Charles de Lorraine Mayenne, duc de

Mayenne, Charles de Lorraine, duc de (shärl də lôrĕnˈ dük də mäyĕnˈ) [key], 1554–1611, French Catholic general in the Wars of Religion (see Religion, Wars of); brother of Henri, 3d duc de Guise, and Louis de Lorraine, Cardinal de Guise. After the murder of his brothers (1588), he became the head of the Catholic League. Defeated by King Henry IV of France at Arques (1589) and Ivry (1590), he nevertheless raised Henry's siege of Paris (1590). For a time he wielded almost royal power over the parts of France that supported the League. He became estranged from the pro-Spanish faction, which supported the claim to the French crown of the Spanish infanta Isabella, a granddaughter of King Henry II of France. In 1596, Mayenne made his final peace with Henry IV, who had previously abjured Protestantism.


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