Peace of Vervins

The Edict effectively brought the Wars of Religion in France including the Brittany Campaign to an end, which had spread to a European-wide conflict.

The terms were worked out under the auspices of the papal legate of Clement VIII, Alessandro de' Medici,[c] the "architect of the treaty", according to Bernard Barbiche.

[5] By its terms, Philip recognized the formerly Protestant Henry as King of France and withdrew his forces from French territory, depriving the remnants of the faltering Catholic League of their support.

Additionally, the vitally important city of Calais and the coastal fortress of Risban, which had been captured by the Spaniards in 1596, were returned to the French.

Some historians have seen this as the final defeat of Philip II, who had furthered dynastic causes through championing ultra-Catholic principles, and a sign of the long downfall of Habsburg Spain and the gradual rise in European hegemony of France during the ensuing Grand Siècle.