Henry II (french: Henri II; 31 March 1519 – 10 July 1559) was
King of France from 31 March 1547 until his death in 1559. The second son of
Francis I Francis I or Francis the First may refer to:
* Francesco I Gonzaga (1366–1407)
* Francis I, Duke of Brittany (1414–1450), reigned 1442–1450
* Francis I of France (1494–1547), King of France, reigned 1515–1547
* Francis I, Duke of Saxe-Lau ...
and
Duchess Claude of Brittany, he became
Dauphin of France upon the death of his elder brother
Francis in 1536.
As a child, Henry and his elder brother spent over four years in captivity in Spain as hostages in exchange for their father. Henry pursued his father's policies in matters of art, war, and religion. He persevered in the
Italian Wars against the
Habsburgs and tried to suppress the
Reformation
The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...
, even as the
Huguenot numbers were increasing drastically in France during his reign.
Under the April 1559
Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis
Peace is a concept of societal friendship and harmony in the absence of hostility and violence. In a social sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (such as war) and freedom from fear of violence between individuals or groups. ...
which ended the Italian Wars, France renounced its claims in Italy, but gained certain other territories, including the
Pale of Calais and the
Three Bishoprics. These acquisitions strengthened French borders while the abdication of
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor in January 1556 and division of his empire between
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, ...
and
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
provided them with greater flexibility in foreign policy.
Nostradamus also served King Henry as physician and astrologer.
In July 1559, Henry was injured in a
jousting tournament held to celebrate the treaty and died ten days later after his surgeon,
Ambroise Paré, was unable to cure the wound inflicted by
Gabriel de Montgomery, the captain of his
Scottish Guard. Though he died early, the succession appeared secure as he left four young sons, as well as a wife in
Catherine de' Medici, to lead a capable regency during their minority. Three of those sons would all live long enough to be king themselves, but their ineffectual reigns, and the unpopularity of Catherine's regency, helped to spark the
French Wars of Religion
The French Wars of Religion is the term which is used in reference to a period of civil war between French Catholics and Protestants, commonly called Huguenots, which lasted from 1562 to 1598. According to estimates, between two and four mil ...
between
Catholics and
Protestants, and an eventual end to the
House of Valois as France's ruling dynasty.
Early years
Henry was born in the royal
Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, near Paris, the son of
King Francis I
Francis I (french: François Ier; frm, Francoys; 12 September 1494 – 31 March 1547) was King of France from 1515 until his death in 1547. He was the son of Charles, Count of Angoulême, and Louise of Savoy. He succeeded his first cousin once ...
and
Claude, Duchess of Brittany
Claude of France (13 October 1499 – 20 July 1524) was List of French royal consorts, Queen of France by marriage to King Francis I of France, Francis I. She was also ruling List of rulers of Brittany, Duchess of Brittany from 1514 until her de ...
, daughter of
Louis XII of France and
Anne, Duchess of Brittany. Francis and Claude were
second cousins
Most generally, in the lineal kinship system used in the English-speaking world, a cousin is a type of familial relationship in which two relatives are two or more familial generations away from their most recent common ancestor. Commonly, ...
, both had
Louis I, Duke of Orléans, as a patrilineal great-grandfather, and their marriage strengthened the family's claim to the throne.
Henry's father was captured at the
Battle of Pavia in 1525 by the forces of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, and held prisoner in
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, ...
. To obtain his release, it was agreed that Henry and his older brother Francis be sent to Spain in his place. They remained in captivity for over four years.
Henry married
Catherine de' Medici, a member of the ruling family of
Florence
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico ...
, on 28 October 1533, when they were both fourteen years old. The wedding was officiated by
Pope Clement VII. At this time, Henry's brother Francis was alive and there was little prospect of Henry coming to the throne. The following year, he became romantically involved with a thirty-five-year-old widow,
Diane de Poitiers. Henry and Diane had always been very close: the young lady had fondly embraced Henry on the day he, as a 7-year-old child, set off to captivity in Spain, and the bond had been renewed after his return to France. At the tournament to honor his father's new bride,
Eleanor
Eleanor () is a feminine given name, originally from an Old French adaptation of the Old Provençal name ''Aliénor''. It is the name of a number of women of royalty and nobility in western Europe during the High Middle Ages.
The name was intro ...
, in 1531, Henry and Francis dressed as chevaliers, and Henry wore Diane's colors.
Extremely confident, mature and intelligent, Diane left Catherine powerless to intervene. She did, however, insist that Henry sleep with Catherine in order to produce heirs to the throne.
When his elder brother Francis died in 1536 after a game of tennis, Henry became heir apparent to the throne.
His attachment to Diane caused a breach with his father in 1544; the royal mistress
Anne de Pisseleu d'Heilly persuaded Francis that Henry and Diane were intriguing on behalf of
the Constable Montmorency, who had been banished from court in 1540. Francis banished Diane from court. Henry also withdrew to the chateau of Anet; father and son were reconciled in 1545.
He succeeded his father on his 28th birthday and was crowned King of France on 25 July 1547 at
Reims Cathedral.
Reign
Attitude towards Protestants
Henry's reign was marked by the persecution of Protestants, mainly Calvinists known as
Huguenots. Henry II severely punished them, particularly the ministers, for example by
burning at the stake
Death by burning (also known as immolation) is an execution and murder method involving combustion or exposure to extreme heat. It has a long history as a form of public capital punishment, and many societies have employed it as a punishment f ...
or cutting off their tongues for uttering heresies.
Henry II was made a
Knight of the Garter in April 1551.
The
Edict of Châteaubriant (27 June 1551) called upon the civil and ecclesiastical courts to detect and punish all heretics and placed severe restrictions on Huguenots, including the loss of one-third of their property to informers, and confiscations. The Edict also strictly regulated publications by prohibiting the sale, importation or printing of any unapproved book. It was during the reign of Henry II that Huguenot attempts at establishing a colony in
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
were made, with the short-lived formation of ''
France Antarctique''. In June 1559, with war against the Habsburgs concluded, Henri established in letters patent his desire to task much of the Gendarmerie that had been involved in the foreign wars with the extirpation of domestic heresy.
Italian War of 1551–1559
The
Italian War of 1551–1559
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional ...
began when Henry declared war on Holy Roman Emperor Charles V with the intent of recapturing Italy and ensuring French, rather than Habsburg, domination of European affairs. Persecution of Protestants at home did not prevent him from becoming allied with German Protestant princes at the
Treaty of Chambord in 1552. Simultaneously, the continuation of his father's
Franco-Ottoman alliance allowed him to invade the
Rhineland while a Franco-Ottoman fleet defended southern France. Although an attempted 1553 invasion of
Tuscany
it, Toscano (man) it, Toscana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 = Citizenship
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_title1 = Italian
, demogra ...
ended with defeat at
Marciano, in return for his support in the
Second Schmalkaldic War
The Second Schmalkaldic War, also known as the Princes' Revolt (German: ''Fürstenaufstand'', ''Fürstenkrieg'' or ''Fürstenverschwörung''), was an uprising of German Protestant princes led by elector Maurice of Saxony against the Catholic emp ...
, Henry occupied the
Three Bishoprics of
Toul,
Verdun and
Metz
Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand ...
, acquisitions secured with victory at
Renty in 1554.
After the abdication of Charles V in 1556, the Habsburg empire was split between his son
Philip II of Spain and brother
Emperor Ferdinand I. The focus of Henry's conflict with the Habsburgs shifted to
Flanders
Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...
, where Phillip, in conjunction with
Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy, defeated the French at the
St Quentin. England's entry into the war later that year led to the French
capture of Calais, and French armies plundered Spanish possessions in the
Low Countries
The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...
. However, in April 1559 lack of money and increasing domestic religious tensions led Henry to agree the
Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis
Peace is a concept of societal friendship and harmony in the absence of hostility and violence. In a social sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (such as war) and freedom from fear of violence between individuals or groups. ...
.
The Peace was signed between Henry and
Elizabeth I of England on 2 April and between Henry and Philip of Spain on 3 April 1559 at
Le Cateau-Cambrésis. Under its terms, France restored
Piedmont
it, Piemontese
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 =
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_title1 =
, demographics1_info1 =
, demographics1_title2 ...
and Savoy to Emmanuel Philibert, but retained
Saluzzo,
Calais and the Three Bishoprics. The agreement was reinforced by a marriage between Henry's sister
Margaret and Emmanuel Philibert, while his daughter
Elizabeth of Valois became Philip's third wife.
Henry raised the young
Mary, Queen of Scots, at his court, hoping to establish a dynastic claim to the
Kingdom of Scotland by marrying her to
Dauphin Francis on 24 April 1558. Their son would have been King of France and King of Scotland, and also a claimant to the throne of
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
. Henry had Mary sign secret documents, illegal in Scottish law, that would ensure Valois rule in Scotland even if Mary died without leaving a child by Francis. As it happened, Francis died without issue a year and half after his father, ending the French claim to Scotland.
Patent innovation
Henry II introduced the concept of publishing the description of an invention in the form of a
patent
A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A ...
. The idea was to require an inventor to disclose his invention in exchange for monopoly rights to the patent. The description is called a patent "specification". The first patent specification was submitted by the inventor
Abel Foullon
Abel Foullon (1513–1563 or 1565, in France) was an author, director of the Mint
MiNT is Now TOS (MiNT) is a free software alternative operating system kernel for the Atari ST system and its successors. It is a multi-tasking alternative ...
for "Usaige & Description de l'holmetre" (a type of
rangefinder). Publication was delayed until after the patent expired in 1561.
Death
Henry II was an avid hunter and a participant in
jousts and tournaments. On 30 June 1559, a tournament was held near
Place des Vosges
The Place des Vosges (), originally Place Royale, is the oldest planned square in Paris, France.
It is located in the '' Marais'' district, and it straddles the dividing-line between the 3rd and 4th arrondissements of Paris. It was a fashionabl ...
to celebrate the Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis with his longtime enemies, the Habsburgs of Austria, and to celebrate the marriage of his daughter
Elisabeth of Valois to King
Philip II of Spain. During a jousting match, King Henry, wearing the colors of his mistress
Diane de Poitiers, was wounded in the eye by a fragment of the splintered lance of
Gabriel Montgomery
Gabriel de Lorges, Count of Montgomery, Lord of Lorges and Ducey (5 May 153026 June 1574), was a French nobleman of Scottish extraction and captain of the Scots Guard of King Henry II of France. He is remembered for mortally injuring Henry II in ...
, captain of the King's
Scottish Guard. Despite the efforts of royal surgeons
Ambroise Paré and
Andreas Vesalius, the court doctors ultimately "advocated a wait-and-see strategy"; as a result, the king's untreated eye and brain damage led to his death by
sepsis on 10 July 1559. He was buried in a
cadaver tomb
A cadaver monument or ''transi'' (or memento mori monument, Latin for "reminder of death") is a type of church monument to deceased persons featuring a sculpted effigy of a skeleton or an emaciated, even decomposing, dead body. It was particularly ...
in
Saint Denis Basilica. Henry's death played a significant role in the decline of jousting as a sport, particularly in France.
As Henry lay dying, Queen Catherine limited access to his bedside and denied his mistress Diane de Poitiers permission to see him, even though he repeatedly asked for her. Following his death, Catherine sent Diane into exile, where she lived in comfort on her own properties until her death.
It was the practice to enclose the heart of the king in an urn. The Monument to the Heart of Henry II is in the collection of the
Louvre
The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the '' Venus de Milo''. A central ...
, but was originally in the Chapel of Orleans beneath a pyramid. The original bronze urn holding the king's heart was destroyed during the French Revolution and a replica was made in the 19th century. The marble sculpture of the
Three Graces holding the urn, executed from a single piece of marble by
Germain Pilon
Germain Pilon (c. 1525 – 3 February 1590)Connat & Colombier 1951; Thirion 1996. was a French Renaissance sculptor.
Biography
He was born in Paris and trained with his father, Andre Pilon. Documents show that he and his father executed sever ...
, the sculptor to
Catherine de' Medici, survives.
Henry was succeeded by his sickly fifteen-year-old son,
Francis II. Francis was married to sixteen-year-old
Mary, Queen of Scots, who had been his childhood friend and fiancée since her arrival at the French court when she was five. Francis II died in December 1560, and Mary returned to Scotland in August 1561. Francis II was succeeded by his ten-year-old brother
Charles IX. His mother,
Catherine de Medici, acted as
regent
A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...
.
Issue
Catherine de' Medici bore ten of Henry's children:
#
Francis II, born 19 January 1544, who married
Mary, Queen of Scots
#
Elizabeth of France, born 2 April 1545, who married
Philip II, King of Spain
#
Claude, born 12 November 1547, who married
Charles III, Duke of Lorraine
#
Louis, Duke of Orléans, born 3 February 1549, died 24 October 1550
#
Charles IX, born 27 June 1550, died 30 May 1574
#
Henry III, born 19 September 1551, also briefly King of Poland
#
Margaret, born 14 May 1553, who married Henry III, King of Navarre (later
Henry IV of France
Henry IV (french: Henri IV; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry or Henry the Great, was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 1610. He was the first monar ...
)
#
Hercules, born 18 March 1555, later known as Francis, Duke of Alençon and Anjou
#
Victoire, born 24 June 1556, died 17 August 1556
# Joan, born 24 June 1556, stillborn
Henry II also had three illegitimate children:
*By
Filippa Duci:
:
Diane, duchesse d'Angoulême (1538–1619). At the age of fourteen, she married
Orazio Farnese, Duke of Castro, who died in battle in 1553. Her second marriage was to François, Duke of Montmorency.
*By
Lady Janet Stewart
Janet Stewart, Lady Fleming (17 July 1502 – 20 February 1562), called ''la Belle Écossaise'' ( French for 'the Beautiful Scotswoman'), was a Scottish courtier. She was an illegitimate daughter of King James IV of Scotland who served as govern ...
(1502–1562), the illegitimate daughter of
James IV of Scotland:
:
Henri d'Angoulême (1551 – June 1586). He was legitimized and became governor of
Provence
Provence (, , , , ; oc, Provença or ''Prouvènço'' , ) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bo ...
.
*By
Nicole de Savigny:
:
Henri de Saint-Rémy (1557–1621). He was given the title of Count of Saint-Rémy. One of his last known descendants was
Jeanne de Valois-Saint-Rémy, Countess de la Motte, famous for her role in the
Affair of the Diamond Necklace at the court of
Louis XVI
Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was ...
.
Portrayals
Henri or Henry has had four notable portrayals onscreen:
He was played by a young
Roger Moore in the 1956 film ''
Diane'', opposite
Lana Turner in the title role and
Marisa Pavan as
Catherine de Medici.
In the 1998 film ''
Ever After
''Ever After'' (known in promotional material as ''Ever After: A Cinderella Story'') is a 1998 American romantic period drama film inspired by the Charles Perrault fairy tale, "Cinderella". It is directed by Andy Tennant and stars Drew Barrymor ...
'', the Prince Charming figure, portrayed by
Dougray Scott, shares his name with the historical monarch.
In the 2013
CW series ''
Reign
A reign is the period of a person's or dynasty's occupation of the office of monarch of a nation (e.g., Saudi Arabia, Belgium, Andorra), of a people (e.g., the Franks, the Zulus) or of a spiritual community (e.g., Catholicism, Tibetan Buddhism ...
'', he is played by
Alan van Sprang.
In the premiere of ''
The Serpent Queen'' (2022), a young Henri (Alex Heath) is shown meeting and marrying Catherine De Medici, performing consummation of the marriage, jousting, and snuggling in the older Diane's arms. Beginning with the fourth episode, older Henri is portrayed by
Lee Ingleby.
Gallery
Royal Monogram of King Henri II of France.svg, Royal Monogram
Henri II of France - Limoges.jpg, Detail from portrait plaque, enamel and gilding on copper
Clouet atelier Henri II Roi de France.jpg, Henry II, here standing on an oriental carpet, continued the policy of Franco-Ottoman alliance of his father Francis I Francis I or Francis the First may refer to:
* Francesco I Gonzaga (1366–1407)
* Francis I, Duke of Brittany (1414–1450), reigned 1442–1450
* Francis I of France (1494–1547), King of France, reigned 1515–1547
* Francis I, Duke of Saxe-Lau ...
. Painting by François Clouet.
Henri II 1547.jpg, Coin of Henry II, 1547
French bastard culverin 1548 with arms of Henri II and Catherine de Medicis and crescent of Diane 85mm 300cm 1076kg.jpg, " Bastard culverin" of 1548, with arms of Henri II and Catherine de Medicis
Catherine de' Medici ( it, Caterina de' Medici, ; french: Catherine de Médicis, ; 13 April 1519 – 5 January 1589) was an Florentine noblewoman born into the Medici family. She was Queen of France from 1547 to 1559 by marriage to King H ...
and crescent of Diane de Poitiers. Caliber: 85mm, length: 300 cm, weight: 1076 kg.
16th century French cypher machine in the shape of a book with arms of Henri II.jpg, A cypher machine in the shape of a book, with arms of Henri II.
Monument du coeur d'Henri II.jpg, Monument to the Heart of Henry II, Louvre, Paris, sculpture of the Three Graces by Germain Pilon
Germain Pilon (c. 1525 – 3 February 1590)Connat & Colombier 1951; Thirion 1996. was a French Renaissance sculptor.
Biography
He was born in Paris and trained with his father, Andre Pilon. Documents show that he and his father executed sever ...
holding a replica of the urn that contained the king's heart
Ancestry
References
Sources
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External links
Henry II of FranceHistory Today
''History Today'' is an illustrated history magazine. Published monthly in London since January 1951, it presents serious and authoritative history to as wide a public as possible. The magazine covers all periods and geographical regions and pub ...
V.59 I9.
Michael Servetus Research- NaturalizationScholarly graphical study on a document issued by Henry II of France in 1548 & 1549
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Henry 02 of France
1519 births
1559 deaths
16th-century kings of France
16th-century dukes of Brittany
Ancien Régime
Dauphins of France
Dauphins of Viennois
French book and manuscript collectors
House of Valois-Angoulême
Knights of the Garter
Nostradamus
People from Saint-Germain-en-Laye
Sport deaths in France
Burials at the Basilica of Saint-Denis
1540s in France
1550s in France
16th-century peers of France