The rulers of Lorraine have held different posts under different governments over different regions, since its creation as the kingdom of
Lotharingia by the
Treaty of Prüm, in 855. The first rulers of the newly established region were
kings of the Franks
The Franks, Germanic-speaking peoples that invaded the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century, were first led by individuals called dukes and reguli. The earliest group of Franks that rose to prominence was the Salian Merovingians, who con ...
. The Latin construction "Lotharingia" evolved over time into "Lorraine" in French, "Lotharingen" in Dutch and "Lothringen" in German. After the
Carolingian kingdom was absorbed into its neighbouring realms in the late ninth century, dukes were appointed over the territory. In the mid-tenth century, the duchy was divided into
Lower Lorraine and
Upper Lorraine, the first evolving into the historical
Low Countries
The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...
, the second became known as the
Duchy of Lorraine and existed well into the modern era.
Kings of Lotharingia
*
Lothair II
Lothair II (835 – 8 August 869) was the king of Lotharingia from 855 until his death. He was the second son of Emperor Lothair I and Ermengarde of Tours. He was married to Teutberga (died 875), daughter of Boso the Elder.
Reign
For politic ...
(855–869)
Charles the Bald claimed Lotharingia on Lothair's death and was crowned king in
Metz
Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand ...
, but his brother
Louis the German
Louis the German (c. 806/810 – 28 August 876), also known as Louis II of Germany and Louis II of East Francia, was the first king of East Francia, and ruled from 843 to 876 AD. Grandson of emperor Charlemagne and the third son of Louis the P ...
opposed his claim and in 870 the
Treaty of Mersen divided Lotharingia between the two brothers and subsequently their sons. In 880, the
Treaty of Ribemont gave the whole of Lotharingia to
Louis the Younger, son of Louis the German.
*
Charles the Bald
Charles the Bald (french: Charles le Chauve; 13 June 823 – 6 October 877), also known as Charles II, was a 9th-century king of West Francia (843–877), king of Italy (875–877) and emperor of the Carolingian Empire (875–877). After a se ...
(869–870), also king of West Francia and Italy, and Carolingian emperor
*
Louis the Younger (880–882), also king of Saxony and Bavaria
*
Charles the Fat (882–887), also king of West Francia, East Francia, Alemannia, Aquitaine and Italy, and Carolingian emperor
*
Arnulf of Carinthia
Arnulf of Carinthia ( 850 – 8 December 899) was the duke of Carinthia who overthrew his uncle Emperor Charles the Fat to become the Carolingian king of East Francia from 887, the disputed king of Italy from 894 and the disputed emperor from ...
(887–895), also king of East Francia and Italy, and Carolingian emperor
*
Zwentibold (895–900)
*
Louis the Child (900–911), also king of East Francia
*
Charles the Simple (911–923), also king of West Francia
In 925, Lotharingia was subsumed into
East Francia.
Dukes of Lorraine
*
Gebhard (903–910)
*
Reginar (910–915)
*
Gilbert Gilbert may refer to:
People and fictional characters
*Gilbert (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters
*Gilbert (surname), including a list of people
Places Australia
* Gilbert River (Queensland)
* Gilbert River (South A ...
(915–939)
*
Henry (939–940)
*
Otto (942–944)
*
Conrad (944–953)
*
Bruno, Archbishop of Cologne (953–965)
In 959, Lorraine was divided into two districts, Lower and Upper Lorraine, each governed by a
margrave
Margrave was originally the medieval title for the military commander assigned to maintain the defence of one of the border provinces of the Holy Roman Empire or of a kingdom. That position became hereditary in certain feudal families in the ...
, under Bruno. Upon Bruno's death in 965, both margraves were recognised as dukes of
Lower and
Upper Lorraine, respectively. The two duchies remained separate, following separate pathways, except for the brief period between 1033 and 1044.
Dukes of Lower Lorraine
:''Note that the numbering of the dukes varies between sources.''
Matfriding dynasty
*
Godfrey I (959–964)
Carolingian dynasty
*
Charles (976–991)
*
Otto (991–1012)
House of Ardennes–Verdun
*
Godfrey II (1012–1023) (also known as Godfrey I)
*
Gothelo I (1023–1044) (also duke of Upper Lorraine)
*
Gothelo II (1044–1046)
House of Luxembourg
*
Frederick (1046–1065)
House of Ardennes–Verdun
*
Godfrey III ''the Bearded'' (1065–1069) (also known as Godfrey II, previously duke of Upper Lorraine)
*
Godfrey IV (1069–1076) (also known as Godfrey III)
Salian dynasty
*
Conrad (1076–1087)
House of Boulogne (Ardennes–Bouillon)
*
Godfrey V "of Bouillon" (1087–1100) (also known as Godfrey IV), one of the leaders of the
First Crusade
The First Crusade (1096–1099) was the first of a series of religious wars, or Crusades, initiated, supported and at times directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The objective was the recovery of the Holy Land from Islamic ...
and the first ruler of the
Kingdom of Jerusalem
The Kingdom of Jerusalem ( la, Regnum Hierosolymitanum; fro, Roiaume de Jherusalem), officially known as the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem or the Frankish Kingdom of Palestine,Example (title of works): was a Crusader state that was establish ...
House of Limburg
*
Henry I Henry I may refer to:
876–1366
* Henry I the Fowler, King of Germany (876–936)
* Henry I, Duke of Bavaria (died 955)
* Henry I of Austria, Margrave of Austria (died 1018)
* Henry I of France (1008–1060)
* Henry I the Long, Margrave of the N ...
(1101–1106)
House of Leuven
*
Godfrey I of Leuven
Godfrey I ( nl, Godfried, 1060 – 25 January 1139), called the Bearded, the Courageous, or the Great, was the Landgrave of Brabant, Count of Brussels and Leuven (Louvain) from 1095 to his death and Duke of Lower Lorraine from 1106 to 1129. He w ...
(1106–1129) (also known as Godfrey V)
House of Limburg
*
Waleran (1129–1139)
House of Leuven
*
Godfrey II of Leuven (1139–1142) (also known as Godfrey VI)
*
Godfrey III of Leuven
Godfrey III ( nl, Godfried; c. 1142 – 21 August 1190) was count of Louvain (or Leuven), landgrave of Brabant, margrave of Antwerp, and duke of Lower Lorraine (as Godfrey VIII) from 1142 to his death.
Origins
He was the son of Godfrey II an ...
(1142–1190) (also known as Godfrey VII)
:''Passes to the
Duke of Brabant, who until 1795 kept the title "
Duke of Lothier".''
Dukes of Upper Lorraine
House of Ardenne–Bar
*
Frederick I (959–978)
*
Theodoric I (978–1026/1027)
*
Frederick II (1026/1027)
*
Frederick III (1026/1027–1033)
House of Ardenne–Verdun
*
Gothelo (r. 1033–1044) (also duke of Lower Lorraine).
*
Godfrey Godfrey may refer to:
People
* Godfrey (name), a given name and surname
* Godfrey (comedian), American comedian, actor
Places In the United States
* Godfrey, Georgia, an unincorporated community
* Godfrey, Illinois, a village
* Godfrey, Kansas, an ...
, ''the Bearded'' (r. 1044–1046) (later duke of Lower Lorraine)
House of Metz (Ardenne–Metz)
House of Anjou
House of Lorraine
''Junior branch of the previous rulers of Ardennes–Metz, known as the House of Lorraine''
House of Leszczyński
The
House of Habsburg-Lorraine
The House of Habsburg-Lorraine (german: Haus Habsburg-Lothringen) originated from the marriage in 1736 of Francis III, Duke of Lorraine and Bar, and Maria Theresa of Austria, later successively Queen of Bohemia, Queen of Hungary, Queen of ...
continued carrying the title as titular Dukes of Lorraine.
See also
*
Lorraine (duchy)
*
Lorraine (province)
The Duchy of Lorraine (french: Lorraine ; german: Lothringen ), originally Upper Lorraine, was a duchy now included in the larger present-day region of Lorraine in northeastern France. Its capital was Nancy.
It was founded in 959 following th ...
*
Lorraine (region)
Lorraine , also , , ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; german: Lothringen ; lb, Loutrengen; nl, Lotharingen is a cultural and historical region in Northeastern France, now located in the administrative region of Gr ...
External links
Titles of the dukes of Lorraine from contemporary documents with bibliography
Further reading
Putnam, Ruth. ''Alsace and Lorraine: From Cæsar to Kaiser, 58 B.C.-1871 A.D.'' New York: 1915.
{{Authority control
History of Lorraine
Lorraine