Charles V, Duke of Lorraine and Bar (french: Charles Léopold Nicolas Sixte; german: Karl V Leopold; 3 April 1643 – 18 April 1690) succeeded his uncle
Charles IV, Duke of Lorraine as titular Duke of
Lorraine and
Bar
Bar or BAR may refer to:
Food and drink
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* Candy bar
* Chocolate bar
Science and technology
* Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment
* Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud
* Bar (u ...
in 1675; both duchies were occupied by France from 1634 to 1661 and 1670 to 1697.
Born in exile in
Vienna, Charles spent his military career in the service of the
Habsburg monarchy
The Habsburg monarchy (german: Habsburgermonarchie, ), also known as the Danubian monarchy (german: Donaumonarchie, ), or Habsburg Empire (german: Habsburgerreich, ), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ...
. He played an important role in the
1683-1696 Turkish War, which reasserted Habsburg power in south-east Europe, and ended his life as an Imperial Field Marshal.
Life
Charles was born on 3 April 1643 in
Vienna, second son of
Nicholas
Nicholas is a male given name and a surname.
The Eastern Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Anglicanism, Anglican Churches celebrate Saint Nicholas every year on December 6, which is the name day for "Nicholas". In Greece, the n ...
, younger brother of
Charles IV, Duke of Lorraine, and his wife
Claude Françoise of Lorraine Claude may refer to:
__NOTOC__ People and fictional characters
* Claude (given name), a list of people and fictional characters
* Claude (surname), a list of people
* Claude Lorrain (c. 1600–1682), French landscape painter, draughtsman and etcher ...
. In 1634, his father replaced his uncle as Duke; shortly afterwards, France occupied the
Duchy of Lorraine and Nicholas went into exile, resigning in favour of his elder brother. The French withdrew in 1661, but invaded again in 1670 and only returned in 1697.
Charles became heir to the Duchy on the death of his elder brother Ferdinand Philippe (1639–1659). In 1678, he married
Eleanor of Austria
Eleanor of Austria (15 November 1498 – 25 February 1558), also called Eleanor of Castile, was born an Archduchess of Austria and Infanta of Castile from the House of Habsburg, and subsequently became Queen consort of Portugal (1518–152 ...
(1653-1697), widow of
Michael I, King of Poland; he stood for election twice as
King of Poland
Poland was ruled at various times either by dukes and princes (10th to 14th centuries) or by kings (11th to 18th centuries). During the latter period, a tradition of free election of monarchs made it a uniquely electable position in Europe (16t ...
but was unsuccessful.
They had four children who survived infancy; his heir
Leopold, Duke of Lorraine
Leopold the Good (11 September 1679 – 27 March 1729) was Duke of Lorraine and Bar from 1690 to his death. Through his son Francis Stephen, he is the direct male ancestor of all rulers of the Habsburg-Lorraine dynasty, including all Emperors of ...
(1679–1729),
Charles Joseph (1680–1715), Joseph Emanuel (1685–1705) and François Antoine (1689–1715). His grandson,
Francis I Francis I or Francis the First may refer to:
* Francesco I Gonzaga (1366–1407)
* Francis I, Duke of Brittany (1414–1450), reigned 1442–1450
* Francis I of France (1494–1547), King of France, reigned 1515–1547
* Francis I, Duke of Saxe-Lau ...
(1708-1765), became
Holy Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans ( la, Imperator Romanorum, german: Kaiser der Römer) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period ( la, Imperat ...
in 1745.
His cousin
Charles Henri, Prince of Vaudémont (1649-1723) was also a talented military commander; he was excluded from the succession as his father's second marriage was not recognised by the Catholic Church.
Career
Charles, who always called himself Carolus, was destined for a career in the church as a younger son. In 1648 he became
provost of
Saint-Dié and in 1649 abbot of
Gorze Abbey
Gorze Abbey was a Benedictine monastery in Gorze in the present arrondissement of Metz, near Metz in Lorraine. It was prominent as the source of a monastic reform movement in the 930s.
History
Gorze Abbey was founded in around 757 by Bishop Chrod ...
. However, the death of his older brother Ferdinand in 1659 made him heir to Lorraine and Bar. He resigned from his church offices and switched to a military career.
Charles was engaged to
Marie Jeanne of Savoy but after his uncle was restored as Duke of Lorraine in 1661, he abandoned this marriage and returned to the Imperial court at Vienna. He took up a career in the
Imperial Army in 1663, his first major action being
Saint Gotthard in 1664, where he served under the Imperial commander,
Raimondo Montecuccoli
Raimondo Montecuccoli (; 21 February 1609 – 16 October 1680) was an Italian-born professional soldier, military theorist, and diplomat, who served the Habsburg monarchy.
Experiencing the Thirty Years' War from scratch as a simple footsoldier ...
.
When France re-occupied Lorraine in 1670, both Charles and his uncle fought in the Imperial Army during the 1672-1678
Franco-Dutch War
The Franco-Dutch War, also known as the Dutch War (french: Guerre de Hollande; nl, Hollandse Oorlog), was fought between France and the Dutch Republic, supported by its allies the Holy Roman Empire, Spain, Brandenburg-Prussia and Denmark-Nor ...
. He was wounded at the
Battle of Seneffe in 1674 and replaced his uncle in the
Rhineland after his death in 1675, taking part in the recapture of
Philippsburg in 1676. In recognition of this, he was promoted
Generalfeldmarschall in 1676 but was unable to build on these gains, largely due to poor logistics; in the last stages of the war, he was out manoeuvred by
de Créquy and suffered minor defeats at Rheinfeld and
Ortenbach.
The
Treaty of Nijmegen in 1679 confirmed his title as Duke of Lorraine, but France retained the territory and, in 1681, also annexed
Strasbourg
Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...
, capital of
Alsace. Charles' prospects of regaining his Duchy seemed increasingly remote and when the
Great Turkish War
The Great Turkish War (german: Großer Türkenkrieg), also called the Wars of the Holy League ( tr, Kutsal İttifak Savaşları), was a series of conflicts between the Ottoman Empire and the Holy League consisting of the Holy Roman Empire, Pola ...
began in 1683, he was appointed Commander of the Imperial army. He was outnumbered by the
Ottomans
The Ottoman Turks ( tr, Osmanlı Türkleri), were the Turkic founding and sociopolitically the most dominant ethnic group of the Ottoman Empire ( 1299/1302–1922).
Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks remains scarce, ...
, who were also supported by anti-Habsburg Hungarians known as
Kurucs, as well as non-Catholic minorities who opposed
Leopold's anti-Protestant policies.
Charles positioned his men outside
Vienna, shielding them from the plague epidemic then prevailing in the city; unlike the Ottomans, many of whom died of it. His forces focused on raiding Ottoman camps and protecting resupply convoys to the city, while
Pope Innocent XI
Pope Innocent XI ( la, Innocentius XI; it, Innocenzo XI; 16 May 1611 – 12 August 1689), born Benedetto Odescalchi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 21 September 1676 to his death on August 12, 1689.
Poli ...
assembled an alliance to support the Habsburgs. Known as the
Holy League
Commencing in 1332 the numerous Holy Leagues were a new manifestation of the Crusading movement in the form of temporary alliances between interested Christian powers. Successful campaigns included the capture of Smyrna in 1344, at the Battle of ...
and led by
John III Sobieski
John III Sobieski ( pl, Jan III Sobieski; lt, Jonas III Sobieskis; la, Ioannes III Sobiscius; 17 August 1629 – 17 June 1696) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1674 until his death in 1696.
Born into Polish nobility, Sobie ...
, this force combined with Charles's troops to defeat the besieging army at the
Battle of Vienna
The Battle of Vienna; pl, odsiecz wiedeńska, lit=Relief of Vienna or ''bitwa pod Wiedniem''; ota, Beç Ḳalʿası Muḥāṣarası, lit=siege of Beç; tr, İkinci Viyana Kuşatması, lit=second siege of Vienna took place at Kahlenberg Mou ...
on 11 September 1683.
In the next few years, the Habsburg army under Charles reconquered
Hungary,
Slavonia and
Transylvania; his first
siege of Buda in 1684 ended in defeat but was followed by major victories over the Ottomans at the
siege of Buda in 1686 and the
second battle of Mohács
The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds eac ...
in 1687. In May 1688, he resigned his military commission in favor of
Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria. When the
War of the Palatine Succession broke out in September 1688, he returned to command Imperial forces in the Rhineland and reconquered
Mainz from the French on 8 September 1689 but fell ill. He initially returned to his family in
Innsbruck
Innsbruck (; bar, Innschbruck, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian ) is the capital of Tyrol (state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the ...
, but then wanted to travel to Vienna to organize a comprehensive army reform with Emperor Leopold. He died of a
pulmonary embolism in
Wels on 8 April 1690.
[Ingrao, Charles p. 71] He was succeeded by his son Leopold, who was restored as Duke of Lorraine after the 1697
Treaty of Ryswick. He was initially buried in the Jesuit Church in Innsbruck but after the treaty of Ryswick his remains were transferred to the ducal chapel in
Church of Saint-François-des-Cordeliers in
Nancy, Lorraine.
Ancestry
References
Sources
* ;
* ;
* ;
*
External links
*
Charles V. Duke of Lorraine, Political and military observations, remarks and maxims, of Charles V. late duke of Lorrain, general of the Emperor's forces.From a manuscript left by him, and never printed before.
Schilb antiquarian
{{DEFAULTSORT:Charles 5, Duke Of Lorraine
1643 births
1690 deaths
Nobility from Vienna
Candidates for the Polish elective throne
Dukes of Lorraine
Knights of the Golden Fleece
House of Lorraine
People of the Great Turkish War
Hereditary Princes of Lorraine
Princes of Lorraine
17th-century French people
Generals of the Holy Roman Empire
Military personnel from Vienna
German military personnel of the Nine Years' War
Military personnel of the Franco-Dutch War