François, Duke of Anjou
Encyclopedia
Francis, Duke of Anjou and Alençon
(Hercule François; 18 March 1555 – 19 June 1584) was the youngest son of Henry II of France
and Catherine de' Medici
.
when he was confirmed
.
In 1574, following the death of his brother Charles IX of France
and the accession of his other brother Henry III of France
, he became heir to the throne. In 1576, he was made Duke of Anjou, Touraine
, and Berry
.
In 1576, he negotiated the Edict of Beaulieu
during the French Wars of Religion
. In 1579, he was invited by William the Silent
to become hereditary sovereign to the United Provinces
. On 29 September 1580, the Dutch States-General
(with the exception of Zeeland and Holland) signed the Treaty of Plessis-les-Tours
with the Duke, who would assume the title "Protector of the Liberty of the Netherlands" and become the sovereign.
. Alençon, now Duke of Anjou, was in fact the only one of Elizabeth's foreign suitors to court her in person. He was 24 and Elizabeth was 46. Despite the age gap, the two soon became very close, Elizabeth dubbing him her "frog" on account of a frog-shaped earring he had given her. Whether or not Elizabeth truly planned marrying Anjou is a hotly debated topic. It is obvious that she was quite fond of him, knowing that he was probably going to be her last suitor. There are many anecdotes about their flirting. The match was controversial in the English public: English Protestants warned the Queen that the "hearts [of the English people] will be galled when they shall see you take to husband a Frenchman, and a Papist ... the very common people well know this: that he is the son of the Jezebel
of our age"., referring to the Duke's mother, Catherine de' Medici
. Of her Privy Council
, only William Cecil, Lord Burghley and Thomas Radclyffe, 3rd Earl of Sussex
supported the marriage scheme wholeheartedly. Most notable councilors, foremost among them Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester
and Sir Francis Walsingham, were strongly opposed, even warning the Queen of the hazards of childbirth at her age. Thinking pragmatically, Elizabeth did not think the union was a wise one, considering the overwhelming opposition of her advisors. She continued, however, to play the engagement game, if only to warn Philip II of Spain
what she might do, if it became necessary. Finally, the game played itself out, and Elizabeth bade her "frog" farewell in 1581. On his departure she penned a poem, "On Monsieur's Departure", which, taken at face value, has lent credence to the notion that she may really have been prepared to go through with the match.
. In spite of the Joyous Entries
he was accorded in Bruges
and Ghent
and his ceremonious installation as duke of Brabant
and count of Flanders
, Anjou was not popular with the Dutch and Flemish, who continued to see the Catholic French as enemies; the provinces of Zeeland and Holland refused to recognise him as their sovereign, and William, the central figure of the "Politiques" who worked to defuse religious hostilities, was widely criticized for his "French politics". He is now thought to have been the patron behind the "Valois tapestries
" presented to Catherine, which presented major figures in Catherine's court against scenes of festivity. When Anjou's French troops arrived in late 1582, William's plan seemed to pay off, as even the Duke of Parma
feared that the Dutch would now gain the upper hand.
However, Anjou himself was dissatisfied with his limited power, and decided to take the Flemish cities of Antwerp, Bruges
, Dunkirk, and Ostend
by force.
He decided to personally lead the attack on Antwerp on 18 January 1583. In an attempt to fool the citizens of Antwerp, Anjou asked to be permitted to make a "Joyous Entry
" into the city in order to honour them with a parade. As soon as his troopers entered, the gates of Antwerp were slammed shut
behind them. Anjou barely escaped with his life. Nearly his entire army perished.
The debacle at Antwerp marked the end of his military career. His mother, Catherine de' Medici
is said to have written to him that "would to God you had died young. You would then not have been the cause of the death of so many brave gentlemen". Another insult followed when Elizabeth I formally ended her engagement to him after the massacre. The position of Anjou after this attack became impossible to hold, and he eventually left the country in June. His departure also discredited William, who nevertheless maintained his support for Anjou.
Soon Anjou fell seriously ill with "tertian ague", or malaria
. Catherine de' Medici
brought him back to Paris, where he was reconciled to his brother, King Henry III of France
in February 1584. Henry even embraced his brother, whom he had famously called "le petit magot" ("little monkey"). By June, Alençon was dead.
Anjou's premature death meant that the Huguenot
Henry of Navarre
became heir-presumptive, thus leading to an escalation in the French Wars of Religion
.
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Counts and dukes of Alençon
Several counts and then royal dukes of Alençon have figured in French history. The title has been awarded to a younger brother of the French sovereign.-History:...
(Hercule François; 18 March 1555 – 19 June 1584) was the youngest son of Henry II of France
Henry II of France
Henry II was King of France from 31 March 1547 until his death in 1559.-Early years:Henry was born in the royal Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, near Paris, the son of Francis I and Claude, Duchess of Brittany .His father was captured at the Battle of Pavia in 1525 by his sworn enemy,...
and Catherine de' Medici
Catherine de' Medici
Catherine de' Medici was an Italian noblewoman who was Queen consort of France from 1547 until 1559, as the wife of King Henry II of France....
.
Early years
An attractive child, he was unfortunately scarred by smallpox at age eight, and his pitted face and slightly deformed spine did not suit his august birth name of "Hercules". He changed his name to Francis in honour of his late brother Francis II of FranceFrancis II of France
Francis II was aged 15 when he succeeded to the throne of France after the accidental death of his father, King Henry II, in 1559. He reigned for 18 months before he died in December 1560...
when he was confirmed
Confirmation (Christian sacrament)
Confirmation is a rite of initiation in Christian churches, normally carried out through anointing and/or the laying on of hands and prayer for the purpose of bestowing the Gift of the Holy Spirit....
.
In 1574, following the death of his brother Charles IX of France
Charles IX of France
Charles IX was King of France, ruling from 1560 until his death. His reign was dominated by the Wars of Religion. He is best known as king at the time of the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre.-Childhood:...
and the accession of his other brother Henry III of France
Henry III of France
Henry III was King of France from 1574 to 1589. As Henry of Valois, he was the first elected monarch of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth with the dual titles of King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1573 to 1575.-Childhood:Henry was born at the Royal Château de Fontainebleau,...
, he became heir to the throne. In 1576, he was made Duke of Anjou, Touraine
Duke of Touraine
Duke of Touraine was a title in the Peerage of France, relating to Touraine.It was first created in 1360 for Philip, youngest son of King John II of France. He returned the duchy to the Crown in 1363 on being made Duke of Burgundy and died in 1404....
, and Berry
Duke of Berry
The title of Duke of Berry in the French nobility was frequently created for junior members of the French royal family. The Berry region now consists of the départements of Cher, Indre and parts of Vienne. The capital of Berry is Bourges. The first creation was for John, third son of John II, King...
.
In 1576, he negotiated the Edict of Beaulieu
Edict of Beaulieu
The Edict of Beaulieu was promulgated from Beaulieu-lès-Loches on 6 May 1576 by Henry III of France, who was pressured by Alençon's support of the Protestant army besieging Paris that spring....
during the French Wars of Religion
French Wars of Religion
The French Wars of Religion is the name given to a period of civil infighting and military operations, primarily fought between French Catholics and Protestants . The conflict involved the factional disputes between the aristocratic houses of France, such as the House of Bourbon and House of Guise...
. In 1579, he was invited by William the Silent
William the Silent
William I, Prince of Orange , also widely known as William the Silent , or simply William of Orange , was the main leader of the Dutch revolt against the Spanish that set off the Eighty Years' War and resulted in the formal independence of the United Provinces in 1648. He was born in the House of...
to become hereditary sovereign to the United Provinces
Dutch Republic
The Dutch Republic — officially known as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands , the Republic of the United Netherlands, or the Republic of the Seven United Provinces — was a republic in Europe existing from 1581 to 1795, preceding the Batavian Republic and ultimately...
. On 29 September 1580, the Dutch States-General
States-General of the Netherlands
The States-General of the Netherlands is the bicameral legislature of the Netherlands, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The parliament meets in at the Binnenhof in The Hague. The archaic Dutch word "staten" originally related to the feudal classes in which medieval...
(with the exception of Zeeland and Holland) signed the Treaty of Plessis-les-Tours
Treaty of Plessis-les-Tours
The Treaty of Plessis-les-Tours was signed on September 29, 1580 between the Dutch Staten Generaal and François, Duke of Anjou . Based on the terms of the treaty, François assumed the title of "Protector of the Liberty of the Netherlands" and became sovereign of the Dutch Republic...
with the Duke, who would assume the title "Protector of the Liberty of the Netherlands" and become the sovereign.
The Duke of Alençon and the Huguenots
During the night of 15 September 1575, Alençon ran from the French court after being alienated by his brother King Henry III. Both Henry III and Catherine de' Medici feared he would join the Protestant rebels. These fears proved well founded, Francis joined the prince of Conde and his forces in the south. When they were also joined by the King of Navarre’s forces, following his escape from court in February 1576, this combined army was enough to force Henry III, without a pitched battle of any sort, to capitulate and sign the very pro-protestant ‘peace of Monsieur’, or Edict of Beaulieu on 6 May 1576. As part of this peace settlement many on the protestant side were rewarded as part of the ‘secret treaties’ with land and titles. Francis was awarded Duchy of Anjou (along with other lands) and thus became the Duke of Anjou.Courting Elizabeth I
At the same time, in 1579, arrangements began to be made for his marriage to Elizabeth I of EnglandElizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
. Alençon, now Duke of Anjou, was in fact the only one of Elizabeth's foreign suitors to court her in person. He was 24 and Elizabeth was 46. Despite the age gap, the two soon became very close, Elizabeth dubbing him her "frog" on account of a frog-shaped earring he had given her. Whether or not Elizabeth truly planned marrying Anjou is a hotly debated topic. It is obvious that she was quite fond of him, knowing that he was probably going to be her last suitor. There are many anecdotes about their flirting. The match was controversial in the English public: English Protestants warned the Queen that the "hearts [of the English people] will be galled when they shall see you take to husband a Frenchman, and a Papist ... the very common people well know this: that he is the son of the Jezebel
Jezebel
Jezebel may refer to:* Jezebel, wife of King Ahab*Jezebel, in the Book of Revelation 2:20 a prophetess in the church of Thyatira* Jezebel , starring Bette Davis and Henry Fonda* Jezebel , a blog aimed at women...
of our age"., referring to the Duke's mother, Catherine de' Medici
Catherine de' Medici
Catherine de' Medici was an Italian noblewoman who was Queen consort of France from 1547 until 1559, as the wife of King Henry II of France....
. Of her Privy Council
Privy council
A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a nation, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the monarch's closest advisors to give confidential advice on...
, only William Cecil, Lord Burghley and Thomas Radclyffe, 3rd Earl of Sussex
Thomas Radclyffe, 3rd Earl of Sussex
Thomas Radclyffe 3rd Earl of Sussex was Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland during the Tudor period of English history, and a leading courtier during the reign of Elizabeth I.- Family:...
supported the marriage scheme wholeheartedly. Most notable councilors, foremost among them Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester
Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester
Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester, KG was an English nobleman and the favourite and close friend of Elizabeth I from her first year on the throne until his death...
and Sir Francis Walsingham, were strongly opposed, even warning the Queen of the hazards of childbirth at her age. Thinking pragmatically, Elizabeth did not think the union was a wise one, considering the overwhelming opposition of her advisors. She continued, however, to play the engagement game, if only to warn Philip II of Spain
Philip II of Spain
Philip II was King of Spain, Portugal, Naples, Sicily, and, while married to Mary I, King of England and Ireland. He was lord of the Seventeen Provinces from 1556 until 1581, holding various titles for the individual territories such as duke or count....
what she might do, if it became necessary. Finally, the game played itself out, and Elizabeth bade her "frog" farewell in 1581. On his departure she penned a poem, "On Monsieur's Departure", which, taken at face value, has lent credence to the notion that she may really have been prepared to go through with the match.
Anjou in the Netherlands
Anjou continued on to the Netherlands. He did not arrive until 10 February 1582, when he was officially welcomed by William in FlushingFlushing, Netherlands
Vlissingen is a municipality and a city in the southwestern Netherlands on the former island of Walcheren. With its strategic location between the Scheldt river and the North Sea, Vlissingen has been an important harbour for centuries. It was granted city rights in 1315. In the 17th century...
. In spite of the Joyous Entries
Joyous Entry
A Joyous Entry was a local name used for the royal entry - the first official peaceable visit of a reigning monarch, prince, duke or governor into a city - mainly in the Duchy of Brabant or the County of Flanders and occasionally in France, Luxembourg or Hungary, often coinciding with...
he was accorded in Bruges
Bruges
Bruges is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located in the northwest of the country....
and Ghent
Ghent
Ghent is a city and a municipality located in the Flemish region of Belgium. It is the capital and biggest city of the East Flanders province. The city started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Lys and in the Middle Ages became one of the largest and richest cities of...
and his ceremonious installation as duke of Brabant
Duke of Brabant
The Duchy of Brabant was formally erected in 1183/1184. The title "Duke of Brabant" was created by the German Emperor Frederick Barbarossa in favor of Henry I, son of Godfrey III of Leuven . The Duchy of Brabant was a feudal elevation of the since 1085/1086 existing title of Landgrave of Brabant...
and count of Flanders
Count of Flanders
The Count of Flanders was the ruler or sub-ruler of the county of Flanders from the 9th century until the abolition of the position by the French revolutionaries in 1790....
, Anjou was not popular with the Dutch and Flemish, who continued to see the Catholic French as enemies; the provinces of Zeeland and Holland refused to recognise him as their sovereign, and William, the central figure of the "Politiques" who worked to defuse religious hostilities, was widely criticized for his "French politics". He is now thought to have been the patron behind the "Valois tapestries
Valois Tapestries
The Valois Tapestries are a series of eight tapestries depicting festivities or "magnificences" at the Court of France in the second half of the 16th century. The tapestries were worked in the Spanish Netherlands, probably in Brussels or Antwerp, shortly after 1580.Scholars have not firmly...
" presented to Catherine, which presented major figures in Catherine's court against scenes of festivity. When Anjou's French troops arrived in late 1582, William's plan seemed to pay off, as even the Duke of Parma
Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma
Alexander Farnese was Duke of Parma and Piacenza from 1586 to 1592, and Governor of the Spanish Netherlands from 1578 to 1592.-Biography:...
feared that the Dutch would now gain the upper hand.
However, Anjou himself was dissatisfied with his limited power, and decided to take the Flemish cities of Antwerp, Bruges
Bruges
Bruges is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located in the northwest of the country....
, Dunkirk, and Ostend
Ostend
Ostend is a Belgian city and municipality located in the Flemish province of West Flanders. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerke , Stene and Zandvoorde, and the city of Ostend proper – the largest on the Belgian coast....
by force.
Royal Entry
The Royal Entry, also known by various other names, including Triumphal Entry and Joyous Entry, embraced the ceremonial and festivities accompanying a formal entry by a ruler or his representative into a city in the Middle Ages and Early Modern Period in Europe...
" into the city in order to honour them with a parade. As soon as his troopers entered, the gates of Antwerp were slammed shut
French Fury
The "French Fury" was a failed attempt by François, Duke of Anjou to conquer the city of Antwerp by surprise on January 17, 1583.During the Eighty Years' War the States-General had asked in 1581 the French Duke to become head of state of the Seventeen Provinces, to obtain French support in...
behind them. Anjou barely escaped with his life. Nearly his entire army perished.
Death
Catherine de' Medici
Catherine de' Medici was an Italian noblewoman who was Queen consort of France from 1547 until 1559, as the wife of King Henry II of France....
is said to have written to him that "would to God you had died young. You would then not have been the cause of the death of so many brave gentlemen". Another insult followed when Elizabeth I formally ended her engagement to him after the massacre. The position of Anjou after this attack became impossible to hold, and he eventually left the country in June. His departure also discredited William, who nevertheless maintained his support for Anjou.
Soon Anjou fell seriously ill with "tertian ague", or malaria
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
. Catherine de' Medici
Catherine de' Medici
Catherine de' Medici was an Italian noblewoman who was Queen consort of France from 1547 until 1559, as the wife of King Henry II of France....
brought him back to Paris, where he was reconciled to his brother, King Henry III of France
Henry III of France
Henry III was King of France from 1574 to 1589. As Henry of Valois, he was the first elected monarch of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth with the dual titles of King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1573 to 1575.-Childhood:Henry was born at the Royal Château de Fontainebleau,...
in February 1584. Henry even embraced his brother, whom he had famously called "le petit magot" ("little monkey"). By June, Alençon was dead.
Anjou's premature death meant that the Huguenot
Huguenot
The Huguenots were members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France during the 16th and 17th centuries. Since the 17th century, people who formerly would have been called Huguenots have instead simply been called French Protestants, a title suggested by their German co-religionists, the...
Henry of Navarre
Henry IV of France
Henry IV , Henri-Quatre, was King of France from 1589 to 1610 and King of Navarre from 1572 to 1610. He was the first monarch of the Bourbon branch of the Capetian dynasty in France....
became heir-presumptive, thus leading to an escalation in the French Wars of Religion
French Wars of Religion
The French Wars of Religion is the name given to a period of civil infighting and military operations, primarily fought between French Catholics and Protestants . The conflict involved the factional disputes between the aristocratic houses of France, such as the House of Bourbon and House of Guise...
.
Ancestors
External links
- Portraits of François, Duke of Anjou (in French).
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