Jacques de Savoie, duc de Nemours (12 October 153115 June 1585) was a French military commander, governor and Prince Étranger. Having inherited his titles at a young age, Nemours fought for king Henri II during the latter Italian Wars, seeing action at the siege of Metz and the stunning victories of Renty and Calais in 1554 and 1558. Already a commander of French infantry, he received promotion to commander of the light cavalry after the capture of Calais in 1558. A year prior he had accompanied François, Duke of Guise on his entry into Italy, as much for the purpose of campaigning as to escape the king's cousin Antoine of Navarre who was threatening to kill him for his extra-marital pursuit of Navarre's cousin.
In 1559 Henri II died during a joust, and was succeeded by his young son François II. The new administration, led by the Guise due to François' young age was plagued with religious and financial difficulties, that emboldened a conspiracy to form against it. Nemours played a key role in crushing the Conspiracy of Amboise, capturing several of the leaders, and infamously promising the baron de Castelnau that if he surrendered no harm would come to him, the baron shortly thereafter being executed despite the pleas of many nobles.
The following year he involved himself in a conspiracy to spirit away the 10-year-old Anjou from court, so that he could be 'raised in Catholic environs'. The plot was uncovered, and facing arrest, Nemours fled from court. The case against him collapsed, however, as the only evidence was the word of the young prince. Around this time a case was also looming against him for his relationship indiscretions. Françoise de Rohan being distraught that he had given her a child without fulfilling his promise to marry her, the case would gestate for the next four years until the archbishop of Lyon ruled in his favour in 1565, allowing him to marry the widowed Anne d'Este the following year. Nemours fought during the first war of religion, fighting the baron des Adrets around Lyon and the Dauphiné. With the death of the Marshal Saint-André on the field of Dreux in December, he became the governor of the Lyonnais, an office he would hold for the next nine years before resigning it in favour of his lieutenant-general François de Mandelot.
Nemours remained close with the Guise, supporting them in their feud with the Montmorency over the assassination of the duke of Guise without notable results. Nemours was with the court during the Surprise of Meaux and successfully counselled the court to make a flight to Paris. While besieged in Paris the following month, he aided in breaking the ring the Protestants had set up around the city before Anne de Montmorency's victory at the battle of Saint Denis. With Montmorency's death on the field, the young prince, whom Nemours had once tried to lure away from court, Anjou, became lieutenant-general of the army. To support him in the practicalities of conducting the campaign Nemours was among those chosen as his advisers. During the third war of religion, Nemours was tasked with assisting Claude, Duke of Aumale, the late duke of Guise's brother in blocking an entry into France by a German mercenary force in favour of the Protestant army. Aumale and Nemours found themselves too consumed in bickering to effectively block the force, and it linked up with the main Protestant body.
By the 1570s Nemours moved away from active politics and military command. Having resigned his governorship, he devoted himself more fully to matters of the arts. Though he was suspected of involvement in the Ligues after 1576, the king was satisfied with his swearing that he did not desire the overturn of the Peace of Monsieur. In 1585, he died, and was succeeded as duke of Nemours by his son.
Early life and family Nemours, born in 1531, was the son of Philippe, Duke of Nemours, the first holder of the title and Charlotte d'Orléans, and became Duke of Nemours on his father's death in 1533.
As early as 1555 Nemours was courting Françoise de Rohan, and had given her the impression he was seeking marriage. Even now however, he was also showing interest in the duke of Guise's wife, causing much scandal at court. By 1556 Françoise had become pregnant, and tearfully pleaded with Nemours to go through with his promise of marrying her but he refused. The Guise, who wished to remain close with Nemours despite his indiscretions, promised him that he could marry Lucrezia d'Este instead. Upon the death of her husband Anne d'Este was left widowed. In 1565 she was ready to marry again, and married Nemours at Saint-Maur-des-Fosses in May 1566. The king provided the majority of the dowry to secure the marriage. Nemours looked to the church to handle the situation with Françoise due to his promise to marry her. He was able to void this arrangement, to proceed with his planned marriage of Anne, much to the fury of the Rohan and Catherine de Medici. The daughter of Duke Ercole II of Ferrara and Renée of France, Anne brought with her to the marriage the county of Gisors, a title she would continue to hold until her own death in 1607.
Together they had the following issue: Charles Emmanuel (1567–1595) Marguerite (1569–1572) Henry I (1572–1632) Emmanuel Philibert
Back in 1561 Nemours' scandalous behaviour regarding Françoise had been the subject of litigation as she attempted to sue Nemours into marrying her, having made her pregnant. Supporting her was her cousin Jeanne d'Albret, and Antoine of Navarre, though he withdrew his support that year. Back in 1557 he had sworn to kill Nemours and all his friends for the duke's behaviour. In 1566 the Archbishop of Lyon ruled against Françoise, and the court endorsed the ruling. Albret was furious, challenging the competence of all the members of the council that she could to rule on the case. She urged the Parlement of Paris to have jurisdiction over the case, however they refused as legally it had been sequestered from them to the attention of the king's council.
In 1571, 5 years after the marriage of Nemours and d'Este, the Pope endorsed the decision of the archbishop of Lyon, leading Françoise to formally convert to Protestantism.
The child of this illegitimate pregnancy was Henri de Savoie, comte de Genevois.
Reign of Henri II Italian wars Nemours fought in the recently resumed Italian Wars in 1552, fighting at the spectacular victory of the defence of Metz and the siege of Lens where he distinguished himself. In the following years he fought at the shocking French victory of the Battle of Renty in 1554 and then in Piedmont the following year.
In late 1556, the French invaded Italy in support of the Pope. Nemours travelled with the expedition as commander of the infantry. Alongside the usual benefits of campaign it afforded him some distance from Navarre, who wanted him dead. The campaign would achieve little of note, becoming mired in the intrigues of Italian politics.
With François, Duke of Guise's remarkable capture of Calais, the king was in the mood to hand out favours to those who had participated in the victory. Claude, Duke of Aumale was made governor of Piedmont, leaving his post at the head of the light cavalry vacant. Nemours was thus granted the privilege of commander of the light cavalry in Aumale's stead.
Peace To celebrate the end of the Italian Wars with the peace of Cateau-Cambrésis it was decided to host a joust. Henri, always a lover of martial sports, decided to participate. Also participating were François I, Duke of Nevers, Guise and Nemours. Nemours and Guise both rode against the king, Henri getting the better of his nobles in both engagements. It would be at this event that during a joust against Montgommery, the captain of his Scots Guard, Henri would be killed as a splinter of his opponent's lance embedded itself in his head.
Reign of François II The new Guise-led administration that formed for the young François II of France was faced with a kingdom in financial and religious crisis. Opposition on both of these impetuses coalesced into the Conspiracy of Amboise where an array of nobles sought to seize the king and kill his advisers. The Guise became aware of this conspiracy, and prepared to respond militarily on its launch. Nemours, fresh off the capture of Mazères and Raunay, was tasked with reducing a château held by the baron de Castelnau, one of the ringleaders. His forces surrounded the château du Noizay but decided it would be more advantageous to reduce the fortified residence through negotiation. In an interview with the baron he was able to convince him to come peacefully, in return for a promise 'on his honour' that neither Castelnau or his followers would be executed. The administration would not however honour this promise Nemours made, either due to disinterest or due to him not mentioning it to the court. As such despite the protestations of many Catholic nobles, including Anne d'Este a man of 'good birth' would be put to death.
Reign of Charles IX Ousted from government by the death of the young king in December 1560, the Guise retreated from court, conscious that they were unlikely to receive much office or favours under the new formal regency for Charles IX. Accompanying them on their departure in January were Nemours and Longueville.
Conspiracy To many Catholics the environment in which the young princes were being raised appeared far too Protestant. To this end a plot was devised to spirit the young Anjou away from court so that he could be raised in properly Catholic environs such as Savoy. Nemours was implicated as a leader in this attempted conspiracy. To encourage the young prince away from the court, Nemours had enlisted the young Henri de Guise, to draw his playmate away. Having gained awareness of the plot, Catherine questioned her child as to who had tried to persuade him to leave court; the 10-year-old implicated Nemours on 29 October. Shortly thereafter Catherine ordered Nemours' arrest, and he fled court. However as she began to pursue a case against them, it became apparent that the only testimony in support would be from a 10-year-old child; as such the case against Nemours was dropped shortly thereafter and he was given permission to return to court.
With the departure of the Guise and their allies from the court for the second time in October 1561, Nemours was among those who joined them on their exodus. The motive for the departure was not purely religious but also factional, with Longueville, a long-time associate of the Guise, departing also, despite his Protestantism. In total their retinue numbered 700 horse, a large section of the nobility gathered at court. Their departure, alongside that of Anne de Montmorency left the regency government of Catherine de Medici with a precariously thin base of support, propped up only by the Bourbon-Vendôme and the Châtillon.
First war of religion During the first civil war, Nemours attempted to reduce the city of Lyon which had risen up in support of the prince of Condé. He fought with the baron des Adrets in Dauphiné, and in December was in the process of negotiating a favourable truce with the infamous commander which would have seen him secure the defection of the rebel army. However, Adrets' subordinates learned of the negotiations and had him arrested. In the major field battle of the war at Dreux, the governor of the Lyonnais, Beaujolais and Forez, Marshal Saint-André was murdered on the field after having surrendered. This left a vacancy for his governate, which was to be filled by Nemours.