v44_0605 - DUCHY OF LORRAINE - ANTOINE Quart de teston

DUCHY OF LORRAINE – ANTOINE / ANTHONY

(1508-1544)

Antoine (1489-1544) is the son of René II and Philippa of Guelders; he succeeded his father in 1508. He had been raised at the Court of France with Louis XII and was knighted at the Battle of Agnadel in 1509. A friend of François I, he married Renée de Bourbon in 1515 and became famous at the Battle of Marignan. In 1517, the King of France was godfather to his eldest son François. Between Charles Quint who had just been elected emperor in 1521 and François I, Antoine always kept a strict neutrality. Several times, the Duke of Lorraine had to fight the troops of the German Calvinists. He favored the truce of Fère which was to last ten years (1538-1548) and died in 1544.