Theodoric II (died 30 December 1115), called the Valiant, was the Duke of Lorraine from 1070 to his death. He was the son and successor of Gerhard and Hedwige of Namur. He is sometimes numbered ''Theodoric I'' if the Dukes of the House of

Ardennes The Ardennes ( ; ; ; ; ), also known as the Ardennes Forest or Forest of Ardennes, is a region of extensive forests, rough terrain, rolling hills and ridges primarily in Belgium and Luxembourg, extending into Germany and France. Geological ...

, who ruled in Upper Lorraine from 959 to 1033, are ignored in favour of the dukes of Lower Lorraine as predecessors of the later Dukes of Lorraine. In fact, Sophia, the daughter of Duke Frederick II of the House of Ardennes, who had inherited the counties of Bar and

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 ...

, had a husband named

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 ...

, who contested the succession. In order to receive the support of his brother, Theodoric gave his brother the County of Vaudémont and convened an assembly of nobles, who elected him duke over Louis. Soon Louis was dead, but his son, Theodoric II of Bar, claimed the succession anyway. However, Emperor Henry IV confirmed Theodoric the Valiant in the duchy. Probably, for this reason, Theodoric remained faithful to the emperors throughout his rule. He fought the

Saxons The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

while they were at war with the Emperor between 1070 and 1078 and he generally opposed the

pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

s Gregory VII and Urban II when they were in conflict with the Emperor. In 1095, he planned to take up the

Cross A cross is a religious symbol consisting of two Intersection (set theory), intersecting Line (geometry), lines, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of t ...

(i.e., go on

Crusade The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding t ...

, specifically the First), but his ill health provoked him to drop out, nevertheless convincing his barons to go east. Thereafter, he took little part in imperial affairs, preferring not to intervene between Henry IV and his son Henry, or against Lothair of Supplinburg, duke of Saxony.

Marriage and children

His first wife was Hedwig (died 1085 or 1090), daughter of Frederick, count of Formbach. They married around 1075 and had the following issue: * Simon (1076–1138), his successor as Duke of Lorraine, married to Adelaide of Leuven (d. 1158), daughter of his stepmother Gertrude and Henry III, Count of Leuven. * Gertrude (died 1144), married Floris II of Holland His second wife was Gertrude of Flanders (c.1070–1117), daughter of Robert I of Flanders and Gertrude of Saxony. She was the widow of Henry III, Count of Leuven (d. 1095), with four daughters. They married in 1106 and had: *

Thierry of Alsace Theoderic (, , ; – 17 January 1168), commonly known as Thierry of Alsace, was the fifteenth count of Flanders from 1128 to 1168. With a record of four campaigns in the Levant and Africa (including participation in the Second Crusade, the faile ...

"Theodoric" ( – 1168), lord of Bitche and also

Count of Flanders The count of Flanders was the ruler or sub-ruler of the county of Flanders, beginning in the 9th century. Later, the title would be held for a time, by the rulers of the Holy Roman Empire and Spain. During the French Revolution, in 1790, the c ...

from 1128. Married to Sibylla of Anjou * Henry I (died 1165), bishop of Toul * Ida, married Sigefroy (died 1104), count of Burghausen * Ermengarde, married Bernard de Brancion * Gisela, married Frederick, count of

Saarbrücken Saarbrücken (; Rhenish Franconian: ''Sabrigge'' ; ; ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of cities and towns in Germany, city of the state of Saarland, Germany. Saarbrücken has 181,959 inhabitants and is Saarland's administrative, commerci ...

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Theodoric 02, Duke of Lorraine 11th-century births 1115 deaths Year of birth unknown House of Metz Dukes of Upper Lorraine