2G6 GUISE fidelity the movements of the period from its Catholic side: the first duke and cardinal belonged to the Re naissance ; the second pair threw themselves into the Catholic reaction, and led the resistance to the Refor mation in France ; the third pair showed the decay of the religious movement, and its transit into political activities, being among the most ambitious statesmen of the later years of the century ; while the fourth and last pair feel the breath of Richelieu s absolutism. The family has throughout characteristic qualities, bravery, ambition, a certain nobleness of sentiment, an imposing presence, and winning manners ; they stand between nobility and royalty, always greater than the one, sometimes even overtopping the other. They seem never to forget that in their veins runs the blood of those who wore or claimed the crowns of Jerusalem and Naples, of Sicily and Hun gary. Claude of Lorraine, born in 1496, succeeded in 1508 to a group of lordships, which by their names testify to the high fortunes of the house : besides Guise itself, he had Elbeuf, Aumale, Mayenne, Joinville, Harcourt, Longju- meau, Boves, Sable", Lambesc, and others. In addition to these, the family gathered to itself relations with Eu, Sully, Ventadour, Aiguillon, Mercoeur, Joyeuse, and Nevers; a cardinil s hat, together with a group of splendid church dignities, also went with the house of Guise ; the arch bishopric of Rheims, the bishopric of Metz, and several other bishoprics were family benefices, which enabled younger members to take an important share in the fortunes of the family. The shield of Claude expresses the pride of the rice : we find there not only the Lorraine spread- eagle, the German bird, but also the quarterings of eight sovereign houses, those of the kings of Hungary, Naples, Jerusalem, and Aragon, and of the sovereign lords of Anjou, Guelderland, Flanders, and Bar. This young prince, who claimed so much, and did so much, who both -exercised his rights as a foreign prince and took pre cedence of the proudest in France, attached himself closely to Francis 1. He was the most brilliant among the " young men " who displaced the older wisdom of the court of Louis XIT. In 1513 he married Antoinette of Bourbon, the duke of Vendome s daughter and great-aunt of Henry IV. ; in 1515 he accompanied Francis to Italy, and showed the mettle of his race at Marignano, where his brother Ferry was killed. From that time he sagaciously avoided the Italian expeditions, and stayed in France, winning popu larity as protector of the realm. Thus in 1521 he was on the Spanish frontier, and helped to take Fuenterrabia ; in 1522 he opposed the English in the north, covering Paris; next, he defended Champagne from the Germans, clearing that rich district with equal glory and gain. In 1525 he avoided the expedition which ended in the disaster of Pavia, wherein another of his brothers, Francis, was slain ; and during the captivity of Francis I. at Madrid, he became virtual head of the regency under the queen, Louise of Savoy. In these dark days he crushed the rising of the peasants of Lorraine and Swabia, which threatened all the east of France. After the king s return, Claude was made (in 1527) duke of Guise, and peer, and governor of Champagne ; fresh territory and wealth were added to these honours. He had now reached liis highest point ; henceforth it is clear that Francis I. regarded him with more jealousy than favour: his ambitious views as to the crown of the " good king Rend," and hopes of a revived Angevin dynasty, offended the French king, though they were only dreams of the past ; for the new spirit of monarchy and national life in the 16th century made any creation of lesser kingdoms on the borderlands of France and Germany impossible. Claude was a man of harsh and narrow character : cautious and persistent, he saw his way, ,and walked carefully along it all his days. In an age in which wealth was becoming the most effective of all means of power, he gathered riches in all ways, fair or foul ; and though willing to spend for his own advancement, he won and deserved the character of a grasping and greedy prince. His brother John, first cardinal of Lorraine, seconded him in every way ; he was as greedy as the duke, though much more open-handed. Accepting the new ideas of the time, he became a splendid Renaissance prelate, the friend of Erasmus and Rabelais, and even of Marot, while, at the same time, he only too faithfully reflected the worst vices of the movement. His church preferment was enormous ;
- he shamelessly took all he could get. He and his brother
j have the distinction of giving a bad name to a whole country ; for, thanks to their rapacity, the Lorrainers got I that reputation for avarice and greediness which has un- justly clung to them even to our days. After 1527 the cleverness of the cardinal rather than the prudence of the | duke advanced the family. Claude hai twelve children, a splendid group of princely youths, who inherited the hand some features and figure of their father, with even greater abilities and a more effective ambition. Francis, the eldest of those who grew up, was born in 1519, and became the second duke; Charles, born in 1524, was the second car dinal of Lorraine, a man as intelligent and depraved as his uncle, and more vigorous and ambitious ; Claude, the next, was created duke of Aumale ; Louis, archbishop of Sens j and cardinal of Guise ; Rend, marquis of Elbeuf. The daughters made brilliant matches : above all, the eldest, Marie, widow of the duke of Longueville, was married j in 1538 to James V. of Scotland, and had a stormy career ! as regent to her daughter, Mary Stuart, queen of Scots. In his later days Claude of Guise withdrew somewhat from public life ; he stood aloof from the intrigues of the reign, while the cardinal attached himself to the " black court," the court of Diana of Poitiers, and promoted the | interests of his nephews without stint. From this time all leanings towards either Renaissance or reform were at an end : henceforth the Guises became the heads of the opposition to the Huguenots, the strength and support of the new Jesuit movement, and, later, the leaders of the League. Claude of Guise died in 1550, leaving his digni ties to his son Francis, " le grand Guise," who had already won great credit for bravery, and had shown that dashing contempt for all rules of military prudence which gives a captain undying popularity. The ghastly wound in the face, which his rashness w r on for him in 1545 at the hands of the English near Boulogne, got him the name of the first " Balafre" ;" it was the outward symbol of his devotion to his country, and greatly raised his repute among the people. He had too the essential qualities of popularity, a majestic presence, and friendly manners in camp ; he was chivalrous, liberal, humane, discerning. In 1552, as lieutenant-general in the three bishopric:?, he withstood at the siege of Metz the last efforts of Charles V., and saved France from a terrible invasion. Thanks to the jealousy of the Montmorencies, he was sent in 1557 to conquer Naples, and would have added another to the long roll of reputa tions ruined by Italy, had he not been suddenly recalled to protect his country after the disaster of St Quentin. With happy boldness, instead of watching the victorious allies, he suddenly attacked and took Calais, ending the English occupation of French soil, and raising his own renown to the highest point. Then, with his brother Charles, second cardinal of Lorraine, he wielded unlimited power through out the reign of Francis II. Under Charles IX. his influ ence abated, and he withdrew into Alsace. On his return thence in 1562, he was, however unwillingly, for he was not inhumane, the cause of the massacre of Yassy, which began the civil wars. In the first war he won the battle
of Dreux (1562), and thence passing southward besieged