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

Lotharingia Lotharingia ( la, regnum Lotharii regnum Lothariense Lotharingia; french: Lotharingie; german: Reich des Lothar Lotharingien Mittelreich; nl, Lotharingen) was a short-lived medieval successor kingdom of the Carolingian Empire. As a more durable ...

n nobleman. He was the count of

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 ...

and Châtenois from 1047 to 1048, when his brother Duke Adalbert resigned them to him upon his becoming the

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 t ...

. On Adalbert's death the next year, Gérard became duke, a position that he held until his death. In contemporary documents, he is called ''Gérard of Alsace'' (after the fact that he had some land in Alsace), ''Gérard of Chatenoy'' (after an ancestral castle near Neufchâteau), or ''Gérard 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 and Beatrice, daughter of Hugh the Great, count of Paris, an ...

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 raised by ...

, 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 Gérard, 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 Gérard was imprisoned. Gérard, however, had the support of the chiefest of his

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

s, that of

Toul Toul () is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. Geography Toul is between Commercy and Nancy, and the river Moselle and Canal de la Marne au Rhin. Climate Toul h ...

, 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 historically ...

), 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. Gérard 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 dynasty ...

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

Moyenmoutier Abbey 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 of ...

Saint-Mihiel Abbey Saint-Mihiel Abbey is an ancient Benedictine abbey situated in the town of Saint-Mihiel, near Verdun in the Meuse (department), Meuse Departments of France, department in Lorraine (region), Lorraine in north-eastern France. The benedictine abbey ...

, and

Remiremont Abbey Remiremont Abbey was an abbey that was founded as a house of nuns near Remiremont, Vosges, France. It later became a community of secular canonesses. History It was founded about 620 by Romaric (580–653), a lord at the court of Chlothar II, wh ...

. The former was the abbey of Cardinal Humbert of Silva Candida, who excommunicated the

patriarch of Constantinople The ecumenical patriarch ( el, Οἰκουμενικός Πατριάρχης, translit=Oikoumenikós Patriárchēs) is the archbishop of Constantinople (Istanbul), New Rome and '' primus inter pares'' (first among equals) among the heads of th ...

Michael I Cerularius Michael I Cerularius or Keroularios ( el, Μιχαήλ Α΄ Κηρουλάριος; 1000 – 21 January 1059 AD) was the Patriarch of Constantinople from 1043 to 1059 AD. His disputes with Pope Leo IX over church practices in the 11th century p ...

, in 1054, thus precipitating the Great Schism, and the latter was his own final resting place. On 18 June 1053, Gérard and Prince

Rudolf of Benevento Rudolf (also ''Rudolph'' or ''Rodolf'', Italian ''Rodolfo'') was the papal rector of the Duchy of Benevento under Pope Leo IX from 1053 to 1054. Rudolf was a Swabian captain who led that contingent of forces at the Battle of Civitate. His men were ...

led papal and

Swabia Swabia ; german: Schwaben , 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 ...

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, Du ...

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

Normans The Normans (Norman language, Norman: ''Normaunds''; french: Normands; la, Nortmanni/Normanni) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norsemen, Norse Viking settlers and indigenous West Fran ...

, under Humphrey of Hauteville and

Richard of Aversa Richard Drengot (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 eastern Normandy, was t ...

, 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 The following is a list of the 591 communes of the Meurthe-et-Moselle department of France. The ...

, 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 Namur from the death of his elder brother Robert II to his death in 1067. They were the sons of Albert I, and Ermengarde, daughter of duke Charles of Lower Lorraine. Biography In 1037, Albert participated in th ...

, and Regelindis of Lower-Lorraine, daughter of

Gothelo I, Duke of Lorraine Gothelo (or Gozelo) ( 967 – 19 April 1044), called the Great, was the duke of Lower Lorraine from 1023 and of Upper Lorraine from 1033. He was also the margrave of Antwerp from 1005 (or 1008) and count of Verdun. Gothelo was the youngest son of ...

. 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 Vaudémont () is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France. Sights and monuments * Château de Vaudémont - ruined 11th-century castle protected as a '' monument historique'' by the French Ministry of Culture See a ...

*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, he was the son of Count William I of Burgundy and his wife Stephanie. Stephen’s ...

Mâcon Mâcon (), historically anglicised as Mascon, is a city in east-central France. It is the prefecture of the department of Saône-et-Loire in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. Mâcon is home to near 34,000 residents, who are referred to in French as M� ...

, and

Vienne Vienne (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Viéne'') is a landlocked department in the French region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It takes its name from the river Vienne. It had a population of 438,435 in 2019.abbess of Remiremont Remiremont Abbey was an abbey that was founded as a house of nuns near Remiremont, Vosges, France. It later became a community of secular canonesses. History It was founded about 620 by Romaric (580–653), a lord at the court of Chlothar II, wh ...

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