René of Chalon (5 February 1519 – 15 July 1544), also known as Renatus of Chalon, was a
Prince of Orange
Prince of Orange (or Princess of Orange if the holder is female) is a title associated with the sovereign Principality of Orange, in what is now southern France and subsequently held by the stadtholders of, and then the heirs apparent of ...
and
stadtholder
In the Low Countries, a stadtholder ( ) was a steward, first appointed as a medieval official and ultimately functioning as a national leader. The ''stadtholder'' was the replacement of the duke or count of a province during the Burgundian and ...
of
Holland
Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former provinces of the Netherlands, province on the western coast of the Netherland ...
,
Zeeland
Zeeland (; ), historically known in English by the Endonym and exonym, exonym Zealand, is the westernmost and least populous province of the Netherlands. The province, located in the southwest of the country, borders North Brabant to the east ...
,
Utrecht
Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...
and
Gelre.
Life
René was born in
Breda
Breda ( , , , ) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the southern part of the Netherlands, located in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Brabant. ...
, the only son of Count
Henry III of Nassau-Breda and
Claudia of Chalon. Claudia's brother,
Philibert of Chalon
Philibert de Chalon (18 March 1502 – 3 August 1530) was the last Prince of Orange from the House of Chalon.
Biography
Born at Nozeroy to John IV of Chalon-Arlay, Philibert served Emperor Charles V as commander in Italy, fighting in the Wa ...
, was the last Prince of Orange from the
House of Chalon
Chalon-Arlay was a noble house of the Holy Roman Empire. They were the lords of Arlay in the county of Burgundy and a cadet branch of the ruling house of the county, the House of Ivrea. The founder of the house was John I of Chalon-Arlay, fifth s ...
. When Philibert died in 1530, René inherited the Princedom of Orange on condition that he used the name and coat of arms of the Chalon-Orange family. History knows him therefore as René of Chalon instead of as "René of Nassau-Breda".
René of Chalon married
Anna of Lorraine
Anna of Lorraine (25 July 1522 – 15 May 1568) was a princess of the House of Lorraine. She was Princess of Orange by her first marriage to René of Châlon, and Duke of Aarschot, Duchess of Aarschot by her second marriage to Philippe II de ...
(1522–1568) on 20 August 1540 at
Bar-le-Duc
Bar-le-Duc (), formerly known as Bar, is a commune in the Meuse département, of which it is the capital. The department is in Grand Est in northeastern France.
The lower, more modern and busier part of the town extends along a narrow valley, ...
. He was made a
knight of the Golden Fleece
This article contains a list of knights of the Order of the Golden Fleece.
Burgundian Golden Fleece
15th century
!Year of induction!!Name!!Born!!Died!!Notes
, -
, rowspan=25, 1430, , Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, , 1396, , 1467, , Founde ...
the same year. The couple had only one child, a daughter named Maria, who lived only 3 weeks and was buried in the
Grote Kerk in
Breda
Breda ( , , , ) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the southern part of the Netherlands, located in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Brabant. ...
. Rene himself was only 25 years old when he died, but he provided a historic and indispensable link which brought the house of Nassau to the stadholdership of the Netherlands.
Death
In 1544, René took part in the
siege of St. Dizier in the service of
Emperor Charles V
Charles V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain (as Charles I) from 1516 to 1556, and Lord of the Netherlands as titular Duke of Burgundy (as Charles II) fr ...
. He was mortally wounded in battle and died with the Emperor attending at his bedside. René was buried in Grote Kerk in Breda, near the resting-place of his infant daughter. A commemorative monument (''
Cadaver Tomb of René of Chalon
The Cadaver Tomb of René of Chalon (, also known as the Memorial to the Heart of René de Chalon or ''The Skeleton'') is a Gothic art, late Gothic period cadaver monument (''transi'') in the church of Saint-Étienne at Bar-le-Duc, in northeast ...
'') stands in the church of St. Etienne in Bar-le-Duc.
Succession
René of Chalon had inherited the principality of Orange from
his maternal uncle, who had been the last male member of the
House of Chalon
Chalon-Arlay was a noble house of the Holy Roman Empire. They were the lords of Arlay in the county of Burgundy and a cadet branch of the ruling house of the county, the House of Ivrea. The founder of the house was John I of Chalon-Arlay, fifth s ...
. Like his uncle, Rene also had no surviving children, and in his last will and testament, he left all his landed possessions, including the principality, to his paternal cousin,
William of Nassau-Dillenburg. Thus, the estates belonging to Rene's mother's brother passed into the family of Rene's father's brother, and William the Silent came into possession of the principality despite having no connection at all to the original House of Orange. The only condition placed by Rene was that his heir, William, should receive a Catholic education. William's father (Rene's uncle) agreed on behalf of his minor son, and the succession was endorsed by the Emperor, who was the overlord of most of Rene's possessions. William the Silent duly added the name of Orange to his own paternal dignities and thus became, in 1544, the founder of the
House of Orange-Nassau
The House of Orange-Nassau (, ), also known as the House of Orange because of the prestige of the princely title of Orange, also referred to as the Fourth House of Orange in comparison with the other noble houses that held the Principality of Or ...
.
The principality of Orange had already passed, through the female line, from the first dynasty of Orange to the families
Les Baux, and then to that of
De Chalon. It now passed to a family which was not descended in blood at all from any of the preceding families.
Ancestors
References
Sources
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Rene of Chalon
Princes of Orange
Lords of Breda
Stadtholders in the Low Countries
Military leaders of the Italian Wars
House of Nassau
Knights of the Golden Fleece
1519 births
1544 deaths
People from Breda
Child monarchs from Europe
Chalon-Arlay
16th-century governors
Stadtholders of Guelders and Zutphen