HENRY IV: (1553-1610) King of France 1589-1610 and King of Navarre 1572-1610. First French Monarch of the House of Bourbon. Assassinated. A good L.S., `Henry', one page, oblong 4to, `Au camp devant Rouen´ ("At the camp before Rouen"), 13th December 1591, to Fabien de Roybours, in old French. The King states `J’envoie le Sr de Réau vers vous pour vous faire entendre de ma part quelque chose important infiniment le bien de mes affaires [de] service. Je vous prie de le croire comme moi-même, de Dieu le créateur, qu’il vous ait, Monsieur de Rebours, en sa sainte garde…´ (Translation: "`I am sending Mr. de Réau to you to let you hear from me something infinitely important for the good of my service affairs. I beg you to believe it as I do, from God the creator, that he has you, Mr. de Rebours, in his holy protection…") Countersigned by the King´s secretary Martin Ruzé de Beaulieu. With contemporary clerk annotations to the verso. Overal age wear and creasing with irregular and slightly trimmed edges. About G

Fabien de Roybours (sometimes spelled Rebours) was a Colonel of a regiment of lansquenets in the German army of the Prince of Anhalt under the service of France.

Henry IV had to fight against the Leaguers to retake Paris and the provinces to the north of the Loire river, each side seeking to increase as much as possible its armies with French and also foreign troops. Thus, Henry IV, helped by German and Dutch forces, tried to retake Rouen from the League supported by Spanish troops. Rouen would remain besieged by Henry IV until May 1592.