Lotharingia (lŏthərĭn`jə), name given to the northern portion of the lands assigned (843) to Emperor of the West Lothair I Lothair I (lōthâr`), 795–855, emperor of the West (840–55), son and successor of Louis I .
..... Click the link for more information. in the first division of the Carolingian empire (see Verdun, Treaty of Verdun, Treaty of, the partition of Charlemagne's empire among three sons of Louis I , emperor of the West. It was concluded in 843 at Verdun on the Meuse or, possibly, Verdun-sur-le-Doubs, Soâne-et-Loire dept., E France.
..... Click the link for more information. ). It comprised, roughly, the present Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Lorraine, Alsace, and NW Germany, including Aachen and Cologne. Lothair also received Italy and Burgundy (including Provence and W Switzerland) in the division of 843. Before his death (855), Lothair subdivided his lands among his three sons. His son, King Lothair Lothair, sometimes called Lothair II, d. 869, king of Lotharingia (855–69), second son of Emperor of the West Lothair I. He inherited the region bounded by the Rhine, Scheldt, Alps, and North Sea, which became known as Lotharingia
..... Click the link for more information. (for whom the region is named), was given Lotharingia as a kingdom, while Italy and Burgundy went to Louis II Louis II, d. 875, emperor of the West (855–75), king of Italy (844–75), son of Emperor of the West Lothair I. In 844, Lothair I designated him king of Italy and in 850 he was crowned emperor of the West in Rome.
..... Click the link for more information. and Charles. King Lothair died in 869, and in 870 his lands were fairly evenly divided between the East Frankish and West Frankish kingdoms (i.e., Germany and France) in the Treaty of Mersen Mersen, Treaty of, 870, redivision of the Carolingian empire by the sons of Louis I , Charles the Bald (later Charles II ) of the West Franks (France) and Louis the German of the East Franks (Germany), signed at Mersen (Dutch Meersen), now in the Netherlands.
..... Click the link for more information. . After a period of confusion and warfare, Holy Roman Emperor Otto I, whose predecessor, the German King Henry I, had gained (925) control over all Lotharingia, gave it in 953 to his brother St. Bruno, archbishop of Cologne. Bruno's difficulties with the Lotharingian nobles caused him to divide (959) the country into the duchies of Lower Lorraine, in the north, and Upper Lorraine, in the south (the name Lorraine being the modern form of Lotharingia). The ducal titles in both duchies subsequently were awarded in confusing succession to various noble houses, but their significance became nothing as the great feudal lords gained in power. In Upper Lorraine, the ducal title continued until 1766 in what became known simply as the duchy of Lorraine Lorraine (lôrĕn`), Ger.
..... Click the link for more information. ; this was greatly restricted in extent and did not include Alsace, Luxembourg, the bishoprics of Metz, Toul, and Verdun, and the archbishopric of Trier, all of which were originally in Upper Lorraine. In Lower Lorraine, the title soon lapsed completely; chief among the fiefs that emerged here were the duchies of Brabant, Bouillon, Limburg, Jülich, Cleves, and Berg, the county of Hainaut, and the bishopric of Liège. Cologne and Aachen became free imperial cities. Thus the history of both Upper Lorraine and Lower Lorraine grew increasingly fragmented from the 11 cent. onward. From the Treaty of Verdun until the present time the territories comprised in Lotharingia, particularly Upper Lorraine, have been contested between Germany and France.

Lorraine

or Lotharingia

Medieval region, present-day northeastern France. By the Treaty of Verdun (843), it became part of the realm of Lothar I. Inherited by his son Lothar, it became the kingdom of Lotharingia. After Lothar's death, it was contested by Germany and France and came under German control in 925.