Leopold, Duke Of Lorraine
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Leopold the Good (11 September 1679 – 27 March 1729) was Duke of Lorraine and Bar from 1690 to his death. Through his son Francis Stephen, he is the direct male ancestor of all rulers of the Habsburg-Lorraine dynasty, including all Emperors of Austria.


Early life

Leopold Joseph Charles Dominique Agapet Hyacinthe was the son of Charles V, Duke of Lorraine, and his wife Eleonora Maria Josefa of Austria, a half-sister of
Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I (Leopold Ignaz Joseph Balthasar Franz Felician; ; 9 June 1640 – 5 May 1705) was Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary, List of Croatian monarchs, Croatia, and List of Bohemian monarchs, Bohemia. The second son of Ferdinand III, Holy Rom ...
. At the time of Leopold's birth, Lorraine and Bar had been occupied by
Louis XIV of France LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...
, forcing his parents to move into exile to Austria, where they lived under the protection of the Emperor. Therefore, Leopold was born in the palace of
Innsbruck Innsbruck (; ) is the capital of Tyrol (federal state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the Wipptal, Wipp Valley, which provides access to the ...
and received his first name in honour of the Emperor. Leopold grew up in Innsbruck, while his father would be engaged in defending Vienna against the Turks. In 1690, his father died and eleven-year-old Leopold inherited the still occupied Duchies. His mother, trying to fulfil her husband's last wishes of returning her children to their patrimony, appealed to the Reichstag in Regensburg to restore her son to Lorraine. Leopold was sent to
Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
to receive a military education under the supervision of the Emperor. In Vienna, he grew up with his cousins, the Archdukes
Joseph Joseph is a common male name, derived from the Hebrew (). "Joseph" is used, along with " Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the modern-day Nordic count ...
and
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 ''* ...
, both future Emperors. Leopold was also created a Knight of the
Order of the Golden Fleece The Distinguished Order of the Golden Fleece (, ) is a Catholic order of chivalry founded in 1430 in Brugge by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, to celebrate his marriage to Isabella of Portugal, Duchess of Burgundy, Isabella of Portugal. T ...
that year. Like his father before him, he entered the Imperial Army and, aged eighteen, took part in the Siege of
Timișoara Timișoara (, , ; , also or ; ; ; see #Etymology, other names) is the capital city of Timiș County, Banat, and the main economic, social and cultural center in Western Romania. Located on the Bega (Tisza), Bega River, Timișoara is consider ...
in 1694. Three years later, he received the command of the Army of the
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.


Duke of Lorraine

On 30 October 1697, the
Nine Years' War The Nine Years' War was a European great power conflict from 1688 to 1697 between Kingdom of France, France and the Grand Alliance (League of Augsburg), Grand Alliance. Although largely concentrated in Europe, fighting spread to colonial poss ...
(aka, War of the League of Augsburg) ended with the signing of the Treaty of Ryswick. The treaty restored the duchies of Lorraine and Bar to the
House of Lorraine The House of Lorraine () originated as a cadet branch of the House of Metz. It inherited the Duchy of Lorraine in 1473 after the death without a male heir of Nicholas I, Duke of Lorraine. By the marriage of Francis of Lorraine to Maria Ther ...
, as Leopold's mother had hoped; she died four days later in Vienna. On 17 August 1698, Duke Leopold made a triumphant entry into his capital Nancy. He reconstructed and repopulated his war-stricken duchy, encouraging immigration. At the end of his reign the duchy was safe and prosperous. In his foreign policy, Leopold tried to further good relations with France and to appease his powerful neighbor. On 13 October 1698 at the
Palace of Fontainebleau Palace of Fontainebleau ( , ; ), located southeast of the center of Paris, in the commune of Fontainebleau, is one of the largest French royal châteaux. It served as a hunting lodge and summer residence for many of the List of French monarchs ...
, Leopold married Élisabeth Charlotte d'Orléans, the niece of Louis XIV, who had offered a dowry of 900,000 livres to the penniless Duke. Élisabeth Charlotte turned out to be a caring mother and gave birth to fourteen children, of whom only four survived into mature adulthood. Three of them died within a week in May 1711 due to a smallpox outbreak at the Château de Lunéville, the country seat of the dukes of Lorraine. Despite Leopold's diplomatic attempts, his capital, Nancy, was occupied by foreign troops during the
War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict fought between 1701 and 1714. The immediate cause was the death of the childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700, which led to a struggle for control of the Spanish E ...
(1700–1713). Fearing for his family, Leopold relocated the court to the Château de Lunéville, where Leopold rebuilt the castle as the "Versailles of Lorraine". It was here that his first child Leopold was born in 1700. In 1703, the Duke introduced the ''Code Léopold'' regulating the government of the Duchy. A number of crimes were punishable with death by burning, such as witchcraft, coin forgery, arson, and sexual acts "contrary to nature". Also, those guilty of aggravated theft of sacred objects from a church could be condemned to be burnt alive. He tried to install his eldest daughter, Élisabeth Charlotte Gabrièle of Lorraine, as Abbess of Remiremont but failed due to the opposition of
Pope Clement XI Pope Clement XI (; ; ; 23 July 1649 – 19 March 1721), born Giovanni Francesco Albani, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 23 November 1700 to his death in March 1721. Clement XI was a patron of the arts an ...
. Leopold's marital life was troubled in 1708, when he took Anne-Marguerite de Lignéville, Princess of Beauvau-Craon as his mistress. Élisabeth Charlotte however, following her mother's advice, remained silent and continued to give her husband children. In 1708, Leopold had claimed the Duchy of
Montferrat Montferrat ( , ; ; , ; ) is a historical region of Piedmont, in northern Italy. It comprises roughly (and its extent has varied over time) the modern provinces of Province of Alessandria, Alessandria and Province of Asti, Asti. Montferrat ...
as the closest relative of his cousin, Charles III Gonzaga, erstwhile
Duke of Mantua During its Timeline of Mantua, history as independent entity, Mantua had different rulers who governed on the city and the lands of Mantua from the Middle Ages to the early modern period. From 970 to 1115, the Counts of Mantua were members of ...
, who had been deposed and then died without male issue. However, the Emperor had already promised Montferrat to the Dukes of Savoy but wishing to compensate the House of Lorraine, he gave the Duchy of Teschen in
Silesia Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...
to Leopold. In 1710, Leopold and his wife visited Paris to attend the marriage of Élisabeth Charlotte's niece Marie Louise Elisabeth to the Duke of Berry and were among the guests of the lavish banquet at the
Palais du Luxembourg The Luxembourg Palace (, ) is at 15 Rue de Vaugirard in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, France. It was originally built (1615–1645) to the designs of the French architect Salomon de Brosse to be the royal residence of the regent Marie de' Med ...
. During the visit, Leopold, as a '' foreign prince'', received the style of ''Royal Highness''. In 1719, Leopold bought the County of Ligny-en-Barrois from his cousin, Charles Henry of Vaudemont. During his reign a new security system was put in place all around Lorraine. He tried to abolish
serfdom Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery. It developed du ...
but the redemption payments were too high for the peasantry, even when Leopold halved it. On New Year's Eve 1719 he freed his own serfs without redemption, hoping in vain the
nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. T ...
would follow his example. In 1721, Leopold arranged for his eldest surviving son and heir, Leopold Clement, to receive an education at Vienna. He also intended to forge relations with Archduchess Maria Theresa, the heiress of Emperor Charles VI. However, Leopold Clement died shortly afterwards at Lunéville and in his stead, the next eldest son Francis Stephen went to Vienna, where he married Maria Theresa. Francis would become Emperor and his descendants, the House of
Habsburg-Lorraine The House of Habsburg-Lorraine () originated from the marriage in 1736 of Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor, Francis III, Duke of Lorraine and Bar, and Maria Theresa of Habsburg monarchy, Austria, later successively List of Bohemian monarchs, Queen ...
, would rule Austria until 1918. In 1725, Leopold tried to arrange his daughter Anne Charlotte to marry the young King Louis XV, but Louis Henry, Duke of Bourbon, then prime minister, prevented a union with a descendant of the rival
House of Orléans The 4th House of Orléans (), sometimes called the House of Bourbon-Orléans () to distinguish it, is the fourth holder of a surname previously used by several branches of the House of France, Royal House of France, all descended in the legitimat ...
. Then, Élisabeth Charlotte tried to arrange her daughter's marriage to her first cousin, the recently widowed Louis, Duke of Orléans, but Louis refused. All proposals of marriage being either ignored or declined, Anne Charlotte later became Abbess of the monasteries Remiremont and Essen. In March 1729, Leopold caught a fever while walking at the Château at Ménil near Lunéville. He returned to Lunéville where he died on 27 March, aged 49.


Ancestry


Issue

Leopold and Élisabeth Charlotte had 14 children in just 16 years: * Léopold (26 Aug 1699 - 2 April 1700), first crown prince, died in infancy. * Élisabeth Charlotte Gabrièle (21 Oct 1700 - 4 May 1711), died in childhood. * Louise Christine (13 Nov 1701 - 18 Nov 1701), died in infancy. * Marie Gabrièle Charlotte (30 Dec 1702 - 11 May 1711), died in childhood. *
Louis Louis may refer to: People * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer Other uses * Louis (coin), a French coin * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also ...
(28 Jan 1704 - 10 May 1711), second crown prince, died in childhood. * Josepha Gabrièle (16 Feb 1705 - 25 Mar 1708), died in early childhood. * Gabrièle Louise (4 Mar 1706 - 13 June 1710), died in early childhood. * Léopold Clement Charles (25 April 1707 - 4 June 1723), third crown prince, died in adolescence. * Francis Stephen (8 Dec 1708 - 18 Aug 1765), fourth crown prince and his successor, married
Maria Theresa of Austria Maria Theresa (Maria Theresia Walburga Amalia Christina; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was the ruler of the Habsburg monarchy from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position in her own right. She was the sovereig ...
and became Holy Roman Emperor. * Eléonore (4 June 1710 - 28 July 1710), died in infancy. * Elisabeth Therese (15 Oct 1711 - 3 July 1741), married in 1737 Charles Emmanuel III of Sardinia. * Charles Alexander Emmanuel (12 Dec 1712 - 4 July 1780), governor of the
Austrian Netherlands The Austrian Netherlands was the territory of the Burgundian Circle of the Holy Roman Empire between 1714 and 1797. The period began with the acquisition by the Austrian Habsburg monarchy of the former Spanish Netherlands under the Treaty of Ras ...
and army commander. * Anne Charlotte (1714 - 1773), abbess at Essen. * Stillborn daughter (28 November 1715).


See also

* Dukes of Lorraine family tree


References

Jérémy Filet
“The networks of Francis Taaffe, 3rd Earl of Carlingford and Irish Jacobite émigrés in the Duchy of Lorraine”
in ''Eighteenth-Century Ireland'' 36, 2021. Stephen Griffin and Jérémy Filet
'Duke Leopold’s Irish subjects and Jacobitism in Lorraine, 1698–1727'
''History Ireland'' (May 2018), Volume 26. Retrieved 4 November 2022. {{DEFAULTSORT:Leopold, Duke Of Lorraine 1679 births 1729 deaths 17th-century French people 18th-century French people 17th-century Austrian people 18th-century Austrian people People from Innsbruck Dukes of Lorraine Knights of the Golden Fleece House of Lorraine Dukes of Teschen Child monarchs from Europe Austrian people of French descent