Edward I, Count of Bar

Edward I (1294 – November 1336), was the Count of Bar from 1302 to his death. He was a minor when he succeeded his father Henry III as count, so ruled initially under the regency of his uncles, John of Puisaye, Theobald, Bishop of Liège, and Renaud, Bishop of Metz (his mother Eleanor had been dead since 1298).

Life Born in 1294, Edward was the son of Henry III, Count of Bar, and Eleanor of England. In 1308, he accompanied Frederick IV of Lorraine into battle. In 1310, he married Mary, daughter of Robert II, Duke of Burgundy and Agnes of France, and was declared to have attained his majority.

Edward purchased the Lordship of Stenay from his uncle John, the aforementioned Lord of Puisaye. In 1313, he was captured in battle against Frederick and not ransomed until 1314. Edward constructed a hydraulic forge at Moyeuvre-Grande in 1323. In 1324, he was again allied with the Duke of Lorraine, and also with John, King of Bohemia, and the Archbishop of Trier, Baldwin of Luxembourg. This operation was the War of Metz, for each of the allied lords was owed something by the citizens of Metz. Edward demanded compensation for garrisoning the city with his own troops during a conflict with the Bishop of Verdun.

In 1336, Edward died in a shipwreck off the coast of Famagusta, Cyprus, while en route to a Crusade.

Marriage & issue Edward and Marie had: Henry IV, his successor Eleanor (died 1332), married (1330) Rudolph, Duke of Lorraine, son of Frederick IV and Elisabeth of Austria, of the House of Habsburg Beatrice, married Guido Gonzaga, Lord of Mantua, member of the House of Gonzaga