at not being consulted in advance, the simple answer was that if their views had been sought, the would never have got off the ground. Ligue In clawing back many of the liberties extended to Protestants by the Edict of Monsieur, and by banning leagues, the 1577 Edict of Poitiers rendered the 1576 League largely redundant and ushered in a period of relative calm. la Ligue, si elle hiberne, est loin ‘Mais d’être In June 1584 the heir apparent, the duc funeste accident mourante’. d’Anjou, died. ‘[L]e arrivé au wrote the historian, la boîte de laquelle sont sortis tant de maux, prince,’ ‘…ouvrit qui ont depuis affligé ce the re-formation of the princely Ligue, Royaume.’ Defending Rozée focused on the obvious danger of a Protestant succession (Henri III had no sons and little likelihood of any in the future) and on the integrity of the leaders Ligue’s – particularly of Henri duc de Guise. His main interest, however, lay in developments in the capital; it was where he lived, and what he experienced. There, in the years 1584-89, the efforts of the were largely directed against the king himself. At the least, Henri III Ligue must name a Catholic successor and create some form of ongoing union of Catholics. Writing in the early 1620s, a time when the Bourbon monarchy was struggling to assert royal authority, Rozée exercised his customary caution; instead of directly criticising Henri III he targeted those advisers who, in apparently caring more for matters of state than for religion, had been called Politiques. For Rozée, Politiques were Catholics n'estoient point de la They thought more ‘qui ligue’. about earthly than heavenly matters, and they considered religion to be a mere adjunct of the state. They held that, because men could not be compelled to believe, warfare against heretics was pointless, even counter-productive. With no claims to personal expertise in
at not being consulted in advance, the simple answer was that if their views had been sought, the Ligue would never have got off the ground. In clawing back many of the liberties extended to Protestants by the Edict of Monsieur, and by banning leagues, the 1577 Edict of Poitiers rendered the 1576 League largely redundant and ushered in a period of relative calm. ‘Mais la Ligue, si elle hiberne, est loin d’être mourante’. In June 1584 the heir apparent, the duc d’Anjou, died. ‘[L]e funeste accident arrivé au prince,’ wrote the historian, ‘…ouvrit la boîte de laquelle sont sortis tant de maux, qui ont depuis affligé ce Royaume.’ Defending the re-formation of the princely Ligue, Rozée focused on the obvious danger of a Protestant succession (Henri III had no sons and little likelihood of any in the future) and on the integrity of the Ligue’s leaders – particularly of Henri duc de Guise. His main interest, however, lay in developments in the capital; it was where he lived, and what he experienced. There, in the years 1584-89, the efforts of the Ligue were largely directed against the king himself. At the least, Henri III must name a Catholic successor and create some form of ongoing union of Catholics. Writing in the early 1620s, a time when the Bourbon monarchy was struggling to assert royal authority, Rozée exercised his customary caution; instead of directly criticising Henri III he targeted those advisers who, in apparently caring more for matters of state than for religion, had been called Politiques. For Rozée, Politiques were Catholics ‘qui n'estoient point de la ligue’. They thought more about earthly than heavenly matters, and they considered religion to be a mere adjunct of the state. They held that, because men could not be compelled to believe, warfare against heretics was pointless, even counter-productive. With no claims to personal expertise in