LORRAINE

From Agepedia

LORRAINE (Lotharingia; in German, Lothringen), so called from Loth aire II, to whom this part of the country fell in the division of the empire between him and his brothers, Louis II and Charles (854), had previously belonged to the kingdom of Austrasia. It was divided into Lower and Upper Lorraine ; the former including all the country between the Rhine, the Me use and the Scheldt, to the sea ; the latter the countries between the Rhine and the Moselle, to the Meuse. Lorraine, at a later period, was bounded, by Alsace, FrancheComte, Champagne, Luxemburg, the present Prussian province of the Lower Rhine, and the Bavarian circle of the Rhine, containing 10,150 square miles, and at present forming the French departments of the Meuse, the Vosges, the Moselle and the Meurthe, with a population of 1,500,000 inhabitants. Its forests and mountains, among which the principal is the Vosges, are adapted for the raising of cattle, and contain much game ; they also yield copper, salt, iron, tin, and some silver. Salt springs and lakes, abounding with fish, are also to be found. The soil is, for the most part, poor, and not adapted for tillage. The vine is cultivated to a considerable extent. The French and German languages are spoken. The people are of German origin. Lorraine was for centuries a subject of dispute between France and Germany. It was, for a long time, a fief of the German empire. On the death of Charles the Bold, dxike of Lorraine, in 1431, without male heirs, the country was inherited by his daughter Isabella. The two grandsons of her soninlaw FredericAntony and Claudefounded, in 1508, the principal and collateral Lorraine lines, the latter of which spread in France (the dukes De Guise, D'Aumale, D'Elbceuf, D'Harcourt, belonged to it). From that time forward (1540), France took a decided part in all disputes relating to Lorraine. Charles of Lorraine was driven out, during the 30 years' war, on account of his connexion with Austria. He Was restored in 1659, under severe conditions, and, in 1662, he consented that Lprraine should go to France on his death, the house of Lorraine being recognised as princes of the blood. He was, however, again deposed, and diedin the Austrian service. His brother's grandson Leopold was recognised as duke of Lorraine by the peace of Ryswick (1697). France finally succeeded in her intentions, when Stanislaus, fatherinlaw of Louis XV, and the dethroned king of Poland, by the peace of Vienna (November 8, 1738), received the duchies of Lorraine and Bar (with the exception of the county of Falkenstein), which, after his death (1766), were united with France. By the second peace of Paris (1815), a small part, with the fortress Saarlouis, was ceded to Germany, and now belongs to the Prussian province of the Lower Ehine. Besides the principal town, Nancy (q. v.), Luneville (q. v.) has been distinguished by the peace of 1801. Charles Eugene, duke of LorraineElboeuf, born September 25, 1751, at the commencement of the French revolution, commanded the regiment royal Mlemand, under the title of prince Lambesc, and afterwards entered the Austrian service, and died at Vienna, November 21,1825. He was the last of the younger line. The elder line now rules in Austria, Tuscany and Modena. (See Etienne's Resume1 de PHistoire de Lorraine (Peais, 1825). See also Hopsburg.)