ENRICO II, king of FRANCIA. — The second son of Francesco I and Claudia, daughter of Luigi XII, he was born on 31 March 1519. Under the Treaty of Madrid, he was held as a hostage in Madrid from 1527 until his ransom in 1529. He ascended the throne on 31 March 1547. As early as 1533 he had married Caterina de' Medici, who nevertheless throughout the entire reign had little influence in comparison with the king’s favourite, Diana di Poitiers. E. governed under the competing influences of the constable Anne de Montmorency and Francesco di Lorena, duke of Guise. Remembering his captivity, he harboured an intense resentment against Carlo V and longed for war: as early as 1548, the conflict was foreshadowed by the king’s journey to Burgundy and Piedmont and by the brief confrontation with England, which enabled France, by means of a ransom, to regain Boulogne (1550).
In 1551, the Protestant German princes allied against the Emperor requested the aid of the king of France, authorising him to occupy Metz, Toul, Verdun, and Cambrai, of which he was made imperial vicar (in exchange, the king undertook to subsidise them in the war). In 1552, E. II invaded the Empire with a large army and occupied Metz, Verdun, and Toul as a protective measure. Carlo V’s reaction in 1553 failed to recover Metz despite a bitter siege. After Carlo V’s abdication and the Truce of Vaucelles (5 February 1556), the war flared up again as a result of the duke of Guise’s expedition to Naples. The military operations entered a tragic phase for France with the great defeat suffered at S. Quentin (10 August 1557). Peace with Spain was restored by the Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis (3 April 1559). During a joust held as part of the festivities, E. II was seriously wounded in one eye and died on 10 July 1559.
Disillusioned with papal policy, he showed himself favourable to the Gallican Church and opposed to the Council; at one point he even threatened a schism. — Vedi tav. XXVIII.