Charles de Danzay’s letter to Henry III de Valois: a lost source about the French presence in Northern Europe

Abstract

The article accompanies the publication of the letter of the French diplomatic resident in Copenhagen Charles de Danzay to Henry III of France dated January 26, 1576. The analysis of the letter is accompanied by a brief excursion into the history of foreign policy of the French royal court in the north and north-east of Europe in the first half of the 1570s. The reaction of Frederick II of Denmark to the events of the St. Bartholomew’s Day massacre on August 24, 1572, is considered in detail. It is proved that after the massacre the relations between the Oldenburgs and Valois were on the verge of military confrontation, which had a significant impact on the influence of the “Most Christian” monarchy in the Baltic region: from that time the French