Henry II of France

Henry II of France redirects here. It can also refer controversially to Henry VI of England.

Henry II
King of France
Reign	31 March 1547 – 10 July 1559
Coronation	25 July 1547
Predecessor	Francis I
Successor	Francis II
Spouse	Catherine de' Medici
Issue
Francis II of France Elisabeth, Queen of Spain Claude, Duchess of Lorraine Charles IX of France Henry III of France Margaret, Queen of Navarre and France Francis, Duke of Anjou
House	House of Valois
Father	Francis I of France
Mother	Claude, Duchess of Brittany
Born	31 March 1519(1519-03-31) Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France
Died	10 July 1559(1559-07-10) (aged 40) Paris, France
Burial	Saint Denis Basilica, France

Henry II (31 March 1519 – 10 July 1559) was King of France from 31 March 1547, until his death in 1559.^[1]

Reign

Coin of Henry II, 1547.

Henry's reign was marked by wars with Austria, and the persecution of the Protestant Huguenots. Henry II severely punished them, particularly the ministers: burning them at the stake or cutting off their tongues for uttering heresies. Even those only suspected of being Huguenots could be imprisoned. 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. It also strictly regulated publications by prohibiting the sale, importation or printing of any unapproved book. It was during the reign of Henry II, Huguenot attempts at establishing a colony in Brazil were made, with the short-lived formation of France Antarctique.^[2]

"Brazilian ball" for Henry II and Catherine de' Medici in Rouen, 1 October 1550.

Henry II, here standing on an oriental carpet, continued the policy of Franco-Ottoman alliance of his father Francis I. Painting by François Clouet.

The Italian War of 1551–1559, sometimes known as the Habsburg–Valois War, began when Henry declared war against Charles V with the intent of recapturing Italy and ensuring French, rather than Habsburg, domination of European affairs. The continuation of his father's Franco-Ottoman alliance allowed Henry II to push for French conquests towards the Rhine while a Franco-Ottoman fleet defended southern France.^[3] An early offensive into Lorraine was successful, with Henry capturing the three episcopal cities of Metz, Toul, and Verdun, but the attempted French invasion of Tuscany in 1553 was defeated at the Battle of Marciano.

After Charles's abdication in 1556 split the Habsburg empire between Philip II of Spain and Ferdinand I, the focus of the war shifted to Flanders, where Phillip, in conjunction with Emmanuel Philibert of Savoy, defeated the French at 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. Henry was nonetheless forced to accept the Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis, in which he renounced any further claims to Italy.

The Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis (1559). Henry II and Philip II of Spain were in reality absent, and the peace was signed by their ambassadors.

The Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis was signed between Elizabeth I of England and Henry on 2 April and between Henry and Philip II of Spain on 3 April 1559 at Le Cateau-Cambrésis, around twenty kilometers southeast of Cambrai. Under its terms, France restored Piedmont and Savoy to the Duke of Savoy, but retained Saluzzo, Calais and the bishoprics of Metz, Toul, and Verdun. Spain retained Franche-Comté. Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy, married Margaret of France, Duchess of Berry, the sister of Henry II, and Philip II of Spain married Henry's daughter Élisabeth.

Henry raised the young Mary, Queen of Scots, at his court, hoping to use her to ultimately establish a dynastic claim to Scotland. On 24 April 1558, Henry's fourteen-year-old son Francis was married to Mary in a union intended to give the future king of France not only the throne of Scotland but a claim to the throne of England. Henry had Mary sign secret documents, illegal in Scottish law, that would ensure Valois rule in Scotland even if she died without an heir (Guy 2004:91). Mary's claim to the English throne quickly became an issue when Mary I of England died later in 1558, Henry and his Catholic advisors regarding Elizabeth I unfit to reign because of her illegitimacy.

Patent innovation

A cypher machine in the shape of a book, with arms of Henri II.

Henry II introduced the concept of publishing the description of an invention in the form of a patent. 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 for "Usaige & Description de l'holmetre", (a type of rangefinder.) Publication was delayed until after the patent expired in 1561.^[4]

Death

"Bastard culverin" of 1548, with arms of Henri II and Catherine de Medicis and crescent of Diane de Poitiers. Caliber: 85mm, length: 300cm, weight: 1076kg.

Henry II was an avid hunter and a participant in jousts and tournaments. On 30 June 1559, at the Place des Vosges in Paris, during a match 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, King Henry was mortally wounded by the lance of Gabriel Montgomery, captain of the King's Scottish Guard. The lance pierced his eye and, despite the efforts of royal surgeon Ambroise Paré, he died on 10 July 1559 from septicemia.^[5] He was buried in a cadaver tomb in Saint Denis Basilica.

The fatal tournament between Henry II and Montgomery (Lord of "Lorges").

As Henry lay dying, Queen Catherine limited access to his bedside and denied his mistress Diane de Poitiers access to 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.

Henry was succeeded by his son, Francis II, who died the following year and was succeeded by his two brothers. Their mother acted as Regent. For the forty years following Henry II's death, France was filled with turbulence as Protestants and Catholics fought the bitter French Wars of Religion.

Ancestors and Descendants

Detail from portrait plaque, enamel and gilding on copper

See Children of Henry II of France and Catherine de' Medici

Henry II also had four illegitimate children:

• By Catherine Michelle: Elaine de Francias (1557–1635). Henry supposedly debated whether or not to give her a title and only on his deathbed did he admit to being her father. He gave her the title Comtesse de Montmorency. It is not known why he was so secretive about this one daughter.
• By Filippa Duci: Diane, duchesse d'Angoulême (1538–1619). Some sources have stated that the child was the natural daughter of Henry's long-time mistress, Diane de Poitiers. This is probably not the case since it is on record that Henry had Filippa Duci watched closely throughout her pregnancy. She gave birth in a convent and it appears that she remained there for the rest of her life. At the age of fourteen, the younger Diane married Orazio Farnese, Duke of Castro, who died young in battle. Her second marriage was to François, duc de Montmorency.
• By Lady Janet Stewart (1508–1563), herself an illegitimate daughter of James IV of Scotland: Henri de Valois (1551 – June 1586). He was legitimized and became governor of Provence.
• By Nicole de Savigny: a son, Henri (1557–1621). He was given the title of comte de Saint-Rémy. One of his last descendants was Jeanne de Valois-Saint-Rémy, Comtesse de la Motte, famous for her role in the Affair of the Diamond Necklace.

Prophecy

Royal styles of King Henry II Par la grâce de Dieu, Roi de France
Reference style	His Most Christian Majesty
Spoken style	Your Most Christian Majesty
Alternative style	Monsieur le Roi

Nostradamus, a French astrological writer known for his prophecies, is often said to have become famous when one of his quatrains was construed as a prediction of the death of King Henry II:

CI, Q 35 The young lion shall overcome the older one,
on the field of combat in single battle,
He shall pierce his eyes in a golden cage,
Two forces one, then he shall die a cruel death.

But, in fact, the link was first proposed in print only in 1614,^[6] fifty-five years after the event and forty-eight after Nostradamus' death; thus it qualifies as a postdiction, or vaticinium ex eventu. The Italian astrologer Luca Gaurico, a contemporary of Nostradamus, is also said to have predicted the king's death.

Notes

References

• Arnold-Baker, Charles, The companion to British history, Routledge, 1996.
• Frumkin, M., The Origin of Patents, Journal of the Patent Office Society, March 1945, Vol. XXVII, No. 3, 143.
• Guy, John, My Heart is my Own, London, Fourth Estate, 2004, ISBN 0–00–71930–8.
• Nostradamus, César, Histoire et Chronique de Provence, Lyon, Simon Rigaud, 1614
• Patrick, David, and Francis Hindes Groome, Chambers's biographical dictionary: the great of all times and nations, J.B. Lippincott Company, 1907.
• Tazón, Juan E., The life and times of Thomas Stukeley (c.1525-78), Ashgate Publishing Ltd, 2003.