The House of Lorraine was a noble house that ruled over the Duchy of Lorraine within the Holy Roman Empire, and also held other feudal domains, such as the County of Vaudémont, the Duchy of Bar, the Duchy of Guise, and various minor possessions. The senior ducal branch died out in 1431, but the cadet branch, headed by the Counts of Vaudémont, continued and reacquired the Duchy of Lorraine in 1473, thus establishing the junior ducal line, that ruled over Lorraine until 1737. Its cadet branch, the House of Guise, played a prominent role in political history of the Kingdom of France.