House of Guise

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House of Guise

The House of Guise was a French ducal family, partly responsible for the French Wars of Religion
French Wars of Religion

The French Wars of Religion is the name given to a period of civil war and military operations, primarily between France Roman Catholic Church and Protestantism , which also involved the factional struggles between the aristocratic houses of France such as the House of Bourbon and House of Guise ....
.

The Guises were Catholic, and Henry Guise

Henry I, Duke of Guise

Henry I, Prince of Joinville, Duke of Guise, Count of Eu , sometimes called Le Balafr?, "the scarred", was the eldest son of Francis, Duke of Guise and Anna d'Este....
wanted to end growing Calvinist influence. The assassination of Guise heightened passions and inspired Catholic attacks on Huguenots and their culture.

The House of Guise was founded as a cadet branch of the House of Lorraine by Claude de Lorraine

Claude, Duke of Guise

Claude of Lorraine was the first Duke of Guise, from 1528 to his death.He was the second son of Ren? II, Duke of Lorraine, Duke of Lorraine and was educated at the French court of Francis I....
, first Duke of Guise (1496-1550), who entered French service and was made a duke

Duke

A duke is a member of the nobility, historically of highest rank below the monarch, and historically controlling a duchy or a dukedom. The title comes from the Latin language Dux Bellorum, which had the sense of "military commander" and was employed by both the Germanic peoples themselves and by the Ancient Rome authors covering them to r...
by King François I

Francis I of France

Francis I , was crowned King of France in 1515 in the cathedral at Reims and reigned until 1547.Francis I is considered to be France's first Renaissance monarch....
.

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Henry I, Duke of Guise

Claude, Duke of Guise

Duke

Francis I of France

Francis I , was crowned King of France in 1515 in the cathedral at Reims and reigned until 1547.Francis I is considered to be France's first Renaissance monarch....
. Claude's daughter, Mary of Guise

Mary of Guise

Mary of Guise was the Queen Consort of James V of Scotland and the mother of Mary I of Scotland. She was Regent, or Governor, of Scotland 1554–1560....
(1515-1560), married King James V of Scotland

James V of Scotland

James V was King of Scots from 9 September 1513 until his premature death at the age of thirty, which followed the Scottish defeat at the Battle of Solway Moss....
and was mother of Mary Queen of Scots

Mary I of Scotland

Mary I was Queen of Scots from 14 December 1542 to 24 July 1567.She was the only surviving legitimate child of James V of Scotland. She was only six days old when her father died and left her Queen of Scots....
. Claude's eldest son, François, became a military hero thanks to his capture of Calais

Calais

Calais is a town in northern France in the Departments of France of Pas-de-Calais, of which it is a sub-prefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's capital is its third-largest city of Arras....
from the English in 1558.

In 1558, King François II, married Mary Queen of Scots. By 1559, she had her two powerful uncles of the House of Guise appointed to high positions in the French government. This prompted the Amboise conspiracy

Amboise conspiracy

The Amboise conspiracy, or Tumult of Amboise , was a failed attempt by Huguenots and the house of Bourbon to wrest power over France by abducting the young king, Francis II of France and arresting Francis, Duke of Guise and his brother Charles of Guise)....
in which the Huguenots and the House of Bourbon

House of Bourbon

The House of Bourbon is an important European royal house, a branch of the Capetian dynasty. Bourbon kings first ruled Kingdom of Navarre and France in the 16th century....
plotted to usurp the power of the House of Guise. The Duke of Guise and his brother, Charles, Cardinal of Lorraine, in his powerful capacity as a Cardinal

Cardinal (Catholicism)

A cardinal is a senior Ecclesiology official, usually a Bishop , of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope....
of the Roman Catholic Church

Roman Catholic Church

The Roman Catholic Church, officially known as the Catholic Church is the world's largest Christianity Ecclesia , representing over half of all Christians and one-sixth of the world population....
, controlled French politics during the short reign of the sickly young king, François II. The Cardinal of Lorraine was also leader of the French representatives at the final sittings of the Council of Trent

Council of Trent

The Council of Trent was the 16th century Ecumenical Council of the Roman Catholic Church. Considered one of the Church's most important councils, it convened in Trento between December 13, 1545, and December 4, 1563 in twenty-five sessions for three periods....
, and, ironically given his family's role in French politics, had fought for a greater willingness to compromise with Protestantism than the Italian and Spanish delegates.

Championing Catholicism against the Huguenots, in 1560, the Guise family brutally put down the Conspiracy of Amboise. After King François' death they opposed the more tolerant policy of the Regent

Regent

A regent, from the Latin regens "reigning", is a person selected to act as head of state because the ruler is a minor, not present or debilitated....
, Catherine de' Medici

Catherine de' Medici

Catherine de' Medici was born in Florence, as Caterina Maria Romula di Lorenzo de' Medici. Her parents, Lorenzo II de' Medici, Duke of Urbino, and Madeleine de la Tour d'Auvergne, both died within weeks of her birth....
, and their doings provoked the French Wars of Religion

French Wars of Religion

The French Wars of Religion is the name given to a period of civil war and military operations, primarily between France Roman Catholic Church and Protestantism , which also involved the factional struggles between the aristocratic houses of France such as the House of Bourbon and House of Guise ....
.

The House of Guise, led by François, defeated the Huguenots at the battle of Dreux

Battle of Dreux

The Battle of Dreux was fought on 19 December, 1562 between Catholics and Huguenots. The Catholics were led by Anne de Montmorency while Louis I, Prince of Cond? led the Huguenots....
, but he was assassinated shortly afterward, in 1563. His son, Henri de Lorraine, became the third Duke of Guise (1550-1588). He helped plan the infamous St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre

St. Bartholomew's Day massacre

The St. Bartholomew's Day massacre in 1572 was a targeted group of assassinations, followed by a wave of Roman Catholic mob violence, both directed against the Huguenots , during the French Wars of Religion....
and was responsible for the formation of the Catholic League

Catholic League (French)

The Catholic League of France, sometimes referred to by contemporary Roman Catholics as the Holy League, was formed by Duke Henry of Guise in 1576....
. The death of the heir-presumptive, the Duc d'Anjou, in 1584, which made the Protestant King Henry of Navarre

Henry IV of France

Henry de Bourbon, , ruled as Henry III, List of Navarrese monarchs, from 1572 to 1610, and as Henry IV, List of French monarchs, from 1589 to 1610....
heir to the French throne, led to a new civil war, the War of the Three Henries, with King Henry III

Henry III of France

Henry III of France , born Alexandre-?douard de Valois-Angoul?me, was King of France from 1574 to 1589, and as Henry of Valois, first elected List of Polish rulers#Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and List of Lithuanian rulers#Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth from 1573 to 1574....
, Henry III of Navarre, and Henry of Guise all fighting for control of France. Guise began the war by declaring the unacceptability of Navarre as King, and his control of the powerful Catholic League soon forced the King to follow in his wake. Immensely ambitious, in 1588 Guise, with Spanish support, instigated a revolt against the king, taking control of the city of Paris

Paris

Paris is the Capital of France and the country's largest city. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the ?le-de-France Regions of France ....
and becoming the de facto ruler.

After an apparent conciliation, in December of 1588 King Henri III had both the Duke of Guise and his brother, Louis de Lorraine, Cardinal of Guise

Louis II, Cardinal of Guise

Louis II, Cardinal of Guise was the third son of Francis, Duke of Guise and Anna d'Este. His maternal grandparents were Ercole d'Este II, List of Dukes of Ferrara and of Modena and Ren?e of France....
(1555–1588), murdered during a meeting in the Royal Chateau at Blois

Château de Blois

The Royal Ch?teau de Blois is located in the Loir-et-Cher d?partement in France in the Loire Valley, in France. The residence of several list of French monarchs, it is also the place where Joan of Arc went in 1429 to be blessed by the Archbishop of Reims before departing with her army to drive the English from Orl?ans....
. Leadership of the Catholic League fell to their brother, Charles of Lorraine, Duke of Mayenne who was commander of the armed forces of the Catholic League.

After King Henri III had his brother murdered, the Duke of Mayenne became head of the Catholic League

Catholic League (French)

The Catholic League of France, sometimes referred to by contemporary Roman Catholics as the Holy League, was formed by Duke Henry of Guise in 1576....
. His nephew, the young Duke of Guise, was proposed by the Catholic League as a candidate for the throne, possibly through a marriage to Philip II of Spain

Philip II of Spain

Philip II was King of Spain from 1556 until 1598, List of monarchs of Naples from 1554 until 1598, king consort of England, as husband of Mary I of England, from 1554 to 1558, lord of the Seventeen Provinces from 1556 until 1581, holding various titles for the individual territories, such as Duke or Count; and King of Portugal as Philip I...
's daughter Isabella, the granddaughter of Henry II of France

Henry II of France

Henry II , of the House of Valois and the son and successor of Francis I of France, was King of France from 31 March 1547, until his death....
. Although Mayenne and other members of the House of Guise

House of Guise

The House of Guise was a French ducal family, partly responsible for the French Wars of Religion.The Guises were Counter Reformation, and Henry I, Duke of Guise wanted to end growing Calvinist influence....
had murdered, tortured and wreaked havoc on the lives of many French citizens, for the sake of the country King Henri IV bought peace with him and in January of 1596 a treaty was signed that put an end to the League.

The senior line of the Dukes of Guise became extinct in 1688.

External links

at the

Dukes of Guise

See Duc de Guise for a list.

Other members of the House of Guise

Charles of Guise, Cardinal of Lorraine (1527-1574)
Charles II of Guise-Lorraine, Duke of Elbeuf