County (Duchy) of Bar | |||||||||
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| 1033–1766 | |||||||||
 Coat of arms | |||||||||
 Map of France in 1477, showing the Duchy of Bar in "Valois-Anjou" colours | |||||||||
 The Duchy of Bar in the 17th century, as against the modern administrative divisions of France | |||||||||
| Status | Vassal of Holy Roman Empire | ||||||||
| Capital | Bar-le-Duc | ||||||||
| Government | Feudal monarchy | ||||||||
| Historical era | Middle Ages | ||||||||
• Established | 1033 | ||||||||
• Divided from the Duchy of Lorraine | 1033 | ||||||||
• Divided between France and the Empire | 1301 | ||||||||
• Raised to a duchy | 1354 | ||||||||
• United with the Duchy of Lorraine | 1480 | ||||||||
• Passed by treaty to the French crown | 1766 | ||||||||
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 Flag of Lorraine since the 13th century |
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Lorraine in theEU |
TheCounty of Bar, laterDuchy of Bar, was a principality of theHoly Roman Empire encompassing thepays de Barrois and centred on the city ofBar-le-Duc. It was held by theHouse of Montbéliard from the 11th century. Part of the county, the so-calledBarrois mouvant, became afief of theKingdom of France in 1301 and was elevated to a duchy in 1354. TheBarrois non-mouvant remained a part of the Empire. From 1480, it was united to the imperialDuchy of Lorraine.
Both imperial Bar and Lorraine came under the influence of France in 1735, with Bar ceded to the deposed king of Poland,Stanisław Leszczyński. According to theTreaty of Vienna (1738), the duchy would pass to the French crown upon Stanisław's death, which occurred in 1766.
The county of Bar originated in the frontier fortress of Bar (from Latinbarra, barrier) that DukeFrederick I of Upper Lorraine built on the bank of the riverOrnain around 960.[1] The fortress was originally directed at thecounts of Champagne, who had made incursions into Frederick'sallodial lands. Frederick also confiscated some lands from the nearbyAbbey of Saint-Mihiel and settled hisknights on it.[1] The originalBarrois was thus a mixture of the duke's allodial lands and confiscated church lands enfeoffed to knights. On the death of DukeFrederick III in 1033, these lands passed to his sister,Sophia (died 1093), who was the first person to associate the comital title with Bar, styling herself "Countess of Bar".[1]
Sophia's descendants, of theHouse of Montbéliard, expanded Bar "by usurpation, conquest, purchase, and marriage" into ade facto autonomous state perched between France andGermany.[1] Its population wasfrancophone and culturally French, and the counts were involved in French politics. CountReginald II (died 1170) married Agnes, a sister of the queen of France,Adele. His son,Henry I, died on theThird Crusade in 1190.[1] From 1214 to 1291 Bar was ruled byHenry II andTheobald II, who secured the western frontier with Champagne by granting fiefs to French nobles and buying theirhomage.[1]
In 1297, KingPhilip IV of France invaded the Barrois because CountHenry III had given aid to his father-in-law,Edward I of England, when the latter intervened against France in theFranco-Flemish War.[1] In the Treaty of Bruges of 1301 Henry was forced to recognise all of his county west of the riverMeuse as a fief of France.[1][2] This was the origin of theBarrois mouvant: a territory that was turned into a fief was said to have "moved" and entered themouvance of its suzerain. It was subject to theParliament of Paris. The Treaty of Bruges did not represent any expansion of French territory. The territory to the west of the Meuse was French since theTreaty of Verdun of 843, but in 1301 it became a direct fief of the crown, including its allodial parts.[3]
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In 1354, the Count of Bar took the ducal title and was thereafter recognised as aPeer of France.[1]Père Anselme (died 1694) believed that CountRobert had been created a duke by KingJohn II of France in preparation for the count's marriage to John's daughter,Mary.[2] The rulers of Bar were not created dukes by imperial appointment. The only title Count Robert received by imperial grant in 1354 was that ofMargrave of Pont-à-Mousson.[5] This margraviate was frequently bestowed by the Dukes of Bar on their heirs apparent. In that same year the emperor raised theCounty of Luxembourg into a duchy and Bar fell between two duchies, Luxembourg and Upper Lorraine.[6] The ducal title was eventually accepted by the emperors, however, and theimperial tax register of 1532 records the "Duchy on the Meuse" (German:Herzogtum von der Maß) as a voting member of theReichstag.[2]
In 1430, the last duke of the male line of the ruling house,Louis, died.[6] Bar passed to his great-nephew,René I, who was married toIsabella, Duchess of Lorraine. In 1431 the couple inherited Lorraine. On René's death in 1480, Bar passed to his daughterYolanda and her son,René II, who was already Duke of Lorraine. In 1482 he conquered theprévôté ofVirton, a part of theDuchy of Luxembourg, and annexed it to Bar.[7] In 1484Peter II, Duke of Bourbon, regent for KingCharles VIII of France, formally installed him in the Duchy of Bar.[8] In his final testament published in 1506, René decreed that the two duchies of Bar and Lorraine should never be separated. The two duchies remained joined inpersonal union permanently.[4]
On 2 October 1735, the preliminaryTreaty of Vienna between France and the Empire was drawn up, ending theWar of the Polish Succession and granting Bar and Lorraine to the deposed king of Poland,Stanislaus Leszczynski. It was agreed that he should receive Bar immediately, but for Lorraine he had to wait until the death of Grand DukeGian Gastone of Tuscany (which took place on 9 July 1737), so that the deposed duke of Lorraine could inherit Tuscany. In January 1736, Stanislaus formally renounced his claim to the Polish throne (although he was allowed to retain the royal title). In August, France and the Empire finalized their agreement concerning the exchange of territories. The emperor renounced his suzerainty over Bar and Lorraine.[9]
On 30 September 1736, Stanislaus signed a convention, known as the Declaration of Meudon, whereby the French king would appoint the governor of Lorraine. On 8 February 1737, Stanislaus took possession of Bar and on 21 March of Lorraine.[10] On 18 November 1738, the finalTreaty of Vienna was signed. Stanislaus turned over the incomes from Bar and Lorraine to the French crown in exchange for a generous pension, which he used to fund construction projects in the duchies.[11] On his death on 23 February 1766 the duchies passed to theroyal domain of France as per the treaty.
All the dates are regnal dates. All rulers before Sophia ruled Bar, but did not use the title "Count of Bar".
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1 Part of theThree Bishoprics. 2Nomeny after 1737. 3 withoutReichstag seat. 4 until 1736. 5 JoinedSwiss Confederacy in 1515. Circles est. 1500:Bavarian,Swabian,Upper Rhenish,Lower Rhenish–Westphalian,Franconian,(Lower) Saxon Circles est. 1512:Austrian,Burgundian,Upper Saxon,Electoral Rhenish · Unencircled territories | |||||
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