Loigny. A village in France, department of Loiret, about 9 miles from Orleans. During the Franco-German war, the army of the Loire under Gen. Chanzy was defeated near here by the Germans under the Grand Duke of Mecklenburg, December 2, 1870.
Lombard. A form or size of cannon formerly in use.
Lombards or Longobards. A German people of the Suevic family, not very numerous, but of distinguished valor, who played an important part in the early history of Europe. About the 4th century they seem to have begun to leave their original seats (on the Lower Elbe, where the Romans seem to have come first in contact with them about the beginning of the Christian era), and to have fought their way southward and eastward, till they came into close contact with the eastern Roman empire on the Danube, adopted an Arian form of Christianity, and after having been some time tributary to the Heruli, raised themselves upon the ruins of their power, and of that of the Gepidæ, shortly after the middle of the 6th century, to the position of masters of Pannonia, and became one of the most wealthy and powerful nations in that part of the world. Under their king Alboin they invaded and conquered the north and centre of Italy (568-569), and founded the kingdom of Lombardy. The nobles ravaged the greater part of Italy subsequent to 573, but in 584 they appointed Autharis their king, who greatly extended the empire, and formed a powerful kingdom. In the autumn of 773, Charlemagne invaded Italy; and in May of the following year Pavia was conquered and the Lombard kingdom, after an existence of 206 years, was overthrown. In 776, an insurrection of some of the Lombard nobles brought Charlemagne again into Italy, and their dukedoms were broken down into counties, and the Lombard system, as far as possible, supplanted by that of the Franks. In 803, a treaty between Charlemagne, the Western, and Nicephorus the Eastern emperor, confirmed the right of the former to the Lombard territory.
Lombardy. The name given to that part of Upper Italy which formed the nucleus of the kingdom of the [Lombards] (which see). It consisted of the whole of Italy north of the peninsula, with the exceptions of Savoy and Venice, and after the fall of the Lombard kingdom, in 774, was incorporated in the Carlovingian empire. In 843 it was created a separate kingdom, but was not entirely severed from the Frankish monarchy till 888. From this time it was ruled by its own kings till 961, when it was annexed to the German empire. Out of the wrecks of the old independent kingdom now arose a number of independent duchies, as Friuli, Mantua, Susa, Piedmont, etc., and soon afterwards the republics of Venice, Genoa, Milan, and Pavia, etc. The Lombard cities declared themselves independent towards the commencement of the 12th century, and in 1167 were joined by their less powerful neighbors in the “first Lombard league,” for the maintenance of their liberties against Frederic Barbarossa, whom they severely defeated in 1176. In 1225 they were compelled to form the “second Lombard league” against Frederick II., and with similar success. After this, petty tyrants rose in most of the cities, and foreign influence quickly followed. The Guelph and Ghibelline factions greatly distracted Lombardy; and from the 15th century to the present time it has been contended for by the German and French sovereigns. The house of Austria obtained it in 1748, and held it till 1797, when it was conquered by the French, who incorporated it into the Cisalpine republic, and in 1805 into the kingdom of Italy. On the breaking up of the French empire in 1815, the Lombardo-Venetian kingdom was established by the allied sovereigns and given to Austria, who had lost her Flemish possessions. In 1859 this union was dissolved by the Italian war; and also by the treaty of Villa Franca, ceded to the king of Sardinia.
Lomond, Loch. The largest and most celebrated of the Scottish lakes, separating the counties of Dumbarton and Stirling. In 1263 the Norsemen, under Angus, king of Man, after having ravaged the shores of the adjoining Loch Long, drew their boats over the neck of land which separates the two waters at Tarbet, massacred the inhabitants, and set fire to the numerous villages they found on the shores of the lake. After this expedition, the loch came into the hands of some of the chief Highland clans, who long carried on their feuds here.
Lomza. A district town in the government of Augustovo, in Poland, on the left of the Narev, a tributary of the Vistula. It played a prominent part in the history of Poland, but has never recovered from its sufferings during the Swedish wars.
Lonato. A town of Northern Italy, province of Brescia; it is surrounded by walls, and further defended by a citadel. It suffered greatly during the Middle Ages by pestilence. Here Bonaparte gained a victory over the Austrians in 1796.
London. The capital and chief city of the British empire, stands on both banks of the Thames, about 60 miles from the sea. It appears first in history under the reign of Claudius, and it was fortified under Constantine the Great. Boadicea, queen of the Iceni, reduced London to ashes, and put 70,000 Romans and strangers to the sword in 61; it was rebuilt and walled in by the Romans in 306; pillaged by the Danes in 839. In 1875 its population was 3,445,160.
London, New. A city of New London Co., Conn., situated 42 miles southeast from Hartford, on the Thames. This place was burned by the British in 1781.
Londonderry. The capital of a county of the same name in Ireland, on the Foyle. This town is of great antiquity, and has often suffered from the effects of war. It was besieged by James II., from December, 1688, till August, 1689, when the siege was raised.