Frederick I (c. 912 – 18 May 978) was the

count of Bar The County of Bar, later Duchy of Bar, was a principality of the Holy Roman Empire encompassing the ''Barrois, pays de Barrois'' and centred on the city of Bar-le-Duc. It was held by the County of Montbéliard, House of Montbéliard from the 11t ...

and

duke of Upper Lorraine 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 ...

. He was a son of Wigeric, count of Bidgau, also

count palatine A count palatine (Latin ''comes palatinus''), also count of the palace or palsgrave (from German ''Pfalzgraf''), was originally an official attached to a royal or imperial palace or household and later a nobleman of a rank above that of an ord ...

of Lorraine, and Cunigunda, and thus a sixth-generation descendant of

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first Holy ...

. In 954, he married Beatrice, daughter of

Hugh the Great Hugh the Great (16 June 956) was the duke of the Franks and count of Paris. Biography Hugh was the son of King Robert I of France and Béatrice of Vermandois.Detlev Schwennicke, '' Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der E ...

count of Paris Count of Paris () was a title for the local magnate of the district around Paris in Carolingian times. After Hugh Capet was elected King of France in 987, the title merged into the crown and fell into disuse. However, it was later revived by the ...

, and

Hedwig of Saxony Hedwige of Saxony (also ''Hedwig'', german: Hadwig von Sachsen; – after 958), a member of the Ottonian dynasty, was Duchess consort of the Franks by her marriage to the Robertian duke Hugh the Great. Upon her husband's death in 956, she act ...

. He received in

dowry A dowry is a payment, such as property or money, paid by the bride's family to the groom or his family at the time of marriage. Dowry contrasts with the related concepts of bride price and dower. While bride price or bride service is a payment b ...

the revenues of the abbey of Saint-Denis in Lorraine. To stop incursions from the duchy of Champagne, Frederick constructed a castle over the Ornain river in 960, and later occupied confiscated lands of

Saint-Mihiel Saint-Mihiel () is a commune in the Meuse department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. Geography Saint-Mihiel lies on the banks of the river Meuse. History A Benedictine abbey was established here in 708 or 709 by Count Wulfoalde and his wif ...

. He exchanged fiefs with the

bishop of Toul The Diocese of Toul was a Roman Catholic diocese seated at Toul in present-day France. It existed from 365 until 1802. From 1048 until 1552 (''de jure'' until 1648), it was also a state of the Holy Roman Empire. History The diocese was erect ...

. Thus, he created his own feudal domain, the

county of Bar The County of Bar, later Duchy of Bar, was a principality of the Holy Roman Empire encompassing the '' pays de Barrois'' and centred on the city of Bar-le-Duc. It was held by the House of Montbéliard from the 11th century. Part of the county, t ...

. So he became the founder of the House of Bar or the House of Ardennes–Bar, a cadet branch of the

House of Ardennes The House of Ardenne (or Ardennes, French ''Maison d'Ardenne'') was an important medieval noble family from Lotharingia, known from at least the tenth century. They had several important branches, descended from several brothers:Parisse, ‘Généa ...

. The

duchy of Lorraine 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 t ...

was at that time governed by the

archbishop of Cologne The Archbishop of Cologne is an archbishop governing the Archdiocese of Cologne of the Catholic Church in western North Rhine-Westphalia and is also a historical state in the Rhine holding the birthplace of Beethoven and northern Rhineland-Palati ...

Bruno Bruno may refer to: People and fictional characters *Bruno (name), including lists of people and fictional characters with either the given name or surname * Bruno, Duke of Saxony (died 880) * Bruno the Great (925–965), Archbishop of Cologne, ...

, who was called the ''

archduke Archduke (feminine: Archduchess; German: ''Erzherzog'', feminine form: ''Erzherzogin'') was the title borne from 1358 by the Habsburg rulers of the Archduchy of Austria, and later by all senior members of that dynasty. It denotes a rank within ...

'' on account of his dual title. In 959, Bruno, in concert with his brother, the

Emperor Otto I Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), traditionally known as Otto the Great (german: Otto der Große, it, Ottone il Grande), was East Frankish king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the oldest son of He ...

, divided the duchy, appointing as

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 Emp ...

s: Godfrey in Lower Lorraine and Frederick in Upper Lorraine. After Bruno's death in 977, Frederick and Godfrey styled themselves dukes. As duke, Frederick oversaw the reform of Saint-Dié and

Moyenmoutier Moyenmoutier (; german: Mittelmünster) is a commune in the Vosges department in Grand Est in northeastern France. Inhabitants are called ''Médianimonastériens''. Geography The little town of Moyenmoutier is positioned along the lower part o ...

Family

His children were: * Henry (died between 972 and 978) * Adalbero II (958–1005),

bishop of Verdun The Bishopric of Verdun was a state of the Holy Roman Empire. It was located at the western edge of the Empire and was bordered by France, the Duchy of Luxembourg, and the Duchy of Bar. Some time in the late 990s, the suzerainty of the Count ...

and

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 E ...

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 and Beatrice, daughter of Hugh the Great, count of Paris, an ...

(965–1026),

and duke of Upper Lorraine * Ida (970–1026), married, in 1010,

Radbot, Count of Habsburg Radbot, Count of Klettgau (c. 9851045) was (Count) of the county of Klettgau on the High Rhine in Swabia. Radbot was one of the progenitors of the Habsburg dynasty, and he chose to name his fortress Habsburg. Radbot was probably the second son ...

(970–1027), who built the castle of Habichtsburg and is thus an ancestor of the great

Habsburg family The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

which dominated Europe in the sixteenth century.

Notes

Sources

* * * * * House of Bar House of Ardennes Dukes of Upper Lorraine 910s births 978 deaths Year of birth uncertain {{Europe-noble-stub