Henry I, Duke of Guise
Encyclopedia
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...
), sometimes called Le Balafré, "the scarred", was the eldest son of Francis, Duke of Guise
Francis, Duke of Guise
Francis de Lorraine II, Prince of Joinville, Duke of Guise, Duke of Aumale , called Balafré , was a French soldier and politician.-Early life:...
, and Anna d'Este
Anna d'Este
Anna d'Este, also Anne d’Este was an important princess with considerable influence at the court of France and a central figure in the French Wars of Religion...
. His maternal grandparents were Ercole d'Este II, Duke of Ferrara and Renée of France
Renée of France
Renée de France was the younger daughter of Louis XII of France and Anne, Duchess of Brittany. Her elder sister was Queen Claude of France. She was the Duchess of Ferrara due to her marriage to Ercole II d'Este, grandson of Pope Alexander VI...
.
Life
He succeeded his father in 1563 as Duke of Guise and Grand Maître de France. He fought the TurksOttoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
in Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
in 1565, and on his return, he became one of the leaders of the Catholic faction in the French Wars of Religion
French Wars of Religion
The French Wars of Religion is the name given to a period of civil infighting and military operations, primarily fought between French Catholics and Protestants . The conflict involved the factional disputes between the aristocratic houses of France, such as the House of Bourbon and House of Guise...
. He fought at the Battle of Saint-Denis
Battle of Saint-Denis (1567)
The Battle of Saint-Denis was fought on November 10, 1567 between Catholics and Protestants during the French Wars of Religion in Saint-Denis near Paris, France.Anne de Montmorency with 16,000 Royalists fell on Condé's 3,500 Huguenots...
in 1567, and at Battle of Jarnac
Battle of Jarnac
The Battle of Jarnac on 13 March 1569 was an encounter during the French Wars of Religion between the Catholic forces of Marshal Gaspard de Saulx, sieur de Tavannes, and the Huguenots, near the nadir of their fortunes, financed by Reinhold von Krockow and led by Louis I de Bourbon, prince de...
and Battle of Moncontour
Battle of Moncontour
The Battle of Moncontour occurred on 3 October 1569 between the Catholic forces of King Charles IX of France and the Huguenots during the "Third War" of the French Wars of Religion.-The battle:...
. His courting of Margaret of Valois in 1570 offended her brother, Charles IX of France
Charles IX of France
Charles IX was King of France, ruling from 1560 until his death. His reign was dominated by the Wars of Religion. He is best known as king at the time of the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre.-Childhood:...
, but his marriage to Catherine of Cleves restored his fortunes. Considering the Huguenot leader Admiral Coligny
Gaspard de Coligny
Gaspard de Coligny , Seigneur de Châtillon, was a French nobleman and admiral, best remembered as a disciplined Huguenot leader in the French Wars of Religion.-Ancestry:...
the architect of his father's assassination during the siege of Orléans in 1563, he is a suspect in the murder of the Admiral in August 1572. Which was quickly followed by the 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...
.
Henry was wounded at the Battle of Dormans
Battle of Dormans
The Battle of Dormans was a battle during the 5th War of Religion in France. It occurred near the village of Dormans, more precisely between Tréloup and Verneuil, on 10 October 1575...
(October 10, 1575), and was thereafter known, like his father, as "Le Balafré". With a charismatic and brilliant public reputation, he rose to heroic stature among the Catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
population of France as an opponent of the Huguenot
Huguenot
The Huguenots were members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France during the 16th and 17th centuries. Since the 17th century, people who formerly would have been called Huguenots have instead simply been called French Protestants, a title suggested by their German co-religionists, the...
s.
In 1576 he formed the Catholic League
Catholic League (French)
The Catholic League of France, sometimes referred to by contemporary Roman Catholics as the Holy League, a major player in the French Wars of Religion, was formed by Duke Henry of Guise in 1576...
to keep the new heir, the Protestant Henry of Navarre
Henry IV of France
Henry IV , Henri-Quatre, was King of France from 1589 to 1610 and King of Navarre from 1572 to 1610. He was the first monarch of the Bourbon branch of the Capetian dynasty in France....
, off the throne. The talent and dash of Guise contrasted favorably with the vacillation and weakness of Henry III
Henry III of France
Henry III was King of France from 1574 to 1589. As Henry of Valois, he was the first elected monarch of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth with the dual titles of King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1573 to 1575.-Childhood:Henry was born at the Royal Château de Fontainebleau,...
. He was said to have claimed a Carolingian
Carolingian
The Carolingian dynasty was a Frankish noble family with origins in the Arnulfing and Pippinid clans of the 7th century AD. The name "Carolingian", Medieval Latin karolingi, an altered form of an unattested Old High German *karling, kerling The Carolingian dynasty (known variously as the...
descent and cast eyes on the throne. This led to the stage of the Wars of Religion known as the War of the Three Henries (1584–1588).
However, at the death in 1584 of Francis, Duke of Anjou, the king's brother (which left Henry of Navarre
Henry IV of France
Henry IV , Henri-Quatre, was King of France from 1589 to 1610 and King of Navarre from 1572 to 1610. He was the first monarch of the Bourbon branch of the Capetian dynasty in France....
, the Protestant champion, as heir-male), Guise concluded the Treaty of Joinville
Treaty of Joinville
The Treaty of Joinville was signed in secret in December 31, 1584 by the French Catholic League, led by France's first family of Catholic nobles, the Guises, and Habsburg Spain. In this treaty, Philip II, King of Spain, agreed to finance the Catholic League...
with Philip II of Spain
Philip II of Spain
Philip II was King of Spain, Portugal, Naples, Sicily, and, while married to Mary I, King of England and Ireland. He was lord of the Seventeen Provinces from 1556 until 1581, holding various titles for the individual territories such as duke or count....
. This compact declared that the Cardinal de Bourbon should succeed Henry III, in preference to Henry of Navarre. Henry III now sided with the Catholic League (1585), which made war with great success on the Protestants. Guise sent his cousin Charles, Duke of Aumale
Charles, Duke of Aumale
Charles of Guise, duc d'Aumale was the son of Claude, Duke of Aumale and Louise de Brézé.-Biography:...
to lead a rising in Picardy
Picardy
This article is about the historical French province. For other uses, see Picardy .Picardy is a historical province of France, in the north of France...
(which could also support the retreat of the Spanish Armada
Spanish Armada
This article refers to the Battle of Gravelines, for the modern navy of Spain, see Spanish NavyThe Spanish Armada was the Spanish fleet that sailed against England under the command of the Duke of Medina Sidonia in 1588, with the intention of overthrowing Elizabeth I of England to stop English...
). Alarmed, Henry III ordered Guise to remain in Champagne
Champagne (province)
The Champagne wine region is a historic province within the Champagne administrative province in the northeast of France. The area is best known for the production of the sparkling white wine that bears the region's name...
; he defied the king and on May 9, 1588 Guise entered Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, bringing to a head his ambiguous challenge to royal authority in the Day of the Barricades
Day of the Barricades
In the French Wars of Religion, the Day of the Barricades , 12 May 1588, was an apparently spontaneous public uprising in staunchly Catholic Paris against the moderate, hesitant, temporalizing policies of Henry III...
and forcing King Henry to flee.
The League now controlled France; the king was forced to accede to its demands and created Guise Lieutenant-General of France. But Henry III refused to be treated as a mere cipher by the League, and decided upon a bold stroke. On December 23, 1588, at 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...
, Guise was summoned to attend the king, and was at once assassinated. His brother Louis II, 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, Duke of Ferrara and Renée of France....
was assassinated by "the Forty-five
The forty-five guards
The Forty-five guards were forty-five guards recruited by the Duke of Épernon to provide Henri III of France with trusted protection in the midst of the War of the Three Henrys....
", the king's bodyguard, the next day. The deed aroused such outrage among the remaining relatives and allies of Guise that Henry III was forced to take refuge with Henry of Navarre. (Henry III was assassinated the next year by Jacques Clément
Jacques Clément
Jacques Clément was the assassin of the French king Henry III.He was born at Serbonnes, in today's Yonne département, in Burgundy, and became a Dominican lay brother....
, an agent of the Catholic League.)
According to Baltasar Gracian
Baltasar Gracián
Baltasar Gracián y Morales, SJ was a Spanish Jesuit and baroque prose writer. He was born in Belmonte, near Calatayud .-Biography:...
in A Pocket Mirror for Heroes, it was once said of him to Henry III, "Sire, he does good wholeheartedly: those who do not receive his good influence directly receive it by reflection. When deeds fail him, he resorts to words. There is no wedding he does not enliven, no baptism at which he is not godfather, no funeral he does not attend. He is courteous, humane, generous, the honorer of all and the detractor of none. In a word, he is a king by affection, just as Your Majesty is by law."
Literature
The Duc de Guise appears as an archetypal Machiavellian schemer in Christopher MarloweChristopher Marlowe
Christopher Marlowe was an English dramatist, poet and translator of the Elizabethan era. As the foremost Elizabethan tragedian, next to William Shakespeare, he is known for his blank verse, his overreaching protagonists, and his mysterious death.A warrant was issued for Marlowe's arrest on 18 May...
's The Massacre at Paris
The Massacre at Paris
The Massacre at Paris is an Elizabethan play by the English dramatist Christopher Marlowe. It concerns the Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacre, which took place in Paris in 1572, and the part played by the Duc de Guise in those events....
, which was written a few years after the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre. The death of the duke is also mentioned, by the ghost of Machiavelli himself, in the opening lines of The Jew of Malta
The Jew of Malta
The Jew of Malta is a play by Christopher Marlowe, probably written in 1589 or 1590. Its plot is an original story of religious conflict, intrigue, and revenge, set against a backdrop of the struggle for supremacy between Spain and the Ottoman Empire in the Mediterranean that takes place on the...
.
He is one of the characters in Alexandre Dumas
Alexandre Dumas, père
Alexandre Dumas, , born Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie was a French writer, best known for his historical novels of high adventure which have made him one of the most widely read French authors in the world...
's novel La Reine Margot.
Stanley Weyman's novel A Gentleman of France includes the Duke of Guise in its tale about the War of the Three Henries.
Film
L'Assassinat du Duc de GuiseThe Assassination of the Duke of Guise
The Assassination of the Duke of Guise is a French historical film directed by Charles Le Bargy and André Calmettes, adapted by Henri Lavedan, and featuring actors of the Comédie Française and prominent set designers...
, Op. 128, first shown at the Salle Charras in Paris on 16 November 1908, was the first film to include a score written by a well-known classical composer, Camille Saint-Saëns
Camille Saint-Saëns
Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns was a French Late-Romantic composer, organist, conductor, and pianist. He is known especially for The Carnival of the Animals, Danse macabre, Samson and Delilah, Piano Concerto No. 2, Cello Concerto No. 1, Havanaise, Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, and his Symphony...
.
The duke also has a role in D.W. Griffith's 1916 film Intolerance
Intolerance (film)
Intolerance is a 1916 American silent film directed by D. W. Griffith and is considered one of the great masterpieces of the Silent Era. The three-and-a-half hour epic intercuts four parallel storylines each separated by several centuries: A contemporary melodrama of crime and redemption; a...
, part of which covers the lead-up to the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre.
The Duke of Guise plays a significant role in the French movie The Princess of Montpensier
The Princess of Montpensier
The Princess of Montpensier is a 2010 French period romance film directed by Bertrand Tavernier, inspired by a short story anonymously published by Madame de La Fayette. It stars Mélanie Thierry in the title role, alongside Gaspard Ulliel, Grégoire Leprince-Ringuet, Lambert Wilson and Raphaël...
. He also appears in the both the 1954 version
La Reine Margot (1954 film)
La Reine Margot is a 1954 French drama film directed by Jean Dréville, scripted by Abel Gance from the novel of the same name by Alexandre Dumas. It stars Jeanne Moreau and Louis de Funès...
and 1994 version
La Reine Margot (1994 film)
La Reine Margot is a 1994 French period film directed by Patrice Chéreau, based on the 1845 historical novel of the same name by Alexandre Dumas, père. It stars Isabelle Adjani, Daniel Auteuil, Virna Lisi and Vincent Pérez...
of La Reine Margot.
Ancestors
Issue
He married on October 4, 1570 in Paris to Catherine of ClevesCatherine of Cleves
Catherine de Clèves was the wife of Henry, Duke of Guise, and matriarch of the numerous and influential House of Guise. By marriage she was Duchess of Guise from 1570 to 1588, and Dowager Duchess of Guise thereafter...
(1548–1633), Countess of Eu
Countess of Eu
- House of Normandy, 996–1246:-House of Lusignan, 1219–1260:-House of Brienne, 1260–1350:Raoul IV was accused of treason in 1350, and the county was confiscated...
, by whom he had fourteen children:
- Charles, Duke of GuiseCharles, Duke of GuiseCharles de Lorraine, 4th Duke of Guise was the son of Henry I, Duke of Guise and Catherine of Cleves.-Biography:...
(1571–1640), who succeeded him - Henri (June 30, 1572, Paris – August 13, 1574)
- Louis III, Cardinal of GuiseLouis III, Cardinal of GuiseLouis de Lorraine known as the Cardinal de Guise was the third son of Henry I, Duke of Guise and Catherine of Cleves....
(1575–1621), Archbishop of ReimsArchbishop of ReimsThe Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Reims is an archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in France. Erected as a diocese around 250 by St. Sixtus, the diocese was elevated to an archdiocese around 750... - Charles (January 1, 1576, ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
) (died at birth) - Claude, Duke of ChevreuseClaude, Duke of ChevreuseClaude de Lorraine , also called Claude de Guise, was a French noble and husband of Marie de Rohan. He was the Duke of Chevreuse, a title which is today used by the Duke of Luynes.-Biography:...
(1578–1657) married Marie de Rohan, daughter of Hercule de Rohan, duc de Montbazon - François (May 14, 1581 – September 29, 1582)
- François Alexandre (February 7, 1589 – June 1, 1614, ChâteauChâteauA château is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor or a country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally—and still most frequently—in French-speaking regions...
des Baux), a Knight of the Order of Malta - Catherine (November 3, 1573) (died at birth)
- Marie (June 1, 1577–1582)
- Catherine (b. May 29, 1579), d. young
- Christine (January 21, 1580) (died at birth)
- Renée (1585 – June 13, 1626, ReimsReimsReims , a city in the Champagne-Ardenne region of France, lies east-northeast of Paris. Founded by the Gauls, it became a major city during the period of the Roman Empire....
), Abbess of St. Pierre - Jeanne (July 31, 1586 – October 8, 1638, JouarreJouarreJouarre is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France.-Jouarre Abbey:It is the site of the Jouarre Abbey a Merovingian foundation of Abbess Theodochilde or Telchilde, traditionally in 630, inspired by the visit of Columban, the travelling Irish...
), Abbess of Jouarre - Louise MargueriteLouise Marguerite de LorraineLouise Marguerite of Lorraine was a daughter of the Duke of Guise and a member of the House of Lorraine. She married François de Bourbon, titled the Prince of Conti. As such, after her marriage she was the Princess of Conti...
, (1588 – April 30, 1631, Château d'Eu), married at the Château de MeudonMeudonMeudon is a municipality in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is in the département of Hauts-de-Seine. It is located from the center of Paris.-Geography:...
on July 24, 1605 François, Prince of Conti
|-
Literature
- Pierre MatthieuPierre MatthieuPierre Matthieu was a French writer, poet, historian and dramatist.-Biography:Pierre Matthieu studied under the Jesuits and mastered Latin, Ancient Greek and Hebrew...
, La Guisiade (1589). - Christopher MarloweChristopher MarloweChristopher Marlowe was an English dramatist, poet and translator of the Elizabethan era. As the foremost Elizabethan tragedian, next to William Shakespeare, he is known for his blank verse, his overreaching protagonists, and his mysterious death.A warrant was issued for Marlowe's arrest on 18 May...
, The Massacre at Paris (1593). - George ChapmanGeorge ChapmanGeorge Chapman was an English dramatist, translator, and poet. He was a classical scholar, and his work shows the influence of Stoicism. Chapman has been identified as the Rival Poet of Shakespeare's Sonnets by William Minto, and as an anticipator of the Metaphysical Poets...
, The Tragedy of Bussy D'AmboisBussy D'AmboisThe Tragedy of Bussy D'Ambois is a Jacobean stage play written by George Chapman. Classified as either a tragedy or "contemporary history," Bussy D'Ambois is widely considered Chapman's greatest play, and is the earliest in a series of plays that Chapman wrote about the French political scene in...
(1607). - George Chapman, The Revenge of Bussy D'AmboisThe Revenge of Bussy D'AmboisThe Revenge of Bussy D'Ambois is a Jacobean revenge tragedy written by George Chapman. The Revenge is a sequel to his earlier Bussy D'Ambois, and was first published in 1613.-Genre and source:...
(1613). - John DrydenJohn DrydenJohn Dryden was an influential English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who dominated the literary life of Restoration England to such a point that the period came to be known in literary circles as the Age of Dryden.Walter Scott called him "Glorious John." He was made Poet...
& Nathaniel LeeNathaniel LeeNathaniel Lee was an English dramatist.He was the son of Dr Richard Lee, a Presbyterian clergyman who was rector of Hatfield and held many preferments under the Commonwealth...
, The Duke of Guise (1683).
See also
- French Wars of ReligionFrench Wars of ReligionThe French Wars of Religion is the name given to a period of civil infighting and military operations, primarily fought between French Catholics and Protestants . The conflict involved the factional disputes between the aristocratic houses of France, such as the House of Bourbon and House of Guise...
- House of GuiseHouse of GuiseThe House of Guise was a French ducal family, partly responsible for the French Wars of Religion.The Guises were Catholic, and Henry Guise wanted to end growing Calvinist influence...
- St. Bartholomew's Day MassacreSt. Bartholomew's Day massacreThe 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...