{{short description, French noble house
The Craon family was a French
noble house, known to date back to the 11th century, originating in
Craon in the
Mayenne
Mayenne ( ) is a landlocked department in northwest France named after the river Mayenne. Mayenne is part of the administrative region of Pays de la Loire and is surrounded by the departments of Manche, Orne, Sarthe, Maine-et-Loire, and Il ...
region of
Anjou
Anjou may refer to:
Geography and titles France
*County of Anjou, a historical county in France and predecessor of the Duchy of Anjou
**Count of Anjou, title of nobility
*Duchy of Anjou, a historical duchy and later a province of France
** Du ...
, northern France.
Its most famous member is
Pierre de Craon, and its last representative governed
Burgundy
Burgundy ( ; ; Burgundian: ''Bregogne'') is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. ...
for a time under
Louis XI
Louis XI (3 July 1423 – 30 August 1483), called "Louis the Prudent" (), was King of France from 1461 to 1483. He succeeded his father, Charles VII. Louis entered into open rebellion against his father in a short-lived revolt known as the ...
, after the death of
Charles le Téméraire
Charles Martin (10 November 1433 – 5 January 1477), called the Bold, was the last duke of Burgundy from the House of Valois-Burgundy, ruling from 1467 to 1477. He was the only surviving legitimate son of Philip the Good and his third wife, Is ...
. When the Craon family died out, with the death of Antoine de Domart et Clacy (ca 1440-1480), the
Beauvau family
The House of Beauvau was the name of a historic French nobility, French noble family originating in Duchy of Anjou, Anjou, whose members held significant political and military positions in Kingdom of France, France, Spain and the Holy Roman Emp ...
took the title of Craon since one of its members had married the heir to that name. Jeanne de Craon, dying at the birth of her son
Jean IV de Beauvau, demanded that he take the arms of the Craon family.