House of Lorraine

The House of Lorraine (German: Haus Lothringen) originated as a

• the theory of Etichonid ancestry, which claims that Adalbert of Metz and his brother Gerard were descendants of the Nordgau branch of the Etichonid Dynasty, the same branch from which the House of Habsburg and the House of Zähringen could possibly descend;^[2]
• the theory of
  Matfridings which are thought to have been a branch of the Gerardides.^{[citation needed}
  ]

The Etichonid origin was unanimously recognized from the 18th until the 20th century. For this reason, the marriage between Maria Theresa of Austria and Francis of Lorraine was seen at the time as the reunion of the two branches of the dynasty. The main proponents of this theory have been: Dom Calmet (1672 † 1757),^[3] Nicolas Viton de Saint-Allais (1773 † 1842)^[4] and more recently Michel Dugast Rouillé (1919 † 1987)^[2] and Henry Bogdan.^[5]

The main proponents of the Gerardide-Matfriding theory are: Eduard Hlawitschka,^[6] George Poull^[7] and partially the Europäische Stammtafeln (which however does not take into account the kinship with the Girardides).^[8]

The

After a brief interlude of 1453–1473, when the duchy passed in right of Charles's daughter to her husband

The French Wars of Religion saw the rise of a junior branch of the Lorraine family, the House of Guise, which became a dominant force in French politics and, during the later years of Henry III's reign, was on the verge of succeeding to the throne of France.^[12] Mary of Guise, mother of Mary, Queen of Scots, also came from this family.

Under the

After

At Charles's death in 1740 the Habsburg holdings passed to Maria Theresa and Francis, who was later elected (in 1745) Holy Roman Emperor as Francis I. The Habsburg-Lorraine nuptials and dynastic union precipitated, and survived, the War of the Austrian Succession. Francis and Maria Theresa's daughters Marie Antoinette and Maria Carolina of Austria became Queens of France and Naples-Sicily, respectively, while their sons Joseph II and Leopold II succeeded to the imperial title.

Apart from the core Habsburg dominions, including the triple crowns of Austria, Hungary and Bohemia, several junior branches of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine reigned in the Italian duchies of Tuscany (until 1737-1796, 1814-1860), Parma (1814-1847) and Modena (1814-1859). Another member of the house, Archduke Maximilian of Austria, was Emperor of Mexico (1863–67).

In 1900,

The following is a list of ruling heads (after 1918 pretenders) of the house of Ardennes-Metz and its successor houses of Lorraine and Habsburg-Lorraine, from the start of securely documented genealogical history in the 11th century.^{[citation needed]}

• Gerhard III, Count of Metz, 990–1045
• Upper Lorraine
  r. 1047/8
• Gérard, Duke of Lorraine
  , r. 1048–1070
• Theodoric (Thierry) II r. 1070–1115
• Simon I, r. 1115–1138
• Matthias I, r. 1138–1176
• Simon II, r. 1176–1215
• Frederick I, r. 1205/6
• Frederick II, r. 1206–1213
• Theobald I, r. 1213–1220
• Matthias II, r. 1220–1251
• Frederick III, c. 1251–1303
• Theobald II, r. 1303–1312
• Frederick IV, r. 1312–1328
• Rudolph, r. 1328–1346 (killed in the Battle of Crécy)
• John I, r. 1346–1390
• Charles II, r. 1390–1431

Charles II died without male heir, the duchy passing to Isabella, Duchess of Lorraine, consort of Naples by marriage to Duke René of Anjou. The duchy passed to their son John II (r. 1453–1470), whose son Nicholas I (r. 1470–1473) died without heir. The title now went to Nicholas' aunt (sister of John II) Yolande.

House of Lorraine

The House of Lorraine was formed by Yolande's marriage to Frederick II, Count of Vaudémont (1428–1470), who was descended from John I (Yolande's great-grandfather) via his younger son Frederick I, Count of Vaudémont (1346–1390), Antoine, Count of Vaudémont (c. 1395–1431) and Frederick II, Count of Vaudémont (1417–1470). René inherited the title of Duke of Lorraine upon his marriage in 1473.

• René II, Duke of Lorraine, r. 1473–1508
• Antoine, r. 1508–1544
• Francis I, r. 1544/5
• Charles III, r. 1545–1608 (his mother Christina of Denmark served as his regent during his minority)
• Henry II (I), r. 1608–1624 (leaving no sons, both of his daughters became Duchesses of Lorraine by marriage)
  • Nicole (m. Charles IV)
  • Claude
    (m. Nicholas II)
• Francis II, (son of Charles III, duke for six days in 1625, abdicated in favour of his son)
• Charles IV, Duke of Lorraine r. 1624–1675 (briefly abdicated in favour of his brother in 1634)
  • Nicholas Francis (Nicholas II) (briefly made duke during the French invasion of Lorraine in 1634)
• Charles V, r. 1675–1690 (son of Nicholas Francis)
• Leopold, r. 1690–1729
• Francis (III) Stephen, Duke of Lorraine, r. 1728–1737, Holy Roman Emperor (as Francis I) r. 1745–1765

House of Habsburg–Lorraine

• Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor (1741–1790), r. 1765–1790
• Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor (1747–1792), r. 1790–1792
• Francis II (IV) (1768–1835), Holy Roman Emperor 1792–1806, Emperor of Austria 1804–1835
• Ferdinand I (V), Emperor of Austria (1793–1875), r. 1835–1848 (abdicated in 1848, succeeded by his nephew)
• Franz Joseph I of Austria (1830–1916), r. 1848–1916, son of Archduke Franz Karl of Austria (1802–1878), a younger son of Francis II

The heir of Franz Joseph,

• Blessed Charles of Austria (Charles I and IV) (1887–1922), r. 1916–1919 (dissolution of the monarchy)
• Otto von Habsburg (1912–2011)
• Karl von Habsburg (b. 1961)
  • Heir apparent:
    Ferdinand Zvonimir von Habsburg
    (b. 1997)

Family tree

Notes and references