HENRI II

(31/03/1547-10/07/1559)

Born in Saint-Germain-en-Laye in 1519, Henri II was the second son of Francois I and Claude de France. A dolphin on the death of his elder Francis (1536), he ascended the throne in 1547. Continuing his father's policy, the new king soon came into conflict with the Emperor, in the East and in Italy. Victorious in 1552 (expedition against Metz), defeated in Saint-Quentin (1557), victorious again in Calais and Gravelines (1558), Henry II succeeded better than his father. An era ended with the signing of the Cateau-Cambresis Treaty (2 and 3 April 1559): France kept Calais and, without this being explicitly mentioned, kept the Three Bishoprics (Metz, Toul and Verdun), but definitively renounced the Italian dream. Philip II married Elizabeth of France, daughter of Henry II, and Emmanuel-Philibert of Savoy Marguerite, daughter of Francis I. For his part, Charles V had to give up the universal monarchy and divide his vast empire into a Spanish monarchy and a Germanic monarchy, which would keep the imperial title. He abded in 1556. The same continuity is emerging in domestic politics. The first absolutism is asserting itself, the persecution of Protestants is taking full momentum: a Burning Chamber is established in the Parliament of Paris to fight against heretics. The Business Council or Narrow Council definitively separated from the Grand Council and the Privy Council. The institution of the Presidential Bailiwicks in 1552, supposed to accelerate the course of justice, was mainly used to bring money into the royal coffers. The court of France was then dominated by Diane de Poitiers, the king's mistress, by the constable of Montmorency, always favorite, and by the three Coligny brothers: Odet, bishop-count of Beauvais, Gaspard, admiral in 1551, Francois d'Andelot, colonel general of the infantry. Opposite the Coligny stood the party of the Guise, cadets of the House of Lorraine: Claude, Duke and Peer, Cardinal Jean de Lorraine, his brother, both of whom died in 1550, then Francois de Guise, son of Claude, and his brother, Cardinal Charles de Lorraine. The king's authority prevented these rivalries from degenerating. The reign of Henry II saw above all the development of Protestantism in France, in the form given to him by Calvin, who, a refugee in Geneva, was master of the city from 1541 to 1564. Married to Catherine de Medici in 1533, Henry II had thirteen children, including five sons. Three of them succeeded him: Francis II (1559-1560), Charles IX (1560-1574), Henry III (1574-1589).