House Of Guise, a branch of the ducal family of Lorraine, which played a conspicuous part in the religious and civil wars of France in the 16th century. Its most celebrated members were the following. I. Claude de Lorraine, first duke of Guise, born Oct. 20, 1496, died in April, 1550. He was a younger son of Rene, duke of Lorraine, whom he succeeded as count of Aumale. He established himself in France, where he rendered' distinguished service to Francis I., who erected the former countship of Guise into a duchy, which he bestowed upon him, together with the government of Champagne. His daughter Marie married James V. of Scotland, and was mother of Mary queen of Scots. II. Francois de Lorraine, second duke of Guise, born at the castle of Bar, Feb. 17, 1519, died Feb. 24, 1563. Almost from the outset of his career he was distinguished as a good general and a brave soldier; and by his successful defence of the city of Metz (1552-'3), when he obliged Charles V. to raise the siege after having lost 30.000 men, he became renowned throughout Europe. He also signalized himself at the battle of Renti in 1554. At the request of Pope Paul IV. he was sent to Naples at the head of a French army in 1556; but he failed in this undertaking.

Montmorency having lost the battle of St. Quentin (1557), the kingdom was in imminent danger; but Guise repelled the imperial troops, and retook Calais from the English, who had held it since 1347. On the accession of Francis II., in 1559, Guise seized the reins of government, and caused Antoine de Bourbon, king of Navarre, and the prince of Conde to be arrested, and the latter placed on trial for high treason; but the death of the king (1560) deprived him of his ascendancy. With the constable Montmorency and Marshal Saint-Andre he then formed a kind of triumvirate in order to control the course of the government and to oppose the Protestants. An assault in 1562 on a body of Huguenots by some of his servants and followers gave the signal for the wars which continued for more than 30 years. At the head of the Catholics, Guise took Rouen, and a little later won the victory of Dreux, where Montmorency fell into the hands of the Protestants, and Saint-Andre was killed. He had reached the height of his power when, during the siege of Orleans, he was treacherously shot, Feb. 18, 1563, by a Protestant, Poltrot de Mercy, and died a week after.

He left a diary, which was printed in Michaud and Poujoulat's Novvelle collection de memoires pour servir a l'histoire de France. III. Henri I. de Lorraine, third duke of Guise, son of the preceding, born Dec. 31, 1550, assassinated in Blois, Dec. 23,1588. He witnessed his lather's death, and swore vengeance against the Protestants, and especially Admiral Coligni, who he thought had instigated the deed. "When 16 years old he went to Hungary and distinguished himself in the war against the Turks. After his return to France he fought at Jarnac and Moncontour, and forced Coligni to raise the siege of Poitiers in 1569. He was an abettor of the massacre of St. Bartholomew's day (1572), and was present when Coligni was killed. In 1575, having been wounded in the face in a successful encounter in the vicinity of Chateau-Thierry, he received the surname of le Balafre, the scarred, by which he was afterward commonly known. The following year he was instrumental in the formation of the "holy league " for the protection of the Catholics, of which till his death he was the head.

After the death of the duke of Anjou, in 1584, he covertly aspired to the throne; and being supported by the pope and Philip II. of Spain, he excited the nation against Henry III. and his heir apparent Henry of Navarre. During the "war of the three Henries" he twice defeated, at Vi-mory and Aulneau, the German troops which had been enlisted in aid of the Huguenots. Notwithstanding the prohibition of Henry III., he entered Paris in triumph, besieged the king in the Louvre, May 12, 1588, during the popular rebellion known as the "day of the barricades," and remained the undisputed master of the capital. At the end of the same year he was present at the meeting of the states general at Blois, and demanded to be appointed high constable and general-in-chief of the kingdom. The royal authority was placed in the utmost danger, when Henry caused Guise to be assassinated by some of the royal body guard. The duke's brother, the cardinal of Guise, who had participated in all his plans, was privately despatched in the following night.

IV. Charles de Lorraine, fourth duke of Guise, son of the preceding, born in 1571, died in 1640. After the assassination of his father he was imprisoned at Tours, whence he escaped in 1591, and went to Paris. In the intrigues of the league he took part against the duke of Mayenne. The estates of Paris were at one time disposed to marry him to a Spanish infanta, and raise him to the throne. Subsequently he went over to Henry IV., who made him governor of Provence. Under Louis XIII. he joined the party of Maria de' Medici, and was obliged to take refuge in Italy, where he died. V. Henri II. de Lorraine, fifth duke of Guise, son of the preceding, born in Blois, April 4, 1614, died June 2, 1664. Being a younger son, he first entered the church; at 12 he possessed nine abbeys; at 15 he was promoted to the archbishopric of Rheims; but on the death of his elder brother he gave up a profession ill suited to his character, and when his father died in 1640 he was put in possession of the title of duke of Guise. His many follies and love adventures gave him notoriety.

He meanwhile took part with the opponents of Richelieu, was sentenced to death in 1641, and fled to Belgium, where he married the countess of Bossut. After the death of Louis XIII. he returned to France, and indulged in every excess, distinguishing himself occasionally in battle by his bravery. About this time he fell in love with a Mlle, de Pons, and in order to bring about his union with her he went to Rome to solicit the dissolution of his former marriage. While there, hearing of the revolt in Naples under Masaniello, he resolved to conquer a throne which he could offer to his mistress. At the head of 20 followers, he left Rome Dec. 13, 1647, embarked on a felucca, and landed at Naples amid the applause of the population; but his overbearing manner soon disgusted the Neapolitans, who deserted him and delivered their city into the hands of the Spaniards. He was taken prisoner, April 6, 1648, carried to Spain, and kept in confinement till 1652. In 1654, with the help of the French government, he sailed again for Naples, but entirely failed in his enterprise. Returning to France, he was appointed grand chamberlain, and passed the rest of his life at the court.

A narrative of his first expedition to Naples was published by his secretary, Sainctyon, under the title of Memoires de feu M. le due de Guise, contenant son entreprise sur le royaume de Naples jusqu'a sa prison (4to, 1668). VI. Louis Joseph de Lorraine, sixth and last duke of Guise, nephew of the preceding, born in 1630, died in 1671. He succeeded his uncle in 1664, and married the daughter of Gaston, duke of Orleans. He died childless, and the title and estates of Guise passed to Marie de Lorraine, daughter of the fourth duke, who died in 1688 without having been married. VII. Louis de Lorraine, cardinal de Guise, brother of le Bala-fre, born at Dampierre in 1555, assassinated at Blois, Dec. 24, 1588. He became archbishop of Rheims in 1574, and cardinal in 1578. He played a prominent part in the intrigues of the league, and made himself especially odious to Henry II. At the states general of Blois, in 1588, he presided over the clergy, found fault with the king's speech, and forced him to alter several passages. He was assassinated by order of the king. VIII. Louis de Lorraine, cardinal de Guise, nephew of the fifth duke, born about 1580, died in 1621. He entered the church, although his inclination was for a military career, and in 1615 became archbishop of Rheims and cardinal.

In 1621 he accompanied the king in an expedition to Poitou, where he died. By Charlotte des Essarts, one of the mistresses of Henry IV., he had five children. It is said that he was secretly married to her, and that among his papers was found a dispensation from the pope granting permission for the marriage.