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Birth:          ABT  997 of Lorraine, France
Death:          24 Dec 1069 

Notes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godfrey_III,_Duke_of_Lower_Lorraine
Godfrey III[1] (c.?997–1069), 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 authorized 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 role 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[edit]

By Doda, he had:
Godfrey, succeeded him in Lower Lorraine
Ida of Lorraine, married Eustace II, Count of Boulogne[2]
Wiltrude, married Adalbert of Calw

Parents
____ Gothelo (Gonzelon) (Gozelo) I (ABT  967 - 19 Apr 1044)
____ Urraca or Ermengarde (ABT  974 - )

Siblings
OF LORRAINE Regelinde (ABT  994 - AFT 1064)
OF LORRAINE Oda (ABT  995 - 23 Oct 1044)
____ Godfrey (Gottfried) III (ABT  997 - 24 Dec 1069)

Marriage To ____ Doda (Ode) ()
    m.  

Notes


Children by ____ Doda (Ode) 
OF LORRAINE Ida (ABT 1040 - 13 Aug 1113)

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