LEOPOLD I: NEUTRALITY OF LORRAINE IN THE WAR BETWEEN FRANCE AND AUSTRIA

ST URBAIN, Ferdinand de: Lorraine, 1706, Bronze, 55 mm
Obv: Bust of Leopold I    LEOP. I. D.G. LOT. BAR. D. REX. IER. P. P. ET. DELITIVM.
Rev: A Phoenix hovering with a wreath in its beak over a peace alter    PACI. POPVLORVM . VTRVMQ . LITAVIT .
Exergue:  .MDCCVI.
Signed:  S.V.
Ref: Van Loon V p.29; Forrer V, p. 309 #4

Leopold Joseph Charles (Leopold I) (1679-1729), Duke of Lorraine and Bar (1697), was the son of Charles V, Duke of Lorraine and Bar. Unlike his granduncle Duke Charles IV, Leopold maintained a neutral position in the war between France and Austria, a political position commemorated by this medal. He also fostered good relations between the two countries by betrothing his son, Francis III, to Maria Theresa of Austria. (see previous entry).
The Phoenix in Egyptian Mythology was a bird that consumed itself by fire and then rose renewed from its ashes.

LINK to History of Lorraine (from Proceedings of the Friesian School. Edited by Kelley L. Ross, Ph.D.)

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