Henri IV (1553-1610). Henri de Bourbon, roi de Navarre, acceded to the French throne after the assassination of Henri III in 1589. The latter's decision to assasinate the duc de Guise had already removed the greatest obstacle to Henri's accession; but he had to win back his kingdom piecemeal, convert to Catholicism, and find a compromise which he could impose on his former co-religionists (the Edict of Nantes). He was aided in the task of rebuilding his kingdom by his own personal qualities and by the dedication of his aides: Jeannin and Laffemas, who concentrated on industry and commerce, and Sully, who emphasized the importance of agriculture. He was, however, mistrusted both by the Protestants, who felt that he had abandoned them, and by the Catholics, who felt that his abjuration was probably the result of a political calculation rather than a sincere conversion. Hence the large number of assassination attempts, culminating in his death at the hands of Ravaillac. The war which he was planning against Spain—which France could ill afford and might well have lost—would certainly have made him unpopular, but his untimely end led to the creation of the legend of ‘Henri le Grand’, saviour of the monarchy and father of his people. For the précieuses, he became ‘le Grand Alcandre’ [see Preciosity]. For the parlementaires suffering under Louis XIV's more absolutist rule, he was the liberal king. As a champion of tolerance, he is the hero of Voltaire's La Henriade. For the Physiocrats, he became the great protector of the peasantry, anxious that each family should have ‘une poule au pot’. The popular imagination of today remembers him above all as a brave soldier, as an astute military commander, and as ‘le vert galant’.
[James Supple]
