Claude of Guise de Lorraine ^{1 2}

  General Notes:

First Duke of Guise, born at the Château de Condé, 20 Oct., 1496; d. at Joinville, 12 April, 1550, the son of René II, Duke of Lorraine, and his second wife, Philippa of Guelders.

Claude de Guise wished to possess the Duchy of Lorraine, to the detriment of his elder brother Antoine, whom he declared illegitimate, inasmuch as he was born during the lifetime of Marguerite d'Harcourt, the (divorced) first wife of René II, but he was obliged to be content with the Countships of Guise and Aumale, the Barony of Joinville, and the Seigniories of Mayenne and Elbeuf, which his father possessed in France. He soon made his appearance at the French court, where he at once gave evidence of his ability to please. He followed Francis I to Italy, and at the battle of Marignano (1515) received twenty-two wounds. He took a courageous part in the campaigns against Charles V, for which Francis I rewarded him by making him master of the hounds and first chamberlain, and by the erection of the countship of Guise to a ducal peerage, an honour hitherto reserved for princes of the blood. Claude de Guise also merited the gratitude of the Catholic party for the struggle which he maintained in 1525 against the bands of Anabaptists attempted to invade Lorraine, whom he exterminated at Lupstein near Saverne (Zabern), 16 May, 1525. His campaign in Luxembourg (1542), the services which he rendered in 1543 by his defence of Landrecies, and his success in quieting the Parisians, alarmed by the approach of the imperial forces, justified the favour of the king, who finally confided to him the government of Burgundy; the Duke's ambition, however, his large fortune, and powerful relatives gave offense to Francis I. It was said that the latter counseled Henry II never to admit the Guises to a share in government, and a popular quatrain current in Paris ran:—

François premier prédit ce point
Que ceux de la maison de Guise
Mettraient ses enfants en purpoint
Et son pauvre peuple en chemise.

In 1513 Claude de Guise married Antoinette de Bourbon (1493-1583), noted for the simplicity of her life, her renunciation of all rich materials in dress, and her great charity toward hospitals, the poor, and orphans. By her he had eight sons and four daughters. If the memoirs of François de Guise, Claude's son, are to be credited, his father died of poison.

  Noted events in his life were:

• He was a Duke of Guise 1st.

Claude married Antoinette de Bourbon on 9 Jun 1513. (Antoinette de Bourbon was born on 25 Dec 1493 and died on 22 Jan 1583.)