This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Choess (talk | contribs) at 01:44, 10 July 2005 (removed titular styles and condensed Harcourt/Aumale, both held by John VIII(?)). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Revision as of 01:44, 10 July 2005 by Choess (talk | contribs) (removed titular styles and condensed Harcourt/Aumale, both held by John VIII(?))(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)René II (May 2 1451–December 10 1508) was Count of Vaudémont from 1470, Duke of Lorraine from 1473, and Duke of Bar from 1483 to 1508. He claimed the crown of Naples and the County of Provence as the Duke of Calabria 1480–1493 and as King of Naples and Jerusalem 1493–1508. He succeeded John VIII, Count of Harcourt as Count of Harcourt in 1473, but used the title of Count of Aumale instead after 1495. He succeeded as Count of Guise in 1504.
Family
He was the son of Yolande of Lorraine and Frederick, Count of Vaudémont. On his mother's side, he was a grandson of Isabella, Duchess of Lorraine. His father was a member of the Vaudémont family, a junior branch of the Lorraine ducal family, descending from John I, Duke of Lorraine. He was thus both heir-general and heir-male to the Duchy when he succeeded on the death of his cousin Nicholas in 1473.
René married Phillipa of Guelders in 1485 and had the following children:
- Antoine, Duke of Lorraine (1489–1544)
- Claude, Duke of Guise (1496–1550), first Duke of Guise
- John, Cardinal of Lorraine and Bishop of Metz (1498–1550)
- Louis, Count of Vaudémont (1500–1526)
- Francis, Count of Lambesc (1506–1525)
- plus six others who died young
His maternal grandfather René I of Anjou died in 1480 his mother succeeded to René's claims as King of Naples and René took the title of Duke of Calabria, as heir apparent.
When his mother Yolande of Anjou died in 1483, he succeeded as Duke of Bar, and in her claims to the kingdoms of Naples and Jerusalem.
Life
During his rule, René had to fight an attempted invasion of Lorraine by Charles the Bold, duke of Burgundy. The attempt failed with the help of the king of France and Charles died while besieging Nancy.
See also
| Preceded by: Frederick |
Count of Vaudémont 1470–1508 |
Succeeded by: Anthony |
| Preceded by: Nicholas I |
Duke of Lorraine with Yolande to 1483 1473–1508 | |
| Preceded by: — |
Marquis of Pont-à-Mousson 1480–1508 | |
| Preceded by: Yolande |
Duke of Bar 1483–1508 | |
| Preceded by: John VIII |
Count of Harcourt/Aumale c. 1473–1495–1508 |
Succeeded by: Claude |
| Preceded by: Charlotte d'Armagnac, 7th Duchesse de Nemours |
Count of Guise 1504–1508 |
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