John I (February 1346 – 23 September 1390) was the

Duke of 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 ...

from 1346 to his death. As an infant of six months, he succeeded his father, Rudolph, who was killed in the

Battle of Crécy The Battle of Crécy took place on 26 August 1346 in northern France between a French army commanded by King PhilipVI and an English army led by King Edward III. The French attacked the English while they were traversing northern France ...

. His mother was Marie of Blois.

Life

During John's long minority, the

regency In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

was in the hands of his mother and Eberhard III of

Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Province of Hohenzollern, Hohenzollern, two other histo ...

. In December 1353, he did homage for the duchy to

Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV (; ; ; 14 May 1316 – 29 November 1378''Karl IV''. In: (1960): ''Geschichte in Gestalten'' (''History in figures''), vol. 2: ''F–K''. 38, Frankfurt 1963, p. 294), also known as Charles of Luxembourg, born Wenceslaus (, ), was H ...

, who made him

lieutenant-general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was normall ...

of the Empire in the

Moselle The Moselle ( , ; ; ) is a river that rises in the Vosges mountains and flows through north-eastern France and Luxembourg to western Germany. It is a bank (geography), left bank tributary of the Rhine, which it joins at Koblenz. A sm ...

country. In 1354,

John II of France John II (; 26 April 1319 – 8 April 1364), called John the Good (French: ''Jean le Bon''), was King of France from 1350 until his death in 1364. When he came to power, France faced several disasters: the Black Death, which killed between a thir ...

granted John a dispensation which allowed him to govern the duchy despite not yet being of age. John participated in the

Lithuanian Crusade The Lithuanian Crusade was a series of campaigns by the Teutonic Order and the Livonian Order under the pretext of forcibly Christianizing the pagan Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The Livonian Order occupied Riga in 1202 and in the 1230s they settled ...

at the sides of the

Teutonic Knights The Teutonic Order is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem was formed to aid Christians on their pilgrimages to t ...

against

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

in 1356 and again in 1365. On 19 September 1356, John fought in the

Battle of Poitiers The Battle of Poitiers was fought on 19September 1356 between a Kingdom of France, French army commanded by King John II of France, King JohnII and an Kingdom of England, Anglo-Gascony, Gascon force under Edward the Black Prince, Edward, the ...

, where thousands of French soldiers were mowed down by English

longbowmen A longbow is a type of tall bow that makes a fairly long draw possible. Longbows for hunting and warfare have been made from many different woods in many cultures; in Europe they date from the Paleolithic era and, since the Bronze Age, were mad ...

. He survived, however, unlike his father, to fight again, although he was taken prisoner by the English. John later fought on the side of the Dauphin

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...

in putting down the Parisian rebellion of

Étienne Marcel Étienne Marcel (between 1302 and 131031 July 1358) was provost of the merchants of Paris under King John II of France, called John the Good (Jean le Bon). He distinguished himself in the defence of the small craftsmen and guildsmen who made u ...

. He attended Charles' coronation on 19 May 1364 in

Rheims Reims ( ; ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne. Founded by ...

, strengthening the ties to France which had steadily been building in Lorraine for the past century. John entered the

War of the Breton Succession The War of the Breton Succession (, ) or Breton Civil War was a conflict between the Counts of Blois and the Montfort of Brittany, Montforts of Brittany for control of the Duchy of Brittany, then a fief of the Kingdom of France. It was fou ...

to aid his uncle Charles of Blois against

John of Montfort John of Montfort (, ) (1295 – 26 September 1345),Etienne de Jouy. Œuvres complètes d'Etienne Jouy'. J. Didot Ainé. p. 373. sometimes known as John IV, was Duke of Brittany and Earl of Richmond from 1341 to 1345 in dispute with his niece Jo ...

. At the

Battle of Auray The Battle of Auray took place on 29 September 1364 at the Breton-French town of Auray. This battle was the decisive confrontation of the Breton War of Succession, a part of the Hundred Years' War. In the battle, which began as a siege, a Bre ...

on 29 September 1364 with Montfort as undisputed duke and Charles dead on the field, he was taken prisoner. John continued to aid Charles V and Charles VI to reconquer the provinces lost by the

Treaty of Brétigny A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between sovereign states and/or international organizations that is governed by international law. A treaty may also be known as an international agreement, protocol, covenant, conventio ...

, but in his latter years, he distanced himself from the French court. This was due, in part, to the

free companies A free company (sometimes called a great company or, in French, ''grande compagnie'') was an army of mercenaries between the 12th and 14th centuries recruited by private employers during wars. They acted independently of any government, and were ...

ravaging his lands and the royal officials who tried to litigate the relationship between John (an Imperial vassal) and his vassals. In the end, he entered into ''rapprochement'' with

Philip II, Duke of Burgundy Philip II the Bold (; ; 17 January 1342 – 27 April 1404) was Duke of Burgundy and ''jure uxoris'' Count of Flanders, Artois and Burgundy. He was the fourth and youngest son of King John II of France and Bonne of Luxembourg. Philip was the f ...

. Nonetheless, John died in Paris on 22 September 1390, defending himself against a charge of abuse of power by the people of Neufchâteau.

Family

John married Sophie of Württemberg (1343–1369), daughter of

Eberhard II, Count of Württemberg Eberhard II (131515 March 1392), nicknamed the Quarrelsome (), was Count of Württemberg from 1344 until his death in 1392. He ruled Württemberg alongside his brother, Ulrich IV, before forcing him out of power in 1362. Life Eberhard was born ...

and Elizabeth von Henneberg-Schleusingen, in 1361.They had issue: * Charles II, Duke of Lorraine (1365–1431) * Frederick of Lorraine, Count of Vaudémont (1369–1415) *Isabelle of Lorraine (d.1423), married

Enguerrand VII, Lord of Coucy Enguerrand VII de Coucy, (1340 – 18 February 1397), also known as Ingelram de Coucy and Ingelram de Couci, was a medieval French nobleman and the last Lord of Coucy. He became a son-in-law of King Edward III of England following his marri ...

. John later married Marguerite de Chini (d. 1372), who is interred at

Orval Abbey Orval Abbey (Abbaye Notre-Dame d'Orval) is a Cistercian monastery founded in 1132 in the Gaume region of Belgium, located in Villers-devant-Orval, part of Florenville, Wallonia in the province of Luxembourg. The abbey is well known for its hist ...

References

Sources

* *

Life

Family

References

Sources

See also