[June 14] Antoine, duke of Lorraine

Surnamed: "The Good"
Parents: René II, duke of Lorraine, and Philippa of Guelders

Date of Birth: 4 June 1489

House: Vaudémont

Spouse: Renée, daughter of Gilbert, count of Montpensier, and Clara Gonzaga

Predecessor: René II

Reign: 1508 – 1544

Summary: Like most pseudo-independent dukes in France during the late Valois period, Antoine was raised at the court of the French king, Louis XII, with his younger brother Claude. While there, he became excellent friends with the future king, François I. He remained loyal to the kings of France throughout his reign, first following Louis XII to northern Italy on campaign in 1509 and then following François in 1515. He left his mother in charge with the bishop of Toul, Hugues des Hazards, as chief advisor. He was forced to return and take up his position as duke prior to the battle of Pavia in 1525, abandoning François immediately before he was taken prisoner at the battle.

In Lorraine, Antoine had to face the spreading influence of the Protestant Reformation which had taken hold of northern Germany in the past six years. In 1523, he had published an edict condemning the Reformation, but two years later, it was moving in. The German Peasants' War broke out in Alsace in 1524 and Antoine was facing an all-out rebellion. Rebels captured the towns of Saverne and Saint-Dié in 1524 and another uprising disabled Bitcherland. Throughout 1525, the duke was busy suppressing revolts in his land, eventually recapturing his fallen towns but at great expense. When François and Holy Roman Emperor Charles V went into open warfare on his borders, Antoine felt it best to remain neutral in the conflict, protecting both his lands and the spread of his revolt. At the Treaty of Nuremberg, Lorraine was officially made a fully independent state of France and the Empire, cutting all ties to its problem of dual fealty. When Charles of Egmond died in 1538, Antoine asserted his right, through his mother, to Guelders and Zutphen in the Low Countries, but politics in the Netherlands were too unstable to gain the possessions. Antoine left two sons, François and Nicholas, the former of whom succeeded him to Lorraine in 1544. The latter became regent for François's son in 1445 after François unexpectedly died.

Date of Death: 14 June 1544

Successor: François I

Other Monarch Deaths:

Qinzong, emperor of China (1161)