a town of France, department of Aisne, on the left bank of the Oise, 13 miles N.W. of Vervins. It ranks as a fortified town of the third class, being surrounded by walls, and having a strong citadel. Pop. 3500.

or GUYSE. The family of Guise, which plays a distinguished part in certain eras of French and Scottish history, was sprung from the royal house of Lorraine. It did not become known in France till the sixteenth century, when Claude, son of René II., Duke of Lorraine, driven from home by an elder brother, entered the French army, distinguished himself on many battle-fields, and was desperately wounded at Marignan in 1515. For these services he was made Duke of Guise in Normandy and a peer of France by Francis I. He died in 1550, leaving, by his wife Antoinette de Bourbon, a large family, of which three members became especially notable. These were Marie, married to James V. of Scotland, and mother of Mary Queen of Scots; Francis, renowned as a soldier; and Charles, the Cardinal of Lorraine. For the history and character of Marie de Guise, see Scotland. Francis, surmounted “le Balafre,” from a scar on his face left by a wound received at the siege of Boulogne in 1545, was the noblest of his race. He was brave, generous, and gentle-hearted, and was as able a commander as a valiant soldier. He greatly distinguished himself in the wars between France and Spain, and retook Calais from the English, almost the last relic of their ancient conquests in France. Under Francis II. his power, which in the last reign had been counterpoised by that of the Montmorencys, became almost absolute. The Calvinists and the Prince of Condé made an effort to overthrow it; but this attempt, known in history as the conspiracy of Amboise, was defeated by the vigilance of the duke. Soon after this he had himself appointed lieutenant-general of the kingdom, while the parliament voted him the title of “conservateur de la patrie.” His first step was to take vengeance on the conspirators, which he did in a manner bordering on cruelty. Under Charles IX. his influence was checked, to a certain extent, by that of Condé and Coligny. The unfortunate affair at Vassy was the signal for a general war of religion in France; and shortly after the battle of Dreux (1563), in which the duke had distinguished himself, he was assassinated by Poltrot de Méréy, a Calvinist nobleman, who regarded him as the most dangerous enemy of the Reformed faith. He was succeeded in his title and estates, and the leadership of his party, by his son Henry, who, like himself, enjoyed the surname of “le Balafre.” This son inherited all the talents, but few of the virtues of his father, except his courage. He seconded his uncle, the Cardinal of Lorraine, in carrying out all the schemes of the “Ligue,” which, under the pretence of protecting the Catholic faith, was to serve the ulterior purpose of concentrating all the power of the kingdom in the hands of the Guises and their party. To prove his sincerity in the cause of the faith, Henri de Guise helped to carry out the massacre of St Bartholomew, planned the murder of Coligny, and hunted down the defeated Huguenots with pitiless cruelty. His successes at length made him insolent and overbearing even at court; and the king (Henri III.) forbade him ever to appear there again. Upon this the duke armed his retainers, and endeavoured to raise Paris in rebellion against its sovereign. This day, the 12th of May 1588, is famous in French history as the “Journée des Barricades.” The king fled, and summoned a meeting of the states-general at Blois. He found the deputies almost all in the interest of his revolted subject, and was obliged to make the most humiliating concessions to retain even the semblance of royalty. After enduring for a few months more the insolence of his too-powerful vassal, Henry had him privately assassinated, December 23, 1588; and next day the Cardinal of Lorraine met a similar end. Even this double shock, however, was hardly sufficient to break the power of the Guises. Under Henri IV. they had recovered so far as to be able to organize the League against that prince, and did not acknowledge his allegiance until he had abjured the Protestant faith. The dukedom of Guise became extinct in 1675.