Matthias II ( 1193 – 9 February 1251) was

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 ...

from 1220 to his death. He was the son of Duke Frederick II and Agnes of Bar and succeeded his brother, Theobald I. He immediately had to give away Nancy to his brother's widow, Gertrude of Dagsburg, who remarried to Theobald IV of Champagne, whose suzerainty Matthias had to recognise, due to the fruitless wars his brother had waged against an imperial coalition. Theobald had hoped to get his hands on the county 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 ...

, but failing that, he repudiated Gertrude. Gertrude had no children by a third marriage and Nancy reverted to the duchy on her death in 1225. Matthias accompanied Emperor Frederick II on the Sixth Crusade in 1228 and into

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

in 1235. By this, he reinitiated the close alliance with the Holy Roman Emperors which his forefathers had had for over a century from the appointment of Adalbert until the war between his brother and Frederick, which had ruptured that long friendship. Matthias faced several unruly barons, especially the Count of Lunéville, who had the discreet support of the

Count 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 ...

. He was victorious and reattached Lunéville to the duchy in an exchange. However, peace was not achieved. In 1230,

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 ...

was at it again, with Hugh II of Vaudémont and the

Bishop 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 ...

, ravaged his ducal territories and took a few castles. On Henry of Bar's death in 1240, Matthias tried to retake those lost castles from

Theobald II of Bar Theobald II (1221– October 1291) was a count of Bar. He was the son of Henry II of Bar and Philippa of Dreux. He became count of Bar when his father was killed during the Barons' Crusade in 1239, but news of Henry's death did not reach him ...

, the old count's young son, but he failed and a peace was signed in 1245 which lasted several decades. That same year, the emperor was excommunicated and Matthias distanced himself from the Imperial camp before joining the papal party of

Pope Innocent IV Pope Innocent IV ( la, Innocentius IV; – 7 December 1254), born Sinibaldo Fieschi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 25 June 1243 to his death in 1254. Fieschi was born in Genoa and studied at the universitie ...

in 1247. He died only a few years thence after having negotiated the profitable marriage of his son with the daughter of the

Count of Champagne The count of Champagne was the ruler of the County of Champagne from 950 to 1316. Champagne evolved from the County of Troyes in the late eleventh century and Hugh I was the first to officially use the title count of Champagne. Count Theobald ...

Family

In 1225, he married Catherine of Limburg (died 1255), daughter of Waleran III of Limburg,

Duke of Limburg The counts of Limburg ruled a medieval county with its capital at Limbourg-sur-Vesdre, lying between Liège and Aachen. They rose to prominence when one of them was appointed Duke of Lower Lorraine. Though Lorraine was later confiscated, the ...

and

Count of Luxembourg The territory of Luxembourg has been ruled successively by counts, dukes and grand dukes. It was part of the medieval Kingdom of Germany, and later the Holy Roman Empire until it became a sovereign state in 1815. Counts of Luxembourg House of Ard ...

, and Ermesinde of Luxembourg. They had the following issue: *

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 ...

(1240–1302), his successor in Lorraine *Laure, married in 1250 to Jean de Dampierre (died 1258), viscount of Troyes, and then to Guillaume de Vergy, lord of Mirebeau and Autrey *Isabella (died 1266), married Guillaume de Vienne (died 1255), then, in 1256, Jean de Chalon (1243–1309) *Catherine, married in 1255 to Richard de Montfaucon (died 1279), son of Thierry III, Count of

Montbéliard Montbéliard (; traditional ) is a town in the Doubs department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in eastern France, about from the border with Switzerland. It is one of the two subprefectures of the department. History Montbéliard is ...

*Adeline (died c. 1278), married Louis of Savoy (died 1302), baron of Vaud

Family

See also