The religious fight in Navarre reflected the situation in France: religious warfare. Jeanne d'Albret -- also known as Jeanne of Navarre -- made alliances with other Huguenots, while Catherine de Medici fought to "free" Jeanne and her son from the Protestants.
Jeanne continued the reforms in Navarre, including transferring church revenues and establishing a Protestant confession for her subjects while not providing for any punishment for those who did not embrace this new confession.
The Peace of St. Germain in 1571 established an unsteady truce in France between the Catholic and Huguenot factions. In March, 1572, in Paris, Jeanne agreed to a marriage to cement the peace arranged by Catherine de Medici -- a marriage between Marguerite Valois, daughter of Catherine de Medici and female heir to the Valois house, and Henry of Navarre, son of Jeanne d'Albret. The marriage was meant to bind the relationship between the Valois and Bourbon families. Jeanne was unhappy that her son would marry a Catholic, and demanded that the cardinal of Bourbon, who would be celebrating the marriage, be dressed in civil and not religious garb for the ceremony.
Jeanne had left her son at home while she negotiated the marriage. Jeanne d'Albret planned her son's wedding, but died in June 1572 before the horrible outcome: When Henry received word that she was ill, he left for Paris but Jeanne died before he reached her. For some centuries after Jeanne's death, rumors circulated that Catherine of Medici had poisoned Jeanne.
Catherine de Medici used the wedding of her daughter to Jeanne's son as an opportunity to kill the assembled Huguenot leaders in what history knows as the St. Bartholomew Massacre.
Charles IX was king of France at the time of Jeanne's death; he was succeeded by Henry III. Catherine de Medici, who had been Regent for her sons Frances and Charles, remained highly influential during this third son's reign. When, after Catherine de Medici's death, Henry III was assassinated in 1589, there were no Valois male heirs left. Under the Salic Law, women could not inherit lands or titles. Jeanne and Antoine's son Henry of Navarre was the closest male heir, and was married to a female Valois, and thus brought the families together in becoming Henry IV of France.
His conversion to Roman Catholicism allowed him to take the throne. He was quoted as saying, "Paris is worth a mass." Though it is not possible to know whether he converted from conviction or for convenience, he is known for issuing the Edict of Nantes in 1598, requiring tolerance of Protestants, bringing to his reign something of the spirit of his mother, Jeanne d'Albret.
During the years Henry IV was King of France and childless, he arranged for his sister to be heir to the crown of Navarre, but he finally did have a son and his sister died childless, so he reversed this plan.
Family Connections:
- father: Henri d'Albret, King of Navarre
- mother: Marguerite of Navarre, sister of King Francis I of France
- husband: Antoine de Bourbon, Duke of Vendome
- son: Henry IV of France
Religion: Protestant: Reformed (Calvinist)
Suggested reading:
- David M. Bryson, Queen Jeanne and the Promised Land: Dynasty, Homeland, Religion, and Violence in Sixteenth Century France.
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