Henroost

A resting-place at night for domestic fowls. IMG:content-0559.png:[blocks in formation] Henry I., surnamed, on account of his superior education, BEAUCLERC, was the youngest son of William the Conqueror, and was B. at Selby in Yorkshire, in 1068. Jealousies and di ensions early broke out between him and his elder brothers, Robert and William (the Red), and on the sudden, mysterious death of William II. in the New Forest, in 1100, Henry, who was hunting with him, immediately seized the crown and the public treasures, his brother Robert being not yet returned from the crusades. To strengthen his hold on the affections of his subjects, he granted a charter re-establishing the laws of the Confe or, abolished the curfew, profe ed a reform in his own character and manners, and married the Prince Maud, daughter of Malcolm, king of Scotland, and niece of Edgar Atheling; thus uniting the Norman and Saxon races. When Robert invaded England, in 1101, war was prevented by negotiations and the grant to Robert of a pension of 8,000 marks. In the same year began the quarrel between the king and Anselm, archbishop of Canterbury, respecting investitures. H. , ambitious of the crown of Normandy, invaded that country in 1105, and took Caen, Bayeux, and several other places. He completed the conquest in the following year by the defeat and capture of Robert, at the battle of Trenchebrai. In 1109 the Prince Matilda (Maud) was betrothed to the Emperor Henry V., but, in consequence of her youth, the marriage was deferred for several years. Troubles in Normandy and in Wales, and war with the king of France, occupied Henry in the next few years. In 1118 he lost his queen, Maud, and two years later his only legitimate son, the Prince William, who, with his retinue, perished by shipwreck, on the pa age from Normandy to England. It is said that the king was never seen to smile again. In 1121 he married Adelais, or Alice, daughter of Geoffrey, duke of Louvain, and on the failure of his hope of offspring, he had his daughter, the Empre Maud, then a widow, acknowledged heire to the throne. Henry died at Rouen, from the effects of gluttony, December 1, 1135. HENRY II., first of the Plantage net line, was the eldest son of Geoffrey, earl of Anjou, and his wife, the ex-Empre Maud, daughter of Henry I., B. at Mans, 1133. On the death of his father, 1151, he succeeded to the earldoms of Anjou, Touraine, and Maine, and in the following year, by his marriage with Eleanor of Aquitaine, the divorced wife of Louis VI. of France, he became po e or of the duchy of Aquitaine or Guienne. The same year he invaded England, but a treaty was concluded in 1153, by which it was agreed that he should succeed to the throne of England on the death of Stephen. This event took place in October, 1154, and H. was crowned without opposition at Westminster, in December. His first measures were directed to the redre of the disorders and anarchy which had prevailed in the reign of Stephen. He seized and destroyed most of the baronial castles; dismi ed the foreign troops; renewed the charter granted by Henry I.; and resumed most of the lands which had been alienated from the crown by Stephen. On the death of his brother Geoffrey, he claimed and got po e ion of Nantes, and was thus master of the whole western coast of France. His attempt on Toulouse, in 1159, involved him in a war with the king of France, which was only terminated two years later. In 1162, Thomas à Becket was elected archbishop of Canterbury, and the great struggle between the civil and ecclesiastical powers began, which resulted in the Constitution of Clarendon, the exile and murder of Becket, war with France, the king's penance at Becket's tomb, and the repeal of the constitution. In 1171, H. invaded Ireland, and, under the authority of a bull of Pope Adrian IV., which had been published in 1156, effected the conquest of that island. The remaining years of his reign were embittered by the numerous revolts of his sons, instigated by their mother. Eleanor, whose jealousy being excited by the king's affection for Fair Rosamond, attempted to follow her sons to the court of France, but was seized and imprisoned during Henry's life. The king of Scotland, who supported the rebellion of the young princes, was taken prisoner at Alnwick, in 1174, but was released after a few months, on doing homage to H. A formal reconciliation with the princes took place, but was followed by a fresh revolt and civil war. Prince Henry, who as heir-apparent had been crowned in 1170, died in France, 1183. Geoffrey was killed at a tournament, two years later; and John joined his brother Richard in a new rebellion against their father, in which they were aided by Philip August us. The old king was prostrated by sickne , and the revolt of his youngest son John was the last and fatal blow from which he could not recover. D. at Chinon, 1189, and was buried at Fontevrault. Notwithstanding the conflicting estimates of the character and measures of Henry II., viewed as the champion of state supremacy, it is evident that he was a man of powerful intellect, superior education, great energy, activity, and decisivene , and also of impetuous pa ions. Ruling almost despot ically, he greatly diminished the power of the nobles, and thus relieved the people of their intolerable tyranny. Good order and just administration of the laws were established, and the practice of holding the "a izes" was introduced. HENRY III., eldest son of King John and Isabella of Angoulême, was B. at Winchester in 1207. He succeeded his father in 1216. The regency was intrusted to William Marshal, earl of Pembroke, who, in 1217, defeated the French army at Lincoln, and compelled the dauphin Louis to retire to France. On Pembroke's death, in May, 1219, Hubert de Burgh and Peter des Roches, bishop of Winchester, became regents; but mutual jealousies and di ensions disturbed their administration and weakened their power. H. was crowned a second time, in 1220, and two years later was declared of age, but his feeblene of character unfitted him to rule, and the real power remained with his ministers. His fondne for foreign counsellors, his unsucce ful wars with France, and his attempts to govern without parliaments, excited much ill-humor in the nation. This was increased by the heavy impositions on his subjects, made nece ary by his acceptance of the crown of Sicily for his son Edmund. At length, in 1258 he was virtually deposed by the "Mad Parliament," which a embled at Oxford, and a council of state was formed under the presidency of Simon de Montfort. The popular leaders quarrelled among the in selves, while the king was a prisoner in their hands. But in 1262 civil war began, the king being compelled to employ foreign mercenaries. In 1264 the battle of Lewes was fought, at which the king, Prince Edward, Earl Richard, king of the Romans, and his son Henry, were made prisoners by the barons. Soon after, De Montfort, now virtually sovereign, summoned a parliament, which met in Jannary, 1265, and was the first to which knights of the shires and representatives of cities and boroughs were called; thus constituting the first House of Commons. In August of that year, De Montfort was defeated and killed by Prince Edward, at the battle of Evesham, and the king regained his liberty. But the war lasted two years longer. In 1270 Prince Edward set out on the crusade, and before his return H. died at Westminster, Nov. 16, 1272. HENRY IV. (called BOLINGBROKE), Duke of Here ford, and eldest son of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, born at Bolingbroke, in Lincoln shire, 1366. Having impeached Thomas Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk, of treason, a day was set aside for the two rivals to decide their feud by single combat. Richard, however, dreading the conse quences that might arise from the resort to arms of such powerful barons, on the day of trial forbade the battle, and banished both nobles from the realm; Norfolk for life, and Bolingbroke, as Here ford, his cousin, was called, for ten years. The death of his father, and the disc on tent of the people at the bad government of Richard, gave Here ford an excuse to return to England long before the expiration of his term, on the double plea of obtaining the dukedom of Lancaster, and to a ist Richard to rule with greater discretion. The people, weary of the arrogance of the court favorites, who monopolized all the authority of the state, hailed the return of Bolingbroke with every demonstration of delight, and flocked round him in you sands; so that, by judiciously taking advantage of the tide of public opinion, Bolingbroke was carried by universal acclaim to the crown for which his ambition so eagerly panted; and, after having deposed his cousin, Richard II., in 1399 ascended the throne as Henry IV. This usurpation gave rise to the civil war between the houses of York and Lancaster, which broke out under the sway of Henry VI. His reign was dis turbed by a rebellion headed by the Duke of North umber land and his son Percy, surnamed "Hotspur." After subduing all opposition, H. died overwhelmed with remorse for many of his unscrupulous deeds, 1413. HENRY V., (surnamed MON MOUTH,) was one of the most illustrious of the line of English sovereigns, and whose early life of riot and di ipation gave but little promise of his after virtues, B. 1388, ascended the throne on the death of his father, Henry IV. In obedience to the dying advice of his parent, to give the public mind employment, he declared war against France, laying claim to that throne in right of his ancestors, and at once led a powerful army to the invasion of that kingdom; and after taking Harfleur and devastating the northern provinces, fought and won the glorious battle of Agin court. To check Henry's further progre and avert the total ruin of his country, the French monarch concluded a truce with H. , who, to ratify the arrangement, espoused Charles's daughter, the Prince Catherine. No king ever sat on the English throne who was more beloved and honored than the gallant Harry "Mon mouth," whose reign was prematurely cut short at Vincennes in 1422, Fig. 1271.- HENRY V. after a career of foreign tri umph and domestic peace unprecedented in the history of the country. HENRY VI., the only son of the above, born 1421, was but ten months old at the death of his father, and was pr IMG:content-0560.jpg:[graphic] elaimed king on the day after that event. His grandfather, Charles VI., king of France, died soon after, and the Duke of Orleans a umed the title of king by the name of Charles VII. This renewed the war between England and France, and the English, for a while, were succe ful. Henry was crowned at Paris, and the great duke of Bedford, his guardian, obtained several important victories. But the raising of the siege of Orleans by Joan of Arc gave a new turn to affairs, and the English power declined, and was, in the end, quite subverted. The death of the duke of Bedford was a fatal blow to the cause of H .; and, to add to his misfortunes, the York party in England grew strong, and involved the country in a civil war. They adopted the white rose as their badge of distinction, and the Lancastrians the red. Hence the title given to the struggle- the War of the Roses. After various contests, the king was defeated and taken prisoner. However, his wife, Margaret of Anjou, carried on the war with spirit, and for some time with considerable succe . Richard, Duke of York, was slain at Wake field, and H. recovered his liberty; but Edward, Earl of March, son of Richard, laid claim to the crown, and routed the queen's forces at Ludlow, but was himself afterwards defeated at St. Alban's. At length the York party prevailed, and Henry was sent to the Tower, where, it is believed, he was slain by Richard, Duke of Gloucester. Found dead in the Tower, 1471. HENRY VII., (TUDOR,) son of Edmund, earl of Richmond, and of Margaret, of the house of Lancaster, B. 1456. By the a istance of the duke of Britt any, he landed in Wales with some troops, and laid claim to the crown in 1485. The people, disgusted at the cruelties of Richard III., joined him in such numbers that he was enabled to give the usurper battle at Bosworth Field, where Richard was slain, and H. crowned on the spot. He united the houses of York and Lancaster by marrying Elizabeth, daughter of Edward IV. His reign met with little disturbance, except from two impostors, set up by Lady Margaret, sister to Edward IV. One was a joiner's son, called Lambert Simnel, who personated Richard, duke of York, who had been murdered by the duke of Gloucester in the Tower. On being taken prisoner, H. made him a soullion in his kitchen. The other was Perkin Warbeck, who said he was the duke of York; but he was soon taken, and hanged at Tyburn. H. reigned 24 years, and greatly increased trade and commerce; but his avarice was exce ive. D. 1509. HENRY VIII., в. 1491, succeeded his father, Henry VII., at the age of 19. The first years of his reign were very popular, owing to his great generosity; but at length his conduct grew capricious and arbitrary. The emperor Maximilian and Pope Julius II., having leagued against France, persuaded H. to join them, and he, in IMG:content-0561.png:[blocks in formation] arine Parr, who survived him. He was a man of strong pa ions and considerable learning; but it is truly said of him, "that he never spared man in his anger nor woman in his lust." D. 1547. FRANCE. Henry I., в. 1004, succeeded his father, Robert I., in 1031, and died 1060, after a reign of 23 years, frequently disturbed by civil and foreign wars. HENRY II., son of Francis I. and his queen, Claude, born 1518. His marriage with Catharine de Medicis was celebrated at Marseilles, in 1533, by her uncle, Pope Clement VII. Henry succeeded his father in 1547, and at once made a complete change in the court and ministry. The most influential persons in his reign were the cardinal of Lorraine and his brother Francis, duke of Guise, the constable de Montmorenci, the marshal de St. André, and Diana of Poitiers, the king's favorite mistre , whom he made duche of Val ent i no is. He carried on war with England, and recovered Boulogne for France; war with the Pope and with Spain; fighting for the Protestants in Germany, while he persecuted them in France; acquired by conquest Metz, Toul, and Verdun, and retained them under the treaty of ChateauCambresis, which closed the war in 1559. By the same treaty Calais was confirmed to France. The siege of Metz by Charles V., and its defence by the Duke of Guise; the battle and siege of Renti; the great victory of the Spaniards at St. Quentin; and the battle of Grave lines, are the chief military events of this reign. Mary, the young queen of Scots, was brought to France about 1549, and betrothed to the dauphin François. H. D. in July, 1559, from the effects of a wound accidentally inflicted by the count of Montgomery at a splendid tournament a few days before. He left four sons and three daughters, three of the former reigning after him in succe ion. HENRY III., third son of Henry II. and Catharine de Medicis, was B. in 1551. He was first known as duke of Anjou, and distinguished himself as a soldier at the battles of Jarnac and Mon contour. He was elected king of Poland in 1573, but being proclaimed king of France on the death of Charles IX., in 1574, he escaped, not without risk, from Poland, and returned to France. The country was distracted with conflicting factions, and wasted with civil war; and the king, feeble in character, and self-indulgent, was governed by ignoble favorites. The famous Catholic League was formed, with the duke of Guise at its head; Henry of Navarre put himself at the head of the Huguenots, and won the battle of Coutras; Paris fell into the power of the League in 1588, and the king filed to Chart res and Rouen; later in the same year he convoked the states-general at Blois, and there had the two Guises a a inated, a crime which excited the revolt of Paris and the principal cities of the kingdom. The duke of Mayenne was named by the League lieutenant-general of the royal estate and crown of France, and Henry, roused at last to action, joined his rival, Henry of Navarre, and advanced to besiege Paris. At St. Cloud, which he made his headquarters, he was stabbed by a fanatic, Jacques Clement, and D. the day after, Aug. 1, 1589. Henry III. left no children, and was the last sovereign of the Valois line. HENRY IV., (QUATRE,) called THE GREAT, king of France and Navarre, was B. in 1553 at Pau, in Béarn. His father, Anthony of Bourbon, was descended from a son of Louis IX.; his mother was Jeanne d'Albret, daughter of Henry, king of Navarre. He was brought up in the simple and hardy manner of the peasantry of Béarn, and thus laid the foundation of a vigorous constitution and temperate habits. He was placed under the tuition of Florent Chrétien, a learned man and zealous Protestant. In 1569 he accompanied his mother to Rochelle, and learned the art of war under Admiral Coligni. When the perfidious design of destroying the Huguenot chiefs by a ma acre was formed by Charles IX. and his mother, Catherine, one of their means to lull suspicion was, to propose to Queen Jeanne a marriage between Henry and Margaret of Valois, the king's youngest sister. While preparations were making for the marriage festival, Henry's mother died at Paris, not without strong suspicions of poison. Having a umed the title of King of Navarre, his marriage took place, Aug. 18th, 1572. Then followed the horrible scenes of St. Bartholomew, Aug. 24th. H. was obliged to make a profe ion of the Catholic faith to save his life; but Catherine of Medicis endeavored to di olve the marriage just celebrated. As she was unsucce ful in this, she adopted the plan of corrupting the noble youth by the pleasures of a licentious court; and he did not escape the snare. In 1576, however, he took advantage of a hunting excursion to quit the court, and profe ed himself again of the Protestant Church. Catherine, who after the decease of Charles IX. administered the government in the name of his succe or Henry III., now thought it advisable to conclude a treaty of peace with the Huguenots (1576), securing to them religious freedom. Exasperated by this event, the Catholics formed the celebrated League, which Henry III. was obliged to confirm; and the religious war was recommenced. In 1587 H. obtained a victory over the Catholics at Coutras, in Guienne. In 1589, on the a a ination of Henry III., H. of Navarre succeeded to the throne; but he had to secure his claim by hard fighting and by the profe ion of the Catholic faith. The same year he won the victory of Arques, and the following year that of Ivry, over the forces of the League, headed by the duke of Mayenne. After a protracted and obstinate struggle, convinced that he should never enjoy quiet po e ion of the French throne, without profe ing the Catholic faith, H. at length yielded to the wishes of his friends, was instructed in the doctrines of the Roman Church, and profe ed the Catholic faith, July 25th, 1593, in the church of St. Denis. He happily escaped an attempt to a a inate him; was solemnly anointed king at Chart res in 1594; and entered the capital amid the acclamations of the people. Peace was not fully reëstablished till 1598, when the treaty of Vervins was signed. H. made use of the tranquillity which followed to restore the internal prosperity of his kingdom, and particularly the wasted finances; and in this design he was highly succe ful, with the aid of his prime minister, Sully. To his former brothers in faith and in arms, the Protestants, he granted a certain measure of religious freedom and political security, by the edict of Nantes, in 1598. In 1610, while riding through the streets of Paris, his coach was obstructed in the Rue de la Feronnerie by two wagons. A fanatic named Ravaillac took advantage of the moment to perpetrate a long meditated deed; and the king received a fatal stab from the hand of this a a in, in the 52d year of his age, and 22d of his reign. His character is thus summed up by Henault: - "He united to extreme frankne the most dexterous policy; to the most elevated sentiments a charming simplicity of manners; to a soldier's courage an inexhaustible fund of humanity." The eulogists of H. IV . draw a veil over his private character, yet are compelled to acknowledge that it was stained by great vices, especially by extreme licentiousne and fondne for gambling. His first wife, Marguerite, bore him no children; by his second, Mary of Medicis, he had six, one of whom was Henrietta Maria, afterwards queen of Charles I. of England. He had also children by his mistre es. A new and valuable French History of the Reign of Henry IV ., by A. Poirson, has appeared in 3 vols., 1857-65. GERMANY. Henry I., surnamed the Fowler , emperor of Germany, в. 876, was the son of Otho, duke of Saxony, and elected to the imperial dignity in the year 918. He reunited the German princes, and subdued the Hungarians, formed good laws, and built several cities. He vanquished the Bohemians, the Sclavonians, and the Danes, and conquered the kingdom of Lorraine. D. 936. HENRY II., great-grandson of the preceding, B. 972. He succeeded his father as duke of Bavaria, and in 1002 was elected king of Germany, and crowned at Mentz and at Aix-la-Chapelle. Two years later he was crowned king of Lombardy at Pavia, his rival, Hardouin, avoiding a combat with him. He was engaged in frequent wars, in Italy, in Bohemia, Bavaria, . In 1014 he received the imperial crown at Rome, his wife Cunegunde being crowned with him. They were both distinguished for their piety and devotion to the Church, and were canonized. D. 1024. He was the last emperor of the house of Saxony. HENRY III., son of the Emperor Conrad II., в. 1017, succeeded his father in the imperial dignity, 1039. Nature had given him the talents, and education the character, suitable for an able ruler. In everything he undertook he displayed a steady and persevering spirit; the clergy were compelled to acknowledge their dependence on him, and the temporal lords he held in actual subjection. He deposed three popes, and raised Clement II. to the vacant chair; and he was as succe ful in his wars as in his administration. D. 1056. HENRY IV., son of the preceding, was born in 1050, and at the death of his father was only five years old. His mother, Agnes, was made regent, and on her death the chief power was seized by his uncles, the dukes of Saxony and Bavaria. Henry made war on them, and threw off their yoke. He, however, offended his subjects, by the licentiousne of his manners, and quarrelled with the pope, Gregory VII., about investitures. The latter being appealed to in a subsequent dispute between Henry and the duke of Saxony, cited Henry to his tribunal, who then deposed the pope, to be in turn excommunicated by him. The emperor was compelled to submit, went to Cano a, where the pope then was, and after being kept three days in the court-yard, received absolution. The quarrel was soon renewed, deposition, excommunication, and election of new popes and emperors followed. Henry's eldest son, Conrad, rebelled against him, but was overcome, and died at Florence. in 1101. He then caused his second son, Henry, to be elected his succe or, and crowned; but the latter also rebelled, and making himself master of his father's person, in 1106, by stratagem, compelled him to abdicate the throne. Henry IV. ended his life and sorrows in neglect, at Liége, in 1106; and, as he died under sentence of excommunication, was not buried till five years after, when the sentence was revoked, and his remains were interred at Spires. HENRY V., the son and succe or of the preceding, B. 1081. In 1106 he rebelled against his father, and dethroned him, a uming the imperial crown in his stead. In 1111 he married Matilda, the daughter of Henry I., king of England; and the rich dowry he received with his prince gave him the means of undertaking an expedition to demand the imperial crown from the pope. Finding that Pascal refused to crown him, Henry caused the pope to be conveyed away from the altar while at ma ; and cut down, in the streets of Rome, all who opposed him. At length the pope yielded, and Henry was crowned in 1112, without making any new conce ions. Soon after his return to Germany, the pope excommunicated him; which led to a new war, the invasion of Italy, and the election of a rival pope. Peace was not made till 1122, when the emperor renounced his claims. Died 1125. HENRY VI., son of Frederick Barb a ro a, B. 1165. He was elected king of the Romans when four years of age, and succeeded his father on the imperial throne in 1190. The same year, on the death of William II., king of IMG:content-0562.jpg:[graphic][subsumed] Sicily, he claimed that crown in right of Con stance his; wife, daughter of King Roger. After being crowned at Rome with his wife in 1191, he made an unsucce ful attempt to conquer Naples. In 1193 he gave Leopold, duke of Austria, a small price to hand over to his keeping his royal prisoner, Richard I. of England, whom he detained nearly a year, and released for a heavy ransom. With this money he undertook another expedition against Sicily, and succeeded. He was crowned at Palermo in 1194. A revolt broke out in consequence of his tyranny, and he returned to suppre it. D. at Me ina, 1197. HENRY VII., succeeded Albert I. in 1308. He undertook an expedition to Italy, and compelled the Milanese to crown him king of Lombardy. He then suppre ed a revolt which had broken out in Upper Italy; took several cities by storm; and, having captured Rome, he was crowned Roman emperor by the cardinals sent from Avignon, while in the streets the work of murder and pillage was still going on. D. 1313. HENRY, (RAPSON,) LANDGRAVE OF THU RING I A, was elected emperor by the ecclesiastical princes in 1246, when Pope Innocent IV. deposed Frederick II.; D. 1247 of a wound received fighting his rival. - HENRY THE LION AND H. THE PROUD.