Greetings All Thank you from Fred Mumpton and me for offering ideas for the source of the village name of Lorraine in Jefferson County. I placed an equivalent question on the Alsace-Lorraine talk list and below you will find the answer to the two eastern regions in France that is the source of many immigrants to the north country. Enjoy. Ken >> For the history buffs on the list, can anyone tell me the origin of the >> naming of Alsace and Lorraine? >> >> Ken in NJ >Hello Ken and All, > >Alsace (German: Elsaß) is mentionned very early. During the 600's, the >region between Rhine and the Vosges mountains is named "Alesacius" and the >inhabitants "Alesaciones". At least three different origins have been >proposed: > >- the most widely accepted is derived from the Germanic roots "ali" (other) >and "saz" (settling), which might refer to a population which settled in a >region occupied by another population (Alamans ? Francs ?) > >- a Celtic root "alisa" meaning "clift", which might refer to the east side >of Vosges (unlikely) > >- "Alsace" might mean the "land of the Ill", the Ill being the river which >flows through Alsace from south to north and reaches the Rhine near >Strasbourg. > >(Source: Histoire de l'Alsace, Ph. DOLLINGER and others, 1991) > > >Lorraine (German: Lothringen) refers to the "Lotharingia". After the dead >of "Louis le Pieux", son of Charlemagne, in 840, his three sons Lothaire, >Louis and Pepin, shared the Empire into three portions (treaty of Verdun >843), an occidental part (now France) an oriental part (now Germany) and a >middle part called Lotharingia, of which Lothaire became king. This rather >ephemeral kingdom covered approximately what is now Lorraine, Belgium, the >Netherlands, Burgundy, parts of Italy, etc.. >Etienne