Rudolph (1320 – 26 August 1346), called the Valiant (''le Vaillant''), 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 1328 to his death. He was the son and successor of

Frederick IV, Duke of Lorraine Frederick IV (french: Ferry) (15 April 1282 – 23 August 1328), called the Fighter, was the Duke of Lorraine from 1312 to his death. Biography Frederick was born in Gondreville, the son and successor of Theobald II and Isabella of Rumign ...

and Elisabeth of Austria, the daughter of

Albert I of Germany Albert I of Habsburg (german: Albrecht I.) (July 12551 May 1308) was a Duke of Austria and Styria from 1282 and King of Germany from 1298 until his assassination. He was the eldest son of King Rudolf I of Germany and his first wife Gertrude o ...

. Though he was but nine years of age when his father died and he succeeded to the duchy under the

regency A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

of his mother (until 1334), he was a warrior prince, taking part in four separate wars in

Lorraine Lorraine , also , , ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; german: Lothringen ; lb, Loutrengen; nl, Lotharingen is a cultural and historical region in Northeastern France, now located in the administrative region of Gr ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...

, and

Iberia The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...

. He was killed at 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 EdwardIII. The French attacked the English while they were traversing northern France du ...

Life

In 1337, Count

Henry IV of Bar Henry IV of Bar (abt 1315–1344) was count of Bar from 1336 to 1344. His aunt, Joan of Bar, Countess of Surrey, governed Bar in his name during his minority. He was the son of Edward I of Bar and his wife Marie of Burgundy. He married Yolande of ...

refused to do homage for a few seignories he held of the duke. Rudolph was forced to devastate

Pont-à-Mousson Pont-à-Mousson () is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France. Its inhabitants are known as ''Mussipontains'' in French. It is an industrial town (mainly steel industry), situated on the river Moselle. Pont-à-Mouss ...

and its environs. In a series of reprisals, Henry ravaged the west of Lorraine and Rudolph attacked the

Barrois Barrois () is a (a French territorial division roughly equivalent to a county) in eastern France. In the Middle Ages it was part of the Duchy of Bar, then bordering the Duchy of Lorraine The Duchy of Lorraine (french: Lorraine ; german: Lot ...

. Only by the intervention of King

Philip VI of France Philip VI (french: Philippe; 1293 – 22 August 1350), called the Fortunate (french: le Fortuné, link=no) or the Catholic (french: le Catholique, link=no) and of Valois, was the first king of France from the House of Valois, reigning from 1328 ...

was the war ended. By that time, the ties of Lorraine to France had become very strong. They were to become stronger under the half-Habsburg Rudolph for his second marriage was to the daughter of a French lord, Guy I of Châtillon, Count of Blois and

Margaret of Valois Margaret of Valois (french: Marguerite, 14 May 1553 – 27 March 1615), popularly known as La Reine Margot, was a French princess of the Valois dynasty who became Queen of Navarre by marriage to Henry III of Navarre and then also Queen of France a ...

(a sister of the king of France), thus making his wife the niece of the king. He also assisted King Philip VI with troops to lift King

Edward III of England Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring ro ...

Siege of Tournai (1340) The siege of Tournai (23 July - 25 September 1340) occurred during the Edwardian phase of the Hundred Years' War. The Siege began when a coalition of England, Flanders, Hainaut, Brabant and the Holy Roman Empire under the command of King Edwa ...

in the opening phase of the

Hundred Years' War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a series of armed conflicts between the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of France, France during the Late Middle Ages. It originated from disputed claims to the French Crown, ...

. During a brief Anglo-French peace, he journeyed to the Iberian Peninsula to aid King

Alfonso XI of Castile Alfonso XI (13 August 131126 March 1350), called the Avenger (''el Justiciero''), was King of Castile and León. He was the son of Ferdinand IV of Castile and his wife Constance of Portugal. Upon his father's death in 1312, several disputes en ...

in the

Reconquista The ' (Spanish, Portuguese and Galician for "reconquest") is a historiographical construction describing the 781-year period in the history of the Iberian Peninsula between the Umayyad conquest of Hispania in 711 and the fall of the Nasrid ...

. He battled the

Moors The term Moor, derived from the ancient Mauri, is an exonym first used by Christian Europeans to designate the Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a distinct or ...

Granada Granada (,, DIN 31635, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the fo ...

and shone in the Battle of Gibraltar on 3 November 1340. On his return to France, he came to the aid of his French brother-in-law,

Charles, Duke of Brittany Charles of Blois-Châtillon (131929 September 1364), nicknamed "the Saint", was the legalist Duke of Brittany from 1341 until his death, via his marriage to Joan, Duchess of Brittany and Countess of Penthièvre, holding the title against the cl ...

, in the

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

. He returned to King Philip's side at the

and was killed there, along with many illustrious French cavaliers on 26 August 1346.

Family

His first wife was Eleanor (''Aliénor''), daughter of

Edward I, Count of Bar Edward I (died November 1336), was the Count of Bar from 1302 to his death. He was a minor when he succeeded his father Henry III as count, so ruled initially under the regency of his uncles, John of Puisaye, Theobald, Bishop of Liège, and R ...

and Mary of Burgundy. Their marriage took place at Pont-à-Mousson in 1329, but they had no children before Eleanor's death in 1332. He then remarried to Marie of Blois (1323–1380), the daughter of the aforementioned Guy of Blois and Margaret of Valois, sister of King Philip VI. They had three children: *twins (died before 31 July 1343) *

John I, Duke of Lorraine John I (February 1346 – 23 September 1390) was the Duke of Lorraine from 1346 to his death. As an infant of six months, he succeeded his father, Rudolph, who was killed in the Battle of Crécy. His mother was Marie of Blois. Life During J ...

(1346–1390), his successor

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rudolph, Duke of Lorraine Dukes of Lorraine People of the Hundred Years' War French military personnel killed in action People of the Reconquista Medieval child rulers 1320 births 1346 deaths Male Shakespearean characters

Life

Family

See also

References

Sources