Lorraine (province)

Information about Lorraine (province)

This article is about the historical duchy and province of Lorraine. For the modern-day administrative région of Lorraine, see Lorraine (région).


Enlarge picture
location of the Lorraine province


Lorraine (French: Lorraine, German: Lothringen) is a historical area in present-day northeast France. Some of the main cities are Metz, Nancy and Verdun.

History

Lorraine was originally an independent kingdom. It was created in 843, when the Carolingian empire was divided between the three sons of Louis the Pious. Named after the new ruler, Holy Roman Emperor Lothar, the area and other territories controlled by Lothar became known as Lotharingia. In France, this became known as Lorraine, while in Germany, it was eventually known as Lothringen. In the Alemannic language once spoken in Lorraine, the -ingen suffix signified a property; thus, in a figurative sense, "Lotharingen" can be translated as "Land belonging to Lothar".

In 959, the duchy was divided into Upper and Lower regions which became permanent following the death of Duke Bruno. Upper Lorraine was first denominated as the Duchy of the Moselle, both in charters and narrative sources, and its duke was the dux Mosellanorum. The usage of Lotharingia Superioris and Lorraine in official documents begins later, around the fifteenth century. However, the dukes of Upper Lorraine gradually came to be known simply as the dukes of Lorraine, because the significance of the Lower duchy declined greatly in the latter half of the eleventh century. In the 17th century, the French kings began to covet Lorraine, which lay between France proper and its possessions in Alsace. Lorraine, after siding with the Emperor in the Thirty Years' War, was largely occupied by France in 1641. In 1670, the French invaded again, forcing Duke Charles IV to flee to a Viennese exile. The French continued to occupy Lorraine for almost thirty years, only giving it up to Charles's heir by the Treaty of Ryswick which ended the Nine Years War in 1697. The Duchy was again occupied by France during the War of the Spanish Succession, although Duke Leopold Joseph continued to reign. Leopold's son and successor, Francis Stephen, was forced to give up the Duchy in 1737, after the War of the Polish Succession, in exchange for the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. Francis Stephen was betrothed to Archduchess Maria Theresa, daughter and heir to Charles VI, and the French would only approve the marriage if Francis gave up his rights to Lorraine. Francis and Maria Theresa's marriage resulted in the House of Habsburg-Lorraine. Replacing Francis Stephen in Lunéville was the last Duke of Lorraine, Stanislaus Leszczynski, former king of Poland, Louis XV's father-in-law, with the understanding that it would revert to the French crown upon his death. With Stanislas's death in 1766, Lorraine became part of France in 1766 and was reorganized by the French government.

Lorraine, along with Alsace, has long been contested territory between France and Germany. After being annexed by Louis XIV, there was opposition to efforts to have the French language and customs imposed upon them, a process which Stanislaus I effectively ended during his reign but which was resumed afterwards. A part of Lorraine, along with Alsace, was united with Germany after the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 causing a large number of French people to emigrate into France (including Algeria). Under Bismarck's German Empire Alsace-Lorraine had (unlike other German states that were monarchies or free cities) virtually no autonomy and was ruled by a governor appointed by the Reichskanzler. The use of the French language was proscribed. In 1911, some degree of autonomy was granted.

This part of Lorraine remained a part of Germany after the end of World War I, when the Kaiser abdicated and the Republic of Alsace-Lorraine declared itself independent, with support of the United States. France occupied the area after a few days and annexed it. Policies forbidding the use of German and requiring that of French were then begun.

The region was annexed by Nazi Germany in 1940 during World War II. Lorraine was combined with the Saarland, and Alsace with Baden. The French language was again proscribed and education at German schools made compulsory. The war-torn area returned to France in November 1944. Because of the fighting in the area, Lorraine is home to the largest American cemetery in France.

Culture

Most of Lorraine has a clear French identity. For this reason, Bismarck only annexed about a third of today's Lorraine to the German Empire following the Franco-Prussian War. The disputed third, known as Moselle, had a culture not easily classifiable as either French or German, possessing both Romance and Germanic dialects. Like many border regions, Lorraine was a patchwork of ethnicities and dialects, sometimes not even mutually intelligible with either French or German.

Despite the French government's 'single language' policy, the local Germanic dialect still survives in the northern part of the region. It is known as Lorraine Franconian in English, francique or platt (lorrain) in French (not to be confused with lorrain, the Romance dialect spoken in the region). This is distinct from the neighbouring Alsatian language, although the two are often confused. Neither has any form of official recognition.

Like most of France's regional languages (such as Breton, Provençal and Alsatian) Lorraine Franconian was largely replaced by French with the advent of mandatory public schooling in the 19th and 20th centuries.

The area is famous as the place where quiche lorraine originated.

See also

Further reading

Publications in English

  • Linda Herrick & Wendy Uncapher, Alsace-Lorraine Atlantic Bridge to Germany, Origins, Janesville, WI, 2003.
  • Hughes, S.P. (2005) Bilingualism in North-East France with specific reference to Rhenish Franconian spoken by Moselle Cross-border (or frontier) workers. http://www.ruc.dk/isok/skriftserier/mobility/mobility2/Hughes/

External links

Région Lorraine

(Région flag) (Region logo)

Location

Administration
Capital Metz
Regional President Jean-Pierre Masseret
(PS) (since 2004)
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French (français, pronounced [fʁɑ̃ˈsɛ]) is a Romance language originally spoken in France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Switzerland, and today by about 300 million people around the world as either
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German language (Deutsch, ] (help info ) ) is a West Germanic language and one of the world's major languages.
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Motto
Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité
"Liberty, Equality, Fraternity"
Anthem
"La Marseillaise"


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Ville de Metz

City flag City coat of arms

Motto: Si paix dedans, paix dehors
(French: If peace inside, peace outside)

Cathedral St.
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For other uses see Verdun (disambiguation)
Verdun (medieval German: Wirten, official name before 1970 Verdun-sur-Meuse) is a city and commune in the Lorraine région, northeast France, in the Meuse département
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List of forms of government
  • Anarchism
  • Aristocracy
  • Authoritarianism
  • Autocracy

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8th century - 9th century - 10th century
810s  820s  830s  - 840s -  850s  860s  870s
840 841 842 - 843 - 844 845 846
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Carolingian dynasty

Pippinids
  • Pippin the Elder (c. 580–640)
  • Grimoald (616–656)
  • Childebert the Adopted (d. 662)
Arnulfings
  • Arnulf of Metz (582–640)
  • Chlodulf of Metz (d.

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Carolingian dynasty

Pippinids
  • Pippin the Elder (c. 580–640)
  • Grimoald (616–656)
  • Childebert the Adopted (d. 662)
Arnulfings
  • Arnulf of Metz (582–640)
  • Chlodulf of Metz (d.

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Holy Roman Emperor (German: Römischer Kaiser, Latin: Romanorum Imperator) was the elected monarch ruling over the Holy Roman Empire, a Central European state in existence during the Middle
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Carolingian dynasty

Pippinids
  • Pippin the Elder (c. 580–640)
  • Grimoald (616–656)
  • Childebert the Adopted (d. 662)
Arnulfings
  • Arnulf of Metz (582–640)
  • Chlodulf of Metz (d.

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Lotharingia or Lorraine was a short-lived kingdom in western Europe, the aggregate of territories belonging to Lothair, King of Lotharingia (reigned 855–869), who received it in 855 from his father, Lothair I (795-855), Holy Roman Emperor.
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Anthem
"Das Lied der Deutschen" (third stanza)
also called "Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit"
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The term Alemannic can have several, related meanings:
  • Alemannic is used to refer to the Alemanni/Alamanni, a Germanic tribe of the 1st millennium.
  • Alemannic German can also refer to a dialect family in the Upper German branch of the German language.

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9th century - 10th century - 11st century
920s  930s  940s  - 950s -  960s  970s  980s
956 957 958 - 959 - 960 961 962
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Bruno the Great or Bruno I (925-965) was Archbishop of Cologne, Germany, from 953 until his death, and Duke of Lotharingia from 954. He was the brother of Otto I, king of Germany and later Holy Roman Emperor.
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15th century was that century which lasted from 1401 to 1500.

Events

  • 1402: Ottoman and Timurid Empires fight at the Battle of Ankara resulting in Timur's capture of Bayezid I.
  • 1402: The conquest of the Canary Islands signals the beginning of the Spanish Empire.

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As a means of recording the passage of time, the 11th century was that century which lasted from 1001 to 1100.

In the history of European culture, this period is considered the early part of the High Middle Ages.
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Région Alsace

(New région flag) (Region logo)

Location

Administration
Capital Strasbourg
Regional President Adrien Zeller
(UMP) (since 1996)
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Thirty Years' War was fought between 1618 and 1648, principally on the territory of today's Germany, and involved most of the major European continental powers. Although it was ostensibly a religious conflict between Protestants and Catholics, the rivalry between the Habsburg
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8th century - 9th century - 10th century
850s  860s  870s  - 880s -  890s  900s  910s
885 886 887 - 888 - 889 890 891

:
Subjects:     Archaeology - Architecture -
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8th century - 9th century - 10th century
850s  860s  870s  - 880s -  890s  900s  910s
885 886 887 - 888 - 889 890 891

:
Subjects:     Archaeology - Architecture -
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Charles IV (April 5 1604 – September 18 1675), was Duke of Lorraine from 1624 to 1634, when he abdicated in favor of his younger brother, and again from 1661 until 1675. In 1670, the duchy was occupied by the French.
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The Treaty of Ryswick was signed on 20 September 1697 and named after Ryswick (also known as Rijswijk) in the Dutch Republic. The treaty settled the War of the Grand Alliance, which pitted France against the Grand Alliance of England, Spain, the Holy Roman Empire and the United
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War of the Grand Alliance (1688–1697) – often called the Nine Years’ War or occasionally, the War of the League of Augsburg or the War of the Palatinian Succession
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8th century - 9th century - 10th century
850s  860s  870s  - 880s -  890s  900s  910s
885 886 887 - 888 - 889 890 891

:
Subjects:     Archaeology - Architecture -
..... Click the link for more information.
War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1714), known as Queen Anne's War in the United States, was a major European conflict over the succession to the Spanish throne. In 1700, Charles II died and had bequeathed all of his possessions to Philip, duc d'Anjou — a grandson of
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Leopold Joseph called le bon (the good) , (Innsbruck, September 11 1679 – Lunéville , March 27 1729), was Duke of Lorraine from 1690 to his death.

Before 1697 and from 1702 to 1714, his duchy was occupied by France.
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