The Craon family was a French
noble house, known to date back to the 11th century, originating in
Craon in the
Mayenne
Mayenne () is a landlocked department in northwest France named after the river Mayenne. Mayenne is part of the administrative region of Pays de la Loire and is surrounded by the departments of Manche, Orne, Sarthe, Maine-et-Loire, and Ille-et ...
region of
Anjou Anjou may refer to:
Geography and titles France
* County of Anjou, a historical county in France and predecessor of the Duchy of Anjou
**Count of Anjou, title of nobility
*Duchy of Anjou, a historical duchy and later a province of France
**Duk ...
, northern France.
Its most famous member is
Pierre de Craon, 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
Louis XI (3 July 1423 – 30 August 1483), called "Louis the Prudent" (french: le Prudent), was King of France from 1461 to 1483. He succeeded his father, Charles VII.
Louis entered into open rebellion against his father in a short-lived revol ...
, after the death of
Charles le Téméraire
Charles I (Charles Martin; german: Karl Martin; nl, Karel Maarten; 10 November 1433 – 5 January 1477), nicknamed the Bold (German: ''der Kühne''; Dutch: ''de Stoute''; french: le Téméraire), was Duke of Burgundy from 1467 to 1477.
...
. When the Craon family died out, the
Beauvau family
Beauvau was a historic family originating in Anjou. The Beauvau du Rivau branch was rooted in Brittany and produced two bishops of Nantes, whilst the Craon (Prince of Craon) branch was established in Lorraine later enjoying great intimacy with th ...
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
Jean may refer to:
People
* Jean (female given name)
* Jean (male given name)
* Jean (surname)
Fictional characters
* Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character
* Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations
* J ...
, demanded that he take the arms of the Craon family.