Guy de Daillon, comte du Lude (-) was a French governor and military commander during the French Wars of Religion. The son of Jean de Daillon, governor of Poitou from 1543 to 1557, Lude inherited his position in the province, becoming governor shortly after his father's death. In 1560 the province, which had been a subsidiary governorship under the governorship of Guyenne was reconfigured to an autonomous entity, and given to Antoine of Navarre to buy his loyalty to the Guise regime. Resultingly Lude was given the role of lieutenant-general of the province instead of governor. However this was functionally a promotion as, when governor of Poitou previously he was subordinate to Navarre's authority in Guyenne. Now when Navarre was absent he had the powers of an autonomous governor.
He worked to suppress the Conspiracy of Amboise in the governorship when it arose in 1562 and after Navarre's death during the first war of religion he became the governor of Poitou. Lude was a client of the Guise, and as such during their feud with the House of Montmorency he supported them, swearing to pursue vengeance against the 'killers' of the duc de Guise down to the fourth generation. However this support never materialised in a practical sense and he remained a loyal governor. During the third war of religion the fighting moved into Poitou and when the main Protestant army under Admiral Gaspard II de Coligny moved to besiege Poitiers, Lude vigorously defended the town in alliance with Henri I, Duke of Guise successfully repulsing an assault and forcing the rebels to disengage to face the main royal army under Anjou where they were crushed at Moncontour.
Lude's authority in Poitou was challenged by the militant Catholic hatred of the Peace of Monsieur, with one of his subordinate governors founding a Catholic League to oppose the terms in Fontenay. Lude was displeased with this development, refusing the offer to head the Ligue himself and would spend the next decade trying to best his subordinate governor. He campaigned for the abolishment of the subordinate governor role inside his governorship but was unsuccessful. In 1585 he died and was succeeded to his governorship by his brother-in-law Malicorne.
Early life and family
During his youth, Lude was granted great privilege. He was raised alongside other elite nobles in the household of the children of the king, with Charles IX and Henri III as playmates.
Lude's father Jean de Daillon was governor of Poitou from 1543 to his death in 1557. During this time the governorship was subordinate to that of Guyenne. Jean in turn was the son of Jacques de Daillon the king's chamberlain.
Reign of François II
Having served for several years as governor of Poitou under the authority of Navarre this was reconfigured in 1560 as the province was elevated to autonomy from Guyenne from a subsidiary governate, and granted to Antoine of Navarre alongside his governorship of Guyenne. This would not be the end of the Daillon families involvement with the government of the province however, as in compensation for this change, Lude was granted the role of lieutenant-general of Poitou. Lieutenant generals exercised the powers of governor in the absence of the governor from the province, which meant in effect Lude was the governor of Poitou for the following decades, becoming de jure governor of the region after the death of Navarre during the siege of Rouen. This reconfiguration granted Lude more power, as he acted as de facto governor in his own right, rather than a subordinate governor under a larger governorship as he had prior to 1560.
In opposition to the Guise government, malcontents coalesced into conspiracy, attempting to seize the young king from their protection during the Conspiracy of Amboise. While the conspiracy was a failure numerous local subsidiary uprisings occurred across the areas of France in which the Protestants had greater strength. Lude was instructed to crush the uprisings in Poitou and took about the task with zeal.
Reign of Charles IX
Disorder
As France spiralled towards civil war in early 1562 the crowns official policy of toleration found itself in conflict even with the lieutenant-general of the kingdom Navarre, who moved into opposition. As a result, there was a great confusion in policy that permeated out into the provinces. Lude complained bitterly that his orders were often contradictory.
In the wake of the first war of religion the crown wrote to Lude, urging him to ensure that the Peace of Amboise, which granted a degree of toleration to Protestantism was upheld in Poitou and that tranquillity was maintained.