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Dromo's Den
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[Up] [Dromo's Den] Charles de Lorraine Biography CHARLES DE LORRAINE, brother of the preceding, [François de Lorraine, Duke of Guise] was born Feb. 17, 1525. He entered the Church, became Archbishop of Rheims in 1538, and was created Cardinal in 1547. He was known as the Cardinal of Guise until the death of his paternal uncle, when he took the title of Cardinal of Lorraine, by which he is known in history. He was deeply involved in the political intrigues of the time and inspired much that was worst in the policy of his house, of which he became practically the head after the assassination of his brother. His vacillation and cowardice rendered him inefficient as a leader, and his influence declined from the moment when he became responsible for the execution of his own designs. He introduced the Inquisition into France in 1558, and the responsibility for the cruel excesses following the tumult of Amboise (1560) rests upon him. He was licentious in his private life. The New International Encyclopaedia, Vol. X (New York: Dodd, Mead & Co., 1920) 471-472. |