The House of Gonzaga

The House of Gonzaga is an Italian princely family that ruled Mantua, in northern Italy, from 1328 to 1708. They also ruled Monferrato in Piedmont and Nevers in France, as well as many other lesser fiefs throughout Europe. The family includes a saint, twelve cardinals and fourteen bishops. Two Gonzaga descendants became empresses of the Holy Roman Empire, Eleonora Gonzaga (1598 – 1655), wife of Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor, and Eleonora Gonzaga-Nevers (1630 – 1686), wife of Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor, and one became queen of Poland, Marie Louise Gonzaga (1611 – 1667), by marriage to two kings of Poland and grand dukes of Lithuania, brothers Władysław IV and John II Casimir.

The family, which was founded by Ludovico I Gonzaga (1268 – 1360), had became a dominant family in Mantua starting from the twelfth century. Ludovico I Gonzaga (1268 – 1360) overthrew the Bonacolsi lordship over the city. Ludovico was succeeded by Guido (1360 – 1369) and Ludovico II (1369 – 1382), while Feltrino, lord of Reggio until 1371, formed the cadet branch of the Gonzaga of Novellara, whose state existed until 1728. Francesco I (1382–1407) abandoned the traditional alliance with the Visconti of Milan, in order to align their rising power with the Republic of Venice. In 1433, Gianfrancesco I (1395 – 1444) assumed the title of Marquis of Mantua with the recognition of Emperor Sigismund, founder of the Order of the Dragon, while obtaining recognition from the local nobility through the marriage of his daughter Margherita to Leonello d'Este (1407 – 1450), Marquis of Ferrara in 1435.

Gianfrancesco’s son, Ludovico III Gonzaga (1412 – 1478), married Sigismund’s niece Barbara of Brandenburg. Their grandson, Charles III, Duke of Bourbon, was a purported Grand Master of the Priory of Sion. Charles III’s uncle, Francesco II Gonzaga (1466 – 1519) married Isabella d'Este, sister of Alfonso I d’Este who married the notorious Lucrezia Borgia, and Beatrice d’Este who married Ludovico Sforza, chief patron of Leonardo da Vinci, who supposedly preceded Charles III as Grand Master of the Priory of Sion. Charles III in turn was succeed as Grand Master of the Priory of Sion by Francesco II and Isabella’s son, Ferrante I Gonzaga (1507 – 1557), who was also Grand Master of the Order of the Fleur de Lys, founded by another purported Grand Master of the Priory of Sion, René of Anjou.

In 1530, Ferrante’s brother, Federico II (1500 – 1540), received the title of Duke of Mantua. In 1531, the family acquired the Marquisate of Montferrat through marriage. Through maternal ancestors, the Gonzagas inherited also the Imperial Byzantine ancestry of the Paleologus, an earlier ruling family of Montferrat. A cadet branch of the Mantua Gonzagas became dukes of Nevers and Rethel in France when a younger son of Federico II, Ludovico Gonzaga, Duke of Nevers—who succeeded his uncle Ferrante as Grand Master of the Priory of Sion—married the heiress.

Federico II’s granddaughter Margherita Gonzaga married Henry II, Duke of Lorraine. Their grandson, Charles V, Duke of Lorraine, a knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece, married Eleanor of Mantua, the daughter of Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor and Eleanor Gonzaga. Their son eopold, Duke of Lorraine married Élisabeth Charlotte d'Orléans, the daughter of Philip I, Duke of Orleans, also a knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece. Philip I was close to Madame de Montespan, wife of Louis XIV of France, who was practitioner of the Black Mass involved in the Affair of the Poisons. Her daughter married Philippe I’s son, Philippe II, Duke of Orleans, a friend of Chevalier Michael Ramsay, who was responsible for the Templar legend of Freemasonry. Philippe II was also the grandfather of Louis Philippe, Duke of Orleans, known as Philippe Égalité, the famous leader of the French Revolution, who was Grand Master of the Grand Orient of France, a member of the Illuminati, associate of Rabbi Samuel Jacob Falk, the “hidden superior” of Enlightenment Freemasonry.

Leopold and Elizabeth’s son was Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor, Grand Master of the Order of the Golden Fleece, and husband of Empress Maria Theresa, who supported the cause of the Jewish heretic Jacob Frank. Their son, Joseph II (1741 – 1790), Holy Roman Emperor, who succeeded his father as Grand Master of the Order of the Golden Fleece, was reported to have had an affair with Frank’s daughter Eve. Francis I’s brother, Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine (1712 – 1780, was Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights, a knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece, and Grand Master of the Priory of Sion, as was Joseph II’s brother, Archduke Maximilian Francis of Austria (1756 – 1801). Joseph II’s sister was Marie Antoinette, wife of Louis XVI, who was both executed during the French Revolution.

• Ludovico I Gonzaga

  • Guido Gonzaga + Beatrix of Bar

    • Ludovico II Gonzaga + Alda (daughter of Obizzo III d'Este, Marquis of Ferrara)

      • Francesco I Gonzaga + Margherita Malatesta

        • GIANFRANCESCO I GONZAGA (first Gonzaga to bear the title of marquess, which he obtained from EMPEROR SIGISMUND) + Paola Malatesta

          • Ludovico III Gonzaga, Marquis of Mantua + Barbara of Brandenburg (niece of EMPEROR SIGISMUND)

            • Federico I Gonzaga, Marquess of Mantua + Margaret of Bavaria (d. of Albert III, Duke of Bavaria)

              • Clara Gonzaga + Gilbert, Count of Montpensier

                • CHARLES III, DUKE OF BOURBON (Grand Master of the PRIORY OF SION)

                • Renée de Bourbon + Antoine, Duke of Lorraine

                  • Francis I, Duke of Lorraine + Princess Christina of Denmark

                    • Charles III, Duke of Lorraine + Claude of France (daughter of Louis XII of France)

                      • Henry II, Duke of Lorraine + Margherita Gonzaga (see below)

                      • Christina of Lorraine (patron of Galileo)

                • Louise de Bourbon + Louis, Prince of La Roche-sur-Yon

                  • Louis, Duke of Montpensier + Jacqueline de Longwy

                    • Charlotte of Bourbon + WILLIAM THE SILENT OF ORANGE (see Genealogy of the House of Wettin)

                      • Countess Louise Juliana of Nassau + Frederick IV, Elector Palatine

                        • Frederick V of the Palatinate + Elizabeth Stuart (see Genealogy of the Alchemical Wedding)

              • Francesco II Gonzaga + ISABELLA D’ESTE (see Genealogy of the House of Este)

                • Federico II Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua + Margaret Paleologa (see Genealogy of Marquises and Dukes of Montferrat)

                  • LUDOVICO GONZAGA, DUKE OF NEVERS (Grand Master of the PRIORY OF SION)

                    • Charles I Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua + Catherine of Lorraine-Mayenne

                      • Charles Gonzaga, Duke of Nevers + Maria Gonzaga

                        • Eleanor of Mantua + Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor

                          • Eleonore of Austria + Charles V, Duke of Lorraine (ORDER OF THE GOLDEN FLEECE, see below)

                        • Charles II, Duke of Mantua and Monferrat

                        • Marie Louise Gonzaga + Władysław IV Vasa and secondly John II Casimir of Poland

                        • Anna Gonzaga + Edward, Count Palatine of Simmern (see below)

                  • Guglielmo Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua + Eleonora of Austria (d. of Ferdinand I and Anna Jagellonica)

                    • Margherita Gonzaga + Henry II, Duke of Lorraine

                      • Nicole of Lorraine + Charles IV, Duke of Lorraine

                        • Charles V, Duke of Lorraine (ORDER OF THE GOLDEN FLEECE)+ Eleanor of Mantua (d. of Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor + Eleanor Gonzaga)

                          • Leopold, Duke of Lorraine + Élisabeth Charlotte d'Orléans (daughter of PHILIPPE I, DUKE OF ORLEANS (Order of the Golden Fleece)

                            • Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor (Grand Master of the ORDER OF THE GOLDEN FLEECE) + Maria Theresa (supporter of Jacob Frank)

                              • Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor (Grand Master of the ORDER OF THE GOLDEN FLEECE, had affair with Eva, daughter of Jacob Frank)

                              • Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor (Grand Master of the ORDER OF THE GOLDEN FLEECE) + Maria Luisa of Spain (d. Charles III of Spain, Grand Master of the ORDER OF THE GOLDEN FLEECE)

                                • Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor (Grand Master of the ORDER OF THE GOLDEN FLEECE) + Princess Maria Theresa of Naples and Sicily

                                  • Archduke Franz Karl + Princess Maria Theresa of Naples and Sicily

                                    • Franz Joseph I of Austria (Grand Master of the ORDER OF THE GOLDEN FLEECE)

                                    • Maximilian I of Mexico

                                    • Archduke Karl Ludwig + Princess Maria Annunciata of Bourbon-Two Sicilies + Princess Maria Josepha of Saxony

                                      • Archduke Franz Ferdinand + Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg

                                      • Archduke Otto of Austria + Princess Maria Josepha of Saxony

                                        • Charles I of Austria + Princess Zita of Bourbon-Parma

                                          • OTTO VON HABSBURG (Grand Master of the Order of the Golden Fleece)

                              • Archduke Maximilian Francis of Austria (Grand Master of the TEUTONIC KNIGHTS, knight of the ORDER OF THE GOLDEN FLEECE and Grand Master of the PRIORY OF SION)

                            • Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine (Grand Master of the TEUTONIC KNIGHTS, knight of the ORDER OF THE GOLDEN FLEECE and Grand Master of the PRIORY OF SION) + Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria

                • FERRANTE GONZAGA (Grand Master of the PRIORY OF SION)