k away, was slain by a Lorraine officer who did not recognize him
and who committed suicide when, the body of the famous Duke having
been identified a couple of days later from an old scar behind the
ear, he realized that it was he who had killed "so great a Prince."

The Battle of Nancy was not only the greatest event in the History of
Lorraine, but one of the most momentous in the History of France, and
even of Europe. If Burgundy alone was defeated, three parties
benefitted by the victory, namely; Switzerland, for whom it meant
final acquisition of independence; the King of France, and the Duke of
Lorraine. The disappearance of Charles the Bold ensured at one stroke
the unity of France, which it rid of the last ever powerful vassal,
and the independence of Lorraine. No doubt Louis XI would rather have
been the only profiteer by the death of his rival. No doubt, also, he
meant to get hold of Lorraine and, as the event proved, laid hands
shortly afterward on the Duchy of Bar and tried to prevent Rene II
from coming into this comparatively small portion of Rene of Anjou's
inheritance. But his wily plans were foiled by the very fact that,
whatever his motives, he had made a show of fostering and supporting
the Lorrainer against the Burgundian. Had Lorraine become a part of
Charles the Bold's dominions, even the Mighty House of Austria would
have been unable to keep it independent from France; Henry II's
efforts would have been exerted against Lorraine, and Lorraine it is
that France would have occupied at the same time as the three
bishoprics, Toul, Metz, and Verdun and before Alsace. France's
influence made itself felt in the Duchy as early as 1552, but
annexation was put off until 1766.

Not only did Rene II's reign ensure the independence of Lorraine,
but it secured the adjunction of Barrois, for there can be no doubt
that the Duchy of Bar would have been annexed to France right away had
not Charles VIII found it politic to give back the territory
confiscated by his father, Louis XI, as an inducement to Duke Rene II
not to press his claims regarding such parts of Rene of Anjou's
inheritance as Anjou and Provence which France wanted and secured out
of the deal.

Considering the importance of the Battle of Nancy in the eyes of
Lorrainers, the historical value of the badge worn by their victorious
ancestors at that famous fight is easily understood. That badge was a
double traverse cross. We have Duke Rene II's own wo