The House of Guise was a French ducal family, primarily responsible for the French Wars of Religion. The French Wars of Religion were a series of conflicts fought between the Catholic League and the Huguenots from the middle of the sixteenth century to the Edict of Nantes in 1598. ...

The House of Guise was founded as a cadet branch of the House of Lorraine by Claude de Lorraine, first Duke of Guise (1496-1550), who entered French service and was made a duke by King François I. Claude's daughter, Mary of Guise (1515-1560), married King James V of Scotland and was mother of Mary Queen of Scots. Claude's eldest son, François, became a military hero thanks to his capture of Calais from the English in 1558. The Duchy of Lorraine was an independent state for most of the period of time between 843 to 1739. ... Claude of Lorraine (October 20, 1496 _ April 12, 1550) was the first Duke of Guise, from 1528 to his death. ... Duc de Guise was a title in the French nobility. ... Events January 3 - Leonardo da Vinci unsuccessfully tests a flying machine. ... Events February 7 - Julius III becomes Pope. ... The term duke is a title of nobility which refers to the sovereign male ruler of a Continental European duchy, to a nobleman of the highest grade of the British peerage, or to the highest rank of nobility in various other European countries, including Spain and France (in Italy, principe... Francis I (French: François Ier) (September 12, 1494 – July 31, 1547), called the Father and Restorer of Letters (French: le Père et Restaurateur des Lettres), was crowned King of France in 1515 in the cathedral at Reims and reigned until 1547. ... Marie de Guise (in English, Mary of Guise) (November 22, 1515 - June,1560) was the queen consort of James V of Scotland and the mother of Mary, Queen of Scots. ... James V (April 10, 1512 - December 14, 1542) was king of Scotland (September 9, 1513 - December 14, 1542). ... Mary I of Scotland; known as Mary, Queen of Scots Mary I of Scotland (Mary Stuart or Stewart) (December 8, 1542 – February 8, 1587), better known as Mary, Queen of Scots, was the ruler of Scotland from December 14, 1542 – July 24, 1567. ... The Burghers of Calais, by Rodin, with Calais Hotel de Ville behind Location within France Calais is a city in northern France, located at 50°57N 1°52E. It is in the département of Pas-de-Calais, of which it is a sous-préfecture. ... Events January 7 - French troops led by Francis, Duke of Guise take Calais, the last continental possession of England July 13 - Battle of Gravelines: In France, Spanish forces led by Count Lamoral of Egmont defeat the French forces of Marshal Paul des Thermes at Gravelines. ...

In 1558, King François II, married Mary Queen of Scots. By 1559, she had her two powerful uncles of the House of Guise appointed to high positions in the French government. This prompted the Amboise conspiracy in which the Huguenots and the House of Bourbon plotted to usurp the power of the House of Guise. The Duke of Guise and his brother, Charles, Cardinal of Lorraine, in his powerful capacity as a Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church, controlled French politics during the short reign of the sickly young king, François II. The Cardinal of Lorraine was also leader of the French representatives at the final sittings of the Congress of Trent, and, ironically given his family's role in French politics, had fought for a greater willingness to compromise with protestantism than the Italian and Spanish delegates. Events January 7 - French troops led by Francis, Duke of Guise take Calais, the last continental possession of England July 13 - Battle of Gravelines: In France, Spanish forces led by Count Lamoral of Egmont defeat the French forces of Marshal Paul des Thermes at Gravelines. ... Francis II (French: François II) (January 19, 1544 – December 5, 1560) was a King of France (1559 – 1560). ... Events January 15 - Elizabeth I of England is crowned in Westminster Abbey. ... The Amboise conspiracy, or Tumult of Amboise (1560), was a failed attempt by Huguenots and the house of Bourbon to wrest power over France, by abducting the young king, Francis II and arresting François (the Duke of Guise) and his brother Charles (cardinal of Lorraine). ... In the 16th and 17th centuries, the name of Huguenots came to apply to members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France. ... This article or section should include material from France: Wars of Religion - Bourbon Dynasty. ... A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official in the Roman Catholic Church, ranking just below the Pope and appointed by him as a member of the College of Cardinals, during a consistory. ... The Roman Catholic Church is the largest religious denomination of Christianity with over one billion members. ...

Championing Catholicism against the Huguenots, in 1560, the Guise family brutally put down the Conspiracy of Amboise. After King François' death they opposed the more tolerant policy of the Regent, Catherine de Medici, and their doings provoked the French Wars of Religion. Events February 27 - The Treaty of Berhick, which would expel the French from Scotland, is signed by England and the Congregation of Scotland The first tulip bulb was brought from Turkey to the Netherlands. ... A regent is an acting governor. ... Catherine de Medici (April 13, 1519–January 5, 1589), born in Italy as Caterina Maria Romola di Lorenzo de Medici, and later queen of France under the French name Catherine de M dicis, was the wife of King Henry II of France, of the Valois branch of the kings of... The French Wars of Religion were a series of conflicts fought between the Catholic League and the Huguenots from the middle of the sixteenth century to the Edict of Nantes in 1598. ...

The House of Guise, led by François, defeated the Huguenots at the battle of Dreux, but he was assassinated shortly afterward, in 1563. His son, Henri de Lorraine, became the third Duke of Guise (1550-1588). He helped plan the infamous St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre and was responsible for the formation of the Catholic League. The death of the heir-presumptive, the Duc d'Anjou, in 1584, which made the protestant King Henry of Navarre heir to the French throne, led to a new civil war, the War of the Three Henries, with King Henry III, Henry of Navarre, and Henry of Guise all fighting for control of France. Guise began the war by declaring the unacceptably of Navarre as King, and his control of the powerful Catholic League soon forced the King to follow in his wake. Immensely ambitious, in 1588 Guise, with Spanish support, instigated a revolt against the king, taking control of the city of Paris in the Day of the Tiles, becoming the de facto ruler. Events February 1 - Sarsa Dengel succeeds his father Menas as Emperor of Ethiopia February 18 - The Duke of Guise is assassinated while besieging Orléans March - Peace of Amboise. ... Henry, 3rd Duke of Guise (January 31, 1550 - December 23, 1588) was the son of Francis, Duke of Guise. ... The St. ... The Catholic League was created by Henry of Guise, in 1576 during the French Wars of Religion. ... François, Duke of Anjou François Hercule, Duke of Anjou and Alençon, (March 18, 1555 - June 19, 1584) was the youngest son of Henry II of France and Catherine de Medici. ... Events June 1 - With the death of the Duc dAnjou, the Huguenot Henry of Navarre becomes heir-presumptive to the throne of France. ... Henry IV (French: Henri IV) (December 13, 1553 – May 14, 1610), called the Great (French: le Grand), was the first of the Bourbon kings of France, reigning from 1589 until 1610. ... The War of the Three Henrys (1562-1598) was a series of civil wars in France, also known as the Huguenot Wars or French Wars of Religion. ... Henry III (French: Henri III; Polish: Henryk III Walezy; September 19, 1551 – August 2, 1589) was King of Poland (1573-1574) and subsequently King of France (1574-1589). ... By Frans Pourbus the younger. ... The Eiffel Tower has become the symbol of Paris throughout the world. ...

After an apparent conciliation, in December of 1588 King Henri III had both the Duke of Guise and his brother, Louis de Lorraine, Cardinal of Guise (1555-1588), murdered during a meeting in the Royal Chateau at Blois. Leadership of the Catholic League fell to their brother, Charles of Lorraine, Duke of Mayenne who was commander of the armed forces of the Catholic League. The Royal Ch teau de Blois is located in the Loir-et-Cher d partement in the Loire Valley, in France. ... For information on the regent of the Netherlands, see Charles of Lorraine. ...

After King Henri III, had his brother murdered, the Duke of Mayenne became head of the Catholic League. His nephew, the young Duke of Guise, was proposed by the Catholic League as a candidate for the throne, possibly through a marriage to Philip II of Spain's daughter Isabella, the granddaughter of Henry II of France. Although Mayenne and other members of the House of Guise had murdered, tortured and wreaked havoc on the lives of many French citizens, for the sake of the country King Henri IV bought peace with him and in January of 1596 a treaty was signed that put an end to the League. Philip II of Spain (Spanish: Felipe II) - (May 21, 1527 – September 13, 1598), the first King of Spain understood as the whole peninsula of Hispania (r. ... Isabella and her husband Albert Isabella Clara Eugenia of Spain (12 August 1566 - 1 December 1633) was Infanta of Spain, Archduchess of Austria and the joint sovereign of the Seventeen Provinces. ... Henry II (French: Henri II) (March 31, 1519 – July 10, 1559), a member of the Valois Dynasty, was King of France from July 31, 1547 until his death. ... By Frans Pourbus the younger. ...

The senior line of the Dukes of Guise became extinct in 1688. Events A high-powered conspiracy of notables, the Immortal Seven, invite William and Mary to depose James II of England. ...

Dukes of Guise

See Duc de Guise for a list. Duc de Guise was a title in the French nobility. ...

Other members of the House of Guise

• Charles of Guise, Cardinal of Lorraine (1527-1574)