Francis, Duke of Guise

François de Lorraine became the 2nd Duke of Guise on 17 February 1519, inheriting a name that would carry weight through two decades of war. He led French forces during the Italian War of 1551–1559, earning a reputation that made him unavoidable when the throne needed a military mind. When the French Wars of Religion opened the country's seams, he stepped into the center as both general and statesman, a man whose presence shaped which way the violence would break. He was at the siege of Orléans in 1563 when an assassin found him, dying on 24 February at forty-four.