Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2005

Publication Title

Proceedings of the Western Society for French History

Volume

33

Pages

79-94

Abstract

Even though many modern historians agree that Henry IV was less than a brilliant military commander, a small but growing body of revisionist historians believe that his reputation deserves to be reassessed. While acknowledging his military innovations and battlefield successes, his critics see him primarily as an opportunist with a reckless streak who failed time and again to take full advantage of his victories. The revisionist school, however, believes that these interpretations are based on an inaccurate assessment of early modern warfare and its unique political, religious, and social components. Henry's modern defenders further note that his reputation has suffered from an overemphasis on his sexual persona and womanizing tendencies, considerations that have contributed to downplaying his strategic and tactical brilliance.

Comments

Article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International license.

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

Original Publication Citation

Finley-Croswhite, A. (2005). The faux pas of a vert galant: The historiography of Henry IV's military leadership. Proceedings of the Western Society for French History, 33, 79-94.

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