During John's long minority, the
regency was in the hands of his mother and Eberhard III of
Württemberg. In December 1353, he did homage for the duchy to
Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor, who made him
lieutenant-general of the Empire in the
Moselle country. In 1354,
John II of France granted John a dispensation which allowed him to govern the duchy despite not yet being of age. John participated in the
Lithuanian Crusade at the sides of the
Teutonic Knights against
Lithuania in 1356 and again in 1365. On 19 September 1356, John fought in the
Battle of Poitiers, where thousands of French soldiers were mowed down by English
longbowmen. He survived, however, unlike his father, to fight again, although he was taken prisoner by the English. John later fought on the side of the
Dauphin Charles in putting down the Parisian rebellion of
Étienne Marcel. He attended Charles' coronation on 19 May 1364 in
Rheims, strengthening the ties to France which had steadily been building in Lorraine for the past century. John entered the
War of the Breton Succession to aid his uncle
Charles of Blois against
John of Montfort. At the
Battle of Auray on 29 September 1364 with Montfort as undisputed duke and Charles dead on the field, he was taken prisoner. John continued to aid Charles V and
Charles VI to reconquer the provinces lost by the
Treaty of Brétigny, but in his latter years, he distanced himself from the French court. This was due, in part, to the
free companies ravaging his lands and the royal officials who tried to litigate the relationship between John (an Imperial vassal) and his vassals. In the end, he entered into
rapprochement with
Philip II, Duke of Burgundy. Nonetheless, John died in Paris on 22 September 1390, defending himself against a charge of abuse of power by the people of
Neufchâteau. ==Family==