Part 666

"Upon the death of the Emperor Lothair [A. D. 855] his share of the Carlovingian inheritance, the Kingdom acquired by disobedience, violence, deceit and fraud, sustained further partitions: Lothair's piece of the rent garment was clutched and tattered again and again by his nearest of kin, his three sons, and their two uncles, and the sons and the sons' sons of his sons and uncles, till the lineage ended. … The Emperor Lothair had directed and confirmed the partition of his third of the Carlovingian Empire, appointed to him by the treaty of Verdun." His namesake, his second son, Lothair II., received the kingdom called "Lotharingia, Lothierregne, or Lorraine," and which is defined in the terms of modern geography as follows: "The thirteen Cantons of Switzerland with their allies and tributaries, East or Free Friesland, Oldenburgh, the whole of the United Netherlands, all other territories included in the Archbishopric of Utrecht, the Trois Evéchés, Metz, Toul and Verdun, the electorates of Trèves and of Cologne, the Palatine Bishopric of Liège, Alsace and Franche-Comté, Hainault and the Cambresis, Brabant (known in intermediate stages as Basse-Lorraine, or the Duchy of Lohier), Namur, Juliers and Cleves, Luxemburgh and Limburg, the Duchy of Bar and the Duchy which retained the name of Lorraine, the only memorial of the antient and dissolved kingdom. … After King Lothair's death [A. D. 869] nine family competitors successively came into the field for that much-coveted Lotharingia." Charles the Bald, one of the uncles of the deceased king,—he who held the Neustrian or French dominion,—took possession and got himself crowned king of Lotharingia. But the rival uncle, Louis the German, soon forced him (A. D. 870) to a division of the spoils. "The lot of Charles consisted of Burgundy and Provence, and most of those Lotharingian dominions where the French or Walloon tongue was and yet is spoken; … he also took some purely Belgic territories, especially that very important district successively known as Basse-Lorraine, the Duchy of Lohier, and Brabant. Modern history is dawning fast upon us. Louis-le-Germanique received Aix-la-Chapelle, Cologne, Treves, Utrecht, Strasburgh, Metz,—indeed nearly all the territories of the Belgic and German tongues."

_Sir F. Palgrave, History of Normandy and England, volume 1, pages 361-370._

See, also, VERDUN, TREATY OF.

LORRAINE: A. D. 911-980. The dukedom established.

The definite separation of the East Franks, who ultimately constituted the Germany of modern history, from the West or Neustrian Franks, out of whose political organization sprang the kingdom of France, took place in 911, when the Franconian duke Conrad was elected king by the Germanic nations, and the rule of the Carolingian princes was ended for them. In this proceeding Lotharingia, or Lorraine, refused to concur. "Nobles and people held to the old imperial dynasty. … Opinions, customs, traditions, still rendered the Lotharingians mainly members of Romanized Gaul. They severed themselves from the Germans beyond the Rhine, separated by influences more powerful than the stream." The Lotharingians, accordingly, repudiated the sovereignty of Conrad and placed themselves under the rule of Charles the Simple, the Carolingian king then struggling to maintain his slender throne at Laon. "Twice did King Conrad attempt to win Lotharingia and reunite the Rhine-kingdom to the German realm: he succeeded in obtaining Alsace, but the remainder was resolutely retained by Charles." In 916 this remainder was constituted a duchy, by Charles, and conferred upon Gilbert, son of Rainier, Count of Hainault, who had been the leader of the movement against Conrad and the Germanic nations. A little later, when the Carolingian dynasty was near its end, Henry the Fowler and his son Otho, the great German king who revived the empire, recovered the suzerainty of Lorraine, and Otho gave it to his brother Bruno, Archbishop of Cologne. Under Bruno it was divided into two parts, Upper and Lower Lorraine. Lower Lorraine was subsequently conferred by Otho II. upon his cousin Charles, brother to Lothaire, the last of the French Carolingian kings. "The nature and extent of this same grant has been the subject of elaborate critical enquiry; but, for our purposes, it is sufficient to know, that Charles is accepted by all the historical disputants as first amongst the hereditary Dukes of the 'Basse-Lorraine'; and, having received investiture, he became a vassal of the Emperor." In 980, this disposition of Lower Lorraine was ratified by Lothaire, the French king, who, "abandoning all his rights and pretensions over Lorraine, openly and solemnly renounced the dominions, and granted the same to be held without let or interference from the French, and be subjected for ever to the German Empire."

_Sir F. Palgrave, History of Normandy and England, book 1, part 2, chapter 1 and chapter 4, part 2._

"Lotharingia retained its Carolingian princes, but it retained them only by definitively becoming a fief of the Teutonic Kingdom. Charles died in prison, but his children continued to reign in Lotharingia as vassals of the Empire. Lotharingia was thus wholly lost to France; that portion of it which was retained by the descendants of Charles in the female line still preserves its freedom as part of the independent Kingdom of Belgium."

_E. A. Freeman, History of the Norman Conquest of England, chapter 4, section 4 (volume 1)._

LORRAINE: A. D. 1430. Acquisition of the duchy by René, Duke of Anjou and Count of Provence, afterwards King of Naples. Union with Bar.

See ANJOU: A. D. 1206-1442.

LORRAINE: A. D. 1476. Short-lived conquest by Charles the Bold.

See BURGUNDY: A. D. 1476-1477.

LORRAINE: A. D. 1505-1559. Rise of the Guises, a branch of the ducal house. Cession to France of Les Trois Evéchés.

See FRANCE: A. D. 1547-1559.

LORRAINE: A. D. 1624-1663. Quarrels and war of Duke Charles IV. with Richelieu and France. Ruin and depopulation of the duchy. Its possession by the French.

Early in Richelieu's administration of the French government, the first steps were taken towards the union of Lorraine with France. "Its situation, as well as its wealth and fertility, made it an acquisition specially valuable to that kingdom. … Lorraine had long been ruled by the present family of dukes, and in its government more had remained of feudal usages than in the monarchy that had grown up beside it. The character and career of the members of the house of Guise had brought Lorraine into very intimate connection with France, and the closeness of its relations added danger to its position as an independent state. Charles IV. became Duke of Lorraine in 1624 by virtue of the rights of his cousin and wife, the daughter of the last duke. … {2043} He soon began to take part in the intrigues of the French Court, and he enrolled himself among the lovers of Mme. de Chevreuse and the enemies of Richelieu. … Richelieu had long sought occasion for offence against the Duke Charles. The Duke of Lorraine was bound to do honor to the French king for the Duchy of Bar [which was a fief of the French crown, while Lorraine was an imperial fief], a duty which was often omitted, and the agents of Richelieu discovered that France had ancient and valid claims to other parts of his territory. His relations with France were rendered still more uncertain by his own untrustworthy character. To tell the truth or to keep his agreement were equally impossible for Duke Charles, and he was dealing with a man with whom it was dangerous to trifle. Gustavus Adolphus had invaded Germany, and the Duke of Lorraine was eager in defending the cause of the Emperor. In January, 1632, he was forced to make a peace with France, by which he agreed to make no treaty with any other prince or state without the knowledge and permission of the French king. Charles paid no attention to this treaty, and for all these causes in June, 1632, Louis [XIII.] invaded his dominions. They lay open to the French army, and no efficient opposition could be made. On June 26th Charles was forced to sign a second treaty, by which he surrendered the city and county of Clermont, and also yielded the possession for four years of the citadels of Stenay and Jametz. … This treaty made little change in the condition of affairs. Charles continued to act in hostility to the Swedes, to assist Gaston [Duke of Orleans, the rebellious and troublesome brother of Louis XIII., who had married Margaret of Lorraine, the Duke's sister], and in every way to violate the conditions of the treaty he had made. He seethed resolved to complete his own ruin, and he did not have to wait long for its accomplishment. In 1633 Louis a second time invaded Lorraine, and the Swedes, in return for the duke's hostility to them, also entered the province. Charles' forces were scattered and he was helpless, but he was as false as he was weak. He promised to surrender his sister Margaret, and he allowed her to escape. He sent his brother to make a treaty and then refused to ratify it. At last, he made the most disadvantageous treaty that was possible, and surrendered his capital, Nancy, the most strongly-fortified city of Lorraine, into Louis' possession until all difficulties should be settled between the king and the duke, which, as Richelieu said, might take till eternity. In January, 1634, Charles pursued his eccentric career by granting all his rights in the duchy to his brother, the Cardinal of Lorraine. The new duke also married a cousin in order to unite the rights of the two branches. … Charles adopted the life of a wandering soldier of fortune, which was most to his taste, and commanded the imperial forces at the battle of Nordlingen. He soon assumed again the rights which he had ceded, but his conduct rendered them constantly less valuable. The following years were filled with struggles with France, which resulted in her taking possession of still more of Lorraine, until its duke was entirely a fugitive. Such struggles brought upon its inhabitants a condition of constantly increasing want and misery. … It was ravaged by the hordes of the Duke of Weimar and the Swedes [see GERMANY: A. D. 1634-1639], and on every side were pillage and burning and murders. Famine followed, and the horrors perpetrated from it were said to be more than could be described. Richelieu himself wrote that the inhabitants of Lorraine were mostly dead, villages burned, cities deserted, and a century would not entirely restore the country. Vincent de Paul did much of his charitable work in that unhappy province. … The duke at last, in 1641, came as a suppliant to Richelieu to ask for his duchy, and it was granted him, but on the condition that Stenay, Dun, Jametz, and Clermont should be united to France, that Nancy should remain in the king's possession until the peace, and that the duke should assist France with his troops against all enemies whenever required. … Charles was hardly back in his dominions before he chose to regard the treaty he had made as of no validity, and in July he violated it openly, and shortly took refuge with the Spanish army. … Thereupon the French again invaded Lorraine, and by October, 1641, practically the whole province was in their hands. It so continued until 1663."

_J. B. Perkins, France under [Richelieu and] Mazarin, chapter 5 (volume 1)._

"The faithfulness with which he [the Duke of Lorraine] adhered to his alliance with Austria, in spite of threatened losses, formed in the end a strong bond of reciprocal attachment and sympathy between the Hapsburgs and the Princes of Lorraine, which, at a later day, became even firmer, and finally culminated in the marriage of Stephen of Lorraine and Maria Theresa."

_A. Gindely, History of the Thirty Years' War, volume 2, chapter 6, section 3._

LORRAINE: A. D. 1648. Desertion of the cause of the duke in the Peace of Westphalia.

See GERMANY: A. D. 1648.

LORRAINE: A. D. 1659. Restored to the duke with some shearing of territory.

See FRANCE: A. D. 1659-1661.

LORRAINE: A. D. 1679. Restoration refused by the duke.

See NIMEGUEN, PEACE OF.

LORRAINE: A. D. 1680. Entire absorption of Les Trois Evêchés in France with boundaries extended by the Chamber of Reannexation.

See FRANCE: A. D. 1679-1681.

LORRAINE: A. D. 1697. Restored to the duke by the Treaty of Ryswick.

See FRANCE: A. D. 1697.

LORRAINE: A. D. 1735. Ceded to France. Reversion of Tuscany secured to the former duke.

See FRANCE: A. D. 1733-1735.

LORRAINE: A. D. 1871. One fifth ceded to the German empire by France.

See FRANCE: A. D. 1871 (JANUARY-MAY).

LORRAINE: A. D. 1871-1879. Organization of the government of Alsace-Lorraine as a German imperial province.

See GERMANY: A. D. 1871-1879.

LORRAINE: End----------

LOSANTIVILLE.

See CINCINNATI: A. D. 1788.

LOSE-COAT FIELD, Battle of.

In 1470 an insurrection against the government of King Edward IV. broke out in Lincolnshire, England under the lead of Sir Robert Welles, who raised the Lancastrian standard of King Henry. The insurgents were vigorously attacked by Edward, at a place near Stamford, when the greater part of them "flung away their coats and took to flight, leaving their leader a prisoner in the hands of his enemies. The manner in which the rebels were dispersed caused the action to be spoken of as the battle of Lose-coat Field."

_J. Gairdner, Houses of Lancaster and York, chapter 8._

The engagement is sometimes called the Battle of Stamford.

{2044}

LOST TEN TRIBES OF ISRAEL.

See JEWS: KINGDOMS OF ISRAEL AND JUDAH; also, SAMARIA.

LOTHAIRE, King of France, A. D. 954-986.

Lothaire I., King of Italy and Rhineland, 817-855; King of Lotharingia, and titular Emperor, 843-855.

Lothaire II., Emperor, 1133-1137; King of Germany, 1125-1137.

LOTHARINGIA.

See LORRAINE.

LOTHIAN.

See SCOTLAND: 10-11TH CENTURIES.

LOUIS, King of Portugal, A. D. 1861-1889.

Louis of Nassau, and the struggle in the Netherlands.

See NETHERLANDS: A. D. 1562-1566, to 1573-1574.

Louis I. (called The Pious), Emperor of the West, A. D. 814-840; King of Aquitaine, 781-814; King of the Franks, 814-840.

Louis I. (called The Great), King of Hungary, 1342-1382; King of Poland, 1370-1382.

Louis I., King of Naples, 1382-1384; Count of Provence and Duke of Anjou, 1339-1384.

Louis I., King of Sicily, 1342-1355.

Louis II. (called The Stammerer), King of France, 877-879.

Louis II. (called The German), King of the East Franks (Germany), 843-875.

Louis II., King of Hungary and Bohemia, 1516-1526.

Louis II., King of Naples, 1389-1399; Duke of Anjou and Count of Provence, 1384-1417.

See ITALY: A. D. 1343-1389, and 1386-1414.

Louis III., King of the Franks (Northern France), 879-882; East Franks (Germany—in association with Carloman), 876-881.

Louis III. (called The Child), King of the East Franks (Germany), 899-910.

Louis III., King of Provence, 1417-1434.

Louis III., Duke of Anjou, Count of Provence, and titular King of Naples, 1417-1434.

Louis IV., King of France, 936-954.

Louis V. (of Bavaria), Emperor, 1327-1347; King of Germany (in rivalry with Frederick III.), 1313-1347; King of Italy, 1327-1347.

Louis V., King of France, 986-987.

Louis VI. (called The Fat), King of France, 1108-1137.

Louis VII., King of France, 1137-1180.

Louis VIII., King of France, 1223-1226.

Louis IX. (called Saint Louis), King of France, 1226-1270.

Louis X. (called Le Hutin, or The Brawler), King of France, 1314-1316; King of Navarre, 1305-1316.

Louis XI., King of France, 1461-1483.

Louis XII., King of France, 1498-1515.

Louis XIII., King of France, 1610-1643… .

Louis XIV. (called "The Grand Monarch "), King of France, 1643-1715.

Louis XV., King of France, 1715-1774.

Louis XVI., King of France, 1774-1793.

Louis XVII., nominal King of France, 1793-1796, during the Revolution; died in prison, aged twelve years.

Louis XVIII., King of France; 1814-1824.

Louis Napoleon Bonaparte.

See NAPOLEON III.

Louis Philippe, King of France (of the House of Orleans), 1830-1848.

LOUIS, Saint, Establishments of.

See WAGER OF BATTLE.

LOUISBOURG: Start--------

LOUISBOURG: A. D. 1720-1745. The fortification of the Harbor.

See CAPE BRETON: A. D. 1720-1745.

LOUISBOURG: A. D. 1745. Surrender to the New Englanders.

See NEW ENGLAND: A. D. 1745.

LOUISBOURG: A. D. 1748. Restoration to France.

See NEW ENGLAND: A. D. 1745-1748.

LOUISBOURG: A. D. 1757. English designs against, postponed.

See CANADA: A. D. 1756-1757.

LOUISBOURG: A. D. 1758-1760. Final capture and destruction of the place by the English.

See CAPE BRETON ISLAND: A. D. 1758-1760.

LOUISBOURG: End--------

LOUISIANA: The aboriginal inhabitants.

See AMERICAN ABORIGINES: MUSKHOGEAN FAMILY, and PAWNEE (CADDOAN) FAMILY.

LOUISIANA: A. D. 1629. Mostly embraced in the Carolina grant to Sir Robert Heath, by Charles I. of England.

See AMERICA: A. D. 1629.

LOUISIANA: A. D. 1682. Named and possession taken for the king of France, by La Salle.

See CANADA: A. D. 1669-1687.

LOUISIANA: A. D. 1698-1712. Iberville's colonization. Separation in government from New France. Crozat's monopoly. The French territorial claim.