Theobald I ( or ) (c. 1191 – 17 February 1220) was the

duke of 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 ...

from 1213 to his death. He was the son and successor of Frederick II and Agnes of Bar.

Battle of Bouvines

Theobald joined

Otto IV, Holy Roman Emperor Otto IV (1175 – 19 May 1218) was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1209 until his death in 1218. Otto spent most of his early life in England and France. He was a follower of his uncle Richard the Lionheart, who made him Count of Poitou in 1196 ...

, on 4 July 1214 at the

Battle of Bouvines The Battle of Bouvines was fought on 27 July 1214 near the town of Bouvines in the County of Flanders. It was the concluding battle of the Anglo-French War of 1213–1214. Although estimates on the number of troops vary considerably among mo ...

, where he was taken in prisoner in the rout. He was quickly liberated.

Vassals

As duke of Lorraine Theobald was a powerful lord almost under the Holy Roman Empire almost ruling independently. He had several important vassals but many of them strove for independence quite successfully. These vassals included the

Bishops of Metz This is a list of bishops of Metz; the Roman Catholic diocese of Metz now lies in eastern France. To 500 * Clement of Metz (c. 280–300) * Celestius * Felix I * Patient * Victor I 344–346 * Victor II * Simeon * Sambace * Rufus of Metz * Adelph ...

, the

Bishops 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 ...

, the

Bishops of Verdun The Diocese of Verdun ( la, Dioecesis Virodunensis; french: Diocèse de Verdun) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in France. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolita ...

, 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 ...

(though these counts were not de facto part of Lorraine at this point), the lord of

Commercy Commercy () is a commune in the Meuse department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. The 18th-century Lorraine historian Nicolas Luton Durival (1713–1795) was born in Commercy. History Commercy dates back to the 9th century, and at that time ...

, the

Count of Vaudémont The title Count of Vaudémont was granted to Gérard 1st of Vaudémont in 1070, after he supported the succession of his brother, Theodoric II, Duke of Lorraine to the Duchy of Lorraine. Counts of Vaudémont served as vassals of the Dukes of Lorr ...

, and the

Counts of Chiny The counts of Chiny were part of the nobility of Lotharingia that ruled from the 9th to the 14th century in what is now part of Belgium. It has been proposed that the County of Chiny was created in the early 10th century out of the ancient county o ...

(also lords of

Montmédy Montmédy (, german: Mittelberg) is a commune in the Meuse department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. Citadel of Montmédy In 1221 the first castle of Montmédy was built on top of a hill by the Count of Chiny. Montmédy soon became the ...

). However the dukes suzerainty over these lordships was probably not much more than nominal.

Other affairs

He was suggested by the abbot Gervase to be one of the leaders for the 5th crusade but he was probably already embroiled in the Champagne war of succession and had to decline.

Champagne war of Succession

In 1216, in the

Champagne War of Succession The War of the Succession of Champagne was a war from 1216 to 1222 between the nobles of the Champagne region of France, occurring within that region and also spilling over into neighboring duchies. The war lasted two years and ''de facto'' ended ...

, he supported

Erard I, Count of Brienne Erard I, Count of Brienne (1060–1114) was Count of Brienne at the end of the 11th century. He was the son of Gautier I of Brienne, count of Brienne, and his wife Eustachie of Tonnerre. In 1097 he fought in the First Crusade. In 1110 he married ...

, in his quarrel with Theobald IV, Count of Champagne, who was supported by

Philip II of France Philip II (21 August 1165 – 14 July 1223), byname Philip Augustus (french: Philippe Auguste), was King of France from 1180 to 1223. His predecessors had been known as kings of the Franks, but from 1190 onward, Philip became the first French ...

Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II (German language, German: ''Friedrich''; Italian language, Italian: ''Federico''; Latin: ''Federicus''; 26 December 1194 – 13 December 1250) was King of Sicily from 1198, King of Germany from 1212, King of Italy and Holy Roman Em ...

, and

Henry II of Bar Henry II of Bar in French ''Henri II de Bar'', in German ''Heinrich II von Bar'' (1190–13 November 1239) was a Count of Bar who reigned from 1214 to 1239. He was son of Count Theobald I of Bar and his first wife, Ermesinde of Bar-sur-Seine. Hen ...

. Frederick, the

suzerain Suzerainty () is the rights and obligations of a person, state or other polity who controls the foreign policy and relations of a tributary state, while allowing the tributary state to have internal autonomy. While the subordinate party is calle ...

of Lorraine, considered it a

felony A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "félonie") to describe an offense that resu ...

to support a candidate he opposed and occupied the city of

Rosheim Rosheim (; gsw-FR, Rose) is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. It lies southwest of Strasbourg, on the eastern slopes of the Vosges mountains. It is a winemaking town on the tourist "Road of the Wines o ...

, which he had given to Frederick II of Lorraine. Theobald responded in 1218, retaking Rosheim and ravaging

Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...

. Frederick did not hesitate to counterattack and invaded Lorraine and took and burned Nancy, its capital. He then besieged and took the castle of Amance, where Theobald was taking refuge. He was imprisoned and constrained to recognize the suzerainty of the count of Champagne, the legitimacy of Erard of Brienne's claim to Champagne, and relinquish several lordships to attain liberty again. He never recovered his lost land and prestige and died in 1220.

Kinslayer

Between 3rd-10th of April 1217 (during the Champagne war of Succession) he searched for his problematic paternal uncle the bishop of Toul Matthew de Lorraine found him on the path Void Parupt in

Saint-Michel-sur-Meurthe Saint-Michel-sur-Meurthe (, literally ''Saint-Michel on Meurthe'') is a commune in the Vosges department in Grand Est in northeastern France. Population See also *Communes of the Vosges department The following is a list of the 507 communes ...

, and killed him with a spear (implying a fight rather than a murder). The weapon he used to kill the unruly bishop was apparently borrowed from

Simon of Joinville }; la, Symon de Jovisvillæ) was a French knight, who became the Lord of Joinville from 1204 until his death in 1233. He was also the hereditary seneschal of the County of Champagne. Biography Simon was the fourth son of Geoffrey IV of Joinvil ...

who was an ally during the Champagne war of Succession and probably also a friend.

Lands and possible Hospitallier Association

As duke of Lorraine his chief seat was at the city of Nancy. In 1212 through his wife Gertrude he inherited the

County of Dagsburg The County of Dagsburg with its capital Dagsburg (now Dabo in France) existed in Lorraine from 11th to 18th centuries when the area was still part of Holy Roman Empire. The ancestral castle in Dabo, the Dagsburg Castle in Lorraine, was acquire ...

and therefore its capital the chateau de

Dabo is a Japanese hip-hop rapper. He first appeared on the Japanese hip-hop scene in the 1990s, collaborating in a Shakkazombie song, ''"Tomo ni ikkou"''. Since 2002, he has released three albums: ''Hitman'' (2002), ''Diamond'' (2003), and ''The For ...

and also

Dorlisheim Dorlisheim (; gsw-FR, Dorelse) is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. Economy The headquarters of Bugatti Automobiles is located at the Château Saint-Jean just outside Dorlisheim. File:Dorlisheim, Chât ...

. Considering his ancestors association with the Knights Hospitallier it seems likely that the Hospital was founded by him. Through a grant by the Emperor he also had

but when he interfered in the

War of the Succession of Champagne The War of the Succession of Champagne was a war from 1216 to 1222 between the nobles of the Champagne region of France, occurring within that region and also spilling over into neighboring duchies. The war lasted two years and ''de facto'' ended ...

it was taken away from him. He also held the castles of Amance,

Lunéville Lunéville ( ; German, obsolete: ''Lünstadt'' ) is a commune in the northeastern French department of Meurthe-et-Moselle. It is a subprefecture of the department and lies on the river Meurthe at its confluence with the Vezouze. History Lun ...

, Château des Ducs de Lorraine, and many more.

Character/Personality

In accounts the dukes of Lorraine are always referred to as extremely handsome and talented and based on Theobald's military adventures it is not unlikely that he was brave. Despite this he seems to have been either stubborn or loyal after refusing to back down when his liege joined the opposing side of the Champagne War of Succession. Opposing his Liege cost him dearly and his violent reactions against his liege show that he was too proud to seek to smooth things over. The killing of his uncle Matthew bishop of Toul does not reflect well on his personality especially when such actions were considered particularly egregious in the middle ages.

Marriage and Succession

He had married, in 1206, Gertrude, only child and heir of Albert II,

count of Dagsburg The County of Dagsburg with its capital Dagsburg (now Dabo in France) existed in Lorraine from 11th to 18th centuries when the area was still part of Holy Roman Empire. The ancestral castle in Dabo, the Dagsburg Castle in Lorraine, was acquire ...

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 ...

. They had no children, and she was just 16 years old when her husband died. His successor was

Matthias Matthias is a name derived from the Greek Ματθαίος, in origin similar to Matthew. People Notable people named Matthias include the following: In religion: * Saint Matthias, chosen as an apostle in Acts 1:21–26 to replace Judas Iscariot * ...

his brother; his widow remarried his old rival, Theobald of Champagne.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Theobald I, Duke Of Lorraine Dukes of Lorraine Lorraine, Theobald I, Duke of Lorraine, Theobald I, Duke of