HENRY IV: (1553-1610)

HENRY IV: (1553-1610) King of France 1589-1610 and King of Navarre 1572-1610. Also known as Henry the Great. First French Monarch of the House of Bourbon. Assassinated. A rare and unpublished full autograph letter, A.L.S., `henry´, one page, oblong 8vo, La Rochelle, December, n.y., [1572?], to M. de Spondyllan, in old French. The present letter was written shortly before the military siege of the fortress of La Rochelle.The King of Navarre became King only in June 1572, when his mother died, probably few months only before the present letter was written. Henry of Navarre states `...secretere de mon cousyn Mr. de Monmoransy ma rendu sybon tesmoygnage de lafectyon que vous portes au byen de mes aferes... que jay bien voulu en remersyer par la presante vous pryer de contynuer et vous assrer de la bonne volonté... votre tres afectyeu et assuré ami, de la rochelle ce dernyer desanbre - Henry´ ("Translation:"My cousin Mr. de Monmorency's secretary gave me such kind testimony to your concern for the well-being of my affairs that I wished to thank you in this letter and ask you to continue your goodwill. Your very affectionate and trusted friend, from La Rochelle, this last December - Henry") Henry of Navarre, practically a prisoner of the court, had been forced to accompany the Duke of Anjou (the future Henry III) to La Rochelle, from where the present letter is written, to fight the Protestants in February 1573. Henry was compelled to renounce his Calvinist mother's faith in 1572 during the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre, where he barely escaped assassination. Henry of Navarre fled the court in February 1576. Addressed to the verso, with an additional contemporary annotation to the verso. A large stain affecting only to a small part oif the text, although remaining easily legible. Uneven edges and a small hole only affecting one letter. F to G

During the 16th-century Wars of Religion, La Rochelle served as the vital, fortified stronghold and de facto capital for the French Protestant (Huguenot) movement. As a Protestant leader, Henry of Navarre (later King Henry IV) sought refuge and launched military campaigns from the city.