Dordogne. Nicolas IV de Neufville de Villeroy... Lot 90

Dordogne. Nicolas IV de Neufville de Villeroy (1543-1617), statesman, secretary of state during the wars of religion, he was the principal minister during the regency of Marie de Medici. Letter signed with 3 autograph lines, to King Henry III. 3 pp. in-folio. Bergerac, September 8, 1577. Address on the back: "Au Roy". Slight wetness, small holes in the margin. Precious letter to Henry III, entirely coded, on the Peace of Bergerac. Sent by Henri III to Bergerac to negotiate a peace with the Protestants, Villeroy addressed this letter to the king to keep him informed of the progress of the negotiations, which on 17 September 1577 led to the signing of the Bergerac Peace Treaty, putting a provisional end to the religious wars. A few days later, the Edict of Poitiers was promulgated, granting the right to reformed worship in certain suburbs and places occupied by the Huguenots. Only a dozen sentence sequences were decoded in line spacing at the time. "Accord" "séparez aujourdhuy" "at the end when" "nul sera" (no one will be), etc. Villeroy added with his hand: "Sire ie prie dieu conserver vre mté en parfaiticte santé / De Bergerac ce viiie jour de sepbre 1577. Vre very humble very obedient & very obligated subjet & servant. Deneufville "