Alsace–Lorraine, officially the Imperial Territory of Alsace–Lorraine, was a former territory of the German Empire, located in modern day France. It was established in 1871 by the German Empire after it had occupied the region during the Franco-Prussian War. The region was officially ceded to the German Empire in the Treaty of Frankfurt. French resentment about the loss of the territory was one of the contributing factors to World War I. Alsace–Lorraine was formally ceded back to France in 1920 as part of the Treaty of Versailles following Germany's defeat in the war, but already annexed in practice at the war's end in 1918.
Archduke was the title borne from 1358 by the Habsburg rulers of the Archduchy of Austria, and later by all senior members of that dynasty. It denotes a rank within the former Holy Roman Empire (962–1806), which was below that of Emperor, and roughly equal to King, Prince-Archbishop, and Grand prince, but above that of a Grand Duke, Sovereign Prince, and Duke.
The County of Hainaut, sometimes spelled Hainault, was a territorial lordship within the medieval Holy Roman Empire that straddled the present-day border of Belgium and France. Its most important towns included Mons, now in Belgium, and Valenciennes, now in France.
Unterelsaß was the northern part of the historical region Alsace or Elsass. From 1871 to 1918, Bezirk Unterelsaß was the name for the central district (Bezirk) of the imperial territory of Elsaß-Lothringen (Alsace-Lorraine) in the German Empire.
Conrad I was Duke of Swabia from 983 until 997. His appointment as duke marked the return of Conradine rule over Swabia for the first time since 948.
Herman II was a member of the Conradine dynasty. He was Duke of Swabia from 997 to his death. In 1002, Herman unsuccessfully attempted to become king of Germany.
Matfrid was the Frankish count of Orléans in the reign of Emperor Louis the Pious. He is usually thought to have been the first of the lineage known to historians as the Matfriede.
Count Richar or Richer was a 10th-century Lotharingian count. He had a well-attested county in the Luihgau, a territory between Liège and Aachen, and he is generally considered to have held comital status in the County of Hainaut, possibly in the area of Mons.
Beggo was the son of Gerard I of Paris and Rotrude. He was appointed Count of Toulouse, Duke of Septimania, Duke of Aquitaine, and Margrave of the Hispanic March in 806 and followed his brother as Count of Paris in 813.
Adelaide of Rheinfelden, was Queen of Hungary by marriage to King Ladislaus I.
Bezirk Lothringen, also called German Lorraine, was a government region ("Bezirk") in the western part of Alsace-Lorraine when it was part of the German Empire from 1871 to 1918.
Adelaide of Savoy, a member of the Burgundian House of Savoy, was Duchess of Swabia from about 1062 until 1079 by her marriage with Rudolf of Rheinfelden, who also was elected German anti-king in 1077.
The pagus or gau of Hasbania was a large early medieval territory in what is now eastern Belgium. It is now approximated by the modern French- and Dutch-speaking region called Hesbaye in French, or Haspengouw in Dutch — both being terms derived from the medieval one. Unlike many smaller pagi of the period, Hasbania apparently never corresponded to a single county. It already contained several in the 9th century. It is therefore described as a "Groẞgau", like the Pagus of Brabant, by modern German historians such as Ulrich Nonn.
Werner, Count in Hesbaye was a Lower Lotharingian count in what is now Belgium and neighbouring parts of Germany. During this period the once independent Kingdom of Lotharingia, was coming under the control of the new Kingdom of Germany, but it was also still contested by the Kingdom of France.
Renaud (or Reginald) (died 973), brother of Count Werner. According to Eduard Hlawitschka (de) they were probably members of the so-called "Matfried" noble clan (de).
Liugas, Leuwa-gau, or Luihgau, was a small pagus or gau from the late 8th to mid-11th centuries, east of the Meuse river roughly between Liège, Maastricht, and Aachen, an area where Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands meet today. There were only a small number of mentions made of this territory, all between 779 and 1059.
Stephen II was a German nobleman and an early member of the House of Sponheim. He succeeded his father, Stephen I, as count of Sponheim around 1080. Around 1092 Stephen married Sophia of Formbach. Stephen had several children with Sophia, including Meginard I, who succeeded him as count of Sponheim and Jutta, abbess of the Benedictine monastery on Disibodenberg and teacher of Hildegard of Bingen.
Meginhard I was a member of the House of Sponheim, succeeding his father, Stephan II, Count of Sponheim. His mother was probably Sophia of Formbach. His son was Gottfried I, Count of Sponheim.
Sophia of Formbach, was the daughter of Meginhard IV of Formbach. She was countess of Salm through her marriage to Hermann of Salm, who was also elected German anti-king from 1081 to 1088.
Gerhard of the Moselle, Count of Metz and possibly of Alsace, was a Lotharingian noble active in the early 11th century. He was a key figure within an alliance of Lotharingian nobles who were seen as opponents of Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor. This also put him in constant conflict with the king's loyal representatives in Lotharingia, his relatives in the family known to historians as the House of Ardenne–Verdun. Henry II was Gerhard's brother-in-law, as they had both married daughters of Count Sigfried, the ancestor of the counts of Luxembourg. Sigfried was also in the Ardenne dynasty, though his family came to be opposed to his Verdun cousins.