King of France: Life & Reign of Henry IV Quiz

Answer: Château de Pau

Château de Pau, or Pau Castle, was established during medieval times. Henry IV was born on December 13, 1553. He would become the first French monarch to be born of the House of Bourbon, a branch of the Capetian dynasty which included the younger sons of the Capetian dynasty.

Antoine of Bourbon (1518-1562), Henry's father, became King of Navarre due to his marriage to Henry IV's mother in 1548, ascending the throne of Navarre when his father in law died. She was the daughter of Henry II of Navarre and Marguerite de Navarre. Antoine never became King of France due to King Henry II of France being on the French throne during his lifetime (dying in 1559), and the king heavily favoured the prestigious Guise and Montmorency families to provide him with a successor. When Henry II's son, Francis II of France (1544-1560), died barely a year after his father's death, Antoine attempted to wage a military campaign for the throne, but was killed in combat.

Answer: Jeanne d'Albret

Jeanne d'Albret (1528-1572) was born in the palace of Saint-Germain-en-Laye to Henry II of Navarre and Margaret of Angoulême. Chronicled as "frivolous and high-spirited" in her youth, she was a student of Nicholas Bourbon the Elder, a poet and teacher at the French court.

Jeanne d'Albret was forcibly married to Anne of Cleves's (a wife of Henry VIII of England) brother, William of Jülich-Cleves-Berge, in 1541 at the age of just 12. She made her feelings well known and had to be dragged to the altar by a nobleman. The marriage was later annulled as it was never consummated.

Jeanne marred Antoine of Bourbon, a descendant of Louis IX of France, in 1548, which she was much more pleased to do than with her previous husband. Antoine was repeatedly unfaithful, fathering a child with a woman of the French court named Louise de La Béraudière when he was married to Jeanne. Antoine is sometimes described as "a king without a kingdom" because Navarre had been occupied by Spain for many years at the time. Antoine died in 1562 after getting shot at the Siege of Rouen. Following Jeanne's death in 1542, Henry was made King of Navarre.

Answer: Calvinism

Calvinism is a branch of Protestant Christianity that emerged from the Protestant Reformation during the 16th century. It was established largely due to the preaching of John Calvin (1509-1564) for whom the religion is named.

Henry IV's mother was a believer of Calvinism and had declared Navarre was a Calvinist region. Henry remained a Calvinist until 1593. Henry's father reconverted to Catholic during his marriage, and this caused a separation between him and his wife. The two parents' strong disagreements about religion, as well as in which faith they should raise the young Henry was thereafter a continuous problem in his young life, and foreshadowed the problems that would arise for him in the future as king.

Answer: Margaret of Valois

Margaret of Valois (1553-1615) was born at the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, to King Henry II of France and Catherine de' Medici. She had three brothers who would grow up to become kings of France: Francis II, Charles IX and Henry III.

Margaret of Valois was a highly intelligent woman and a deeply religious Catholic. She was fluent in several languages including Greek, Spanish, Italian and Latin. She was fond of riding horses and dancing. In her younger years she was very close to her brother, the future King Henry III of France, and when he was away on military duties in 1568, he asked her to take care of his kingdom in his absence. He was ungrateful for this favour that Margaret had performed well, accusing her of conspiring against him upon his return. Margaret was beaten, and, Henry of Guise, the man with whom her brother accused her of having an affair, was banished from the French court. Margaret never forgave her brother for this and it caused irreparable damage to her relationship with her mother.

Answer: Because of Henry IV's religion

Constructed by 1345, Notre-Dame Cathedral is believed to have been built on the site of a former Roman temple due to the discovery of the Pillar of the Boatmen beneath the church in 1710. The cathedral has held significance throughout history. For example, King Henry VI of England was crowned here in 1541.

The wedding took place in front of the cathedral due to Henry's Calvinist upbringing. Not only was Margaret a devout Catholic who did not want to blaspheme her faith by marrying a non-Catholic inside Notre-Dame Cathedral, a prominent holy site for Catholics, but both her and Henry did not want to risk the disapproval and wrath of Pope Gregory XIII, who had already requested that Henry convert to Catholicism. The solution was to marry in front of the church rather than inside it, to avoid blaspheming the Catholic altar of Notre-Dame.

The wedding reception lasted three days and was abundant in luxuries, featuring ballet dancers, masquerades, and a banquet and ball at the Louvre with musical performances. Many of the residents of Paris were not impressed by the extravagance of the wedding while they struggled to feed their families.

Answer: Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacre

The Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacre began on August 23, 1542, and involved many angry Catholics targeting the Huguenots (French Calvinist Protestants) with violence. The massacre occurred during the reign of King Charles IX of France (1550-1574), Margaret of Valois' brother, and the massacre itself is purported to have been instigated by Catherine de' Medici, Charles' mother and Henry's new grandmother in-law.

Paris had a very large Catholic majority at the time of the massacre, and this population did not take kindly to rich Huguenots flaunting their wealth and partying in what they saw as their Catholic territory. In the days before the massacre an assassination attempt had been made on the Huguenot leader, Gaspard de Coligny, whose attendance at the wedding was meant to be a symbol of reconciliation between the Huguenots and the Catholics (who did not see it this way).

Coligny escaped this assassination attempt by bending down to tie his shoelace when his would-be assassin tried to shoot him. The bullet however did break his elbow and blast a finger from his hand. Although he was a close friend of her son, the King, Catherine de' Medici never trusted Coligny, which is one reason why she is often blamed for encouraging the massacre.

Modern historians estimate that the death toll in the Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacre range from 5,000-30,000. A Huguenot counsellor to the King, Maximilien de Béthune, Duke of Sully, cited that the death toll was around 70,000. There were so many corpses in the Arles River that the residents of Paris were unwilling to drink from it months after the massacre had ended.

The Huguenots lost many of their leaders in the violence, with Coligny finally being killed shortly after the first attempt at assassinating him failed. A hawthorn bush which was dying in a cemetery is said to have become lush and green near a statue of the Virgin Mary, which the Catholics took as a sign to kill the Huguenots for their heresy. The mob who killed him and threw his body out of a window were led by the intensely Catholic Henry, Duke of Guise. Other notable victims of the massacre include French humanist philosopher, Petrus Ramus, and (purportedly) French composer, Claude Goudimel.

Henry of Navarre, who would later become King Henry IV of France, converted to Catholicism shortly after this, partly out of fear.

Answer: Francis, Duke of Anjou

The youngest known son of Henry II of France and Catherine de' Medici, Francis, Duke of Anjou (1555-1584, was originally named "Hercule" at birth, but changed his name to Francis to honour his deceased elder brother, Francis II of France (1544-1560) who was also King of Scotland in his last years from 1558-1560 because he married Mary, Queen of Scots. Also, the future Duke of Anjou was afflicted with health problems, such as smallpox from a young age, which left him with spinal deformities and skin problems. He did not feel the name "Hercule" suited him.

In 1574, Francis' brother, King Charles IX of France, died of (suspected) tuberculosis aged 23. He was replaced by France's other brother, King Henry III of France, but he was assassinated in 1589. This meant that Francis was next in line to the French throne. However, he would never become king. Francis became ill with malaria in 1584, and the disease killed him. Now that all of King Henry III's brothers were deceased, this left Henry of Navarre as the closest ancestor of King Louis IX, leading him down the path to becoming King Henry IV of France.

Answer: Henry I, Duke of Guise

Henry I, Duke of Guise (1550-1588) was the son of François of Lorraine, 2nd Duke of Guise, 1st Prince of Joinville, and 1st Duke of Aumale (1519-1563), and Princess Anna d'Este (1531-1607). He was the ancestor of an Italian noblewoman and member of the notorious Borgia family, Lucrezia Borgia, and also Pope Alexander VI, who was her father. He was friends with King Henry III during childhood, but his quest for power sullied this friendship. In 1563, he inherited the titles Governor of Champagne and Grand Maître de France as a result of the assassination of his father.

Gaspard de Coligny was a target of Henry of Guise's wrath as he considered him responsible for the death of his father, and was a suspect during the investigation of Coligny's first assassination attempt. He was involved in the second, successful attempt at his assassination.

Henry of Guise established the Catholic League in 1576. The League existed as an attempt to expunge all forms of Protestantism from France. He worked with Spain's Habsburg family to create the Treaty of Joinville, which declared that French noble and cardinal, Charles de Bourbon, (who was Henry IV's uncle) was the rightful heir apparent to the French throne, as opposed to Henry of Navarre, the future King Henry IV (who would later capture Charles de Bourbon and hold him prisoner for the rest of his life).

King Henry III of France had his bodyguards assassinate Henry, Duke of Guise, in Blois in 1588. The king knew that Guise was visiting his mistress, Charlotte de Sauve, who was a spy for Catherine de' Medici, the Queen Mother. He summoned Guise the day after his visit and had his guards kill him. Guise's brother, Louis II of Lorraine, Cardinal of Guise, met the same fate the next day. Once the future King Henry IV was informed of this, he agreed that Henry III was correct in his decision, even if he mourned the death of his cousin. The executions of the Guise brother evoked such outrage in the Catholic community that Henry III had to flee to Henry of Navarre for his own safety.

Answer: Jacques Clément

Jacques Clément (1567-1589) was a Dominican friar and Catholic extremist. He was furious about the executions of the Guise brothers and had the same goal as they did: to completely expel all forms of Protestantism from France. The sister of the Guise brothers, Princess Catherine de Lorraine, Duchess of Montpensier (1551-1596), knew of and encouraged the plot to murder King Henry III in revenge for the deaths of her siblings.

Jacques Clément gained permission to be in Henry III's court and informed him that he had a private and important matter to discuss with him. Under the pretense of whispering, he moved closer to the king then stabbed him with a dagger he had hidden in his cloak. The king did not die from his wounds immediately, but would perish the next day. Clément was killed after he had stabbed the king by members of the king's court, who had quartered his body then had it burned at the stake.

Before Henry III had died he had agreed that Henry of Navarre was his rightful heir. As a Protestant, the memory of a Catholic fanatic murdering his predecessor haunted Henry IV. Jacques Clément's actions were also publicly approved of by Pope Sixtus V, to the point where there were suggestions about declaring him a Catholic saint. This clearly displayed to Henry IV that the main authority in the Catholic church would happily encourage and approve of murder, should they perceive any threat to their faith.

Answer: Battle of Arques

The Battle of Arques took place between September 15-29, 1589. Henry IV and his forces fought the Catholic League led by Charles de Lorraine, Duke of Mayenne (1544-1611), son of François de Lorraine, Duke of Guise.

The Battle of Arques was bloody and brutal, with heavy casualties on both sides. Henry IV had a significant amount of men, but was victorious due to the help of Queen Elizabeth I of England. Elizabeth sent troops across the sea to France to assist Henry, around 4,000 in number. These troops were led by Sir Roger Williams, a Welsh Protestant who had fervently fought for the Protestant cause. Disturbed by these reinforcements, Charles de Lorraine ordered his army to retreat, resulting in Henry's victory.

Answer: Battle of Ivry

The Battle of Ivry occurred on 14 March 1590 and is often cited as Henry IV's greatest military win. Henry and his troops struck first by bombarding the Catholic League with canon fire. Their shots were precise and accurate, whereas the Catholic League's returning fire generally missed their targets. There was a brief moment in the battle where the Royalists feared Henry had been struck down and killed, but this was actually the fate of his a man close to him.

The Catholic League was again led by Charles de Lorraine, Duke of Mayenne. When it became clear that he could not win this battle, he retreated with some of his men across the Eure River. He then destroyed the bridge to prevent Henry's forces from capturing him, an act of cowardice that left many of his men on the other side to die. Around 4,000 of the Catholic League's men lay dead in the field, whereas Henry suffered a loss of around 500 men.

Answer: Paris

The Siege of Paris in 1590 was unsuccessful for Henry IV. Paris was a walled city at the time and abundant in highly religious Catholics. The failed siege occurred between May and April. Henry's detractors said he waited too long to attack Paris after the Battle of Ivry in March. There was even speculation that Henry had taken the months in-between these military excursions as a break to go on hunting trips. However, those loyal to Henry cited that the poor weather and flooding around Paris would have made Henry besieging the city impossible, and they were short of reserves from the English.

Henry had his troops (who were at most 13,000) surround Paris and had windmills around the area set on fire to stop food from being delivered to the city. This was against 30,000 soldiers defending Paris who were led by Charles Emmanuel, Duke of Nemours. He had replaced Mayenne as leader due to the latter's lack of success and cowardice during the Battles of Arques and Ivry.

All of Henry's attempts at negotiation were rebuffed, with the residents and military of Paris viewing him as an evil, Protestant usurper. Henry did not want to convey this image, and angered his military by ruling that women and children were permitted to flee the city rather than starved to death. Regardless, 13,000 of the citizens of Paris starved to death and 30,000 would later die from disease.

Paris was assisted by Alexander Farnese, the Duke of Parma from Spain, by the end of August. He broke through Henry's blockade and gave food supplies to the city. Infuriated by how badly the siege was going, many of Henry's nobles deserted and returned home. He was losing more and more of his army by the day.

The Catholic League proclaimed in 1593 that Henry IV would only be accepted as king if he agreed to convert to Catholicism. Henry begrudgingly agreed to this, and is quoted as saying, "Paris is worth a mass." The Protestants of France did not agree with his decision and neither did Queen Elizabeth I of England.

Answer: Chartres Cathedral

Located in Chartres, France, Chartres Cathedral is situated around 50 miles (80 km) southwest of Paris. Henry IV was crowned here on 27 February 1594. As a result of his coronation taking place in a prominent Catholic cathedral (and his conversion to Catholicism), Pope Clement VIII reversed the excommunication order on Henry.

The coronation took place at Chartres Cathedral because the traditional site of royal coronations, Reims Cathedral, was occupied at the time by too many of Henry's adversaries, including the House of Guise and the Catholic League.

Answer: Edict of Nantes

Signed into law in April 1598, the Edict of Nantes granted religious tolerance to the Huguenots of France. The edict still upheld Catholicism as the standard religion of France, but the Huguenots were given a variety of permissions by law that they did not have previously. These permissions included the right to have a position in the public office (such as judges, etc), the right to practice their religion in peace in particular areas of France, the right to possess their own military that was financed by the government of France, the right to freedom of movement in France without being arrested, searched or have property confiscated, and the right to have their own schools financed by the government of France.

The religious wars of France had been taking place for half a century by the time the Edict of Nantes was put into law. The Edict's effect was highly positive on French society, with much less aggression occurring in the country between the two religions. However, in 1685, King Louis XIV revoked the edict, which led to a large amount of Huguenots fleeing the country.

Answer: Pont Neuf

Translating from French to "New Bridge," Pont Neuf was originally conceptualised around 1550 during the reign of King Henry II of France (1519-1559) due to the existing Pont Notre-Dame bridge being overloaded with traffic. The king, however, did not have the funds to commit to the project at the time.

It was King Henry III of France who decided to have the bridge built, with construction beginning in 1578. However, due to the wars and bloodshed between the Catholics and the Protestants of France, the building of the bridge was delayed and Henry III would not live to see its completion. Once the religious wars had become somewhat subdued by the Edict of Nantes, Henry IV had the construction of the bridge resumed in 1599. Completed by 1606, Henry IV inaugurated the bridge the following year.

Pont Neuf now stands today as the oldest bridge to stretch over the River Seine. An equestrian statue of Henry IV stands on the bridge and has been there since 1818 (that is, the newest statue of him has been there since 1818. An equestrian statue of him was erected in 1618, but it was destroyed as a result of the French Revolution in 1792). Pont Neuf is possibly the birthplace of the first photograph to be taken. French photographer, Louis Daguerre (1787-1851) took a photograph around 1836 of Henry IV's equestrian statue.

Answer: Place des Vosges

Originally known as the Place Royale, Place des Vosges is located in Paris' historic Marais district. The square was renamed after the north-east region of Vosges after the French Revolution, as the area was the first to pay the taxes that the new government had demanded. Construction on the Palace Royale began in 1605 and was completed by 1612. The king's mansion on the square was located on the south side, and the Queen's on the north, but neither Henry IV or his two wives ever lived there.

The Place Royale was built on the grounds of the demolished (on the orders of Catherine de' Medici) Hôtel des Tournelles, where King Henry II of France died in 1559 due to an accident during jousting. Catherine lost interest in the building after her husband's death. The Place Royale was inaugurated with an extravagant celebration including a grand carousel to celebrate the engagement of Louis XIII (who would later inherit the throne from Henry IV) and Anne of Austria.

Henry IV was also responsible for the construction of the Place Dauphine, which he had ordered to be built as the Place Royale, now the Place des Vosges, was being constructed.

Answer: Marie de' Medici

Henry had his marriage to Margaret of Valois annulled in 1599, after she had failed to give him an heir. It is said they were separated before he even ascended the French throne. Both Henry and Margaret were repeatedly unfaithful to each other, and despite Henry having many children with a variety of affair partners, he did not have a child with his first wife, therefore leaving him without a legitimate heir.

Marie de' Medici (1575-1642) was born in Florence, Italy, and was the daughter of Francesco I de' Medici, the second Grand Duke of Tuscany and Joanna of Austria, Grand Duchess of Tuscany. She was Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor's granddaughter. Marie's father had helped Henry IV financially during his various war excursions, and having his daughter married to the king was considered returning the favour. They married in 1600 and had 6 children, including his successor.

One of Henry's mistresses, Catherine Henriette de Balzac d'Entragues, gave birth to his son around the same time as Marie de' Medici gave birth to who would later become Gaston Henri de Bourbon, Duke of Verneuil. Henry doted on his illegitimate son as well as his legitimate son, to the enragement of Marie. Henry is said to have made her even more angry by suggesting that his illegitimate son was more beautiful. Henry IV was repeatedly unfaithful to Marie de' Medici, even going as far as to insist that she love and take care of his illegitimate children as her own.

Marie de' Medici became regent of France after Henry IV's death n 1610, as her husband's successor was a child when he died.

Answer: François Ravaillac

Although throughout his reign Henry IV had done his best to restore peace between the Catholics and the Huguenots, some fanatical Catholics saw the king as a blasphemer, a heretic and a threat to the sovereignty of their church. Henry was repeatedly targeted for assassination, with each failed assassin paying a hefty price for their treasonous attempts to murder the king.

Pierre Barrière suffered a horrific and torturous execution for planning to kill Henry IV in 1593. He was subjected to the breaking wheel where his bones were snapped, and he was later dismembered.

Jean Châtel attempted to stab Henry in 1594, but failed. His hand was burned with molten wax before he was promptly dismembered. Châtel confessed he was under the influence of the Jesuits when he tried to murder Henry, resulting in a temporary ban of the organisation in France. This also resulted in Châtel's Jesuit mentor, Father Guignard, being hanged then burned at the stake.

François Ravaillac (1578-1610) would succeed in killing Henry IV in 1610. Ravaillac became convinced that he had received a divine vision from God (which was not the first incident of this happening in his life, losing jobs due to being "susceptible to visions") that instructed him to convince Henry IV to convert the Huguenots to Catholicism.

Ravaillac felt further obligated to kill Henry IV when Henry made the decision to invade the Spanish Netherlands - the part of the Netherlands controlled by the Spanish Habsburgs. As this would be an act of war against the Pope, Ravaillac felt he had no choice but to assassinate the king.

Ravaillac waited on the street of Rue de la Ferronnerie in Paris, in hiding as he knew the king's carriage would be passing at some point. A cart carrying wine got in the way of the royal carriage, and Ravaillac pounced on the opportunity, jumping into Henry IV's carriage and stabbing him to death.

Before, during and after his trial, Ravaillac was repeatedly tortured for his actions, but showed no remorse. He was drawn and quartered, subjected to boiling oil and lead being poured on him, before being pulled apart by being tied to four horses, who ran in four different directions. His family were exiled and told to change their surname, or face dire consequences.

Answer: Basilica of Saint-Denis

Ironically, Henry IV was buried in the place that he came to to renounce his Calvinism and embrace Catholicism, after being murdered by a fanatical Catholic. Several kings of France have been buried here, including Catherine de Medici and Henry II of France.

Twice a day before his burial, servants would serve the body of the king a meal, purporting the royal dignity of the king that went beyond even death. Henry IV's tomb was destroyed during the French Revolution, however, a memorial to him still exists in the Basilica of Saint-Denis.

The Basilica of Saint-Denis has been the burial site for most of the kings of France, with estimates that only five French monarchs were not buried there. Many deceased members of French nobility are also buried here. This is because the basilica is built above the grave of Saint Denis. The French believed that burying deceased members of the royal family here would mean that Saint Denis would protect them in the afterlife and also protect their legacies.

Answer: Louis XIII

Louis XIII (1601-1643) earned a nickname similar to his father's "Good King Henry" moniker. Louis XIII was coined "Louis the Just" and became king of France at 8 years old upon his father's assassination in 1610. His mother, Marie de' Medici, acted as regent due to his young age.

However, her conduct and refusal to give up power led to Louis seizing the throne from her in 1617, even going as far as to exile his mother and execute those who helped her keep power from him.