Herald and tribune. [volume] (Jonesborough, Tenn.) 1869-current, 1870-09-29
A Thousand Years Ags-A Strange
Coincidence Of History.

| 1t is certainly one of the greatest curl
! osities in history that exactly one thou
| sand years ago, i'll the year of our Lord
| $50, the people Of Germany fought under
| their kings upon the same soil, that of Lor-
raine, for very nearly the same reason,
| and with the same result. This happened
nearly rs follows The empire of Charlie
magne and that Of his son who succeeded
| him, Ludwig l., called the Pious, was di-
| vided by his three sons, the grandsOns OF
| Charlemagne, S43, at the Congress of Yer
| dun, between themselves in such a man.
ner that Lothaire received besides the IL
tie of emperor, Italy and what was called
| Middle FrancOnia, strip of land running
| from the North Sea to the Mediterranean.
and there joining Upper Italy, broad
| strip of land containing modern Holland,
Belgium, the Lorraine, the Alsace, and
all that part of Southern France lying be-
tween the Rhine and Saone and the Alps
| on the east. Ludwig received the Eas-
tern Franconia, which was from that time
called Gernlania or Germany, and from
which, he as Germany's first king was
called Ludwig the German.
Carl, who was called the Bald. from his
bald head, received Western Franconia,
from that time called FrancOnia, OF
France. Lotha:re died in S55, and again
subdivided his empire among his three
sons. To the oldest Ludwig, he gave Italy
and the crown and title OF emperor; to
the second. Lothaire, the northern part OF
his dominion, comprising part of north
| Ralo
called up to this day, Lorraine OF
Lotharingen, the Alsace, and all the land
extending down to the Saone. To the
Youngest, Carl, he gave all the land south
of Saone to the Mediterranean, under the
title of Kingdom of Provence,
In 500 Lothaire died without heirs, after
he had previously BECOME possessed also OF
his brother Carl's Kingdom of Provence
and it was then that Carl the Bald, King
of France, stepped forward to take sole
possession of his nephew's kingdom, com
prising all the eastern part of modern
France, and extending from the Meuse tt
the Rhine, and from the Rhine to the Alps
and from the North Sea way down to the
Mediterranean. He was completely sue
full. for his nephew Ludwig, the Emper
or in Italy, and his brother Ludwig, the
King of Germany, had both their hands
too full to claim tn cir share of the rich in
heritance.
But year later, in 1870, just one thou
sand years ago. suddenly large and wei
appointed German army crossed tn,
Rhine, broke into France, and defeated
Carl the Bald and his armies at once anC
so completely that he was compelled tt
sign treaty of peace in the same year
(S7O,) by which he ceded to his brothe
Ludwig. the German, all the eastern par
OF those lands which he had appropriated
from his nephew, comprising the moderr
provinces of Alsace Eastern Lorraine, ant
the territories around the cities of Trier
- or Lreves, ColOnge, Mastricht, ant
Utrecht, down to the mouth of the Rive
Rhine.
The first grand fight for the Rhine prov
inces on the part of France. and the Al
SAGE and Lorraine on that of Germany
which is, after all, If not the sole cause
certainly one of the principal causes o
the present war 1870, took place conse
quently just one thousand years ago, il
$40, and with the same result.-N. 7
World.