Gerard ( 1030 – 14 April 1070), also known as Gerard the Wonderful, was a

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 ...

n nobleman. He was the count of

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 ...

and Châtenois from 1047 to 1048, when his brother Duke Adalbert resigned them to him upon his becoming the Duke of Upper Lorraine. On Adalbert's death the next year, Gerard became duke, a position that he held until his death. In contemporary documents, he is called ''Gerard of Alsace'' (after the fact that he had some land in Alsace), ''Gerard of Chatenoy'' (after an ancestral castle near Neufchâteau), or ''Gerard of Flanders'' (after his wife's homeland). He was the second son of Gerhard IV of Metz, count of Metz, and Gisela who was possibly a daughter of

Theodoric I, Duke of Upper Lorraine Theodoric I (c. 965 – between 11 April 1026 and 12 January 1027) was the count of Bar and duke of Upper Lorraine from 978 to his death. He was the son and successor of Frederick I, Duke of Upper Lorraine, Frederick I and Beatrice of Franc ...

Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor Henry III (, 28 October 1016 – 5 October 1056), called the Black () or the Pious, was Holy Roman Emperor from 1046 until his death in 1056. A member of the Salian dynasty, he was the eldest son of Conrad II and Gisela of Swabia. Henry was rais ...

, invested Adalbert with Lorraine in 1047 after confiscating it from Godfrey III. Godfrey did not back down, however, and killed Adalbert in battle. Henry subsequently bestowed it on Gerard, but the deposed duke continued to stir. Godfrey had the support of a faction of the nobles who did not want a strong hand at the ducal helm and Gerard was imprisoned. Gerard, however, had the support of the chiefest of his

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

s, that of

Toul Toul () is a Communes of France, commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle Departments of France, department in north-eastern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the department. Geography Toul is between Commercy and Nancy, Fra ...

, Bruno of Eguisheim-Dagsburg (later the sainted

Pope Leo IX Pope Leo IX (, , 21 June 1002 – 19 April 1054), born Bruno von Egisheim-Dagsburg, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 February 1049 to his death in 1054. Leo IX is considered to be one of the most historica ...

), who procured his liberation in 1049. The emperor gave him troops to assist him in his fight, for the rebels had the support of some elements in the church. Gerard himself remained, as his brother had, faithful to the end to the imperial dynasty and his descendants would remain so as well even into the

Hohenstaufen The Hohenstaufen dynasty (, , ), also known as the Staufer, was a noble family of unclear origin that rose to rule the Duchy of Swabia from 1079, and to royal rule in the Holy Roman Empire during the Middle Ages from 1138 until 1254. The dynast ...

years. His alliance with the church was regular but inconstant and he afforded his protection to

Moyenmoutier Abbey Moyenmoutier (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Vosges (department), Vosges Departments of France, department in Grand Est in northeastern France. Geography The little town of Moyenmoutier is positioned along the lower part of the :fr:R ...

, Saint-Mihiel Abbey, and Remiremont Abbey. The former was the abbey of Cardinal Humbert of Silva Candida, who excommunicated the

patriarch of Constantinople The ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople () is the archbishop of Constantinople and (first among equals) among the heads of the several autocephalous churches that comprise the Eastern Orthodox Church. The ecumenical patriarch is regarded as ...

Michael I Cerularius Michael I of Constantinople (''Cerularius'' or ''Keroularios''; ; 1000 – 21 January 1059) was the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from 1043 to 1059. His disputes with Pope Leo IX over church practices in the 11th century played a ro ...

, in 1054, thus precipitating the Great Schism, and the latter was his own final resting place. On 18 June 1053, Gerard and Prince Rudolf of Benevento led papal and

Swabia Swabia ; , colloquially ''Schwabenland'' or ''Ländle''; archaic English also Suabia or Svebia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany. The name is ultimately derived from the medieval Duchy of Swabia, one of ...

n troops into battle on behalf of Pope Leo. This was the

Battle of Civitate The Battle of Civitate was fought on 18 June 1053 in southern Italy, between the Normans, led by the Count of Apulia Humphrey of Hauteville, and a Swabian-Italian- Lombard army, organised by Pope Leo IX and led on the battlefield by Gerard, Duk ...

and it was a disastrous loss for the pope. His enemy, the

Normans The Normans (Norman language, Norman: ''Normaunds''; ; ) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norsemen, Norse Viking settlers and locals of West Francia. The Norse settlements in West Franc ...

, under

Humphrey of Hauteville Humphrey of Hauteville (died August 1057), also nicknamed Abelard, was the third Norman Count of Apulia and Calabria, Count of Apulia. He succeeded his brother Drogo of Hauteville, Drogo. Life Humphrey was a son of Tancred of Hauteville by his fi ...

and

Richard of Aversa Richard Drengot (''c.'' 1025 – died 1078) was the count of Aversa (1049–1078), prince of Capua (1058–1078, as Richard I) and duke of Gaeta (1064–1078). Early career in Italy Richard, who came from near Dieppe in the Pays de Caux in easte ...

, defeated his allies and captured his person, taking him prisoner in Benevento. Gerard, however, returned to Lorraine. Among his other construction projects, was that of the castle of

Prény Prény () is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France. See also * Communes of the Meurthe-et-Moselle department * Parc naturel régional de Lorraine Lorraine Regional Natural Park ( French: ''Parc naturel régi ...

, in the centre of the duchy, the beginnings of the capital city, Nancy. He died at Remiremont while trying to kill a revolt. Poisoning was suspected. The date of his death is either 14 April or 11 August. He was married to Hedwige of Namur (or of Flanders), daughter of

Albert II, Count of Namur Albert II of Namur was Count of County of Namur, Namur from the death of his elder brother Robert II, Count of Namur, Robert II to his death in 1067. They were the sons of Albert I, Count of Namur, Albert I, and Ermengarde, daughter of duke Charles ...

, and Regelindis of Lower Lorraine, daughter of Gothelo I, Duke of Lorraine. This marriage helped patch up relations with the baronage. They had the following issue: *

Theodoric II, Duke of Lorraine Theodoric II (died 30 December 1115), called the Valiant, was the Duke of Lorraine from 1070 to his death. He was the son and successor of Gerhard and Hedwige of Namur. He is sometimes numbered ''Theodoric I'' if the Dukes of the House of Ardenn ...

(c. 1055 – 1115), successor in Lorraine *Gerard (1057–1108), count of Vaudémont * Beatrice, married

Stephen I, Count of Burgundy Stephen I (1065 – 17 May 1102), known as the Rash, was Count of Burgundy, Mâcon and Vienne from 1097 until his death. Born into a powerful and influential family, Stephen was the son of William I, Count of Burgundy and his wife Stephanie. St ...

Mâcon Mâcon (), historically Anglicization, anglicised as Mascon, is a city in east-central France. It is the Prefectures of France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Saône-et-Loire in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. Mâcon is home t ...

and Vienne *Gisela, abbess of Remiremont He was the patrilineal ancestor of the line of dukes which ruled Lorraine until 1737 and of the Habsburg-Lorraine dynasty that ruled Tuscany (1737–1859), the Holy Roman Empire (1745–1807), Austria-Hungary (1780–1918), the Duchy of Parma (1814–1847), Duchy of Modena (1815–1859) and Mexico (1864–1867).

Ancestry

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gerard, Duke of Lorraine 1030s births 1070 deaths Year of birth uncertain Dukes of Upper Lorraine