[January 13] Simon I, duke of Lorraine

Parents: Thierry II, duke of Lorraine, and Hedwige of Formbach

Date of Birth: 1076

Royal House: Vaudemont

Spouse: Adelaide, daughter of Henry III, count of Leuven, and Gertrude of Flanders
Predecessor: Thierry II

Reign: 1115 – 1138

Summary: Little is known in detail concerning the life Simon I, the minor sovereign duke of (Upper) Lorraine during the years of the Investiture Controversy. What is certain is that Simon I was great friends with the Holy Roman Emperor Henry V and accompanied him to the Diet of Worms in 1122. This seems to side him more with the Holy Roman Empire, in which his duchy was a component, than with the Catholic Church. Conflicts with the bishopric of Metz and Trier, both also in Germany, continued throughout his reign because of a succession dispute between the count of Bar, one of their patrons, and Simon's father, Thierry. Simon was excommunicated by the Archbishop of Trier, Adalberon, but Pope Innocent II lifted the charge. Within his own duchy, Simon was a great contributor to the abbeys of Bernard of Clairvaux and Sturzelbronn. After his death, he was interred at Sturzelbronn after a brief burial in Saint-Dié-des-Vosges.

Date of Death: 13 April 1138

Successor: Matthias I

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• Æthelwulf, king of Wessex (858)
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• Henry II, duke of Austria (1177)
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• Frederick V, king of Denmark (1766)