Robert, Duke of Bar

Who was Robert, Duke of Bar?

Robert I of Bar was Marquis of Pont-à-Mousson and Count and then Duke of Bar. He succeeded his elder brother Edward II of Bar as count in 1352, and the county was promoted to a duchy in 1354. Their parents were Henry IV of Bar and Yolande, granddaughter of Robert III, Count of Flanders.

When Robert was less than a year old, his father died and his elder brother, Edward II of Bar, became Count of Bar under their mother's regency. As neither Robert nor Edward had a strong constitution, Yolande obtained a dispensation from Pope Clement VI to allow them to eat meat during periods of abstinence. When his brother Edward died, Robert was still only 7 years old and political problems associated with his mother's continued position as regent had arisen.

Yolande was on the point of remarrying to Philip of Navarre, count of Longueville, a member of the Navarre family which was attempting to claim the French crown from John the Good. Jeanne of Bar, countess of Warren and daughter of Henry III of Bar, made known to the king that she was ready to replace Yolande and assume the regency. The Parliament of Paris, by decree of 5 June 1352, declared that the county was under the king's control.