Lotharingia

Kingdom of Lotharingia Duchy of Lotharingia Lotharingia
855–959
The Kingdom of Lotharingia (purple) and other Carolingian kingdoms following the Treaty of Prüm, 855
Status	Kingdom (855–869, 895-900) Duchy (903–959)
Common languages	Old Franconian Old Frisian Old Dutch Old High German Old Saxon Old French Yiddish Medieval Latin
Religion	Roman Catholicism
Government	Monarchy
King or Duke
• 855–869	Lothair II
• 953–965	Bruno the Great
Historical era	Medieval
• Treaty of Prüm	855
• Division	959
Preceded by Succeeded by Middle Francia Lower Lotharingia Duchy of Lorraine Duchy of Swabia

Lotharingia^[1] was a historical region and an early medieval polity that existed during the late Carolingian and early Ottonian era,^[2] from the middle of the 9th to the middle of the 10th century.^[3] It was established in 855 by the Treaty of Prüm, as a distinctive kingdom within the Carolingian Empire,^[4] but abolished already in 869-870 when it was divided by the Treaty of Meerssen.^[5] It was territorially reunited in 880 by the Treaty of Ribemont, and reestablished as a kingdom from 895 to 900.^[6] Since 903, it was organized as a duchy, that existed up to 959, when it was divided in two distinctive duchies: the Upper Lotharingia (southern half), and the Lower Lotharingia (northern half). Regional name (Lotharingia, the land of Lothair) was derived from the name of its first ruler, king Lothair II, who received this territory as his share of the Kingdom of Middle Francia. The region comprised present-day Lorraine (France), Luxembourg, parts of modern Germany west of the Rhine, most of Belgium, and Netherlands.^[7]

Lotharingia resulted from the tripartite division in 855 of the kingdom of Middle Francia, which itself was formed after the threefold division of the Carolingian Empire by the Treaty of Verdun of 843. Conflict between East and West Francia over Lotharingia was based on the fact that these were the old Frankish homelands of Austrasia, so possession of them was a matter of great prestige as true claimant of Frankish imperial legacy.