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Kings of Lotharingia
AD 855 - 925
Lotharingia was created out of the
Middle Frankish
kingdom of Lothar I, and eventually became a satellite state,
and later duchy of France. It
included territory which later emerged as the county of
Luxemberg. Initially
it was ruled by Lothar I as a constituent part of Francia Media, which
included all of central and northern Italy (the territory of the former
exarchate of Ravenna
and the kingdom of the
Lombards), and the
Rhine corridor up to the modern
Netherlands, which also included
Switzerland. The imperial city
of Aachen, Charlemagne's former residence, was included in this territory.
However, this greatness was ephemeral. Lothar's death in 855 at Prüm Abbey
signalled its division under the Frankish practice of partible inheritance.
His territory, which had never really bonded into a single entity thanks to
its very different cultural backgrounds, was divided relatively equally
between his three sons. Lothar II received Lotharingia, an amalgam of the
Rhine corridor territories between
Burgundy
and the Low Countries.
(Additional information from Frankish Kingdoms under the Carolingians,
751-987, R McKitterick (Longman, 1983).) |
855 - 869 |
Lothar II |
Son of Lothar I,
king of Italy. Also king of
Burgundy
& Provence. |
870 - 895 |
Following the death of Lothar, his territory is divided fairly by his uncles under
the terms of the Treaty of Meerssen (or Mersen). Those uncles are Louis the German
of the Eastern Franks and Charles the
Bald of the Western Franks.
In 880, Lotharingia is incorporated into the nascent
Germanic Roman Empire
thanks to the Treaty of Ribemont.
A period of confusion begins in 895/6 when the German king hands Lotharingia
to his illegitimate son.
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King Louis the Pious of the Frankish empire attempted to
leave the empire intact for his eldest son, Lothar, but
the others rebelled at the idea. The treaty of Verdun in
AD 843 confirmed the official division of the empire between
Charlemagne's three surviving grandsons (click or tap on map to
view full sized)
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? - after 879 |
Nanther |
Duke in
East Francia. |
863/864 |
A charter records that Nanther, dux in 'Orientali
Francia', and his wife Kunigund make a donation to Kloster St Saturnin at
Münsterdreisen. This lies in the modern Rheinland-Pfaltz region, and seems
to be close to the western edge of what is becoming
Franconia at this time,
but seems more likely to be at the south-eastern edge of Lotharinga. |
895 - 900 |
Zwentibold
of Lorraine |
Illegitimate
son of Germanic
Emperor Arnulf. |
900 - 910 |
Gebhard
of Franconia |
Duke of
Franconia
(?) & Lotharingia. Count in
Hessi lands. |
903 |
Gebhard of the
Hessian Wetterau (also
known as Gebhard of
Franconia)
is confirmed as duke of Lotharingia by Louis the Child, king of
Germany, in 903. He is killed
in 910 in battle against the
Magyars,
somewhere in the region of Augsburg. His eldest son is Herman, who becomes
duke of Swabia
in 926. His younger son succeeds him as count of the Wetterau (from 914) and
succeeds Eberhard, duke of Franconia,
as count of Oberlahngau (presumably in 918). |
911 - 915 |
Reginar
/ Rainier of Maasgau / Mons |
Local noble.
Transferred allegiance to Western Franks. |
911 |
With
the accession of Reginar Longneck of the Maasgau on the lower Meuse,
Lotharingia becomes a Western Frankish satellite state. Reginar himself
(possibly no more than a commander in Lotharingia for Charles the Simple)
is a direct ancestor of the landgraves of
Hesse from
the sixteenth century through the male line. His own son becomes Reginar II,
count of Hainaut (890-932), and the line descends through the counts of
Leuven in the tenth to twelfth centuries, and then through Brabant to reach
the first landgrave of Hesse, Henry of Brabant (son of Duchess Sophia of
Thuringia - who
establishes the landgraviate - and her husband, Henry II of Brabant). |
915 - 925 |
Charles III
'the Simple' |
King of
Western Franks. |
925 |
Charles
had been deposed in the west in 923. Reginar's son, Gilbert, aligns himself
with the Eastern
Franks once more, and governs Lotheringia in the name of the East Frankish
German king. |
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Duchy of Lorraine (Lotharingia)
AD 925 - 975 |
925 - 936 |
Gilbert (Giselbert) |
Son
of Reginar. Son-in-law of Henry I of
Saxony.
Died 939. |
936 |
Upon the death of his ally, Henry the Fowler, Gilbert rebels
against his successor as king of Germany,
Otto I. Instead he swears allegiance to Louis IV d'Outremer of the
West Franks.
Gilbert rules Lorraine (or Lotharingia as it is still sometimes known, using
the old form of the name) almost as an independent state for the next three
years. |
939 - 949 |
The rebellious dukes Gilbert II of Maasgau, duke of Lorraine, and Eberhard of
Franconia
loot the counties of Udo IV of the Wetterau (or Odo) and his nephew
Conrad of Niederlahngau, both
Hesse lands. Their force
is so large that Udo and Conrad are unable to resist them. But then the rebel
dukes re-cross the Rhine at Andernach on 2 October in order to return to
Lorraine and Udo and Conrad take the opportunity that has been presented to
them.
The Battle of Andernach takes place with Gilbert and Eberhard still on the
east bank of the Rhine and the bulk of their forces already across. Udo and
Conrad attack and defeat them, killing Eberhard while Gilbert drowns when
trying to escape. Their deaths allow Otto I, king of
Germany, to restore order and
show his favour to Udo. He succeeds Conrad as count of Niederlahngau in 949. |
944 - 953 |
Conrad
'the Red' |
Son-in-law of
HRE Otto I. Great-grandfather of Conrad II. |
953 |
Feeling that his position is threatened by his father's marriage to
Adelaide, heiress of
Italy, Ludolph of
Swabia joins
forces with his brother-in-law, Conrad the Red, in revolt. Ludolph is
supported by the Swabians, but Conrad fails to gain the same support from
his own subjects. Otto I of
Saxony and
Henry I of
Bavaria defeat the rebellion, and Conrad is deprived of his title in
favour of Otto's brother. (However, his son Otto becomes duke of
Carinthia
in 995.) |
953 - 959 |
St Bruno
'the Great' |
Brother of Otto I of
Saxony.
Archbishop of Cologne. |
959 - 975 |
Frederick I |
Duke of
Upper Lorraine (975-978). |
962 |
With the accession of the
Saxon king,
Otto I, the power of the
Germanic Roman empire is
confirmed. Otto is quite vigorous in establishing new counties and border
areas within and without the empire's borders. The county of Ardennes under
Sigfried gains the stronghold of Lucilinburhuc (the later
Luxemburg, at the moment
within Lotharingia), Arnulf I the Elder is restored in
Flanders, and the March of
Austria
is formed (or confirmed) from territory already captured from
Hungary
(around 960).
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Germany in AD 962 may have had its new emperor to govern the
territories shown within the dark black line, but it was still a
patchwork of competing interests and power bases, most notably
in the five great stem duchies, many of which were attempting to
expand their own territories outside the empire, creating the
various march or border regions to the east and south (click
on map to view full sized)
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At the same time,
Saxony gains
Hermann Billung as its duke, charged with maintaining the duchy's eastern
borders and expanding them further to the east, alongside the recently-created
North March.
Perhaps as a reaction to this or as the culmination of a process that is
already heading that way, the duchy of
Poland is formed around
the same time. |
975 |
The duchy
is split between Upper and
Lower Lorraine. |
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Duchy of Upper Lorraine
AD 975 - 1176
(Additional information from Neue Deutsche Biographie: Simon II,
Hans-Walter Herrmann, 2010.) |
975 - 978 |
Frederick I |
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978 - 1027 |
Thierry / Dietrich / Theodoric I |
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1027 - 1033 |
Frederick II |
Grandfather of Godfrey of Bouillon. |
1033 - 1044 |
Gozelo I of Verdun |
Duke of
Lower Lorraine (1023-1044). |
1044 - 1047 |
Godfrey II
'the Bearded' |
Became duke of
Lower Lorraine (1065-1069). |
1047 - 1048 |
Adalbert of Metz |
|
1048 - 1070 |
Gerard of Metz |
|
1059 |
Upon the death of Giselbert of the stronghold of
Lucilinburhuc, his son
Conrad succeeds him as the first confirmed count of
Luxemburg, taking
it permanently out of the direct control of Lorraine's dukes.
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The thick forest of the Ardennes formed part of the
medieval county of Ardennes, with this region also
gaining Luxembourg in 963, another county in the making
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1070 - 1115 |
Thierry / Dietrich / Theodoric II |
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1115 - 1139 |
Simon I |
Brother of Thierry,
count of Flanders. |
1139 - 1176 |
Matthew I
/ Matthias I |
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1176 - 1190 |
Simon II |
Son. Duke of (a single)
Lorraine from 1190. |
1179 - 1190 |
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Ferry I of Bitsch /
Frederick |
Brother. Duke of Bitsch
(Northern Lorraine). |
1178 - 1179 |
Simon's mother has been intent on gaining the duchy for her second son,
Ferry. Simon asserts his own claim and becomes duke despite her, but the
growing dispute had not been ended. In 1178 it turns into civil war which is
only mediated by Count Philip of
Flanders in 1179.
Agreement is reached in the resultant Treaty of Ribemont whereby the duchy
is divided. Simon retains the southern, French-speaking section while Ferry
gains the northern, German-speaking section, with the addition of Gerbéviller
and Ormes. Despite swearing to act as his brother's vassal, Ferry takes the
title 'Duke of Bitsch' (or Bitche), which despite only being a county
expresses his intent to retain equal status. This is the name of a citadel
and small town which now form part of the Moselle département in Lorraine,
on the very north-eastern edge of
France. |
1190 |
The
title of Lower Lorraine passes out of use once the dukes of Brabant gain it.
The region evolves into part of the Low Countries that goes into forming the
modern
Netherlands. Effectively, Upper Lorraine is the only surviving duchy of
Lorraine. |
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Duchy of Lower Lorraine
AD 975 - 1100
The area that formed Lower Lorraine included Breda, Antwerp, Brabant and
Aix-la-Chapelle. During the conquests of Julius Caesar the land between
Breda and Antwerp had provided a home for the Ambivariti tribe, and later
the Toxandri. |
975 - 991 |
Charles
I the Carolingian |
Son of Louis V of
France. His claim
to the crown was ignored. |
987 - 991 |
By
this time the Carolingian kings and those drawn from the House of Paris
have so weakened the effectiveness of the monarchy in
France that it owns
little land outside Paris. The Carolingian son of Louis V, Charles the
Carolingian, duke of Lower Lorraine,
is ignored in favour of passing the crown permanently to the House of
Paris under Hugh Capet. Charles struggles to regain 'his' throne, but he is
captured and imprisoned, and dies in Orleans. |
991 - 1012 |
Otto the Carolingian |
The last
Carolingian. |
1012 - 1023 |
Godfrey I of Verdun |
|
1023 - 1044 |
Gozelo I of Verdun |
Became duke of
Upper Lorraine (1033-1044). |
1044 - 1046 |
Gozelo II
'the Sluggard' |
|
1046 - 1065 |
Frederick of Luxembourg |
|
1065 - 1069 |
Godfrey II
'the Bearded' |
Former duke of
Upper Lorraine (1044-1047). Margrave of
Spoleto. |
1069 - 1076 |
Godfrey III
'the Hunchback' |
|
1076 - 1087 |
Conrad II |
Conrad VI of
Franconia. |
1087 - 1100 |
Godfrey of Bouillon |
Protector of
Jerusalem
(1099-1100). |
1100 |
Lower Lorraine passes to the dukes of Brabant, who cease using
the title ('Lothier') in 1190, so the duchy ceases to exist as a separate entity.
The region evolves into part of the Low Countries that goes into forming part of
the modern
Netherlands. Upper Lorraine survives, now the only duchy of
Lorraine. |
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Duchy of Lorraine
AD 1190 - 1767
The duchy of Lorraine evolved out of the
Carolingian kingdom
of Lotharingia.
In 975 it was divided into 'upper' and 'lower' territories. The area that
formed Lower Lorraine included Breda,
Antwerp, Brabant and Aix-la-Chapelle, but this passed to the dukes of Brabant
in 1100. They ceased to use the duchy's title ('Lothier') in 1190, so Lower
Lorraine ceased to exist as a separate entity. Instead it evolved into part
of the Low Countries that went into forming areas of the modern
Netherlands. Upper Lorraine was the
sole surviving bearer of the name, and after 1190 it could drop the prefix
of 'upper', becoming the sole duchy of Lorraine.
The dukes of (Upper) Lorraine since the tenth century had been supplied by
the House of Ardennes-Bar (959-1033) prior to the creation of the county of
Bar, and Ardennes-Verdun from 1033. The first duke of a single Lorraine was
Simon II, who had been forced to assert his rightful claim to the title in
the face of his mother's wish to have her second son, Frederick, obtain the
title instead. This he did, and was also forced to create the 'Estates of
Lorraine', an early form of parliament, and cede certain rights to his
subjects.
Amongst his successors were several bearing the name Ferry (the French
diminutive of Frederick - the French names for the early dukes seem to
dominate the German forms, a legacy of its later pro-French history). These
dukes are also often shown as the Germanic Frederick, with their numbering
restarted from scratch despite there already having been two Fredericks (of
Upper Lorraine). Ferry II is usually accepted as such, but when taking into
account the earlier bearers of his name (in its German form) he could be
Frederick III, IV, or even V.
(Additional information from Neue Deutsche Biographie: Simon II,
Hans-Walter Herrmann, 2010, and Noble Strategies in an Early Modern Small
State: The Mahuet of Lorraine, Charles T Lipp.) |
1190 - 1205 |
Simon II |
Duke of
Upper Lorraine (Southern Lorraine)
(1176-1190). |
1190 - 1205 |
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Ferry I of Bitsch /
Frederick I |
Brother. Duke of Bitsch
(Northern Lorraine). |
1202 |
Having gained lands in
Luxemburg as a result of his marriage to Ermesinde of Namur, Count
Theobald I of Bar is now also granted the county of Vaudémont by Simon.
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Duke Simon II of Lorraine and his wife, Ida, daughter of Gerard
I, count of Mâcon and Vienne, dropped 'upper' from the title as
his was the only surviving Lorraine
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1205 |
Following the civil war in 1178-1179 between Simon and his brother, Ferry,
Upper Lorraine had been divided between
the southern, French-speaking section and the northern, German-speaking
section, with the addition of Gerbéviller and Ormes. Despite swearing to act
as his brother's vassal, Ferry had taken the title 'Duke of Bitche', which
expressed his intent to retain equal status. Now Simon abdicates without
having produced an heir and the duchy is reunited under Ferry, as agreed in
the treaty. Simon dies the following year having retired to a monastery, and
is survived by his brother by no more than a further year. |
1205 - 1206 |
Ferry I
of Bitsch / Frederick I |
Former duke of Bitsch. |
1206 - 1213 |
Ferry II
/ Frederick II |
Son. |
1208 |
Ferry II goes to war against his father-in-law, Theobald of Bar, count
of Luxemburg. He
is defeated and captured and is imprisoned for seven months. In order to
obtain his freedom he is forced to hand over Amance, Longwy, and Stenay,
lands which he had gained thanks to his marriage to Agnes of Bar.
Essentially, Theobald wins back his daughter's dowry. |
1213 - 1220 |
Thiébaut
I / Theobald I |
Son. No heir.
Died largely broken by his defeats. |
1214 |
In a conflict which is vital to the
French monarchy,
from 1202 the
'War' of Bouvines involves John of
England, HRE
Otto IV, and also Thiébaut on the one side, and Philip II on the other
supported by Otto III of
Burgundy. The culmination
is the Battle of Bouvines on 27 July 1214. The French are victorious, while
John loses the duchy of Normandy
and his other French possessions. Thiébaut is taken prisoner during the rout
but is freed soon afterwards. |
1220 - 1251 |
Matthew
II / Matthias II |
Brother. |
1228 - 1229 |
When
the Fifth Crusade (Second Expedition) is decreed,
HRE Frederick II is
excommunicated both for not taking part and then for going and negotiating
the possession of
Jerusalem
(until 1244). He is accompanied on his expedition by Matthew II of Lorraine
amongst others. |
1251 - 1303 |
Ferry
III / Frederick III |
Son. Acceded aged 13. |
1251 - 1255 |
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Catherine of Limberg |
Mother and regent. Died. |
1255 |
Ferry
III marries Margaret, daughter of Theobald I of
Navarre, count of Champagne.
The union spells the start of a process of increasing Gallification in
Lorraine, but this results in tension between the duchy's French and German
influences. |
1298 |
Holy Roman Emperor
Adolf is killed at the Battle of Göllheim, near Speyer, whilst fighting
his rival, Albert of Habsburg in
Austria.
Unusually for the dukes of Lorraine, the soon-to-be Duke Thiébaut II is
present at the battle on the side of Albert. |
1303 - 1312 |
Thiébaut II
/ Theobald II |
Son. |
1312 - 1328 |
Ferry
IV / Frederick IV |
Son. Killed in
battle. |
1314 - 1322 |
When
Louis IV (Louis the
Bavarian)
is elected German king
in 1314, a minority faction elects Frederick the Fair of
Habsburg as
emperor. Louis defeats Frederick in 1322 at the Battle of Mühldorf (in which
Frederick's supporter, Duke Ferry IV of Lorraine, is also captured). Ever keen to
exploit a situation which can strengthen his own influence over Lorraine,
Charles IV of France
quickly manages to have the duke released on the promise that Lorraine will
remain impartial in future imperial affairs.
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The vigorous king of Bavaria and HRE Louis IV also became king
of Italy in 1327 despite many objections and opposition figures,
with his strength of will and character being proof of his
desire and eligibility to rule
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1328 |
A peasant revolt in Flanders
forces King Philip of France
to fight the Battle of Cassel, thirty kilometres south of Dunkirk, bringing
the revolt to an end and bringing Flanders fully under French control.
Supporting the king, Duke Ferry IV of Lorraine is killed during the
fighting, while Duke Odo IV of
Burgundy is wounded. |
1329 - 1346 |
Rudolf
/ Rudolph |
Son. Acceded aged 9. |
1329 - 1331 |
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Elisabeth of Austria |
Mother and regent.
Daughter of Albert I of Germany.
Replaced. |
1331 - 1336 |
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Edward I of Bar |
Father-in-law
to Rudolf and regent. Shipwrecked and killed. |
1346 |
King Philip of France
confiscates Gascony from Edward III of
England
so the English invade France to press their own claim to the French throne.
The Hundred Years War begins, with the fiefdom of
Aquitaine part of the
spoils to be won or lost. In 1346, Edward crushes Philip's army at the Battle
of Crécy, killing Duke Rudolf of Lorraine amongst many others. |
1346 - 1390 |
John I |
Son. Acceded aged 6 months. Fought with
Teutonic Knights. |
1346 - 1364? |
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Mary of Blois |
Mother and regent. Daughter of Guy I of Blois. |
1346 - 1364? |
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Eberhard II 'the Whiner' |
Count of
Württemberg. Future father-in-law to John. |
1356 - 1360 |
A hesitant and clumsy king, John II of
France is taken prisoner by the
English
at Poitiers during a conflict with Philip, brother of King Charles the Bad
of Navarre. Duke John I of Lorraine
fights at the king's side and survives the virtual massacre of the French
nobility. |
1390 - 1431 |
Charles II
'the Bold' |
Son of John I. Numbering continued from
Lower Lorraine. |
1396 |
After having fought at Tunis in 1391, Charles is one of the participants at
the Battle of Nicopolis. It results in defeat for the allied European forces
with the result that the
Bulgars are conquered
and occupied by the
Ottoman
Turks. |
1398 |
The
Teutonic Knights
conquer the duchy of Samogitia,
removing it from
Lithuanian control. Their dream of uniting their
Prussian lands with
those of Livonia and
Courland has become a reality. However, the Samogitians refuse to
surrender. Ever the adventurer, Duke Charles is with the knights around this
time, aiding them in their conquests. |
1431 - 1453 |
Isabel
/ Isabella |
Daughter and successor. Died. |
1431 - 1453 |
René I 'the Good' of Anjou |
Husband and joint ruler. Duke of Bar. King of
Naples (1435-1442). |
1431 - 1453 |
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John II of Anjou |
Son and associate ruler. |
1435 - 1442 |
The
claim to the kingdom of
Naples passes to René I,
with Isabel his queen consort. By 1442 Alfonso V of Aragon
and Sicily conquers the
territory and reunites it as a single southern Italian kingdom. René and
many generations after him continue to claim the title for Lorraine. |
1453 - 1470 |
John II
of Anjou |
Duke following the death of his mother. Titular king of
Naples. |
1470 - 1473 |
Nicholas
I of Anjou |
Son. |
1473 - 1483 |
Yolanda
/ Yolande de Bar |
Aunt. John's
sister. Duchess of Bar (1480). m Ferri II of Guise. |
1473 |
Upon
the death of Nicholas of Anjou, the duchy of Lorraine passes to his aunt,
Yolanda, the sister of the late Duke John II. She immediately passes all of
the duties and responsibilities of the title to her son, René (her husband,
Ferri/Frederick II, count of Vaudémont, had died in 1470). When she inherits
the duchy of Bar upon the death of her father in 1480, she repeats the act.
The dukes of Lorraine also continue to claim the kingship of
Naples. |
1473 - 1483 |
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René II of Guise |
Son. Shared power although the title rested with Yolanda. |
1474 - 1477 |
As
duke in fact if not directly so in title, René is facing increasing pressure
both from Louis XI of France
and Charles the Bold of
Burgundy.
He has already allied himself with Charles, but Burgundian garrisons have
been established in Lorraine so René now switches allegiance to Louis.
Charles invades Lorraine, forcing René to abandon Nancy on 30 November 1475.
The city is recaptured on 5 October 1476 before René leads an army of
Swiss mercenaries into the
Battle of Nancy on 5 January 1477. Charles is defeated and killed, ending
the Burgundian Wars. |
1483 - 1508 |
René II of Guise |
Succeeded mother upon her death. Duke of Bar.
Count of Guise. |
1482 |
When
the duchy of Burgundy
reverts to the French
crown, Luxembourg
passes to the Austrian
Habsburgs.
René of Guise conquers the prévôté of Virton, part of Luxemburg lands, and
annexes it to the duchy of Bar which he also holds (and for which he is
formally invested in 1484). |
1508 - 1544 |
Anthony 'il Buono' / Antoine 'the Good' |
Son. |
1509 - 1520? |
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Philippa of Guelders |
Mother and regent during Anthony's absences for campaigns. |
1509 - 1520? |
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Hugues des Hazards |
Co-regent. Bishop of Toul. |
1515 |
The French invade
Milan again,
this time under Francis I. Victorious at the Battle of Marignano, they capture
and imprison Massimiliano, and Francis I personally assumes the title of
duke. The French have various allies assisting them, including Duke Anthony
the Good.
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Duke Antony the Good of Lorraine as painted around 1543 by Hans
Holbein der Jüngere (the Younger, 1498-1543)
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1521 |
The French are again
driven out of Milan,
now by the
Austrians
under Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V who installs Francesco II Sforza as duke of Milan. His brief tenure
is ended, again by a French occupation, although probably without Anthony
who has returned home. The Protestant Reformation is gathering pace, but
Anthony deals with it firmly in his lands, supporting Catholic good order. |
1542 |
The duchy of Lorraine has gradually established itself as an important and
largely independent holding during the course of the previous century or
so. Since 1525 it has remained neutral in the ongoing conflicts between
France and Germany
whilst remaining staunchly Catholic in the face of the Protestant
Reformation (and therefore an important and 'legal' voice in European
politics). The Treaty of Nuremberg on 26 August establishes Lorraine's
legitimate independence as a 'free and non-incorporable' protectorate of
the Holy Roman
emperor, transforming it from an imperial fief as long as it pays certain
imperial taxes. The idea is that Lorraine will protect the empire's western
border against French intransigence. |
1544 - 1545 |
Francis I |
Son. Died after a brief period, leaving duchy in his
wife's hands. |
1545 - 1608 |
Charles III
'the Great' |
Son. Acceded aged 2. |
1545 - 1552 |
|
Christina of Denmark |
Mother and
regent. Daughter of Christian II of
Denmark. |
1608 - 1624 |
Henry II
'the Good' |
Son of Charles III. Bore no sons in two marriages. |
1624 - 1625 |
Nicola
/ Nicole of Lorraine / Nicolette |
Daughter. m
Charles IV and became duchess consort. |
1625 |
A
potential succession dispute rears its head when Francis, count of
Vaudémont, protests Nicola's position as duchess of Lorraine based on the
fact that the succession must first progress through all potential male
heirs. Lorraine's noble assembly, the States-General, feels that the claim
is reasonable, so Francis becomes duke. Just five days later he abdicates
the title in favour of his son, Charles. The latter has already managed to
remove any right of his wife to hold power, leaving him as undisputed duke
of Lorraine with an increasingly estranged marriage. |
1625 |
Francis II |
Brother of Henry
II. Count of Vaudémont. Died 1632. |
1625 - 1634 |
Charles
IV |
Son. Husband of
Nicola. No children. Abdicated. |
1634 |
French influence in
Lorraine is becoming ever stronger, despite the intentions in 1542 of the
Holy Roman emperor to
use it as a buffer against France. King Louis XIII pressures Charles into
abdicating in favour of his younger brother after having supported an
opponent of France, Gaston d'Orléans, in his attempts to destabilise
Richelieu's controlling hand in French politics. |
1634 |
Nicholas II / Nicholas Francis |
Brother.
Abdicated. |
1634 |
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Claude of Lorraine |
Sister of Nicola.
Wife of Nicholas II. |
1634 - 1661 |
As
soon as Nicholas succeeds as duke,
France invades
Lorraine as part of the Thirty Years' War and forces him to sign a
treaty which acknowledges France's right to occupy the duchy. Nicholas then
flees his lands and returns the title to his brother who is himself unable to
return until 1661. The long French occupation of Lorraine lasts for much of
the century and pushes the dukes closer to the
Holy Roman empire. |
1661 - 1675 |
Charles IV |
Restored thanks
to his brother. Returned in 1661. |
1663 - 1664 |
The
Fourth Austro-Turkish War ends in the Battle of Saint Gotthard on 1
August 1664 in which the
Ottomans
are defeated by
Austrian
troops under Raimondo Montecuccoli (with a company of 140 men being led by
Count Herman Adolph of
Lippe-Detmold and
also the exiled future Duke Charles V of Lorraine in
Imperial service thanks
to the continued French
occupation of his lands). The Ottomans are forced to agree to the Peace of
Vasvár with Austria. |
1675 - 1690 |
Charles V
/ Karl Leopold |
Son of Nicholas
II. Lived & died in exile due to
French occupation. |
1683 |
John
III of Poland
and Duke Charles lift the siege of the
Austrian
capital at Vienna on 12 September, ending
Ottoman
expansion in Europe by drawing a metaphorical line in the sand. |
1690 - 1729 |
Leopold
Joseph 'the Good' |
Son. Acceded aged 11, in exile. Returned in 1697. |
1697 |
The Treaty of Ryswick draws to a close the Nine Years' War, otherwise
known as the War of the League of Augsberg. It stipulates that
Spain must formally
cede the western third of
Hispaniola
to France, while Lorraine is handed back to its rightful rulers, ending over
half a century of French occupation there. Duke Leopold returns to his capital
at Nancy, and makes good the repairs to his battered duchy. By the end of his
life it has been fully restored to its previous level of prosperity. |
1702 - 1715 |
Spain is involved in
the War of Succession as
Austria,
Britain,
and Portugal
dispute the Bourbon accession. Lorraine is occupied during the war, forcing
the ducal court to flee. The conclusion of the war sees Spain giving up
Milan,
Naples,
Sardinia,
and the Spanish Netherlands (modern
Belgium) to Austria, and
Sicily to the duchy
of Savoy. The
Papal States are forced to
hand over the territories of Parma and Piacenza to Austria, a definite blow
to the papacy's prestige. Philip, duke of Anjou, is recognised as the Bourbon
King Philip V of Spain, but only on the condition that the Bourbon crowns of
Spain and France can
never be united under a single ruler.
 |
The War of the Spanish Succession was fought to avoid a shift in
the balance of power in Europe with the proposed unification of
the Bourbon kingdoms of Spain and France
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1723 |
The
heir to the duchy, Leopold Clement, is about to be sent to Vienna as part of
his education. An outbreak of smallpox kills him at Lunéville and his place
in Vienna is given to his younger brother, Francis Stephen. Francis also
later marries Maria Theresa, the
Habsburg
heiress and becomes, in time,
Holy Roman Emperor
Francis I. |
1729 - 1737 |
Francis III
/ Francis Stephen |
Son.
HRE Francis I (1745-1765).
m Maria Theresa
Habsburg. |
1737 |
The
Polish War of Succession erupts between 1733-1735, in which Stanislas
Lesczynski is supported by his son-in-law, Louis XV of
France and Philip V of
Spain. France grabs Lorraine,
fearing that its
pro-Habsburg
bias will see it used as a base from which to attack France itself. The
fighting ceases in 1735 and is concluded by the Treaty of Vienna in 1738. It
stipulates that Stanislaw Lesczinski will receive Lorraine in settlement for
being deposed as
Poland's
king, while Francis receives the grand duchy of Tuscany in compensation for
the loss of his family's ancient lands. |
1738 - 1767 |
Stanislaw Lesczinski |
In the settlement of
the War of Polish Succession, 1733-1735. |
1767 |
Marie Lesczinska |
Daughter. Heiress of Lorraine,
married to Louis XV of France. |
1767 |
Although Stanislaw Lesczinski is only granted the duchies of Lorraine and
Bar for his lifetime, his eldest-surviving daughter, Marie Lesczinska
becomes the heiress of Lorraine upon his death. She is already married to
Louis XV of France, so
the French crown is finally able to claim Lorraine as its own territory,
ending its existence as an all-but independent duchy on French borders. The
duchy's borders at this time largely correspond to Lorraine's modern
borders. |
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