[4] The seigneurie (lordship) de Lanssac itself was located near the stronghold of Bourg-sur-Gironde, which boasted a strategic position at the confluence of the Garonne and Dordogne, and was upstream of Blaye.

He came to control Blaye due to the death sentence that was imposed on its previous governor (des Roys) for having surrendered the settlement to the prince de Condé.

[10] After the seismic St. Bartholomew's Day massacre, Lanssac (according to a contemporary Protestant historian) was one of the royal councillors (alongside the seigneur de Villeroy and bishop of Valence) who advised the king to put the blame for the executions on the Lorraine-Guise family.

[44] Both Lanssac and the abbot travelled all across the Commonwealth, making an emotive case to all those they spoke to (in Latin, so that they might be understood) that Anjou was "easy of access, a good listener and a wise responder".

During this time Valence continued to receive all visitors while the abbot of L'Isle worked to build up fervour with the Commonwealth's bishops and Lanssac was focused on inspiring the passions of the more politique electors.

Catherine had advised him at the time of his departure from the Commonwealth, not to show particular favour and graces to those who had gone with him for his brief reign abroad, however upon his return Henry set to work rewarding his loyal supporters.

[63] Despite this general effort to reward those who had served him, Lanssac did not receive recognition from Henry for his role in aiding the election of the prince as king of the Commonwealth in the year prior.

[71] No sooner had he been installed in February, than Saint-Luc wrote bitterly to the duc de Nevers complaining of the disorder in Brouaqe, which he attributed to the length of Lanssac's administration.

[76] As a result of these fiscal troubles, Lanssac frequently had to borrow money both from bourgeois and also great nobles such as La Châtre or the comte de Maulévrier.

[81] The Spanish ambassador in Paris complained to Philip later that month that it was necessary to keep a close eye on Saint-Gouard as the depths of details he knew about Lanssac's scheme implied he was in contact with those who were greatly in the know.

[89] After the defeat of the prior do Crato and his flight from Portugal in August 1580 (later arriving in France), the attention of Catherine and Lanssac's compatriot Strozzi turned towards the capture of the Açores.

[82] The king's frustration at Lanssac had been furthered by the fact the noble had again raised soldiers on his own initiative with an aim to seizing Saint-Jean-d'Angély by surprise, campaigning in the area around the city.

[96] Alongside the arrival of news of the defeat of the expedition came word that Henri intended for de Chaste to take charge of the planned counter-stroke against the Spanish, rather than Lanssac.

Finally Havana in Cuba would be taken (in Lanssac's estimation this would be easy due to the poor quality of the defences) with a garrison left in the city before the fleet returned to its home, passing the Açores to the north.

[104] Lanssac had never crossed the Atlantic, but he was immersed in the naval world to the point where he had a fairly accurate understanding of Spanish colonial defences acquired from sailors.

[80][15] The Catholic ligue had come back to the fore as with the death of Alençon, the heir to the French throne (due to Henri's childlessness) was now the Protestant king of Navarre.

[27] The formation of this international agreement was facilitated both by Lanssac and his illegitimate half-brother the bishop of Comminges who enjoyed strong contacts with the Spanish agents that operated in the south of the kingdom.

By special articles even more concessions were made to Spain: the ceding of French Navarre and Béarn to the Spanish and the delivery of the pretender to the Portuguese throne, the prior do Crato, who currently held up in France.

For Lanssac and the comte de Brissac both men were the sons of fixtures of the French court who felt that their efforts to gain Henri had poured cold water on their attempts to build a relationship with him.

[113] Now out in the open, Guise issued the Péronne manifesto on 31 March, which urged the Catholic's of France to stand firm against attempts to subvert the kingdoms religion and state by the duc d'Épernon and the king of Navarre.

According to the French ambassador this agent argued that the ligue position in Guyenne was very strong, and that the duc de Guise could count on more allies in the province than could the Protestant king of Navarre.

The French ambassador further alleged the complicity of Lanssac and the seigneur de Vaillac (governor of the château Trompette in Bordeaux) in this subversive effort in his diplomatic despatch to Henri.

[119] From the south-west of the kingdom, Lanssac, alongside his half-brother the bishop of Comminges looked to bring about the conquest of Montauban, Castres and other Protestant held towns by driving the Catholic nobility into arms.

[115] The new governor of Saintonge, the baron de Bellegarde (who had succeeded to the charge in January 1585) found his efforts to instil royal authority in his province challenged by the nearby presence of Lanssac in Blaye and Saint-Luc in Brouage.

[129] Facing the complete collapse of his authority after the ligueur Day of the Barricades in which he was driven from Paris, Henri resolved to have the duc de Guise assassinated in December 1588.

[135] Now operating in Bretagne, Lanssac maintained an independent position from the ligueur governor of the province, the duc de Mercœur (who was left with only theoretical control of the ligue outside of Nantes).

Lanssac stated he would be happy to take lead of the naval army (the generous granting of command to him would have the benefit of winning the hearts of French seigneurs) that would seize Brouage, Bourgneuf, Le Croisic and the Morbihan.

[162] In return for their unique devotion to the Spanish crown, they requested that Philip ensure the maintenance of open corridors between the two kingdoms through Saint-Girons, Saint-Béat, Benasque, the Vallée d'Aure and Louron.

[167] Le Roux argues that this visit in fact reflects the beginning of Lanssac hedging his bets, and that the reason for the meeting was more about opening communication lines with the royalist camp.

While there were ambitions held by the bishop of Comminges for the Spanish king to provide 100,000 écus for a host of figures to allow for the raising of an army to conquer 10 to 12 cities around Toulouse, the amount Philip devoted to his agents in the region would not be increased, nor would the troops he had promised arrive.