Antoine I de Croÿ
Encyclopedia
House of Croÿ
The House of Croÿ is an international family of European mediatized nobility which held a seat in the Imperial Diet from 1486, and was elevated to the rank of Imperial Princes in 1594...
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Antoine was the eldest surviving son and heir of Jean I de Croÿ
Jean I de Croÿ
Jean I de Croÿ, Seigneur de Croÿ et d'Araines, Baron de Renty et de Seneghem was the founder of the House of Croÿ .-Biography:His parents were Guillaume, seigneur de Croÿ and Isabeau de Renty....
and Marie de Craon, and was a key figure in 15th-century French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
politics. Securing for himself the post of Governor General of the Netherlands and Luxembourg, he presided over the pro-French party at the court of Philip the Good and was one of the judges at the trial for treason in 1458 of John II of Alençon
John II of Alençon
John II of Alençon was the son of John I of Alençon and Marie of Brittany. He succeeded his father as Duke of Alençon and Count of Perche as a minor in 1415, after the latter's death at the Battle of Agincourt.He saw action as a young man at the Battle of Verneuil on 17 August 1424, and was...
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Like his father, he led French and Burgundian armies against Liege and distinguished himself at the Battle of Brouwershaven
Battle of Brouwershaven
The Battle of Brouwershaven was fought on January 13, 1426 in Brouwershaven, Zeeland. The battle was part of the Hook and Cod wars waged over control of the Low Countries and resulted in a significant victory for Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy...
fighting against the English. While on a mission to the court of Duke of Berry
Charles VII of France
Charles VII , called the Victorious or the Well-Served , was King of France from 1422 to his death, though he was initially opposed by Henry VI of England, whose Regent, the Duke of Bedford, ruled much of France including the capital, Paris...
, he was implicated in the assassination of Louis of Valois, Duke of Orléans
Louis of Valois, Duke of Orléans
Louis I was Duke of Orléans from 1392 to his death. He was also Count of Valois, Duke of Touraine , Count of Blois , Angoulême , Périgord, Dreux, and Soissons....
and as a consequence suffered torture in the Château de Blois
Château de Blois
The Royal Château de Blois is located in the Loir-et-Cher département in the Loire Valley, in France, in the center of the city of Blois. The residence of several French kings, it is also the place where Joan of Arc went in 1429 to be blessed by the Archbishop of Reims before departing with her...
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Having extricated himself from this predicament, Antoine used his power to expand his family's possessions: in 1429 he obtained the lordship and peerage of Le Rœulx; three years later he married Margaret of Lorraine-Vaudémont, daughter of Antoine of Vaudémont
Antoine of Vaudémont
Antoine of Vaudémont was Count of Vaudémont and sieur de Joinville from 1418 to 1458. By marriage, he was also Count of Aumale and Baron of Elbeuf from 1452 to 1458.-Life:...
and Marie of Harcourt (1398-1476)
Marie of Harcourt (1398-1476)
Marie of Harcourt was Countess of Aumale and Baroness of Elbeuf from 1452 to 1476. She was the eldest daughter of John VII of Harcourt, Count of Harcourt and Aumale and Baron of Elbeuf, and of Marie of Alençon....
, who brought Aarschot
Aarschot
Aarschot is a city and municipality in the province of Flemish Brabant, in Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium. The municipality comprises the city of Aarschot proper and the towns of Gelrode, Langdorp and Rillaar. On January 1, 2006 Aarschot had a total population of 27,864...
to his family as her dowry; in 1446 he purchased the Château of Montcornet
Montcornet
Montcornet is the name of several communes of France:* Montcornet, Aisne, in the Aisne department* Montcornet, Ardennes, in the Ardennes department...
and completely rebuilt it. In 1438 he acquired the castle of Porcien
Château-Porcien
Château-Porcien is a commune in the Ardennes department in northern France.-Population:-References:*...
and was made Count of Porcéan and Guînes by Charles VII
Charles VII of France
Charles VII , called the Victorious or the Well-Served , was King of France from 1422 to his death, though he was initially opposed by Henry VI of England, whose Regent, the Duke of Bedford, ruled much of France including the capital, Paris...
in 1455. A year earlier, he had married his daughter to Count Louis I of Pfalz-Zweibrücken in order to increase his influence in the orbit of the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
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With Charles the Bold, the future Duke of Burgundy, he was at loggerheads, especially after they had clashed over the inheritance of Jeanne d'Harcourt, Countess of Namur
Namur (province)
Namur is a province of Wallonia, one of the three regions of Belgium. It borders on the Walloon provinces of Hainaut, Walloon Brabant, Liège and Luxembourg in Belgium, and on France. Its capital is the city of Namur...
. Upon Charles's accession, Antoine was accused of plotting with astrologers to bring about the Duke's downfall and was compelled to flee to France. In France he took part in the coronation
Coronation
A coronation is a ceremony marking the formal investiture of a monarch and/or their consort with regal power, usually involving the placement of a crown upon their head and the presentation of other items of regalia...
of Louis XI and was chosen as a godfather
Godparent
A godparent, in many denominations of Christianity, is someone who sponsors a child's baptism. A male godparent is a godfather, and a female godparent is a godmother...
to the future Louis XII. It was not until the age of 83 that he reconciled himself with Charles and was allowed to reclaim his properties in Burgundy. He died either in 1475 or 1477 and was interred in Porcien.
Agnes de Croÿ was his sister and the mistress of Duke John the Fearless, by whom she had a natural son, the future Bishop of Cambrai. Several noble families of Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
and the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
are descended from this prelate's eleven illegitimate children.
The lines of Croÿ-Arschot-Havré and Croÿ-Roeulx stem from Antoine's two sons, Philippe I and Jean III, while his younger brother, Jean II de Croÿ
Jean II de Croÿ
Jean II de Croÿ , was Prince of Chimay and progenitor of the line of Croÿ-Solre.Jean II belonged to the powerful House of Croÿ. He was the second surviving son of Jean I de Croÿ and Marie de Craon....
, was the progenitor of the only extant line of the family, that of Croÿ-Solre. All three lines demonstrate a complex pattern of intermarriage, so that estates and titles would stay within the family as long as possible.
Marriage and children
He married firstly in 1410 Marie of Roubaix (1390–1430).in 1432 he remarried Margaret of Lorraine-Vaudémont (1420–1477) and had six children :
- Joanna (1435–1504), married Count Louis I of Pfalz-Zweibrücken
- Philip I of Croy (1435–1511), his successor
- Jean III (1436–1505), progenitor of the line of Croÿ-Roeulx
- Marie (1440–1489)
- Jacqueline (1445–1486)
- Isabeau (1450–1523)