The Duchy of Lorraine (
French: Lorraine[lɔʁɛn]ⓘ;
German: Lothringen[ˈloːtʁɪŋən]ⓘ), originally Upper Lorraine, was a
duchy now included in the larger present-day region of
Lorraine in northeastern France. Its capital was
Nancy.
It was founded in 959 following the division of
Lotharingia into two separate duchies: Upper and
Lower Lorraine, the westernmost parts of the
Holy Roman Empire. The Lower duchy was quickly dismantled, while Upper Lorraine came to be known as simply the Duchy of Lorraine. The Duchy of Lorraine was coveted and briefly occupied by the
dukes of Burgundy and the
kings of France, but was ruled by the dukes of the
House of Lorraine after 1473.
In 1737, the duchy was given to
Stanisław Leszczyński, the former king of
Poland, who had lost his throne as a result of the
War of the Polish Succession, with the understanding that it would fall to the French crown on his death. When Stanisław died on 23 February 1766, Lorraine was annexed by France and reorganized as the province of
Lorraine and Barrois.
Lorraine's predecessor,
Lotharingia, was an independent
Carolingian kingdom under the rule of King
Lothair II (855–869). Its territory had originally been a part of
Middle Francia, created in 843 by the
Treaty of Verdun, when the Carolingian empire was divided between the three sons of
Louis the Pious. Middle Francia was allotted to Emperor
Lothair I, therefore called Lotharii Regnum. On his death in 855, it was further divided into three parts, of which his son Lothair II took the northern one. His realm then comprised a larger territory stretching from the
County of Burgundy in the south to the
North Sea. In French, this area became known as Lorraine, while in German, it was eventually known as Lothringen. In the
Alemannic language once spoken in Lorraine, the -ingen suffix signified a property;[citation needed] thus, in a figurative sense, "Lotharingen" can be translated as "Land belonging to Lothair", or more simplified *Lothair's realm*.
As Lothair II had died without heirs, his territory was divided by the 870
Treaty of Meerssen between
East and
West Francia and finally came under East Frankish rule as a whole by the 880
Treaty of Ribemont. After the East Frankish Carolingians became extinct with the death of
Louis the Child in 911, Lotharingia once again attached itself to West Francia, but was conquered by the
German king
Henry the Fowler in 925. Stuck in the conflict with his rival
Hugh the Great, in 942 King
Louis IV of France renounced all claims to Lotharingia.
Duchy of Upper Lorraine
In 953, the German king
Otto I had appointed his brother
Bruno the Great Duke of Lotharingia. In 959, Bruno divided the
duchy into Upper and
Lower Lorraine; this division became permanent following his death in 965. The Upper Duchy was further "up" the river system, that is, it was inland and to the south. 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. The first duke and deputy of Bruno was
Frederick I of Bar, son-in-law of Bruno's sister
Hedwig of Saxony.
Lower Lorraine disintegrated into several smaller territories and only the title of a "
Duke of Lothier" remained, held by
Brabant. After the duchy of the Moselle came into the possession of
René of Anjou, the name "Duchy of Lorraine" was adopted again, only retrospectively called "Upper Lorraine". At that time, several territories had already split off, such as the
County of Luxembourg, the
Electorate of Trier, the
County of Bar and the "
Three Bishoprics" of
Verdun,
Metz and
Toul.
Due to the weakening of Imperial authority during the 1618–1648
Thirty Years' War, France was able to occupy the duchy in 1634 and retained it until 1661 when
Charles IV was restored. In 1670, the French invaded again, forcing Charles into exile; his nephew and heir
Charles V (1643–1690) spent his life in the service of the Imperial
House of Habsburg. France returned the Duchy in the 1697
Treaty of Ryswick ending the
Nine Years' War and Charles' son
Leopold (1679–1729), became duke and was known as 'Leopold the Good;' in the 1701–1714
War of the Spanish Succession, parts of Lorraine, including the capital Nancy, were again occupied by France, but Leopold continued to reign at the
Château de Lunéville.
In 1737, after the
War of the Polish Succession, an agreement between France, the Habsburgs and the Lorraine House of Vaudémont assigned the Duchy to
Stanisław Leszczyński, former king of
Poland. He was also father-in-law to King
Louis XV of France, who lost out to a candidate backed by
Russia and
Austria in the War of the Polish Succession. The Lorraine duke
Francis Stephen, betrothed to the Emperor's daughter Archduchess
Maria Theresa, was compensated with the
Grand Duchy of Tuscany, where the last
Medici ruler had recently died without issue. France also promised to support Maria Theresa as heir to the Habsburg possessions under the
Pragmatic Sanction of 1713. Leszczyński received Lorraine with the understanding that it would fall to the French crown on his death. The title of Duke of Lorraine was given to Stanisław, but also retained by Francis Stephen, and it figures prominently in the titles of his successors (as a non-claimant family name), the
House of Habsburg-Lorraine. When Stanisław died on 23 February 1766, Lorraine was annexed by France and reorganized as a
province by the French government.
Territorial evolution of (Upper) Lorraine
Lotharingia divided, around 1000 AD Alsace, ceded to
Suebia (Swabia) in 925 Upper Lorraine after 928 Lower Lorraine after 977
Lorraine as it was 1618–1648
Map of the Duchy of Lorraine (1756), showing its somewhat dispersed communes by region of France and Germany, for the latter the English and German term for the region is
Saarland.
Map of the Duchy of Lorraine (1756) within the modern region.
Lorraine Franconian, known as francique or platt (lorrain) in French, is a
West Central German dialect spoken by a minority in the northern part of the region. This is distinct from the neighbouring
Alsatian language, although the two are often confused. Neither has any form of official recognition.
Lorrain is a Romance dialect spoken by a minority in the southern part of the region.
^Augustin Calmet (1745). "Sur les sceaux,armoiries, couleurs, devises, cris de guerre, titres des Ducs de Lorraine". Histoire de Lorraine. Leseur..
^Siebmacher, Johann (1703). Erneuertes und vermehrtes Wappenbuch... Nürnberg: Adolph Johann Helmers. pp. Part I Table 6.
Further reading
Herrick, Linda & Wendy Uncapher. Alsace-Lorraine: The Atlantic Bridge to Germany. 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."
[1]
Putnam, Ruth. Alsace and Lorraine: From Cæsar to Kaiser, 58 B.C.-1871 A.D. New York: 1915.
The Duchy of Lorraine (
French: Lorraine[lɔʁɛn]ⓘ;
German: Lothringen[ˈloːtʁɪŋən]ⓘ), originally Upper Lorraine, was a
duchy now included in the larger present-day region of
Lorraine in northeastern France. Its capital was
Nancy.
It was founded in 959 following the division of
Lotharingia into two separate duchies: Upper and
Lower Lorraine, the westernmost parts of the
Holy Roman Empire. The Lower duchy was quickly dismantled, while Upper Lorraine came to be known as simply the Duchy of Lorraine. The Duchy of Lorraine was coveted and briefly occupied by the
dukes of Burgundy and the
kings of France, but was ruled by the dukes of the
House of Lorraine after 1473.
In 1737, the duchy was given to
Stanisław Leszczyński, the former king of
Poland, who had lost his throne as a result of the
War of the Polish Succession, with the understanding that it would fall to the French crown on his death. When Stanisław died on 23 February 1766, Lorraine was annexed by France and reorganized as the province of
Lorraine and Barrois.
Lorraine's predecessor,
Lotharingia, was an independent
Carolingian kingdom under the rule of King
Lothair II (855–869). Its territory had originally been a part of
Middle Francia, created in 843 by the
Treaty of Verdun, when the Carolingian empire was divided between the three sons of
Louis the Pious. Middle Francia was allotted to Emperor
Lothair I, therefore called Lotharii Regnum. On his death in 855, it was further divided into three parts, of which his son Lothair II took the northern one. His realm then comprised a larger territory stretching from the
County of Burgundy in the south to the
North Sea. In French, this area became known as Lorraine, while in German, it was eventually known as Lothringen. In the
Alemannic language once spoken in Lorraine, the -ingen suffix signified a property;[citation needed] thus, in a figurative sense, "Lotharingen" can be translated as "Land belonging to Lothair", or more simplified *Lothair's realm*.
As Lothair II had died without heirs, his territory was divided by the 870
Treaty of Meerssen between
East and
West Francia and finally came under East Frankish rule as a whole by the 880
Treaty of Ribemont. After the East Frankish Carolingians became extinct with the death of
Louis the Child in 911, Lotharingia once again attached itself to West Francia, but was conquered by the
German king
Henry the Fowler in 925. Stuck in the conflict with his rival
Hugh the Great, in 942 King
Louis IV of France renounced all claims to Lotharingia.
Duchy of Upper Lorraine
In 953, the German king
Otto I had appointed his brother
Bruno the Great Duke of Lotharingia. In 959, Bruno divided the
duchy into Upper and
Lower Lorraine; this division became permanent following his death in 965. The Upper Duchy was further "up" the river system, that is, it was inland and to the south. 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. The first duke and deputy of Bruno was
Frederick I of Bar, son-in-law of Bruno's sister
Hedwig of Saxony.
Lower Lorraine disintegrated into several smaller territories and only the title of a "
Duke of Lothier" remained, held by
Brabant. After the duchy of the Moselle came into the possession of
René of Anjou, the name "Duchy of Lorraine" was adopted again, only retrospectively called "Upper Lorraine". At that time, several territories had already split off, such as the
County of Luxembourg, the
Electorate of Trier, the
County of Bar and the "
Three Bishoprics" of
Verdun,
Metz and
Toul.
Due to the weakening of Imperial authority during the 1618–1648
Thirty Years' War, France was able to occupy the duchy in 1634 and retained it until 1661 when
Charles IV was restored. In 1670, the French invaded again, forcing Charles into exile; his nephew and heir
Charles V (1643–1690) spent his life in the service of the Imperial
House of Habsburg. France returned the Duchy in the 1697
Treaty of Ryswick ending the
Nine Years' War and Charles' son
Leopold (1679–1729), became duke and was known as 'Leopold the Good;' in the 1701–1714
War of the Spanish Succession, parts of Lorraine, including the capital Nancy, were again occupied by France, but Leopold continued to reign at the
Château de Lunéville.
In 1737, after the
War of the Polish Succession, an agreement between France, the Habsburgs and the Lorraine House of Vaudémont assigned the Duchy to
Stanisław Leszczyński, former king of
Poland. He was also father-in-law to King
Louis XV of France, who lost out to a candidate backed by
Russia and
Austria in the War of the Polish Succession. The Lorraine duke
Francis Stephen, betrothed to the Emperor's daughter Archduchess
Maria Theresa, was compensated with the
Grand Duchy of Tuscany, where the last
Medici ruler had recently died without issue. France also promised to support Maria Theresa as heir to the Habsburg possessions under the
Pragmatic Sanction of 1713. Leszczyński received Lorraine with the understanding that it would fall to the French crown on his death. The title of Duke of Lorraine was given to Stanisław, but also retained by Francis Stephen, and it figures prominently in the titles of his successors (as a non-claimant family name), the
House of Habsburg-Lorraine. When Stanisław died on 23 February 1766, Lorraine was annexed by France and reorganized as a
province by the French government.
Territorial evolution of (Upper) Lorraine
Lotharingia divided, around 1000 AD Alsace, ceded to
Suebia (Swabia) in 925 Upper Lorraine after 928 Lower Lorraine after 977
Lorraine as it was 1618–1648
Map of the Duchy of Lorraine (1756), showing its somewhat dispersed communes by region of France and Germany, for the latter the English and German term for the region is
Saarland.
Map of the Duchy of Lorraine (1756) within the modern region.
Lorraine Franconian, known as francique or platt (lorrain) in French, is a
West Central German dialect spoken by a minority in the northern part of the region. This is distinct from the neighbouring
Alsatian language, although the two are often confused. Neither has any form of official recognition.
Lorrain is a Romance dialect spoken by a minority in the southern part of the region.
^Augustin Calmet (1745). "Sur les sceaux,armoiries, couleurs, devises, cris de guerre, titres des Ducs de Lorraine". Histoire de Lorraine. Leseur..
^Siebmacher, Johann (1703). Erneuertes und vermehrtes Wappenbuch... Nürnberg: Adolph Johann Helmers. pp. Part I Table 6.
Further reading
Herrick, Linda & Wendy Uncapher. Alsace-Lorraine: The Atlantic Bridge to Germany. 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."
[1]
Putnam, Ruth. Alsace and Lorraine: From Cæsar to Kaiser, 58 B.C.-1871 A.D. New York: 1915.