War of the Four Lords

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The German Gate in Metz

The War of the Four Lords or War of Metz was a feudal conflict that devastated the Duchy of Lorraine around Metz between 1324 and 1326 . Cannons are said to have been used for the first time in the Occident during the siege of the fortress of Metz .

prehistory

In June 1320, Duke Frederick of Lorraine brought the newly elevated Bishop of Metz Henri de la Tour-du-Pin to form a defensive and offensive alliance. The situation changed after the death of the French King Philip V on January 3, 1322, because King John of Bohemia, as Count of Luxembourg, developed an active policy towards the city during this time and the German King Ludwig the Bavarian took over the protectorate City of Metz transferred.

In 1324 there was a military conflict between the Bishop of Metz and the Duke of Lorraine , the causes of which remain unknown. Friedrich therefore sent an authorized representative to Pope John XXII in May . to complain about the bishop's behavior. On June 13th the Pope called on both sides to make peace and to make reparation for the damage caused.

Conflict resolution

As a result of this dispute with the city of Metz and debts that had accumulated with the citizens of the city, John of Luxembourg , his uncle Baldwin of Luxembourg , Archbishop of Trier , Count Edward I of Bar and Duke Friedrich IV of Lorraine formed a coalition, to seize the city.

The conflict was based on an accumulation of tangles over land and debt. The citizens of Metz did not always meet their obligations as vassals ; they used their wealth to gradually bring property pledged to them into their own possession, whereby the tenure based on feudal rights could be lost. So four princes came together in an effort to free themselves from the considerable financial pressure emanating from Metz.

Debts resulted from about

  • a ransom that the Duke of Lorraine paid to Ludwig the Bavarian after he was captured in the Battle of Mühldorf in 1322,
  • a loan of 50,000 livres to Henry VII of Luxembourg , father of John of Luxembourg, to finance his election as emperor,
  • Cost of raising troops in the city by Edward I of Bar in a conflict against the Bishop of Verdun.

Course of the clashes

The four princes had pushed their efforts so far that they met for a meeting on August 25, 1324 in Remich , where a firm contract was concluded. In this contract the strength of the contingents to be placed in the army was determined, even the division of the potential booty into two parts has already been discussed, one for the King of Bohemia and the Archbishop of Trier, the other for the Duke of Lorraine and the Count von Bar. It is not known whether it was decided to split up the Metz urban area and tear down the fortress walls of the city of Metz.

However, the resolutions did not remain secret and so the Metzlers soon found out about the Alliance of Four. For their part, they tried several times to negotiate through embassies, but were rejected.

The citizens of Metz received military support in the conflict from the city of Strasbourg . On September 15, 1324 the fighting began. The Duke of Lorraine ended his quarrels with the Lord von Blankenberg and obliged him to help the Metzers. A little later the allies appeared in front of the city and plundered the area during the last days of September of 1324. There was no real fighting. The four gentlemen withdrew for the time being, the acts of war continued on a smaller scale.

On October 25, 1324, King John of Bohemia and Archbishop Balduin of Luxembourg redefined their obligations. On November 15, the whole of the Four Alliance was formally renewed and expanded with the accession of the Bishop of Metz, who had made a number of accusations against the city of Metz.

Soon afterwards, however, the bishop switched fronts, as he now hoped for advantages from an alliance with the city. At the end of March the negotiations led to new treaties, which also included an obligation to help against the respective enemies.

Pope John XXII. repeatedly refused his financial and political assistance to the Bishop of Metz. The Pope had tried several times to mediate during the war between the four princes and on November 16, 1325 commissioned the new Bishop of Metz to bring the contending parties to an armistice in order to then conduct peace negotiations. On December 14, 1325 he urgently repeated this order. After two years of fighting, the citizens of Metz and the four gentlemen were finally ready to make peace with one another.

Peace treaty

The feud was finally settled on March 3, 1326 by two agreements. The signed treaty was called the Peace of Herring , as Metz was dependent on herring for food during the four gentlemen's blockade . The negotiations took place at Pont-à-Mousson . The citizens promised not to carry out any real estate transactions in the territory of the feudal lords without first obtaining their consent.