HENRY III OF VALOIS (1551–1589), King of Poland and France. Letter bearing the king’s signature. Dated Avignon, December 5, 1574
HENRY III OF VALOIS (1551–1589), King of Poland and France. Letter bearing the king’s signature. Dated Avignon, December 5, 1574
Manuscript on parchment, dimensions 40 x 32.5 cm. Written on one side. Stains and soiling on the parchment (especially on the left margin and in the lower part), crease marks and severe waviness of the parchment, ink wear in parts of the text, traces of a cut-off seal, minor tears along the lower edge. The document is stored in a folded state.
It begins with the words: “Henry par la grace de Dieu Roy de France et de Poulogne…,” with a large calligraphic initial “H” flowing into an ornate loop on the left margin. At the bottom is the handwritten signature of King Henry of Valois: “Henry,” countersigned by Secretary of State Nicolas de Neufville (“De Neufville”). On the left margin are old chancery annotations and the date “5 Xbre 1574.”
A royal letter addressed to the seneschal of Vannes [?] and royal officials, ordering an inventory to be taken and the property of the Cistercian Abbey of Lanvaux in the Diocese of Vannes (Brittany) following the death of the last abbot—until such time as the new abbot, presented by the king to the pope, receives the papal bull. The king orders that a “par bon et loyal inventaire” of the movable property be drawn up, that the abbey’s real estate, revenues, and profits be seized, and that they be placed under the administration of solvent individuals so that they are not dissipated to the detriment of the future abbot.
The document was issued just half a year after Henry’s famous escape from Kraków (June 18–19, 1574), during the court’s stay in Avignon, even before the coronation in Reims (February 13, 1575)—during the first year of his reign in France, when the king began using the dual title “Roy de France et de Pologne.”
Lanvaux Abbey (Notre-Dame de Lanvaux)—a Cistercian abbey in Brittany (today in the commune of Brandivy, Morbihan department), founded in 1138.
Henry III of Valois (1551–1589) - son of Henry II and Catherine de’ Medici, Duke of Anjou, the first ruler elected in a free election (1573) and crowned King of Poland in Kraków on February 21, 1574. Before his coronation, he swore an oath to the Articles of Henryk, which defined the political system of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth for two centuries. After the death of his brother Charles IX, he secretly left Kraków on the night of June 18–19, 1574, and ascended the throne of France, retaining the title of King of Poland for the rest of his life. He reigned during the period of the religious wars; he was assassinated by the Dominican friar Jacques Clément in Saint-Cloud.
N. de Neufville, seigneur de Villeroy (1543–1617)—secretary of state to four successive kings of France (from Charles IX to Louis XIII), who countersigned most of the documents issued by Henry III’s chancellery.
HENRY III OF VALOIS (1551–1589), King of Poland and France. Letter bearing the king’s signature. Dated Avignon, December 5, 1574
Manuscript on parchment, dimensions 40 x 32.5 cm. Written on one side. Stains and soiling on the parchment (especially on the left margin and in the lower part), crease marks and severe waviness of the parchment, ink wear in parts of the text, traces of a cut-off seal, minor tears along the lower edge. The document is stored in a folded state.
It begins with the words: “Henry par la grace de Dieu Roy de France et de Poulogne…,” with a large calligraphic initial “H” flowing into an ornate loop on the left margin. At the bottom is the handwritten signature of King Henry of Valois: “Henry,” countersigned by Secretary of State Nicolas de Neufville (“De Neufville”). On the left margin are old chancery annotations and the date “5 Xbre 1574.”
A royal letter addressed to the seneschal of Vannes [?] and royal officials, ordering an inventory to be taken and the property of the Cistercian Abbey of Lanvaux in the Diocese of Vannes (Brittany) following the death of the last abbot—until such time as the new abbot, presented by the king to the pope, receives the papal bull. The king orders that a “par bon et loyal inventaire” of the movable property be drawn up, that the abbey’s real estate, revenues, and profits be seized, and that they be placed under the administration of solvent individuals so that they are not dissipated to the detriment of the future abbot.
The document was issued just half a year after Henry’s famous escape from Kraków (June 18–19, 1574), during the court’s stay in Avignon, even before the coronation in Reims (February 13, 1575)—during the first year of his reign in France, when the king began using the dual title “Roy de France et de Pologne.”
Lanvaux Abbey (Notre-Dame de Lanvaux)—a Cistercian abbey in Brittany (today in the commune of Brandivy, Morbihan department), founded in 1138.
Henry III of Valois (1551–1589) - son of Henry II and Catherine de’ Medici, Duke of Anjou, the first ruler elected in a free election (1573) and crowned King of Poland in Kraków on February 21, 1574. Before his coronation, he swore an oath to the Articles of Henryk, which defined the political system of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth for two centuries. After the death of his brother Charles IX, he secretly left Kraków on the night of June 18–19, 1574, and ascended the throne of France, retaining the title of King of Poland for the rest of his life. He reigned during the period of the religious wars; he was assassinated by the Dominican friar Jacques Clément in Saint-Cloud.
N. de Neufville, seigneur de Villeroy (1543–1617)—secretary of state to four successive kings of France (from Charles IX to Louis XIII), who countersigned most of the documents issued by Henry III’s chancellery.
