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the standpoint of either of the other two kingdoms. The 
name was subsequently shortened first to Lothringen and later 
to Lorraine. This term was applied to the northern section 
along the valley of the Rhine and Moselle. The southern part 
of this section is called Lorraine today. Sometimes Lotha- 
ringia was ruled by the Eastern Kingdom, sometimes by the 
Western; sometimes divided between the two, sometimes an 
independent kingdom. Its disposition has caused more inter- 
national ill-will and war than that of any other territory in 
Europe, except, possibly, the lands of the Near East. 
About this time another landmark appears in the political 
alignment of Lotharingia. When Charlemagne was crowned 
by the Pope in the year 800 he was looked on as the rightful 
successor of the Roman emperors. He was so powerful as 
a ruler that in his own right he merited consideration. But 
after his death, altho the title was borne by his successors, no 
king was worthy of the respect of emperor until Otto the 
Great. He, having been crowned by the Pope in 962, formed 
a union of Germany and the Empire which lasted until 1806 
and which was known as the “Holy Roman Empire of the 
German Nation”. To the Eastern Kingdom of the Treaty of 
Verdun, there were now added Italy, Burgundy, and Lotha- 
ringia. The connection with Italy brought Germany in closer 
contact with a better civilization than she had ever known. 
It had a less praiseworthy result, too, for it diverted the 
attention of the German kings from their own problems to 
those of Italy, and, therefore, allowed the forces of decentral- 
ization to triumph in Middle Europe. Since the Western 
Kingdom was not included in the Empire, this area was free 
to consider internal questions, and it, therefore, first emerged 
as a modern state. 
The inclusion of Lotharingia in the Empire caused it to face 
Germany in the direction of political allegiance and to develop 
with that country a common language and traditions. The 
emperors of the Holy Roman Empire after the thirteenth cen- 
tury were chosen by seven German electors, four of whom 
lived on the Rhine. They were the Archbishops of Cologne, 
Mainz, and Trier, and the Count Palatine. Two of the arch- 
bishops were in Lotharingia; the other and the count were 
very near this territory. The German language became the 
speech of Lotharingia; in the Western Kingdom (France) a 
Romance tongue, the French, prevailed. It is evident, there- 
