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Henri IV of France

His Reign and Age

Vincent J. Pitts

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Vincent J. Pitts chronicles the life and times of one of France’s most remarkable kings in the first English-language biography of Henri IV to be published in twenty-five years. An unwelcome heir to the throne, Henri ruled over a kingdom plagued by religious civil war and political and economic instability. By the end of his reign in 1610 he had pacified his warring country, restored its prosperity, and reclaimed France’s place as a leading power in Europe. Pitts draws upon the rich scholarship of recent decades to tell the captivating story of this pivotal French king.

From boyhood, Henri was...

Vincent J. Pitts chronicles the life and times of one of France’s most remarkable kings in the first English-language biography of Henri IV to be published in twenty-five years. An unwelcome heir to the throne, Henri ruled over a kingdom plagued by religious civil war and political and economic instability. By the end of his reign in 1610 he had pacified his warring country, restored its prosperity, and reclaimed France’s place as a leading power in Europe. Pitts draws upon the rich scholarship of recent decades to tell the captivating story of this pivotal French king.

From boyhood, Henri was destined to be leader and protector of the Huguenot movement in France. He served as chief of the Calvinist party and fought for the Huguenot forces in the bloody Wars of Religion before an extraordinary sequence of dynastic mishaps left the Protestant warlord next in line for the French crown. Henri was forced to renounce his faith in support of his claim to the Catholic throne and to unite his deeply divided country. A master of political maneuvering, Henri restored order to a country in the throes of great religious, political, and economic upheaval. He was assassinated in 1610 by a Catholic zealot.

Vincent Pitts expertly recounts this history and skillfully untangles its complex set of personalities and events. Pitts engages the vast amount of literature relating to the king himself as well as the large body of recent scholarship on France during this time. The result is a fascinating biography of a French king and a comprehensive history of sixteenth-century France.

Reviews

Reviews

Through Henri the complex and chaotic religious wars come into focus. For this reason, and for the biography's engagement with the most up-to-date scholarship on this period, I would highly recommend this book for any scholar or student seeking an entry into not only Henri and his reign but the wider field of sixteenth and early seventeenth century France.

An excellent, well-researched study of one of France's greatest kings... This book is an ambitious and scholarly work as well as an engaging one to read.

Pitts succeeds admirably in his newest book, Henri IV of France: His Reign and Age, the first scholarly English-language biography in twenty-five years of Henri de Bourbon, who was both Henri III of Navarre and Henri IV of France... Johns Hopkins Press is to be commended for supporting the level of scholarly documentation provided in this book—a hundred pages of endnotes, and a thirty-page bibliography—that will be of use to anyone studying the era.

A handsome work, an interesting text ably supported by extensive footnotes, at what is a reasonable price for a hardback.

If you are addicted to biographies as I am, you will not want to miss this one.

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Book Details

Publication Date
Status
Available
Trim Size
6.125
x
9.25
Pages
516
ISBN
9781421405780
Illustration Description
27 halftones, 2 line drawings
Table of Contents

List of Illustrations
Preface
Acknowledgments
1. "The Guilt and Ambition of Her Great Men," 1553–1562
2. "The Glory of God, the Service of the King, and the Duty of His Blood," 1563–1572
3. "Little Trust

List of Illustrations
Preface
Acknowledgments
1. "The Guilt and Ambition of Her Great Men," 1553–1562
2. "The Glory of God, the Service of the King, and the Duty of His Blood," 1563–1572
3. "Little Trust in His Constancy," 1572–1577
4. "Vigor of Body, Liveliness of Spirit, and Almost Incomparable Valor," 1578–1584
5. "All of France Now in Arms," 1584–1589
6. "The Hallmarks of Our Kings," 1589–1593
7. "The Liberator and Restorer of the State," 1594–1597
8. "The Extreme Need of My People for Peace," 1597–1600
9. "Such a Happy Change," 1598–1609
10. "A Lack of Good Faith," 1598–1609
11. "The Grandeur and Power of the House of Austria," 1606–1610
12. "The Captain, and the Most Excellent of Us All," May 1610
Appendix: Genealogical Tables
Notes
Bibliography
Index

Author Bio
Vincent J. Pitts
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Vincent J. Pitts

Vincent J. Pitts has taught at Quinnipiac University and at Southern Connecticut State University. He is the author of La Grande Mademoiselle at the Court of France, 1627–1693, also published by Johns Hopkins, and The Man Who Sacked Rome: Charles de Bourbon, Constable of France, 1490–1527.Histoire Sociale - Social History