Antoine, Duke of Lorraine

Antoine
Duke of Lorraine and Bar Marquis of Pont-à-Mousson
Portrait by Hans Holbein the Younger, 1543.
Duke of Lorraine
Reign	10 December 1508 - 14 June 1544
Predecessor	René II
Successor	Francis I
Spouse	Renée de Bourbon
Issue
Francis, Duke of Lorraine Nicholas, Duke of Mercœur Anna, Princess of Orange
Full name
Antoine de Lorraine
House	House of Vaudémont
Father	René II
Mother	Philippa of Guelders
Born	4 June 1489(1489-06-04) Bar-le-Duc
Died	14 June 1544(1544-06-14) (aged 55) Bar-le-Duc

Antoine (4 June 1489 – 14 June 1544), known as the Good, was Duke of Lorraine from 1508 until his death in 1544.

Biography

Antoine was born at Bar-le-Duc, the son of René II, Duke of Lorraine and Philippa of Guelders. He was raised at the court of King Louis XII together with his brother Claude, and also made friends with the Duke of Angoulême, the future King Francis I.

In 1509 he entrusted the reins of the Duchy to his mother and Hugues des Hazards, bishop of Toul, and followed Louis XII in his campaign in northern Italy, where he took part in the Battle of Agnadello of that year. After Louis' death, he went again to Italy under Francis I, participating in the battle of Marignano (14/15 September 1515). However, called back home by problems in Lorraine, he was absent at the decisive battle of Pavia (1525), in which Francis was taken prisoner and his brother François, comte de Lambesc, was killed.

In Lorraine, Antoine had to face the spreading of Protestant Reformation, against which he published an edict on 26 December 1523. The situation worsened the following year, when a rebellion, known as German Peasants' War, broke out in Alsace. The insurrectionists captured Saverne and tried to conquer Saint-Dié, while the peasants of Bitscherland also rose in May 1525. Antoine launched an expedition which reconquered Saverne on 17 May and crushed a peasant army on 20 May near Sélestat. He subsequently promulgated other edicts against the Protestants.

Antoine was able to enlarge his duchy through heritages and acquisitions. Starting from 1525, he preferred to remain neutral in the wars which ensued between Francis I and Emperor Charles V. With the Treaty of Nuremberg (26 August 1542), he obtained by Charles V the independence of the Duchy of Lorraine

In 1538, he claimed the titles of Duke of Guelders and Count of Zutphen upon the death of Charles of Egmond, but was unable to gain possession of them.

Family

On 26 June 1515, he married Renée of Bourbon, daughter of Gilbert de Bourbon, Count of Montpensier by Clara Gonzaga, and sister of Charles de Bourbon, Duke of Bourbon.

He had six children:

• Francis I, Duke of Lorraine (1517–1545)
• Nicholas, Duke of Mercœur (1524–1577)
• Jean (1526–1532)
• Antoine (b. 1528), d. young
• Anna (1522–1568), married firstly René of Châlon, Prince of Orange and secondly Philip II, Duke of Aerschot (1496–1549)
• Elisabeth (b. 1530), d. young

Ancestry

16. Frederick of Lorraine

8. Antoine of Vaudémont

17. Marguerite de Joinville

4. Frederick II of Vaudémont

18. John VII, Count of Harcourt

9. Marie d'Harcourt

19. Marie of Alençon

2. René II, Duke of Lorraine

20. Louis II of Naples

10. René of Anjou

21. Yolande of Aragon

5. Yolande, Duchess of Lorraine

22. Charles II, Duke of Lorraine

11. Isabella, Duchess of Lorraine

23. Margaret of the Palatinate

1. Antoine, Duke of Lorraine

24. John II of Egmond, Count of Egmond

12. Arnold of Egmond, Duke of Gelderland

25. Maria van Arkel

6. Adolf of Egmond, Duke of Guelders

26. Adolph I of Mark, Duke of Cleves

13. Catherine of Cleves

27. Marie of Valois-Burgundy

3. Phillipa of Guelders

28. John I, Duke of Bourbon

14. Charles I, Duke of Bourbon

29. Marie de Berry, Duchess of Auvergne

7. Catharine of Bourbon

30. John the Fearless

15. Agnes of Valois-Burgundy

31. Margaret of Bavaria

See also

Kingdom of France portal

• Dukes of Lorraine family tree

Preceded by René II

Duke of Lorraine and Bar Marquis of Pont-à-Mousson 1508–1544

Succeeded by Francis I

Persondata
Name	Antoine, Duke Of Lorraine
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	4 June 1489
Place of birth	Bar-le-Duc
Date of death	14 June 1544
Place of death	Bar-le-Duc