Lombards. See Loxgobardi.
Lombardy is the name given to that part of North- ern Italy which formed the " nucleus" of the kingdom of the I^ongobardi (q. v.). Incorporated in 774 into the Carlovingian possessions, it became an independent kingdom again in 843, though it was not entirely sev- ered from the Frankish monarchy until 888. It now consisted of the whole of Italy north of the Peninsula, with the exception of Savoy and Venice. In 961 it was annexed to the German empire, and its territory there- after gradually lessened bj' tlie formation of several small but independent duchies and republics. Through- out the Middle Ages the Lombards were compelled to league together with their neighbors to retain their in- dependence from the German emperors. The assump- tions of Frederick Barbarossa they successfully defeated in 1176, and so also those of Frederick II. But by in- ternal dissensions they were gradually weakened, and in 1540 Spain finall}^ took possession of Lombardy, and held it until about 1706, when it fell to Austria, and was designated "Austrian Lombard}-." In 1796 it be- came part of the Cisalpine republic, but in 1815 it was re- stored to Austria, and annexed politically to the newly- acquired Venetian territory under the name of the Lom- bardo- Venetian kingdom. This union was dissolved in 1859 by the Italian "War, Lombardy, with the exception of the Venetian territory (finally also given to Italy in 1866), falling to the new kingdom of Italy. There is now no political division called Lombardy, the coimtry having been parcelled out into the provinces of Berga- mo, Brescia, Como, Cremona, Milan, Pavia, and Son- drio. Its total area was 8264 English square miles, witli a population, at the time of its overture to the kingdom of Italy, of nearly three and a quarter millions, mostly Roman Catholics. See Italy.
Lombroso, Jacob, a noted Jewish writer and rab- bi of Spanish descent, flourished in Venice, Italj', in the first half of the 17th centun,-. He published in 1639 a beautiful edition of the Old Test, in Hebrew, with val- uable comments, and a Spanisli translation of the most difficult passages, entitled nn3 wl3 xb'^JD (« Handful of Quiet). He also wrote a polemic against Christianity. See Jost, Gesch. des Judenth. u. s. Sekten, iii, 227; Fiirst, Biblioth. Judaica, ii, 254.
Lomenie de Brienne, I^tiexxe Charles de, a very celebrated French prelate, was born at Paris in
LOMUS
498
LONGEVITY
1727. He renounced his primogeniture and the rig- ors of military glory for the easy honors of the Church, and became a great and powerful opponent of the Brot- cstants. Promoted in 17()3 to the archbishopric of Tou- louse, he aspired, it would seem, to the part of a Maza- rin or a Richelieu in the state, without possessing either tlie ability or tlie unscrupulous daring necessary to it. Upon the coronation of Louis XVI in 1775, he took par- ticular pains to strike against the Protestants, but it was not until 1787 that he gained prominence in state af- fairs. In this year, after tiguring in a commission for tlie reform of the clergy, and coquetting with the phi- losophy of D'.Vlembert and the encyclopaedists, he be- came a member of the Assembly of Notables, and, hav- ing headed the party by whom the administration of Calonne was overthrown, he succeeded that unfortunate as minister, adopted his plans, and proved himself just as incapable of executing them. An excited contest arose between the king and Parliament, and resulted in the dismissal of the latter by force of arms. In 1788 he was made prime minister, and was also promoted to the rich archbishopric of Sens. In 1791 he was offered a cardinal's hat, but, knowing the opposition of the peo- ple against the clergy, he declined this distinction. In July, 1788, he was compelled by the dissatisfaction of the people to proceed to the Convocation of the states- general for the month of May following, and on the '24th of August he retired to private life. He resided for a time at Nice, but the cardinal's hat which Pius VI be- stowed on him he now gratefully accepted. He was one of those who took the oath as a constitutional bish- op, on account of which he was deprived of the cardi- nal's hat. He was nevertheless arrested February 15, 1794, and died of apoplexy the same night. See Heroes, 'Philosophers, and Courtiers of the Time of Louis XVI (London, 18G3, 2 vols. 12mo) ; Lacroix's Pressense, Ee- liyioii and the Reign of Terror, p. 43, 124 ; Droz, Hist, du regne de Louis XVI ; Hoefer, A'oiti'. Biog. Gener. xxxi, 632 sq. (J.H.W.)
Lonaus, in Hindil mythology, is the first created be- ing, formed by Brahma when he commenced to exist. He immediately concluded to devote himself only to the contemplation of divine things, and, in order to be un- disturbed, buried himself in the ground. This pleased the gods so much that they loaded him with favors, in- creased and fixed his power and piety, and assured him a duration of life surpassingeven that of Brahma (q.v.). Lomus, said to be twenty miles long, and covered with liair all over, draws out a hair after the lapse of each cycle Brahma has gone through, and dies only after the last hair is drawn. See VoUmer, Mythol. Worterh. s. v. (C.B.)