Godfrey III, Duke of Lower Lorraine

Godfrey III, Duke of Lower Lorraine
Spouse(s) Doda
Beatrice of Bar
Noble family Ardennes-Verdun dynasty
Father Gothelo I, Duke of Lorraine
Born c.997
Died 1069
Verdun

Godfrey III[1] (c.9971069), called the Bearded, was the eldest son of Gothelo I, duke of Upper and Lower Lorraine. By inheritance, he was count of Verdun and he became margrave of Antwerp as a vassal of the duke of Lower Lorraine. The Holy Roman Emperor Henry III authorised him to succeed his father as duke of Upper Lorraine in 1044, but refused him the ducal title in Lower Lorraine, for he feared the power of a united duchy. Instead Henry threatened to appoint a younger son, Gothelo, as duke in Lower Lorraine. At a much later date, Godfrey became duke of Lower Lorraine, but he had lost the upper duchy by that point in time.

Godfrey rebelled against his king and devastated land in Lower Lorraine, as well as the city of Verdun; which, though his by inheritance, Henry had not given him. He was soon defeated by an imperial army, deposed and imprisoned together with his son (Gibichenstein, 1045). When his son died in prison, the war recommenced. Baldwin V of Flanders joined Godfrey and Henry gave Thierry, Bishop of Verdun, the eponymous county. Godfrey surprised the bishop (who escaped) and sacked Verdun, burning the cathedral. On 11 November 1048 at Thuin, Godfrey fell on Adalbert, his replacement in Upper Lorraine, and defeated him, killing him in battle. Henry immediately nominated the young Gerard of Chatenoy to replace Adalbert at the Diet of Worms. In his subsequent campaigns to take the Moselle region, Godfrey met with stiff resistance from Gerard and was forced to renounce his claims and reconcile with the bishop. He even assisted in rebuilding the cathedral he had destroyed.

In 1053, his first wife Doda having died, Godfrey remarried Beatrice of Bar, the widow of Boniface III of Tuscany and mother of Matilda, Boniface' heir. Henry arrested Beatrice and her young son Frederick and imprisoned her in Germany, separate from either husband or son, who died within days. The emperor claimed the marriage had been contracted without his consent and was invalid. Young Frederick died a short while later. Nevertheless, Godfrey took over the government of the Tuscany in right of Beatrice and Matilda.

Baldwin V then rebelled, carrying the war to Trier and Nijmegen. Henry responded by devastating Flanders and ravaging Lille and Tournai (1054). In this war, Godfrey captured Frederick of Luxembourg, Duke of Lower Lorraine, who had received that duchy, including Antwerp, from Henry III.

In 1055, Godfrey besieged Antwerp, but Frederick was delivered by the Lorrainers, no longer loyal to Godfrey. Henry died in 1056 and his successor, Henry IV, was only six years old. In that year, Baldwin made peace and did homage to the new king. In 1056 and 1059, by the treaties of Andernach, Baldwin received the march of Ename in the Landgraviate of Brabant, probably in exchange for giving up the march of Valenciennes, which was confiscated by emperor Henry III in 1045.

In 1057, Godfrey was exiled to Tuscany, where he joined Beatrice and co-governed with her. He was enfeoffed with the Duchy of Spoleto (1057) by Pope Stephen IX, his brother. In January 1058, Leo de Benedicto Christiano threw open the city gates to him and Beatrice after the election of Pope Nicholas II. Possessing the Tiber and assaulting the Lateran, Godfrey succeeded in expelling the antipope Benedict X on 24 January. During the papal reign of his brother and his brother's reforming successors, he played an important rôle in the politics of central and northern Italy, including Sardinia, where he interfered on behalf of Barisone I of Logudoro against the Republic of Pisa, indicating his authority over both.

In 1065, he was recalled to become duke of Lower Lorraine after the death of Frederick. He was also given Antwerp again. He installed his court at Bouillon and died on Christmas Eve 1069.

Family

By Doda, he had:

Footnotes

  1. He is sometimes counted as Godfrey II of Lower Lorraine and Godfrey I of Tuscany.

External links

Godfrey III, Duke of Lower Lorraine
Born: c.997 Died: 1069
Preceded by
Gothelo I
Duke of Upper Lorraine
10441047
Succeeded by
Adalbert
Preceded by
Frederick
Duke of Lower Lorraine
10651069
Succeeded by
Godfrey the Hunchback
Preceded by
Frederick
Margrave of Tuscany
10651069
Vacant
Part of Papal States
Title last held by
Hugh III
Duke of Spoleto
10571070
Preceded by
Frederick
Margrave of Antwerp
10651069
Succeeded by
Baldwin VI
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