Duchy of Lorraine

The Duchy of Lorraine (French: Lorraine, IPA: [lɔʁɛn]; German: Lothringen), or 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.

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 a province.

History

Lotharingia

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; thus, in a figurative sense, "Lotharingen" can be translated as "Land belonging to Lothair".

Lorraine

Lorraine (French pronunciation: ​[lɔʁɛn]; Lorrain: Louréne; Lorraine Franconian: Lottringe; German:  Lothringen ; Luxembourgish: Loutrengen) is a cultural and historical region in north-eastern France, now located in the administrative region of Alsace-Champagne-Ardenne-Lorraine. Lorraine's name stems from the medieval kingdom of Lotharingia, which in turn was named for either Emperor Lothair I or King Lothair II. It became later the Duchy of Lorraine before it was annexed to France in 1766.

From 1982 until January 2016, Lorraine was an administrative region of France, when it became part of the new region Alsace-Champagne-Ardenne-Lorraine. As a region in modern France, Lorraine consisted of the four departments Meurthe-et-Moselle, Meuse, Moselle and Vosges, containing 2,337 communes. The regional prefecture was Metz, although the largest metropolitan area of Lorraine is Nancy.

Lorraine makes up nearly half of France's border with Germany, and also borders Belgium and Luxembourg. Its inhabitants are called "Lorrains" in French and number about 2,356,000.

Lorraine (Kaffe song)

"Lorraine" was the debut entry for Bulgaria in the Eurovision Song Contest, being performed in the semi-final of the 2005 edition of the Contest by Kaffe.

The song was performed 21st in the semi-final, following Croatia's "Vukovi umiru sami" by Boris Novković and preceding Ireland's "Love?" performed by Donna & Joe. In voting, the song finished in 19th place, with 49 points, which meant that Bulgaria would have to qualify through the semi-final in the next year's Contest.

Performed in English, the song is a ballad in which the singer describes his feelings for the title character, with whom he seems to have previously had a relationship, but is not currently involved. The lyrics were derided prior to the Contest due to their heavy reliance on rhyming "Lorraine" with "pain", "rain" and "again".

Bulgaria's next entry in the Contest would come in 2006 with Mariana Popova performing "Let Me Cry".

Lorraine (automobile)

The Lorraine was an automobile built in both Grand Rapids and Detroit, Michigan by the Lorraine Motors Corporation from 1920-22. The Lorraine was an assembled car that succeeded the Hackett. The vehicle was powered by a four-cylinder Herchell-Spillman engine and was available in both open and closed models. Only a few hundred models were sold. The Last known Lorraine Touring car is on display at the Grand Rapids Public Museum.

References

Duchy

A duchy (spelled with capital D when it is part of a country's name or a title of a head of state) is a country, territory, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess. The term is used almost exclusively in Europe, where in present-day there is no sovereign Duchy (i.e. with the status of a nation state) left.

The term "Duke" (resp. "Duchy") should not be confounded with the title "Grand Duke" (resp. "Grand Duchy", such as the present-day Grand Duchy of Luxembourg), as there exists a significant difference of rank between the two.

In common European cultural heritage, a Grand Duke is the third highest monarchic rank, after Emperor and King. Its synonym in many eastern European languages (Russian, Lithuanian etc.) is Grand Prince, whereas most western European languages (English, French, Spanish, Italian etc.) use the expression Grand Duke. Unlike a duke, the sovereign Grand Duke is considered to be part of "Royalty" (i.e. royal nobility, in German: Königsadel). The correct form of address is His Royal Highness (HRH).

Duke (Lombard)

Among the Lombards, the duke or dux was the man who act as political and military commander of a set of "military families" (the Fara), irrespective of any territorial appropriation.

Etymology

The proper Lombard language term for the figure of the duke is not known; the oldest Lombard historiographical sources (the anonymous Origo gentis Langobardorum and Historia Langobardorum of Paul Deacon) were written in Latin. The Latin word dux was adopted to designate a political and military figure that had no exact equivalent in the classical world, thus redefining the concept of "duke" in a form that would continue to develop in later centuries.

History

The figure of the Duke emerged between the 4th and 5th centuries, after the German people settled between the Elbe and the current northern Bohemia. At that time the Lombards were nomads, forming homogeneous groups and compact families originating from the same noble clan, and able to organize themselves into quotas with military functions: the Fare. The Dukes were the leaders of the Fare. In that office they were honored as warriors for the dynastic ties and their valor shown in war, and later rewarded by the king. The figure of the Lombard Duke encompassed a mixture of military, noble, sacral (invested by the king, attended his "charisma"), political, judicial and administrative elements. In the assembly of the people in arms ( "Gairethinx"), the dukes had a prominent role, and were decisive in the election of the king.