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Okay, looking at the French wikipedia, I think I've ironed out the sequence of events in the 17th/18th century with the French occupations:
January 1634: Charles IV abdicates in favor of his younger brother Nicholas and goes into exile, joining the imperial service.
January 1634: The French occupy Lorraine; Duke Nicholas signs a treaty giving their occupation legal legitimacy
March 1634: Nicholas, previously a Catholic cardinal, marries in opposition to French wishes; the French make him a prisoner in his palace and he flees into exile.
April 1634: Nicholas, in exile, himself abdicates as duke, returning nominal authority to his brother Charles IV. Lorraine remains in French hands
1661: The Treaty of Fontainebleau finally allows Charles IV to return to Lorraine
1670: The French once again invade and occupy Lorraine; Charles IV once again goes into exile
1675: Death of Charles IV; his brother Nicholas's son Charles V succeeds him, but Lorraine itself remains under French occupation and administration
1690: Death of Charles V; his son Leopold succeeds him, but Lorraine itself remains under French occupation and Administration
1697: The Treaty of Ryswick brings about French withdrawal from Lorraine, Leopold is able to take the throne.
I'm not sure the best way to indicate this in the article. I modified it so that it now correctly lists the titular dukes (who presumably had some of the privileges of the dukedom, like the voice in the Imperial Diet), and notes the periods of occupation in the notes column, but I'm not sure that's best. The French wikipedia has two columns for this period, one listing the de facto rulers of the duchy and the other the de jure dukes. That might be ideal. john k (talk) 03:25, 26 September 2010 (UTC)[reply]
I think Lorraine is a confusing term for this period and not the one normally used by historians writing in English. Lotharingia would be better? For the time being WP is inconsistent, but I think most better articles also use Lotharingia. I'll post a few such messages on articles where I notice examples.--Andrew Lancaster (talk) 07:03, 14 August 2020 (UTC)[reply]
Did not change the article title, as "this period" is not restricted to the name at the time of creation. Have made a few adjustments to the lede's detail, format and links, to give some focus to the original creation of kingdom of Lotharingia and the evolution through to the eventual Duchy of Lorraine. Jmg38 (talk) 20:17, 1 February 2021 (UTC)[reply]