Robert J. Knecht. Hero or Tyrant? Henry III, King of France, 1574–89

Henry III was the most vilified of all French early modern monarchs, but he has now found a more impartial biographer in Robert J. Knecht, author of numerous monographs on Renaissance courts, kingship, and more recently the French Wars of Religion. Knecht crafts a judicious account of the king’s life while allowing the reader to come to his or her own conclusions about this complex last Valois king by entitling the book, “Hero or Tyrant?” a question that he as author cleverly never really answers. Most importantly, Knecht’s purpose for producing the work is to give readers the first biography of Henry III published in English since 1858. Knecht wants to “bring the story up-do-date and to fill a void” (xiii), and he does so admirably. This notable volume, intended for students and general readers, still offers much to his colleagues in French history as well. Sixteen chapters set between a short preface and conclusion move chronologically from Henry III’s birth at Fontainebleau in 1551 to his assassination at Saint-Cloud in 1589. Highlights include a very interesting chapter on Henry’s childhood during the time he was known as Alexandre-Edouard in which his mother, Catherine de’ Medici, proved attentive to his and his royal siblings’ healthcare needs. She moved the children away from court during plague outbreaks but could never protect them from tuberculosis, a disease that most likely attacked all of her sons and, as Knecht shows, troubled Henry III often during his life in the form of tubercular abscesses. Another early chapter covers Henry III’s short reign as King of Poland in 1573–1574, a role he detested and quickly abandoned on learning of the death of his brother, Charles IX. Knecht offers a lively account of Henry fleeing Poland surreptitiously in the night in order to claim the French throne, leaving the Poles confused and disappointed.

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