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René II (May 2 1451–December 10 1508) was count of Vaudemont from 1470, Duke of Lorraine from 1473, and Duke of Bar and titular King of Aragon, Naples, Sicily and Jerusalem from 1483 to his death. He was Duke of Calabria 1480–1483.
Family
He was the son of Yolande of Lorraine and Frederick, count of Vaudemont. On his mother's side, he was a grandson of Isabella, Duchess of Lorraine. His father was a member of the Vaudemont family, a junior branch of the Lorraine ducal family, descending from John I, Duke of Lorraine. He was thus both heir-general and heir-male to the Duchy when he succeeded on the death of his cousin Nicholas in 1473.
René married Phillipa of Guelders in 1485 and had the following children:
- Antoine, Duke of Lorraine (1489–1544)
- Claude, Duke of Guise (1496–1550), first Duke of Guise
- John, Cardinal of Lorraine and Bishop of Metz (1498–1550)
- Louis, Count of Vaudemont (1500–1526)
- Francis, Count of Lambesc (1506–1525)
- plus six others who died young
His maternal grandfather René I of Anjou died in 1480 his mother succeeded to René's claims as King of Naples and René took the title of Duke of Calabria, as heir apparent.
When his mother Yolande of Anjou died in 1483, he succeeded as Duke of Bar, and in her claims to the kingdoms of Aragon, Naples, Sicily and Jerusalem (his great-grandparents' Four Kingdoms).
Life
During his rule, René had to fight an attempted invasion of Lorraine by Charles the Bold, duke of Burgundy. The attempt failed with the help of the king of France and Charles died while besieging Nancy.
See also
| Preceded by: Nicholas I | Duke of Lorraine 1473-1508 | Succeeded by: Anthony Template:End boxTemplate:France-stubTemplate:Germany-bio-stub |