prince bishopric · France and the Low Countries

Prince-Bishopric of Toul

928 CE – 1648 CE (approx.) · capital Toul

The smallest of the Three Bishoprics of Lorraine, an ecclesiastical principality of the Empire that produced a reforming pope and was absorbed by France.

Origins

Toul had been a bishopric since late Roman times. In the 10th century, as the German kings sought loyal counterweights to the Lorraine nobility, the bishops received comital rights over the city and its surroundings, traditionally dated to 928 under Henry the Fowler, making them princes of the Holy Roman Empire.

Rule and society

The bishops ruled a small territory on the upper Moselle, often clashing with the dukes of Lorraine and with the citizens of Toul, who won considerable self-government. Bishop Bruno of Egisheim became Pope Leo IX in 1049 and drove the Gregorian reform. The diocese itself was far larger than the temporal principality.

Decline and legacy

In 1552 Henry II of France occupied Toul, Metz and Verdun as 'protector' during his war with Charles V. French control of the Three Bishoprics was confirmed by the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, and Toul became part of the Kingdom of France.

Connections (2)

More states of France and the Low Countries →

Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Prince-Bishopric of Toul. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/prince-bishopric-of-toul
MLA
“Prince-Bishopric of Toul.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/prince-bishopric-of-toul. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Prince-Bishopric of Toul.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/prince-bishopric-of-toul.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Prince-Bishopric of Toul’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/prince-bishopric-of-toul (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻