[Born at Fontainebleau, 1552. Died at St. Cloud, 1589. Aged 37.]
The son of Henry II. and Catherine de Medici. He acquired military fame
as Duke of Anjou, by the victories of Jarnac and Moncontoni, gained over
the Huguenots. In 1573, he was elected King of Poland; but on the death
of his brother, Charles IX. of France, he relinquished the sovereignty
of Poland for that of France. As King, his early energy and manly
courage, gave place to shameless vice and debauchery. He was surrounded
by the most unworthy favourites, who caused his reign to be designated
as “The reign of the minions.” He had had a hand in the Massacre of St.
Bartholomew; but at a later period, driven out of his own capital by a
faction, he formed an alliance with Henry of Navarre, the chief of the
Protestants, and with that prince he laid siege to Paris. He was thus
employed at the camp of St. Cloud, when he was assassinated by a monk,
named Jacques Clement. Henry III. has been described, by some
historians, as a pupil of Machiavelli, concealing a profoundly devised
plan beneath his gross immoralities, obscenities, and blasphemies. His
acts were frequently those of a madman, yet he was not without good
qualities. He was the last king of the house of Valois. It had reigned
261 years, and given 13 monarchs to France.
[From the marble in the Louvre, by Germain Pilon. Like its fellow, No.
302A, very much eaten away, as though at some time exposed to the
weather.]