The Assassination of Henry IV

Name: The Assassination of Henry IV
Author: Roland Mousnier
ISBN: 0684133571

by Roland Mousnier

Coincidentally, the 400th anniversary of this assassination has just passed – the event happened 14 May 1610 and the French are making a big deal of commemorating it. Henri was a fascinating king, uniting France by his conversion to Catholicism, ending a period of extreme religious turmoil and responsible for the Edict of Nantes, granting formerly unheard of rights to Huguenots until it was revoked by his grandson Louis XIV. He was, by all accounts, charming, witty, intelligent, and had a very colourful personal life, twice married, many mistresses, that kind of thing. He was also responsible for a lot of the city planning in Paris, including the beautiful Place des Vosges. Following his death a contemporary diarist described the city going into a ‘frenzy of mourning’ with much tearing of clothes and public wailing. I grew very fond of Henri IV while I was researching this book. The great controversy about Henri was that he was originally a Huguenot at a time when there was great religious strife in France, so the idea of a Huguenot on the throne was unthinkable. His conversion to Catholicism was an attempt to unite the country, (his famous but probably apocryphal quip that ‘Paris is well worth a mass’ reveals the depth of his faith). There were up to 16 attempts on his life but, of course, only the last one was successful, by a religious fanatic who believed Henri to be a heretic who should not be on the throne. That, according to the classical definition, he was a tyrant by usurpation. The Huguenot minority were disappointed by his conversion, the Catholic majority suspicious of it, and Henri himself had such a tenuous claim to the throne – he was something bizarre like the 17th cousin of the previous king, if that’s possible – no wonder he had so many enemies. François Ravaillac. He was quite a pathetic character who had had a difficult and miserable life. Yes! Although he wasn’t the only one to question Henri’s right to sit on the throne. Ravaillac himself was very devout in the first place, but then his devotion became fanatical. He joined a very austere order, the Feuillants, but was asked to leave because he was too extreme; he was too into all his scourging and physical mortification. I mean, if you join an extreme sect and they ask you to go… He was not balanced. Later, he tried to join the Jesuits, and was turned down on the basis he had already been a member of the Feuillants. By this time he was having religious visions. Rather touchingly, one of the Jesuit brothers suggested what he really needed was a good night’s sleep and better food. It makes you wonder how many religious visions were really a result of malnutrition and physical deprivation. If it were a Victor Hugo novel you’d think it was a bit far-fetched. Henri IV was moving through Paris in a cumbersome carriage pulled by six horses and it got stuck at a crossroads near what is now the Place des Innocents, in the Les Halles area of Paris. Ironically, this crossroads was going to be Henri’s next project – widening it to improve traffic flow. Anyway, Ravaillac was able to approach the carriage and stab him. By this time he had been having visions telling him to kill the king, and he had tried to gain an audience with him on more than one occasion with that aim in mind. Henri was taken to the Louvre but pronounced dead on arrival. Obviously, Ravaillac was immediately apprehended and executed in the most horrible way. Interestingly, he was convicted of parricide and not tyrannicide, which says a lot about the position of the monarch in French society. Well, the hand that had stabbed Henri was cut off and the stump dipped in boiling lead. There was a contemporary belief that the limb that carried out the crime could somehow be possessed, and was punished separately. Then he was hanged until he was nearly dead, drawn and quartered very slowly… The sentence said that his soul must leave his body drop by drop. It was a ritualised killing and what he endured was specifically tailored to his deed. Amazingly, he remained conscious through most of the ordeal. It really is unthinkable.

Recommended by

Lindsay Porter

"Coincidentally, the 400th anniversary of this assassination has just passed – the event happened 14 May 1610 and the French are making a big deal of commemorating it. Henri was a fascinating king, uniting France by his conversion to Catholicism, ending a period of extreme religious turmoil and responsible for the Edict of Nantes, granting formerly unheard of rights to Huguenots until it was revoked by his grandson Louis XIV. He was, by all accounts, charming, witty, intelligent, and had a very colourful personal life, twice married, many mistresses, that kind of thing. He was also responsible for a lot of the city planning in Paris, including the beautiful Place des Vosges. Following his death a contemporary diarist described the city going into a ‘frenzy of mourning’ with much tearing of clothes and public wailing. I grew very fond of Henri IV while I was researching this book. The great controversy about Henri was that he was originally a Huguenot at a time when there was great religious strife in France, so the idea of a Huguenot on the throne was unthinkable. His conversion to Catholicism was an attempt to unite the country, (his famous but probably apocryphal quip that ‘Paris is well worth a mass’ reveals the depth of his faith). There were up to 16 attempts on his life but, of course, only the last one was successful, by a religious fanatic who believed Henri to be a heretic who should not be on the throne. That, according to the classical definition, he was a tyrant by usurpation. The Huguenot minority were disappointed by his conversion, the Catholic majority suspicious of it, and Henri himself had such a tenuous claim to the throne – he was something bizarre like the 17th cousin of the previous king, if that’s possible – no wonder he had so many enemies. François Ravaillac. He was quite a pathetic character who had had a difficult and miserable life. Yes! Although he wasn’t the only one to question Henri’s right to sit on the throne. Ravaillac himself was very devout in the first place, but then his devotion became fanatical. He joined a very austere order, the Feuillants, but was asked to leave because he was too extreme; he was too into all his scourging and physical mortification. I mean, if you join an extreme sect and they ask you to go… He was not balanced. Later, he tried to join the Jesuits, and was turned down on the basis he had already been a member of the Feuillants. By this time he was having religious visions. Rather touchingly, one of the Jesuit brothers suggested what he really needed was a good night’s sleep and better food. It makes you wonder how many religious visions were really a result of malnutrition and physical deprivation. If it were a Victor Hugo novel you’d think it was a bit far-fetched. Henri IV was moving through Paris in a cumbersome carriage pulled by six horses and it got stuck at a crossroads near what is now the Place des Innocents, in the Les Halles area of Paris. Ironically, this crossroads was going to be Henri’s next project – widening it to improve traffic flow. Anyway, Ravaillac was able to approach the carriage and stab him. By this time he had been having visions telling him to kill the king, and he had tried to gain an audience with him on more than one occasion with that aim in mind. Henri was taken to the Louvre but pronounced dead on arrival. Obviously, Ravaillac was immediately apprehended and executed in the most horrible way. Interestingly, he was convicted of parricide and not tyrannicide, which says a lot about the position of the monarch in French society. Well, the hand that had stabbed Henri was cut off and the stump dipped in boiling lead. There was a contemporary belief that the limb that carried out the crime could somehow be possessed, and was punished separately. Then he was hanged until he was nearly dead, drawn and quartered very slowly… The sentence said that his soul must leave his body drop by drop. It was a ritualised killing and what he endured was specifically tailored to his deed. Amazingly, he remained conscious through most of the ordeal. It really is unthinkable."

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