Frederick III, Duke of Lorraine
Frederick III (French: Ferry) (1240 – 31 December 1303[1]) was the Duke of Lorraine from 1251 to his death.The long-held loyalty of the dukes of Lorraine to the Holy Roman Emperor had waned in the first half of the thirteenth century and French influence was pervasive, leading to its permanent attachment to France in 1766.During Frederick's reign, he fought the bishops of Metz until Pope Clement IV excommunicated him and put his duchy under an interdict.In 1257, after the elections following the death of King William of Holland resulted in the contested election of both Richard, Earl of Cornwall and Alfonso X of Castile, Frederick of Lorraine sided with Alfonso, who through his mother Beatrix was the grandson of the Hohenstaufen Philip of Swabia.The rivalry between the two kings led to little actual combat and after Richard's death the 1273 election of Rudolf of Habsburg and the subsequent withdrawal of Alfonso reestablished unity.