Henry II (Lorraine)

Heinrich as Prince of Lorraine and Margrave of Pont-à-Mousson, Portrait of Dominicus Custos , around 1600–1602

Henry II the Good (born November 8, 1563 in Nancy ; † July 31, 1624 ibid) was Margrave of Pont-à-Mousson , then Duke of Lorraine and Bar from 1608 to 1624. He was the eldest son of Duke Charles III. and Claudias of Valois .

Life

The Huguenot Wars prevented him from being brought up at the French court like his father and grandfather. Nor was he prepared for the government of the duchy. Instead, Heinrich took part in the wars of religion on the Catholic side.

As Margrave of Pont-à-Mousson, he married Catherine de Bourbon , daughter of Antoines de Bourbon , titular king of Navarre , and Jeanne d'Albrets , thus sister of King Henry IV , on January 30, 1599 , about the Treaty of Saint-Germain -en-Laye enough to do. However, the marriage was not a happy one: he was a fundamentalist Catholic , she a staunch Calvinist . Catherine died in 1604, and in 1606 he married Margarita Gonzaga , daughter of Vincenzo I Gonzaga , Duke of Mantua , and Eleonora de 'Medici, thus a niece of the French Queen Maria de' Medici . Heinrich and Maria Gonzaga had four daughters, but no male heir.

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  Catherine de Bourbon , Henry's first wife

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  Margarita Gonzaga , Heinrich's second wife

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  Nicole , Heinrich's oldest daughter

In 1608, at the age of 45, Heinrich became Duke of Lorraine. Lacking political experience, he came under the influence of favorites , acted as a defender of the Counter-Reformation and issued several edicts that ordered the Protestants to leave Lorraine. On the other hand, he was revealing to the Protestants from Lixheim when they became Lorraine. In the Thirty Years' War he took a neutral position and even tried to have a moderating effect on the warring parties.

For his successor, he wanted his eldest daughter Nicole to get the duchy, although the will of his predecessor René stipulated a purely male succession and thus his brother Franz , Count of Vaudémont , was at the top of the line of succession. After negotiations, in 1621 he married his daughter to his brother's eldest son, Karl , who then disregarded the regulations his uncle had made.

Towards the end of his life, Heinrich recruited soldiers to protect Lorraine from passing mercenary armies and had the fortresses reinforced, which put a heavy strain on the duchy's finances. The name of the Lorraine community Henriville , which he founded in 1608, is a reminder of his reign .

progeny

From his second marriage he had four daughters, including:

• Nicole von Lothringen (* 1608; † 1657), ⚭ 1621 (divorced 1635) Karl von Vaudémont (* 1604; † 1675), who later became Duke Charles IV of Lorraine
• Claudia von Lothringen (* 1612; † 1648), ⚭ 1634 Nikolaus Franz von Vaudémont, (* 1609; † 1670), brother of Charles IV, who later became Duke Nicholas II Francis of Lorraine

literature

• Henry Bogdan: La Lorraine des ducs, sept siècles d'histoire . Perrin, Paris 2005, ISBN 2-262-02113-9 .
• Georges Poull: La maison ducale de Lorraine devenue la maison impériale et royale d'Autriche de Hongrie et de Bohême . UP, Nancy 1991, ISBN 2-86480-517-0 .
• Detlev Schwennicke (Ed.): European Family Tables / NF, Vol. 2 . Klostermann, Frankfurt / M. 1984, plate 206.

Web links

Commons : Heinrich II. (Lorraine)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ^ Ernest Alfred Vizetelly: The Favorites of Henry of Navarre . Chatto & Windus, London 1910, p. 114.

predecessor	Office	successor
Charles III	Duke of Lorraine 1608–1624	Nicole and Charles IV.