Claude, Duke Of Aumale

Claude II de Lorraine, duc d'Aumale (18 August 1526, Joinville – 3 March 1573, La Rochelle) was a Prince étranger, military commander and French governor, during the latter Italian Wars and the early French Wars of Religion. The son of the first Duke of Guise he started his career in a pre-eminent position in French politics as a son of one of the leading families in the court of Henri II of France. Upon the death of his father in 1550, Aumale inherited the governorship of Burgundy from his father, and the duchy of Aumale from his brother who assumed the titles of Guise. Aumale was made colonel-general of the light horse by the new king and fought in Italy, Alsace and Picardie between 1551 and 1559. While leading the light cavalry during the defence of Metz he was captured, and held for the next two years, until his mother in law Diane de Poitiers paid his ransom. He achieved success at the siege of Volpiano and played an important role in the capture of Calais for which he was rewarded with the governorship of French Piedmont.

With the death of Henri II he found himself further pushed into prominence in the Guise regime for the young François II. He took part in the effort to suppress the Conspiracy of Amboise that threatened to topple the regime in early 1560. He played a key role in the organisation of the expedition to Scotland in 1560, however the instability that racked the country in the wake of the conspiracy in combination with financial issues ensured the cancellation of the expedition, in December of that year the king died and the Guise regime was displaced by a regency under Catherine de Medici. Alienated by the new regime he departed court in early 1561, before returning as part of his brother Charles, Cardinal of Lorraine's attempted policy of religious reconciliation at the Colloquy of Poissy, the failure of this and the increasing Protestant nature of Catherine's inner circle led to him leading the family into a second exile from court. In early 1562 he was with his brothers at their meeting with the Duke of Württemberg where the topic of uniting around the Lutheran creed was broached. Any hope of this policy was shattered on the return to the capital, where Guise's men committed a Massacre of Protestant worshippers at Wassy.

This served as the instigating incident for the French Wars of Religion. Aumale served the crown throughout the first war, repeatedly trying to besiege Rouen without success, before the main royal army arrived with sufficient force to subdue the town. He failed to stop François de Coligny d'Andelot bringing mercenaries into the kingdom to reinforce the rebel cause. He was wounded at the Battle of Dreux in December. In January his brother was assassinated, leaving him and Lorraine as heads of the family. Guise's son inherited his governorship of Champagne. Aumale would act as de facto governor until the young Guise attained his majority. He played a far more active role in the governance of Champagne than his own government of Burgundy. Meanwhile he and his family prosecuted a bitter vendetta against Gaspard II de Coligny who they blamed for the assassination of Guise. This culminated in skirmishes in Paris, before the king was able to enforce a peace in 1566 between the parties. Aumale continued to fight in the second and third civil wars, but was repeatedly unable to stop incursions into France by German ''reiters'' in favour of the rebels. While he was not involved in the planning of the liquidation of the Protestant leadership he was intimately involved in the killing of the Protestant leaders on 24 August 1572 that would spiral out of control into the Massacre of Saint Bartholomew. The following year he was among the nobles present at the siege of La Rochelle where he was killed on 3 March 1573.

Early life and family

Family

Claude II de Lorraine, duc d'Aumale, was born in 1526, the third son of Claude, Duke of Guise and Antoinette de Bourbon. The eldest son François, Duke of Guise was 7 years his elder, while Charles, Cardinal of Lorraine was born in 1524. Louis I, Cardinal of Guise was born in 1527, while François de Lorraine was born in 1534. The youngest Guise son René, Marquis of Elbeuf was born in 1536. Meanwhile his sisters Mary of Guise, Louise of Guise, Reneé of Guise and Antoinette of Guise were born in 1515, 1520, 1522 and 1531 respectively.

Louise de Brézé

On 1 August 1547 he married Louise de Brézé (c. 1518 – January 1577), dame d'Anet, the daughter of Louis de Brézé, seigneur d'Anet, and Diane de Poitiers in one of the key political marriages of the decade. Diane gifted her new son in law Rhuys and Sucinio in Bretagne. She further favoured him with her Norman possessions. The Duke of Guise inquired of Gaspard II de Coligny as to his opinions on the marriage, Coligny replied that he felt Aumale had debased himself by marrying for profit as opposed to the honour of his family. Guise retorted that Coligny was jealous.

The de Bréze inheritance took a considerable time to settle. Aumale and Louise traded Mauny for Anet with the other heirs, the La Marck's. The La Marcks poor financial situation allowed them to purchase the County of Maulévrier and Barony of Bee Crespin in 1562. Henri-Robert de la Marck was compelled into this by the debts he had acquired as the result of his father's ransom. Aumale continued to acquire land in Normandie until by the late 1560s he was one of the great landholders of upper Normandie.

Children

They had:
* Henri (21 October 1549, Château de Saint-Germain – 1 August 1559), Count of Valentinois died in childhood.
* Catherine Romula (8 November 1550, Saint-Germain – 25 June 1606), married on 11 May 1569 Nicholas, Duke of Mercœur
* Madeleine Diane (b. 5 February 1554), died at birth. young
* Charles, Duke of Aumale (1555–1631)
* Diane (10 November 1558 – 25 June 1586, Ligny), married on 13 November 1576 François, Duke of Piney-Luxemburg
* Antoinette (b. 9 June 1560, Nancy), died at birth
* Antoinette Louise (29 September 1561, Joinville – 24 August 1643, Soissons), Abbess of Soissons
* Antoine (b. 12 November 1562), died at birth
* Claude (13 December 1564 – 3 January 1591, Saint-Denis), called the "Chevalier d'Aumale", Abbot of St.-Pere-en-Valle, Chartres, Knight of the Order of Malta, General of the Galleys
* Marie (10 June 1565 – 27 January 1627), Abbess of Chelles
* Charles (25 January 1566 – 7 May 1568, Paris) died in early childhood.

Reign of Henri II

At the beginning of Henri II's reign, the king was faced with revolts against the ''Gabelle'' tax in the Garrone. To this end he dispatched his favourite Anne de Montmorency alongside François, Duke of Guise and Aumale. Together they achieved success in suppressing the tax revolt. That same year the king elevated the marquisate of Aumale to a duchy for its current holder, Guise. Aumale for his part held the marquisate of Mayenne. In May 1547 Aumale was made a '' Chevalier de l'ordre de Saint-Michel'' and in either 1548 or 1549 he became colonel general of the light cavalry.

As part of the Treaty of Boulogne which ended the war of the Rough Wooing, Aumale and François de Vendôme, Vidame de Chartres, were among six French hostages sent to England.

Inheritance

Upon the death of Claude, Duke of Guise in 1550, the duke's Norman territories were split between the two Guise children with the most landed interests in Normandie, Aumale and René, Marquis of Elbeuf. Aumale's brother François, Duke of Guise provided the title of Aumale to him in April, given he was set to inherit that of Guise. Alongside his Norman inheritance, the king permitted the new duke to inherit his father's governorship of Burgundy. He was also made ''Grand Veneur'' during the reign of Henri II. Aumale was contemptful of the prospect of administering his governorship personally, mockingly saying in 1556 that having to administer his province would take only one hour a week, it was therefore a matter best left to a lieutenant-general. He would later brag that he had many governors across France who would follow his whim i.e. Guisard clients. Aumale was allowed to come to Scotland, with a passport from Edward VI dated 11 May, to see his sister Mary of Guise. He wrote from Edinburgh on 18 May that he would view the strong places of the realm. Regent Arran gave him three horses and organised a banquet for him in Edinburgh on 21 May. He returned to France through England, visiting Edward VI at Greenwich on 12 June before taking a ship at Dover.

Resumption of the Italian Wars

Piedmont Campaign

Seeing potential advantage, Henri II resumed the Italian Wars in 1551. To this end Brissac assembled an army in the Piedmont for an invasion of Italy. Among the forces under him were the flower of the French nobility, including Aumale. The army successfully reduced the town of Chieri. This conflict was not however technically war with the Emperor. Both Henri and Charles V were fighting a proxy war in these engagements, and it would not be until the following year that full scale conflict would develop between the powers.

Capture of the Three Bishoprics

Having received an invitation to take the Three Bishoprics, Henri invaded Alsace in 1552. With Metz occupied, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor now offered his response, beginning a large scale siege of the city, which was under the military leadership of Aumale's brother Guise. With the duke of Alba moving to set up his forces against the city, Aumale, who was present in his capacity as colonel-general was dispatched with the light cavalry to harass and stymy his efforts, to delay the full investment of Metz. Near the town of Nancy Aumale's troops were caught up in a skirmish, and after a bloody fight in which he was taken off his horse, he was forced to surrender. His brother was proud when he heard of the fight that he had put up prior to his capture. Guise would successfully hold the city and Charles V was forced to raise the siege. Diane ensured that Aumale's heavy ransom would be provided, paying the Margrave of Brandenburg 60,000 ''livres'' in 1554 to secure her son in laws release from captivity. Aumale was released from captivity on 28 April 1554.

Second Italian Campaign

Later that year Aumale was back in command, leading a force of 4000 infantry and 2000 horse at Laon as part of Henri's revenge campaign for the destruction of Thérouanne the previous year. The campaign would achieve surprising success, with a small force under Guise besting the Imperial army at Renty. The following year Aumale was back in Italy under the command of Brissac. Having recently received reinforcements from Henri, Brissac made an attack on the town of Volpiano however sickness overcame him and he ceded command of the siege to Aumale. As in years previous, many ambitious young nobles flocked to the siege lines to participate in the victory, including Condé, Nemours and Enghien. Aumale's first attack lacked enough artillery support and failed, this failure alerted Alba to the attack, and he sent companies to reinforce the town. Aumale dispatched Enghein, Blaise de Monluc and other captains to intercept them, which they achieve. By 19 September Brissac returns from his convalescence expecting to receive the towns surrender, but fighting continues until 23 September when the town surrenders.

Disaster in the north

In the late 1550s, the campaign against Charles moved north into Picardie. Guise meanwhile campaigned in Italy, but without much success, Alba grinding him down in a war of attrition. In May 1557 Lorraine wrote to the king, urging him to relieve command of the Italian forces from Guise, giving the responsibility to Aumale, the king for the moment did nothing however. Meanwhile the Imperial army delivered a crushing blow to a French force under Anne de Montmorency, constable of France and the king's favourite at the battle of Saint-Quentin. Much of the high French nobility including Montmorency were captured in the debacle. This left the Guise with an opportunity to assert their dominance at court, and shortly thereafter Guise travelled from Italy to meet the king, and was made lieutenant-general of France, the highest military office in the absence of the Constable. His brothers Aumale, Elbeuf and François de Lorraine, Grand Prior joined him as he planned his next moves, Aumale having commanded the Italian army on its withdrawal back to France as Guise raced off ahead. With the armies withdrawal from Italy, the Pope was forced to make peace with the Imperial forces in September.

Aumale for his part would request the Marshal baton vacated by the death of the Duke of Bouillon in Spanish captivity. Bouillon had been made prisoner in the Battle of Hesdin in 1553 and had died shortly after his release in 1556. Henri considered the prospect, but decided against it, holding onto the baton for the next two years before awarding it to Paul de Thermes.
Guise settled on conquering siege of Calais as a way to restore French honour and gain a strategic advantage, a city which had been in English hands since 1347. Aumale and Elbeuf joined him for the siege and, after capturing a weak fortress that guarded the approach to Calais, entrusted Aumale and Elbeuf with its defence while he retired to camp. The brothers held the castle against two ferocious counter attacks by the desperate English, who recognised the strategic importance of the site. By 8 January the commander of Calais sued for terms, and yielded the critical city. In reward for the victory, Henri provided gifts to those captains he held most responsible. Aumale was provided the governorship of French controlled Piedmont replacing Brissac in the role. This necessitated a replacement for Aumale as commander of the light horse, an honour which was given to Jacques, Duke of Nemours. He was further provided with a temporary lieutenancy giving him military command in Picardie, an office he would make use of from May to July of that year, working in concert with Jacques d'Humières. At the end of this tenure the disastrous battle of Gravelines again threw the French forces into disarray.

Reign of François II

As part of the 'Palace Revolution' that accompanied the death of Henri II, Diane de Poitiers was forced into exile from court to satisfy Catherine de Medici who had never liked her husband's mistress. Aumale, the son in law of Diane protested but the needs to satisfy the queen mother overruled his own.

Conspiracy of Amboise

In opposition to the Guise government that was formed in the wake of the death of Henri II, a conspiracy formed, combining religious and political malcontents with the new order. This conspiracy attempted to kidnap the young François II while he was staying at the Castle of Amboise. Forewarned of the conspiracy, the Guise invited much of the upper nobility to the court, including Aumale and set about preparing a defence. When the conspiracy activated in March 1560, various bands were repelled from the castle. Marshal Saint-André, favourite of the deceased king, was tasked with heading to Tours with 200 horse, so that he might suppress any disorder related to the rebellion in that city. Aumale, Nemours and the Prince of Condé were instructed to support his efforts in Tours and travelled there in the following days. The rebellion was successfully crushed, and the leaders were summarily executed at Amboise. Nevertheless the conspiracy was an impetus for a new royal policy as regards Protestantism, where previously the concepts of heresy and sedition had been treated as a unified crime, they were for the first time separated as concepts in the Edict of Amboise, in which those convicted of heresy without taking up arms were pardoned on condition they live as good Catholics henceforth. Aumale was present at the formulation of this edict which inaugurated a new era for royal policy as concerned combatting heresy.

Scottish ambitions

The Guise government had great ambitions for Scotland and desired to send an expedition to the kingdom in 1560. Aumale, as a brother of the governments leaders and major land holder in Normandy was to be key in these plans. Elbeuf and Aumale worked in tandem with Bouillon and Jean d'Estouteville, seigneur de Villebon in organising the nobles that were gathering in the province, ready for transportation. The campaign would however founder due to problems of lack of money and the problems of internal instability that wracked France in the wake of Amboise.

Reign of Charles IX

Fall from power

In December the young king François, who had always been sickly, died. With his death the Guise connection to the government through his wife was severed and their dominance at court was greatly threatened. With Catherine de Medici and Antoine of Navarre taking the lead for the young Charles IX of France, the Guise recognised there was little place for them in the new government. In an exodus in January 1561 Guise, Lorraine, Aumale, Cardinal Guise, Elbeuf and the Grand Prior departed from court.

Change in religious policy

The Colloquy of Poissy which attempted to resolve the religious question through a reconciliation of the faiths descended into acrimony. With the failure of this royal policy, Catherine as regent began to move the crown in the direction of formal toleration of two faiths simultaneously in the kingdom. Such a policy was intolerable and in combination with the increasing presence of open Protestants on the ''conseil privé'' which left little space for the Guise, the family decided once more to depart court. Aumale was the first to leave on 8 October, shortly to be followed by the rest of his family and sympathetic nobles, including the Protestant Longueville and Nemours. Catherine and Navarre pleaded for the family to return to court, conscious that they lacked a wide enough support base for a stable regime.

In early 1562 the city council of Dijon wrote a lengthy complaint to Aumale, urging him to punish Protestants in Burgundy who were 'in violation' of the Edict of January, the council had no plans to grant the Protestants the rights offered to them under the same edict, but saw it as a useful tool nevertheless. The lieutenant general of Burgundy, Tavannes who had Aumale's authority in his absence from the province was not willing to wait for Aumale to respond, and in May ordered all Protestant preachers to assemble in the square of Dijon so they could be expelled from the town. Back in February, the duke of Guise, Lorraine and Aumale travelled for a meeting with the duke of Württemberg at Saverne. The matter of discussion was Christian doctrine, Württemberg being a Lutheran, a version of Protestantism not practiced in much of France but more of interest to Lorraine in terms of bringing about a reconciliation of the two faiths than Calvinism. Lorraine was interested in subscribing to the Confession of Augsburg and the meeting ultimately concluded on cordial terms. However the friendly words with the Protestant prince would be shattered by the betrayal of the Massacre of Wassy as Guise made his way back to the capital on 1 March in which the duke's men massacred a congregation of Protestant worshippers.

First war of religion

Failure outside Rouen

In May 1562 after the fall of Dieppe to a Protestant coup, Aumale was dispatched with a special commission to restore order in Normandie. Bouillon was furious that his government was being undermined by this extraordinary commission, and he besieged Aumale's deputy Matignon in his residence. Having achieved successes elsewhere in Normandy Aumale moved on Rouen. Aumale appeared before the walls of Rouen on 28 May 1562, in the previous month the city had joined the Protestant rebels under the overall authority of the Prince of Condé. Keen to avoid a costly siege he demanded the city open its gates to him. The rebels inside, confident of their defences refused his entreaties. Aumale was therefore forced to begin a siege. He lacked the forces to fully invest the city, however the 3000 soldiers under his command were able to spend the next month harassing the surrounding area as a means of putting pressure on the inhabitants, meanwhile the city continued to fill with reinforcing Protestant forces. Withdrawing from the siege in June, Aumale brought his forces to the main royal army under Guise which was facing off in a stalemate with Condé near Orléans, between those of his allies Navarre and Guise. Condé stalled, unwilling to meet the growing royal army in an open battle, as he waited it continued to grow until such time as he felt it necessary to disperse his army and retreat inside Orléans. This gave the royal army the freedom of action to reduce the other towns that had fallen to the Protestants in the early months of the war. As a result the army was divided into four, with Aumale to deal with Rouen, Saint-André to seize Lyon, Montpensier to head south to Guienne and the main body under Navarre to confront Condé. A little while after Condé's deteriorating forces retreated into the city Aumale seized Honfleur on 21 July. This accomplished Aumale returned again to the walls of Rouen on 29 July with 6500 men, and set up batteries, however his forces were again able to do little against the walls with their small number.

Blocking effort

Having been unable to achieve success at Rouen, Aumale was tasked by the chiefs of the royal army with responsibility for blocking Andelot in his attempt to bring back the mercenary force of German ''reiters'' he had recruited in Germany to bolster the beleaguered Protestant army, that was shut up in the city of Orléans

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