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      Contemporaries in the Holy Roman Empire      

Dukes of Lorraine
Ferri IV, 1312-1329     René I, 1431-1453
  René II, 1473-1508     Antoine, 1508-1544     François I, 1544-1545     Charles III, 1545-1608  
 
Bishopric of Metz
  Robert de Lénoncourt, 1551-53       Charles de Lorraine-Guise, 1550-51 (and later)  


Ferri IV, 1312-1329


Quart de gros n. d., "Spadin", Nancy.     Ø mm, ca.0,9 g.   Flon 394/4; de Saulcy pl.3/fig.23.
Obv.:   + - F D - VX LOTO - R   -   standing duke with helmet, sword and arms on his shield.
Next to him a vertical band with three eagles on top of each other.
Rev.:   ᙏOnᗺTA - D nAᗭᗺI   -   Vertical ribbon with the three eagles of Lorraine, next to a sword.

René I, 1431-1453 Duke of Lorraine
1435-1442 King of Neapel and 1434-1480 Count of Provence
René I d'Anjou "le bon Roi" or Renatus of Anjou the Good (born 1409 as 2nd son of Duke Louis II of Anjou) was adopted by the Cardinal Bishop of Chalons and Duke of Bar in 1419 to inherit the Duchy of Bar. In 1420 René was married to the heiress daughter of the Duke of Lorraine to succeed him in Lorraine. René received from Emperor Sigismund the enfeoffment for the Duchy of Lorraine in 1434, which he had received from his father-in-law in 1431, but was only able to hold the land until 1453, when John II of Anjou, supported by Duke Philip the Good of Burgundy, took it over. When René's older brother Louis III died in southern Italy in 1434, he also inherited the Kingdom of Naples, but lost it to Alfonso I of Aragon in 1442. Latterly he was only Duke of Bar and Anjou, and Count of Provence. René settled in Aix-en-Provence, which flourished under his reign and called him "good king".
On a personal decision, the young René selflessly supported Jeanne d’Arc and King Charles VII of France against the Burgundian-English alliance in 1429-1430.


Gros n. d., Saint Mihiel.    Ø 25 mm, 2,21 g.   Flon 487/1; de Saulcy pl.10/fig.10; Boudeau 1494.
Obv.:   Rᗺn'AT' - D - BAR ᙏ'·P'·CO'   -   René standing facing, holding sword and shield.
Quartered shield: Anjou / Bar; inescutcheon: Lorraine.
Rev.:  + SIT nOᙏᗺn : DOᙏInI : BᗺnᗺDIctum  "The name of the Lord be praised for ever and ever"
ᙏOn - ᗺTA - S ᙏI - ᗭhA   "Moneta St. Mihiel"  -  Cross pattée.

As a pretender to the throne of Aragón (1462-1472)
In 1462, a 10-year uprising began in Catalonia against the reigning King Juan II of Aragón, father of Ferdinand the Catholic. In 1466, the rebels proclaimed René I le Bon as their new king. René sent his son John with auxiliary troops, but he had to give up in 1462 against Ferdinand the Catholic.


Pacifico de oro n. d., Barcelona (ducat, since 1465).     Ø 24 mm, 3,37 g.   Cayón 1929; Friedb.27.
Obv.:  +RENAT9us PRIM DEI GRA REX·ARAGO
Crowned bust from the front with a lily scepter on his shoulder.
Rev.:   +DEVS IN ADIVTOR MEVM:INTENDE   "let God be my helper"
Crowned Aragón coat of arms in a multipass.
The coin name "Pacifico" reflects the desire for pacification.


1/4 Pacifico de oro n. d., Barcelona (1/4 ducat).     Ø 16 mm, 0,83 g.  Cayon 1931; Friedb.29.
+RENAT9us P9 DEI GRA REX ARA   //   DE9I ADIVTOR MEV ITENDE


Cast bronze medal 1461, by Pietro da Milano.    Ø 81 mm, 137,14 g.   Armand I 39/3.
Recast with casting error, without reverse (date and signature).
RENATVS·DEI·GRACIA·IHERVSALEM·ET·SICILIE·REX·ET CETERA
Corpus numismatique des Alpes de Haute-Provence presents this medal
(double sided specimen preserved in the Bargello, Milan) and further medals on René I.
Compare the portrait from 1474, detail of the Matheron Diptych, at the Louvre.

Wikipedia presents another contemporary portrait with the coat of arms that René I bore in 1434-43.

René II, 1473-1508
Duke René II united the duchies of Lorraine and Bar, as well as the county of Vaudemont, to form one large territory that belonged partly to France and partly to the Holy Roman Empire. The territory of the southern neighbor Burgundy had grown into the Netherlands through marriage, so that the Burgundian countries were separated by Lorraine. When Duke Charles the Bold of Burgundy had already occupied Lorraine in order to unite his lands, René II, with the support of the Swiss Confederates, managed one last rebellion: he won the decisive battle of Nancy (January 5, 1477), in which Charles the Bold fell. Lorraine was able to keep its independence, but the real beneficiaries were others: France won Burgundy, Emperor Maximilian took over the Netherlands.
Renes maternal grandfather René I d'Anjou had ruled in Naples from 1435-1442 and married in Lorraine. René II asserted old Anjou rights to the Kingdom of Naples and to Provence, but failed because of the competing interests of the French crown.
We do not know of any contemporary portrait of René II.


Teston.     Ø 28 ? mm, ca. 10 g.   de Saulcy pl.13/fig.2, extremely rare.
Obv.:   +REnATVS:D:G:REX:SICILLIE:LOT:DVX   -   crowned bust with coat, to the right.
Rev.:   +ADIVVA:nOS:DEVS:SALVATRIS:nOST'   "Help us God our Savior"
Crowned shield, in the middle the coat of arms of Lorraine, as can be better identified on next coin.

Antoine II le Bon, 1508-1544
Born 1489.  At the age of 19, Antoine followed his father as Duke of Lorraine in 1508. He was educated in Paris and his ties to the French kingdom were very close: Antoine took part in French campaigns in Italy and in 1515 he took part in the coronation of his friend Francis I in Reims. Antoine turned down emperor Maximilian's offer to marry his granddaughter Eleanor, instead he married a princess from the Bourbon family.
Old-believing Antoine responded to Lutheran ideas that had penetrated the duchy through the free trade city of Metz with a strict edict in 1523. In 1539 he reaffirmed his ban on Lutheran scriptures and on a translation of the Bible into French. He violently put down the peasant uprising that broke out in Alsace in 1525.
In the Battle of Pavia in 1525, Antoine lost a brother who had fought on the French side. Since then he has remained neutral and tried to mediate between King Francis I of France and Emperor Charles V. Antoine had to appease King Francis's displeasure when his son married Christina of Denmark, a niece of Charles V in 1541. Antoine renegotiated with Charles V Lorraine's relationship within the empire. With the resulting treaty (1542), Lorraine became largely independent, for example in the judiciary, but remained under the protection of the empire. For this, Lorraine had to make an annual contribution to the empire treasury in the amount of 2/3 of an electoral contribution. Antoine's successful maneuvering between the parties earned him shouts from his compatriots like: "Vive le prince de la paix! Vive le bon duc de Lorraine!"
His equestrian statue adorns the entrance portal to the "Palace ducale" in Nancy.


Florin 1515, Nancy.     Ø ca.24 mm.   de Saulcy pl.15/fig.14 (3,67 g); Friedb.142.
Obv.:   AnThonius:CALABriae:LOTharingiae:Z:Barri:DVX   -   crowned youthful bust (perfect layout!).
Rev.:   ‡FLOR:nAnCEII:CVSVS:1515   "Floren minted in Nancy"
Crowned shield with several arms:
above: Old Hungary, Anjou-Naples, Jerusalem, Old Provence (= Aragón),
below: Anjou (framed lilies) und Bar (2 curved fish between crosses),
inescutcheon in the middle: Lorraine (inclined beam with three eagles).
The House of Anjou followed the Normans in Apulia in 1297. Antoine was born Duke of Calabria.


1/4 Teston 1523, Nancy.     Ø 24 mm.   de Saulcy pl.15/fig.12.
Obv.:   ‡ANTHOn◦LOThOҰ:ET◦BAҰ◦DVX   ( Ұ = R )
Rev.:   Crowned coat of arms between Crosses of Lorraine (sign of René I of Anjou, 1431).
In the section the date 1523.
The Cross of Lorraine is actually a symmetrical double cross: the crossbars arranged in the middle are of the same length. The crossbars of the Patriarchal Cross and the Hungarian Cross are placed slightly higher and they are of different lengths. The double cross of the coin is therefore more like a Patriarchal Cross than a Cross of Lorraine.
The Cross of Lorraine was taken up as a symbol by Charles de Gaulle in exile and stands as a memorial in Colombey-les-Deux-Eglises that can be seen from afar, also with the appearance of a Patriarchal Cross.


Teston 1532, Nancy.     Ø 29 mm, 9,39 g.   de Saulcy pl.15/fig.16.
Obv.:   ‡ANTHON◦∂◦G◦LOTOҰ◦Z◦BAҰ ∂VX
Rev.:   MONETA◦NANCEII◦CVSA   "money minted in Nancy"  -  Date 1532 in the exergue.
Shield with several arms, above: Old Hungary, Anjou-Naples, Jerusalem, Old Provence (= Aragón),
below: Anjou (framed lilies) und Bar (2 curved fish between crosses),
inescutcheon placed in the middle: Lorraine (inclined beam with three eagles).
The shield refer to possessions (lower row) and claims (upper row) which go back to Antoine's great-grandfather René I, who was King of Naples, Count of Provence, Titular King of Jerusalem.
This Teston was minted unchanged, but dated, up to his death in 1544.


Grand écu n. d., Nancy.     Ø 44 mm, 30,90 g.   de Saulcy pl.16/fig.2; Flon 9; Dav.9381.
Obv.:   ‡ANTHONIVS:∂ei:Gratia:LOTHOҰingiae:ET:BARI:∂VX   ( Ұ = R )
Rev.:   The crowned coat of arms of Lorraine surrounded by another 8 coats of arms:
The lilies stand for Anjou (8h) or Anjou-Naples (1h), the fish for Bar (4h) and Pfirt (5h).
This showpiece presents a Renaissance portrait of the young Duke Antoine as a knight from the Middle Ages. A painting by Hans Holbein the Younger from 1543 shows the 54-year-old Duke [Staatliche Gemäldegalerie zu Berlin].
This "grand écu" has the size and weight of a thaler. In France, the comparable "écu blanc" was only introduced in 1641 as the silver equivalent of the "Louisdor".


Demi écu n. d., Nancy.     Ø ca.31 mm, 14,12 g.   de Saulcy pl.16/fig.3.
Obv.:   ✥ANTHO9·∂VX·CALABҰ·LOTHOҰ·Z·B:   ( Ұ = R )
Crowned effigy in armor with raised sword.
Rev.:   MONETA - NANCEI   -   Inclined shield with crowned helmet and coat, on top an eagle.


Silver medal n. d. by Matteo del Massaro(?)     Ø 41,5 mm.
Kress Coll.539 (Ø 42 mm), Köhler VIII (1736) 33
Obv.:   ·ANTHONIVS·D·G·LOTHORingiae·ET·BARi·DVX·‡   (R written as 4)
Bust right with hairnet and wide hat.
Rev.:   RENATA·DE·BORBOnIA·LOTHORingiae·ET·BARi·DVCISSA·:·
Portrait of Renée de Bourbon to the left with hood.
Antoine married Renée de Bourbon-Montpensier (*1494 †1539) in 1515, daughter of Count Gilbert de Bourbon-Montpensier. Their eldest son François I followed Duke Antoine in Lorraine and Bar.

François I, 1544-1545
- son of Antoine le Bon -
Born 1517.  François was named after his godfather, King Francis I of France, at whose court he grew up. As if to compensate, he married Christine of Denmark, a niece of the emperor. Duke François continued the neutrality policy of his father Antoine and mediated the Peace of Crépy (1544) between Emperor Charles V and King Francis I of France. The Duke, who died early after a short reign, was followed by his son Charles III, who was named after his great-uncle, Emperor Charles V.


Teston 1545, Nancy.     Ø 28 mm, 9,45 g.   Cat.Boudeau 1517 ; de Saulcy pl.17/fig.8.
Obv.:   +FRANCISCVS·∂ei·Gratia·LOTHOҰ(r)ingia·Bar·Z(et)·GueL∂rie:∂ux
Rev.:   MONETA·NANCEII·CVSA   "Money minted in Nancy"
Guelders is new here. It appears both in the title (legend of the obverse) and in the coat of arms (standing lion) on the revers. The claim on Guelders goes back to Philippa of Guelders, the paternal grandmother. She was the sister of the childless Duke Charles of Guelders, for whose succession a dispute broke out between Duke Wilhelm V of Jülich-Kleve and Emperor Charles V (1538-1543). The second lion stands for the Duchy of Jülich. Charles of Guelders and his father Adolf already used it. (Compare the shields of Lorraine 1544 and Adolf of Guelders 1468.)

Look at the painting [www.altesses.eu/princes075.php] without further information.

Charles III, 1545-1608
- son of François I -
Born 1543.  Charles was only 2½ years old when his father died and his mother Christine of Denmark took over the reign. She also tried to maintain good relations both with France and with the Empire. She attended the diet in Augsburg in 1550. There she complied with the request of Emperor Charles V, her uncle, and had the body of Charles the Bold, an ancestor of the emperor, transferred from Nancy to Bruges (Netherlands).
When Elector Moritz of Saxony prepared the prince conspiracy against Emperor Charles V in 1551, he received material support from King Henry II of France in exchange for the cession without legitimation of the imperial cities of Metz, Toul and Verdun to France. As "Imperial Vicar", Henry II occupied these cities and their territories, which were completely enclosed by Lorraine, in early 1552. On this occasion he also visited Nancy, the capital of Lorraine, and deposed the regent. Christine went into exile in the Netherlands and the underage Duke Charles came to Paris, where he was brought up together with the French king's daughter destined for him. In 1559, after his marriage in Notre Dame de Paris, he returned to his country. The 16-year-old left the government to his mother, who was also able to return from exile because Lorraine's political situation between France and the Empire had eased with the deaths of Charles V (1558) and Heinrich II just a year later.
When Duke Charles finally took over the government in 1562, the estates refused to approve his budget. He had to solemnly move into the city once more and catch up on the traditional ceremony with the oath in front of the stands. Lorraine was just part of the Empire in which the estates and the diets played a role, while France was already in the process of eliminating the intermediate levels of exercise of power.


Cast bronze medal ca. 1545 (?)     Ø 36 mm.   de Saulcy pl.18/fig.20.
Specimen of the Frick Collection, N.Y., Gift of Stephen K. and Janie Woo Scher, 2016.
Obv.:   KAROLI·D:G·LO - TOR·BAR:GEL·DVX
Effigy of the young Duke to the right, holding a pair of gloves in his right.
Rev.:   Four angels hold the complete coat of arms of Lorraine under a crown.
Exergue: *A(E)NDVRER·PO / VR·RECOVVR / IRE   French meaning "Endure to recover".


Teston n. d., Nancy.     Ø 27 mm, 9,14 g.   de Saulcy pl.19/fig.7; Flon 628/7.
Obv.:   ‡CAROlus·Dei:Gratia:CALabriae·LOThARringiae·Barri·GEL(d)riae·DVX
"Charles by the grace of God, Duke of Calabria, Lorraine, Bar, Guelders"
Crowned bust of the young duke in armor facing left.
Rev.:   ‡MONETA·NOVA·NANCEI·CVSA   "New money minted in Nancy"
Crowned quartered coat of arms: above Hungary/Anjou-Naples and Jerusalem/OldProvence(Aragón),
below Anjou/Geldern and Flanders/Bar, inescutcheon placed in the middle: Lorraine.


1/4 Teston n. d. (1562-1574), Nancy.     Ø 22 mm, ca.2,3 g.   de Saulcy Tf.19/fig.9.
Obv.:   ‡CAROlus·Dei:Gratia:CALlabriae·LOTARringiae·Barri·GEL(d)riae·DVX
Rev.:   As before, but shield between ‡ (cross of Lorraine, symmetrical patriarchal cross).


Thaler 1557, Nancy.    Ø 40 mm, 28,91 g.   de Saulcy pl.19/fig.10; Dav.9384.
Traces of an overstrike.
Obv.:  +CAROL9:D:G:CALAbriae:LOTHOaringiae:BARri:GVELdriae:DVX
Bareheaded bust in jewelry armor to the right.
Rev.   crowned coat of arms of Lorraine surrounded by 7 coats of arms,
below the claim split arms of Guelders and Flanders between the date 15 - 57.


Thaler n. d. (1559), Nancy.    Ø 38 mm, 28,90 g.  de Saulcy pl.20/fig.1; Dav.9386A; Flon 39.
Obv.:   ‡CARO·D·G·CALabriae·LOTHOringiae·BARri·GELdriae·DVX  -  Bareheaded bust in armor.
Rev.:   ·MONETA·NOVA·NANCEI·CVCA  -  Crowned shield.


Thaler 1569, Nancy.     Ø 40 mm, 28,60 g.   de Saulcy pl.20/fig.2; Dav.9385; Flon 60.
Obv.:   ‡CARO·D·G·CAL·LOTHO·BAR·GEL·DVX  -  Bareheaded bust in armor to the right.
Rev.:   Similar to before. Heraldic wreath clockwise:
Jerusalem, Aragón, Bar, Geldern, Anjou, Alt-Ungarn, Anjou-Neapel.


Double Pistole o. J. (1581-1608), Nancy.     Ø ? mm.   de Saulcy - (23/1-2), Flon -; Friedb.-.
CAROL·D·G·CAL·LOTH·B·GEL·DVX    DA MIHI·VIRTute·CONTRA (*) HOSTes TVOs
"Give me strength against thy enemies"   with mintmark (*) = G = Nicolas Gennetaire.


Teston o. J., Nancy.     Ø 28 mm, 8,9 g.   de Saulcy pl.23/fig.6.
·CAROL·D·G·CAL·LOTH·B·GEL·DVX·   //   ‡MONETA·NOVA*NANCEII·CVSA   * = G = Gennetaire.


Thaler 1575, Nancy.     Ø 40 mm.   de Saulcy as pl.21/fig.2; Dav.9389; Flon 84.
·CARO·D·G·CAL·LOTH·B·GEL·DVX - 1575   //   MONETA✴NANCEII✴CVCA


Teston 1581, Nancy.     Ø 28 mm, ca.9,1 g.   de Saulcy pl.22/fig.2; Flon 98.
‡CAROLVS·D·G·CAL·LOTH·B·GEL·DVX   //   ·MONETA·NOVA F NANCEI·CVSA
"Neue Münze, geprägt in Nancy" - Mz. F = Jean Ferry.

See the watercolor around 1556, 23x34 cm by François Clouet (around 1515-72) [Chantilly, musée Condé]
and the later oil painting 32x23 cm from the workshop of François Clouet [Sotherby's 1.2013, no.187].

    Bishopric of Metz    

Robert de Lénoncourt, Bishop of Metz 1551-1553 (*ca.1490 †1561)
He became bishop of Châlons-sur-Marne from 1535-50 under the influence of King Francis I and acted as the ambassador of the French king to the Emperor in matters of Geldern. In 1538 he was promoted to cardinal. In April 1551 he became Bishop of Metz after Cardinal Charles de Lorraine-Guise (see below) renounced it. With the help of the French army, Robert de Lénoncourt fought to restore episcopal sovereignty over the city of Metz. But France occupied the entire diocese of Metz in 1552 (according to the Treaty of Chambord between King Henry II and the Protestant princes when rebelling against Charles V). The powerless bishop was compensated with other church offices.


Thaler 1551, Vic-sur-Seille (Écu).     Ø 39 mm, 28,43 g.   Dav.9559; Flon 758/2.
Obv.:   +ROBERTVS·CARD·DE·LENONCOVRT·5I   -   Bearded bust with hooded coat to the right.
Rev.:   ·SANCTVS·STEPHANVS·METENSIS·Ꮺ
St. Stephan with line-shaped halo kneels turned left between two small coats of arms.

The bishops of Metz were formally heads of the city of Metz, but had their residence moved
to Vic-sur-Seille, where they minted their coins.

Compare a later engraving, 13x9 cm, Wikipedia and Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.

Charles de Lorraine-Guise, Bishop of Metz 1550-51 (*1524 †1574)
- Archbishop of Reims since 1538, Cardinal since 1547 -
At the age of only 14, King Francis I appointed him Archbishop of Reims. Nine years later he carried out the coronation of King Henry II in this capacity and was elevated to cardinal by Pope Paul III one day later on July 27, 1547. Thereupon he quickly became the richest and most powerful church prince in France. In May 1550 he became Bishop of Metz, but he renounced it in April 1551.

Thaler with his title and portrait where minted in Metz in 1557-59 during the term of office
of Bishop François Beaucaire de Péguillon, 1555-68.


Taler 1558 B , Vic-sur-Seille.     Ø mm, 28.50 g.   Schulten 2120; Dav.9560A.
Obv.:   +CAROLVS:C:D:LOTHO:S:IMP:PRIN:   -   Bust to the right.
Rev.:   ·S·STEPHANVS· - ·PROTHOMAR·   -   St. Stephen stands from the front holding a stone
and a palm branch in a double lined oval. Below the date 1559 and B (mintmaster's mark).

Lit.:
• F. de Saulcy :   Recherches sur les monnaies des ducs héréditaires de Lorraine. Metz, 1841 (Google-online)
• D. Flon :   Histoire monétaire de la Lorraine et des Trois Évêchés. Nancy 2002
• Henry Bogdan :   La Lorraine des ducs - Sept siècles d'histoire. Perrin, 2005/07

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