Lorraine. Lotharingiae nova descriptio.

Title

Lorraine. Lotharingiae nova descriptio.

Map shows the former Lorraine region with its capital Metz in France with three cartouches. The cities of Nancy, Èpinal, Remiremont, Vaucoleur, Neuschateau, etc. are also depicted. Description in Latin on the reverse.

ca. 1595

Artist

Ortelius (1527-1598)

Abraham Ortelius (1527–1598) was a Flemish cartographer and publisher from Antwerp. Originally a map colorist, he became a major figure in cartography through his Theatrum Orbis Terrarum (1570), considered the first modern atlas—a uniform collection of reliable maps in book form. Influenced by Gerardus Mercator, Ortelius published several maps before compiling the Theatrum, which clearly showed America as a separate continent. The work was published in 42 editions and 7 languages by 1612. Unlike many of his peers, Ortelius cited his sources, and his atlas became a milestone in mapmaking and geographic knowledge.

Historical Description

The area around the Moselle, populated mainly by Celtic tribes, was conquered by Gaius Iulius Caesar in the Gallic War between 58 and 51 BC and later became part of the Roman province of Gallia Belgica. From a division of the Frankish Empire into three parts, the Lotharii Regnum, the "Empire of Lothar" or Lotharingia, named after its king, emerged in 843. s lay in the middle between the East and West Frankish Empires and originally stretched as an elongated territory from the Mediterranean to the North Sea. In 870, the area was again divided between the East and West Frankish Empires.