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At the end of 2010, a news from the archaeological community caused a sensation in France: a team led by French forensic scientist Philippe Charlele led a research team that after nine months of comparison and research, finally determined that a broken skull belonged to one of France's greatest monarchs, King Henry IV of the 17th century.
On the left is the head of Henry IV restored by experts
On the right is a reconstructed image of a skull superimposed with an identified image
On 14 May 1610, Henry IV was assassinated on the Rue ferronere in Paris. In 1793, French revolutionaries ransacked St. Denis' Cathedral, where Henry IV was buried, and Henry IV's head disappeared. Since then, the head has been constantly changing hands in the hands of collectors.
Henry died
By the time he was carried to the Louvre bench, Henry was dying. The painter Pierre Bergeret used 19th-century painting combined with imagination to depict the scene of panic in the royal palace at the time of the assassination of Henry IV. (Now in the Old Castle of Pau)
After the death of Henry IV, people carved his face into a mask with plaster to preserve it, and together with the portrait of Henry IV that has been handed down, this has become the basis for comparative identification. After the news of the founding of Henry IV's skull, the French authorities quickly decided to hold a national Mass and funeral in 2011 to return Henry IV's skull to St. Denis' Cathedral.
Interior of St. Denis' Cathedral
Since the sixth century, St. Denis' Cathedral has been the royal tomb of successive French royal families and is one of the important symbols of the kingship of the French monarchy. St. Denis' Cathedral was the first Gothic church, characterized by beautiful and charming stained-glass windows. During the French Revolution, St. Denis' Cathedral was destroyed on a large scale, and the built church currently houses more than 70 reclining statues and mausoleums, and the basement stores coffins.
In the history of France, the second half of the sixteenth century was stained with blood due to the outbreak of religious wars, and the hostilities between the protestant and Catholic camps, under the influence of the intricate political landscape in Europe, the two sides repeatedly broke out into large-scale bloody conflicts. Against this backdrop, Henry IV, hailed by the French people as the "Henry the Wise King", lifted France out of a long state of chaos and re-established a unified and thriving France. He was one of the most perfect kings in French history in terms of personality and political achievements.
Catholics massacre Protestants
Religious wars resulted in many sieges and looting. In September 1569, the city of Gurnay was captured by the Catholics. Gurney was a fiefdom in the Normandy region, where most of the faithful were Protestants.
(16th century carving, now in the Musée Marsarien, Paris)
Protestants massacred Catholics
In 1567, the city of Nîmes was a battlefield where Protestants slaughtered Catholics. (18th century color carving, now in the Bibliothèque Nationale de France)
Henry IV, whose real name was Henri de Navarre, was originally king of the Kingdom of Navar (an autonomous region in present-day northern Spain, bordering France and bordering the Atlantic Ocean). Henry IV was of noble birth and a prominent lineage, and his paternal family was the Bourbon family, and the kings of the Valois dynasty who ruled France were descendants of Saint Louis (Louis IX, King of the Capetian dynasty of France). Henry's maternal grandfather, King Henri de Abrecht of Navarre, married Margaret, sister of King François I of France, so Henry IV was related by marriage to the Royal Family of Valois in France, and was cousin to King Charles IX and Henry III of France. For this reason, according to the Salic Succession Act, after the death of Henry III's brother François de Arançon, Henri de Navarre became the rightful heir of the childless Henry III. After he succeeded to the French throne, he began bourbon rule in France.
Grandfather's pride
King Henri de Abrette of The Navarre held aloft his grandson. The child whom Henry the Elder called the "lion" of the family would be revered by all the people. (Eugène Deville, painted in the 19th century, now in the Louvre Museum)
Henry IV was a monarch who put the big picture first. In order to take care of the overall situation, he converted several times. His famous sentence "It is worth it to do a Mass for Paris" revealed the ambition to sacrifice the ego and complete the big self, and with the purpose of ending the suffering of the country, he resolutely announced that he would renounce the Protestant faith, convert to Catholicism, and be able to enter the Catholic city of Paris, truly exercising the power of the French king. The Edict of Nantes, issued in 1598, was "the first example of a policy of religious tolerance in Christian European countries." The formal legal recognition of the freedom of belief of everyone and the effective guarantee of it are the great results of the Reformation and the Wars of Religion in France", which led to the comprehensive reconciliation of the Protestant and Catholic sects in France, the end of the disastrous civil war that could lead to national division, and the revitalization of the French Crown, which was on the verge of collapse in the long turmoil.
A turning point in religious reconciliation
First page of the manuscript of the Edict of Nantes, title: For the Reformation, April 1598. This legal provision was extremely innovative at the time: for the first time in French history, it was declared from the height of the law that heretics had the same citizenship status as Catholicism. (First page of the manuscript of the Edict of Nantes, National Archives office of Paris)
Unite the two major religions
Henry decided to rely on religion (which implies that he would convert to Catholicism) to bring peace to France (the young woman on the left represents France). Created in the late 16th century, the nun holds a Bible symbolizing Protestantism, and the Holy Grail and the Cross of Jesus, which symbolize Catholicism, were most likely added later. (Now in the Old Castle of Pau)
Henry embraced the new faith
The conversion ceremony was held strictly following the rules: at the gate of the Cathedral of Saint Denis, Henry knelt before the Archbishop of Bourges and proclaimed his new religion to the crowd; then he presented his conversion instrument to the Archbishop and embraced the Sacrament; and finally, the Archbishop blessed him and lifted him up. (Painting by Nikolai Borery, created in the 17th century, now in the Museum of Art and History of Meudon)
Henry IV was an excellent strategist and military strategist. Henry IV's life witnessed countless killings, resistance, wars and intrigues, and after the night of St. Bartholomew's massacre, he was placed under house arrest in the French royal palace, living in humiliation. He carefully planned and planned to escape the palace and return to his kingdom; and Henry was sent to the front line by his mother at the age of 14, and in his life on horseback, those singable battles, such as the Battle of Cutras and the Battle of Arc, his meticulous arrangement on the battlefield, accurate strategy and tactics, excellent military ability, heroic behavior of the pioneers, won him many battles and the support and love of soldiers; in the "Battle of the Three Henrys", he was good at taking advantage of enemy contradictions and properly handling the conflict with King Henry III of France. The relationship of Henri de Guise, the leader of the Catholic "Holy Alliance", made him the final winner in the political struggle.
Fateful nights
On the night of St. Bartholomew's massacre, 3,000 Huguenots were killed in just a few hours. In the days that followed, about 20,000 people were killed throughout France because of their faith. (16th century color prints, now in the Bibliothèque Nationale de France)
Cast a plan to flee
Henri de Nawal, accompanied by the young princes of the royal family, went out hunting wild boar several times. The idea of escaping on the hunt gradually took root in his mind.
(16th century Flemish tapestry, now in the Musée d'Doblière, Nantes)
The center of the Battle of Arc
Henry once again deployed his army in an ideal topographical location. His precise strategy and heroic personal decisions allowed him to compensate for his numerical disadvantage in soldiers. (Early 17th-century painting, now in the Palace of Versailles and the Trianon)
Salute to the dying
Henry, as heir to the French throne, won another bitter battle. After the Battle of Coutra, the Catholic army suffered heavy casualties, and the commander-in-chief, Duke Jouillas, and his brothers were killed. The 19th-century painter Victor-Jean Adam extolled the magnanimity of King Henry in this painting, in which Henry paid homage to his dying opponent, in contrast to the Catholics' shameless murder of Condé in Jarnac.
Henry IV was a monarch with great love. He paid attention to his subjects of all classes, sympathized with the most humble classes, and as a high lord, he often dined and laughed with lowly charcoal burners and poor peasants. In the paintings of the museum, we will see the figure of Henry, who abandoned the gorgeous costumes of the court and often wore rough hunter costumes and soldier uniforms to observe the people's feelings. His famous words, "I wish every Frenchman a chicken in the pot every Sunday," were filled with his deep concern for his subjects; he treated his subordinates like ordinary people, and called them nicknames full of friendship, and his friends and subordinates remained his staunch supporters during this period of such frequent religious changes at the end of the sixteenth century; he was also lenient with prisoners of war, stopped the possible massacres in time, and sent the officers who died in the war back to their camps. So that they can enjoy religious honor.
Henry plays with the children
The scene where the king pretended to be a horse and played with the children on all fours was a scene that surprised the Spanish ambassador and was depicted by many painters, this painting by the painter Ingres.
(Now in the Petit Palais Museum in Paris)
Farmhouse dinner
Henry and the miller's Michaud family sat around the table, which seemed very pleasant. He loves this kind of life and will certainly benefit from it. This uncommon act of the Grand Lord inspired many paintings, especially 19th-century works such as The Farmhouse Dinner.
(Now in the Old Castle of Pau)
Travel through the kingdom
We also see Henry in this painting wearing a hat, gloves, and boots on his feet, and got lost on a trip. The owner of the house, a blacksmith, took him in and gave him water to drink. (18th century painting, now in Pau Castle)
One of the most successful portraits painted for Henry IV
The forty-one-year-old man exuded great dignity and authority, and his political prowess and courage earned him the highest honor. (Anonymous 19th-century painting, now in the Grenoble Museum)
[Fa] by François Belu; translated by Zhang Hongjie et al
Synopsis
Henry IV was born during the most turbulent period in French history and was strictly educated by the Reformation. In his youth as a protestant leader, he was involved in the brutal religious wars in France. He became king of France in 1589 and converted to Catholicism, ruling the Bourbon dynasty, during which he carried out a number of reforms to improve the economy and improve the people's lives; he was assassinated in Paris in 1610. During his reign, Henry achieved great success and was deeply loved by the French people. From the birth of Henry IV and the great achievements of a generation of kings, down to the decline of the monarchy and the death of the king, more than half a century of French history is written in the author's pen. The book is divided into eight parts, the author uses the narrative style, in chronological order and limited space to tell the founder of the French Bourbon Dynasty Henry IV, the ups and downs of life, as well as the basic facts of the development of French history during his reign, highlighting the major historical events and the main causes of the social and political changes in France at that time. We can follow the growth mark of this "Henry the Wise King" and the rise and fall of his royal power, and fully understand the legendary and tragic life of this great monarch.
About the Author
François bayrou, the word White Tiger. A french politician with important influence, a key figure in the successful presidential election of Macron, he has served as Minister of State justice of France, Minister of National Education of France, member of the National Assembly of the Pyrenees-Atlantic Province, president of the Pyrenees-Atlantic Provincial Parliament, member of the European Parliament, currently chairman of the French Democratic Movement Party, chairman of the Pau-Beaine-Pyrenees Suburban Community, mayor of Poverty, chairman of the board of directors of the Confucius Institute in Pau. Mr. Belu enjoys writing in his spare time and has published more than twenty monographs.