Home1815 Edition

LORRAIN

Volume 12 · 497 words · 1815 Edition

a sovereign state of Europe, bounded on the north by Luxemburg and the archbishopric of Treves, on the east by Alsace and the duchy of Deux Ponts, on the south by Franche Compte, and on the west by Champagne and the duchy of Barr. It is about 100 miles in length, and 75 in breadth; and abounds in all sorts of corn, wine, hemp, flax, rape-feed, game and fish, with which it carries on some trade, and in general all the necessaries of life. There are fine meadows and large forests, with mines of iron, silver, and copper, as also salt pits. There are a great number of rivers; of which the principal are the Maese or Meuse, the Moselle, the Seille, the Meure, and the Sarre. It is divided into three parts; the duchy of Lorrain, properly so called, which was heretofore a sovereign state; the duchy of Barr, which formerly belonged to the dukes of Lorrain, but afterwards came under the government of France; and the third comprehends the three bishoprics of Metz, Toul, and Verdun, which have belonged to France ever since the year 1552. In 1733, the emperor of Germany being at war with France, this last got possession of the duchy of Lorrain: and when there was a peace made in 1735, it was agreed, that Stanislaus king of Poland, father-in-law to the king of France, should possess these duchies, and that after his death they should be united for ever to the crown of France. It was also then agreed, that Francis Stephen, duke of Lorrain, and the emperor's son-in-law, should have the grand duchy of Tuscany as an equivalent for Lorrain. After the death of the great duke of Tuscany, in 1737, King Stanislaus and the duke of Lorrain took possession of their respective dominions, and the cession was confirmed and guaranteed by a treaty in 1738. The trade consists in corn and linen cloth. Nancy is the capital town.

Robert le, an eminent sculptor, born at Paris in 1666. From his infancy, he made so rapid a progress in the art of designing, that at the age of 18 the celebrated Girardon intrusted him with the care of teaching his children and correcting his disciples. He committed to him also, in conjunction with Noulisson, the execution of the famous tomb of Cardinal Richelieu in the Sorbonne, and his own tomb at St Landres in Paris. On his return from Rome, he finished several pieces at Marseilles, which had been left imperfect by the death of M. Puget. He was received into the academy of sculpture in 1701. His chef-d'oeuvre is Galatea, a work universally admired. Lorrain afterwards made a Bacchus for the gardens at Versailles, a Faun for those of Marly; and several bronzes, among which is an Andromeda; all in an excellent taste. This artist succeeded chiefly in heads; and more particularly in that of young girls, which he performed with incomparable delicacy and truth.

Claude. See CLAUDE.