24 - NAVARRE (Henri d'Albret, King of). Letter signed “Henry,” countersigned by his secretary [Guillaume?] Du Colom, addressed to [Bernard d'Abère] d'Asson. Lyon, March 18, 1535. One page, quarto, address on the back.

NAVARRE (Henri d'Albret, King of). Letter signed “Henry,” countersigned by his secretary [Guillaume?] Du Colom, addressed to [Bernard d'Abère] d'Asson. Lyon, March 18, 1535. One page, quarto, address on the back. “Captain, we have heard that the Bishop of Allet [Guillaume de Joyeuse] or his officers have filed a petition with the Parliament of Toulouse, in which they have implied that my lands in Donezan fall under the jurisdiction of said Toulouse, and that they have obtained permission there and intend to come to enforce certain letters in that regard. And since our said land IS SUBJECT TO OUR SOVEREIGNTY AND WE RECOGNIZE NO SUPERIOR THEREIN—rather, authority, justice, and jurisdiction belong to us—and since such enforcement actions could cause us harm in the future, we hereby expressly command you that if anyone other than our officers charged with administering our justice should come to execute any letters from the chancery or other provisions in our said land, you shall seize the bearer and the executor along with such letters, and hold them securely until they have made full restitution; and should they attempt to do so by force of arms, as we have heard, you shall prevent it by force or by other reasonable means, so that our said authority, preeminence, and sovereignty over the said land may be preserved for us... ” THE LAST MAJOR FEUDAL LORD IN FRANCE AND BROTHER-IN-LAW OF FRANÇOIS I, HENRI D’ALBRET (1503–1555) was the lord of a large territory in the southwestern part of the kingdom: he provided military aid to Francis I, with whom he fought at Pavia. The king gave him his sister Marguerite in marriage and bestowed upon him lands, titles, and offices. Although a powerful and influential figure at court, he was not regularly admitted to the King’s Council, and his interests were always subordinated to those of his royal brother-in-law, who never helped him reclaim Navarre, which had been seized by the King of Aragon. HE IS THE GRANDFATHER OF HENRY IV: Through Marguerite de Valois, he had Jeanne d’Albret, who married Antoine de Bourbon, Duke of Vendôme, the father of Henry IV.