Tags: Noble.
Godfrey III (c. 997–1069) called the Bearded was the eldest son of Gothelo I duke of Upper and Lower Lorraine. By inheritance he was count of Verdun and he became margrave of Antwerp as a vassal of the duke of Lower Lorraine. The Holy Roman Emperor Henry III authorised him to succeed his father as duke of Upper Lorraine in 1044 but refused him the ducal title in Lower Lorraine for he feared the power of a united duchy.