Mayenne, Charles de Lorraine, duc de
Mayenne, Charles de Lorraine, duc de
(shärl də lôrĕn` dük də mäyĕn`), 1554–1611, French Catholic general in the Wars of Religion (see Religion, Wars ofReligion, Wars of,1562–98, series of civil wars in France, also known as the Huguenot Wars.
The immediate issue was the French Protestants' struggle for freedom of worship and the right of establishment (see Huguenots).
..... Click the link for more information. ); brother of Henri, 3d duc de GuiseGuise
, influential ducal family of France. The First Duke of Guise
The family was founded as a cadet branch of the ruling house of Lorraine by Claude de Lorraine, 1st duc de Guise, 1496–1550, who received the French fiefs of his father, René II, duke
..... Click the link for more information. , and Louis de Lorraine, Cardinal de Guise. After the murder of his brothers (1588), he became the head of the Catholic LeagueLeague
or Holy League,
in French history, organization of Roman Catholics, aimed at the suppression of Protestantism and Protestant political influence in France.
..... Click the link for more information. . Defeated by King Henry IV of France at Arques (1589) and Ivry (1590), he nevertheless raised Henry's siege of Paris (1590). For a time he wielded almost royal power over the parts of France that supported the League. He became estranged from the pro-Spanish faction, which supported the claim to the French crown of the Spanish infanta Isabella, a granddaughter of King Henry II of France. In 1596, Mayenne made his final peace with Henry IV, who had previously abjured Protestantism.