John I was the Duke of Lorraine from 1346 to his death. As an infant of six months, he succeeded his father, Rudolph, who was killed in the Battle of Crécy. His mother was Marie of Blois.

Life

During John's long minority, the regency was in the hands of his mother and Eberhard III of Württemberg. In December 1353, he did homage for the duchy to Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor, who made him lieutenant-general of the Empire in the Moselle country. In 1354, John II of France granted John a dispensation which allowed him to govern the duchy despite not yet being of age.

John participated in the Lithuanian Crusade at the sides of the Teutonic Knights against Lithuania in 1356 and again in 1365.

On 19 September 1356, John fought in the Battle of Poitiers, where thousands of French soldiers were mowed down by English longbowmen. He survived, however, unlike his father, to fight again, although he was taken prisoner by the English. John later fought on the side of the Dauphin Charles in putting down the Parisian rebellion of Étienne Marcel. He attended Charles' coronation on 19 May 1364 in Rheims, strengthening the ties to France which had steadily been building in Lorraine for the past century.

John entered the War of the Breton Succession to aid his uncle Charles of Blois against John of Montfort. At the Battle of Auray on 29 September 1364 with Montfort as undisputed duke and Charles dead on the field, he was taken prisoner.

John continued to aid Charles V and Charles VI to reconquer the provinces lost by the Treaty of Brétigny, but in his latter years, he distanced himself from the French court. This was due, in part, to the free companies ravaging his lands and the royal officials who tried to litigate the relationship between John (an Imperial vassal) and his vassals. In the end, he entered into rapprochement with Philip II, Duke of Burgundy. Nonetheless, John died in Paris on 22 September 1390, defending himself against a charge of abuse of power by the people of Neufchâteau.

Family

John married Sophie of Württemberg (1343–1369), daughter of Eberhard II, Count of Württemberg and Elizabeth von Henneberg-Schleusingen, in 1361.