[Mary 13] Theobald II, duke of Lorraine

True Name: Thiébaud
Parents: Frederick III, duke of Lorraine, and Margaret of Navarre

Date of Birth: 1263

House: Ardennes-Metz
Spouse: Isabella, daughter of Hugh, lord of Rumigny, and Philippine d'Oulche

Predecessor: Frederick III

Reign: 1303 – 1312

Summary: Very little is known about Theobald's youth growing up in France. He married in 1278 to a local lady and produced seven children with her, most of whom became political pawns in Lotharingen diplomacy. The earliest mention of him outside of his baptismal and marriage records is in 1298, when he took part in the Battle of Göllheim in Speyer, Germany. During that battle, Adolph, king of Germany, was killed while fighting Albert von Habsburg. Theobald was fighting on Albert's side in the battle which is unusual for a Lotharingen monarch since generally the dukes of Lorraine fought in favor of the reigning German emperor. In 1302, Theobald was instrumental in assisting his cousin, Joan I of Navarre, marry King Philip IV of France. That same year, Theobald participated in the Battle of the Golden Spurs at Kortrijik, although his role in the battle is untold. His father died soon after and Theobald became duke of Lorraine.

Little changed when he became duke. Theobald supported the French in the Battle of Mons-en-Pévèle in 1304 alongside the French king. Afterwards, the duke, as well as Duke John II of Brabant and Count Amadeus V of Savoy, travelled to Flanders to negotiate a peace treaty between the warring states. Soon after that conference, Theobald travelled to Lyon were he was witness to the coronation of Pope Clement V. Clement instructed Theobald to tax the clergy in Lorraine and he did so, even against the hostility presented by the bishop of Metz. Of the last seven years of his life, nothing is known. Theobald II died in 1312 and was succeeded by his eldest surviving son, Frederick IV.

Date of Death: 13 May 1312

Successor: Frederick IV

Other Monarch Deaths:

Matthias I, duke of Lorraine (1176)

Ludwig IX, landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt (1742)

Saad Al-Abdullah Al-Salim Al-Sabah, emir of Kuwait (2008)

[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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