Editing French Wars of Religion (section)

== {{anchor|1585–1589}} War of the Three Henrys (1585–1589) ==
{{Main|War of the Three Henrys}}

=== Death of Anjou and ensuing succession crisis (1584–1585) ===
The fragile compromise came to an end in 1584, when the [[François, Duke of Anjou|Duke of Anjou]], the King's youngest brother and heir presumptive, died. As Henry&nbsp;III had no son, under [[Salic Law]], the next heir to the throne was the Calvinist Prince [[Henry IV of France|Henry of Navarre]], a descendant of [[Louis IX of France|Louis&nbsp;IX]]. When it became clear that Henry of Navarre would not renounce his Protestantism, the Duke of Guise signed the [[Treaty of Joinville]] (31&nbsp;December 1584) on behalf of the League, with [[Philip II of Spain|Philip&nbsp;II of Spain]], who supplied a considerable annual grant to the League over the following decade to maintain the civil war in France, with the hope of destroying the French Calvinists. Under pressure from the Guise, Henry&nbsp;III reluctantly issued the [[Treaty of Nemours]] (7 July 1585) and an edict suppressing Protestantism (18 July 1585) and annulling Henry of Navarre's right to the throne.{{sfn|Constant|1984|p=134}}{{sfn|Knecht|2016|pp=225-236}}{{sfn|Holt|2002|p=211}}

=== Escalation into war (1585) ===
[[File:Le duc de Guise lors de la journee des barricades by Paul Lehugeur 19th century.jpg|thumb|The [[Henry I, Duke of Guise|Duke of Guise]] during the [[Day of the Barricades]]]]
The situation degenerated into open warfare even without the King having the necessary funds. [[Henry IV of France|Henry of Navarre]] again sought foreign aid from the German princes and [[Elizabeth I of England|Elizabeth&nbsp;I of England]]. Meanwhile, the solidly Catholic people of Paris, under the influence of the [[Committee of Sixteen]], were becoming dissatisfied with Henry&nbsp;III and his failure to defeat the Calvinists. On 12&nbsp;May 1588, the [[Day of the Barricades]], a popular uprising raised barricades on the streets of Paris to defend the Duke of Guise against the alleged hostility of the king, and Henry&nbsp;III fled the city. The Committee of Sixteen took complete control of the government, while the Guise protected the surrounding supply lines. The mediation of [[Catherine de'Medici]] led to the Edict of Union, in which the crown accepted almost all the League's demands: reaffirming the [[Treaty of Nemours]], recognizing [[Charles, Cardinal de Bourbon (born 1523)|Cardinal de Bourbon]] as heir, and making Henry of Guise [[Lieutenant-General (France)|Lieutenant-General]].{{sfn|Knecht|2016|pp=254-257}}{{sfn|Holt|2005|p=131}}{{sfn|Salmon|1975|p=240}}

=== Estates-General of Blois and assassination of Henry of Guise (1588) ===
{{main|Estates General of 1588|Assassination of the Duke of Guise (1588)}} 
[[File:Légended'Henri III.jpg|thumb|left|Assassination of the [[Henry I, Duke of Guise|Duke of Guise]], leader of the [[Catholic League (French)|Catholic League]], by King [[Henry III of France|Henry&nbsp;III]], in 1588]]
Refusing to return to Paris, Henry III called for an [[Estates General of 1588|Estates General to meet at Blois]].<ref>Knecht 1996, p.&nbsp;90.</ref> During the Estates-General, Henry&nbsp;III suspected that the members of the [[Estates General (France)|third estate]] were being manipulated by the [[Catholic League (French)|League]] and became convinced that Guise had encouraged the [[Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy|duke of Savoy]]'s invasion of [[Saluzzo]] in October&nbsp;1588. Viewing the House of Guise as a dangerous threat to the power of the Crown, Henry&nbsp;III decided to strike first. On 23&nbsp;December 1588, at the [[Chateau Blois|Château de Blois]], [[Henry I, Duke of Guise|Henry of Guise]] and his brother, the [[Louis II, Cardinal of Guise|Cardinal de Guise]], were lured into a trap by the King's guards.<ref name="J. Knecht, p. 72">Knecht 1996, p.&nbsp;72.</ref> The Duke arrived in the council chamber where his brother the Cardinal waited. The Duke was told that the King wished to see him in the private room adjoining the royal chambers. There guardsmen seized the duke and stabbed him in the heart, while others arrested the Cardinal who later died on the pikes of his escort. To make sure that no contender for the French throne was free to act against him, the King had the Duke's son imprisoned. The Duke of Guise had been highly popular in France, and the Catholic League declared open war against King Henry&nbsp;III. The [[University of Paris|Sorbonne]] declared Henri deposed. Henri for his part now joined forces with his cousin, the Huguenot, [[Henry IV of France|Henry of Navarre]], to war against the League.{{sfn|Le Roux|2006|p=237}}{{sfn|Knecht|2010|p=121}}{{sfn|Le Roux|2006|p=158}}{{sfn|Roberts|1996|p=174}}{{sfn|Knecht|2016|p=288}}{{sfn|Holt|2005|p=132}}

=== Assassination of Henry III (1589) ===
[[File:Jacques Clément.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|[[Jacques Clément]], a supporter of the [[Catholic League (French)|Catholic League]], assassinating [[Henry III of France|Henry III]] in 1589]]
It thus fell upon the younger brother of the Duke of Guise, the [[Charles of Lorraine, Duke of Mayenne|Duke of Mayenne]], to lead the Catholic League. The League presses began printing anti-royalist tracts under a variety of pseudonyms, while the [[Collège de Sorbonne|Sorbonne]] proclaimed on 7&nbsp;January 1589 that it was just and necessary to depose Henry&nbsp;III, and that any private citizen was morally free to commit [[regicide]].<ref name="J. Knecht, p. 72"/> In July&nbsp;1589, in the royal camp at [[Saint-Cloud]], a [[Dominican Order|Dominican]] friar named [[Jacques Clément]] gained an audience with the King and drove a long knife into his spleen. Clément was killed on the spot, taking with him the information of who, if anyone, had hired him. On his deathbed, Henry&nbsp;III called for [[Henry of Navarre]], and begged him, in the name of [[Public administration|statecraft]], to become a Catholic, citing the brutal warfare that would ensue if he refused.<ref>Knecht 1996, p.&nbsp;73.</ref> In keeping with [[Salic Law]], he named Henry as his heir.{{sfn|Knecht|2016|p=304}} However, many Catholics considered Navarre's Protestantism to be unacceptable. Navarre later declared that he would uphold the Catholic faith without changes.{{sfn|Knecht|2014b|p=238}}