War of the Three Henrys (1584-1598)

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"War of the Three Henries" redirects here. For the tenth-century war, see War of the Three Henries (977-978).

The War of the Three Henry's (1584-1589) was the last of a series of civil wars in France known as the Huguenot Wars or French Wars of Religion. The War of the Three Henrys was the 8th and final war, commencing in 1584. Henry of Guise led the extreme Catholic League. Henry of Navarre led the Huguenots. The spark for the war was the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre, which saw several thousand protestants killed the day after Henry of Navarre's wedding. During its course, Henry III invited Henry of Guise and Henry of Guise's brother to his palace and in December, 1588, they were both executed. Henry III blamed the Politiques , but he was still forced to flee Paris by Guise's supporters and was assassinated in 1589. Henry of Navarre thus won by default. He "converted" to Catholicism in hopes to keep peace amongst the people, and was crowned King Henry IV of France. He was said to have exclaimed "Paris is worth a Mass!" The 'Three Henrys' were:


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