 Abt 0965 - 1027 (62 years)
-
| Name |
LOTHARINGIA Thierry |
| Birth |
Abt 0965 |
Upper Lotharingia, Holy Roman Empire  |
| Gender |
Male |
| Death |
Apr 1027 |
Gorze, Upper Lotharingia, Holy Roman Empire |
| Notes |
- Thierry / Theodoric de Lotharingia, later Duke of Upper Lotharingia was the son of Frederic I Duke of Upper Lotharingia and Beatrix / Beatrice Capet - the sister of Hugues Capet who became King of the Franks in 987. [1] [2]
See Research Note: Regarding names, including use of the term "Lorraine" in some biographies.
Nobility of Lotharingia
Territories (Medieval and Modern)
Europe after the Treaty of Prüm 855
The medieval land of Lotharingia included the territory from the North Sea to Burgundy that now comprises the Benelux countries: Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg - as well as the eastern portion of France that arose from the Duchy of Lorraine, and the Rhineland of Germany.
Lotharingia arose as the northern half of Middle Francia, originally granted to Charlemagne's grandson Lothar / Lothair I upon division of the Carolingian Empire by the Treaty of Verdun in 843. Before Lothar's death, he in turn divided Middle Francia among his three sons by the Treaty of Prüm in 855 - granting Italy and the imperial title to eldest son Louis; Provence and Lower Burgundy to youngest son Charles; and the northern territories, which became known as Lotharingia, to his middle son Lothar / Lothair II.
Lotharingia (lat: Regnum Lotharii or Lotharingia, fr: Lotharingie (later Lorraine), de: Lothringen, nl: Lotharingen) formed part of the Holy Roman Empire but was the subject of frequent political and territorial conflict between West Francia, the kingdom of the Western Franks who would eventually establish France - and East Francia, the kingdom of he Eastern Franks who remained in the Holy Roman Empire and would eventually establish the Kingdom of Germany.
Division of Lotharingia and Appointment of Frederic I as the first Duke of Upper Lotharingia
Lotharingia / Lothringen / Lotharingie
10th century
In 959 Lotharingia was partitioned into Lower Lotharingia (the lower Northern region that today comprises the Benelux countries) and Upper Lotharingia (the higher more Southern region that later developed into the Duchy of Lorraine). [3]
Based on ongoing events, historians believe that a key reason for dividing Lotharingia was to avoid it being such a strong duchy or even kingdom that could effectively become independent. Nevertheless, while these became two separate duchies, they remained closely related and were often headed by members of the same Lotharingian noble family - and in some cases individuals who became the Duke of Lower Lotharingia also later succeeded as the Duke of Upper Lotharingia, or vice versa. [3]
The first duke of the upper (southern) territory was Frederic I Duke of Upper Lotharingia. [1] [2] [3]
Parents' Families and Siblings
Frederic of Lotharingia's father Wigeric III Graf im Bidgau, was a Count Palatine (comes palatii) in Lotharingia although it remains uncertain which territory or territories he controlled as count, which may also have changed over time. [4] [5]
Frederic's mother Cunégonde / Kunigund was the daughter of Ermentrude de France - who was daughter of Louis II King of the West Franks. [4] [6] [7]
Frederic's parents Wigeric and Cunégonde married in about 907/09 and had as many as seven children together (in some cases their parentage not being certain based on on primary records, as noted below): [4] [5] [7]
Frederic, who married Beatrice de France the daughter of Hugues Capet, and was later installed as the first Duke of Upper Lotharingia
Adalbero, who became the Bishop of Metz
Gozelo(n), who succeeded as Count in Bidgau
Liutgarde, who first married Adalbert (Graf von Metz) and later Eberhard [IV] Graf im Nordgau
Siegfried, who became the Comte de Luxembourg
(potentially a son Siegbert)
(potentially Giselbert, who became the Comte d'Ardenne)
Marriage of Parents
Frederic of Lotharingia was betrothed to Beatrice de France the daughter of Hugues Capet in 951 and they were married in 954. [1] [2] [4] [5]
Installation of father as first Duke of Upper Lotharingia
In 959, after the Duchy of Lotharingia was divided into Upper and Lower Lotharingia, Frederic was selected as the first Duke of Upper Lotharingia. [1] [2]
Children of Frederic of Lotharingia and Beatrice Capet
Frederic and Beatrice had three known children: [1] [2]
Henry / Hazelin, who is considered to have died relatively young (being last named in 972)
Adalbero, who became the Bishop of Metz
Thierry / Theodoric, who later became Thierry / Theodoric I Duke of Upper Lotharingia
Accession as Duke of Upper Lotharingia and Regency of Mother
Thierry's father Frederic died in 978 and Thierry succeeded him as Duke of Upper Lotharingia - but he remained under the regency of his mother Beatrice Capet until 987. [1] [2]
Invasions of Lotharingia by King Lothaire of France
Lothaire King of France invaded Upper Lotharingia in 983, advancing as far as Brisach where he was forced to retreat by Swabian troops. The French king returned to Lotharingia in 985 and besieged Verdun, where in Mar 985 he captured Duke Thierry but released him in mid-985 through the intervention of the duke's mother and her brother Hugues Capet. [1]
Thierry's Marriage to Richilde
By 992, Duke Thierry married a woman named Richilde, who is considered to have been Richilde of Bliesgau, a daughter of Folmar [III] Graf im Bliesgau. [1] [8].
Folmar [III] im Bliesgau married a woman named Bertha who was the sister of Berengar, Chorbishop of Trier. The couple are considered likely to have been the parents of several children although their filiation is not considered to be certain: [8]
Folmar [IV], who married Gerberge of Verdun and who succeeded as Graf im Bliesgau
Stefan, who became the Bishop of Toul
Richilde, who is considered to have been the wife of Thierry, Duke of Upper Lotharingia
Evidence related to Richilde as the wife of Theodoric / Thierry, Duke of Upper Lotharingia comes from a charter related to the inheritance of associated properties: [8]
The relationship is suggested by a charter dated 1076 under which Pibon Bishop of Toul granted privileges to the priory of Laître sous Amance, founded by "comitissæ Sophiæ", in which she declared that the castle of Amance belonged to "Theodericus dux, comitissæ avus" who had inherited it from "comiti Folmaro in Asmantia". The reference would be explained if Folmar had been Duke Thierry's father-in-law.
Children of Thierry and Richilde
Thierry and Richilde had three children: [1]
Frederic, born in about 998, who married Mathilde of Swabia (the widow of Konrad Duke of Carinthia), and succeeded his father as Frederic II Duke of Upper Lotharingia
Adalbero, born in about 1000, who as a child was appointed to succeed his uncle Adalbero as Bishop of Metz and was consecrated as a child but died soon thereafter
Adelais / Adela, born between 995 and 1015 and later married [Arlon-1|Waleran [I] Comte d'Arlon]]
Death and succession
Duke Thierry died on 11 Apr 1027 as reflected in the necrology of Gorze, near Metz. [1]
He was succeeded by their eldest son Frederic II Duke of Upper Lotharingia. [1]
Research Notes
Regarding names, including use of the term "Lorraine" in some biographies
While some biographers including The Henry Project refer to this person's father as "Frédéric I Duke of Lorraine" - both the name and place name are anachronistic. Even in French, "Lorraine" as a place name did not come into use until hundreds of years later (in the 13th century). During the prior period, the region was generally referred to as a version of Lotharingia - as it would be written in Latin - referring to the land of Charlemagne's grandson "Lothar" (later fr: Lothaire). Very similar words appeared in French (as Lotharingie) and in German (as Lothringen). Among the French, the name later evolved into Loherigne and Loherainc before eventually becoming Lorraine.
It should also be noted that accents were not used in French in the Medieval period - only arising in the 16th century. Nor did women adopt their husband's surnames with marriage - an English practice that likewise didn't evolve until after the Medieval period.
In Cawley's Lotharingia, Kings and Dukes, Pfalzgrafen, he generally makes an effort to use names that are reasonably time-appropriate and place-appropriate. This approach is considered to be more consistent with WikiTree's General Naming Convention, which is to: "use the names that people themselves would have known and that would have been recognized in their own time and place."
In the case of Lotharingia and for this early period, these names are generally approximations based on the corresponding Latin texts because it was the only applicable written language being used at the time and the region's Western Frankish tribes were themselves often adopting Latin-based wordings that evolved into Old French. Latin words also increasingly made their way into German, especially in the west. Both Latin-based and Germanic phrasings co-existed in close proximity in the region, as they still do today.
Sources
↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 Dukes of Upper Lotharingia 959-1033 by Cawley, Charles. Medieval Lands: A prosopography of medieval European noble and royal families. Published by Charles Cawley and the Foundation for Medieval Genealogy (FMG) 2006-2021, including source citations and relevant texts; hosted online by FMG, accessed Aug 2025 (see also WikiTree's source page for MedLands)
↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Baldwin, Stewart et al. The Henry Project - Frederic I The Henry Project: The ancestors of king Henry II of England, hosted by the American Society of Genealogists (ASG) 2020, including source citations and relevant texts, accessed Aug 2025 (see also WikiTree's Pre-1500 Resource Page)
↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Wikipédia (fr) - Lotharingie
↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Comtes d'Ardenne by Cawley, Charles. Medieval Lands: A prosopography of medieval European noble and royal families. Published by Charles Cawley and the Foundation for Medieval Genealogy (FMG) 2006-2021, including source citations and relevant texts; hosted online by FMG, accessed Aug 2025 (see also WikiTree's source page for MedLands)
↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Baldwin, Stewart et al. The Henry Project - Wigeric (Wigericus, Widricus) The Henry Project: The ancestors of king Henry II of England, hosted by the American Society of Genealogists (ASG) 2020, including source citations and relevant texts, accessed Aug 2025 (see also WikiTree's Pre-1500 Resource Page)
↑ Cunigonde, daughter of Ermentrud (Carolingian) by Cawley, Charles. Medieval Lands: A prosopography of medieval European noble and royal families. Published by Charles Cawley and the Foundation for Medieval Genealogy (FMG) 2006-2021, including source citations and relevant texts; hosted online by FMG, accessed Aug 2025 (see also WikiTree's source page for MedLands)
↑ 7.0 7.1 Baldwin, Stewart et al. The Henry Project - Cunégonde / Kunigund The Henry Project: The ancestors of king Henry II of England, hosted by the American Society of Genealogists (ASG) 2020, including source citations and relevant texts, accessed Aug 2025 (see also WikiTree's Pre-1500 Resource Page)
↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Grafen von Bliesgau, Grafen von Bliescastel, Grafen von Hüneburg by Cawley, Charles. Medieval Lands: A prosopography of medieval European noble and royal families. Published by Charles Cawley and the Foundation for Medieval Genealogy (FMG) 2006-2021, including source citations and relevant texts; hosted online by FMG, accessed Aug 2025 (see also WikiTree's source page for MedLands)
|
| Person ID |
I58902 |
Freeman-Smith |
| Last Modified |
27 Jan 2026 |
| Father |
LOTHARINGIA Friedrich, b. 0912, Upper Lorraine, France d. 18 May 0978, Aachen, , Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany (Age ~ 65 years) |
| Relationship |
natural |
| Mother |
CAPET Beatrice, b. Abt 0938, Champagne, Dordogne, Aquitaine, France d. 23 Aug 0987, France (Age 49 years) |
| Relationship |
natural |
| Family ID |
F25985 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
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