Henri IV was assassinated by François Ravaillac in 1610 due to political and religious differences. Ravaillac, a devout Catholic, considered the king a heretic because of his conciliatory policies towards Protestants.
At the beginning of the 17th century, France was struggling to emerge from the religious wars that had ravaged the country. The king, Henry IV, a former Protestant who converted to Catholicism to take the throne ("Paris is well worth a Mass"), is trying, with varying success, to ease tensions. However, the atmosphere remains highly charged. Between the extremist Catholics who cannot tolerate his concessions to Protestants and the suspicious Protestants since his conversion, no one is truly satisfied. The nobles are also quite grumbling: some believe that the king is taking too much power from them to strengthen that of the monarchy. In short, the political climate is explosive, and Henry IV is clearly treading on dangerous ground.
At the moment he comes to power, Henry IV inherits a France completely divided by the wars of religion. Catholics and Protestants (or Huguenots) cordially despise each other; it is clearly tense throughout the country. He himself is a former Protestant who converted to Catholicism in order to become king—he is the one who said, "Paris is well worth a Mass." Henry IV finds himself caught between two camps that, let's be honest, do not trust him. Despite his Edict of Nantes in 1598, which attempts to calm the situation by offering some religious freedom to Protestants, the most extreme Catholics continue to see him as a traitor. Many view his policies as a threat to their faith, and among these particularly distrustful ultra-Catholics, hostility towards Henry IV escalates to fuel plots and assassination attempts against the king.
François Ravaillac was a very devout man, a fervent Catholic from Angoulême. He was convinced that Henry IV was endangering the Catholic faith by too openly supporting the Protestants. In his view, the king was even preparing a war against the Pope, which deeply shocked him. Ravaillac clearly saw Henry IV as the main enemy of the Catholic Church. Obsessed with his religious visions, he convinced himself that he had received a divine mission to save France and protect the religion. Above all, it was this personal conviction — a kind of heavenly call — that drove him to take action and kill the king.
On May 14, 1610, Henry IV is quietly riding through Paris in his open carriage, accompanied by a few gentlemen. As he passes down the rue de la Ferronnerie, caught in traffic and stuck in congestion, a man named François Ravaillac quickly seizes the opportunity. He suddenly appears, armed with a knife, and violently stabs the king twice, inflicting fatal wounds to his chest. Everything happens very quickly, in total confusion: the people around panic when they realize what has just happened. Despite the commotion, Ravaillac is immediately captured by bystanders present at the scene, while Henry IV, severely injured, quickly dies without being able to utter a word.
The sudden disappearance of Henry IV causes a real shock in France and plunges the country into a period of political doubt. His son, Louis XIII, is just eight years old: as a result, the regency is entrusted to his mother, Marie de' Medici, which generates quite a lot of internal struggles among those who want to gain more influence over the still too young king. Henry IV embodied a symbol of peace between Catholics and Protestants thanks to the Edict of Nantes; without him, religious tensions resurface somewhat. In the long run, his assassination also weakens the monarchy by showing that a single individual can upset an entire kingdom, thus paving the way for more paranoia, distrust, and surveillance around the sovereigns.
The exact location of Henri IV's assassination, on Rue de la Ferronnerie in Paris, is still marked today by a commemorative plaque commemorating this tragic event.
By promulgating the Edict of Nantes in 1598, Henry IV attempted to ease religious conflicts in France by granting freedom of worship to Protestants, but this decision was poorly received by some radical Catholics.
Henry IV survived several assassination attempts before the one that cost him his life in May 1610, including a failed attack in 1593 by Pierre Barrière.
François Ravaillac, the assassin of Henry IV, believed he had acted on divine orders and never expressed any regrets about his actions.
Immediately after the king's death, the country plunged into political uncertainty. His son Louis XIII, being just a child at the time, led to the government being managed by a regency headed by Marie de' Medici, resulting in a period of instability and power struggles within the kingdom.
The Edict of Nantes, signed by Henry IV in 1598, granted French Protestants freedom of worship and certain civil rights. Although it brought peace, some Catholics saw it as an unacceptable concession to the Huguenots, which fueled ongoing religious tensions.
If Ravaillac claimed to have acted alone out of religious conviction, rumors of conspiracies involving other figures circulated after the king's death. Nevertheless, no formal evidence has ever confirmed a broader conspiracy.
Yes, various historians are still debating the precise motivations and possible complicities surrounding the assassination. This historical uncertainty continues to fuel discussions about the potential involvement of foreign powers or scheming nobles.
Yes, Henry IV had many opponents. His policy of religious conciliation, particularly the signing of the Edict of Nantes in 1598, earned him hostility from both radical Catholics and some extremist Protestants.
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