Simon II (1140 – 4 January 1207) was the

Duke of Lorraine The kings and dukes 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 ...

from 1176 to 1205. He was the son and successor of Matthias I and

Bertha Bertha is a female Germanic name, from Old High German ''berhta'' meaning "bright one". It was usually a short form of Anglo Saxon names ''Beorhtgifu'' meaning "bright gift" or ''Beorhtwynn'' meaning "bright joy". The name occurs as a theonym, s ...

(also called Judith), daughter of

Frederick II, Duke of Swabia Frederick II (, 1090 – 6 April 1147), called the One-Eyed (), was Duke of Swabia from 1105 until his death, the second from the Hohenstaufen dynasty. His younger brother Conrad was elected King of the Romans in 1138. Life Early career Fr ...

. His mother wished for her second son,

Frederick Frederick may refer to: People * Frederick (given name), the name Given name Nobility = Anhalt-Harzgerode = * Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670) = Austria = * Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria fro ...

, to succeed and so Simon was forced to convene an assembly of the nobles to confirm his succession. He was in turn forced to recognise certain feudal privileges and create the Estates of Lorraine, a form of parliament. He also gave

Bitche Bitche (English pronunciation: , ; German and Lorraine Franconian: ) is a commune in Moselle department, in the region of Grand Est in northeastern France. It is the Pays de Bitche's capital city, and the seat of the Canton of Bitche and the ...

as an

appanage An appanage, or apanage (; ), is the grant of an estate, title, office or other thing of value to a younger child of a monarch, who would otherwise have no inheritance under the system of primogeniture (where only the eldest inherits). It was ...

to Frederick who was not satisfied and revolted against Simon. The war lasted three years until the

Treaty of Ribemont The Treaty of Ribemont in 880 was the last treaty on the partitions of the Carolingian Empire. It was concluded between the East Frankish king Louis the Younger and the kings of West Francia, Louis III and Carloman. After the death of Charle ...

, whereby Simon retained the southern,

francophone The Francophonie or Francophone world is the whole body of people and organisations around the world who use the French language regularly for private or public purposes. The term was coined by Onésime Reclus in 1880 and became important a ...

, half of the duchy and Frederick took the northern,

germanophone German (, ) is a West Germanic language in the Indo-European language family, mainly spoken in Western Europe, Western and Central Europe. It is the majority and Official language, official (or co-official) language in Germany, Austria, Switze ...

, portion. He married Ida (died 1227), daughter of Gerard I,

count of Mâcon Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

and

Vienne Vienne may refer to: Places *Vienne (department), a department of France named after the river Vienne *Vienne, Isère, a city in the French department of Isère * Vienne-en-Arthies, a village in the French department of Val-d'Oise * Vienne-en-Bessi ...

, and Maurette of Salins. They had no children. He designated his nephew,

, son of Frederick, as his successor and ceded, in 1202, the suzerainty over the county of

Vaudémont Vaudémont () is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France. Sights and monuments * Château de Vaudémont - ruined 11th-century castle protected as a ''monument historique'' by the French Ministry of Culture See ...

to Count

Theobald I of Bar Theobald I (French: ''Thibaut or Thibauld de Bar'') (born – died 13 February 1214) was Count of Bar from 1190 until his death, and a Count of Luxembourg from 1197 until his death. He was the son of Reginald II of Bar and his wife Agnès de Cha ...

. Simon abdicated and retired to a monastery in 1205. He died two years later. He had no descendants and was succeeded by his brother.

See also