Gerard, Duke of Lorraine in the context of Neufchâteau, Vosges


Gerard, Duke of Lorraine in the context of Neufchâteau, Vosges

⭐ Core Definition: Gerard, Duke of Lorraine

Gerard (c. 1030 – 14 April 1070), also known as Gerard the Wonderful, was a Lotharingian nobleman. He was the count of Metz and Châtenois from 1047 to 1048, when his brother Duke Adalbert resigned them to him upon his becoming the Duke of Upper Lorraine. On Adalbert's death the next year, Gerard became duke, a position that he held until his death. In contemporary documents, he is called Gerard of Alsace (after the fact that he had some land in Alsace), Gerard of Chatenoy (after an ancestral castle near Neufchâteau), or Gerard of Flanders (after his wife's homeland).

He was the second son of Gerhard IV of Metz, count of Metz, and Gisela who was possibly a daughter of Theodoric I, Duke of Upper Lorraine. Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor, invested Adalbert with Lorraine in 1047 after confiscating it from Godfrey III. Godfrey did not back down, however, and killed Adalbert in battle. Henry subsequently bestowed it on Gerard, but the deposed duke continued to stir. Godfrey had the support of a faction of the nobles who did not want a strong hand at the ducal helm and Gerard was imprisoned. Gerard, however, had the support of the chiefest of his bishops, that of Toul, Bruno of Eguisheim-Dagsburg (later the sainted Pope Leo IX), who procured his liberation in 1049. The emperor gave him troops to assist him in his fight, for the rebels had the support of some elements in the church. Gerard himself remained, as his brother had, faithful to the end to the imperial dynasty and his descendants would remain so as well even into the Hohenstaufen years.

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Gerard, Duke of Lorraine in the context of Nancy, France

Nancy is the prefecture of the northeastern French department of Meurthe-et-Moselle, located in the Grand Est region (in the historical region of Lorraine). The city is situated on the left bank of the Meurthe. The metropolitan area of Nancy had a population of 508,793 inhabitants as of 2021, making it the 16th-largest functional urban area in France and Lorraine's largest. The population of the city of Nancy proper is 104,387 (2022).

The origins of the city date back to the 11th century, when a fortified town was established by Gerard, Duke of Lorraine. Nancy developed into the ducal seat of the Duchy of Lorraine, a position it held until the duchy was annexed by France under King Louis XV in 1766 and replaced by a province, with Nancy maintained as capital. The city’s Old Town (Vieille Ville), centered around the Ducal Palace of Nancy, reflects this long history, while the 18th-century Ville-Neuve bears witness to a period of ambitious urban planning under Stanislaus I of Poland. His patronage produced some of the city’s most notable monuments, including the Place Stanislas, a large square built between 1752 and 1756 by architect Emmanuel Héré, today inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

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Gerard, Duke of Lorraine in the context of Theodoric II, Duke of Lorraine

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, 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, 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 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 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.

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