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- BIOGRAPHY
Thierry was born about 1175, the younger son of Frédéric I, duc de Lorraine, and Ludmilla of Poland. On the death of his father in 1206 he inherited the seigneury of Autigny and its castle, while his elder brother Frédéric succeeded their father in Lorraine.
Thierry carried the soubriquets 'le Diable' (the Devil) and 'd'Enfer' (from Hell). The first was meant to refer to his extraordinary courage bordering on recklessness, while the second could have referred to the conditions of the dungeon where he was kept for seven months after his capture with his brothers Frédéric and Philippe by the count of Bar.
With his wife Gertrude de Montmorency, daughter of Baron Matthieu II de Montmorency, connetable de France, and his first wife Gertrude de Soissons, he had at least one son Ferri who would have progeny.
On a rocky promontory overlooking the Vair River, Thierry had a tall tower erected which was called Châtelet or Chastelet. The seigneury also came to be called by this name as well as Autigny. The oldest document referring to this name was a charter of King Philippe II Auguste allowing Matthieu II de Montmorency to build a house on the island of Chastelet. The tower may have been named after this island.
Thierry died after 25 December 1225. His heir was his son Ferri. Ferri's grandson Erard II (d.1408) referred himself as Sire du Chastelet et d'Autigny, and later generations retained the Chastelet name while dropping Autigny.
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