Registre-journal du règne de Henri III. Tome VI: 1588-1589 (review)

The last volume of this excellent edition covers the tempestuous final two years of Henri III's relatively short and unhappy reign. For Henri, the power struggle, which opposed him to the Guises and led to the Barricades in Paris in May 1588 with his subsequent exile from the town, did not end when he felt obliged to assassinate the Duc de Guise and his brother, the Cardinal, in Blois in December of that year. Their death enraged and incensed the members of the League and, whipped up into a frenzy by certain fanatical priests under the vengeful ægis of Madame de Montpensier, the Parisians seethed with anger. Henri, with the help of Henri de Navarre, took steps to regain his capital but was to fall victim to the dagger of the monk, Jacques Clément, at St Cloud on 1 August 1589 and to succumb from his wounds early the next day. L'Estoile's inimitable way of presenting the 'échos' of his time shows his shrewd critical observation of contemporary society. His entries give an initial impression of spontaneity, but on closer examination we realize that they have often been composed at a later date with the knowledge of hindsight. He provides us with a wide range of sociological gems which shed light on life in Paris in the third quarter of the sixteenth century — the nature of crimes, the ubiquity of violence, street behaviour, social pastimes, and so on. Often his remarks reveal a certain humour and sarcasm. He repeats on numerous occasions that the 'le peuple' is 'sot' and sees base self-interest as their motive rather than religious piety. In February 1589, for example, he reports that the people were so enraged that they staged processions at night and frequently they 'engendroient des fruits autres que ceux pour la fin desquels elles avoient esté institués. Comme de fait […] la fille d'une bonnetiere en rapporta des fruits au bout de neuf mois' (p. 145). Throughout this and the previous volumes, L'Estoile shows that he respects the office of king but can be highly critical of the person. The king's behaviour is a recurring source of irritation to him, as are the taxes and financial restraints imposed upon him and the Parisians, yet he does not omit to defend him when he deems fit and does not cease to be an austere judge of the Guises and of the League, referring to their 'maison meurtrière', 'les peres et enfans bruslans d'ambition' and their 'tiranniques desseins' (p. 39). He accepts the massacre of the Guises as a necessary evil, seeing in it a 'utilité publique' (p. 90). The murder of the king is, however, a telling sign of the perceived godlessness of the times (p. 209) for he 'estoit un tres bon prince s'il eust rencontré un bon siècle' (p. 207). L'Estoile incorporated into his Registre a number of contemporary 'literary' documents which offer an insight into the polemical weapons of the period. All parties, whether they be Protestant, Leaguer or Royalist, used verse and satirical prose as a means to propagate their cause and to belittle the adversary. Irony, humour and scurrility, lies and half-truths abound and the works help us understand more clearly the prevailing mentality. In the face of inflammatory sermons and pamphlets denouncing Henri as being a heretic, murderer and a fiend, it is not surprising that Jacques Clément became virtually a saint in the eyes of the Leaguers. The volume, like its predecessors, is well provided with a glossary and informative notes. It also contains additions to the initial bibliography, a full range of useful indices and a short errata to earlier volumes. Madeleine Lazard and Gilbert Schrenck are to be congratulated on completing their task so admirably and on providing...