Brother of François de Guise, Charles is cardinal of Lorraine, he is the political head of the family. With his brother, he ensures the regency of the young king François II, he designates his successor Michel de l'Hospital before leaving power. Charles was not at first opposed to a reconciliation between Catholics and Protestants, but this stage failed at the colloquy of Poissy (1561). He then became a defender of the Catholic Counter-Reformation initiated during the Council of Trent (1563). And afterwards, he will welcome the news of the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre with joy. After the assassination of his brother, he becomes the chief of the Guise and takes under guardianship his nephews, in particular Henri de Guise.
The Renaissance in France is often reduced to the reign of King François I, a sort of prosperous period before the horror of the Wars of Religion. However, it is more accurate to begin this period with Charles VIII, the first king of the Renaissance, and to conclude it with Henry II. For political r