Fall from power In December the young king François, who had always been sickly, died. With his death the Guise connection to the government through his wife was severed and their dominance at court was greatly threatened. With
Catherine de Medici and
Antoine of Navarre taking the lead for the young
Charles IX of France, the Guise recognised there was little place for them in the new government. In an exodus in January 1561 Guise, Lorraine, Aumale, Cardinal Guise, Elbeuf and the Grand Prior departed from court.
Change in religious policy The
Colloquy of Poissy which attempted to resolve the religious question through a reconciliation of the faiths descended into acrimony. With the failure of this royal policy, Catherine as regent began to move the crown in the direction of formal toleration of two faiths simultaneously in the kingdom. Such a policy was intolerable and in combination with the increasing presence of open Protestants on the
conseil privé which left little space for the Guise, the family decided once more to depart court. Aumale was the first to leave on 8 October, shortly to be followed by the rest of his family and sympathetic nobles, including the Protestant
Longueville and Nemours. Catherine and Navarre pleaded for the family to return to court, conscious that they lacked a wide enough support base for a stable regime. In early 1562 the city council of
Dijon wrote a lengthy complaint to Aumale, urging him to punish Protestants in Burgundy who were 'in violation' of the
Edict of January, the council had no plans to grant the Protestants the rights offered to them under the same edict, but saw it as a useful tool nevertheless. The lieutenant general of Burgundy,
Tavannes who had Aumale's authority in his absence from the province was not willing to wait for Aumale to respond, and in May ordered all Protestant preachers to assemble in the square of Dijon so they could be expelled from the town. Back in February, the duke of Guise, Lorraine and Aumale travelled for a meeting with the
duke of Württemberg at
Saverne. The matter of discussion was Christian doctrine, Württemberg being a
Lutheran, a version of Protestantism not practiced in much of France but more of interest to Lorraine in terms of bringing about a reconciliation of the two faiths than
Calvinism. Lorraine was interested in subscribing to the
Confession of Augsburg and the meeting ultimately concluded on cordial terms. However the friendly words with the Protestant prince would be shattered by the betrayal of the
Massacre of Wassy as Guise made his way back to the capital on 1 March in which the duke's men massacred a congregation of Protestant worshippers.
First war of religion Failure outside Rouen In May 1562 after the fall of
Dieppe to a Protestant coup, Aumale was dispatched with a special commission to restore order in Normandie. Bouillon was furious that his government was being undermined by this extraordinary commission, and he besieged Aumale's deputy
Matignon in his residence. Having achieved successes elsewhere in Normandy Aumale moved on Rouen. Aumale appeared before the walls of Rouen on 28 May 1562, in the previous month the city had joined the Protestant rebels under the overall authority of
the Prince of Condé. Keen to avoid a costly siege he demanded the city open its gates to him. The rebels inside, confident of their defences refused his entreaties. Aumale was therefore forced to begin a
siege. He lacked the forces to fully invest the city, however the 3000 soldiers under his command were able to spend the next month harassing the surrounding area as a means of putting pressure on the inhabitants, meanwhile the city continued to fill with reinforcing Protestant forces. Withdrawing from the siege in June, Aumale brought his forces to the main royal army under Guise which was facing off in a stalemate with Condé near
Orléans. Aumale's forces were gathered at
Beaugency, between those of his allies Navarre and Guise. Condé stalled, unwilling to meet the growing royal army in an open battle, as he waited it continued to grow until such time as he felt it necessary to disperse his army and retreat inside Orléans. This gave the royal army the freedom of action to reduce the other towns that had fallen to the Protestants in the early months of the war. As a result the army was divided into four, with Aumale to deal with Rouen, Saint-André to seize Lyon, Montpensier to head south to
Guienne and the main body under Navarre to confront Condé. A little while after Condé's deteriorating forces retreated into the city Aumale seized
Honfleur on 21 July. This accomplished Aumale returned again to the walls of Rouen on 29 July with 6500 men, and set up batteries, however his forces were again able to do little against the walls with their small number.
Blocking effort Having been unable to achieve success at Rouen, Aumale was tasked by the chiefs of the royal army with responsibility for blocking
Andelot in his attempt to bring back the mercenary force of German
reiters he had recruited in Germany to bolster the beleaguered Protestant army, that was shut up in the city of
Orléans under loose siege. Aumale's attempts would be a failure however as Andelot was able to outmanoeveur him and join his forces with those inside Orléans. This failure meant that the loose siege of the city was now untenable and
Saint-André had to withdraw his forces from around Orléans. Aumale returned to his bête noire, the siege of Rouen. Continually short on funds he expropriated cloth that belonged to the merchants of Rouen that was sitting at
Brienne. He also utilised methods that were more controversial among his fellow nobles, instructing Catholic peasants to harass Protestant forces. Hoping to aid his brother, Guise instructed for recently recruited German mercenaries to be directed from the
Loire where they weren't required to reinforce Aumale outside the city. During September and October the main royal army would come to Orléans, and successfully prosecute the siege where Aumale couldn't. At the
Battle of Dreux in December, the only major field engagement of the first war of religion, Aumale fought with the crown. According to his brothers' report of the days event he was thrown from his horse in the fighting, and had broken his shoulder from the impact. Aumale's forces had tried to fight the Swiss Protestant
reiters early in the day, in hopes of saving the left wing of the royal army, but his troops were routed by the oncoming Swiss.
Assassination of the duke of Guise In January 1563, while conducting the
siege of Orléans Guise was
assassinated by
Jean de Poltrot. In the absence of
Lorraine, Aumale and
Cardinal Guise hurried to the siege, keen to ensure their brothers exit was stage managed in an appropriately orthodox fashion after all the rumours that had surrounded
Navarre's exit at
Rouen. They selected for him the conservative confessor the Bishop Riez, those who were present accused Riez of manipulating the dukes final words and downplaying his sorrow for his crime at
Wassy. Riez provided the epistle of Saint James for the duke to listen to, one denounced by
Martin Luther as an 'epistle of straw' and ensured Guise defended the
Real presence. Their brothers death successfully managed the whole family met for a council in March, where they established the plan of their vendetta against
Gaspard II de Coligny who they blamed for orchestrating the dukes death. Guise's death meant that the Catholic cause at court had lost its most charismatic defender. Aumale lacked his brothers charisma but had a far more consistent Catholic militarism. Aumale and Lorraine acted as the leaders of the ultra Catholic faction at court, holding the role until the young
Henry I, Duke of Guise reached his majority. Alongside Aumale's role representing his nephew's interests at court, it was also his duty to act as governor of
Champagne during the young princes minority until he reached adulthood.
Champagne In the capacity of de facto governor Champagne, when controversy arose between the governor of
Châlons-sur-Marne,
Louis de Clermont, seigneur de Bussy and his town council over his desire to have a royal garrison to protect the town while German mercenaries returned over the border. Aumale was deferred to, he responded fiercely, harshly criticising the council for their intransigence on the issue. The council apologised to the duke, but maintained their opposition to a royal garrison. Aumale visited the city himself in May to enforce a garrison of four companies of soldiers on the community. When the election results in
Troyes did not go the way the local administration wanted, they appealed to Aumale, who got them voided, the election was held again with the same result causing a new appeal, Aumale secured a guarantee that the present administration could continue regardless. In some localities near Troyes, Aumale oversaw the prohibition of Protestantism.
Feud At first pursuing their feud with Coligny through legal channels, Aumale argued bitterly with the Constable during council and took advantage of the courts presence in Champagne to argue with
the Prince de Porcien a Protestant prince and ally of the Montmorency. With legal channels a failure, the king shutting down any attempts to re-open an investigation into the murder, the Guise turned to extra-legal methods. In 1565 they attempted a show of force in the capital, traditionally the backyard of the
Montmorency. When Lorraine entered under arms, the governor
François de Montmorency demanded he explain himself for violating his prohibition on armed entries into the capital. Forces of the governor and Lorraine got into skirmishes, and Lorraine came out the worse, beating a hasty retreat first to his residence. where he was besieged by heckling Parisians, and then from the city. A short while later Aumale entered Paris via a different gate, meeting far less resistance than Lorraine, he largely remained in the suburbs. Montmorency wrote to Montpensier opining his fears that these moves were a prelude to a Guisard attempt to seize the capital, however there is little evidence of any plan to do this. Aumale and his brother Elbeuf tried to establish a
ligue of anti-Montmorency nobles in the provinces. They elicited oaths from nobles swearing to 'avenge the killers of the duke to the fourth generation' however none of this support provided material aid to their cause. These
ligues should not be confused with the later
Catholic ligue, the target was not Protestantism but rather the house of Montmorency. In January 1566 while the court was staying at
Moulins Lorraine warned that Aumale would seek to take Coligny's life, irrespective of a decision by the council. However later in his time at Moulins the eldest Guise brother Lorraine was forced by the king to exchange the kiss of peace with Coligny, Aumale for his part refused to acknowledge the Admiral.
Second war of religion With civil war resumed in 1567 after the failure of the Protestant
Surprise of Meaux, Aumale was again tasked with defending the frontier against attempts to reinforce Condé's army, which was investing Paris, with German
reiters. That December the main royal army broke out of Paris under the command of the Constable Montmorency. In the
battle of Saint Denis his forces bested those of Condé, however he himself was killed on the field. The office of Constable was now vacant and with it overall command of the royal army. The Guise family pushed for Aumale to be named as the new Constable, while the Montmorency pushed for Marshal Montmorency to receive the post. Neither would be successful, the crown little desiring to see such an important office held outside the royal family again, instead
Anjou was made lieutenant-general of the kingdom, giving him equivalent authority over the army. While these disputes were ongoing, none of the crowns forces were able to stop the juncture of Condé and the
reiters in December, the Prince having fled eastwards with his forces after the bruising but small engagement. By early 1568, the drive of the war had diminished, and the king's council moved towards peace. Lorraine for his part was keen to send Aumale to
Scotland, to liberate
Mary, Queen of Scots and secure the Catholic religion in the country. This expedition would not however come to pass, and war would resume later that same year as the peace was overturned.
Third war of religion In the following civil war, after the abortive
Peace of Longjumeau Aumale was for a third time entrusted with protecting the border against attempted mercenary incursions. He was encamped in
Champagne with eighteen companies of men-at-arms, while
Cossé defended the border up in
Picardie with a further fifteen. To assist him in his efforts in Champagne, he oversaw the assembling of a second army largely composed of mercenary contingents under the duke of Nemours. The
Duke of Zweibrücken crossed the frontier in January 1569. Nemours and Aumale attempted with great urgency to stop him joining forces with the main Protestant body under Coligny, however they failed in their task and Zweibrücken outmaneuvered them, capturing
La Charité on 20 May allowing him to link with the rebels. The two commanders forces, once outflanked had followed him in on his march into the interior, failing to confront him. Their inability to coordinate with each other and interpersonal difficulties aroused the fury of the secretary of state
Villeroy who lambasted how noble feuding compromised the greater interests of the state. Catherine reproached Aumale for his conduct in the campaign, accusing him of incompetence and cowardice. After the crushing royal victory at the
Battle of Moncontour in which the main Protestant army under Coligny was annihilated, Aumale and
Marshal Biron were tasked with chasing down several of the routed columns. The columns were however skilfully handled, and they were unable to catch them. Moreover by this point the royal armies under their authority, absent of pay and racked with disease were beginning to disintegrate.
Assassination of the Admiral Frustrated by the continuity of the feud between Coligny and the Guise despite the supposed termination of the disagreement with the settlement of Moulins. Charles planned in 1571 further efforts to reconcile the two families. In October he summoned Aumale and the two sons of the murdered duke Guise and
Charles, Duke of Mayenne to court. Hoping to effect a reconciliation between them and the Admiral, it would not however come to pass and tensions continued to escalate between the families. After exchanging threats of military action, things cooled in 1572. In May 1572 Aumale, Guise and Mayenne formally recognised Coligny's innocence for the assassination of the previous duke of Guise. This represented an arm of Catherine's reconciliation policy, and enabled Coligny to return to court in June. After the attempt on Coligny's life on 22 August 1572, the situation in Paris deteriorated fast, as the Protestant nobles threatened to take justice into their own hands against those they held responsible, namely the Guise family. Aumale and
Guise, son of the deceased duke, well aware that their complicity was suspected came to the king and asked him whether they could have permission to depart from court. He replied coldly that he would bring them to justice if the need arose and that they could depart. While the two considered this course of action for a while, they ultimately decided this would be an admission of guilt for the attempt and chose to stay.
Catherine de Medici held a council in which it was decided to pre-emptively assassinate the leading Protestants in the city. While the Guise were not involved in these discussions, they were invited to a meeting at 23:00 on 23 August in which the specific list of targets was drawn up. Aumale and Guise were involved in this process alongside
Anjou brother to the king and the king's cousin
Louis, Duke of Montpensier, Aumale and Guise were to lead the attack against their hated enemy Coligny and those lodged with him. To this end they were provided with forces of Anjou's personal guard. In the early hours of 24 August Guise rode out with 60 men including Aumale and
Angoulême towards the residence of Coligny. The men waited outside while their subordinates went up and dealt with Coligny. In the following hours militant elements of the population of Paris would jump on the assassinations as an excuse for a
general slaughter of Protestants in the city. The party of assassins meanwhile, now finished with Coligny's residence, proceeded to their next target,
Gabriel de Lorges, Count of Montgomery the former captain of the Scots Guard who had accidentally killed king Henri II in 1559. By now though Paris was descending into chaos, and Montgomery was not unawares to the danger. As such Guise and Aumale were forced into a pursuit, they were unable to catch him and he fled north to Normandie.
Siege of La Rochelle and death He was killed at the
siege of La Rochelle on 3 March 1573 during one of the many assaults on the bastion de l'Évangile. The king was conscious that his death at the hands of the Protestants had a serious chance of inflaming religious tensions in the capital again, though order was maintained. He would be buried at Aumale, the first member of the Guise family to have a burial in Normandie since Jean de Lorraine in 1472. His nephew
Charles, Duke of Mayenne became governor of Burgundy upon his death, the young duke was determined to have a far more hands on role in the administration of Burgundy than Aumale had done. ==References==