The kings and dukes of Lorraine have held different posts under different governments over different regions, since its creation as the kingdom of

Lotharingia Lotharingia was a historical region and an early medieval polity that existed during the late Carolingian and early Ottonian era, from the middle of the 9th to the middle of the 10th century. It was established in 855 by the Treaty of Prüm, a ...

by the Treaty of Prüm, in 855. The first rulers of the newly established region were kings of the Franks. 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 Low Countries (; ), historically also known as the Netherlands (), is a coastal lowland region in Northwestern Europe forming the lower Drainage basin, basin of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta and consisting today of the three modern "Bene ...

, the second became known as the

Duchy of Lorraine The Duchy of Lorraine was a principality of the Holy Roman Empire which existed from the 10th century until 1766 when it was annexed by the kingdom of France. It gave its name to the larger present-day region of Lorraine in northeastern France ...

and existed well into the modern era.

Kings of Lotharingia

Lothair II Lothair II (835 – 8 August 869) was a Carolingian king and ruler of northern parts of Middle Francia, that came to be known as Lotharingia, reigning there from 855 until his death in 869. He also ruled over Burgundy, holding from 855 just th ...

(855–869) Charles the Bald claimed Lotharingia on Lothair's death and was crowned king in

Metz Metz ( , , , then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle (river), Moselle and the Seille (Moselle), Seille rivers. Metz is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Moselle (department), Moselle Departments ...

, but his brother

Louis the German Louis the German (German language, German: ''Ludwig der Deutsche''; c. 806/810 – 28 August 876), also known as Louis II of Germany (German language, German: ''Ludwig II. von Deutschland''), was the first king of East Francia, and ruled from 8 ...

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 Louis the Younger (830/835 – 20 January 882), sometimes called Louis the Saxon or Louis III, was the second eldest of the three sons of Louis the German and Hemma. He succeeded his father as the King of Eastern Francia on 28 August 876 and his ...

, son of Louis the German. *

Charles the Bald Charles the Bald (; 13 June 823 – 6 October 877), also known as CharlesII, 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 series of civil wars during t ...

(869–870), also king of West Francia and Italy, and Carolingian emperor *

(880–882), also king of Saxony and Bavaria *

Charles the Fat Charles the Fat (839 – 13 January 888) was the emperor of the Carolingian Empire from 881 to 887. A member of the Carolingian dynasty, Charles was the youngest son of Louis the German and Hemma, and a great-grandson of Charlemagne. He was t ...

(882–887), also king of West Francia, East Francia, Alemannia, Aquitaine and Italy, and Carolingian emperor *

Arnulf of Carinthia Arnulf of Carinthia ( – 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 Holy Roman Emperor, ...

(887–895), also king of East Francia and Italy, and Carolingian emperor *

Zwentibold Zwentibold (''Zventibold'', ''Zwentibald'', ''Swentiboldo'', ''Sventibaldo'', ''Sanderbald''; – 13 August 900), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was the illegitimate son of Emperor Arnulf. In 895, his father granted him the Kingdom of ...

(895–900) * Louis the Child (900–911), also king of East Francia *

Charles the Simple Charles III (17 September 879 – 7 October 929), called the Simple or the Straightforward (from the Latin ''Carolus Simplex''), was the king of West Francia from 898 until 922 and the king of Lotharingia from 911 until 919–923. He was a memb ...

(911–923), also king of West Francia In 925, Lotharingia was subsumed into

East Francia East Francia (Latin: ) or the Kingdom of the East Franks () was a successor state of Charlemagne's empire created in 843 and ruled by the Carolingian dynasty until 911. It was established through the Treaty of Verdun (843) which divided the for ...

Dukes of Lotharingia

* Gebhard (903–910) * Reginar (910–915) * Gilbert (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 Middle Ages, medieval title for the military commander assigned to maintain the defence of one of the border provinces of the Holy Roman Empire or a monarchy, kingdom. That position became hereditary in certain Feudal ...

, under Bruno. Upon Bruno's death in 965, these two margraves were recognised as dukes of

Lower Lower may refer to: * ''Lower'' (album), 2025 album by Benjamin Booker *Lower (surname) *Lower Township, New Jersey *Lower Receiver (firearms) *Lower Wick Lower Wick is a small hamlet located in the county of Gloucestershire, England. It is sit ...

and Upper Lorraine, respectively. The two duchies remained separate, following separate pathways, except for the 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) * Richer I (964-972) ''After the death of Richer, the duchy was directly administrated by the holy emperor until the arrival of Charles I'' Carolingian dynasty * Charles I (977–991) * Otto I (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 (Ardenne–) Luxembourg * Frederick I (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 Middle Ages. The objective was the recovery of the Holy Land from Muslim conquest ...

and the first ruler of the

Kingdom of Jerusalem The Kingdom of Jerusalem, also known as the Crusader Kingdom, was one of the Crusader states established in the Levant immediately after the First Crusade. It lasted for almost two hundred years, from the accession of Godfrey of Bouillon in 1 ...

House of Limburg * Henry I (1101–1106) House of Leuven * Godfrey VI (1106–1129) (also known as Godfrey I of Leuven) House of Limburg * Waleran (1129–1139) House of Leuven * Godfrey VII(1139–1142) (also known as Godfrey II of Leuven) * Godfrey VIII (1142–1190) (also known as Godfrey III of Leuven) :''Disintegrates. Title 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, ''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 () originated from the marriage in 1736 of Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor, Francis III, Duke of Lorraine and Bar, and Maria Theresa of Habsburg monarchy, Austria, later successively List of Bohemian monarchs, Queen ...

continued carrying the title as titular Dukes of Lorraine.

External links

Titles of the dukes of Lorraine from contemporary documents with bibliography