Léonor d'Orléans, duc de Longueville (1540 – 7 August 1573) was prince de Châtellaillon, marquis de Rothelin, comte de Montgommery et

Tancarville Tancarville () is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. Geography Tancarville is a farming village surrounded by woodland, by the banks of the river Seine in the Pays de Caux, some east of Le Havre ...

, viscomte d'Abbeville,

Melun Melun () is a Communes of France, commune in the Seine-et-Marne Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France Regions of France, region, north-central France. It is located on the southeastern outskirts of Paris, about from the kilome ...

, comte de Neufchâtel et

Valangin Valangin () is a former municipality in the district of Val-de-Ruz in the canton of Neuchâtel in Switzerland. On 1 January 2021 the former municipalities of Corcelles-Cormondrèche, Peseux and Valangin merged into the municipality of Neuchâ ...

. Longueville was governor of Picardy, the leader of one of the

Prince étranger ''Prince étranger'' (English: "foreign prince") was a high, though somewhat ambiguous, rank at the French royal court of the ''Ancien Régime''. Terminology In medieval Europe, a nobleman bore the title of prince as an indication of sovereignty, ...

families of France and a descendant of the bastard of Orléans who was in turn a descendant of

Charles V of France Charles V (21 January 1338 – 16 September 1380), called the Wise (french: le Sage; la, Sapiens), was King of France from 1364 to his death in 1380. His reign marked an early high point for France during the Hundred Years' War, with his armi ...

. By Longueville's time his family was close to that of another princely house, that of the Guise, the Guise had controlled much of his family's estates during the life of his cousin, but when he died in 1551 the title of Longueville reverted to Léonor, and his mother championed his re-acquisition of the family estates. He fought in the later Italian Wars serving at the battle of Saint-Quentin in which he was captured. Close to the Guise, he received little help from court in paying off his ransom, but his mother petitioned the Guise to help him, who obliged. His mother, Jacqueline de Rothelin, was an open Protestant and Longueville adopted his mother's faith, corresponding with Calvin. Upon the death of Henri II Longueville found himself slighted by the ascendant Guise, who took the title of ''grand chambellan'' from him. Nevertheless a betrothal was arranged between him and the duke's daughter. This engagement was broken off by

François, Duke of Guise Francis de Lorraine II, the first Prince of Joinville, also Duke of Guise and Duke of Aumale (french: François de Lorraine; 17 February 1519 – 24 February 1563), was a French general and statesman. A prominent leader during the Italian War of ...

upon it becoming clear that Longueville would refuse to attend Mass. Despite these increasingly sour relations, Longueville was with Guise in his departure from court that October, leaving the regency government under

Catherine de Medici Catherine de' Medici ( it, Caterina de' Medici, ; french: Catherine de Médicis, ; 13 April 1519 – 5 January 1589) was an Florentine noblewoman born into the Medici family. She was Queen of France from 1547 to 1559 by marriage to King H ...

perilously thin in terms of support. He remained loyal when civil war erupted between much of the Protestant nobility and the crown in early 1562, one of many princely Protestants whose sympathies with the reform ended at rebellion. By 1563 he had abjured his Protestantism and was welcomed back by the Guise with open arms. A new marriage was arranged for him by the family, this time with

Marie de Bourbon, Duchess of Estouteville Marie may refer to: People Name * Marie (given name) * Marie (Japanese given name) * Marie (murder victim), girl who was killed in Florida after being pushed in front of a moving vehicle in 1973 * Marie (died 1759), an enslaved Cree person in T ...

. He supported the Guise in their feud with the

House of Montmorency The House of Montmorency, pronounced , was one of the oldest and most distinguished noble families in France. Origins The family name Montmorency derived from their castle in the ''pays de France'', recorded in Latin as ''Mons Maurentiacus'', i ...

over the assassination of the duke of Guise, a murder they blamed on Anne de Montmorency's nephew

Gaspard II de Coligny Gaspard de Coligny (16 February 1519 – 24 August 1572), Seigneur de Châtillon, was a French nobleman, Admiral of France, and Huguenot leader during the French Wars of Religion. He served under kings Francis I and Henry II during the It ...

. During the third civil war he commanded the rear-guard of the royal army at the battles of

Jarnac Jarnac (; ; Saintongese: ''Jharnat'') is a commune in the Charente department, southwestern France.Moncontour. After the murder of Louis, Prince of Condé at the end of the former, he salvaged the prince's body from where it had been displayed. Condé had been governor of Picardy, and with his death Longueville became the governor of the critical region. In 1572 he was ordered in his capacity as governor of Picardy to prevent Protestants from crossing the border to militarily assist their co-religionists in the

Spanish Netherlands Spanish Netherlands (Spanish: Países Bajos Españoles; Dutch: Spaanse Nederlanden; French: Pays-Bas espagnols; German: Spanische Niederlande.) (historically in Spanish: ''Flandes'', the name "Flanders" was used as a ''pars pro toto'') was the Ha ...

. His efforts in this regard were undermined by Charles IX who covertly supported an expedition, hoping to weaken Spanish power. During the

Massacre of Saint Bartholomew The St. Bartholomew's Day massacre (french: Massacre de la Saint-Barthélemy) in 1572 was a targeted group of assassinations and a wave of Catholic mob violence, directed against the Huguenots (French Calvinist Protestants) during the French War ...

he opposed the expansion of the killings into his territory as they spread across France. The following year he partook in the

siege of La Rochelle The siege of La Rochelle (, or sometimes ) was a result of a war between the French royal forces of Louis XIII of France and the Huguenots of La Rochelle in 1627–28. The siege marked the height of the struggle between the Catholics and the ...

. Shortly after he died, with Henri, Prince of Condé succeeding him to the governorship of Picardy.

Early life and family

Born in 1540, he was the son of François, marquis of Rothelin, and

Jacqueline de Rohan, Marquise de Rothelin Jacqueline de Rohan, Marquise de Rothelin (c. 1520 – 1587) was a French court official and aristocrat. She was the daughter of Charles de Rohan and Jeanne de Saint-Severin, and regent of the Neufchâtel and of Valangin during the minority of h ...

. His mother was openly Protestant, and she instilled her faith in her son, who privately converted, corresponding in secret with

Jean Calvin John Calvin (; frm, Jehan Cauvin; french: link=no, Jean Calvin ; 10 July 150927 May 1564) was a French theologian, pastor and reformer in Geneva during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system ...

. He was the grandson of

Louis I d'Orléans, duc de Longueville Louis I d'Orléans, Duke of Longueville (1480 – Beaugency, 1 August 1516), was a French aristocrat and general, Grand Chamberlain of France and governor of Provence. Louis was the second son of François I, Duke of Longueville, and Agnes of Savoy ...

and he succeeded his first cousin, François III d'Orléans as duc de Longueville. A close, faithful supporter of the

Guise Guise (; nl, Wieze) is a commune in the Aisne department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. The city was the birthplace of the noble family of Guise, Dukes of Guise, who later became Princes of Joinville. Population Sights The remains ...

, he was betrothed on 23 January 1559 to the six-year-old daughter of the duke,

Catherine Katherine, also spelled Catherine, and other variations are feminine names. They are popular in Christian countries because of their derivation from the name of one of the first Christian saints, Catherine of Alexandria. In the early Christ ...

. To offset the dowry the Guise highlighted the monetary assistance they had provided Longueville with his ransom from Spanish captivity. The engagement would be called off in April 1561, with

disgusted by Longueville's refusal to attend Mass. He married Marie de Bourbon, Duchess of Estouteville, daughter of François I Bourbon and Adrienne d’Estouteville in 1563. The match was engineered by the Guise to reward Longueville for his recent return to the Catholic fold, and to open channels between the Guise and Condé with whom they hoped to ally against the Montmorency. Léonor and Marie had: *

Henri I d'Orléans, duc de Longueville Henry I of Orléans-Longueville (1568 – April 8, 1595) was a French aristocrat and military and Grand Chamberlain of France between 1589 and 1595. Biography Henry was the eldest son of Léonor d'Orléans, duc de Longueville (1540–1573) and Mari ...

* François III d'Orléans, comte de Saint-Pol *Antoinette d’Orléans (1572–1618), married Charles de Gondi, mother of Henri de Gondi, duc de Retz *Éléonore d’Orléans (1573–1639), married in 1596 Charles Goyon de Matignon (1564–1648). *Two unmarried daughters

Reign of Henri II

The Guise household had held a strong grip on the estates of the Longueville, during the life of Longueville's cousin, a lawsuit followed his death in 1551, which was settled in favour of Léonor and his mother for control of the estates. While the Guise no longer commanded the territories, they remained close as a family with the Orléans. Captured by the Spanish after the disastrous battle of Saint-Quentin, he was held by the imperial forces in the hope of a ransom. The crown did not rush to assist with his ransom, his proximity to the Guise at a time they were in disfavour making the king ill-inclined to support him. In 1558 Jacqueline de Rohan wrote to the Guise, whom she considered protectors of her son due to the close ties between the families, imploring them to intervene and supply the ransom for her captive son. As such the Guise themselves assisted in the payment of the ransom.

Reign of François II

After the sudden death of Henri II in 1559, the new Guise ascended to the pinnacle of their powers over the crown. the Duke of Guise took the office of ''grand maître'' from Henri's favourite, the Constable Montmorency; they further acquired the office of ''grand chambellan'' at Longueville's expense. This began to sour relations between the families, but they did not break from each other. Conscious of the religious and financial crisis facing the kingdom the Guise administration, responsible for the young François II, decided to call an assembly of notables. This assembly, comprising all the leading nobles of the kingdom, met at

Fontainebleau Fontainebleau (; ) is a commune in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southeast of the centre of Paris. Fontainebleau is a sub-prefecture of the Seine-et-Marne department, and it is the seat of the ''arrondissement ...

in August 1560. Longueville was among the catalogue of grand nobles present, the only absentees being the renegade Bourbon princes Condé and Navarre who were conscious they would be arrested for their suspected involvement in the

Conspiracy of Amboise The Amboise conspiracy, also called Tumult of Amboise, was a failed attempt by a Huguenot faction in France to gain control over the young king Francis II and to reverse the policies of the current administration of Francis, Duke of Guise and Cha ...

if they showed. During the same year

Charles, Cardinal of Lorraine Charles de Lorraine (c. 1525 – 26 December 1574), Duke of Chevreuse, was a French Cardinal, a member of the powerful House of Guise. He was known at first as the Cardinal of Guise, and then as the second Cardinal of Lorraine, after the death o ...

was named guardian of Longueville's estates until he reached his legal majority. Longueville held vast holdings in Normandy where the Guise were also expanding their reach. His château at Tancarville became a haven for Protestants who were fleeing persecution.

Reign of Charles IX

Longueville was among those who departed court with the end of the Guise government, as the young François II died and was succeeded by his brother

Charles IX of France Charles IX (Charles Maximilien; 27 June 1550 – 30 May 1574) was King of France from 1560 until his death in 1574. He ascended the French throne upon the death of his brother Francis II in 1560, and as such was the penultimate monarch of the ...

and a formal regency under his mother

. In January

Claude, Duke of Aumale Claude of Lorraine, Duke of Aumale (18 August 1526, Joinville – 3 March 1573, La Rochelle) was the third son of Claude, Duke of Guise and Antoinette de Bourbon. He was a prince of Lorraine by birth. Biography As part of the Treaty of Boulog ...

and Longueville left court, Lorraine followed in February. As the regency of Catherine developed, the crown took on an increasingly tolerant policy towards Protestantism. In early 1561 a flashpoint developed over the Pré aux Clercs affair. Despite Protestantism still being illegal in France, the seigneur de Longjumeau hosted regular services for many of the nobles of Paris in his residence. Longueville was among those who regularly frequented his residence for services. Angry Catholic militants, frustrated at the crown allowing this to continue with their full knowledge in Paris, attacked the residence; many of the Protestant nobles caught inside during the service armed themselves in defence. A riot followed, the result of which was the ''Parlement'' of Paris ordering the exile of Longjumeau from Paris. Following this the Guise became aware that Longueville had converted to Protestantism.

Departure from court

Shortly after the

Colloquy of Poissy The Colloquy at Poissy was a religious conference which took place in Poissy, France, in 1561. Its object was to effect a reconciliation between the Catholics and Protestants (Huguenots) of France. The conference was opened on 9 September in the ...

in which the crown had sought to re-unite the two faiths, Guise and his brother decided to depart court, frustrated at the failure of the Colloquy and ill inclined to follow the crown's increasing tolerant policy. Accompanying them in their grand departure from court were Longueville,

Jacques, Duke of Nemours Jacques de Savoie, duc de Nemours (12 October 153115 June 1585) was a French military commander, governor and Prince Étranger. Having inherited his titles at a young age, Nemours fought for king Henri II during the latter Italian Wars, seeing ac ...

and several hundred horse. The presence of Longueville in this grand exit from court indicate that religious differences with the crown were not the sole reason for disillusion with the regency government. Montmorency joined the exodus from court, leaving a rump administration under Catherine, Navarre and a handful of Protestant councillors.

Loyalist

Despite his Protestantism, at the outbreak of the French Wars of Religion in 1562, the limits of Longueville's Protestantism were revealed. While he would offer concern and refuge to Protestants, he would not enter rebellion for them. In this regard he followed a similar path to his fellow princely Norman magnate the

duke of Bouillon The Duchy of Bouillon (french: Duché de Bouillon) was a duchy comprising Bouillon and adjacent towns and villages in present-day Belgium. The state originated in the 10th century as property of the Lords of Bouillon, owners of Bouillon Castle. ...

Abjuration

By 1563 Longueville had abjured his Protestantism, returning to the Catholic fold and providing a reconciliation with the Guise. His name was among those signatories in a petition to the king for justice following the assassination of the duke of Guise. The Guise family blamed

for the murder, bringing the Guise network into conflict with the Montmorency network, Montmorency determined to defend his nephew.

Feud

He continued to support the Guise in their feud with Montmorency after the failure of legal channels to achieve satisfaction. His support alongside that of Nevers was counted on when the notion of forming a militant league was floated in 1565. Ultimately this would come to nought and the only armed confrontation would be during the attempted Guise entry into Paris that year, during which they were humiliated. As a provision of the

Peace of Longjumeau The Peace of Longjumeau (also known as the Treaty of Longjumeau or the Edict of Longjumeau) was signed on 23 March 1568 by Charles IX of France and Catherine de' Medici. The edict brought to an end the brief second French Wars of Religion with t ...

the crown agreed to pay off the ''reiters'' that the Protestant rebels had hired for the campaign. To this end 500,000 ''livres'' were appropriated from the royal chest in

Amboise Amboise (; ) is a commune in the Indre-et-Loire department in central France. Today a small market town, it was once home of the French royal court. Geography Amboise lies on the banks of the river Loire, east of Tours. It is also about away f ...

. To ensure the full sum was delivered to Germany, Longueville and

François de Montmorency François de Montmorency, Duc de Montmorency (17 July 1530 – 6 May 1579) was a French soldier, diplomat and peer who served as governor of Paris. He was Duke of Montmorency, Count of Dammartin, Baron of Châteaubriant and Lord of L'Isle-Adam ...

went as security.

Third war of religion

During the third civil war, with the Protestant nobility operating out of the west, the main royal army under the nominal command of the king's young brother

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 ...

joined the king's cousin

Louis, Duke of Montpensier Louis de Bourbon, Duc de Montpensier (10 June 1513 – 23 September 1582) was the second Duke of Montpensier, a French Prince of the Blood, military commander and governor. He began his military career during the Italian Wars, and in 1557 wa ...

in an abortive attack on

Poitiers Poitiers (, , , ; Poitevin: ''Poetàe'') is a city on the River Clain in west-central France. It is a commune and the capital of the Vienne department and the historical centre of Poitou. In 2017 it had a population of 88,291. Its agglomerat ...

before the onset of winter. Longueville found himself in command of the royal force's rear-guard. Longueville's forces continued to support the main royal body during the battles of

Jarnac Jarnac (; ; Saintongese: ''Jharnat'') is a commune in the Charente department, southwestern France.Moncontour over the remaining Protestant forces the following year. At the former battle, the Protestant leader the

prince of Condé A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

was killed in cold blood after his capture. As a result his governorship of Picardy became vacant, and Longueville was selected to fill the office. Longueville was disgusted at the treatment of the prince and retrieved his mutilated corpse from where it had been displayed by Anjou.

Crisis in the Netherlands

By 1572 the situation in the

was deteriorating for the authorities as rebellion spread. French Protestants, sympathetic for their compatriots abroad, began crossing the border in Picardie under arms to militarily support them. The Spanish protested vehemently to the crown about this provocation, and Charles instructed Longueville to prohibit crossings of the frontier. The king's opposition to border crossings was however circumspect and he covertly agreed to an unofficial expedition under the sieur de Genlis, however this was met with disaster and crushed by the duke of Alva. As the

Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacre The St. Bartholomew's Day massacre (french: Massacre de la Saint-Barthélemy) in 1572 was a targeted group of assassinations and a wave of Catholic mob violence, directed against the Huguenots (French Calvinist Protestants) during the French War ...

which had exploded in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

spread out into the

provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...

, Longueville in his capacity as governor of

Picardy Picardy (; Picard and french: Picardie, , ) is a historical territory and a former administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region of Hauts-de-France. It is located in the northern part of France. Hi ...

used his influence to oppose attempts to introduce subsidiary massacres in his governorate.

La Rochelle

After the massacres across France,

La Rochelle La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle''; oc, La Rochèla ) is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department. With ...

broke its submission to the crown, holding it responsible for orchestrating the massacres. As a result the city was put to

siege A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition warfare, attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity con ...

, though it proved resilient. Frustrated, the crown entrusted Longueville to reach out to La Noue, one of the leading Protestant nobles in rebellion, to convince him that a settlement was in their best interest. While La Noue was successfully convinced, he in turn was unable to persuade the leaders of

Death

Léonor died in 1573. at Blois and was buried at

Châteaudun Châteaudun () is a commune in the Eure-et-Loir department in northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. It was the site of the Battle of Châteaudun during the Franco-Prussian War. Geography Châteaudun is located about 45& ...

. His office of governor of Picardy was succeeded by the young Condé who had inherited his father's Protestantism. This appointment frustrated

Louis de Gonzague, Duke of Nevers Louis de Gonzague, Duke of Nevers ( it, Ludovico, italic=no or Luigi di Gonzaga-Nevers; 18 September 1539 – 23 October 1595) was a soldier, governor and statesman during the French Wars of Religion. Of Italian extraction, his father and br ...

who had hoped for the office.

Ancestry

References

Sources

* * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Leonor Dorleans, Duc De Longueville 1540 births 1573 deaths House of Valois Dukes of Longueville Princes of Neuchâtel Counts of Saint-Pol Counts of Dunois People of the French Wars of Religion