumstance which Gui- chenon, who otherwise follows him (726), did not deem it advisable to repeat. Papon, " Histoire de Provence," is not so well informed as might have been expected. He makes too much literary pretension for a provincial history. 1 if/ t'i 4 t 438 HISTOUY OP PRAkcE. districts, with the most renowned names among the ancient nobility, attached themselves to Montmorency, who was so closely comiected with Henry IV. Each party held an assem- bly of their estates twice a year, which exercised authonty m their districts over the ecclesiastical and secular revenues and the domain of the King. They also granted some supplies, so that the governors were able to maintain troops both horse and foot, and even some ships upon the coast. Montmorency was the more powerful of the two, for he obtained a large amount of money from the salt-works mh.s district he maintained four thousand cavalry, about four thousand in- fantry, and four vessels of war, which cruised in the neighbor- ing waters ; he also possessed the greatest number of havens His aggressions provoked Philip II., and in the summer of 1590 he sent a body of German mercenaries under Count Jerome Lodron, to Narbonne, to assist the Catholics.* Among the troops were a number of German gunners, whom the Archduke Ferdinand had enlisted-artillerists and founders from Nuremberg and Augsberg, and all descriptions of High- German artisans. In order to teach the French how to deal with heretics, a regiment of Spaniards were also sent by way of RoussiUon. With the auxUiaries Joyeuse obtained the superiority, and took a good number of royalist castles. Car- casLmie also, on account of which so many battles had been fought, fell into his hands. , ^, t, ■ In a similar manAer the Duke of Mercrt''.'n»y''!,fo'>n'|. ditec ed to the King, and composed in the Italian language. The fol- towina extract will cast a light upon these transactions ,- Questa mSa" he says, on September 24, 1590, "trattando con J Duca d hyZe sue uigotenente generate sopra il particolare d. Le»«-';. S'' ;Xosi,in casochela si pigliasse, se si consentiriano che «f 'r""«« ^So di Alemanni o che si ispianasse. mi hanno nsposto che in que^o caso farebbono quello che S. M. commandasse." He sent at the same IZ a pirof "Leucate, essendo frontiera buona per la Spagna. SPAIN 'and the league. 439 1 assistance of the League. It is very remarkable that the Duke of Mercoeur, who considered that he had hereditary claims upon Brittany in right of his consort, should have attached himself to the King of Spain, although he knew that Philip, after long consultation with doctors of both the civil and canon law, had resolved to claim this duchy also for his daughter. The contradiction is, however, not so glaring as it appears to be. The Duke declared that he only wished to see the claims of the Spanish Court made out clearly, when he would acknowledge them, and serve the King with perfect fidelity ; but, on the other hand, should Philip be triumphant in the great contest, he would be just and fair enough to take the claims of the Duchess into consideration, and would no doubt leave him the government of the province, with full authority. To these proposals the Spanish Court was very ready to agree, for it was desirable to establish the Infanta's right of succession, even if the other objects contemplated should not be accomplished, for in that case Mercoeur, as deputy of Philip II., would be able to preserve the mdepend- ence of the duchy under Spanish protection.* Under these conditions the Duke opened the port of Blavet to the Spanish auxiliaries. The fort of Port Louis arose afterward from the fortifications which they erected there.f The Duke then obA, tained the superiority over his antagonist m the provmce, and his assembly of Estates was much better attended. Notwith- standing some assistance from England, the Royalists lost one place and one leader after another. Among others who fell was De la None, a Breton by descent, and the man m whom Henry IV placed his greatest confidence. He was slain at the storming of the Castle of Lamballe ; on the day on which it took place, he adorned his helmet with a branch of laurel, re- marking that that was the only reward to be expected from this contest. ♦ " Copia del papel, que dio en Frances Fray Marcelin, Comet de la ordea de San Domingo, embiado por el Duque de Mercuno, as well as a ministerial resolution, expressly approved of by Phihp I., m which it L rted that if Beam should obtayi the crown, " Mercuno no se poclria consei^ar y mantener, si no teniendo el governo en nombre de cuyo es dc derecho el ducado, y debaxo del amparo y fuerzas de S. M. t Dam, " Histoire de Bretagne," torn. ui. p. 310. M. 440 HISTORY OF FRANCE. SPAIN AND THE LEAGUE 441 In Normandy treaties were entered into here and there be- tween the Leaguers and the adherents of Henry IV., so that each party might cultivate their lands undisturbed. A fresh division arose among the Leaguers themselves : Villars, who held possession of Havre-de-Grace, and Tavannes, who was master of Rouen, regarded each other with the most deadly hatred ; each wished to expel the other from the province, and they vied in calling on the Spaniards for aid.* As the League was originally a union of the Spaniards with the independence of the powerful governors, so it con- tinued. All these men were greatly disposed to acknowledge King Philip either as Protector or even as King of France, and at all events to recognize his authority over the Crown. Tavannes said that nothing could be more just, since Philip was descended originally from a French house. Villars prom- ised at least not to oppose it. MercoBur and Joyeuse were bound to him by their position. The Duke of Savoy could desire nothing better ; the authority of a friendly and nearly related monarch would have powerfully sustained his own. But the principal questJbn, and that which generally occu- pied the thoughts of the party, was what should be done with respect to the Crown itself. The most extraordinary notions were passing through the the minds of the members of the Sorbomie. As the calling of an Assembly of the Estates would be accompanied with great difficulties, they held that it was not impracticable that a king should be chosen in the camp by the soldiery, as in the times of the Romans or the Franks. Were it for the advant- age of religion, they would not shrink even from the idea of allowing monarchy to fall altogether, and dividing the king- dom into a few great principalities.* * Salazar: "Desdc laego por sru parte nombrera a V. Md. por pro- tector de aquel reyno, ayudera que la villa y lo demas de su goviemo lo sigue, y a su tiempo, quando aya fundamento, tambien entiende de nom- brar V. Md. por protector de aquel reyno." f " Si cogi non possunt solita comitia, res transigi posset castrensi electione more Romanorum et priscorum etiam Francorum. Quicquid fiat, omiiino procurandum hostis exitium, sive de monarchia conservanda sive de dividenda agatur."— " Discursus Facultatis Theologicse," in the Papers of Simancas. This last notion was rejected by the entire University, be- cause the partition would be the cause of incessant domestic war. The choice of a monarch they declared to be in their opmion indispensable, for the nobility would only reunite around a king. The right of election they adjudged to the Estates, even if these could not be brought together out of all the provinces.* Were Philip II. a younger man, they contin- ued, the crown should be offered to himself, or, if he had two eons, to one of them ; but as the case now stood, the proper course was to raise to the throne some prince who would be j agreeable to the King of Spain, and to whom he might give I his daughter in marriage. The council of the sixteen united quarters of Paris expressed ) opinions almost identical with those of the University. They H- declared to King Philip that the Catholics had but one wish, and that was to see him rule over them ; but if this could not be, he might at least send them his daughter Isabella, and select a consort for her. They were persuaded that she would prove as fortunate a queen for France as Blanche of Castilfe,. the mother of St. Louis, in former days.f Among the sub- scriptions to this resolution the name of Boucher stands prom- inent, and attracts attention by the large characters in which it is written. Nor does it appear that opinion was different in the other towns. The Provincial of the Jesuits, and the Guardian of the Franciscans of Orleans, traveled to Spain and assured King Philip of the adhesion of all the towns. If it be asked how it was possible that opinions of this kind^ could have met with approval, the fact may become in some measure comprehensible when we consider that the ancient principle of government by estates now co-operated with the religious notions of the time. They had no wish to subject themselves to the absolute authority of the King of Spain, but rather under his protection to carry into practice their own ideas of reform, and of a system of estates. Even in the agreement with Mayenne mention was made of that reform * Discursus Universitatis : "Neque obstare debet difficultas convo- candi Status, cum ii sufficiant qui ex unitis populis facile possunt con- Tocari, nee forsan expediret ut ex universo regno convenirent." t Compare Cayet, Anc. Coll. Ivii. 239. u 442 HISTORY OF FRANCE. in the judicial and finance administrations which had been previously demanded a thousand times. There were other proposals which contemplated the firm establishment of the freedom of the Estates upon a secure basis for the luture. According to these the States General should be assembled at regular intervals, and should not only exercise the power ot legislation in its widest extent, but also regulate the finances. The King was to have no power to raise troops without their consent, nor was he to appear in their assemblies until their resolutions had been completed ; and these resolutions he was not only to confirm, but to swear to claiise by clause. Ihe ■ exclusive Catholic ideas formed an essential principle ot this constitution. All alliances with un-Cathohc powers were prohibited to the King under pain of losing his crown, and especially any connection with the Ottomans. Upon the re- » quisition of the Estates, he was to place himself at the head I of a crusade against either the former or the latter. The nobility were to render their services on such an occasion at their own charge, and on this condition only should they re- tain their privileges. It appeared as if the ecclesiastical idea were the only foundation for all political regulations. The sketch of a constitution laid before the King of Spain in the year 1591, and which was recommended for his adop- tion in the event of his accepting the crown himself, is worthy of notice. Its articles were to be confirmed in authentic char- ters immediately upon his accession. Here also the religious tendencies predominate over all others.* The first thing de- ^manded was the introduction of the holy office of the Inquisi- tion which would be so formidable to the wicked m France. The King was to bind himself not to appoint foreigners either to bishoprics, archbishoprics, or to any civil or miUtary offices No offices were to be sold. All imposts which had been laid on since the reign of Louis XII., with the augmentations of the taille, were to be abolished. The administration of the finances was to be so regulated that the income should be ap- plied to the most urgent cases only, especially to the payment ♦ Articles de chose qu'il fauldrait que le Roi Catholique accordast, permist, et en passast, chartres authentiques, aux Etats du royaume de France, acceptant la couronne de France." Papers of Simancas. SPAIN AND THE LEAGUE. 443 of the military force. Church ideas are associated in the most intimate manner with the views of reform. It was made imperative upon the King to redeem the domains of the crown, and to liquidate the national debts which were ac-J knowledged by the Estates. If it were asked from wKat resources the means were to be obtained for efiecting all this, the reply was, the estates of the heretics, which the national creditors must accept in satisfaction of their demands, for strict Catholics only were recognized as members of the State. With respect to these, expression was given to an idea of political mildness which has been realized only in modern times. According to this, confiscation of every kind was to cease for the future. The punishment of crime was to affect those only who had committed it.* It was also contemplated to confine the authority of the King and of his government within narrow limits. One of the articles sets forth that "the Estates shall be assembled every fourth year, in order to ex- amine and regulate all the affairs of the kingdom, and to in- quire whether the King has fulfilled or violated his promises.! In the latter case he must make good his failures ; or, if he be unwilling to do so, the nation shall be absolved from its oath of allegiance to him, and shall be justified in proceeding to a new election." Nor were the French Catholics willing to transfer their crown to the King of Spain without conces- sions on his part. He was in return to open to the French"! . In \ the navigation to the East Indies, as well as to America Havre, St. Malo, Nantes, and Bordeaux, regulations were to be established similar to those which existed at Seville and Lisbon, for commerce with the colonies. He was also to unite with the French crown all the territories in his posses- sion which had at any time belonged to Gaul, and as sover- eign of them assume a new title, somewhat resembling per- haps that of the Great King. The scheme concluded with an exposition of the advantages of these regulations. For the ♦ " Cessera toute confiscation, et sera la punition des delits sur les personnes et payement sur leurs biens meubles et immeubles." t '* Les Estats se tiendront de quatre ans a quatre ans, ou on advisera a reformer et regler toutes choses appartenantes a I'estat, de voir si S. M. aura contrevenu a aucune chose.^' \ 444 ' HISTORY OF FRANCE. future, no one would be excluded from ecclesiastical offices ; for when elected in a regular manner, the spiritual person would have the assistance of the Holy Ghost * The nobility would again have access to all places and offices. The third ■ estate would no longer be oppressed with imposts, nor divided from the other estates. In this manner it would be possible at the same time to re-establish the general peace of Chns- tendom, to overthrow the Turks, and once more to conquer the Holy Land. The limitation of the throne, the establish- ment of the Estates in their original equilibrium of power, the definitive triumph of the Catholic Church upon earth, were all united in one liberal Catholic system. It is easy to conceive that this scheme was viewed with enthusiasm. The ancient ideas of municipal freedom were meanwhile extending themselves. The towns, as we have mentioned, would not receive any royal garrisons nor governors within their walls. They raised the public taxes and applied them, and set up popular tribunals for themselves. Many even of the distinguished clergy were expelled for not concurring with the Commons in every thing. Such of the nobility only as held the principles of the League were tolerated, but even they dared not to resist the commonalty. The object of the towns was to secure for themselves a condition resembhng I that of the free imperial cities of Germany ; and this they "hoped to attain under the Great Catholic King, and at the game time to obtain other objects which it was not right and fit they should wait for any longer.f In the memorial of Salazar, who asserted that he had been commissioned by the Sorbonne, and indirectly by the towns, we have an insight as to the extent of their views, which is really astounding. He coimsels the King to garrison those fortresses which could ♦ **Le clerge appele a sa fonction canoniquement seroit assiste da Saint Esprit ; ce premier etat n'exclueroit aucun, fut-U noble ou roturier, et seroit un lien pour joindre ensemble les deux autres Etats ;" as Can- ossa formerly pointed out. + Vendramin, Relatione di Savoia : *' Essendosi vedute m un tratto tante sollevationi e tanti gridi de' popoli e di quelle principali provincie con un solo fine, e risoluto di voler cambiar forma al suo governo e di voler separarsi dell' obedientia del suo principe, per govemarsi a repub- liche popolari, imitando le terre franche di Germania." SPAIN AND THE LEAGUE. 445 ■J impede the communication between Flanders and Picardy, and then to march into France at the head of a g»at army and take the title of Protector. He might then disperse Mayenne's council, reform the Parliaments and the tribunals, and appoint new presidents as well as new bishops, who would submit to the decrees of the Council of Trent, in order to im- prove the clergy. This was not .all. He was to raze all the castles in the country, so that the nobility should no longer have any lurking-places, and that the towns might remain masters of the field, with power and justice. He was to take care that only such preachers as agreed with his views, and whose services were to be remunerated, should be allowed to officiate in the towns ; to free the towns from every thing that impeded their trade, whether at their gates or at the passages of the rivers ; to allow no fortresses except such as commanded these passages, a few perhaps excepted, in which there were to be placed devoted go*7ernors.* When he had thus taught all the provinces to appreciate the advantages of the union with Spain, and had, if possible, found devoted peri sons in each district, then, but not before, he might summon the Estates to complete the whole. It looked almost as if it were contemplated to renew the ancient war of the towns against the nobility, and to carry it on with the aid of the Burgundo-Spanish power. These were the views by which men's minds were occu- pied, for every one readily associated his own wishes with a general prospect. It only remained to ascertain the light in which Philip II. would view the matter. This prince had interfered in the afl^airs of France, origin- ally, on two grounds : the one to prevent the French from lending assistance to the Netherlands ; the other lest he should be disturbed by the French in carrying out his plan for secur- ing to himself a universal supremacy. Events had, however, ^ led him further ; and now he could even contemplate unit- ing, in some manner, the French crown with that of Spain, and becoming sovereign and master of the Catholic world. The prospect upon which he gazed was immeasurable. When wa».peruse the original papers, we are struck with ♦ " Personas de valor y religion, y que entienden y desteen su servicio." 446 HISTORY OF FRANCE. the fact that Philip II. was not himself the first promoter of these world-wide plans and enterprises. The leading thoughts were those of his statesmen, envoys, governors, and plenipo- tentiaries, rather than his own. For every power is moved by the impulse of those ideas on which it is founded, and ni the progress of which the zeal of their adherents sees the pro- motion of their fortune. PhiUp yielded to these views rather than originated them. He displayed his peculiar satisfaction when the Catholic religion was benefited by them. For the rest, he allowed things to take their course, and for a long period to pass along, not deeming it necessary to express an opinion either in general or as regarded particulars. Now, however, it could continue so no longer. In France, matters had reached that point that he could no longer defer coming to a positive resolution concerning his relations with that kingdom, and the policy it was necessar>^ for him to adopt. He had been frequently spoken to concerning the rights of his daughter Isabella, the grand-daughter of Henry II. and Catharine. These rights were of a twofold nature. Ber- nardino Mendoza always specially insisted upon the claims which the Infanta might make as heiress of her grandfather to the Duchy of Brittany, which had descended to her from her mother ; and also as heiress of her grandmother, to the possessions which were hers in her own right, and which were by no means inconsiderable. The French, on the other hand, both the great nobles and the towns, put forward, in preference, her right to the crown itself The question was in effect whether the monarchy should be diminished or per- haps disintegrated, or whether it should be preserved in its entirety. The Spaniards were in favor of the former alterna- tive, especially at the commencement of the League ; the latter appeared to the French who were of the Spanish party to be preferable. They maintained that the Salic law was not unalterable by right ; that the throne belonged to the eldest female descendant of the house of Valois, and on that account she would be acknowledged without difficulty, for she was, as every one knew, of a disposition akin to that of the French, and, above all, she was yet unmairied : all the princes of Christendom would be rivals for her hand, and an SPAIN AND THE LEAGUE. 447 alliance might be concluded through which the military force could be doubled. Bernardino's intentions had always been to enforce, at the same time with the provincial claims of the Infanta, the right of the Protectorate for the advantage of the King and of the Crown ; France would then be still more j disunited, and reduced to a dependency of the Spanish mon- archy. While the French desired to unite the supreme power with the claims of the Infanta, they exhibited also a profound and unshaken attachment to the dynastic principle, but they postponed it in favor of what they deemed the future pros- perity of France. After long hesitation, Philip at last resolved to concur with the scheme proposed for his adoption on the part of the French. He made to his adherents in France the double propositionl' that they should immediately acknowledge his daughter Isa-j bella as Glueen of France, and, further, that they should leave' it to himself to select a husband for her, who should be ac-J knowledged as King of France.* He did not consider the special advantage of Spain as a state, but he took the entire disposition of the crown of France into his own hands. His designs were not directed so much to the dominion of Spain over other countries, as to the uni- versal sovereignty of his house by means of the power of Spain. He had reflected upon the choice of a husband for his daughter — a prince whom he should at the same time give to the French as their king — but he had not come to an ir- revocable determination. He mentioned several names to his plenipotentiaries, but always with an intimation that they were not to insist upon any of them in opposition to the French ; for he ^id not deceive himself in supposing that, with all the inclination of the French nobles, it would not yet require a very difficult and critical negotiation to bring them to a definitive agreement. In acyition to all this Henry IV. was by no means yet set aside ; the issue of the negotiations was still dependent upon the future results of a trial of arms. * As it is stated in a note of Tassis : 1, " que declaren por reyna a la S" Infanta ;" 2, " que remitan la election de rey a S. Md., pues se trata de que le tome por hyerno." CAMPAIGN OF 1591 AND 1592. 449 CHAPTER XXIX. CAMPAIGN OF 1591 AND 1592.— ASSEMBLY OF THE ESTATES OF 1593. When men like Mendoza regarded the operation of the Spanish influence upon France as part only of a plan for the universal re-establishment of Catholicism in Western Europe, it is easy to conceive that the prince whom they sought to expel from France would be likely to find assistance among those who would be immediately endangered by his fall, aueen Elizabeth of England at once formed an intimate al- liance with Henry IV. The relations which existed between them sometimes took the form of personal courtesy. The aueen had the King's portrait placed in her cabinet ; she spoke of him in remarkably warm terms, and sent him a scarf wrought by a skillful hand. The King said he was determ- ined to wear it in battle for her honor ; that all he was and all he had belonged to her : and that, sailing under the au- spices of her favor, he hoped yet to reach the port.* They did not, however, exchange mere empty words. The aueen ^ supported the King in reality to the extent of her power She sent him troops armed and paid by herself, powder and ball and what was more necessary than any thing else, money ; sometimes she even anticipated HeTiry's requests for aid and it may well be doubted whether, without her assist- ance, he would have been able to maintain his position m the north of France. , The interests involved in the approaching struggle were not quite so decisive as regarded the German Protestants. The Lutherans, who were aristocratic, with Estates, and hos- ♦ Dispatch of La Nocle, January 20, 1590 : " Avec telle deraonstra- tion qu'il nous cuida serabler qu'elle en aimeroit mieux le vif. -In the Egerton Collection, 305. tile to Calvinism, had made their peace with the Empire,' which had either inclined to milder views, or was fettered by its own weakness ; they now expected to enjoy perpetual se- curity under the forms of the Empire. There were individ- uals, however, who saw in the rise of the Romish-Spanish tendencies a common danger, and who felt that although the Reformed might be the first whom they would affect, yet when the one had fallen they might reach the others. Even in Germany we now hear of the designation of Politicians, i It indicated men who were not unconditionally bound by the I' definitive dogmata of the Church, but who comprehended in their view the general relations of Europe, and regarded the preservation of the independence of the French Crown as a necessary condition of the religious and political freedom of the German States and Orders, as well as of the rest of Europe. The Chancellor of Saxony, Nicholas Krell, was a man of this disposition, who afterward had to expiate with his life his departure from the ordinary paths — a meteoric phenomenon in Albertinian Saxony. We need not examine how far the Calvinistic inclinations of him or his master, the Elector Christian, extended, and have only to observe, that under their influence Dresden became the centre of French negotia- tions, which extended over the whole of Northern Germany, and were by no means, in general, dependent upon the doc- trinal opinions of the parties in treaty. At a congress m Cassel a design was formed in accordance with which even the strictly Lutheran powers, such as Wiirtemberg, Hesse, Holstein-Denmark, and the Dukes of Saxony, bound them- selves to contribute to the assistance of the Bourbon King. Krell expressed his astonishment at the conduct of the war- like knights, who could still hesitate to take arms : "were he free," he said, " he would take the field had he but twenty horse, for the salvation of Henry IV. was the salvation of both the State and the Church."* * Compare " Aus dam wider den Verhafflen Dr. Nicolaus Crell ver- fuhrten Inquisitionsprocess, verfasste Deducirung bei Kessling ;" Con- tinuation of the " Historia Motuum." The report, according to an Ital- ian MS., was that these troops were "pagati per la maggior parte dal Duca di Sassonia." Il 450 HISTORY OP FRANCE. / In August, 1591, a splendid army, composed of High-Ger- /, man Landsknechte and North-German cavalry, under the command of old and approved officers, commenced its march through Lorraine in the direction of France. Fabian Dohna was there also, and it fell to his lot to lead the van and pre- pare the way for the others. The chief command was on this occasion, however, intrusted to a German Prince of the Em- pire, Christian of Anhalt, whom the other princes and nobles obeyed, without difficulty, . r t. aueen Elizabeth had this time also sent a portion ot the necessary funds, and the troops were mustered in the presence of her embassador. It is remarkable that the declaration made by Henry lY. on his accession, as to the possibility of a change in his relig- ious views, had no effect whatever. The Protestant sympa- thies for him were in no degree diminished by it ; the present expedition bore precisely the character of those by which it had been preceded. Henry IV. had just reduced Noyon, when there came to his assistance, on the one side, the Earl of Essex with four thousand English troops, whose pompous entry into Gom- piegne attracted much attention, and, on the other, the Ger- man army. Michaelmas day, in the year 1591, was solemn- ized by a great review on the plains of Vaudy, on the Aisne -The Germans posted themselves in eight divisions, four of cavalry, and four of infantry, which formed a semicircle; their cavalry might have amounted to six thousand, and their infantry to about ten thousand men. They attracted the special admiration of the French by the skill which they dis- played in firing the great and small guns which they brought with them * The King went from company to company and from troop to troop, in order to see and be seen. He found a creat number of old acquaintances among the officers, and welcomed them cordially. He also expressed his gratitude to the German Princes for such splendid aid. And indeed he had good reason to do so, for just at this time was formed in his vicinity a union of forces against « Report of Cayet, worthy of notice for nuiitary history ; " Chrono- Jogie Novennaire," Michaud, xii. 308. CAMPAIGN OF 1591 AND 1592. 451 him which .night otherwise have been highly dangero.^ to , The Chair at Rome was at that time oecupied by a man the earher Popes, united himself unconditionaUy with the system of the Spaniards and the League. This w'a s Grego^ n !" '^*'°7r^™«'"l>«^<'f a distinguished Milanese family LTT"n^° 'T *° ^' *^ ^^«^t^^' ""i^fortune that could befaU the Church, should Vendome. as he called Henry IV I eome to the actual possession of the throne, since in iZ .J France wonld fall mto the hands of the heretics. He sum-f moned the Kmg of Spain to apply the wealth brought to h.^ 1 by the last Plate fleet to that purpose for which G^ had u" ^ doubtedly bestowed those riches, namely, to the defense of thnstendom from so great a mischief He himself did not hesitate m making use. for this object, of the treasure laid up in he Castle of St. Angelo by Sixtus V., for never, said he! could a more urgent necessity come on the Church. He was of opmion that the Pope and the King would be strong enough to terminate the afiair by themselves, and that as yet it was not necessary to seek for assistance from the other Italian princes ; should that be wanted, however, he pledged hi. word that they would not fail to render it. when it was de- manded He had never expected much from previous enter- fuWui**^ *"" ^^ ^'^ '"•"""<=«'i that this would ba In- the beginning of March the Pope had already made known his intentions to the French. He threatened the clergy ,„ sundry monitories with excommunication, and the nobihty and third Estate with his displeasure, if they did not instantly separate themselves from Henry IV.. whom he once more pronounced to be a relapsed heretic, deposed by law from all his royalties and dominions. In short, Gregory re- newed, in the interests of the Spaniards and of the League the ancient pontifical pretensions to absolute and supreme authority. ^ A Papal army made its appearance in France in the sura- E;ZS;L^:1^;^ ^" repond."-E.tract from a Letter in the J' \ 452 HISTORY OF FRANCE. mer of 1591. It was composed of Italians and Swiss, and commanded by a nephew of the Pontiff's. It jomed at Ver- dun the forces of the Duke of Lorraine, who was now entirely on the side of his French relatives and the League. Alter a iunction had been formed with Alexander of Parma, the in- tention was to make a new and more effective attempt for the establishment of a Catholic king in France, to which end the Pope had expressly enlisted his Switzers.* I Here again we meet with the complete antagonism between the rigid Church idea in the spirit of the Middle Ages and the Catholic as well as the Protestant deviation from them. » Grefforv XIV., like Philip IL, was resolved with all his power '^ to re-establish the old system in France. Henry IV. besides his Protestant confederates, had also in his favor the Catholic party, which had always resisted these arbitrary demands, and which now, instead of being terrified, was roused to indignation by their revival. It was not, properly speaking, as yet a contest between the King and the Pope. Possessed of the superiority, by means of his German auxiliaries, Henry IV. wished to bring the Pope's nephew immediately to battle, and with this view advanced to within half a league of his head-quarters ; but the only result was a slight skirmish which took place on the heights near the camp, and which was beheld by the Ger- mans present with an almost incontroUable desire to join the combatants. The Papal army had a different destiny. It must be regarded as an event of great importance that Gregor>' XIV., who held the principle of Catholic restoration in its entire strictness and unaffected by any political consid- erations, died at this particular conjuncture, m which that very enterprise was about to commence, which he regarded as the salvation of the world. His death rendered the mis- sion of both the army and its leader doubtful. The remit- tances from Rome ceased ; and after a few months all that remained together of th'^e Papal force were some hundreds oi Italian cavalry and fifteen hundred Swiss, which were incor- porated with the army of the Duke of Parma ; for it was ♦ Sillery : " La pretexte de la demande estoit pour servir a I'eslection ct establissement d'un roi Catholique." CAMPAIGN OF 1591 AND 1592. 453 between the French King and the Spanish general that the affair was to be decided.* Through the marriage of the heiress of Sedan to Turenne, who had led the Germans to Henry IV., he succeeded in gaining possession of that important position on the Meuse, and soon after, with the assistance of the German troops, in conquering St. Valery, at the mouth of the Somme. He now undertook the siege of Rouen, the possession of which would have involved that of all Normandy, and given him the complete mastery over the whole of northern France : by December, 1691, the siege was considerably advanced, and the King hoped in a short time to be master of the strongest of the forts—that of St. Catharine— he expected that Villars, who took council chiefly with women and a priest, would then make proposals of surrender. At this moment, however, Alexander of Parma made his appearance once more in France, at the- head of an army, which, though not numerous, was distinguished for its expe- rience, and which, even without any special assistance from . Rome, gave great strength to the efforts of the League, and to the principles of his King. The emulation between the French and Spanish systems of warfare was here renewed once more, but the latter still preserved its superiority. Henry resolved on this occasion both to continue his siege I and to meet the enemy. He came in view of the Spaniards at Aumale, and tho opposite qualities of the two generals were clearly shown in their conduct on the occasion. Henry was bolder, Farnese more circumspect than ever. The former was wounded, and very nearly taken prisoner, in an assault made with little deliberation. The latter neglected out of circumspection to follow up his advantage ; it was enough for him to have thrown relief into Rouen. The armies were as distinct in their qualities as the gen- erals. 1 • T. 1. When Henry, in the progress of the siege, in which he was assisted by English pioneers among others, had brought the ♦ Henry to Nevers, December 13, 1591 : Lettres Missives, iii. 547. 464 HISTORY OF FRANCE. town once more to a state of the greatest distress, Alexandef Farnese resolved to advance from the Somme, where he had taken up a position, a second time toward Rouen. He was now more successful ; the Kin^ was obliged to raise the siege in reality. Farnese appeared to the multitude to be the greatest man in the world ; as he had once relieved Paris, so now did he Rouen, and was received there with the most tumultuous joy. If the reasons of his success be investigated, they will be found to consist chiefly in the fact that he had thoroughly calculated all circumstances, and did not put his troops in motion until, according to the custom of the time, Henry had dismissed the greater part of his nobility. These, however, now assembled round him again without delay ; within five days fifteen hundred gentlemen from Normandy alone entered his camp fully armed,* and all the other provinces emulated this. The infantry could also be strengthened from the neigh- boring garrisons, and in a short time Henry found himself strong enough to take the field, and to march in search of the enemy. Farnese had allowed himself, at the very moment of victory to be led aside from his system, and, against his own better judgment, yielded to the urgent request of his French friends, I and marched upon Caudebec, for the purpose of opening the Seine by the capture of that town ; he was wounded while conducting a reconnaissance, yet with his bleeding arm he traced the orders which led to the taking of the place. This did not, however, prevent the danger which he incurred by the approach of the royal army — which was much superior to his own, and was supported by several Dutch transports from the Lower Seine— from being most imminent ; and the conqueror suddenly found himself besieged in his camp, while provisions were already beginning to run short. The French expected that the proud Duke would endeavor to force his way by an open attack ; but he was not in a posi- tion, at such a distance from the Spanish provinces, and with- ♦ I take this notice from an ephemeral brochure, " Utile et Salutaire Advis au Roi pour bien regner," addressed to Lyuis XIII. about the year 1617 ; it is the work of a very well-informed person. CAMPAIGN OF 1691 AND 1592. 455 out any certain support to fall back upon, to run the risk of a pitched battle. We should read in the Italian historians, who admire •in Farnese the reviver of the ancient Italian military renown— the accounts of his passage of the Seine,* for this was the course upon which he determined as the only one which could save him. It has been regarded even in later times as one of ablest military movements of the century. In the face of two superior and watchful enemies, he crossed the river with his army, and then, by rapid forced marches, unretarded and uninjured, passed through the Isle of France and Artois, and reached the Spanish provinces in safety. Thus did these generals carry on the contest : the one at the head of a body of feudal troops and auxiliaries, who were perpetually divided from each other by a certain nationality, and whom he yet succeeded in keeping together by his own energy ; the other, the leader of a completely organized force, which enabled him to give free development to his strategic principles. Henry was indebted to the support of the Protestant powersr and to the devotedness of the French nobility, which, though often interrupted, always revived again with fresh fervor, for his not being defeated by the hostile force ; still, however, he had not been able to make himself master of Normandy. Though not conquered strategically, he was out-generaled ; and his attempts to break up the League had not been suc- cessful. The League, on the contrary, renewed, even under altered circumstances, the attempt to set him aside, and to settle the kingdom according to their own views. Mayenne, who still occupied the most important position among the great nobles of the League, had never yet been able to come to a full understanding with Mendoza ; and it appears, from the correspondence of the latter, that they dis- * From a letter of Don Martin da Guzpide to Philip 11., May 25, 1592, it appears that Farnese was not universally admired by his con- temporaries. They assert that the enemy " nos hizo algunas entradas y nosotros ninguna, aunque la gente de V. Md. estava con grandissimas ganas ;" and that all had fallen again into the old conditiwi. ) 456 HISTORY OF FRANCE. liked each other personally. Mendoza is unjust toward the Duke when he charges him with never knowing his own miftd, and listening to others with but half an ear, and with a species of distraction. Mendoza had rested his success entirely on the support of the multitude. Mayenne made no claims on popularity; in this he differed totally from his brother ; he could not bring himself to seek the favor of the people, and, had he done so, could not have obtained it. He did not possess any of those remarkable qualities which sway mankind, nor that energy by which they are carried away. . His enterprises were neither bold, rapid, nor even fortunate ; he was a man of a full habit of body, to whom repose and enjoyment seemed necessaiy ; in his domestic affaire he was economical, generaUy reserved ; by no means liberal ; circum- spect, calculating, and yet not without the loftiest and most ambitious notibns. The wild impulses of the popular leaders had long been distasteful to him ; yet he bore with them, until at length one of their most monstrous excesses occa- sioned a general cry of indignation. The learned and esti- mable Brisson had allowed a person suspected by them to go at liberty; for this they could not forgive him, and, without even hearing him in his own defense or makmg use of the form of law, they condemned and executed him^ The party called Politicians— that is, the most moderate of the inhabitants— began to fear that the ruling faction would endeavor to get rid of them by some great act of violence. A red paper was circulated from hand to hand, containing the names of all those who were destined to death, or ban- ishment.* Mayenne seized this moment to come from the camp to the city, for the purpose of teaching th^ Sixteen the limits of their authority. He caused the principal authore ol Brisson's execution to be arrested and punished with death, and, at the same time, took possession of the Bastille. The Spaniards were not at all satisfied with these proceedings ; but the military spirit of the garrison prevented them from making any opposition, and Mayenne contrived to prevent a * L'EtoUe, November 25, 1591, in ChampoUion, 69 : ^ En leurs rolles Us les (listinguoient par ces trois iettres, P. D. C, qui etoit a dire, Pendu. Dasue, Chasse.'' CAMPAIGN OF 1591 AND 1592. 457 rising of the populace. He paid a visit to the Sorbonne, in order to mollify its members, and allowed the preachers' to proceed in the usual style of declamation ; he was satisfied with having shown them that there was a law superior to them, and a power to administer that law. While he kept aloof from Mendoza and the popular move- ments, however, he entered into earnest consultation concern- ing the definitive settlement of France, with Alexander of Parma, who, as a soldier by profession, had no great liking lor them either. A conference upon this subject had been held at the commencement of the last campaign ; the parties to it were, on the side of Parma, his chief councilor Richardot, and the Spanish Embassador, Don Diego Ibarra ; and, on the part of Mayenne, a statesman named Jeannin. The Spanish statesmen were in favor of proceeding in a legal manner, and demanded an Assembly of the Estates, that they might pro- ceed to the election of a King. Jeannin remarked, on the other hand, that such a step could only be of service "to give the stamp of legality to what the great nobles might agree upon ; that the King of Spain must first of all have a full understanding with them, and especially with the house of Guise ; that the affair was surrounded with difficulties, and the only means by which they could be overcome was money. The offers made by Don Diego were very considerable, but they were not deemed sufficient. Whatever difference of opinion might have prevailed, how-'^ ever, Mayenne, in accordance with the desire of Farnese, at 1 last concluded upon calling together, in the beginning of the i year 1593, the Estates, which had been so often promised, a lew of the deputies having been elected in different places. -* Some of the instructions given to the delegates are still extant, those, for example, of the clergy at Auxerre, and of the third Estate at Troyes. The former estabHsh it as an essential principle that there should never be tolerated more than one religion in France, since there was but one baptism and one God ; an inviolable fundamental law must exclude from the French throne any prince who may be a heretic or a favorer of heretics ; the new King must, if possible, be descended from the ancient royal blood, but his elevation must depend U I I HISTORY OF FRANCE. r^In election and ui.n the approv^^^^ of the King of Spain. ^^°'y°8;^„„ j^^.^ ^y name, riage* At ^^'>y^,'':^^^,flZ^lo the Catholic religion, even should he profess to have ^"^^ ^^^j^a by the Pope, for he was a relapsed ^^f ^"tives. and rejected by declared unworthy °f^"/°£j;f °^The only condition here previous assembhes » ^^^f^J^^f,^^^ ^e should be a French- made regardmg the "^^ ^'"= government through a council man, that he should carry on the go ^^^ ^ selected from the great nobles of *e k«g ^^^i^.^ of the provincial Estates - ^^^f^^f^ force of law for upon by the Estates of Blois shouia i ^^^^ ^^at the future.* In fact it could h;;J^^;^^^^^^^ had oper- the Catholic views, and those of th Es^J-^ ^^^^,^ ated so powerfully tl»'°"f °"' v' ^ The nature of May- preponderate in the »-f7^^^J,t -ascertained with preci- enne's views at this time can "°; J^^ jj ly. ; theSpan- sioa ; at times he c-«\r f 't SaTt on at hYs conduct during iards ^^o:^^^l°^^^;:::;^'^:Ztr. advantage o„ly, the elections, for he kept his eye up ^^ and persecuted those who held oP« o" *a ^^^ ^ ^^^ They thought it "^^-^^ Jjf /,t eo„/age to his adherents, army into France, m order *° e/Tf^" j/^hen declare them- and especially -^^^;-:'/^::^:ln, ifnotthecourt selves openly. The nuncio oi „ „ed the King of ifself, expressed s>n>'lar opm-nB^ »« ^^"^ ^^^ ^^^^^^^. Spain to unite the temfy-J^ ^J ^^it .ring the French ive power of gold-to do all ws unwilling, over to his views, whether ^ej^!^ j;^\o act with all his ' Philip II. -- -- - ta XTa^ resided at Spa during power. ^^''^^ll^'Z^^'TL^.^^^e Ws health, pre- ;rr~- rSe at the head of a new army . . " Article. de»Re.o„~s^uC.e^t^^^^^^^^ i„ Bernard, " Proems Verbaux d" EJ*™' \^, rgO descubrirse." CAMPAIGN OF 1591 AND 1592. 459 the autumn. Bodies of German Landsknechte, under Kurz and Bernstein, the old bands of Italy and" Spain, under Capi- zucchi and Zuniga, with Walloon regiments from the Nether- lands, were already assembled qn the French frontiers. The remittances from Spain being delayed or having failed, Far- nese raised the necessary funds upon his own credit in Ant- werp. He even hired a mansion for himself at Paris, and had it prepared for his residence. He wished, as they had requested him, to secure the city from the assaults of the King of Navarre and the contrivances of the Politicians, but at the same time he was desirous of keeping the members of the League to their duty, and of giving confidence to the great Spanish Catholic party in the Assembly of the Estates. It was the last great blow; every thing was expected from it. The Duke of Parma, honored by aU for his merit, feared by all for his power, he to whom the capital and the party generally were indebted for their salvation, would, as he had done the most eminent service in the field, now by an • armed diplomacy bring the great cause to a successful issue. If any man were capable of effecting this, it was he. How vain are human calculations ! Divine Providence\ mocks at them I When Alexander Farnese was on the point > of setting out for France he was snatched away by death. For fourteen days he had been seen almost constantly on horseback at Arras, for the purpose of mustering the troops that were to accompany him into France. On the first of December he was taken ill, but still continued to sign the military orders, though with a trembling hand. His attend- ants entreated him to conserve the last spark of life by taking y some repose. He answered that even if it were the last spark, he would devote it, as he had done his whole life, to the public interests. He expired on the 3d of December. Alexander of Parma had just made every preparation for the execution of plans which were expected to determine the future destinies of the world ; the next moment his dead body was gazed upon as it lay in the church of St. Vedast, enveloped in the dress of a Capuchin friar, and surrounded with three hundred torches. His death was an event of no less importance than that of Gregory XIV. 460 HISTORY OF FRANCE. In the beginning of the year 1593 the deputies to the States General entered Paris hy degrees. They were by no means eomplete. but yet in sueh numbers as to allow ot the opening of their sittings at the Louvre on the 26th of Janu- arv They were received, in the spirit which prevailed at their election, with sermons, in which their right to depart from the observance of the Salic law was proved ; and with Papal admonitions, in which, on the principle that God raises and deposes kings, and that the voice of the people is the voice of God, they were urged to proceed to the election oi a true Catholic king. ■ „„ The "i-eat combination of Philip H. was not, however, ac- complished by these means. The old conqueror and liberator beiu" dead, the Spanish army, which was personally attached to hta, did not proceed into France. Instead of Farnese ap- peared, as if to carry on some ordinary negotiation Lorenzo Suarez Figueroa, Duke of Feria, whom nobody know, m company with a Spanish lawyer, Inigo Mendoza appointed to show the miUity of the Salic law upon juridical grounds Mavenne thought it advisable to meet this embassy, with which Tassis also was associated, on its way at boissons in order to come to an agreement with it beforehand. The two Spanish statesmen thought it would be a decisive advantage could they succeed in bringing Mayenne into their views, though the lawyer did not share in that opimon. They con- sidered that should the Duke enter Paris with them in the desired disposition, he would win over all the others to him- self and to them.* ■ i • ' The first topic discussed in the negotiations was the claim - '' of the Spanish Infanta to the French crown. Mayenne had no objection to it : he declared frequently tha-t her right was complete and unquestionable, but he repeated that to enforce that right would be infinitely difficult, and made the most extravagant demands for himself. Many warm words may * Tassis gave his view very directly : " Viendo quan mezclado anda ,„ icmolZ 10 del mundo, y que cs permitido y convementc ayi.dar^e desto postrero para salir con b primcro, seria bueno, entrar on estado. Teniendo comprados d los que mas al case hizen, y en particular al de Umena." ASSKMBLY OF THE STATES OF ,593. • 4e, have been excliariffed durinp- ih^ « r a common "ndersLdin " ^o 1.^ 'r^'' '"* '' "^'^'^^ '« government of Burgundy' with r« . '^''"' P"'"'^^'' t^e eign prerogatives of^h \^f I™"" ""'^ "^ *e sover- mandv, under the usiiil .. T'. government of Nor- He wks further to r " ve'^T f^ '^^'^ '" -«" oiEees. considerable rents in pe^tS ^ V> "' '"""*' "'"' paid; until the arrival's- ?hS;„t\:^^^'^ ^^f -" to be tenant-General, and to receive n!T ^ ^' *° ''^ *>« I^i^"- est offices in th kingdom I„"t' m"'*' °"« "f *e great- ^elf to make use of aFl h™ i„fl " n " ^^'""^ ^^'^^'^ h'™" in order that the iUustriou Inf ?' 'I '^' ^''^""^'^ Estates, of France, since h^rvty tluS ."T ''"'"'' ^-- most effectual way to de^irlylJely Indfl '''"^' "^ '''' m the kingdom.* He maZ.Tl^^^ maintain religion once for the Infanta Th, ,?,^ "^''^'""^ '° ^'"'^ ^^' ^"'e at to have been attained and tbeTl^^?'""* P"'"' ^PP^^^-^^ that they would be able t e tc t allT "' """ "' "P'"""" ent liberality or by promises f\he ;ut:rr Th'^; '^ "r general were visibly in a state nf . ''" ^'^^""'^ '" them virtuous enough to bet it ITfi""'"^' ''"'' '"^^ "^ determined to better their . r. ^'■'""«'^ ' ^^"Y ^ere to perish nor to stir for thT ? '" *''" '""^^' ^»<1 "^i^er The embassadors Sivedtpr"*'"!.'" *^ ''°'''' *" -™- found the general ^^Zl'^J^'t^' S"""' ^"'^ purpose. A speech made by Perrtn^l^ favorable to their of the Infanta Isabella's el.L ' ^'^^^''' '" ="PPort ventured to declare for £^17' "f Tr^'' ^'°- Pretenders were spoken of w' '""', ^'"^""^h the other. highest place amongthem ajf T' *' '"'^"^^ ''^''^ *«f on the 6th of May,\ndTn"the''oXr Z^''} '" ^"''^ menced. AJuntawncf^. j omcial negotiations com- nobles prese J,t7t ZSeTX^ ''t '''''- ''"'''"'i si.x deputies of the EstatlV? / ^ "^^^ "^^"^ absent,/ members of MayennSeouL iTrs"'''' T' ""^ "' '''^ councu. The Spamards again minute- of Tal':,:-;f ;^'4f 't:c^^ztr:jT\''' '- «"' c--»taries narrative, the report of Inigo Sfzaii.^!''"''™^ '}"' ''' ^^^des his adds tho verbal promise also. ' ' ^^P"' of Simancas. Inigo HISTORY OF FRANCE. 462 that election should be "^f "If ^^ !j;„Xf ^ right. They French hesitated to ''^^^ ^ *^ P~Siey were to receive required ahove all ^-g^^^X'ES able to reckon *°1 '^ Ct;: IrwSelpanfards stated what was upon It. iwo aayb a^tc ^ixv,„,,„h thev had no definite to^^ expected ^-^^^ £",|^^S'^^^^^^^^ ^^ ^^'^ instructions from him "^"^^^ng now wore an appearance use of older papers .• Eve^ thmg ^^^^^^ ^^ ^^. as if all parties were about to come cordance. ^^^1 hesitation to Whether it arose ft^fttre had been nothing settled touch the 1-* f ^j/;ti'^h*;:s to be the husband of the ^as yet regarding the P«"°" ™" .^ „ have been owing Infanta should she ^-f ^^'l^his ^oTnt'was passed over, to the vague manner m whicn tnis i|v ^^^ that the scheme of her succession ''^ '^Jf^^l^^^^ ^,^ ^^ the first arouse a P-*«' -rhoCotBo;" well as fn peared There 7;-Jf„^;7/„ried princes, who Sld^n-;^^^^^^^^^ rncrSn^^SS'wet^owever long Preserved, must at length be broken. ^^ ^^^^ ^f The embassadors then a~ce^^^^ ^ ^^^ ^^^^. PViilin II to marry his daughter to his own lu , I iSnest, and P^- them bo^ upo^^e t^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^ I fanta IsabeUa had been long before intend d ^ P^^^ Rudolf, but in the strange ^^^^ "^/^^^'^ fetch home his \ fallen, he could -^^-^p^^'^f {^'^ n cast his eye upon \ bride or to '^rrThi the A chduke Ernest, to whom he I the Emperor's brother, the Arcnau ^ ^^^ ^te transferred the . government o he Netherl^^^^^ ._^^^ ^^^ 1 death of the Prmce of P''™^ -y* ^^, therefore in a cer- \ King's views with joy. Kwg i-nmp w The declaration of Heniy IV. that he sacrificed his convic- ] tions to his duty, though not altogether true, contains some I truth. He regarded the pacification of France and the re- •' establishment of the balance of political power in Europe as his duty. As regarded the doctrinal questions involved, there I was not much to be said : th5 whole difficulty consisted in [making the retractation morally possible to the prince. No °one had exercised a greater influence in this matter than Jacques Davy du Perron, w^ho had himself seceded from the Protestant faith, in which he had been educated by his zealous parents. He was a man of universal literary accom- phshments ; he had succeeded well even in poetical attempts ; his philosophy was of a diversified character, and his convers- " ation agreeable. His letters exhibit a changeful appearance * " Egli avrebbe voluto prima vincere o pacificarsi con i Cathohci, e poi abbracciar la loro religione."— Galluzzi, Storia di Toscana, v 156^ An authentic account of the communications from France to the Urand Duke, and of the most important official reports, is greatly to be desired for the history of those times. Rommel has a notice ot the mission to Germany : N. Hess. Gesch. i. RELIGIOUS CHANGE OF HENRY IV. 477 of flattery, which yet has nothing obtrusive in it ; it was through a letter in which there was a happily-turned phrase that he made the nearer acquaintance of the King. Sully afterward adopted his interests, and raised him from one de- gree of favor to another. One of the chief arguments with which the King was soli- cited was that the Romish Church, notwithstanding all its . abuses, still remained the Church, and ofi^ered the means of salvation.* Even Protestant clergymen who had come from Geneva confirmed this view ; others, who were restricted by the political state of affairs, preferred keeping silence. They were acquainted with the King's inclination, and saw the unavoidableness of the step. A formal disputation they evaded, for even though they should be victorious they would appear as if conquered. Henry lY. was terrified when the denial was suggested to him of a whole series of doctrines which he had hitherto con fessed, and declined to subscribe a confession of faith so ex- tensive.! The intention appears clearly from the letter, so often print- ''^ ed, which he wrote on the 23d of June to Gabriel d'Estrees. He had arrived at St. Denis the evening before. " To day," said he, "I begin to converse with the bishops; on Sunday I am to take the dangerous leap.^' On the 25th of June, in the church of St. Denis, at the feet ^ of the Archbishop of Bourges, Henry declared that he was willing to live and die in the Roman Apostolical Catholic Church, and to protect and defend it. Upon this the Arch- bishop gave him absolution, and received him into the bosom of the Church. It was not to the Church persecuting with fire and sword that Henry went over ; that Church would have rejected him. It was the doctrines of the Royalist clergy to which he ac- * Aubigne, Hist. Univ. iii. 291. t " II dit a M^ du Plessis, que luy etant presentee a signer une pro- fession de foy, en laquelle il abjuroit par le menu tous les points con- trovers avcc les Papistes ct juroit les contraires, il en cut horreur ct !e refnsa, les priant dc se rontonter qu'il rontroit en TEglisc. en esperance de la bAlaier un jonr puisqu'il seroit dedans."— Vie de Duplessis-Mor- nay, 186. /. • 478 HISTORY OF FRANCE. ceded, and it was that party which accepted hLm. They consented to the toleration of the Huguenots, which was the essence of the event. , , i_ xr- Even the great Catholic nobles who surrounded the King promised to the Huguenots the re-establishment of the Edict of Pacification, which had been suspended by the League. The King summoned the deputies of the Reformed Churches, and hinted to them that they had not made such good use of the favorable moment as they might have done. When they came together in September, at Nantes, he made no opposition to their renewing the oath to live and die in their religion, and ^' at the same time a commencement, at least, was made toward reviving the Edict of Pacification. Had Henry's adoption of Catholicism taken place earlier, it would have been productive of feebler effect. The faction which held him under all circumstances to be disqualified, and which had declared him incapable of ecclesiastical abso- lution, had been much too strong up to the present moment ; and the opinion prevailed even among the so-called third '"party, that the King must be a person who had never belonged to the Huguenots. The general bias of men's minds was then in favor of the union between exclusive Catholicism and civic liberty under the protection of the Spaniards, whose arms and money still held all in dapendency and expectation. The '" campaigns against Alexander Farnese would not, in fact, have had a more successful issue had Henry been a Catholic. Now however, that great general was no more. The pecu- niary a^istance yielded by the Spaniards was sparing ; their troops were removed ; their previous pretensions, which had been encouraged by the French themselves, were now felt by them to be intolerable. They began to regard Henry IV. as the champion of the national independency, and at the same time as their rescuer from the fearful disorders and desolations of war. All felt once more the necessity for a strong hereditary authority, and were they then to stumble at the non-fulfillment of all that was required by the strict doctrine ? To the ma- jority of men, the great characteristics of doctrine are all thai is perceptible, and the essential desideratum consisted in the. reli<^ious change considered in the abstract. RELIGIOUS CHANGE OF HENRY IV. 479 V The League felt from the first moment the difficulty of the position in which this step on the part of the King would place it, and its members assembled together once more. Under the guidance of the Legate, Mayenne, Guise, Aumale, ElboBuf, La Chastre, Rosne, St. Paul, the Archbishop Espinac,' and the representatives of Mercosur, bound themselves to pre- serve their union, to conclude no peace with " Navarre," but, on the other hand, to renew the war against him as «)on as the Spanish assistance should arrive, and they should have come to a common understanding regarding the form to be given to the monarchy. But this was now no longer possible. Feria and the Spaniards remained firm in the intention to call Guise to the throne. Mayenne could not be induced to approve of that course. Sometimes he made objections to the person of his nephew ; and sometimes he advanced claims of his own which never could be fulfilled; at last he declared plainly that while the conflicting claims were French against French, he would give place to no one. ^ Feria endeavored to raise a party against him, between Guise and Aumale, who were joined by Espinac also, but this only effected the entire dissolution of the confederacy. Nemours endeavored to take possession of Lyons on higtown account. Mercoeur pursued his peculiar policy in Brittany. Tassis remarks that every governor of a district and every commandant of a castle conducted himself as if he were king, and appropriated the public money, and that the same was done by the towns. There was so little trace of consistency or common order in the kingdom, that the deputies of the States in Paris had no other means of support but the pecu- niary supplies of the Spaniards.* Under these circumstances, Henry IV. refused to prolong the truce. If we call to mind that Mayenne assigned it as his motive for the conclusion of the truce, the fact that with- out it the union could no longer be preserved, we may esti- mate the effect which this step must have had. The war broke out afresh. Henry was by far the more powerful in the field. The League, in complete ruin, could make no defense against him. What further remained for * '* Los consejeros han de comer de alh'."— Papers of Simancas, \k 480 HISTORY OF FRANCE. those endangered by his progress, or to the ambitious who wished to ascend higher, except to unite themselves with the Kinff, against whom they had hitherto contended ? The first consequence of the religious change was that it enaWed many who desired to go over to Henry to do so now without shame. Though the Protestantism of Henry had been frequently but a mere pretext for resistance, yet it was of the greatest advantage to him that that pretext was now removed. Let us not, however, contemplate the personal aspects of the ques- tion alone, however effective they may have been. There were many who regarded submission to the hereditary and now Cfitholic King as the only means of putting a period to the confusion of the country. The first distinguished military leader who resolved to go over from the League to the King, was a man who had left him on his accession, because, as he said, he could not serve a Huguenot. He now declared that since the King had be- come a CathoUc, there was no longer any lawful reason to refuse him obedience, and that to make war against him would be not a religious movement, but an act of ambition ^and uBurpation.^ This was Vitry, the governor of Meaux. The town, whose keys he delivered up, followed his example voluntarily. The Spaniards were doubly sensitive to the loss of this place, because it was the key to the connection be- tween Paris and the Netherlands. The next to follow Vitry's example was one of the most ""trusted adherents of the Guises, La Chastre, who delivered Orleans and Bourges into the hands of Henry IV. He as- signed it as his reason for this step, that the inhabitants were apprehensive of falhng under foreign dominion, and that the maintenance of religion was now secured.! He admonished Guise, at the same time, no longer to allow himself to be be- trayed by foreigners. Feria lays the blame of both these secessions upon May- * Le Manifeste de M. dc Vitry, Governeiir de Meaux, 1594. In the preface it states that " ce scrupule (de religion) cessant, celuy estmisr-r- able, vayne, execrable, qui se tarorue de ce faux pretexte. t Compare the declaration in liouilie, iv. 366. HELIGIOUS CHANGE OF HENRY IV. 481 enne, who had been warned in vain, and who, he says, might have easily come to the assistance of the CathoUcs of Orlcani^ bad he wished, but instead of that he made the Bearnaii Jiuig.* Lyons, through the disunion of the Leaguers, soon fell into the hands of Henry IV. The Parliament of Aix began again to deliver legal judgments in his name. The Romish court had once more rejected Henry's declaration of obedience, not without official harshness : this did not prevent the French however, from gathering round their King. His coronationr which took place at Chartres on the 27th of February 1594 was performed in a spirit of opposition to Rome ; for, 'it was said. It would be an admission which would render the rights of the Crown doubtful, were this ceremony postponed because the absolution of the Pope had not been granted. Perhaps the Pope himself was not altogether so displeased with this contempt of his authority as he appeared ; but of this no one in the country had any suspicion, and, without the approval of Rome, the provinces made known their consent with Joy.T ^ Meanwhile every thing was prepared in the capital for a great alteration. There were appointed houses in the differ- ent quarters, where the adherents of the King assembled, and concerted the measures they should take, and even the man- ner m which they should express themselves. They now found a hearing even among the people, who were tired of the declamation of the preachers, and could not live longer without peace. But that peace, it was said, they could not have without acknowledging the King, whose power prevailed a 1 over the land. In the beginning Henry had been regarded almost as a foreigner, but since then he had made himself the t Henry describes the coronation as m " action sainte, od le peupl. constitue beauooup d efficace. Toute I'eglise (a ete) pleike de peupk qu. a monstre, par trow signes d'aUegresse, toute raff4tion qui WJeat tasmo^ner enve« son pr,nce."-L.ttre a M. de BeauToir, 1594, d^rS. Fevr : Lettres Missives, iv. 101. ' *» "«'™« X J I 4g( HISTORY OF FRANCE. general subject of eonyersation by his gallant actions in war. The reputation of his personal qualities was widely circulated. .. He was good and wise, and people must throw themselves into his arms." Fanatical opinions, whether pohtical or religious, resembled mists, which, rising suddenly, conceal things for the moment fmm the eye, hut a tm.e comes when they are dissipated. Mayew.e superseded the governor of the ^ritr who had associated with the moderate party, and ap- Jnted in his place a man of unsuspected ^^P"*'^*'"" ^•"°"S "Ae Leaguers-the same Count de Brissac who had taken the lead at the barricades ; he was, however, no longer so com- pletely to be relied upon: as he had formerly felt h.mself neglected by Henry III., so did he now by the Gm»««^+ J»^ rtead of resisting the general movement, he yielded to it and when Henry IV. offered to create him a marshal of France, he did not hesitate to withdraw from that party to the forma- tion and effectiveness of which, he asserted, he had con- tributed most, nor to unite with the King. The c.vic au- thorities had an understanding with him, and on the 22d ot ; March, 1594, Henry was able to enter Pans without any ^ apposition. He proceeded through the streets in complete amor, his helmet adorned with the white plumes which had Tome so renowned in his battles, at the head of a numerou iKKly of the nobility, and surrounded by the marksmen of his gTa^d. men he arrived at Notre Datne, the populace f^wded round him, and greeted him with acclamaUons a thousand times repeated. It sometimes appeared to hun al- most like a dream, that this long wisbed-for return to the Tpital. which he had so often sought to effect hy force of TrlLs, Aould at length be accomplished so ef y. -^ wiAou effort; but things had gradually become npe for it He made it known to the Spaniards that he was come to take posses- *:tfr.;':t.TrKnle,? Spaniard.)., but he wa, af^idin P.Urn.aggiorparUde.g.ntah^o.inU^»^^ U^endo lui preso con consenso di cittadini ii govemu exclusone Brissac." RELIGIOUS CHANGE OF HENET IT. 483 sion of that which belonged to him, that the people had re- called their King. Feria's answer was not without dignity : he said he had been sent to protect the people, but since the people had submitted, he would leaVe the city with his sol- diers, which he did without delay. One of Henry's first visits was to the Duchess of Montpen- sier, who was looked upon as his bitterest enemy. She was astonished at finding so much favor from him, but Henry's principal object was at present to reconcile the Guises, as well as the house of Lorraine, to himself A multitude of the fiercest preachers, Boucher among the rest, left the city in company with the Spaniards ; others followed them volun- tarily, and some were compelled to take the same course. In all the quarters there were some citizens who were also obliged to abandon the capital, but to all the rest a full I amnesty was granted. Instead of the priestly and popular doctrines, the Royalist opinions were now expounded and en- forced once more. In St. Germain I'Auxerrois a Royalist preacher, named Bellanger, declared the former teachers to be seducers of the people ; he spoke especially of the obedi- ence due to the King, and designated it as heresy to maintain the contrary. The King himself was present, and sat directly opposite to the preacher.* Villars, at Rouen, now no longer hesitated to make his peace, although he had at the same time with Brissac been implicated in the last renewal of the League ; he also received considerable grants of money, and retained the dignity of an admiral, which had been transferred to him. In return he exerted himself so that Rouen, Havre, and a number of towns besides, acknowledged the King. Henry expressed his hoaes that the pacification of the whole kingdom would result firom his possession of the beautiful, extensive, and rich pro- rince.t Paris, Orleans, and Rouen had always been regarded as the three chief cities of the League ; they were all now in the hands of the King. The cities of Picardy soon followed them. J It happened then as it always has happened in France : a ♦ L'Estoile, 220. t Henri IV. a M. de Bourdeille, 31 Mars, 1594. Lcttr. Miss. iv. 130. 484 HISTORY OF FRANCE. coirmon impulse had actuated men in joining the League, another now led them back to obedience; no one could ex- plain to himself the reason of the alteration in his mind. This universal change of disposition was at that time desig- nated by the word Revolution. /W^ *.i. ■^^v« J THE END. /_4-— COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY '.f. I COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY 0032193858 44-. oa Kl^ ct. a. •'^•"^y ct < nU 3 1944