Henry of Bar

Who was Henry of Bar?

Henry of Bar was lord of Marle and the Marquis de Pont-à-Mousson. He was the eldest son of Robert I of Bar and Marie of Valois.

Very early in his life, he was betrothed to Isabella of Lorraine, daughter of John I, Duke of Lorraine. In 1374 he went to the court of his uncle King Charles V of France and was knighted at the coronation of king Charles VI of France, fighting in the Flanders campaign in 1383 and the Guelders campaign in 1388. He then returned to Bar and governed it on behalf of his father, who was often immobilised by attacks of gout.

His betrothal was broken off and his fiancée instead married Enguerrand VII, Lord of Coucy. In November 1384 Henry himself married Marie de Coucy, Countess of Soissons, daughter of Enguerrand VII Count of Soissons & Sire de Coucy, by his first wife Princess Isabella of England, eldest daughter of King Edward III. Marie became Dame de Coucy et de Oisy following her father's death in 1397. Henry had two children by Marie:

Enguerrand,

Robert of Bar, who became count of Marle and of Soissons.

In 1396, Henry negotiated the neutrality of Gian Galeazzo Visconti, Duke of Milan, in dealings with the French protectorate in the republic of Gênes.