Duke of Lorraine
Theodoric II
(died 30 December 1115), called
the Valiant
, was the
Duke of Lorraine
from 1070 to his death.
[1]
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
, 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
Montbeliard
, had a husband named
Louis
, who contested the succession. In order to receive the support of his brother, Theodoric gave his brother the
County of Vaudemont
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
while they were at war with the Emperor between 1070 and 1078 and he generally opposed the
popes
Gregory VII
and
Urban II
when they were in conflict with the Emperor.
In 1095, he planned to take up the
Cross
(i.e., go on
Crusade
, 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
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]
His first wife was
Hedwig
(died 1085 or 1090),
daughter of Frederick, count of
Formbach
. They married around 1075 and had the following issue:
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:
Ancestors of Theodoric II, Duke of Lorraine
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See also
[
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]
References
[
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]
Sources
[
edit
]
- Bogdan, Henry (2007).
La Lorraine des ducs
(in French). Perrin.
- Gislebertus of Mons (2005).
Chronicle of Hainaut
. Translated by Napran, Laura. The Boydell Press.
Theodoric II, Duke of Lorraine
House of Metz
Died:
30 December 1115
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Preceded by
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Duke of Lorraine
1070?1115
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Succeeded by
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