René II, Duke of Lorraine
| René II | |
|---|---|
| Duke of Lorraine | |
René II of Lorraine
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| Born |
2 May 1451 Angers |
| Died | 10 December 1508 (aged 57) Fains |
| Spouse | Philippa of Guelders |
| Father | Frederick II of Vaudémont |
| Mother | Yolande of Lorraine |
René II (2 May 1451 – 10 December 1508) was Count of Vaudémont from 1470, Duke of Lorraine from 1473, and Duke of Bar from 1483 to 1508. He claimed the crown of the Kingdom of Naples and the County of Provence as the Duke of Calabria 1480–1493 and as King of Naples and Jerusalem 1493–1508. He succeeded his uncle John of Vaudémont as Count of Harcourt in 1473, exchanging it for the county of Aumale in 1495. He succeeded as Count of Guise in 1504.
He was born in Angers, the son of Yolande of Lorraine and Frederick, Count of Vaudémont.
René spent his youth in the court of his grandfather René I of Anjou between Angers and Provence, succeeding to his father in Vaudémont in 1470 and, three years later, to his uncle as captain of Angers, senechal and governor of Anjou. In the same year he became Duke of Lorraine, which was at the time under the pressure of both Louis XI of France and Charles the Bold of Burgundy, with whom he initially allied. When the latter began to establish garrisons in Lorraine, however, René secretly allied with Louis (1474). Charles invaded the duchy and René was forced to quit Nancy (30 November 1475). He regained the city on 5 October the following year and moved to Switzerland to hire an army of Swiss mercenaries. With this force René defeated and killed Charles at the Battle of Nancy (5 January 1477), ending the Burgundian Wars. In 1476, upon the death of his grandmother, he became sole Count of Harcourt and Baron of Elbeuf.
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