Lorraine appears in the account of King Arthur’s Roman campaign as both a point on the army’s route and a territory within the political settlement that follows the conquest. Its appearances connect military movement across the Continent with Arthur’s effort to establish authority over the lands between Rome and France.

On the Campaign Route

After a major battle against the Romans, King Arthur and his knights enter Lorraine before proceeding through Brabant and Flanders, returning to high Almaine and crossing the mountains into Lombardy and Tuscany. The sequence makes Lorraine one stage in a west-to-southward campaign itinerary, rather than the scene of a separately described battle.

Later, as Arthur’s forces return from Italy, the narrative again names Lorraine in the route through which they pass, alongside Brabant and Flanders. This repetition places the region within both the advance and return movements of the campaign, while the account gives no further description of its towns or inhabitants.

A Territory in the Settlement

After Arthur’s victories, the senators of Rome seek peace and offer him the imperial crown. Once crowned emperor by the Pope, Arthur establishes his lands from Rome to France and distributes territories and rewards among his followers. He grants the duchy of Lorraine to Priamus, who pledges lifelong service to him.

The grant gives Lorraine a defined place in the narrative’s political aftermath: it is not merely a name on the route, but a duchy incorporated into Arthur’s settlement of conquered lands. The text presents the award as part of a wider redistribution in which Arthur makes his servants and knights wealthy according to their deserts, and reports that neither rich nor poor complained.