6 - Henry IV and the Edict of Nantes: the remaking of Gallicanism, 1593–1610

Summary

The decision taken by Henry IV to abjure his Calvinist religion and accept instruction in the Roman Catholic faith was not taken lightly. He clearly never said that ‘Paris is worth a mass,’ as so many historians have long insisted. That statement was just propaganda from the League, who wanted French Catholics to believe that Navarre's conversion was neither genuine nor sincere, and was simply a cynical ploy to gain the crown. Although it is impossible to know everything that Henry was thinking in July 1593, all the evidence suggests that his conversion was rendered in good faith. If dogma and doctrine were never his strong points, it is nevertheless clear that Navarre was a man who had risked his life for his religion on the battlefield and off for nearly two decades. To suggest that he was either unprincipled or cared little for religion is contrary to the evidence. Equally unlikely is the notion put forward by some scholars that Henry was a modern-thinking king who put reason of state, order, and politics ahead of religion as a priority. While there is no doubt that Henry's decision to abjure was made for political reasons – to end the civil wars and to restore the authority of the monarchy – we ought not to conclude from this that Henry's conversion was either insincere or cynically made.