Léonor d'Orléans, duc de Longueville

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Léonor d'Orléans
duc de Longueville
François III d'Orléans, comte de Saint-Pol
Antoinette d'Orléans
Éléonore d'Orléans
FatherFrançois, marquis de Rothelin
MotherJacqueline de Rohan, Marquise de Rothelin
Léonor d'Orléans-Longueville from a 19th-century print

Léonor d'Orléans, duc de Longueville (1540 – 7 August 1573) was prince de Châtellaillon, marquis de Rothelin, comte de Montgommery et

Neufchâtel et Valangin. Longueville was governor of Picardy, the leader of one of the Prince étranger families of France and a descendant of the bastard of Orléans who was in turn a descendant of Charles V of France
.

By Longueville's time his family was close to that of another princely house, that of

battle of Saint-Quentin
in which he was captured. Close to the Guise, he received little help from court in paying off his ransom, but his mother petitioned the Guise to help him, who obliged. His mother, Jacqueline de Rothelin, was an open Protestant and Longueville adopted his mother's faith, corresponding with Calvin.

Upon the death of

Catherine de Medici
perilously thin in terms of support. He remained loyal when civil war erupted between much of the Protestant nobility and the crown in early 1562, one of many princely Protestants whose sympathies with the reform ended at rebellion.

By 1563 he had abjured his Protestantism and was welcomed back by the Guise with open arms. A new marriage was arranged for him by the family, this time with

Louis, Prince of Condé
at the end of the former, he salvaged the prince's body from where it had been displayed. Condé had been governor of Picardy, and with his death Longueville became the governor of the critical region.

In 1572 he was ordered in his capacity as governor of Picardy to prevent Protestants from crossing the border to militarily assist their co-religionists in the

Henri, Prince of Condé
succeeding him to the governorship of Picardy.

Early life and family

Born in 1540, he was the son of François, marquis of Rothelin,

Jean Calvin.[4] He was the grandson of Louis I d'Orléans, duc de Longueville and he succeeded his first cousin, François III d'Orléans as duc de Longueville.[1]

A close, faithful supporter of the

François, Duke of Guise disgusted by Longueville's refusal to attend Mass.[6]

He married Marie de Bourbon, Duchess of Estouteville, daughter of

Condé with whom they hoped to ally against the Montmorency.[8] For the wedding, Longueville ordered a suit of clothes in black velvet banded with gold embroidery sewn with pearls from a Parisian embroiderer, Guillaume Corbeau.[9]

Léonor and Marie had:[7]

Reign of Henri II

The Guise household had held a strong grip on the estates of the Longueville, during the life of Longueville's cousin, a lawsuit followed his death in 1551, which was settled in favour of Léonor and his mother for control of the estates. While the Guise no longer commanded the territories, they remained close as a family with the Orléans.[2]

Captured by the Spanish after the disastrous battle of

Saint-Quentin, he was held by the imperial forces in the hope of a ransom.[3] The crown did not rush to assist with his ransom, his proximity to the Guise at a time they were in disfavour making the king ill-inclined to support him. In 1558 Jacqueline de Rohan wrote to the Guise, whom she considered protectors of her son due to the close ties between the families, imploring them to intervene and supply the ransom for her captive son.[3] As such the Guise themselves assisted in the payment of the ransom.[10]

Reign of François II

After the sudden death of

Montmorency; they further acquired the office of grand chambellan at Longueville's expense.[11] This began to sour relations between the families, but they did not break from each other.[12]

Conscious of the religious and financial crisis facing the kingdom the Guise administration, responsible for the young

Conspiracy of Amboise if they showed.[13] During the same year Charles, Cardinal of Lorraine was named guardian of Longueville's estates until he reached his legal majority. Longueville held vast holdings in Normandy where the Guise were also expanding their reach.[12] His château at Tancarville became a haven for Protestants who were fleeing persecution.[14]

Reign of Charles IX

Longueville was among those who departed court with the end of the Guise government, as the young François II died and was succeeded by his brother

Catherine de Medici. In January Claude, Duke of Aumale and Longueville left court, Lorraine followed in February.[15]

As the regency of Catherine developed, the crown took on an increasingly tolerant policy towards Protestantism. In early 1561 a flashpoint developed over the Pré aux Clercs affair. Despite Protestantism still being illegal in France, the seigneur de Longjumeau hosted regular services for many of the nobles of Paris in his residence. Longueville was among those who regularly frequented his residence for services. Angry Catholic militants, frustrated at the crown allowing this to continue with their full knowledge in Paris, attacked the residence; many of the Protestant nobles caught inside during the service armed themselves in defence. A riot followed, the result of which was the Parlement of Paris ordering the exile of Longjumeau from Paris.[16] Following this the Guise became aware that Longueville had converted to Protestantism.[17]

Departure from court

Shortly after the

Jacques, Duke of Nemours and several hundred horse.[18] The presence of Longueville in this grand exit from court indicate that religious differences with the crown were not the sole reason for disillusion with the regency government. Montmorency joined the exodus from court, leaving a rump administration under Catherine, Navarre and a handful of Protestant councillors.[19]

Loyalist

Despite his Protestantism, at the outbreak of the French Wars of Religion in 1562, the limits of Longueville's Protestantism were revealed. While he would offer concern and refuge to Protestants, he would not enter rebellion for them. In this regard he followed a similar path to his fellow princely Norman magnate the

duke of Bouillon.[14]

Abjuration

By 1563 Longueville had abjured his Protestantism, returning to the Catholic fold and providing a reconciliation with the Guise. His name was among those signatories in a petition to the king for justice following the

assassination of the duke of Guise. The Guise family blamed Gaspard II de Coligny for the murder, bringing the Guise network into conflict with the Montmorency network, Montmorency determined to defend his nephew.[8]

Feud

He continued to support the Guise in their feud with Montmorency after the failure of legal channels to achieve satisfaction. His support alongside that of Nevers was counted on when the notion of forming a militant league was floated in 1565. Ultimately this would come to nought and the only armed confrontation would be during the attempted Guise entry into Paris that year, during which they were humiliated.[20]

As a provision of the

François de Montmorency went as security.[21]

Third war of religion

During the third civil war, with the Protestant nobility operating out of the west, the main royal army under the nominal command of the king's young brother

prince of Condé was killed in cold blood after his capture. As a result his governorship of Picardy became vacant, and Longueville was selected to fill the office.[24] Longueville was disgusted at the treatment of the prince and retrieved his mutilated corpse from where it had been displayed by Anjou.[25]

Crisis in the Netherlands

By 1572 the situation in the Spanish Netherlands was deteriorating for the authorities as rebellion spread. French Protestants, sympathetic for their compatriots abroad, began crossing the border in Picardie under arms to militarily support them. The Spanish protested vehemently to the crown about this provocation, and Charles instructed Longueville to prohibit crossings of the frontier. The king's opposition to border crossings was however circumspect and he covertly agreed to an unofficial expedition under the sieur de Genlis, however this was met with disaster and crushed by the duke of Alva.[26] As the

provinces, Longueville in his capacity as governor of Picardy used his influence to oppose attempts to introduce subsidiary massacres in his governorate.[27]

La Rochelle

After the massacres across France,

siege, though it proved resilient. Frustrated, the crown entrusted Longueville to reach out to La Noue, one of the leading Protestant nobles in rebellion, to convince him that a settlement was in their best interest. While La Noue was successfully convinced, he in turn was unable to persuade the leaders of La Rochelle.[28]

Death

Léonor died in 1573.

Condé who had inherited his father's Protestantism. This appointment frustrated Louis de Gonzague, Duke of Nevers who had hoped for the office.[30]

Ancestry

References

  1. ^ a b Potter 1995, p. 373.
  2. ^ a b Carroll 2005, p. 47.
  3. ^ a b c Durot 2012, p. 265.
  4. ^ Carroll 2009, p. 109.
  5. ^ Carroll 2009, pp. 108–109.
  6. ^ Carroll 2005, p. 107.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Potter 2004, p. 133.
  8. ^ a b Carroll 2005, p. 125.
  9. ^ Catherine Grodecki, Documents du Mintier Central des Notaires de Paris: Histoire de l'Art au XVIe Siécle, 2 (Paris, 1986), p. 229 no. 879.
  10. ^ Carroll 2009, p. 98.
  11. ^ Carroll 2005, p. 94.
  12. ^ a b Carroll 2005, p. 101.
  13. ^ Durot 2012, p. 571.
  14. ^ a b Carroll 2005, p. 102.
  15. ^ Carroll 2005, p. 106.
  16. ^ Roelker 1996, p. 255.
  17. ^ Durot 2012, p. 644.
  18. ^ Thompson 1909, p. 114.
  19. ^ Carroll 2005, p. 108.
  20. ^ Carroll 2005, p. 131.
  21. ^ Thompson 1909, p. 346.
  22. ^ Knecht 2016, p. 34.
  23. ^ Thompson 1909, p. 387.
  24. ^ Harding 1978, p. 226.
  25. ^ Carroll 2005, p. 128.
  26. ^ Shimizu 1970, pp. 163–166.
  27. ^ Baird 1880, p. 526.
  28. ^ Thompson 1909, p. 457.
  29. ^ Potter 2004, p. 58.
  30. ^ Thompson 1909, p. 469.

Sources

  • Baird, Henry (1880). History of the Rise of the Huguenots in Two Volumes: Vol 2 of 2. Hodder & Stoughton.
  • Carroll, Stuart (2005). Noble Power during the French Wars of Religion: The Guise Affinity and Catholic Cause in Normandy. Cambridge University Press.
  • Carroll, Stuart (2009). Martyrs and Murderers: The Guise Family and the Making of Europe. Oxford University Press.
  • Durot, Éric (2012). François de Lorraine, duc de Guise entre Dieu et le Roi. Classiques Garnier.
  • Harding, Robert (1978). Anatomy of a Power Elite: the Provincial Governors in Early Modern France. Yale University Press.
  • Knecht, Robert (2016). Hero or Tyrant? Henry III, King of France, 1574-1589. Routledge.
  • Potter, David (1995). A History of France, 1460-1560: The Emergence of a Nation State. St. Martin's Press.
  • Potter, David, ed. (2004). Foreign Intelligence and Information in Elizabethan England: Two English Treatises on the State of France, 1580-1584. Cambridge University Press.
  • Roelker, Nancy (1996). One King, One Faith: The Parlement of Paris and the Religious Reformation of the Sixteenth Century. University of California Press.
  • Shimizu, J. (1970). Conflict of Loyalties: Politics and Religion in the Career of Gaspard de Coligny, Admiral of France, 1519–1572. Geneva: Librairie Droz.
  • Thompson, James (1909). The Wars of Religion in France 1559-1576: The Huguenots, Catherine de Medici and Philip II. Chicago University Press.
Léonor d'Orléans, duc de Longueville
House of Orléans-Longueville
Cadet branch of the House of Valois
Born: 1540 Died: 7 August 1573
French nobility
Preceded by Duke of Longueville
22 September 1551 – 7 August 1573 		Succeeded by
Henri I
Regnal titles
Preceded by
Sovereign Count of Neuchâtel

1551–1573 		Succeeded by
Henri I
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