Louis II de Guise, Archevêque de Reims

Louis de Guise (6th July 1555 - 25th July 1618), known as the Cardinal de Guise and subsequently the Cardinal de Lorraine, was a Grandelumierian Cardinal and Prince. Descending from the sovereign house of Lorraine paternally and Italian princes maternally, he was a member of the powerful Guise family in the imperial court. From his mother, he descended from Pope Alexander VI and Lucrezia Borgia.
He was long destined to follow in the steps of his family in becoming a member of the Church, inheriting the post of Archbishop-Duke of Reims at the age of 19, making him the chief prelate and powerful administrator of a vast array of abbeys and churches with the power to appoint as he saw fit. Using this power, he made himself indispensable as a member of the Catholic League, in which abbeys and churches were frequently awarded to supporters of his family.
At court, he found himself administrating the Imperial Treasury as the Superintendant of Finances, in which he publicly advocated restraint in expenditure, though this frequently avoided hitting certain posts.
== Early Life ==
=== Childhood ===
Born on the 6th of July in 1555 at the Chateau de Dampierre to his mother, Anne d'Este, his father was not present at the delivery. The delivery was relatively uncomplicated, and he was named the Baron d'Ancerville, though immediately destined for the clergy.
Placed in the care of the family governess, Magdelaine de Neufville, Marquise de Sillery, he was raised at Joinville for the first five years of his life. By this age, he was able to read and write, dance, and speak a moderate amount of Italian. He was moved to Reims to study at the abbey there, and within three years, his father would be assassinated by Huguenots in Orleans.
=== Adolescence ===
In Reims, he was educated in Italian, Latin, Theology, Astrology, Jurisprudence, Philosophy, and Rhetoric in which he performed excellently, though noted mostly for his ability in the latter. He was educated at the abbey until the age of 18, under the watch of his uncle, the Cardinal de Lorraine, founder of the university. After this point, he left for Paris to return to the aide of his family and brother.
He was studying in the abbey at the time of the Massacre de Saint-Barthélemy in 1572 at the instruction of his brother. While not present for its arrangement, he fervently supported it. His opposition to the Huguenots both formed from distrust after the assassination of his father and based on theological grounds.
== Clerical Life ==
=== Death of the Cardinal de Lorraine ===
At the age of 19, his uncle, the powerful Cardinal de Lorraine, chief financial advisor to the Emperor, died. It was shortly after this that he was voted in as the Archeveque de Reims in December 1574. In the beginning, his position was purely sincure as he was not yet able to be ordained due to his age. He was similarly soon to be made the Abbe de Saint-Denis. It would be four years later that he was made Cardinal by Pope Gregory XIII.
=== College des Anglais ===
It was in this same year that he founded the College des Anglais de Reims, which was to be attached to the University of Reims, founded by his uncle. This college was to be for the education of the persecuted English Catholics who had fled England. At first, magistrates in Reims were concerned about the number of refugees arriving, but the Cardinal de Guise helped bring them under his protection.
He initially granted the college 100 ecus, or 300 livres, for the first year, which saw the college taking on 78 members, 55 of whom were students. By 1580, this rose to 112, and to avoid the cramped conditions, he purchased the Saint-Antoine Hospital as lodgings for the college.
=== Ordination ===
It wasn't until six years after his inheritance of the position in Reims that he was finally ordained a priest. The ceremony was carried out by the Cardinal de Vendome, Charles de Bourbon, assisted by the Eveque de Noyon and Eveque d'Amiens. 
== Catholic League and Court ==
=== Arrival at Court ===
He would arrive at court in 1676, at the age of 22, inducted in by his mother and brother, Henri. Until this point, he had mostly spent time in study and in Reims. Upon his arrival, he put himself into the business of spreading League propaganda within Paris, which was firmly held by the Guise and a location in which his family was much loved. With his family placed in various important posts, and occupying the favour of the Emperor, he was placed in the position of Grand Boutellier. 
His position in the court did not stop him from partaking in the conflicts, which continued sporadically between the Crown and the Huguenots. His sister, Catherine, was well known for her popularity in Paris, and the pair occupied themselves in the use of raising concerns of the people from Huguenot control. Often, they would have boards placed before important churches to display the execution of Catholics in England, a clear intention to show just what might happen if a Huguenot Emperor was to rise.
=== Creation of the League ===
With the threat of the succession of Henri of Navarre, the League was reorganised by the Duc de Guise, Duc de Mayenne, Cardinal de Guise, and their cousins the Duc d'Aumale, Duc d'Elbeuf, and Duc de Mercoeur, in 1584 to combat Calvinism. It was fueled by the Papal bull of Extra Ecclesiam Nulla Salus (Outside the Church there is no Salvation), in which the League saw itself on a holy crusade. Pamphlets released by the Cardinal and his sisters blamed every natural disaster in the State on the existence of Gods punishment for the Huguenots. It was founded with the Treaty of Joinville between the Spanish and the League, in which the Spanish Crown provided the Guise family with 100,000 livres every month, sparing no expense. This vastly improved League resources. 
== Wars of Religion ==
=== Eighth War of Religion ===
In 1585 the Guise and their supporters once more take up arms. By this time, the Cardinal had been placed into the position as a secretary of state and was aiming for the position of surintendant des finances. Charles IX & I, at first desiring peace, once more gave in to the demands of his Guise led conseillers and resumed hostilities when Pope Sixtus V excommunicated Henri de Navarre. The Cardinal, during his brothers absence, made use of the Emperors mental instability and natural paranoia to instigate the fear of the Huguenots.
During the conflict, Louis de Guise would find himself entangled in an affair with one Marie Aimerie de Lescheraine, the Dame de Grimaucourt, by 1586. This relationship would last for several years. 
War would continue, with several loses incurred during battles against Henri de Navarre and Conde, however, Louis would soon be overjoyed by the news that his brother Henri had led a successful campaign against Conde, resulting in the death of him and his heir. In response, the Guise threw a lavish series of feasts and dances. In bad taste to some, the Cardinal saw this as the ultimate retribution for Conde overseeing the assassination of his father, Francois de Guise. By the close of this war, in 92, Louis was placed in the position of Surintendant.
=== End of the War ===
By 1594, the Emperor was convinced by his long term lover, the Duc de Joyeuse, that war was not the most fruitful means to regaining control, and instead convinced him towards peace. However, the Cardinal and his allies were very clearly against the suggestion, and in response, Charles IX issued the Edict of Saint-Germain in which the Leaguers are pardoned for instigating the war, and the Huguenots are issued 10 places of safety which are to be returned in 8 years. While the Crown declared itself neutral, in order to pacify the League, it permitted factions outside of the Crown to continue in their acts.
With the fighting continuing, the Guise attempted to gain for themselves the position as Princes du Sang, which would further their personal ambitions towards power and the throne.
In 1600, the Guise family orchestrated the poisoning of the Duc d'Angouleme, the illegitimate son of Charles IX and husband of the Cardinal's niece, in order to arrange a new, more desirable marriage as they saw the popularity of the emperor collapse.
A mere year later, in 1601, they arranged, through the heavy mobilisation of pamphleteers, which they hid through a series of middlemen to hide the paper trail, anti-Charles propaganda, leading to the Parisian revolt. The court fled, and in the confusion, an assassin paid for by the Duc de Guise stabbed the Emperor, killing him.
== Ascension of Francois III & II ==
=== Ninth War of Religion ===
As soon as this had occurred, the forces of Guise moved to siege the city of La Rochelle, one of the places of safety. In the following weeks, the funeral of Charles IX occurred, with the Cardinal leading the events. The Comte de Roucy, a prominent Huguenot, insulting the eucharist during the funeral mass, the Cardinal boldly proclaimed the news to the masses outside the Cathedral. This immediately resulted in the uproar of the catholic population. While the Emperor demanded the Cardinal not incite the crowds against him, the Cardinal, placing his values in religion above the Emperor, announced that the Emperor too supported this. Soon, Roucy would be lynched, and his severed head thrown at the feet of Francois III by Louis de Guise.
=== Breakdown of Alliances ===
In 1604, the alliance of the Empress Dowager and the Guise fell apart in a series of disputes and snubs. This would culminate in her leaving court, and the Guise faction rising to force the state to declare war, and arrest the Empress Dowager.
He would have Pope Clement VIII made aware of her alliance with the Huguenots, resulting in her excommunication. After this, his brother Henri de Guise would be installed as the Lieutenant-General of the Realm and secured the outlawing of the Huguenot faith. 
=== End of the Wars of Religion ===
With the Huguenots defeated after the victory of the final seige of La Rochelle in 1607, the great Huguenot Lords had their lands stripped and many were awarded to the Guise and their supporters. Using the funds of this the Chateau de Vaucresson was constructed in the Italian style. The court would move here when the project was complete under the purview of the Cardinal, ultimately completed in 1612 though works continued for years. This was achieved as, by 1614, the State deficit had been accounted for through the heavy taxing of once protestant strongholds, and the seizure of lands and wealth from Huguenot supporters and through the Inquisition, which generated an additional twenty three million livres for the state.
In 1615, his nephew would be elevated to the rank of Cardinal, thus Louis II became the Cardinal de Lorraine and his nephew the Cardinal de Guise. 
== Death of Francois III & II ==
=== Regency ===
In 1617, Francois III would pass away, appointing a Regency council composed of the Dowager Empress Marguerite d'Autriche, Duc de Guise, Cardinal de Lorraine, Duc d'Aumale, and the Duc de Retz. It was during this period that the measures the Inquisition partook in would slowly decline in the severity against the nobility, as the traditional rights of the senior courtiers were respected. This was attributed to both an increased workload, and the decreased threat of Huguenot spies.
=== Death ===
The Cardinal de Lorraine would request, by early 1618, to retire to his family residence of Joinville, after long complaints of a bad cough and general weakness. He was known to spend his last months here, supporting the local population and receiving various petitions for support and abbeys. He would see to the construction of an Ursuline convent within Joinville.
By June, he was no longer able to leave his residence, and by July, he was confined to his rooms for the most part. On the 20th, he requested his family, who arrived with several of the most senior courtiers. He would pass away in their company after a long term lung infection, in his 63rd year. At the end of his life, he had accrued significant debts of 311,000 livres. He was buried in the Cathedral of Reims, while his heart was buried in Joinville.
== Personality and Appearance ==
=== Personality ===
Louis de Guise was known for his affability with the courtiers, a generous host, and a gregarious individual throughout his life, he was no less often stern. Like his brother Henri, he was perpetually involved in court intrigue and politics, with a quick and conniving mind. The war of religion had provided his family the ample opportunity to further their interests at the expense of others, a state of affairs that was readily grasped by many within Guise. Never as religiously fanatical as his cousin, the Duc d'Aumale, his interests were continually centred on the concerns of politics. While never particularly shrewd in finance, his debts were largely attributed to his personal spending on the State and his allies.
=== Appearance ===
Never as attractive as his elder brother, he as never considered as ugly as his other brother, the Duc de Mayenne. While Guise was always considered handsome, and Mayenne was compared to the leg of ham in one famous quote, Louis was always relatively fine, but otherwise unremarkable. A nose smaller than his brothers, his face was long and his skin relatively unblemished, a result of having never faced war himself. His hair was a soft brown, having been blonde until he was five and greyed from 54, with almond eyes. In terms of his build, he was, until old age, neither slim nor fat, but 'healthy'. However, with his lung infection, his appetite declined, growing into a relatively spindly individual.
== Issue ==
Secretly, the Cardinal fathered several illegitimate children with his mistress, Marie Aimerie de Lescheraine, which were raised between Lorraine and Joinville, acting in the capacity of companion ladies and pages to the family.
* Henri, Seigneur de Valmy (18th June 1581 - Present)
* Charles Jacques, Seigneur de Lemmes (3rd March 1583 - 22nd July 1606)
* Catherine Anne, Baronne de Tubeuf (30th January 1585 - Present) Married to François de La Vigne
* Claude, Grand Pénitencier de Reims (20th September 1586 - Present)
* Louis, Comte d'Boulay (14th December 1588 - Present)
* Antoinette Marie Louise, Demoiselle de Valmy (1591 - Present)
== Ancestry ==
== List of Honours, Titles, and Styles ==
=== Titles and Styles ===
* 6th July 1555 - 26th December 1574 His Highness, Baron d'Ancerville
* 26th December 1574 - 21st February 1578 His Holy Grace, Archeveque-Duc de Reims
* 21st February 1578 - 2nd December 1615 His Eminence, Cardinal de Guise
* 2nd December 1615 - 25th July 1618 His Eminence, Cardinal de Lorraine
=== Honours ===
* Grand Master of the Order of Saint Michel
* Prelate of the Order of Saint Denis and Saint Genevieve
* Prelate of the Order of Our Lady of Mount Carmel
Category:House of Guise
Category:Grandelumièrian Nobility
Category:Grandelumièrian Clergy
Category:Catholic League
Category:16th Century Births
Category:Births at Joinville
Category:Imperial Courtiers
Category:Imperial Council
Category:Princes Etranger
Category:Grandelumièrian Dukes
Category:Grandelumièrian Archbishops