The Duchy of Upper Lorraine (French: Lorraine, German: Lothringen) was a historical duchy in present-day northeast France, including parts of present Luxembourg and Germany. Some of the main cities are Metz, Nancy and Verdun.
Contents |
History
Lotharingia
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".
Duchy of Upper Lorraine
In 959, the duchy was divided into Upper and Lower Lorraine which became permanent following the death of Duke Bruno. 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 dukes of Upper Lorraine gradually came to be known simply as the dukes of Lorraine, as Lower Lorraine disintegrated into several smaller territories.
In the 17th century, the French kings began to covet Lorraine. During the Thirty Years' War, France occupied Lorraine in 1641 but had to vacate at the end of the war in 1648, which however won France several positions in Alsace, east of Lorraine. In 1670, the French invaded again, forcing Duke Charles V to flee to a Viennese exile, where he formed strong ties to the Imperial House of Habsburg. France occupied the Duchy for almost thirty years, only giving it up in the Treaty of Ryswick which ended the Nine Years War in 1697. During the War of the Spanish Succession, parts of Lorraine, including the capital Nancy, were again occupied by France, but Duke Leopold Joseph continued to reign in Lunéville.
In 1737, after the War of the Polish Succession, Lorraine was part of an agreement between France, the House of Habsburg and House and the House of Lorraine. The Duchy was given to Stanislaus Leszczynski, a former king of Poland and father-in-law to Louis XV of France, who despite French support had lost out to a candidate backed by Russia and Austria in the War of the Polish Succession. Duke Francis Stephen, betrothed to the Emperor's daughter, Archduchess Maria Theresa, was compensated with the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, where the last Medici had recently died without issue. France also promised to supporting Maria Theresa as heir to the Habsburg possessions under the Pragmatic Sanction of 1713. Leszczynski received Lorraine with the understanding that it would fall to the French crown upon his death. With Stanislas's death in 1766, Lorraine was annexed by France and was reorganized by the French government.
Between France and Germany
Lorraine remained a contested territory between France and Germany. During the earlier French occupations there had been efforts to have the French language and customs imposed upon the country. These efforts ended under Stanislaus I but resumed after his death, leading to opposition against the French administration. Lorraine existed as a French province until the French Revolution, which reorganised the traditional provinces into artificial departments, splitting Lorraine into four departments.
Lorraine remained a part of France until the Franco-Prussian War of 1870/1871, when northern parts of Lorraine, along with Alsace, were annexed by the newly-founded German Empire, causing a large number of French people to emigrate into France (including Algeria). The territories were not annexed by any state of the Empire or organised into a separate state, but were governed as a Reichsland by a governor appointed by the Emperor, without any parliamentary representation. Only in 1911, some degree of autonomy was granted. Alsace-Lorraine remained a part of Germany until 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.
In 1940, Germany re-annexed Alsace-Lorraine during World War II. combining Lorraine 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 Lorraine American Cemetery and Memorial, the largest American war cemetery in France.
Culture
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.
Foodstuffs and dishes associated with Lorraine include quiche lorraine, Mirabelle plum, baba au rhum, bergamotes, macarons, and madeleines.
References
- ^ Siebmacher, Johann (1703). Erneuertes und vermehrtes Wappenbuch.... Nürnberg: Adolph Johann Helmers. pp. Part I Table 6.
Further reading
Publications in English
- 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.
See also
External links
|
||||||||||||||
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
