The rulers of Lorraine have held different posts under different governments over different regions, since its creation as the kingdom of

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 ...

by the

Treaty of Prüm The Treaty of Prüm, concluded on 19 September 855, was the second of the Partition (politics), partition treaties of the Carolingian Empire. As Emperor Lothair I was approaching death, he divided his realm of Middle Francia among his three sons. ...

, in 855. The first rulers of the newly established region were

kings of the Franks The Franks, Germanic-speaking peoples that invaded the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century, were first led by individuals called dukes and reguli. The earliest group of Franks that rose to prominence was the Salian Merovingians, who co ...

. The Latin construction "Lotharingia" evolved over time into "Lorraine" in French, "Lotharingen" in Dutch and "Lothringen" in German. After the

Carolingian The Carolingian dynasty (; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charlemagne, grandson of mayor Charles Martel and a descendant of the Arnulfing and Pippin ...

kingdom was absorbed into its neighbouring realms in the late ninth century, dukes were appointed over the territory. In the mid-tenth century, the duchy was divided into

Lower Lorraine The Duchy of Lower Lotharingia, also called Northern Lotharingia, Lower Lorraine or Northern Lorraine (and also referred to as ''Lothier'' or ''Lottier''

and

Upper 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 th ...

, the first evolving into the historical

Low Countries The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...

, the second became known as 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 ...

and existed well into the modern era.

Kings of Lotharingia

Lothair II Lothair II (835 – 8 August 869) was the king of Lotharingia from 855 until his death. He was the second son of Emperor Lothair I and Ermengarde of Tours. He was married to Teutberga (died 875), daughter of Boso the Elder. Reign For political ...

(855–869) Charles the Bald claimed Lotharingia on Lothair's death and was crowned king in

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 ...

, but his brother

Louis the German Louis the German (c. 806/810 – 28 August 876), also known as Louis II of Germany and Louis II of East Francia, was the first king of East Francia, and ruled from 843 to 876 AD. Grandson of emperor Charlemagne and the third son of Louis the P ...

opposed his claim and in 870 the

Treaty of Mersen The Treaty of Mersen or Meerssen, concluded on 8 August 870, was a treaty to partition the realm of Lothair II, known as Lotharingia, by his uncles Louis the German of East Francia and Charles the Bald of West Francia, the two surviving sons of E ...

divided Lotharingia between the two brothers and subsequently their sons. In 880, the

Treaty of Ribemont , Participants = Louis the Younger, Louis III of France, Carloman II , Location = Ribemont , Date = 880 , Result = All of Lotharingia given to East Francia The Treaty of Ribemont in 880 was the last treaty on th ...

gave the whole of Lotharingia to

Louis the Younger Louis the Younger (830/835 – 20 January 882), sometimes Louis the Saxon or Louis III, was the second eldest of the three sons of Louis the German and Hemma, Emma. He succeeded his father as the King of Saxony on 28 August 876 and his elder broth ...

, son of Louis the German. *

Charles the Bald Charles the Bald (french: Charles le Chauve; 13 June 823 – 6 October 877), also known as Charles II, was a 9th-century king of West Francia (843–877), king of Italy (875–877) and emperor of the Carolingian Empire (875–877). After a ser ...

(869–870), also king of West Francia and Italy, and Carolingian emperor *

(880–882), also king of Saxony and Bavaria *

Charles the Fat Charles III (839 – 13 January 888), also known as Charles the Fat, was the emperor of the Carolingian Empire from 881 to 888. A member of the Carolingian dynasty, Charles was the youngest son of Louis the German and Hemma, and a great-grandso ...

(882–887), also king of West Francia, East Francia, Alemannia, Aquitaine and Italy, and Carolingian emperor *

Arnulf of Carinthia Arnulf of Carinthia ( 850 – 8 December 899) was the duke of Carinthia who overthrew his uncle Emperor Charles the Fat to become the Carolingian king of East Francia from 887, the disputed king of Italy from 894 and the disputed emperor from Feb ...

(887–895), also king of East Francia and Italy, and Carolingian emperor *

Zwentibold Zwentibold (''Zventibold'', ''Zwentibald'', ''Swentiboldo'', ''Sventibaldo'', ''Sanderbald''; – 13 August 900), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was the illegitimate son of Emperor Arnulf.Collins 1999, p. 360 In 895, his father granted hi ...

(895–900) *

Louis the Child Louis the Child (893 – 20/24 September 911), sometimes called Louis III or Louis IV, was the king of East Francia from 899 until his death and was also recognized as king of Lotharingia after 900. He was the last East Frankish ruler of the Car ...

(900–911), also king of East Francia *

Charles the Simple Charles III (17 September 879 – 7 October 929), called the Simple or the Straightforward (from the Latin ''Carolus Simplex''), was the king of West Francia from 898 until 922 and the king of Lotharingia from 911 until 919–923. He was a memb ...

(911–923), also king of West Francia In 925, Lotharingia was subsumed into

East Francia East Francia (Medieval Latin: ) or the Kingdom of the East Franks () was a successor state of Charlemagne's Carolingian Empire, empire ruled by the Carolingian dynasty until 911. It was created through the Treaty of Verdun (843) which divided t ...

Dukes of Lorraine

* Gebhard (903–910) *

Reginar Reginar may refer to: * Reginar, Duke of Lorraine (c. 850–915) * Reginar II, Count of Hainaut (c. 890–932) * Reginar III, Count of Hainaut (c. 920–973) * Reginar IV, Count of Mons (c. 950–1013) * Reginar V, Count of Mons (c. 995–1039) * H ...

(910–915) *

Gilbert Gilbert may refer to: People and fictional characters * Gilbert (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters *Gilbert (surname), including a list of people Places Australia * Gilbert River (Queensland) * Gilbert River (South ...

(915–939) *

Henry Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) * Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

(939–940) *

Otto Otto is a masculine German given name and a surname. It originates as an Old High German short form (variants ''Audo'', ''Odo'', ''Udo'') of Germanic names beginning in ''aud-'', an element meaning "wealth, prosperity". The name is recorded fro ...

(942–944) * Conrad (944–953) * Bruno, Archbishop of Cologne (953–965) In 959, Lorraine was divided into two districts, Lower and Upper Lorraine, each governed by a

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 ...

, under Bruno. Upon Bruno's death in 965, both margraves were recognised as dukes of

Lower Lower may refer to: *Lower (surname) *Lower Township, New Jersey *Lower Receiver (firearms) *Lower Wick Lower Wick is a small hamlet located in the county of Gloucestershire, England. It is situated about five miles south west of Dursley, eight ...

and

, respectively. The two duchies remained separate, following separate pathways, except for the brief period between 1033 and 1044.

Dukes of Lower Lorraine

:''Note that the numbering of the dukes varies between sources.''

Matfriding dynasty

* Godfrey I (959–964)

Carolingian dynasty

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 ''*k ...

(976–991) *

(991–1012)

House of Ardennes–Verdun

* Godfrey II (1012–1023) (also known as Godfrey I) * Gothelo I (1023–1044) (also duke of Upper Lorraine) * Gothelo II (1044–1046)

House of Luxembourg

Frederick Frederick may refer to: People * Frederick (given name), the name Nobility Anhalt-Harzgerode *Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670) Austria * Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria from 1195 to 1198 * Frederick ...

(1046–1065)

House of Ardennes–Verdun

* Godfrey III ''the Bearded'' (1065–1069) (also known as Godfrey II, previously duke of Upper Lorraine) * Godfrey IV (1069–1076) (also known as Godfrey III)

Salian dynasty

* Conrad (1076–1087)

House of Boulogne (Ardennes–Bouillon)

* Godfrey V "of Bouillon" (1087–1100) (also known as Godfrey IV), one of the leaders of 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 medieval period. The objective was the recovery of the Holy Land from Islamic ru ...

and the first ruler of the

Kingdom of Jerusalem The Kingdom of Jerusalem ( la, Regnum Hierosolymitanum; fro, Roiaume de Jherusalem), officially known as the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem or the Frankish Kingdom of Palestine,Example (title of works): was a Crusader state that was establishe ...

House of Limburg

Henry I Henry I may refer to: 876–1366 * Henry I the Fowler, King of Germany (876–936) * Henry I, Duke of Bavaria (died 955) * Henry I of Austria, Margrave of Austria (died 1018) * Henry I of France (1008–1060) * Henry I the Long, Margrave of the ...

(1101–1106)

House of Leuven

Godfrey I of Leuven Godfrey I ( nl, Godfried, 1060 – 25 January 1139), called the Bearded, the Courageous, or the Great, was the Landgrave of Brabant, Count of Brussels and Leuven (Louvain) from 1095 to his death and Duke of Lower Lorraine from 1106 to 1129. He ...

(1106–1129) (also known as Godfrey V)

House of Limburg

* Waleran (1129–1139)

House of Leuven

Godfrey II of Leuven Godfrey II ( nl, Godfried; c. 1110 – 13 June 1142) was the count of Louvain, landgrave of Brabant by inheritance from 23 January 1139. He was the son of Godfrey I and Ida of Chiny. He was also the duke of Lower Lorraine (as Godfrey VII), and as ...

(1139–1142) (also known as Godfrey VI) *

Godfrey III of Leuven Godfrey III ( nl, Godfried; c. 1142 – 21 August 1190) was count of Louvain (or Leuven), landgrave of Brabant, margrave of Antwerp, and duke of Lower Lorraine (as Godfrey VIII) from 1142 to his death. Origins He was the son of Godfrey II and ...

(1142–1190) (also known as Godfrey VII) :''Passes to the

Duke of Brabant The Duke of Brabant (, ) was the ruler of the Duchy of Brabant since 1183/1184. The title was created by the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa in favor of Henry I of the House of Reginar, son of Godfrey III of Leuven (who was duke of Low ...

, who until 1795 kept the title "

Duke of Lothier Lothier refers to the territory within the Duchy of Lower Lotharingia, governed by the dukes of Brabant and their successors after 1190 until the end of the Ancien Régime in 1796. In 1190, at the Diet of Hall in the abbey of Comburg, the German ...

".''

Dukes of Upper Lorraine

House of Ardenne–Bar

Frederick I Frederick I may refer to: * Frederick of Utrecht or Frederick I (815/16–834/38), Bishop of Utrecht. * Frederick I, Duke of Upper Lorraine (942–978) * Frederick I, Duke of Swabia (1050–1105) * Frederick I, Count of Zoller ...

(959–978) *

Theodoric I Theodoric I ( got, Þiudarīks; la, Theodericus; 390 or 393 – 20 or 24 June 451) was the King of the Visigoths from 418 to 451. Theodoric is famous for his part in stopping Attila (the Hun) at the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains in 451, where ...

(978–1026/1027) * Frederick II (1026/1027) * Frederick III (1026/1027–1033)

House of Ardenne–Verdun

* Gothelo (r. 1033–1044) (also duke of Lower Lorraine). * Godfrey, ''the Bearded'' (r. 1044–1046) (later duke of Lower Lorraine)

House of Metz (Ardenne–Metz)

House of Anjou

House of Lorraine

''Junior branch of the previous rulers of Ardennes–Metz, known as the House of Lorraine''

House of Leszczyński

The

House of Habsburg-Lorraine The House of Habsburg-Lorraine (german: Haus Habsburg-Lothringen) originated from the marriage in 1736 of Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor, Francis III, Duke of Lorraine and Bar, and Maria Theresa, Maria Theresa of Austria, later successively List ...

continued carrying the title as titular Dukes of Lorraine.

External links

Titles of the dukes of Lorraine from contemporary documents with bibliography

Kings of Lotharingia

Dukes of Lorraine

Dukes of Lower Lorraine

Matfriding dynasty

Carolingian dynasty

House of Ardennes–Verdun

House of Luxembourg

House of Ardennes–Verdun

Salian dynasty

House of Boulogne (Ardennes–Bouillon)

House of Limburg

House of Leuven

House of Limburg

House of Leuven

Dukes of Upper Lorraine

House of Ardenne–Bar

House of Ardenne–Verdun

House of Metz (Ardenne–Metz)

House of Anjou

House of Lorraine

House of Leszczyński

See also

External links

Further reading