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Henri IV was the last of the great warrior kings of France:
born protestant into a country in civil war (Wars of Religion,
1562 -1598) French catholics against
French Huguenots (protestants), he led troops into battle from the age of 15.
In a move towards reconciliation, on the invitation of the Queen
Mother Catherine de' Medicis and her son King Charles IX, he married his
first wife, Marguerite de Valois, in Paris in 1572.
It was a trap: what followed the marriage was the Saint
Bartholomew Day's Massacre where Henri was taken prisoner (he eventually
escaped) and all his friends were murdered. The religious civil war began
all over again.
Catherine de' Medici's husband Henri II, then her three sons,
François II, Charles IX and Henri III, each King of France in turn, all
died off after very short reigns, respectively, leaving Henri IV of Navarre
-- irony of ironies -- the next legitimate successor.
Once King of France, Henri IV promulgated the Edict of Nantes (1598)
guaranteeing freedom of religion for the minority protestants in Catholic
France.
By another strange twist of fate, he married another Medici (Maria de' Medici)
in 1600 -- a political arrangement if there ever was one! --
Perhaps the one thing Henri IV and his second wife, Maria de' Medici,
could agree on was their love of the Commedia and of the acting of
Tristano Martinelli in particular.
There is the story of how, in 1601, T.M. exchanged roles with the King,
sitting in Henri IV's chair and calling him 'Arlequin' until, tired of the
game, Henri IV said that it was time for himself to play the King role again
[Rudlin&Crick, p.43].
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