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With the Osmanlı İmparatorluğu (Ottoman Empire) putting Malta to siege in 1565, certain French lords rushed to join the defence of the island bastion. Among those joining the defenders on the walls were the comte de Brissac, the future colonel-general Strozzi and Saint-Gouard.[1] In total around 300 French gentleman and 800 soldiers would arrive at Malta. They would however, only arrive after the siege had ended. Nevertheless the Osmanlı government was greatly perturbed at this development, and Catherine sought to sooth their anger through condemning those nobles who had rushed to join the defence of Malta and banishing those who had made the journey. This punishment was however aimed at seeing them return to France.[2]
In 1576 a Parisian lawyer named Jean David made his way to Roma in the retinue of the bishop of Paris. On route he died in Lyon, and papers were allegedly discovered on his person by the authorities that argued the descendants of Hugues Capet had been abandoned by god and had fallen into degeneracy (i.e. Henri III), while the descendants of Charlemagne (including the house of Lorraine-Guise) were flourishing in body and spirit. It followed that the duc de Guise wished to establish himself as king.[3] The text spread around the capital but for the moment the king did not view it as a serious threat. According to de Thou, Henri had received a copy of the treasonous text from his ambassador Saint-Gouard who had received it from Felipe II. The authenticity of the text is disputed, with some arguing that it may have been manufactured to justify the 1588 assassination of the duc de Guise by arguing that he had been engaged in anti-Valois plans for over ten years. Felipe for his part would have seen advantage in providing to Saint-Gouard a text which could cause factional instability in France.[4]
After the humiliation of the day of the Barricades, Henri retreated from Paris to Chartres leaving the capital in the hands of the ligueur rebels. He opined to his ambassador in Roma that he held the duc de Guise solely responsible for the uprising. He furthered this with a letter to the Pope in which he obliquely implied he could be compelled to assassinate Guise when he stated that the extreme circumstances he found himself in might force him to resort to extreme remedies.[5]
After have effected the assassination of the duc de Guise, Henri moved to ensuring the act was properly justified internationally. André Hurault de Maisse who was departing for Italia was instructed to inform the late duc's maternal uncle the duca di Ferrara that Guise had been poisoned by his ambition and was planning to seize Henri and hand him over to the ligueurs in Paris. Henri was confident that the Pope would approve of the act he had undertaken, and wrote to Saint-Gouard to this effect. Saint-Gouard was informed that the Pope would see it as not only lawful but also a pious act. To assist Saint-Gouard in this effort would be the cardinal de Joyeuse. Henri's impression that the Pope might be supportive was not drawn from nothing, as a few months previous the Pope had urged him to punish those who defied his authority with severity.[6] However, when the Pope was informed his reaction diverged from Henri's vision, ordering Henri to immediately release from his imprisonment the cardinal de Bourbon and the archbishop of Lyon. Henri was further to report to Roma to seek absolution under threat of potential excommunication for his recent actions.[7]
From February to March 1589, the cardinal de Joyeuse and Saint-Gouard negotiated with the Pope. On 13 March Henri conceded to the Pope's position and his representative the bishop of Le Mans confessed to the Pontiff on his behalf. The Pope maintained his refusal of absolution until such time as the archbishop of Lyon and cardinal de Bourbon were released, as this had not yet come to pass. Subsequently in April Henri entered into alliance with his distant Protestant cousin and heir the king of Navarre, throwing the prospect of agreement with the Papacy into doubt.[8] The Pope's ambassador in France withdrew from the court after the agreement was reached, staying in Lyon until the death of the king.[9]
Over the coming months, Henri continued to fail to release the archbishop of Lyon and cardinal de Bourbon from prison. However now the Pope was more incensed to learn of Henri's alliance with the Protestant king. On 5 May pope Sixtus announced his decision, Henri must release the archbishop of Lyon and cardinal de Bourbon within ten days. Within sixty days he must either come to Roma himself or send a proxy to represent him. If he failed to undertake both of these acts he would be excommunicated. By the end of May, both Joyeuse and Saint-Gouard abandoned Roma.[9] Henri was distraught to learn of his excommunication, but was reassured by Navarre that the true way to respond to the Pope's move was to recapture Paris.[9]
Many of the great royalist Catholic lords of France were left in a difficult position after the assassination of Henri III. They now faced the prospect of having to serve a Protestant king. While this was too much for some, in the following days many nobles of Guyenne swore themselves to the king of Navarre as Henri IV. Among them were maréchal de Matignon and Biron, the duc de Ventadour, the seigneur de La Rochefoucauld, the comte de La Vauguyon, the duc de Thouars and Saint-Gouard. These were all military nobles capable of mobilising their networks in the favour of the new king.[10]
The Pope greatly opposed Henri's assumption of the crown. All Catholics who supported him were ordered to withdraw their support on pains of excommunication. Beyond his spiritual interventions, the Pope dispatched a small army to support the ligueur cause in their war with Henri, however it was badly ravaged by dysentery and accomplished little. With the death of Pope Gregory in October 1591 a new election was held. The new Pope, elected in January 1592 maintained his support for the ligueur cause. Henri meanwhile dispatched two of his supporters who he hoped would be well received by the Papacy on 4 October, Saint-Gouard and the cardinal de Gondi. They were to swear Henri's support for the Pope and that in the same manner as his predecessors he had a 'filial devotion' to the Holy See.[11] However the Pope continued to direct his severity against Catholic supporters of Henri IV. Thus, with Saint-Gouard and the cardinal de Gondi on the road to Roma to ask the Pope to assist in the potential conversion of Henri to Catholicism, the Pope forbid them to continue their journey. He was supported in his refusal to meet with Saint-Gouard and Gondi by the ligueur agents in Roma.[12] As such the royalist party stopped its journey in Firenze, forbidden from travelling further. Meanwhile emissaries from the ligueur duc de Mayenne assured the Pope that Henri would not convert to Catholicism and that if he did it would be a simulacrum.[13]
In July 1593 Henri abjured Protestantism and became a Catholic. Many Catholics however suspected his conversion was cynical or invalid. To this end Henri redoubled his efforts to gain absolution from the Pope. He was supported in this effort by the Tuscan and Venetian ambassadors in Roma who faced off with the Spanish Papal ambassador who sought to convince the Pope to continue the fight. From late 1592 the Venetian ambassador had convinced Clement military and financial support towards the Catholic ligue was playing into the hands of the Spanish. The Pope remained determined though not to receive Gondi and Saint-Gouard, and upon receiving word of Henri's adoption of Catholicism considered declaring the Catholics who received him schismatics. He was talked out of this by the Venetian ambassador on the grounds it would accelerate French Gallican sentiment. The reason for the Pope's refusal to see the two envoys was, according to a 'well connected' priest due to his fear of the Spanish reprisals he would be inviting if he were to take such a step. Henri resolved to send a new diplomatic mission, led by a man that the Pope could not refuse to see, the Italian Catholic the duc de Nevers.[14] In November 1593 the Pope agreed to receive the duc de Nevers, however only in his capacity as a private person and not as a representative of Henri IV. Even after this meeting the Pope remained firm, declaring Henri could not be absolved as he 'persisted in his errors'.[15]
During the crisis of the Croquant rebellions, armed peasant bands rose across much of southern France. Henri resolved that he must employ a gentle hand to defuse their greiviances. He opined to the lieutenant-general of Haute-Auvergne, that if he came down harshly on the movement, it would entail further damages. In the Limoges the rebel peasants numbered around 12-15,000. While working towards the disarmament of this group, a band of nobles charged into the peasants in June 1594, killing many. The sieur de Boissise arrived sometime after this and promised a reduction of the taille (the land tax). He then undertook a siege of the château de Gimel which was held by some rebel lords. A little while later in October Saint-Gouard arrived with a military force and undertook a limited expedition. Maréchal de Matignon then continued the work of ending the rebellion peaceably, and worked to avoid prosecution of the Croquant ringleaders to this effect. However in 1595 the heat of the conflict would rise again and there would be a battle before the Croquant leadership submitted, soothed further by tax relief Henri ordered in 1596 and 1599.[16]