Mozaikdarabok Mercœur hercegének képéhez. Philippe-Emmanuel de Lorraine útja Székesfehérvárig, 1582–1598
Mosaics to the Image of Duke of Mercœur. The Political Career of Philippe-Emmanuel de Lorraine, 1582–1598

Summary/Abstract: The paper aims to present how Philippe-Emmanuel de Lorraine, Duke of Mercœur (1558–1602), after a political and military career, reached the decision to leave the Kingdom of France and to join the anti-Ottoman fights in Hungary. Descendant from the cadet branch Vaudémont of the house of Lorraine, his political career began with the marriage of his half-sister, Louise de LorraineVaudémont, to Henry III of France. His own marriage with Marie de Luxembourg, Duchess of Penthièvre, brought him the hereditary right to the crown of the Duchy of Brittany. It was a key position, so, in this sense, it is especially interesting to see that in 1582 the King appointed the Duke of Mercœur to the governorship of Brittany, and privileged him to the Prince of Dombes. During the wars of the Catholic League the political map of Brittany became divided, but Nantes declared definitely for the League as indeed did the province’s governor and became one of the most important opponents of the succession of Henry IV to the crown of France. The discussed period illustrates how the last Leaguer holdout was led to submit himself to the King in 1598 and was compelled to enter into the service of the Emperor Rudolf II in 1599. The paper also reveals the existence of Duke of Mercœur’s hand-written heritage, his memoirs on fighting in Hungary, so far completely unknown to researches, preserved in the Archives of the Château of Chantilly, France.

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