French Monarchs

I am pretty sure. Well, I know that all Bourbon lines were Catholics. One has to understand that French kings were different from English kings. Most French Kings, if not all, were devoted Catholics.

Originally posted by pekau One has to understand that French kings were different from English kings.

Yes and don't mistake them either with the Emperor of the Tonga Islands or the Sultan of Birbiri...

Yes all the French Kings were catholic it was even a conditione si ne qua non. After the 16th c they even had to pledge to destroy protestantism.

But Clovis I who is traditionally considered as the first king of France (actually king of the Franks) in the 5th c. was born a pagan.

And Henri IV was born a Protestant and was crowned only after converting. He would have said about his obligation to convert in order to come in Paris: "Paris worthes a mass"

"Paris vaut bien une messe."

And?? He was king of France, and of Navarra. When you talk about French monarchs are only born in France or kings of France. What is France?? Was Navarra, Bretagne, Provence, Bourgonge France? Not always.

Originally posted by Earl Aster   Generally, yes, but they have not been as strongly catholic as, say the holy roman empire, because in the 30 years war, they rather relucantly supported the Hussites.

1) No Hussites in the 30 years war. Protestant, Calvinist, Lutherian, a few other weirdos in Prague but the Hussite as such very very few.

2) France (Richelieu and Mazarin that is) was all but reluctant to suport Sweden. The Spaniard were truely seen at a worst enemy thean the heretics.

Originally posted by Maharbbal Originally posted by Earl Aster   Generally, yes, but they have not been as strongly catholic as, say the holy roman empire, because in the 30 years war, they rather relucantly supported the Hussites. 1) No Hussites in the 30 years war. Protestant, Calvinist, Lutherian, a few other weirdos in Prague but the Hussite as such very very few.

Yes, you are correct. Though the Hussites may have helped make the areas of Prague more accepting to Protestantism, they were pretty much dead at the time of the Thirty Years War. Besides the Bohemian Brethren and the Moravian Brethren, there were no real Hussites at the time of the Thirty Years War.

Nick, I take it your into resurrecting old threads?  Some points the earlier posters apparently missed. First, they talk about being Catholic as a sign that the kings were devout. That is hardly a sustainable case. Second, regarding Henry 4, he was born at Pau, then part of Navarre, which is in the Atlantic Pyrenees and not in England. He was one of the leaders of the Protestant forces, but was held hostage on Catherine Medici's order after the St. Bartholomew's day massacre of the Protestant elite, who had traveled to Paris for the marriage of Henry of Navarre to Marguerite (Margot) Valois. If memory serves, he escaped from Paris and rejoined the Protestant forces, abjuring the Catholic faith that he been baptized in under duress. The death of her brothers left Henry the only living candidate, ergo his: "Paris vaut bien une messe", and he rejoined the Catholic church. It should be noted that he was the most popular of the French kings and his favorite pastimes were bear hunting, boar hunting, and wenching, not in that order.  In Bearn (Pau) he was known as "le gallant verte" which in Spanish has a similar expression, "un viejo verde", i.e. "dirty old man".