Frederick I (c. 912 – 18 May 978) was the count of Bar and duke of Upper Lorraine. He was a son of Wigeric, count of Bidgau, also

count palatine A count palatine (Latin ''comes palatinus''), also count of the palace or palsgrave (from German ''Pfalzgraf''), was originally an official attached to a royal or imperial palace or household and later a nobleman of a rank above that of an or ...

of Lorraine, and Cunigunda, and thus a sixth-generation descendant of

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...

. In 954, he married Beatrice, daughter of

Hugh the Great Hugh the Great (16 June 956) was the duke of the Franks and count of Paris. He was the most powerful magnate in France. Son of King Robert I of France, Hugh was Margrave of Neustria. He played an active role in bringing King Louis IV of France ...

count of Paris Count of Paris () was a title for the local magnate of the district around Paris in Carolingian times. After Hugh Capet was elected King of the Franks in 987, the title merged into the crown and fell into disuse. However, it was later revived ...

, and

Hedwig of Saxony Hedwig of Saxony (; – after 958-959) was a member of the Ottonian dynasty and wife of the Robertian duke Hugh the Great. Upon her husband's death in 956, she ruled the Robertian estates as a regent during the minority of their son Hugh Cap ...

. He received in

dowry A dowry is a payment such as land, property, money, livestock, or a commercial asset that is paid by the bride's (woman's) family to the groom (man) or his family at the time of marriage. Dowry contrasts with the related concepts of bride price ...

the revenues of the abbey of Saint-Denis in Lorraine. To stop incursions from the duchy of Champagne, Frederick constructed a castle over the Ornain River in 960, and later occupied the confiscated lands of Saint-Mihiel. He exchanged fiefs with the bishop of Toul. Thus, he created his feudal domain, the

county of Bar A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

. So he became the founder of the House of Bar or the House of Ardennes–Bar, a cadet branch of the

House of Ardennes The House of Ardenne (or Ardennes, French ''Maison d'Ardenne'') was an important medieval noble family from Lotharingia, known from at least the tenth century. They had several important branches, descended from several brothers:Parisse, ‘Généa ...

. The

duchy of Lorraine The Duchy of Lorraine was a principality of the Holy Roman Empire which existed from the 10th century until 1766 when it was annexed by the kingdom of France. It gave its name to the larger present-day region of Lorraine in northeastern France ...

was at that time governed by the

archbishop of Cologne The Archbishop of Cologne governs the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cologne in western North Rhine-Westphalia. Historically, the archbishop was ''ex officio'' one of the prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire and ruled the Electorate of Cologne ...

Bruno Bruno may refer to: People and fictional characters * Bruno (name), including lists of people and fictional characters with either the given name or surname * Bruno, Duke of Saxony (died 880) * Bruno the Great (925–965), Archbishop of Cologn ...

, who was called the '' archduke'' on account of his dual title. In 959, Bruno, in concert with his brother, Emperor Otto I, divided the duchy, appointing as

margrave Margrave was originally the Middle Ages, medieval title for the military commander assigned to maintain the defence of one of the border provinces of the Holy Roman Empire or a monarchy, kingdom. That position became hereditary in certain Feudal ...

s: Godfrey in Lower Lorraine and Frederick in Upper Lorraine. After Bruno died in 977, Frederick and Godfrey styled themselves dukes. As duke, Frederick oversaw the reform of Saint-Dié and Moyenmoutier.

Family

Frederick and Beatrice had: * Henry (died between 972 and 978) * Adalbero II (958–1005), bishop of Verdun and

Metz Metz ( , , , then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle (river), Moselle and the Seille (Moselle), Seille rivers. Metz is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Moselle (department), Moselle Departments ...

Theodoric I, Duke of Upper Lorraine Theodoric I (c. 965 – between 11 April 1026 and 12 January 1027) was the count of Bar and duke of Upper Lorraine from 978 to his death. He was the son and successor of Frederick I, Duke of Upper Lorraine, Frederick I and Beatrice of Franc ...

(965–1026), count of Bar and duke of Upper Lorraine * Ida (970–1026), married, in 1010,

Radbot, Count of Habsburg Radbot, Count of Klettgau ( 9851045) was (Count) of the county of Klettgau on the High Rhine in Swabia. Radbot was one of the progenitors of the Habsburg dynasty, and he chose to name his fortress Habsburg. Radbot was probably the second s ...

(970–1027), who built the castle of Habichtsburg and is thus an ancestor of the great Habsburg family which dominated Europe in the sixteenth century.

References

Sources

* * * * * * House of Bar House of Ardennes Dukes of Upper Lorraine 910s births 978 deaths Year of birth uncertain {{Europe-noble-stub