The Craon family was a French
noble house, known to date back to the 11th century, originating in
Craon in the
Mayenne region of
Anjou, northern France.
Its most famous member is
Pierre de Craon Pierre de Craon (c. 1345 – c. 1409), known as "le Grand", was a medieval French aristocrat notorious for his riotous temperament, culminating in his attempted murder of Olivier V de Clisson, Constable of France. Events following the assault led t ...
, and its last representative governed
Burgundy
Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. The c ...
for a time under
Louis XI, after the death of
Charles le Téméraire. When the Craon family died out, the
Beauvau family took the title of Craon since one of its members had married the heir to that name. Jeanne de Craon, dying at the birth of her son
Jean IV de Beauvau, demanded that he take the arms of the Craon family.