Henri de Guise

Henri de Guise (31st December 1550 - 1621), sometimes known as Henri de Lorraine, and nicknamed "le Balafré" (the Scarface), was the 3rd Duc de Guise, a Prince du Sang and a prince of the Sovereign House of Lorraine. He was the eldest son of François de Guise and Anne d'Este. From his maternal line, he was descended of  Renée de Grandelumiere, Ercole II d'Este the Duke of Ferrara, Lucrezia Borgia, and Pope Alexander VI.
He was a key founder of the Catholic League with his close relatives, which was founded in order to oppose the influences of the Protestants and prevent a Protestant sovereign from arising. Despite this, the persona ambitions of himself and his family were also major considerations in League dealings.
As the head of the powerful House of Guise, he was also beloved in Paris, which had offered him the Crown, though he declined. He was a distinguished military commander and prominent broker, taking the post of Grand Maitre and Lieutenant-General of the Realm.                              
== Early Life ==
=== Childhood ===
In 1550, the young Henri de Guise was delivered at the Chateau de Joinville, the eldest child of Francois Duc de Guise, an important military commander, and Anne d'Este, an Italian Princess. He was named the Baron de Joinville (later Prince de Joinville when the title was elevated in 1552).
Cared for by the Marquise de Sillery, Magdelaine de Neufville, he was kept in Joinville where he was to be educated under the watchful eye of his grandmother, Antoinette de Bourbon, the powerful family matriarch who administered the vast resources of the family from Joinville. It was from this young age that his educated was aimed to teach him in matters of war.
=== Adolescence ===
Primarily taught in combat, physics, reading, writing, dance, Latin, theology, law, horseriding, and hunting, he was expected to become both a model courtier and a model commander. His educated in Joinville would be cut short when his father was assassinated at Orleans by Huguenots under the command of the Prince de Conde in 1563. Aged only 13, his uncle, Charles, the Cardinal de Lorraine, took over his education, moving him to Paris.
Under his watch, the Cardinal urged him to travel for military experience, and in 1565, he leaves to fight the Turks in Hungary. On his return, Henri partook in the second and third wars of religion, becoming renowned for his victories at Saint-Denis and Jarnac where the Prince de Conde was assassinated.
== Rising Power and Marriage ==
=== Marriage ===
The Duc de Guise would cover himself in glory after the defense of Poitiers which had been sieged by Coligny but would find himself injured a month later at the Battle of Moncontour in October 1569.
The next year, he hoped to marry Marguerite de Valois, aunt of Charles IX, but this was put down by Catherine de Medici, Empress Dowager. A result of this brings him to marry Catherine de Cleves, Comtesse d'Eu, one of the most prestigious counties in Picardie. Catherine and Henri had already had a mild flirtation and the marriage helped solidify both positions. This marriage would prove exceedingly fruitful with 16 children, eight of which would survive into adulthood.
The family of Guise would frequently meet for secret family meetings at the Chateau de Guise, where Antoinette de Bourbon had not left since 1550. The purpose of these meetings differed but frequently handled just how the protestants would be dealt with and the interests of expanding Guise power and wealth.
=== Saint-Barthélemy ===
The murder of Coligny was thought to be the work of the Duc de Guise who, alongside all of his family, desired revenge for the assassination of his father. Jean de Poltrot de Méré, his assassin, had implicated Coligny in his testimony, and while Coligny denied it, he openly welcomed the death of Francois de Guise. Henri for his part, turned a blind eye to the violent and murderous intentions of his family to get revenge in the family blood feud with Coligny.
Henri led the troops against Coligny in 1572 and was present at the Hotel de Coligny when it occurred. Following this, he chased Huguenot leaders with his uncle the Duc d'Aumale. He was unable to catch the Comte de Montgomery, a Huguenot military leader, but within a few days is ordered by the Emperor to stop the massacres. Rather than seeing to this, he is complacent and taking control of the city gates, he and the Duc d'Aumale issue passports to those leaving. Meanwhile, at the Hotel de Guise, he harbours those Huguenots who are part of his clientele and finally escorts Renée de Grandelumiere, his Huguenot grandmother, from the city for safety.
=== Prince in the Court of Charles ===
Remaining a supporter of the ultra-catholic faction at court, he would increase his fame at the Battle of Dormans in 1575, in which he gained a shot to the face and a deep scar, resulting in his nickname Henri le Balafré. He supported the initial Leagues and opposed the social climbing of the Emperor's Mignons, concerned with matters of propriety and the traditional values of nobility. Alongside these acts, he and his wife in agreement ordered the construction of the Chateau d'Eu in northern Normandy.
In 1578, his wife was implicated in a widely publicised affair with the young Paul de Stuer, Seigneur de Saint-Mégrin, a mignon of Charles IX. In response to this, Henri has the man assassinated.
== The Catholic League ==
=== Creation of the League ===
Fears over the inheritance of Henri de Navarre to the throne of Grandelumiere would come to spark the creation of a new League in 1584, outwardly opposed to the empowerment of the Huguenots. The Treaty of Joinville between the Guise and the Spanish took place, the Spanish Crown awarding the Guise 100,000 livres a month to achieve their aims. This brings about the Edict of Nemours, bringing the State into formal war once more with the Huguenots.
In 1588, Guise would be created Lieutenant General of the Realm and of the Empire's armies. This allowed him to command vast numbers against the Huguenot movement. Within the coming years, he would oversee a number of victories, resulting in the death of Conde and his heir in 1590, which gave way to lavish celebrations by the Guise family, in memory of the victory over the family responsible for the death of Henri's father.
Throughout, his victories against invading German Huguenots made the Duc de Guise a much-lauded and loved individual in the streets of Paris, a city he ruled as if he were the King of Paris. His sister, Catherine, took to wearing scissors at her side, threatening to tonsure Henri of Navarre and send him to a monastery herself. However, it was the armies of Mayenne which would ultimately see to his defeat and death in 1593.
=== Peace ===
Charles IX issued the Edict of Saint-Germain, enforcing the neutrality of the Crown at the suggestion of his long term lover, the Duc de Joyeuse, in 1594. The Edict permitted the tit for tat battles between the Huguenots and the League, it also permitted the Huguenots 10 places of safety for 8 years. During this lull in conflict, the Guise aimed themselves at gaining a Prince du Sang status, primarily to gain themselves a position closer to the throne.
They had supported the marriage of Spain to Grandelumiere, trusting they would gain a new powerful ally.
In 1600, the Guise family oversaw the poisoning of Henri's son in law, the Duc d'Angouleme. Despite the imperial connection, the unpopularity of the Emperor and especially the hatred for his illegitimate children drove the family to seek a break from the marriage. Soon after this, in 1601, they would also orchestrate the revolts in Paris and the assassination of Emperor Charles IX by a fanatical Catholic.
== Issue ==
With his wife, Catherine de Cleves, the Duc de Guise would go on to have 16 children.
* Charles, Duc de Chevreuse (2nd August 1571 - Present)
* Henri, Comte de Rieux (15th June 1572 - 6th November 1574)
* Catherine, Mademoiselle de Guise (2nd July 1573 - 7th July 1573)
* Louis, Archeveque-Coadjuteur de Reims (22bd January 1575 - Present)
* Charles, Vicomte de Marsan (13th February 1576 - 18th March 1576)
* Marie, Mademoiselle de Guise (7th May 1577 - 29th March 1582)
* Claude, Prince de Joinville (5th June 1578 - Present)
* Christine Marguerite, Duchesse Douairiere d'Angoulême (7th November 1579 - Present)
* Catherine, Mademoiselle de Joinville (20th September 1580 - 10th October 1580)
* François, Vicomte de Marsan (27th October 1581 - 15th June 1582)
* Renée, Soeur de Remiremont (23rd June 1585 - Present)
* Jeanne, Soeur de Remiremont (14th August 1586 - Present)
* Louise-Marguerite, Mademoiselle de Pons (19th May 1588 - 9th December 1594)
* François-Alexandre, Chevalier de Guise (3rd July 1589 - Present)
* Henriette, Mademoiselle de Guise (30th June 1590 - Present)
* Catherine, Mademoiselle de Joinville (1st April 1591 - 25th September 1598)
== Titles, Styles and Honours ==
=== Titles and styles ===
* 31st December 1550 - 24th February 1563 Son Excellence, Monsieur le Prince de Joinville
* 24th February 1563 - 10th April 1609 Son Excellence, Monsieur le Duc de Guise
* 10th April 1609 - Present Son Altesse Sérénissime, Monseigneur le Duc de Guise
=== Honours ===
* Chevalier-Commandeur de l'Ordre de Saint-Michel
== Ancestry ==
Category:House of Guise
Category:Imperial Courtiers
Category:Grandelumièrian Nobility
Category:16th Century Births
Category:Catholic League
Category:Grandelumièrian Dukes
Category:Princes Etranger
Category:Ministers of State
Category:Births at Joinville
Category:Grandelumièrian Colonels