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Lorraine (province)
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:''This article is about the historical duchy and province of Lorraine. For the modern-day administrative région of Lorraine, see
Lorraine (région).''
Image:LorCoat.gif thumb|120px|Lorraine coat of arms
'''Lorraine''' (
French language French: ''Lorraine'';
German language German: ''Lothringen'') is a historical area in present-day northeast
France. The area is famous as the birthplace of
Joan of Arc, and the place where
Quiche quiche lorraine originated. Some of the main cities are
Metz, France Metz,
Nancy and
Verdun.
History
Lorraine was originally an independent
monarchy kingdom. It was created in
843, when the
Carolingians Carolingian empire was divided between the three sons of
Louis the Pious. Named after the new ruler,
Holy Roman Emperor Lothair I 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''.
Lorraine is a frenchified version of the German title Lotharingen. In the
Alemannic, the 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".
See
Duchy of Lorraine for dynastic details.
With the loss of the imperial title and the waning of Carolingian influence, the kingdom lost territories and came under the rule of a duke, thereby reducing the former kingdom to a
duchy. Between
1733 and
1766 it was ruled by
Stanislaus I of Poland. Lorraine became part of France in
1766 and was reorganized by the French government.
Lorraine, along with
Alsace, has long been contested territory between
France and
Germany. During the 16th and 17th centuries, the area was predominantly populated by Germans, who opposed efforts to have the
French language and customs imposed upon them, a process which Stanislaus I effectively ended during his reign but which continued afterwards. A part of Lorraine, along with Alsace, was reunited with Germany after the
Franco-Prussian War of
1870 causing a number of French people to emigrate into France, and a part of Lorraine remained a part of Germany until the end of World War I, when Germany had to cede it to France. Under
Bismarck's
German Empire Alsace-Lorraine had (unlike other German territories) virtually no autonomy and was ruled by a governor appointed by the
Imperial Chancellor and use of the French language was discouraged.
The re-establishment of German rule was reversed following the German surrender in 1918. Policies forbidding the use of
German language German and requiring that of French were then begun. The region was annexed by Germany in
1940 during
World War II. Lorraine was combined with the
Saarland, and Alsace with
Baden Germany Baden. The occupation, while putting a halt to the perceived anti-Germanic oppression, subjected the region to the
Nazism Nazi dictatorship, which was loathed by the majority of the people, including the
ethnic Germans. The war-torn area was given again to France in November
1944 after a victorious campaign by
General Patton and his army. Because of the fighting in the area, Lorraine is home to the largest American cemetery in France. This region no longer exists
Culture
Most of Lorraine is widely considered 'French', hence Bismarck only annexed about a third of today's Lorraine to the German Empire following the
Franco-Prussian War. The disputed third, known as
Moselle, had a culture not easily classifiable as either French or German possessing both French and German dialects. Like much of the
Balkans and
Eastern Europe much of Lorraine was a patchwork of ethnicities and dialects, sometimes not even mutually compatible with either French or German.
Despite the French government 'single language' policy, the local German dialect still survives, called
Frankish language Frankish. This is a different German dialect from the neighbouring
Alsatian language, with which it is often confused. Both dialects are called ''Alsacien'' in
French language French, and neither have any form of official recognition.
Like most of
Languages of France France's regional languages (such as
Breton language Breton,
Provençal and
Alsatian language Alsatian) Frankish was largely replaced by French with the advent of mandatory public schooling in the 19th and 20th centuries.
See also
*
Alsace-Lorraine
*
Cross of Lorraine
*
Lorrainians
Further reading
Publications in English
* Linda Herrick & Wendy Uncapher, ''Alsace-Lorraine Atlantic Bridge to Germany'', Origins, Janesville, WI, 2003.
External links
-
Lotharingia
Category:Lorraine
Category:Former provinces of France
Category:Former countries in Europe
da:Lorraine
de:Lothringen
es:Lorena
eo:Loreno
fr:Lorraine
ko:ë¡œë ŒëŠ?
he:לוריין
it:Lorena (Francia)
ka:ლ�რენი
lb:Loutrengen
hu:Lotharingia
ms:Lorraine
nl:Lotharingen
ja:ãƒãƒ¬ãƒ¼ãƒŒåœ°åŸŸåœ?
pl:Lotaryngia
pt:Lorena (França)
ro:Lorena
ru:ЛотарингиÑ?
fi:Lothringen
sv:Lorraine
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