Duchy of Lorraine, 1 January 1200

The duchy of Upper Lorraine on the Moselle and Meurthe, held since 1176 by the ageing and childless Simon II.

It is a duchy of rights rather than a block of land: the duke holds Nancy and a string of castles, the advocacy of the great Vosges abbeys, the right to lead the host and to keep the roads, but the bishops of Metz, Toul and Verdun, the count of Bar, the counts of Vaudemont, Luneville, Salm and Dagsburg hold most of the ground around him. Since the war of 1176-1179 and the treaty of Ribemont (1179) his younger brother Ferry (Frederick) of Bitche holds the German-speaking north (Bitche, Sierck) with Ormes and Gerbeviller. The succession is the live question: by blood the heir is Ferry of Bitche, and behind him Ferry's eldest son Ferry II, who is married to Agnes of Bar, the count of Bar's daughter.

The duchy is imperial ground, outside Philip Augustus's kingdom, so the French interdict does not touch it.

Who rules

Name: Simon II
Title: Duke of Lorraine and marquis (dux et marchio)
Since: 1176: his father Matthew I died in May 1176 and Simon affirmed his rights at Gondreville on 14 May 1176
Born: about 1140, so about 59 or 60
Family: House of Lorraine (Chatenois line). Son of Duke Matthew I and Judith, also called Bertha, of Hohenstaufen (died 1195), Frederick Barbarossa's sister: Simon is first cousin of the late Henry VI, of Philip of Swabia and of Otto I, count palatine of Burgundy. His sister Alice was the repudiated first wife of Duke Hugh III of Burgundy and is the mother of Odo III, so the duke of Burgundy is Simon's nephew.
Confidence: high

fr.wikipedia and en.wikipedia on Simon II; birth year and accession agree; death 4 January 1207 (en.wikipedia).

Threats

The succession: an old childless duke, a brother who fought him for three years, and a nephew who is the count of Bar's son-in-law.
Theobald I of Bar, stronger and richer since he took Luxembourg, pressing on the Moselle and on Vaudemont.
The bishop of Metz and the count of Dagsburg-Metz, lords of the salt country and of Epinal on his flanks.
The abbeys under his advocacy (Remiremont, Saint-Die), which appeal to Trier and Rome against him.

Consort

Ida (Ide) of Vienne (died 1227), daughter of Gerard I, count of Macon and Vienne, and Maurette of Salins; so Simon is brother-in-law of Count William IV of Macon (Centre researcher) and of Gaucher IV, lord of Salins. An earlier wife, Agnes, daughter of a count of Veldenz (Valdentz in the source), died soon after the marriage.

Heirs and children

No children. Heir by blood: his brother Ferry (Frederick) of Bitche, born about 1143. Ferry's sons: Ferry II (born about 1165), married by 1189 to Agnes of Bar (born about 1177), with sons Theobald (born about 1191) and Matthew (born about 1193); Thierry 'the Devil', lord of Autigny; Henry 'the Lombard'; Philip, later lord of Gerbeviller; Matthew, bishop of Toul since 1197. Simon formally designates Ferry II only in 1205 (fr.wikipedia); whether a designation already stands on 1 January 1200 is not pinned.

Officers

No ducal officer's name is pinned for 1 January 1200 in the sources checked. The duke governs through the castellans and prevots of his castles (Nancy, Gondreville, Amance, Frouard, Preny, Chatenois, Arches) and through his advocacies; the old nobility of the duchy sat as a court in his reign (en.wikipedia says he was forced to recognise the privileges of the nobles and to create what became the Estates of Lorraine, undated).

Court winter 1199 in 1200

Not pinned. Nancy is the usual ducal residence.

Treaties marriages wars

Treaty of Ribemont, 1179: ended the three-year war with Ferry of Bitche and split the duchy, Simon keeping the southern French-speaking part. Rivalry with Theobald I of Bar over the Moselle castles and over Vaudemont, settled only in 1202. Quarrel with the abbesses of Remiremont over his advocacy: the archbishop of Trier laid the duchy under interdict and Simon gave up fair revenues, justice and forest rights to be absolved (undated in the source; not pinned to 1199-1200).

Rome and interdict

Lorraine lies in the province of Trier (dioceses of Toul and Metz). The interdict decreed at Dijon is on Philip Augustus's lands and does not reach the duchy. Toul's bishop Matthew is Ferry of Bitche's son, Simon's nephew. Rome is watching Metz for lay Bible-reading groups (1199).

Throne dispute

Simon is Philip of Swabia's first cousin and is counted in the Staufen party; whether his name stands on the princes' declaration of Speyer (28 May 1199) could not be checked here.

Coinage

The duke strikes his own deniers; the mint places in use in 1200 are not pinned.

The host

The duke's own knights and castle garrisons, the ministeriales of his castles, and the vassals of the duchy (the count of Vaudemont holds of him until 1202). No numbers in the sources.

What the year holds

What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.

In 1200

1200 (no dated event pinned)No act of Simon II is pinned to 1200 in the sources checked. The duchy's course is set by the succession question and by Bar.Depends on: Simon's health; Ferry of Bitche's patience; Theobald of Bar's ambitions. Stopped by: n/a

Later, on the likely course

1202 (later course)Treaty with Theobald I of Bar: Simon cedes the overlordship of the county of Vaudemont to Bar, in return for Bar's support of the succession arrangements.Depends on: Simon still childless and in need of Bar's backing for Ferry II, who is Theobald's son-in-law. Stopped by: A rupture between Lorraine and Bar, or a different succession settlement.
1205 to 4 January 1207 (later course)Simon abdicates in 1205, retires to a monastery and names Ferry II; Ferry of Bitche styles himself duke until his death (Ferry II succeeds 7 April 1206); Simon dies 4 January 1207.Depends on: Natural course of an old man's life. Stopped by: Death or capture of Ferry II, or a successful claim by Ferry of Bitche.

Where the sources disagree

The campaign notes call Matthew, bishop of Toul since 1197, 'a duke's son'. He is the son of Ferry of Bitche, Simon II's brother, who styled himself duke only in 1205-1206; on 1 January 1200 Matthew is the reigning duke's nephew (fr.wikipedia, Ferry Ier de Lorraine).

Evidence: Accession, marriages, Ribemont and the later course are well attested; officers, mints and the duke's stance at Speyer are not pinned.

Primary sources for this realm

Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.

Chronicle of Alberic of Trois-Fontaines, Alberic of Trois-Fontaines (about 1227 to 1241, at the Cistercian abbey of Trois-Fontaines in Champagne). The widest net of any Latin chronicle for 1200, compiled from dozens of sources, many now lost. Read online
Deeds of the archbishops of Trier, continuations (continuations written in the 13th century). The Trier house history for Archbishop John I (1190 to 1212), who held the Moselle between the two kings. Read online

Sources and studies

Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.