FRANCE, ISLE OP. 



FRANKFURT. 



i. -, 



Mania, u well a* of the population* of Sardinia and the Balearic 

 Island* ; but in all thoae countries the educated claatos have adopted 

 the Castilian, Italian, and French. This decline of the Ooeitanian 

 language on the on* hand, and on the other the establishment of the 

 eat of government for France and of a university at Paris, rendered 

 the northern dialect, or the Langue d'Oui, the predominant language 

 of all France. 



ISLE OF. [MACMTIDS.J 



FRANCHE-COMTE, a province of France, and one of the thirty-two 

 military government* into which in ante-revolutionary times that 

 kingdom wa* divided. Its greatest length from north-north-east, near 

 the head of the Saone, to south-south-west, near the town of St-Juben, 

 on the Sarraud, a feeder of the Ain, i* above 130 miles; and it* 

 greatest breadth at right angles to the above, from near the river 

 Viugeane to the bank* of the Doub*, more than 90 mile*. It was 

 bounded N. by Lorraine, E. by Switzerland, from which it was sepa- 

 rated by the Jura, a by Bmae, W. by Bourgogne, and N.W. by 

 Champagne. It now form* the department* of Jura, Doub*, and 

 Hante-SaAoe. 



The province is wholly in the basin of the Rhone : it is watered 

 by the Saone and the Ain, feeders of the Rhone, the Doubs, and 

 Oignon, feeder* of the Sadne, and several other streams belonging to 

 the same system. The lower and more level part* of the province are 

 fruitful in gmin ; the upper part* produce pasturage for a vast 

 number of cattle. The capital wa* Besancnn ; amongst the other 

 town* were Dole, Saint-Claude, Pontarlier, Gray, and VcsouL 



Franche-Comte' was in the time of Caesar inhabited by the 

 Sequani, a Celtic people, one of the most powerful in Gaul. Their 

 contentions with the ^Edui led them to call in the Germans under 

 King Ariovistua, by whose aid they effectually humbled their 

 opponents; but the warlike strangers whom they had introduced 

 became the tyrant* of that part of Gaul, and especially of the unhappy 

 Sequani Cesar drove out the German* (B.C. 45) ; but it was for the 

 native* only a change of masters, and the Sequani, with the rest of 

 < inul, pawed under the yoke of Rome. Under the Roman dominion 

 Francne-Comto', with Switzerland and part of Bourgogne, constituted 

 the province of Maxima Sequanorum. 



Upon the downfall of the Roman empire Franche-Comte' was com- 

 prehended in the kingdom of the Burgundiann, upon the overthrow of 

 which it became subject to the Franks. In the division of the terri- 

 tories of Clovi* among hi* sons and descendants it formed part of the 

 kingdom of Australia, and afterword* of Lotbaringia, or Lorraine. 

 In the reign of Charles the Simple, king of France, to whom after 

 several change* this district, then called Haute-Bourgogne (Upper 

 Burgundy), or the principality of Outre-Saone (beyond the Saone), had 

 fallen, Besancon with the surrounding district* wo* formed into a 

 county, called the county of Bourgogne, in favour of Hugues, the 

 first count (A.D. 91 5). Some writers however represent Franche-Comte 

 to have been part of the kingdom of Bourgogne Tronsjurane, and 

 postpone the erection of the county of Bourgogne till A.D. 995. 



Renaud III. (A.D. 1127-1148), count of Bourgogne, whom dominions 

 bad acquired great extent, reaching from Bale to the Isere, refused 

 homage on various plea* to Lothaire, emperor of Germany, to whose 

 predecessors the counts of Bourgogne had paid homage, and main- 

 tained hi* refusal during his life. It i* lupposed that the county 

 derived from this circumstance it* designation of La Franche-Comtd. 

 The marriage of Renaud'* daughter to the emperor Frederick Barba- 

 rosaa brought the county into the hand* of that prince, who made Besan- 

 con a free imperial city. He resigned the county to his son Otho, by the 

 marriage of whose descendants the county passed into various hands, 

 a* of the king* of France and the dukes of Bourgogne of the first 

 and second race of the blood royal of France. On the death of 

 Charles le Hardi, hut duke of Bourgogne of the second race, the 

 county passed, with a considerable portion of bis inheritance, to the 

 Archduke Maximilian, from him to his grandson Charles V., and so 

 to the Spaniah branch of the Austrian family. In 1668 Louis XIV. 

 of France conquered Franche-Comte from the Spaniards, but restored 

 it by the peace of Alx-la-Chapell* in the same year. He again con- 

 quered it in 1674, and it was ceded by Spain to France at the peace 

 of Nimegnen in 1678. 



FRAXClsru. RIO. [BRAWL,] 



FRANCOIS, r.vi'K. [HUFAXIOLA.] 



FRANCO XI A. [BAVARIA.] 



KKAXKKKR. [FHIBSLAXU.] 



FUASKCNI'.KRO, in the bailiwick of Chemnitz, in the kingdom 

 of Saxony, i* an agreeable town situated on the Zschopau, and in a 

 picturesque valley: it is well built and regularly laid out, and contains 

 6278 inhabitant*. Nt to ChemniU it ha* the largest factories in 

 Saxony for printing cottons, and employ* upward* of 600 hands in 

 this branch alone : it also manufactures cottons, linen*, and leather, 

 and ha* extensive bleaching-grouml* in the vicinity. The copper- 

 mine* near it produce but small quantities of the metal 



FRANKENSTEIN. [SILESIA?) 



FRANKFORT. [KKKTOCH.] 



FRAXKFl'RT on the Main, a small republic in the western part 

 of central Germany, so named from it* capital Frankfurt am Main, 

 which forms the subject of the next article. The town is supposed to 

 date it* origin from the time* of the Merovingian prinoa*. Charlo- 



magne built a palace in the town, in which be held a council of the 

 church in the year 794. Lewis the Pious surrounded it with walls 

 ami ditches in 838. la consequence of the treaty of Verdun, by 

 which Aix-la-Chapells fell to the share of Lotharius, Frankfurt became 

 the capital of the empire of the Eastern Franks, and hither Lewi* the 

 German transferred the fairs held by the Australians. A palace, called 

 the Itoemer (Roman palace), was also built hero by it* sovereigns, who 

 held their court* of ceremony under its roof from time to time, though 

 it was not their fixed abode. IB the records of the middle age* Frank- 

 furt U mentioned a* one of the principal cities in the German empire, 

 and the emperor William pledged himself, in 1254, that it should 

 never be mortgaged or alienated a pledge which made it an imme- 

 diate dependence of the empire itself. A golden bull confirmed the 

 privilege which Frankfurt had long enjoyed, of Ix'iug the place of all 

 imperial election*. In the early part of the 13th century the Roomer, 

 which had become the property of one of the burgesses about fifty 

 years before, was purchased and converted into a town-hall by Hie 

 magistrates, who about this time availed themselves of the prodigality 

 of the German emperors to buy their monopolies and domain* in and 

 near the town. The emperor Richard conferred additional imuiunitien 

 c.n it in 12;>7; in 1272 Charles IV. sold the bailitl'uhip of the empiiv 

 to the magistracy ; and in 132V Lewis the Bavarian empowered 

 to redeem all the properties, toll*, &c., in Frankfurt or its vicinity 

 which he or his predecessors might have pawned to others. The 

 great Easter fair, in addition to the Michaelmas fair, which hud been 

 held since the days of Lewis the German, was instituted in 1330. In 

 1390 the town acquired the lands on the left bank of the Main, on 

 which Sachseuhausen now stands, by which acquisition it coin; 

 it* present extent of territory. In 1555 Charles V. endowed it with 

 the right to the free navigation of the Main. The treaty of Westphalia 

 recognised all its immunities, and it was taken under the special pro- 

 tection of the empire by the imperial rescript* of 1682 and 1683. 

 The noblemen who settled in the town and connected themaelve* 

 with the wealthier class of inhabitants, gradually formed club*, or 

 exclusive companies, and these societies ultimately engrossed nearly 

 the whole government; but the Congress of Vienna in 1815 put an 

 end to the abuse. The emperor Charles VII. resided here from 1742 

 to 1744, and the German diets were at that period transferred to 

 Frankfurt from Ratisbon. It was the place of assembly for the state* 

 of the electorate of the Upper Rhine; and dating from A.D. 753, 

 21 German diets were held here. Under the settlement of the 

 empire in 1803 all the ecclesiastical property within the boui> 

 was mode over to the town, on condition of it* paying certain 

 annuities to the amount of 34,000 guldens, about 30UO/. sterling. 

 The arch-chancellor of the empire, who had a large property in the 

 town, became a member of the Confederation of the Rhine established 

 by Napoleon in 1806, accepted the title of ' Prince-Primate,' and was 

 placed at the head of the government ; Napoleon reserving to himself 

 the right of nominating bis successors. This was a short-lived 

 dignity; for Napoleon, finding it convenient to separate lay from 

 ecclesiastical jurisdictions, put an end to the prince-primacy in 

 February 1810, added the principalities of Fuld.i and Hanau, with 

 some small exceptions, to the town and territory of Frankfurt, 

 erected the whole into the ' Grand Duchy of Frankfurt,' and appointed 

 Prince Eugene, viceroy of Italy, its sovereign. This grand duchy 

 contained an area of about 1990 square miles. It fell to pieces with 

 the downfall of its founder, and a resolution of the congress of 

 Vienna on the 9th of June, 1815, re-established the city of Frank- 

 furt and its former territory as a free state. 



The small extent of territory (38 square miles) which Frankfurt 

 possesses beyond it* walls, lies immediately round them on both 

 sides of the Main ; it is quite level, and its soil, a deep sand covered 

 with a layer of lara, has been at every point brought into a high 

 state of productiveness. It is watered by the Main, and produces corn, 

 though not in quantity sufficient for the consumption ; potatoes, 

 vegetables, fruit, and wine : many horned cattle and sheep are also 

 bred. The inhabitants of the eight villages on the extramural 

 dominions are partially employed iu manufacturing and mechanical 

 pursuit* within the walla of tho city iUelf; but the most lucrative 

 occupation they follow is that of carriers through many states of 

 Germany. The population of the whole territory of tho republic in 

 1811 amounted to 47,372 ; in 1849 it was 77,950; namely, 62,600 in 

 the city and 10,650 in the eight villages, and 4800 federal troops. 

 The Jews, who number about 6000, are admitted to enrol themselves 

 in the class of burgesses. The majority of the inhabitants are 

 Lutherans ; the numbers of Reformed Lutherans being about 3000, 

 Roman Catholics 8000. There ore 14 Lutheran places of worship 

 (of which 7 are in the town), 2 Reformed Lutheran, 3 Roman 

 Catholic, and 2 Jewish. 



The constitution, promulgated on the 15th of May, 1816, vests the 

 sovereign power in the burgesses. This power is delegated to three 

 superior authorities : the senate, the permanent committee of Imr- 

 gesses, and the legislative body. The senate is composed of 20 

 members, with the two burgomasters as its presidents, who are elected 

 annually ; the head burgomaster draws up all reports to the senate 

 and ha* the control of the military department, while the junior 

 controls all affair* relating to the police, the corporation, and criminal 

 proceeding*. Tho senator* discharge all the administrative functions 



