Studies in American History 
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made”.^ Germany, counting this date her birthday, celebrated 
a thousand years of national life in 1843. 
The partition of the Frankish territory shows the first steps 
in the direction of modern Western Europe. Two kingdoms 
were founded: the one corresponds roughly to France of to- 
day ; the other to Germany. There is an element of permanence 
in these two divisions. In 843 they were the kingdoms of 
the Eastern and Western Franks. They were the forerunners 
of modern France and Germany, and, half-unconsciously to 
themselves, they were showing in embryo the modern spirit 
of nationality. The eastern Frankish kingdom was known as 
the Eastern Kingdom, or the Teutonic Kingdom ; and its ruler 
as King of the East-Franks, King of the Eastern Men, or 
King of Germany. The Western Kingdom took the name of 
Karolingia from its ruler, Charles (in German, Karlos), but 
this name was later supplanted by that of France from the 
duchy of that name. The prince of this territory, Hugh 
Capet, was the first of a line of kings which lasted without 
a break for over three hundred years and laid the foundation 
for the new state. 
The Treaty of Verdun provided for a third kingdom located 
between the other two. This middle territory reached from 
the North Sea to the Mediterranean and included the Italian 
peninsula as far south as Naples. Lothair, its ruler, died 
thirteen years after the treaty was made, and, following the 
German custom of equal division, left the territory to his three 
sons. To one he gave Italy, to a second he gave the valleys 
of the Rhone and Saone (the later Burgundy), to the third 
the northern section including the valley of the Rhine. By 
870 two of the sons were dead, and the rulers of the Eastern 
and Western kingdoms (Germany and France), disregarding 
the rights of their nephew, divided the inheritance of Lothair 
between themselves. The agreement is called the Partition 
of Meersen. The lion’s share of territory in this division went 
to the Eastern Kingdom (Germany) . Just one thousand years 
later, in 1870, the Franco-Prussian War occurred and, as a 
result of it, additional territory went to the heir of the east- 
ern realm. 
The middle kingdom took the name of Lotharingia from its 
ruler, Lothair. It was a borderland when considered from 
2 George Burton Adams, Civilization during the Middle Ages (New York, 1913), 170. 
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