René of Anjou
The story is based on the life of Yolande, daughter of King René of Anjou, who married her cousin Frederick II, Count of Vaudémont in 1445. The marriage was a dynastic alliance, arranged to end the dispute which existed between René of Anjou and Frederick's father, Antoine of Vaudémont, regarding the succession to the Duchy of Lorraine. Beyond these facts, the play is fictional. The Count of Vaudémont's given name is altered to "Tristan". The central conceit of Iolanthe's blindness is entirely invented.