duchy · France and the Low Countries
Duchy of Bar
Origins
Bar-le-Duc's castle was built in the 10th century by Duke Frederick of Upper Lorraine. In 1033 the county passed to his descendant Sophie of Bar, who around 1038 married Louis of Mousson, count of Montbéliard; their descendants ruled the county of Bar as a separate principality between Champagne and Lorraine.
Rule and society
The counts ruled a fertile land along the Meuse and Ornain. After a defeat by Philip IV, the Treaty of Bruges in 1301 made the western part, the Barrois mouvant, a fief of the French crown, while the rest stayed imperial. Robert I became the first duke in 1354. René of Anjou inherited Bar in 1430 from his great-uncle, Cardinal Louis of Bar, and through his wife Isabella gained Lorraine in 1431.
Decline and legacy
René's grandson René II united Bar and the Duchy of Lorraine in 1480, and the two shared rulers thereafter. Like Lorraine, Bar passed to Stanisław Leszczyński in 1737 and was annexed to the Kingdom of France on his death in 1766.
Lineage
On the connections map
Open the full map →Connections (2)
- Duchy of Bar was part of Holy Roman Empire1033 CE – 1766 CE
- Duchy of Bar in personal union with Duchy of Lorraine1480 CE – 1766 CE
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Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Duchy of Bar. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/duchy-of-bar
- MLA
- “Duchy of Bar.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/duchy-of-bar. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Duchy of Bar.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/duchy-of-bar.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Duchy of Bar’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/duchy-of-bar (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻