LORRAINE, a district in France, between Metz and the Vosges; belonged originally to Germany, became French in 1766, and was restored to Germany in 1871.

LORRAINE, CLAUDE.  See CLAUDE LORRAINE.

LOS ANGELES (11), a city in South California, 345 m.  SE. of San Francisco, and founded in 1781; is the centre of a great orange-growing district, and a health resort.

LOST TRIBES, the ten tribes of the race of Israel whom the Assyrians carried off into captivity (see 2 Kings xvii. 6), and of whom all trace has been lost, and only in recent years guessed at.

LOTOPHAGI.  See LOTUS EATERS.

LOTUS EATERS or LOTOPHAGI, an ancient people inhabiting a district of Cyrenaica, on the NE. coast of Africa, who lived on the fruit of the lotus-tree, from which they made wine.  Ulysses and his companions in their wanderings landed on their shores, but the soothing influence of the lotus fruit so overpowered them with languor, that they felt no inclination to leave, or any more a desire to pursue the journey homewards.  See Tennyson’s poem “The Lotus-eaters.”

LOTZE, RUDOLF HERMANN, German philosopher, born at Bautzen, in Saxony; professor successively at Goettingen and Berlin; believed in metaphysics as well as physics, and was versant in both; “Microcosmus” is his principal work, published in 1864; he founded the system of “teleological idealism,” based on ethical considerations; he repudiated agnosticism, and had as little patience with a mere mechanical view of the universe as Carlyle (1817-1881).

LOUDON, JOHN CLAUDIUS, botanist and horticulturist, born at Cambuslang, Lanarkshire; wrote largely on plants and their cultivation, and an “Arboretum” on trees and shrubs (1783-1843).

LOUIS I., LE DEBONNAIRE (i. e. the Gentle), was king of France from 814 to 840 in succession to his father Charlemagne, but was too meek and lowly to rule, and fitter for a monk than a king; suffered himself to be taken advantage of by his nobles and the clergy; was dethroned by his sons, and compelled to retire into a cloister, from which he was twice over brought forth to stay the ravages of their enemies; he divided his kingdom among them during his lifetime, and bequeathed it to them to guard over it when he was gone, to its dismemberment.

LOUIS VI., LE GROS (i. e. the Fat), was son of Philip I.; was associated in the royal power with his father from 1098 to 1108, and sole king from 1108 till 1137; in his struggle against the great vassals he, by the help of the clergy and the bourgeois, centralised the government in the crown; had trouble with Henry I. of England as Lord Superior of Normandy, and was defeated by him in battle in 1119; under his reign the burgesses achieved their independence, and though he did nothing to initiate the movement he knew how to profit from the achievement in the interest of the monarchy.

LOUIS VII., THE YOUNG, son of the preceding, married Eleanor of Aquitaine; took part in the second crusade; on his return divorced his queen for her profligacy in his absence, who married Henry II. of England, and brought with her as dowry to Henry the richest provinces of France, which gave rise to the Hundred Years’ War (1120-1180).