François II. De Clèves, duc de Nevers

François II. De Clèves (born July 31, 1540 , † December 19, 1562 near Dreux ) (German Franz II. Von Kleve ) was Duke of Nevers and Count of Rethel and Eu in 1562 . He was the eldest son of Duke François I († 1562) and his first wife Marguerite de Bourbon († 1559). On his father's side, François came from the French branch of the Cleves' secondary genealogy of the German aristocratic family of those von Mark , and on his mother's side from the Bourbon family , a side line of the French royal family.

Life

Although his father of the same name converted to the Calvinist faith shortly before his death , after the bloodbath of Vassy on March 1, 1562 in the Huguenot Wars , François took sides for the Catholic side against the Huguenots . In 1562 François took part in the successful siege of Rouen , which was captured on October 26, 1562, but his uncle Antoine de Bourbon was mortally wounded. On December 19 of the same year, François fell fighting on the Catholic side in the Battle of Dreux , which ended in a victory over the Huguenots. Allegedly he accidentally shot himself while trying to check the correct charge on his pistol .

Duke François II. Was married to Anne de Bourbon († 1572), who was a daughter of the Duke of Montpensier , Louis III. de Bourbon , was. Since the couple had no children, François inheritance fell to his younger brother Jacques de Clèves . After he died just a year later without an heir, the eldest of her three sisters Henriette († 1601) became the legal heir to Nevers and Rethel. Through their marriage, these fiefs came to the Gonzaga family from Italy .

literature

• George Payne Rainsford James: The Life of Henry the Fourth, King of France and Navarre. 3 volumes. T. and W. Boone, London 1847.

predecessor	Office	successor
François I. de Clèves	Duke of Nevers 1562	Jacques de Clèves
François I. de Clèves	Count of Eu 1562	Jacques de Clèves
François I. de Clèves	Count of Rethel 1562	Jacques de Clèves