| County (Duchy) of Bar Grafschaft (Herzogtum) Bar (de) Comté (Duché) de Bar (fr) |
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| State of the Holy Roman Empire | ||||
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| Capital | Bar-le-Duc | |||
| Government | Principality | |||
| Historical era | Middle Ages | |||
| - Established | 959 | |||
| - Divided from Upper Lorraine | 959 | |||
| - United with Lorraine | 1483 | |||
| - To France as a royal domain | ||||
| - Disestablished | 1634 | |||
| - Granted to Stanisław Leszczyński |
1738–66 | |||
Bar was a historic duchy of both the Holy Roman Empire and the crown of France, though later totally incorporated with Lorraine into France in 1766. The duchy of Bar includes the "pays" of Barrois.
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In the middle of the 10th century, the territory of Bar formed a dependency of the Holy Roman Empire. The first dynasty of Bar were in fact dukes of Upper Lotharingia out of the house of the counts of the Ardennes, descendants of count palatine Wigeric of Lotharingia. They chose their seat at Bar, which was subsequently called Bar-le-Duc. This Ardennes-Bar dynasty became extinct with Duke Frederick III (died 1033) and his sister Countess Sophia of Bar (died 1093).
In the 11th century the lords of Bar were only counts of Bar. They belonged to the house of Mousson-Montbéliard-Ferrette.
Theobald I of Bar was an ally of Philip Augustus, as was also his son Henry II of Bar, who distinguished himself at the Battle of Bouvines in 1214. But sometimes the counts of Bar bore arms against France. In 1301 Henry III of Bar, having made an alliance with Edward I of England, whose daughter he had married, was vanquished by Philip the Fair, who forced him to do homage for a part of Barrois, situated west of the Meuse River, which was then called Barrois mouvant. Since then the duchy of Bar was both part of the Crown of France (for the west of the Meuse River) and part of the Holy Roman Empire (for the rest of the duchy).[1]
In 1354 Robert of Bar, who married a princess of France, was made Marquis of Pont-à-Mousson by the Emperor Charles IV and took the title of Duke of Bar. Hereafter, the title of "Marquis of Pont-à-Mousson" was used by the dukes of Bar or their heirs-apparent. His successor, Edward III of Bar, was killed at Agincourt in 1415.
In 1419 Louis of Bar, brother of the last-named cardinal and bishop of Châlons-sur-Marne, gave the duchy of Bar to René, Duke of Anjou and king of Naples, the grandson of his sister Yolande, who married Isabella, Duchess of Lorraine. Yolande of Anjou, who in 1444 had married Frederick, Count of Vaudémont, became heiress of Nicholas of Anjou, duke of Calabria and of Lorraine, in 1473, and of René of Anjou, duke of Bar, in 1480; thus Lorraine, with Bar added to it, once more returned to the family of its ancient dukes.
United with Lorraine to France in 1634, the duchy of Bar remained, except for short intervals, part of the royal domain. It was granted in 1738 to Stanislaus Leszczynski, ex-king of Poland, and on his death in 1766 was once more attached to the crown of France.
Joan of Arc was actually from Bar (Domrémy-la-Pucelle), then not yet a part of France.[2]
Hereafter united with the Duchy of Lorraine.
Hereafter united with the Duchy of Lorraine.