Green-gallant, white panache, «Paris is well worth a mass», edict of Nantes, hen in the pot… Henry IV (1553-1610) left a prominent mark in the memory of the French. His legendary life and the legend of his life now merge into a lively and unifying myth. In many ways, Henri IV is fully part of the historical and popular heritage of France, and his memory is still «alive».
In this lecture inspired by his work recently published by Ellipses (Henri IV, collection «biographies and historical myths») the author proposes to draw the portrait of this man with a unique destiny and abundant work, whose myth, built step by step since the end of the 16th century, continues today more than 400 years after his assassination.