Editing House of Valois (section)

==French Wars of Religion==
The last phase of Valois rule in France was marked by the [[French Wars of Religion]]. Henry II died in a jousting accident in 1559. His eldest son and heir, [[Francis II of France|Francis II]], succeeded him. The new king was already King of Scotland by right of his wife, [[Mary, Queen of Scots]]. The queen's maternal relatives, the [[House of Guise]], gained an ascendancy over the young king.

The House of Guise was a cadet branch of the ducal House of Lorraine. They claimed descent from [[Charlemagne]] and had designs on the French throne. They considered the [[House of Bourbon]], princes of the blood, as their natural enemies. The leading Bourbons, the brothers [[Antoine of Navarre|Antoine, King of Navarre]], and [[Louis, Prince of Condé (1530–1569)|Louis, Prince of Condé]], were Protestants. The House of Guise identified themselves as champions of the Catholic cause. They were on the point of executing Condé when the young king died.

With the succession of her minor son [[Charles IX of France|Charles IX]] in 1560, [[Catherine de' Medici]] maneuvered for a balance of power. She released Condé, hoping to use the Bourbons as a counterweight against the Guises. Antoine of Navarre converted to Catholicism and became Lieutenant-General of the Kingdom. The [[Massacre of Vassy]] sparked the "first" religious war between the Catholics and the Huguenots. Navarre and Guise died in this war. [[Anne de Montmorency]], Constable of France, was the notable casualty of the second war. Condé died in the third war. The Huguenots were unable to win a substantive victory, but were able to keep an army in the field.

[[Henry IV of France|Henry, King of Navarre]], married [[Margaret of France (1553–1615)|Margaret of France]], sister of Charles IX, in 1572. The marriage, which had been expected to reconcile the Protestants and Catholics, proved to be a disappointment. The [[St. Bartholomew's Day massacre]] ensued; the Huguenots who flocked in Paris for the wedding were massacred ''en masse''. Navarre and Condé were spared, forced to convert, and detained. The guilt of having permitted the massacre would haunt Charles for the rest of his life. In 1573, the king's brother, [[Henry III of France|Henry, Duke of Anjou]], was elected King of Poland.

In 1574, only three months after Henry's coronation as King of Poland, he succeeded to the French throne as [[Henry III of France|Henry III]]. The next year the king's only remaining brother, [[Francis, Duke of Anjou|the Duke of Alençon]], fled the court and joined with Condé and Navarre. This combined threat forced the new king to grant the demands of the rebels. Alençon was made Duke of Anjou. The concessions to the Huguenots disquieted the Catholics, who formed the [[Catholic League (French)|Catholic League]]. The League was led by the princes of the House of Lorraine – the dukes of Guise, Mayenne, Aumale, Elboeuf, Mercœur and Lorraine, supported by Spain. The Huguenots held the southwest and were allied to England and the princes of Germany. The death of the king's brother, in 1584, meant that the Huguenot King of Navarre had become heir presumptive to the throne of France. Pressured by the Catholic League, the king issued the [[Treaty of Nemours]], which outlawed Protestantism and made Protestants incapable of holding royal office.

In the resulting [[War of the Three Henrys]], the royalists led by the king, the Huguenots led by Henry of Navarre, and the Catholic League led by [[Henry I, Duke of Guise|Henry of Guise]], fought a three-way contest for the control of France. After the humiliation of the [[Day of the Barricades]], Henry III fled from Paris. Guise had entered Paris against his express prohibition; he resolved to assassinate the audacious duke. The assassination of Guise drew the odium of the Catholic League. Henry III sought the alliance of Navarre. The two kings were on the point of taking Paris with their great army, when the French king fell by the hands of an assassin. With his death the male line of the House of Valois had been completely extinguished, after reigning for 261 years in France.