Matthias I, Duke of Lorraine

French noble
The basics

Quick Facts

IntroFrench noble
PlacesFrance
isLandowner
Gender
Male
Death13 May 1176Villers-lès-Nancy
Family
Mother:Adelaide of Leuven
Father:Simon I, Duke of Lorraine
Siblings:Agatha of Lorraine
Spouse:Bertha of Hohenstaufen
Children:Alice of Lorraine Simon II Duke of Lorraine Frederick I Duke of Lorraine Matthias of Lorraine Count of Toul Thierry IV
The details

Biography

Matthias I (1119 – 13 May 1176) was the duke of Lorraine from 1138 to his death as the eldest son and successor of Simon I and Adelaide. Like his forefathers going back to Thierry II and even to Adalbert, he was a stern supporter of the king of Germany and Holy Roman Emperor. He married Judith (sometimes called Bertha), daughter of Frederick II, Duke of Swabia, and therefore niece of the Hohenstaufen king Conrad III and sister of Frederick Barbarossa, future emperor.
He accompanied Barbarossa on a number of important occasions, including his imperial coronation by Pope Adrian IV in Rome, 1155. He assisted the emperor in his wars against Adrian and his successor Alexander III and the kings of France and Sicily. He extended his own ducal demesne at the expense of the bishop of Toul, but was an important donor to the Church and founder of abbeys. He died in 1176 and was interred in his abbey of Clairlieu in Villers-lès-Nancy. By his Hohenstaufen marriage (1138), he had:
Simon (died 1205), his successor in Lorraine
Frederick (died 1206), count of Bitche and his nephew's successor
Judith (died 1173), married Stephen II, count of Auxonne (1170)
Alice (died 1200), married Hugh III, Duke of Burgundy
Theoderic (died 1181), bishop of Metz (1174–1179)
Matthias (died 1208), count of Toul
Unnamed daughter who died young

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