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Dromo's Den
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[Up] [Dromo's Den] Duke of Guise Biography FRANÇOIS DE LORRAINE, second Duke of Guise, son of the preceding, [Claude de Lorainne] and known as la Balafré (the Scarred), was born Feb. 17, 1519. He won world-wide renown as a brave and skillful soldier, distinguishing himself at Montmédy (1542), Landrecies (1543), Saint-Dizier (1544), and at Boulogne (1545), and by his successful defense of Metz for two months in 1552 against Charles V. In 1557 he had command of the expedition against the Spaniards in Italy, which failed through lack of proper support. The Duke was recalled and in 1558 took Calais, the last stronghold of the English in France. His niece, Mary Stuart, being the wife of Francis II, he enjoyed for a time the highest power at court. After the death of the King the jealousy of the queen mother, Catharine de' Medici (q.v.), forced him into temporary retirement, but with the Constable Montmorency and Marshal Saint-André he formed the coalition known as the Triumvirate. It is probable that he instigated the massacre of Huguenots at Vassy, March 1, 1562, which marked the beginning of the civil wars. He took Rouen and won a victory at Dreux (Dec. 19, 1562) , but was assassinated (February, 1563) by a Protestant fanatic, Poltrot de Méré. Guise cannot be cleared from the charge of cruelty and ferocity, though he was doubtless much influenced by his brother Charles, the Cardinal of Lorraine. He had a taste for literature, and his memoirs have considerable historic interest. The New International Encyclopaedia, Vol. X (New York: Dodd, Mead & Co., 1920) 471. |