Duke of Mercoeur Nicholas of LORRAINE

Notes:

Name:
Nicolas of Lorraine, Duke of Merc?ur (16 October 1524 - 23 January 1577) was the second son of Antoine, Duke of Lorraine and Renée de Bourbon.

Biography
He was originally destined for an ecclesiastical career, being made bishop of Metz in 1543 and of Verdun in 1544. In June 1545, he became joint "tutor and administrator" for his nephew, Charles III, Duke of Lorraine, with his sister-in-law Christina of Denmark. However, the Estates of Lorraine, in November 1545, removed him in favor of Christina as sole regent. He opposed her pro-Imperial policies. Resigning his dioceses in 1548 in favor of his uncle Jean, Cardinal of Lorraine, he took the title Count of Vaudémont.

After seizure of the Three Bishoprics in 1552 by Henry II of France, he was re-appointed as sole regent for his nephew, a position he retained until 1559.

In 1551, Nomeny was detached from the Bishopric of Metz and given to him as a margraviate by Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor in 1567, in right of which he was recognized as an independent, hereditary Prince of the Empire (the House of Lorraine would obtain a full vote in the Imperial Diet in 1736 for Nomeny in compensation for cession of the Duchy of Lorraine to France?in addition to acquisition of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany).[1]

In France, his mother's barony of Merc?ur was likewise elevated to the status of a princedom (though not independent of the French crown) in 1563, and raised to a ducal peerage in 1569.[2] He was also created a knight of the Order of Saint Esprit.

He married thrice. His first marriage, on 1 May 1549 in Brussels, was to Marguerite d'Egmont (1517 ? 10 March 1554, Bar-le-Duc),[3] daughter of Count Jean IV of Egmont. By her he had one son and three daughters:

Marguerite of Lorraine (b. 9 February 1550), d. young.
Catherine of Lorraine (b. 26 February 1551, Nomeny), d. young.
Henri of Lorraine (b. 9 April 1552, Nomeny) Count of Chaligny, d. young.
Louise of Lorraine (30 April 1553, Nomeny ? 29 January 1601, Château de Moulins), married on 13 February 1575, at Reims, Henry III of France.[4]
His second marriage was on 24 February 1555 at Fontainebleau, to Joanna of Savoy (1532?1568), daughter of Philippe, Duke of Nemours. By this marriage he had four sons and two daughters:

Philippe Emmanuel of Lorraine, Duke of Merc?ur (1558?1602).
Charles de Lorraine (20 April 1561, Nomeny ? 29 October 1587, Paris), known as the Cardinal de Vaudémont, Bishop of Toul and of Verdun.
Jean of Lorraine (b. 14 September 1563, Château de Deneuvre), d. young.
Marguerite of Lorraine (14 May 1564, Nomeny ? 20 September 1625), married on 24 September 1581 in Paris Anne, Duke of Joyeuse (1561?1587), married on 31 May 1599 François de Luxemburg, Duke of Piney (d. 1613).
Claude of Lorraine (b. 12 April 1566, Nomeny), d. young.
François of Lorraine (15 September 1567 ? 1596, Châtel-sur-Moselle), Marquis of Chaussin.
His third marriage was on 11 May 1569 at Reims, to Catherine of Lorraine (1550?1606), daughter of Claude, Duke of Aumale. By her he had three sons and two daughters:

Henri of Lorraine (31 July 1570, Nancy ? 26 October 1600, Vienna), Marquis of Mouy and Count of Chaligny, married on 19 September 1585 Claude de Mouy.
Christine of Lorraine (b. 24 September 1571, Château de Koeurs), d. young.
Antoine of Lorraine (27 August 1572 ? 1587, Mainz), Abbot of Beaulieu and Bishop of Toul.
Louise of Lorraine (b. 27 March 1575, Nancy), d. young.
Eric of Lorraine (14 March 1576 ? 27 April 1623), Bishop of Verdun.

Nicholas married Marguerite D'EGMONT on 1 May 1549 in Brussels. Marguerite was born in 1517; died on 10 Mar 1554 in Bar-le-Duc. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Nicholas married Joanna of SAVOY on 24 Feb 1555 in Fontainebleau. Joanna (daughter of Philip of Savoy Duke Of NEMOURS and Charlotte of ORLEANS) was born in 1532; died in 1568. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. Duke of Mercoeur Philippe Emmanuel DE LORRAINE was born on 9 Sep 1558 in Nomeny, Meurthe-et-Moselle; died on 19 Feb 1602 in Nuremberg.

Nicholas married Catherine of LORRAINE on 11 May 1569 in Reims. Catherine (daughter of Claude Duke Of AUMALE and Louise DE BREZE) was born in 1550; died in 1606. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Name:
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.[1] 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.[2] After Louis' death, he went again to Italy under Francis I, participating in the battle of Marignano (14/15 September 1515).[3] 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.[3]

In Lorraine, Antoine had to face the spreading of Protestant Reformation, against which he published an edict on 26 December 1523.[4] 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.

By 1539, Antoine suffered from gout and asked his niece, Mary of Guise, to send him a Scottish hackney horse which he hoped to find easier to ride with his condition.[5]

Family
On 26 June 1515, he married Renée of Bourbon, daughter of Gilbert de Bourbon, Count of Montpensier by Clara Gonzaga.[3]

He had six children:

Francis I, Duke of Lorraine (1517?1545)[1]
Nicholas, Duke of Merc?ur (1524?1577)[1]
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

Antoine married Renee of BOURBON on 26 Jun 1515. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Fact: Daughter of Gilbert de Bourbon, Count of Montpensier by Clara Gonzaga