The princes étrangers were an influential group of courtiers in early modern France, none more so than the princes from the Lorraine-Guise family. This book examines the Lorraine-Guise at the court of Louis XIV and their renewed power, wealth and influence after the turbulent Wars of Religion. It is a substantial contribution to scholarship in court studies and will add greatly to debates on the nature of crown-noble relations in the era of absolutism.

Jonathan Spangler is Lecturer in History in the Department of History and Economic History at the Manchester Metropolitan University, UK.

Contents: Introduction; Introducing the foreign princes; The Lorraine-Guise dynastic identity: history, image, property and display; At court: Lorraines and royal favour; The corporate merger: marriage alliances, contracts and widowhood; Lorraines in the courts: successions and the French judiciary; Being everywhere ... in the South: provincial interests in the Vivarais; Lorraines on the borders and in the service of foreign monarchs; Conclusion; Appendices; Bibliography; Index.