Frederick I (Lorraine)

Friedrich von Bitsch (* around 1143; † April 7, 1207 ) was Lord von Bitsch , Gerbéviller and Ormes , proclaimed himself Duke of Lorraine after the death of his brother Simon II in 1206 and is (incorrectly) listed in the regent lists as Friedrich I. guided. He was the second son of Matthew I , Duke of Lorraine ( House Châtenois ), and Judith von Staufen (1123–1195), the sister of Emperor Friedrich Barbarossa , who was also called Bertha von Schwaben. In French-speaking countries he was called Ferry .

He was lord of Bitsch as early as 1155. When his father died in 1176, with the support of his mother, he claimed the succession in the duchy against his older brother Simon II. Simon therefore had to convene a meeting of the nobility that confirmed his rights, but also forced him to forego some privileges . In particular, the États de Lorraine were created, which took on the role of a parliament of the duchy. Friedrich revolted against the decision, the war lasted three years and ended with a peace treaty concluded in Ribemont in May 1179 , with which Lorraine was in fact divided: Simon received the francophone south, Friedrich the German-speaking north and the dominions of Gerbéviller and Ormes near Nancy .

Friedrich's good relations with his Hohenstaufen relatives Heinrich VI. and Philipp von Schwaben procured their permission for him to use the title of duke, so that in 1196 he appears as Duke of Bitsch .

When Simon II died in 1206 without descendants after he had appointed his nephew Friedrich II , Friedrich's son, as his successor, he did not accept this either and proclaimed himself Duke of Lorraine. He himself died about twelve months later. Friedrich von Bitsch was buried in the Stürzelbronn Abbey .

He married Ludmilla of Poland († 1223), daughter of Mieszko III , around 1160 . , Duke of Greater Poland and Senior Duke of Poland from the House of the Piasts and son of Salome von Berg , a relative of the Hohenstaufen family; among her 13 children were:

• Frederick II (Ferry) , Duke of Lorraine, † 1213; ∞ Agnes von Bar , daughter of Theobald I , Count of Bar and Count of Luxembourg, † 1226
• Matthäus, † 1217, 1198 to 1207 Elekt von Toul
• Heinrich, Lord of Bayon - descendants of the Lords of Le Chastelet † 1667
• Dietrich, Herr von Antigny - Descendants † before 1390
• Philipp, † before 1240, lord of Gerbéviller , Damelevières and Blainville
• Judith, † after 1242; ∞ Henry III. Count of Salm , † 1246 ( Wigeriche )
• Kunigunde, † before 1213; ∞ Walram IV , Duke of Limburg , † 1226
• Hedwig, † after 1228; ∞ Heinrich I , Count of Zweibrücken , † 1228
• Daughter, 1209–1233 abbess of Remiremont
• Agathe, † 1242, 1232 Abbess of Remiremont

literature

• Henry Bogdan: La Lorraine des ducs. Sept siècles d'histoire. Perrin, Paris 2005, ISBN 2-262-02113-9 .
• Detlev Schwennicke : European family tables . New series Volume 1, 2: Přemyslids, Ascanians, Dukes of Lorraine, the houses of Hesse, Württemberg and Zähringen. Klostermann, Frankfurt am Main 1999, ISBN 3-465-03020-6 , plate 204.