ABSTRACT

On 22 June 1574, three days after his flight from Poland, Henri wrote to his mother from Gross Wisternitz in Moravia telling her how pleased he was to have followed her recommended itinerary instead of listening to Monluc who had wanted him to remain in Poland. On 24 June Henry reached Wolkersdorf, three leagues from Vienna, where he was met by the Emperor Maximilian II's two sons, Mathias and Maximilian. Nearer Vienna, the Emperor, although in poor health, came out to meet him. Addressing Henry either as 'my son' or 'my brother', he invited him to sit with him in his coach. On 18 July the Doge, Alvise Mocenigo, called at the Palazzo Capello after Henry had attended mass at a monastery nearby. They exchanged greetings, then boarded a magnificent galley manned by 300 oarsmen who wore violet tunics in mourning for Charles IX and pointed bonnets adorned with a fleur-de-lys.