Godfrey IV (died 26 or 27 February 1076), known as the Hunchback, was

Duke of Lower Lorraine The kings and dukes 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 k ...

from 1069 until his death in 1076, succeeding his father

Godfrey the Bearded Godfrey III ( – 1069), called the Bearded, was the eldest son of Gothelo I, Duke of Upper and Lower Lorraine. Biography Disputed succession By inheritance, Godfrey was Count of Verdun and he became Margrave of Antwerp as a vassal of t ...

. In the year of his accession, he married Margravine

Matilda of Tuscany Matilda of Tuscany (; or ; – 24 July 1115), or Matilda of Canossa ( ), also referred to as ("the Great Countess"), was a member of the House of Canossa (also known as the Attonids) in the second half of the eleventh century. Matilda was on ...

, daughter of his stepmother Beatrice of Bar, and thus became

margrave of Tuscany The March of Tuscany (; Modern ) was a march of the Kingdom of Italy and the Holy Roman Empire during the Middle Ages. Located in northwestern central Italy, it bordered the Papal States to the south, the Ligurian Sea to the west and Lombardy to ...

. Godfrey and Matilda had only one child, Beatrice, who was born in 1071 and died the same year. From 1071 onwards, Godfrey lived apart from his wife. The two spouses were on opposite sides in the

Investiture Controversy The Investiture Controversy or Investiture Contest (, , ) was a conflict between church and state in medieval Europe, the Church and the state in medieval Europe over the ability to choose and install bishops (investiture), abbots of monasteri ...

: Matilda was a partisan of

Pope Gregory VII Pope Gregory VII (; 1015 – 25 May 1085), born Hildebrand of Sovana (), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 22 April 1073 to his death in 1085. He is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church. One of the great ...

and Godfrey of

Emperor Henry IV Henry IV (; 11 November 1050 – 7 August 1106) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1084 to 1105, King of Germany from 1054 to 1105, King of Italy and Burgundy from 1056 to 1105, and Duke of Bavaria from 1052 to 1054. He was the son of Henry III, Holy ...

. He warred on Henry's behalf against

Magnus, Duke of Saxony Magnus ( – 23 August 1106) was the duke of Saxony from 1072 to 1106. Eldest son and successor of Ordulf and Wulfhild of Norway, he was the last member of the House of Billung. Rebellion In 1070, before he was duke, he joined Otto of Nordhe ...

, in 1075 and on that of the

bishop of Utrecht List of bishops and archbishops of the diocese and archdioceses of Utrecht. Medieval diocese from 695 to 1580 Founders of the Utrecht diocese * * * * * Bishops * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ...

in 1076 against Counts

Dirk V of Holland Dirk V (c. 1052 – June 17, 1091) was Count of Holland (called Frisia at that time) from 1061 to 1091. Dirk V succeeded his father, Floris I, under the guardianship of his mother, Gertrude of Saxony. William I, Bishop of Utrecht, took advanta ...

and Robert I of Flanders. He was assassinated by spear in

Vlaardingen Vlaardingen () is a large town and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in South Holland in the Netherlands. It is located on the north bank of the Nieuwe Maas river at the confluence with the Oude Maas. The municipality admin ...

while "answering the call of nature". Despite Matilda's opposition he nominated his nephew

Godfrey of Bouillon Godfrey of Bouillon (; ; ; ; 1060 – 18 July 1100) was a preeminent leader of the First Crusade, and the first ruler of the Kingdom of Jerusalem from 1099 to 1100. Although initially reluctant to take the title of king, he agreed to rule as pri ...

to succeed him, but the emperor instead appointed his own son,

Conrad Conrad may refer to: People * Conrad (name) * Saint Conrad (disambiguation) Places United States * Conrad, Illinois, an unincorporated community * Conrad, Iowa, a city * Conrad, Montana, a city * Conrad Glacier, Washington Elsewher ...

. Godfrey of Bouillon succeeded eventually in 1087 and gained fame on 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 ...

References

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* * 1076 deaths House of Limburg Margraves of Antwerp Godfrey 2 Dukes of Lower Lorraine Regents of Tuscany 11th-century French nobility Year of birth unknown People murdered in the Holy Roman Empire Deaths by edged and bladed weapons Lords of Bouillon Matilda of Tuscany House of Ardenne–Verdun Jure uxoris officeholders {{europe-noble-stub

See also

References

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