LOTHARINGIA is the story of that shape-shifting north-to-south piece of land that sits between France and Germany. Nowadays, it contains the countries of The Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg, plus bits and pieces of Eastern France, Western Germany, Switzerland and even chunks of Northern Italy.
The story of this bewildering territory begins with the Emperor Charles the Great (748-814), known to the Germans as Carolus Magnus, and to the French as Charlemagne.
By the end of his life, he was ruling over an enormous empire that included nearly all of present-day France (except for Brittany), the Benelux countries, Switzerland, northern Italy and Western Germany.
Charlemagne had several sons, mostly legitimate. But all of them predeceased their father except for Louis the Pious (778-840). When Louis died in 840, his three remaining sons (Charlemagne’s grandsons) battled for control of this enormous territory.
By the Treaty of Verdun in 843 ~
Charles the Bald (823-877) ruled the western part of the empire, which included most of present-day France
Louis the German (810-876) ruled the eastern part of the empire, which included the western parts of present-day Germany
And Lothar I (795-855) got the middle portion, described above.
Hence the title of the book is Lotharingia. Over the centuries that name transformed itself into Lorraine, by which one of France’s eastern-most provinces is known to us today.
What makes this potted history so exceptional is that author Simon Winder allows the reader to peek behind the curtain to see his quirky preoccupations, and various attempts to contain his enthusiasms so that he can finish this book.
If this sort of things interests you, or you are going to be visiting this part of Europe in the not-too-distant future, you might want to get your copy. You won’t be disappointed!
