Duchy of Lorraine
Part of East Francia (959–962)
State of the Holy Roman Empire (962–1766)
Lorrainian
959
1500
1643
1670
1702
1766
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.
Culture[edit]
Two regional languages survive in the 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.
The duchy produced a number of important painters, including Claude Lorrain, Georges de La Tour and Jean LeClerc.
Like most of France's regional languages (such as Breton, Franco-Provençal, Occitan, Alsatian, Catalan, Basque and Flemish), Lorrain and Lorraine Franconian were largely replaced by French with the advent of mandatory public schooling in the 19th and 20th centuries.