Charles II, Duke of Lorraine
Encyclopedia
Charles II called the Bold was the duke of Lorraine from 1390 to his death and constable of France
from 1418 to 1425.
Charles was the elder son of John I, Duke of Lorraine
, and Sophie, daughter of Eberhard II, Count of Württemberg
.
He is called Charles II because of a previous Charles, Duke of Lower Lorraine
, despite the fact that his own duchy was that of Upper Lorraine; Lower Lorraine
being subsumed in Brabant
by his time.
During his youth, he had been close to Philip II, Duke of Burgundy
, they having been comrades in arms on several occasions. This proximity to Burgundy
was largely a result of his father's moving away from the French court, the court to which the Lorrainer dukes had neared in the past century and a half as they withdrew from the Holy Roman Empire
, within which their duchy was still technically a vassal state. Charles was defiant of Louis I, Duke of Orléans, who had supported the citizens of Neufchâteau
against his father and the Emperor Wenceslaus
when the latter was accused by his subjects of weakness. Wenceslaus was deposed in 1400 and replaced by Rupert III, Count Palatine of the Rhine
, Charles' father-in-law.
Charles was also a major participant in some late Crusading movements. He was at Tunis
in 1391. He took part in the so-called Last Crusade which culminated in the disastrous Battle of Nicopolis
in 1396. There he accompanied John the Fearless, the count of Nevers and son of his friend Philip. In 1399, he assisted the Teutonic Knights
in Livonia
.
Multiple times between 1405 and 1406, the sergeants of the duke and the officers of the kings of France in certain enclaves (French fiefs) in Lorraine were at loggerheads and Louis of Orléans, who had received the pledges of the duke of Luxembourg, was trying to create a principality
in the region. Then, in 1407, at the head of a coalition of the dukes of Bar, Luxembourg, and the margraves of Namur he attacked the duchy. Louis was defeated at Corny-sur-Moselle
and then, in July, at Champigneulles
. His assassination in Paris
on 23 November put an end to his plans.
With the assassination of Louis, France broke down into two parties: the Armagnacs of Bernard VII, Count of Armagnac
, the tutor of the young Charles of Orléans
, and the Burgundians of John the Fearless, Philip's successor, who supported Charles of Lorraine. Charles did not, however, enter the Anglo-French conflict then raging—the Hundred Years' War
—but his brother, Frederick I, Count of Vaudémont, got involved and died in the Battle of Agincourt
in 1415. Nevertheless, the queen, Isabeau of Bavaria
, appointed Charles constable in 1418. In 1424, he asserted that the load was too large for him and renounced it.
Charles adopted a new stance vis-à-vis France after the assassination of John of Burgundy in 1419. John's successor, Philip III
, had much territory in the Low Countries
and only Lorraine and Champagne
separated his Burgundian from his Belgian possessions. Fearing any warlike ambitions, Charles thought it prudent to reorient his fidelities and friendships away from such a possible adversary. Through his French connections, he obtained the assistance of Charles VII
against Burgundy and married his daughter to the Angevin
René
, later king of Naples.
Charles's final years were rife with conflict and unhappiness. His nephew, Anthony of Vaudémont demanded a part of the inheritance and Charles had to war against him in 1425, without much success. Early in 1429, Joan of Arc
came on a pilgrimage to Saint-Nicolas-de-Port
. She counselled the duke to abandon his mistress, Alison du May. Ignoring this advice, he gave her an escort and sent her on to Chinon
. He died two years later at his capital of Nancy on 21 or 25 January.
(1376–1434), daughter of Rupert of Germany
and Elisabeth of Nuremberg
, in 1394, only two daughters survived childhood:
With his mistress, the aforementioned Alison du May (murdered in Nancy in 1431), he had five children:
Constable of France
The Constable of France , as the First Officer of the Crown, was one of the original five Great Officers of the Crown of France and Commander in Chief of the army. He, theoretically, as Lieutenant-general of the King, outranked all the nobles and was second-in-command only to the King...
from 1418 to 1425.
Charles was the elder son of John I, Duke of Lorraine
John I, Duke of Lorraine
John I was the duke of Lorraine from 1346 to his death. As an infant of six months, he succeeded his father, Rudolph, who was killed in the Battle of Crécy. His mother was Mary, daughter of Guy I of Blois....
, and Sophie, daughter of Eberhard II, Count of Württemberg
Eberhard II, Count of Württemberg
Eberhard II, called "der Greiner" , Count of Württemberg from 1344 until 1392.Eberhard II was son of Count Ulrich III of Württemberg and Sofie of Pfirt. He married Countess Elizabeth von Henneberg-Schleusingen on September 17, 1342...
.
He is called Charles II because of a previous Charles, Duke of Lower Lorraine
Charles, Duke of Lower Lorraine
Charles of Lorraine was the son of Louis IV of France and Gerberga of Saxony and younger brother of King Lothair. He was a sixth generation descendant of Charlemagne...
, despite the fact that his own duchy was that of Upper Lorraine; Lower Lorraine
Lower Lorraine
The Duchy of Lower Lorraine or Lower Lotharingia , established in 959 was a stem duchy of the medieval German kingdom, which encompassed part of modern-day Belgium, the Netherlands, the northern part of the German Rhineland and a part of northern France east of the Schelde river.It was created out...
being subsumed in Brabant
Duchy of Brabant
The Duchy of Brabant was a historical region in the Low Countries. Its territory consisted essentially of the three modern-day Belgian provinces of Flemish Brabant, Walloon Brabant and Antwerp, the Brussels-Capital Region and most of the present-day Dutch province of North Brabant.The Flag of...
by his time.
During his youth, he had been close to Philip II, Duke of Burgundy
Philip II, Duke of Burgundy
Philip the Bold , also Philip II, Duke of Burgundy , was the fourth and youngest son of King John II of France and his wife, Bonne of Luxembourg. By his marriage to Margaret III, Countess of Flanders, he also became Count Philip II of Flanders, Count Philip IV of Artois and Count-Palatine Philip IV...
, they having been comrades in arms on several occasions. This proximity to Burgundy
Duchy of Burgundy
The Duchy of Burgundy , was heir to an ancient and prestigious reputation and a large division of the lands of the Second Kingdom of Burgundy and in its own right was one of the geographically larger ducal territories in the emergence of Early Modern Europe from Medieval Europe.Even in that...
was largely a result of his father's moving away from the French court, the court to which the Lorrainer dukes had neared in the past century and a half as they withdrew from the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
, within which their duchy was still technically a vassal state. Charles was defiant of Louis I, Duke of Orléans, who had supported the citizens of Neufchâteau
Neufchâteau, Vosges
Neufchâteau is a commune in the Vosges department in Lorraine in northeastern France.Inhabitants are called Néocastriens.-Geography:Positioned at the confluence of the Rivers Meuse and Mouzon, the little town dominates the Vosges Plain...
against his father and the Emperor Wenceslaus
Wenceslaus, King of the Romans
Wenceslaus ) was, by election, German King from 1376 and, by inheritance, King of Bohemia from 1378. He was the third Bohemian and second German monarch of the Luxembourg dynasty...
when the latter was accused by his subjects of weakness. Wenceslaus was deposed in 1400 and replaced by Rupert III, Count Palatine of the Rhine
Rupert of Germany
Rupert of Germany from the House of Wittelsbach was Elector Palatine from 1398 and German King from 1400 until his death...
, Charles' father-in-law.
Charles was also a major participant in some late Crusading movements. He was at Tunis
Tunis
Tunis is the capital of both the Tunisian Republic and the Tunis Governorate. It is Tunisia's largest city, with a population of 728,453 as of 2004; the greater metropolitan area holds some 2,412,500 inhabitants....
in 1391. He took part in the so-called Last Crusade which culminated in the disastrous Battle of Nicopolis
Battle of Nicopolis
The Battle of Nicopolis took place on 25 September 1396 and resulted in the rout of an allied army of Hungarian, Wallachian, French, Burgundian, German and assorted troops at the hands of an Ottoman force, raising of the siege of the Danubian fortress of Nicopolis and leading to the end of the...
in 1396. There he accompanied John the Fearless, the count of Nevers and son of his friend Philip. In 1399, he assisted the Teutonic Knights
Teutonic Knights
The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem , commonly the Teutonic Order , is a German medieval military order, in modern times a purely religious Catholic order...
in Livonia
Livonia
Livonia is a historic region along the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea. It was once the land of the Finnic Livonians inhabiting the principal ancient Livonian County Metsepole with its center at Turaida...
.
Multiple times between 1405 and 1406, the sergeants of the duke and the officers of the kings of France in certain enclaves (French fiefs) in Lorraine were at loggerheads and Louis of Orléans, who had received the pledges of the duke of Luxembourg, was trying to create a principality
Principality
A principality is a monarchical feudatory or sovereign state, ruled or reigned over by a monarch with the title of prince or princess, or by a monarch with another title within the generic use of the term prince....
in the region. Then, in 1407, at the head of a coalition of the dukes of Bar, Luxembourg, and the margraves of Namur he attacked the duchy. Louis was defeated at Corny-sur-Moselle
Corny-sur-Moselle
Corny-sur-Moselle is a commune in the Moselle department in Lorraine in north-eastern France.-See also:*Communes of the Moselle department...
and then, in July, at Champigneulles
Champigneulles
Champigneulles is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France.-Points of interest:*L'Arboretum de Bellefontaine...
. His assassination in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
on 23 November put an end to his plans.
With the assassination of Louis, France broke down into two parties: the Armagnacs of Bernard VII, Count of Armagnac
Bernard VII, Count of Armagnac
Bernard VII, Count of Armagnac was the Count of Charolais, Count of Armagnac, and Constable of France. He was the son of John II and Jeanne de Périgord. He succeeded in Armagnac at the death of his brother, John III, in 1391...
, the tutor of the young Charles of Orléans
Charles, duc d'Orléans
Charles of Valois was Duke of Orléans from 1407, following the murder of his father, Louis I, Duke of Orléans, on the orders of John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy...
, and the Burgundians of John the Fearless, Philip's successor, who supported Charles of Lorraine. Charles did not, however, enter the Anglo-French conflict then raging—the Hundred Years' War
Hundred Years' War
The Hundred Years' War was a series of separate wars waged from 1337 to 1453 by the House of Valois and the House of Plantagenet, also known as the House of Anjou, for the French throne, which had become vacant upon the extinction of the senior Capetian line of French kings...
—but his brother, Frederick I, Count of Vaudémont, got involved and died in the Battle of Agincourt
Battle of Agincourt
The Battle of Agincourt was a major English victory against a numerically superior French army in the Hundred Years' War. The battle occurred on Friday, 25 October 1415 , near modern-day Azincourt, in northern France...
in 1415. Nevertheless, the queen, Isabeau of Bavaria
Isabeau of Bavaria
Isabeau of Bavaria was Queen consort of France as spouse of King Charles VI of France, a member of the Valois Dynasty...
, appointed Charles constable in 1418. In 1424, he asserted that the load was too large for him and renounced it.
Charles adopted a new stance vis-à-vis France after the assassination of John of Burgundy in 1419. John's successor, Philip III
Philip III, Duke of Burgundy
Philip the Good KG , also Philip III, Duke of Burgundy was Duke of Burgundy from 1419 until his death. He was a member of a cadet line of the Valois dynasty . During his reign Burgundy reached the height of its prosperity and prestige and became a leading center of the arts...
, had much territory in the Low Countries
Low Countries
The Low Countries are the historical lands around the low-lying delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse rivers, including the modern countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and parts of northern France and western Germany....
and only Lorraine and Champagne
Champagne (province)
The Champagne wine region is a historic province within the Champagne administrative province in the northeast of France. The area is best known for the production of the sparkling white wine that bears the region's name...
separated his Burgundian from his Belgian possessions. Fearing any warlike ambitions, Charles thought it prudent to reorient his fidelities and friendships away from such a possible adversary. Through his French connections, he obtained the assistance of Charles VII
Charles VII of France
Charles VII , called the Victorious or the Well-Served , was King of France from 1422 to his death, though he was initially opposed by Henry VI of England, whose Regent, the Duke of Bedford, ruled much of France including the capital, Paris...
against Burgundy and married his daughter to the Angevin
House of Valois-Anjou
The Valois House of Anjou, or the Younger House of Anjou, was a noble French family, deriving from the royal family, the House of Valois. They were monarchs of Naples, as well as various other territories....
René
René I of Naples
René of Anjou , also known as René I of Naples and Good King René , was Duke of Anjou, Count of Provence , Count of Piedmont, Duke of Bar , Duke of Lorraine , King of Naples , titular King of Jerusalem...
, later king of Naples.
Charles's final years were rife with conflict and unhappiness. His nephew, Anthony of Vaudémont demanded a part of the inheritance and Charles had to war against him in 1425, without much success. Early in 1429, Joan of Arc
Joan of Arc
Saint Joan of Arc, nicknamed "The Maid of Orléans" , is a national heroine of France and a Roman Catholic saint. A peasant girl born in eastern France who claimed divine guidance, she led the French army to several important victories during the Hundred Years' War, which paved the way for the...
came on a pilgrimage to Saint-Nicolas-de-Port
Saint-Nicolas-de-Port
Saint-Nicolas-de-Port is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle département in north-eastern France.Its inhabitants are known asPortois. In the past, the Portois were known as loudmouths; their neighbours across the Meurthe at Varangéville liked to gather on the opposite river bank to bombard them...
. She counselled the duke to abandon his mistress, Alison du May. Ignoring this advice, he gave her an escort and sent her on to Chinon
Chinon
Chinon is a commune in the Indre-et-Loire department in central France well known for Château de Chinon.In the Middle Ages, Chinon developed especially during the reign of Henry II . The castle was rebuilt and extended, becoming one of his favorite residences...
. He died two years later at his capital of Nancy on 21 or 25 January.
Family
From his marriage to Margaret of the PalatinateMargaret of the Palatinate
Margaret of the Palatinate was the daughter of Rupert of Germany and his wife Elisabeth of Nuremberg. She married Charles II, Duke of Lorraine on 6 February 1393. Her maternal grandparents were Frederick V, Burgrave of Nuremberg and Elisabeth of Meissen...
(1376–1434), daughter of Rupert of Germany
Rupert of Germany
Rupert of Germany from the House of Wittelsbach was Elector Palatine from 1398 and German King from 1400 until his death...
and Elisabeth of Nuremberg
Elisabeth of Nuremberg
-Source:*...
, in 1394, only two daughters survived childhood:
- IsabellaIsabella, Duchess of LorraineIsabella was suo jure Duchess of Lorraine, from 25 January 1431 to her death in 1453. She was the first wife of Duke Rene of Anjou, King of Naples, and the mother of his children, which included Margaret of Anjou, Queen consort of England as the wife of Henry VI.From 1435 to 1442, Isabella was...
(1400–1453), who became Duchess on his death and married RenéRené I of NaplesRené of Anjou , also known as René I of Naples and Good King René , was Duke of Anjou, Count of Provence , Count of Piedmont, Duke of Bar , Duke of Lorraine , King of Naples , titular King of Jerusalem...
, later holder of many prestigious titles - Louis, died young
- Ralph, died young
- CatherineCatherine de Lorraine (1407—1439)Catherine of Lorraine was the wife of Margrave Jacob of Baden-Baden.She was the daughter of Duke Charles II of Lorraine and the countess Margaret of the Palatinate....
(1407–1439), married Jacob, Margrave of Baden
With his mistress, the aforementioned Alison du May (murdered in Nancy in 1431), he had five children:
- John, lord of DarnieullesDarnieullesDarnieulles is a commune in the Vosges department in Lorraine in northeastern France....
- Ferry de Lunéville (fl. c. 1425)
- Catherine (fl. c. 1425)
- Isabelle, married in 1425 to Henry of Liocourt