Craon

The house of Craon took its name from the castle of Craon in Haut-Anjou and is documented from the eleventh century, when Robert of Nevers, a count of Nevers's younger son, became its lord. Robert of Craon, of the next generation, joined the Knights Templar in the Holy Land and became their second grand master in 1136.

Amaury III founded the Gascon bastide of Créon in 1312 and gave it his name. Pierre de Craon, called the Great, embezzled funds meant for the Anjou expedition to Naples and later waylaid the constable Olivier de Clisson in a Paris street; the royal march on Brittany that followed ended in Charles VI's mental breakdown.

Pierre's son Antoine was killed at Agincourt in 1415, and the house ended with Antoine de Domart, who died around 1480. The Beauvau then inherited the Craon name and arms through marriage.