[October 2] Gilbert, duke of Lorraine

Parents: Reginar, duke of Lorraine, and Hersinda
Date of Birth: 890
House: Reginarid
Spouse(s): Gerberga, daughter of Henry I, king of Germany, and Matilda of Ringelheim
Predecessor: Gebhard

Reign: 925 – 939
Brief: Charles III was king over the West Franks when Gilbert became the dux Lotharingiae around 910. The time of his nomination to the kingship remains uncertain, but it is clear that the duke was loyal to his overlord while Charles was in exile in Lorraine. In 925, after Charles had been imprisoned by King Robert I, Gilbert shifted his allegiance to Henry the Fowler, the king of Germany. The duke married the king's daughter, Gerberga and his titles in Lorraine were renewed. When Henry died in 936, Gilbert rebelled and shifted back to his West Frankish loyalties, perhaps in the hope that he could remain autonomous. At the Battle of Andernach, Henry's son Otto I reasserted German authority over Lorraine, imprisoning Gilbert. Gilbert drowned while attempting to escape over the Rhine. The duchy was given to the duke of Bavaria as a fief.

Date of Death: 2 October 939

Successor: Henri

Other Monarchs Who Died Today:

• Athalaric, king of the Ostrogoths (534)
• Demetrios I, patriarch of Constantinople (1991)

[August 13] Zwentibold, king of Lorraine

Lotharingia is the yellow area in the center between the green and orange.

Parents: Arnulf, emperor of Rome, and an unknown mistress
Date of Birth: 1 January 871
House: Carolingian
Spouse(s): Oda, daughter of Otto I, duke of Saxony
Predecessor: Lothair II
Reign: 895 – 900
Summary: Zwentibold was an unlikely last king of Lorraine, or the more appropriately named kingdom called Lotharingia, after its founder, Lothair II. Zwentibold was an illegitimate son of Arnulf, king of Germany and Roman Emperor. He first entered the political arena in West Francia when a feud broke out between Duke Odo of Paris and King Charles III the Simple. At first Zwentibold intended to act as an intermediary, but soon he began to covet the contested throne. Zwentibold had been removed from the Carolingian succession according to both the 870 Treaty of Meerssen and the 880 Treaty of Ribemont. Most of Lotharingia went to Germany. In 893, Zwentibold's hope to become his father's heir was destroyed when his father produced a legitimate son, Louis, who supplanted Zwentibold. To compensate the disenchanted princeling, Arnulf gave him Lotharingia as a sub-kingdom of Germany.

Zwentibold did little to rule Lorraine. He was an unskilled military and political leader. Failures in Italy during the previous decade had forced Zwentibold's father to step in and take control over military affairs. In Lorraine, the archbishops of Cologne and Trier contacted Arnulf rather than Zwentibold when instructions were needed. The nobility continuously called for help from Arnulf because Zwentibold preferred to help the commoners over the nobility. When Arnulf finally died in 899, Zwentibold made his power play in Lorraine, attempting to sever all ties with Germany. What actually happened, though, was that the nobility fled to Germany and requested the aid of King Louis' regents. Count Reginar I of Hainault finally killed the Lotharingian king in August 900 near the town of Susteren. Louis took over direct management of Lorraine afterwards. Lorraine would never rise to be a kingdom again and its administration fractured into several parts with the newly-named duchy of Lorraine forming out of the largest ruins of the old kingdom. Zwentibold was canonized by the Catholic Church as a martyr.
Date of Death: 13 August 900
Successor: Gebhard (as duke of Lorraine)

[August 8] Lothair II, king of Lorraine

Parents: Lothair I, emperor of Rome, and Ermengarde of Tours

Date of Birth: 835
House: Carolingian

Spouse(s): Teutberga, daughter of Boso the Elder

Predecessor: Lothair I
Reign: 855 – 869

Summary: Walking in the wake of his father, Emperor Lothair, Lothair II was of little consequence to the over scheme of European politics in the late 800s. His kingdom, Lotharingia (or Lorraine) was located directly between France and Germany, placing it at a constant threat. He became king at the age of 20 when his father died. The name of the region was only applied long after his death to the realms of Middle Francia. His older brother, Louis II, received northern Italy and the title of emperor, while a younger brother, Charles, was granted Burgundy and Provançe. Lorraine, therefore, was much smaller than it had previously been. But the legacy of Lothair's life was seeing his father's inheritance dwindle to nothingness. 

In 863, Lothair's younger brother, Charles, died and those lands were divided between Louis and himself. But Norman pirates were harassing Burgundy by this time and little new lands were added. His marriage with Teutberga fell apart but the queen's brother, Hucbert, was the abbot of St. Maurice and had good relations with Lothair's uncles. Although neither uncle wished for Lothair to procreate, they also wished to remain loyal to the abbot. Teutberga, on her part, did everything possible to keep her place as queen. She underwent an ordeal of water and passed it, forcing Lothair to give up his mistress, Waldrada. Nonetheless, Lothair succeeded late in his reign in obtaining the divorce when he deeded some of his lands to Emperor Louis II, his brother. Then the pope got involved. In 863, Pope Nicholas I voided the decision of local bishops and Emperor Louis attacked the pope in Rome in 865 on his brother's behalf. By that year, Lothair faced excommunication as well as dissolution of his kingdom. Fearing his end was near, Lothair took back his wife, but she would not have it. A new pope, Adrian II, agreed to the divorce in 868, but Lothair died on the return journey at Piacenza. He only left one son, Hugues, who was declared illegitimate since it was born to his mistress Waldrada. The Treaty of Meerssen divided Lorraine between Charles the Bald of West Francia and Louis, king of Germany. The true heir, Emperor Louis II, received nothing from Lorraine and fought for six more years to make a place for himself in Middle Francia. He died, passing his lands to Carloman, son of Louis, king of Germany.

Date of Death: 8 August 869

Other Monarchs Who Died Today:

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[June 14] Antoine, duke of Lorraine

Surnamed: "The Good"
Parents: René II, duke of Lorraine, and Philippa of Guelders

Date of Birth: 4 June 1489

House: Vaudémont

Spouse: Renée, daughter of Gilbert, count of Montpensier, and Clara Gonzaga

Predecessor: René II

Reign: 1508 – 1544

Summary: Like most pseudo-independent dukes in France during the late Valois period, Antoine was raised at the court of the French king, Louis XII, with his younger brother Claude. While there, he became excellent friends with the future king, François I. He remained loyal to the kings of France throughout his reign, first following Louis XII to northern Italy on campaign in 1509 and then following François in 1515. He left his mother in charge with the bishop of Toul, Hugues des Hazards, as chief advisor. He was forced to return and take up his position as duke prior to the battle of Pavia in 1525, abandoning François immediately before he was taken prisoner at the battle.

In Lorraine, Antoine had to face the spreading influence of the Protestant Reformation which had taken hold of northern Germany in the past six years. In 1523, he had published an edict condemning the Reformation, but two years later, it was moving in. The German Peasants' War broke out in Alsace in 1524 and Antoine was facing an all-out rebellion. Rebels captured the towns of Saverne and Saint-Dié in 1524 and another uprising disabled Bitcherland. Throughout 1525, the duke was busy suppressing revolts in his land, eventually recapturing his fallen towns but at great expense. When François and Holy Roman Emperor Charles V went into open warfare on his borders, Antoine felt it best to remain neutral in the conflict, protecting both his lands and the spread of his revolt. At the Treaty of Nuremberg, Lorraine was officially made a fully independent state of France and the Empire, cutting all ties to its problem of dual fealty. When Charles of Egmond died in 1538, Antoine asserted his right, through his mother, to Guelders and Zutphen in the Low Countries, but politics in the Netherlands were too unstable to gain the possessions. Antoine left two sons, François and Nicholas, the former of whom succeeded him to Lorraine in 1544. The latter became regent for François's son in 1445 after François unexpectedly died.

Date of Death: 14 June 1544

Successor: François I

Other Monarch Deaths:

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[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

Other Monarchs Who Died Today:

• Gaius Marius, consul of Rome (86 BCE)
• Jito, emperor of Japan (703)
• Æthelwulf, king of Wessex (858)
• Charles the Fat, Holy Roman Emperor (888)
• Henry II, duke of Austria (1177)
• Frederick I, duke of Austria (1330)
• Meinhard III, duke of Upper Bavaria (1363)
• Frederick V, king of Denmark (1766)