1.
Charles the Bold
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Charles the Bold, baptised Charles Martin, was Duke of Burgundy from 1467 to 1477. He was the last Duke of Burgundy from the House of Valois and is also known as Charles the Rash. His early death at the Battle of Nancy at the hands of Swiss mercenaries fighting for René II, Charles the Bold was born in Dijon, the son of Philip the Good and Isabella of Portugal. Before the death of his father in 1467, he bore the title of Count of Charolais, afterwards, he assumed all of his fathers titles, including that of Grand Duke of the West. He was also made a Knight of the Golden Fleece just twenty days after his birth, invested by Charles I, Count of Nevers, Charles was brought up under the direction of Jean dAuxy and early showed great application alike to academic studies and warlike exercises. His fathers court was the most extravagant in Europe at the time, in 1440, at the age of seven, Charles was married to Catherine, daughter of King Charles VII of France and sister of the Dauphin. She was five years older than her husband, and she died in 1446 at the age of 18, in 1454, at the age of 21, Charles married a second time. He wanted to marry a daughter of his distant cousin Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York and his father chose Isabella of Bourbon, who was three years younger than he was. Isabella was the daughter of Philip the Goods sister Agnes and a distant cousin of Charles VII of France. Their daughter Mary of Burgundy was Charles only surviving child, she inherited all the Burgundian domains before her marriage to Maximilian of Hapsburg, the son of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick III. Charles was on terms with his brother-in-law Louis, the Dauphin of France. For his third wife, Charles was offered the hand of Louis XIs daughter Anne, the wife he ultimately chose, however, was his second cousin Margaret of York. Upon the death of his father in 1467, Charles was no longer bound by the terms of the Treaty of Arras, and he decided to ally himself with Burgundys old ally England. Louis did his best to prevent or delay the marriage with Margaret, but in the summer of 1468, it was celebrated sumptuously at Bruges, the couple had no children, but Margaret devoted herself to her stepdaughter Mary. After Marys death many years later, she kept Marys two infant children as long as she was allowed. On 12 April 1465, Philip relinquished control of the government of his domains to Charles, who spent the next summer prosecuting the War of the Public Weal against Louis XI. Charles was left master of the field at the Battle of Montlhéry on 13 July 1465, during the negotiations for the treaty, his wife Isabella died suddenly at Les Quesnoy on 25 September, making a political marriage suddenly possible. As part of the treaty, Louis promised him the hand of his infant daughter Anne, with the territories of Champagne and Ponthieu as a dowry, in the meanwhile, Charles obtained the surrender of Ponthieu
Charles the Bold
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Rogier van der Weyden painted Charles the Bold as a young man in about 1460, wearing the
Order of the Golden Fleece
Charles the Bold
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Double Briquet, struck under Charles the Bold in
Bruges, 1475
Charles the Bold
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Charles as a boy stands next to his father, Philip the Good.
Rogier van der Weyden 's frontispiece to the Chroniques de Hainaut, c. 1447–8 (
Royal Library of Belgium)
Charles the Bold
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Engraving of Charles the Bold
2.
King of the Franks
–
The Franks were originally led by dukes and reguli. The Salian Merovingians rose to dominance among the Franks and conquered most of Roman Gaul and they also conquered the Gaulish territory of the Visigothic Kingdom in 507. The sons of Clovis conquered the Burgundians and Alamanni and they acquired Provence and made the Bavarii and Thuringii their clients. The Merovingians were later replaced by a new dynasty called the Carolingians in the 8th century, by the end of the 9th century, the Carolingians themselves were replaced throughout much of their realm by other dynasties. The idea of a King of the Franks or Rex Francorum gradually disappeared over the 12th and 13th centuries. A timeline of Frankish rulers is difficult since the realm was, according to old Germanic practice, frequently divided among the sons of a leader upon his death and this list of early rulers is incomplete, as our sources leave open many gaps. He took his seat at Paris, which along with Soissons, Reims, Metz, upon his death, the kingdom was split among his four sons, Chlothar I eventually inherited all of the Frankish kingdoms after the deaths of his brothers or their successors. After his own death, the kingdom was again split among his four sons, Chlothar II defeated Brunhilda and her grandson. However, in 623, in order to appease particularistic forces and also to secure the borders and his son and successor, Dagobert I, emulated this move by appointing a sub-king for Aquitaine, with a seat at Toulouse, in 629 and Austrasia in 634. Theuderic III was recognized as king of all the Franks in 679, from then on, the kingdom of the Franks can be treated as a unity again for all but a very brief period of civil war. This is the period of the kings who were increasingly overshadowed by their mayors of the palace. The Carolingians were initially mayors of the palace under the Merovingian kings, first in Austrasia and later in Neustria, between 715 and 716, the descendants of Pippin disputed the succession. The Carolingians displaced the Merovingians as the ruling dynasty, however, following the emperors death in 840, the empire was plunged into a civil war that lasted three years. The Frankish kingdom was divided by the Treaty of Verdun in 843. Charles was confirmed in Aquitaine, where Pepin Is son Pepin II was opposing him, and granted West Francia, louis the German was confirmed in Bavaria and granted East Francia, the lands east of Lothairs kingdom
King of the Franks
–
A page from
Gregory of Tours, Historia Francorum
King of the Franks
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Clovis I
King of the Franks
King of the Franks
3.
Louis the Pious
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Louis the Pious, also called the Fair, and the Debonaire, was the King of Aquitaine from 781. He was also King of the Franks and co-Emperor with his father, Charlemagne, during his reign in Aquitaine, Louis was charged with the defence of the empires southwestern frontier. He conquered Barcelona from the Muslims in 801 and asserted Frankish authority over Pamplona, as emperor he included his adult sons, Lothair, Pepin, and Louis, in the government and sought to establish a suitable division of the realm among them. In the 830s his empire was torn by war between his sons, only exacerbated by Louiss attempts to include his son Charles by his second wife in the succession plans. Though his reign ended on a note, with order largely restored to his empire. Louis is generally compared unfavourably to his father, though the problems he faced were of a different sort. He was the son of Charlemagne by his wife Hildegard. His grandfather was King Pepin the Younger, Louis was crowned King of Aquitaine as a child in 781 and sent there with regents and a court. Charlemagne wanted his son Louis to grow up in the area where he was to reign, Charlemagnes intention was to see all his sons brought up as natives of their given territories, wearing the national costume of the region and ruling by the local customs. Thus were the children sent to their respective realms at so young an age, each kingdom had its importance in keeping some frontier, Louiss was the Spanish March. In 797, Barcelona, the greatest city of the Marca, fell to the Franks when Zeid, its governor, rebelled against Córdoba and, failing, the Umayyad authority recaptured it in 799. Louis campaigned in the Italian Mezzogiorno against the Beneventans at least once, Louis was one of Charlemagnes three legitimate sons to survive infancy. He had a brother, Lothair who died during infancy. According to Frankish custom, Louis had expected to share his inheritance with his brothers, Charles the Younger, King of Neustria, to Louiss kingdom of Aquitaine, he added Septimania, Provence, and part of Burgundy. However, Charlemagnes other legitimate sons died – Pepin in 810 and Charles in 811 –, on his fathers death in 814, he inherited the entire Frankish kingdom and all its possessions. While at his villa of Doué-la-Fontaine, Anjou, Louis received news of his fathers death and he rushed to Aachen and crowned himself emperor to shouts of Vivat Imperator Ludovicus by the attending nobles. From start of his reign, his coinage imitated his father Charlemagnes portrait and he quickly sent all of his unmarried sisters to nunneries, to avoid any possible entanglements from overly powerful brothers-in-laws. Sparing his illegitimate half-brothers, he forced his fathers cousins, Adalard and Wala to be tonsured, placing them in Noirmoutier and Corbie, respectively and his chief counsellors were Bernard, margrave of Septimania, and Ebbo, Archbishop of Reims
Louis the Pious
–
Louis the Pious, contemporary depiction from 826 as a
miles Christi (soldier of Christ), with a poem of
Rabanus Maurus overlaid
Louis the Pious
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Charlemagne crowns Louis the Pious
Louis the Pious
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Denarius of Louis.
Louis the Pious
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Louis the Pious doing penance at Attigny in 822
4.
Holy Roman Emperor
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The Holy Roman Emperor was the ruler of the Holy Roman Empire. From an autocracy in Carolingian times the title evolved into an elected monarchy chosen by the Prince-electors, until the Reformation the Emperor elect was required to be crowned by the Pope before assuming the imperial title. The title was held in conjunction with the rule of the Kingdom of Germany, in theory, the Holy Roman Emperor was primus inter pares among the other Catholic monarchs, in practice, a Holy Roman Emperor was only as strong as his army and alliances made him. Various royal houses of Europe, at different times, effectively became hereditary holders of the title, after the Reformation many of the subject states and most of those in Germany were Protestant while the Emperor continued to be Catholic. The Holy Roman Empire was dissolved by the last Emperor as a result of the collapse of the polity during the Napoleonic wars, from the time of Constantine I the Roman emperors had, with very few exceptions, taken on a role as promoters and defenders of Christianity. In the west, the title of Emperor was revived in 800, as the power of the papacy grew during the Middle Ages, popes and emperors came into conflict over church administration. The best-known and most bitter conflict was known as the Investiture Controversy. After Charlemagne was crowned Emperor of the Romans by Pope Leo III, no pope appointed an emperor again until the coronation of Otto the Great in 962. Under Otto and his successors, much of the former Carolingian kingdom of Eastern Francia fell within the boundaries of the Holy Roman Empire, the various German princes elected one of their peers as King of the Germans, after which he would be crowned as emperor by the Pope. After Charles Vs coronation, all succeeding emperors were called elected Emperor due to the lack of papal coronation, the term sacrum in connection with the medieval Roman Empire was first used in 1157 under Frederick I Barbarossa. Charles V was the last Holy Roman Emperor to be crowned by the Pope, the final Holy Roman Emperor-elect, Francis II, abdicated in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars that saw the Empires final dissolution. The standard designation of the Holy Roman Emperor was August Emperor of the Romans, the word Holy had never been used as part of that title in official documents. In German-language historiography, the term Römisch-deutscher Kaiser is used to distinguish the title from that of Roman Emperor on one hand, the English term Holy Roman Emperor is a modern shorthand for emperor of the Holy Roman Empire not corresponding to the historical style or title. Successions to the kingship were controlled by a variety of complicated factors, elections meant the kingship of Germany was only partially hereditary, unlike the kingship of France, although sovereignty frequently remained in a dynasty until there were no more male successors. The Electoral council was set at seven princes by the Golden Bull of 1356, another elector was added in 1690, and the whole college was reshuffled in 1803, a mere three years before the dissolution of the Empire. After 1438, the Kings remained in the house of Habsburg and Habsburg-Lorraine, with the exception of Charles VII. Maximilian I and his successors no longer travelled to Rome to be crowned as Emperor by the Pope, Maximilian therefore named himself Elected Roman Emperor in 1508 with papal approval. This title was in use by all his uncrowned successors, of his successors only Charles V, the immediate one, received a papal coronation
Holy Roman Emperor
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Francis II
Holy Roman Emperor
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Quaternion Eagle
Holy Roman Emperor
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Replicas of the Crown jewels
Holy Roman Emperor
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Holy Roman Emperors of Habsburg dynasty and their families
5.
Coronation of the Holy Roman Emperor
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The Holy Roman Empresses were crowned as well. Thereafter, until the abolition of the empire in 1806, no further crownings by the Pope were held, successors of Charlemagne were crowned in Rome for several centuries, where they received the imperial crown in St. Peters from the pope. The Iron Crown of Lombardy was conferred in the Church of St, once a candidate was selected, the new emperor was led to the high altar of the cathedral and seated. He was then conducted to a gallery over the entrance to the choir, the coronation itself took place on a subsequent day. These three Archbishop-Electors meet the Emperor-elect at the entrance of the church and the Archbishop of Cologne says the prayer, Almighty, everlasting God, your servant. etc. Then the choir sings the antiphon, Behold, the angels sent forth. etc. as the Emperor-elect, the Archbishop of Cologne then said the prayers, God, who knows the human race. etc. and Almighty and everlasting God of heaven and earth. etc. The Mass is then begun, the propers being those of the Feast of the Epiphany, after the opening collect, the collect for the Feast of St. Michael. After the sequence is sung the Litany of the Saints and then the Archbishop of Cologne puts six questions to the Emperor-elect,1, will he defend the holy faith. Will he defend the holy church, will he maintain the laws of the Empire. Will he show due submission to the Pope, to each of these he responds, I will. The Emperor-elect then lays two fingers on the altar and swears, the Recognition then followed and when the Emperor-elect is presented and asked if those assembled accepted him as their king, they respond, Let it be done three times. The Archbishop of Cologne then said the prayers, Bless, Lord, amen. etc. and on the palms of both hands. He was then vested in the robes, which included buskins, a long alb, a dalmatic, stole crossed priest-wise over the breast, gloves. The sword was given the German king with the words, Receive this sword at the hands of us bishops. etc, the ring was given him with the words, Receive this ring of royal dignity. etc. The sceptre and orb are both given to the king with the words, Receive this rod of virtue and equity. etc, finally the crown was set on his head conjointly by the three archbishop-electors with the words, Receive this royal crown. etc. The Oath was taken again, this time in the form in both Latin and German, I promise and pledge in the sight of God. etc. The responsory, My soul is longing. etc. and the king is enthroned with the words, Stand fast, at the coronation of Charles V the Archbishop-Elector of Mainz preached a homily at this point. The coronation of the queen consort followed and was conducted jointedly by the Archbishop-Electors of Mainz, the Te Deum was then sung during which Charles V dubbed a number of knights with the imperial sword, although at subsequent coronations this took place after the Coronation proper
Coronation of the Holy Roman Emperor
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The coronation of
Charlemagne by
Pope Leo III.
Coronation of the Holy Roman Emperor
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Coronation of
Henry VII, Holy Roman Emperor
Coronation of the Holy Roman Emperor
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Imperial Crown of the Holy Roman Empire
Coronation of the Holy Roman Emperor
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Constance of Aragon's crown.
6.
Pavia
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Pavia is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy, northern Italy,35 kilometres south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It has a population of c, the city was the capital of the Kingdom of the Lombards from 572 to 774. Pavia is the capital of the province of Pavia, known for agricultural products including wine, rice, cereals. Although there are a number of industries located in the suburbs, Pavia is the episcopal seat of the Roman Catholic Bishop of Pavia. The city possesses many artistic and cultural treasures, including several important churches and museums, dating back to pre-Roman times, the town of Pavia, then known as Ticinum, was a municipality and an important military site under the Roman Empire. It was said by Pliny the Elder to have founded by the Laevi and Marici. It was at Pavia in 476 AD that the reign of Romulus Augustulus, ten months after Romulus Augustulus’s reign began, Orestes’s soldiers under the command of one of his officers named Odoacer, rebelled and killed Orestes in the city of Pavia in 476. Without his father Romulus Augustulus was powerless, instead of killing Romulus Augustulus, Odoacer pensioned him off at 6,000 solidi a year before declaring the end of the Western Roman Empire and himself king of the new Kingdom of Italy. Odoacer’s reign as king of Italy did not last long, because in 488 the Ostrogothic peoples led by their king Theoderic invaded Italy and waged war against Odoacer. After fighting for 5 years Theoderic defeated Odoacer and on March 15,493 assassinated Odoacer at a banquet meant to negotiate a peace between the two rulers, with the establishment of the Ostrogoth kingdom based in northern Italy, Theoderic began his vast program of public building. Pavia was among several cities that Theodoric chose to restore and expand and he began the construction of the vast palace complex that would eventually become the residence of Lombard monarchs several decades later. Near the end of Theoderic’s reign the Christian philosopher Boethius was imprisoned in one of Pavia’s churches from 522 to 525 before his execution for treason and it was during Boethius’s captivity in Pavia that he wrote his seminal work the Consolation of Philosophy. Pavia played an important role in the war between the Eastern Roman Empire and the Ostrogoths that began in 535, after the capitulation of the Ostrogothic leadership in 540 more than a thousand men remained garrisoned in Pavia and Verona dedicated to opposing Eastern Roman rule. The resilience of Ostrogoth strongholds like Pavia against invading forces allowed pockets of Ostrogothic rule to limp along until finally being defeated in 561, Pavia and the peninsula of Italy didn’t remain long under the rule of the Eastern Roman Empire for in 568 a new people invaded Italy. This new invading people in 568 were the Lombards, in their invasion of Italy in 568, the Lombards were led by their king Alboin, who would become the first Lombard king of Italy. Alboin captured much of northern Italy in 568 but his progress was halted in 569 by the city of Pavia. Meanwhile Alboin, after driving out the soldiers, took possession of everything as far as Tuscany except Rome and Ravenna and some other fortified places which were situated on the shore of the sea. ”The Siege of Ticinum finally ended with the Lombards capturing the city of Pavia in 572. Pavia’s strategic location and the Ostrogoth palaces located within it would make Pavia by the 620s the main capital of the Lombards’ Kingdom of Pavia, under Lombard rule many monasteries, nunneries, and churches were built at Pavia by the devout Christian Lombard monarchs
Pavia
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A view of the
city's Cathedral from the Piazza della Vittoria
Pavia
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This painting by
Josse Lieferinxe depicts an outbreak of the plague in 7th-century Pavia, Italy. The Walters Art Museum.
Pavia
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Collegio Borromeo
Pavia
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The
University of Pavia 's Aula Magna
7.
Louis II of Italy
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Louis II, sometimes called the Younger, was the King of Italy and Roman Emperor from 844, co-ruling with his father Lothair I until 855, after which he ruled alone. Louiss usual title was imperator augustus, but he used imperator Romanorum after his conquest of Bari in 871 and he was called imperator Italiae in West Francia while the Byzantines called him Basileus Phrangias. The chronicler Andreas Bergomatis, who is the source for Louiss activities in southern Italy. Louis was born in 825, the eldest son of the Junior Emperor Lothair I and his father was the son of the reigning Emperor, Louis the Pious. His grandfather, the elderly Emperor Louis I, died the next year, under his fathers rule, he was crowned king and co-emperor to the middle aged Emperor Lothair at Rome by Pope Sergius II on 15 June 844. This ceremony mirrors the crowning of Lothair by his father, a tradition started by Charlemagne and his son Louis the Pious, who were, respectively, great grandfather and grandfather of Louis II. He marched into the south of Italy in the year of his coronation and compelled the rival dukes of Benevento, Radelchis I and Siconulf. His mediation split the Lombard duchy and gave Radelchis his share with Benevento as his capital, Radelchis, now pacified, had no need of his Saracen mercenaries and happily betrayed them to the emperor. Louis fell on them and they were massacred and he then quashed some accusations against Pope Leo and held a Diet at Pavia. He confirmed the usurping regent Peter as prince of Salerno in December 853, on the death of his father in September 855, he became sole emperor. In 863, on the death of his brother Charles, Louis received the kingdom of Provence, in his efforts to restore order in Italy, Louis met with considerable success both against Italys turbulent princes and against the Saracens who were ravaging southern Italy. In 866, after issuing a call for assistance to fight the Saracens, he routed these invaders, but could not follow up his successes owing to the lack of a fleet. So in 869 he made alliance with the emperor, Basil I, who sent him ships to assist in the capture of Bari, capital of a local Islamic emirate. Meanwhile, his brother Lothair had died in 869, and owing to his detention in southern Italy, Louis failed to prevent the partition of Lotharingia between Louis the German and Charles the Bald. Some jealousy between Louis and Basil followed the victory at Bari, and in reply to an insult from the eastern emperor Louis attempted to justify his right to the emperor of the Romans. He had withdrawn into Benevento to prepare for a campaign when he was treacherously attacked in his palace, robbed and imprisoned by Adelchis, prince of Benevento. Returning to Rome, he was released from his oath, and was crowned a second time as emperor by Pope Adrian II on 18 May 872. Then Louis won further successes against the Saracens, who were driven from Capua, but the emperors attempts to punish Adelchis were not very successful
Louis II of Italy
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Louis at the capture of Bari in 871.
Louis II of Italy
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Louis as shown in a 12th-century manuscript of Johannes Berardi 's Chronicon casauriense.
Louis II of Italy
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Louis' gravestone in Milan.
Louis II of Italy
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Non-dynastic
8.
Charles the Fat
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Charles the Fat, also known as Charles III, was the Carolingian Emperor from 881 to 888. The youngest son of Louis the German and Hemma, Charles was a great-grandson of Charlemagne and was the last Carolingian to rule over the briefly re-united empire, over his lifetime, Charles became ruler of the various kingdoms of Charlemagnes former Empire. Crowned Emperor in 881 by Pope John VIII, his succession to the territories of his brother Louis the Younger the following year reunited the kingdom of East Francia. Upon the death of his cousin Carloman II in 884, he inherited all of West Francia, the reunited Empire would not last. During a coup led by his nephew Arnulf of Carinthia in November 887, Charles was deposed in East Francia, Lotharingia, forced into quiet retirement he died of natural causes in January 888, just a few weeks after his deposition. The Empire quickly fell apart after his death, splintering into five separate successor kingdoms, the nickname Charles the Fat is not contemporary. It was first used by the Annalista Saxo in the twelfth century, there is no contemporary reference to Charless physical size, but the nickname has stuck and is the common name in most modern European languages. Regino of Prüm, a contemporary of Charless recording his death, calls him Emperor Charles, third of that name, Charles was the youngest of the three sons of Louis the German, first King of East Francia, and Hemma from the House of Welf. An incident of demonic possession is recorded in his youth, in which he was said to have been foaming at the mouth before he was taken to the altar of the church and this greatly affected his father and himself. In 859 Charles was made Count of the Breisgau, an Alemannic march bordering southern Lotharingia, in 863 his rebellious eldest brother Carloman revolted against their father. The next year Louis the Younger followed Carloman in revolt and Charles joined him, Carloman received rule over the Duchy of Bavaria. In 865 the elder Louis was forced to divide his lands among his heirs, Duchy of Saxony went to Louis. Lotharingia was to be divided between the younger two, Louis the German sent first Charles and then Carloman himself, with armies containing Italian forces under Berengar of Friuli, their cousin, to the Italian kingdom. These wars, however, were not successful until the death of Charles the Bald in 877, in 876 Louis the German died and the inheritance was divided as planned after a conference at Ries, though Charles received less of his share of Lotharingia than planned. In his charters, Charles reign in Germania is dated from his inheritance in 876, three brothers ruled in cooperation and avoided wars over the division of their patrimony, a rare occurrence in the Early Middle Ages. In 877 Carloman finally inherited Italy from his uncle Charles the Bald, Louis divided Lotharingia and offered a third to Carloman and a third to Charles. In 878 Carloman returned his Lotharingian share to Louis, who divided it evenly with Charles. In 879 Carloman was incapacitated by a stroke and divided his domains between his brothers, Bavaria went to Louis and Italy to Charles, Charles dated his reign in Italia from this point, and from then he spent most of his reign until 886 in his Italian kingdom
Charles the Fat
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A seal of Charles III with the inscription KAROLVS MAGS ("Carolus Magnus")
Charles the Fat
–
Charles the Fat in the
Grandes Chroniques de France
Charles the Fat
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Pepin (751–768)
Charlemagne (768–814)
Carloman I (768–771)
Louis the Pious (814–840)
Charles the Bald (840–877)
Louis the Stammerer (877–879)
Louis III (879–882)
Carloman II (879–884) Charles the Fat (884–888)
Charles the Simple (898–922)
Louis IV (936–954)
Lothaire (954–986)
Louis V (986–987)
9.
Judith of Flanders
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Judith of Flanders was queen consort of Wessex and countess consort of Flanders. She was the eldest daughter of the West Frankish King and later Holy Roman Emperor Charles the Bald, through her marriages to two Kings of Wessex, Æthelwulf and Æthelbald, she was twice a queen. Her first two marriages were childless, but through her marriage to Baldwin, she became the first Countess of Flanders. One of her sons by Baldwin married Ælfthryth, a daughter of Æthelbalds brother and she was also an ancestor of Matilda of Flanders, the consort of William the Conqueror, and thus of later monarchs of England. In 855 King Æthelwulf of Wessex made a pilgrimage to Rome, in July Æthelwulf became engaged to Charless daughter, Judith, who was no more than fourteen, while Æthelwulf was about fifty years old. On 1 October 856 they were married at Verberie in northern France, the marriage was a diplomatic alliance, both men were suffering from Viking attacks, and for Æthelwulf the union had the advantage of associating him with Carolingian prestige. In addition, the wedding was considered an event by contemporaries. Carolingian princesses rarely married and were sent to nunneries. Judith was crowned queen and anointed by Hincmar, Archbishop of Rheims, in Wessex it was not customary for wives to be queens. Although empresses had been anointed before, this is the first definitely known anointing of a Carolingian queen. In addition, West Saxon custom was that the wife of a king of Wessex could not be called queen or sit on the throne with her husband—she was merely the kings wife. The marriage provoked a rebellion by Æthelwulfs eldest surviving son, Æthelbald, however, father and son negotiated a compromise under which Æthelwulf received the eastern districts of the kingdom and Æthelbald the western. It is not known whether this meant that Æthelwulf took Kent and Æthelbald Wessex, Judith had no children by Æthelwulf, who died on 13 January 858. He was succeeded by Æthelbald, who married Judith, his step-mother, Judith was still childless when Æthelbald died in 860 after a reign of two-and-a-half years. Following Æthelbalds death, Judith sold her properties in Wessex and returned to France, according to the Chronicle of St. Presumably, Charles may have intended to arrange another marriage for his daughter. However, around Christmas 861, Judith eloped with Baldwin, later Count of Flanders, the two were likely married at the monastery of Senlis at this time. Unsurprisingly, Judiths father was furious and ordered his bishops to excommunicate the couple and they later fled to the court of Judiths cousin Lothair II of Lotharingia for protection, before going to Pope Nicholas I to plead their case. The Pope took diplomatic action and asked Judiths father to accept the union as legally binding, the couple then returned to France and were officially married at Auxerre on 13 December 862
Judith of Flanders
–
A nineteenth-century depiction of Judith and her third husband Baldwin.
10.
Louis the Stammerer
–
Louis the Stammerer was the King of Aquitaine and later the King of West Francia. He was the eldest son of emperor Charles the Bald and Ermentrude of Orléans, Louis the Stammerer was physically weak and outlived his father by only two years. He succeeded his younger brother Charles the Child as the ruler of Aquitaine in 866 and his father in West Francia in 877, in the French monarchial system, he is considered Louis II. The pope may have offered him the imperial crown. Louis had relatively little impact on politics and he was described a simple and sweet man, a lover of peace, justice, and religion. In 878, he gave the counties of Barcelona, Girona and his final act was to march against the invading Vikings, but he fell ill and died on 9 April or 10 April 879, not long after beginning this final campaign. On his death, his realms were divided between his two sons, Carloman II and Louis III of France, during the peace negotiations between his father and Erispoe, duke of Brittany, Louis was betrothed to an unnamed daughter of Erispoe in 856. It is not known if this was the daughter who later married Gurivant. The contract was broken in 857 after Erispoes murder and his first wife Ansgarde of Burgundy had two sons, Louis and Carloman, both of whom became kings of West Francia, and two daughters, Hildegarde and Gisela. His second wife Adelaide of Paris had one daughter, Ermentrude and a son, Charles the Simple. This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh
Louis the Stammerer
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14th-century depiction of Louis's coronation
Louis the Stammerer
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Denier of Louis II
Louis the Stammerer
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Pepin (751–768)
Charlemagne (768–814)
Carloman I (768–771)
Louis the Pious (814–840)
Charles the Bald (840–877) Louis the Stammerer (877–879)
Louis III (879–882)
Carloman II (879–884)
Charles the Fat (884–888)
Charles the Simple (898–922)
Louis IV (936–954)
Lothaire (954–986)
Louis V (986–987)
11.
Charles the Child
–
Charles the Child was the King of Aquitaine from October 855 until his death in 866. If his father, Charles the Bald, and great grandfather, Charlemagne, are counted as rulers of Aquitaine and he was the second son of Charles the Bald and brother of Louis the Stammerer. The younger Charles was appointed by his father, who had ruled as King of Aquitaine himself from 838. The Aquitainians had previously rebelled against Charles the Bald, requesting from Louis the German that he one of his sons to rule over them. Louis had sent his son, Louis the Younger, prompting Charles the Bald to release his rival claimant to Aquitaine. Pippin succeeded in rallying the nobles to support himself and Charles the Bald against Louis the Younger, by October, however, Pippin lost his popularity with the still-rebellious Aquitainians, prompting Charles the Bald to appoint Charles the Child as King. Charles the Child was duly anointed at Limoges, within a year, he had been replaced by the Aquitainians with Pippin II. These same then deposed Pippin and restored Charles the Child, Pippin was captured in 864 and imprisoned at Senlis, at which point he disappears from history. Unlike previous sub-kings of Aquitaine, Charles the Child had no authority at all. Before 840, the kingdom had been ruled in person by a king, Charles the Bald, however, after his accession as King of Western Francia. All the rights of the region were invested in Charles the Bald, nonetheless, as Charles grew older, he began to exercise what little personal authority he could. For example, in 862 he chose and married a wife against the will of his father, the name of his wife is unknown, although she was apparently the widow of a count named Humbert. Charles the Bald reasserted his power over his son in 863, forcing the younger Charles to put away his wife, the blow left him mentally incapacitated until his resultant death in 866. He died childless and was buried in Bourges, callahan, Daniel F. Eleanor of Aquitaine, the Coronation Rite of the Dukes of Aquitaine and the Cult of Saint Martial of Limoges. The World of Eleanor of Aquitaine, Literature and Society in Southern France between the Eleventh and Twelfth Centuries, edd, warfare and Society in the Barbarian West, 450-900. McKitterick, Rosamond, The Frankish Kingdoms under the Carolingians
Charles the Child
–
Carloman, son
Charles the Child
–
Drogo, sons
Charles the Child
–
Pepin, son
Charles the Child
–
Charles the Simple, sons
12.
Dynasty
–
A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a feudal or monarchical system but sometimes also appearing in elective republics. The dynastic family or lineage may be known as a house, historians periodize the histories of many sovereign states, such as Ancient Egypt, the Carolingian Empire and Imperial China, using a framework of successive dynasties. As such, the dynasty may be used to delimit the era during which the family reigned and to describe events, trends. The word dynasty itself is often dropped from such adjectival references, until the 19th century, it was taken for granted that a legitimate function of a monarch was to aggrandize his dynasty, that is, to increase the territory, wealth, and power of his family members. The longest-surviving dynasty in the world is the Imperial House of Japan, dynasties throughout the world have traditionally been reckoned patrilineally, such as under the Frankish Salic law. Succession through a daughter when permitted was considered to establish a new dynasty in her husbands ruling house, however, some states in Africa, determined descent matrilineally, while rulers have at other times adopted the name of their mothers dynasty when coming into her inheritance. It is also extended to unrelated people such as poets of the same school or various rosters of a single sports team. The word dynasty derives via Latin dynastia from Greek dynastéia, where it referred to power, dominion and it was the abstract noun of dynástēs, the agent noun of dynamis, power or ability, from dýnamai, to be able. A ruler in a dynasty is referred to as a dynast. For example, following his abdication, Edward VIII of the United Kingdom ceased to be a member of the House of Windsor. A dynastic marriage is one that complies with monarchical house law restrictions, the marriage of Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange, to Máxima Zorreguieta in 2002 was dynastic, for example, and their eldest child is expected to inherit the Dutch crown eventually. But the marriage of his younger brother Prince Friso to Mabel Wisse Smit in 2003 lacked government support, thus Friso forfeited his place in the order of succession, lost his title as a Prince of the Netherlands, and left his children without dynastic rights. In historical and monarchist references to formerly reigning families, a dynast is a member who would have had succession rights, were the monarchys rules still in force. Even since abolition of the Austrian monarchy, Max and his descendants have not been considered the rightful pretenders by Austrian monarchists, nor have they claimed that position. The term dynast is sometimes used only to refer to descendants of a realms monarchs. The term can therefore describe overlapping but distinct sets of people, yet he is not a male-line member of the royal family, and is therefore not a dynast of the House of Windsor. Thus, in 1999 he requested and obtained permission from Elizabeth II to marry the Roman Catholic Princess Caroline of Monaco. Yet a clause of the English Act of Settlement 1701 remained in effect at that time and that exclusion, too, ceased to apply on 26 March 2015, with retroactive effect for those who had been dynasts prior to triggering it by marriage to a Catholic
Dynasty
–
Charles I of England and his son, the future
James II
13.
Carolingian
–
The Carolingian dynasty was a Frankish noble family with origins in the Arnulfing and Pippinid clans of the 7th century AD. The name Carolingian derives from the Latinised name of Charles Martel, the Carolingian dynasty reached its peak in 800 with the crowning of Charlemagne as the first Emperor of Romans in over three centuries. His death in 814 began a period of fragmentation of the Carolingian empire and decline that would eventually lead to the evolution of the Kingdom of France. This picture, however, is not commonly accepted today, the greatest Carolingian monarch was Charlemagne, who was crowned Emperor by Pope Leo III at Rome in 800. His empire, ostensibly a continuation of the Western Roman Empire, is referred to historiographically as the Carolingian Empire, the Carolingian rulers did not give up the traditional Frankish practice of dividing inheritances among heirs, though the concept of the indivisibility of the Empire was also accepted. The Carolingians had the practice of making their sons kings in the various regions of the Empire. The Carolingians were displaced in most of the regna of the Empire by 888 and they ruled in East Francia until 911 and held the throne of West Francia intermittently until 987. One chronicler of Sens dates the end of Carolingian rule with the coronation of Robert II of France as junior co-ruler with his father, Hugh Capet, the dynasty became extinct in the male line with the death of Eudes, Count of Vermandois. His sister Adelaide, the last Carolingian, died in 1122, the Carolingian dynasty has five distinct branches, The Lombard branch, or Vermandois branch, or Herbertians, descended from Pepin of Italy, son of Charlemagne. Though he did not outlive his father, his son Bernard was allowed to retain Italy, Bernard rebelled against his uncle Louis the Pious, and lost both his kingdom and his life. Deprived of the title, the members of this branch settled in France. The counts of Vermandois perpetuated the Carolingian line until the 12th century, the Counts of Chiny and the lords of Mellier, Neufchâteau and Falkenstein are branches of the Herbertians. With the descendants of the counts of Chiny, there would have been Herbertian Carolingians to the early 14th century, the Lotharingian branch, descended from Emperor Lothair, eldest son of Louis the Pious. At his death Middle Francia was divided equally between his three surviving sons, into Italy, Lotharingia and Lower Burgundy, the sons of Emperor Lothair did not have sons of their own, so Middle Francia was divided between the western and eastern branches of the family in 875. The Aquitainian branch, descended from Pepin of Aquitaine, son of Louis the Pious, since he did not outlive his father, his sons were deprived of Aquitaine in favor of his younger brother Charles the Bald. The German branch, descended from Louis the German, King of East Francia, since he had three sons, his lands were divided into Duchy of Bavaria, Duchy of Saxony and Duchy of Swabia. His youngest son Charles the Fat briefly reunited both East and West Francia — the entirety of the Carolingian empire — but it again after his death. With the failure of the lines of the German branch, Arnulf of Carinthia
Carolingian
–
A Carolingian family tree, from the Chronicon Universale of
Ekkehard of Aura, 12th century
Carolingian
–
Carolingian denier of
Lothair I, struck in
Dorestad (
Middle Francia) after 850.
Carolingian
–
Carloman, son
Carolingian
–
Pepin, son
14.
Judith, daughter of Welf
–
Queen Judith, also known as Judith of Bavaria, was the daughter of Count Welf of Bavaria and Saxon noblewoman, Hedwig. She was the wife of Louis the Pious, King of the Franks and Emperor of the Romans. Marriage to Louis marked the beginning of her rise as a figure in the Carolingian court. She had two children with Louis, a daughter Gisela and a son, Charles the Bald, the birth of her son led to a major dispute over the imperial succession, and tensions between her and Charles half-brothers from Louis first marriage. She would eventually fall from grace when Charles wife, the new empress Ermentrude of Orléans and she was buried in 846 in Tours. No surviving sources provide a record of Judith’s exact date and year of birth. Judith was probably born between 797 and 805, given that girls in the Carolingian world would be eligible for marriage at around the age of twelve, and her marriage to King Louis occurred in 819. Judith was the daughter of the noble Saxon Heilwig and Count Welf I, though the Welf clan was noble, they were not part of the Imperial Aristocracy that dominated high office throughout the Carolingian empire. The Welf clans leaders, having lost influence in their region of Alemannia eventually rose to power though cementing familial ties with the Carolingian Imperial Aristocracy in the 770s. Nonetheless, they remained a part of the aristocracy of their region. After the death on the 3rd of October 818 of Louis first wife Queen Ermengard, mother of his sons Louis the German, Peppin and Lothar, shortly after Christmas in 819 he married Judith in Aachen. Like many of the marriages of the time Judith was selected. It is at the show that, at the age of forty. In Frankish society, only women of the nobility were eligible to compete, this trait is highlighted in the Regesta Imperii. Contemporary witnesses such as Ermoldus Nigellus, Walahfrid Strabo, and Louis biographer Thegan attributed Judiths selection to her beauty, intelligence. It is just as likely, however, that Louis was attracted to the geographical and political advantages offered by Judiths family. This fact would have made them desirable allies for Louis, since any military campaign in the eastern frontiers would require the emperor to travel through this region. By marrying Judith, in words, the emperor would effectively gain friends and allies, an important military and political stronghold
Judith, daughter of Welf
–
Empress Judith, 2nd wife of Emperor Louis the Pious (from a c. 1510 manuscript)
Judith, daughter of Welf
–
Family Tree of Charlemagne
Judith, daughter of Welf
–
Carolingian territorial divisions, 843
Judith, daughter of Welf
–
Charles The Bald, French painting, 19th century, unknown painter
15.
French denier
–
The denier or penny was a medieval coin which takes its name from the Frankish coin first issued in the late seventh century, in English it is sometimes referred to as a silver penny. Its appearance represents the end of coinage, which, at the start of Frankish rule, had either been Byzantine or pseudo-imperial. Silver would be the basis for Frankish coinage from then on, around AD755, amid the Carolingian Reforms, Pepin the Short introduced a new currency system which was eventually adjusted so that 12 pence equaled one shilling and 20 shillings equaled one pound. Later, three deniers equaled one liard, only the denier was an actual coin, the rest were money of account. This system and the denier itself served as the model for many of Europes currencies, including the British pound, Italian lira, Spanish dinero, in Ancien Régime France, the denier was used as a notional measure of interest rates on loans. Thus, a rate of 4% would be expressed as denier 25, a rate of 5% as denier 20, and so forth
French denier
–
Denier of
Charlemagne. AD 768-814. 21mm, 1.19 g, Toulouse mint.
French denier
–
Denier of
Pepin I of Aquitaine 817-838.
French denier
–
Denier of the
Republic of Genoa (1139-1339).
16.
West Francia
–
West Francia extended further south than modern France, but it did not extend as far east. In Brittany and Catalonia the authority of the West Frankish king was barely felt, West Frankish kings were elected by the secular and ecclesiastic magnates, and for the half-century between 888 and 936 they chose alternatingly from the Carolingian and Robertian houses. By this time the power of king became weaker and more nominal, the Robertians, after becoming counts of Paris and dukes of France became kings themselves and established the Capetian dynasty. In August 843, after three years of war following the death of Louis the Pious on June 20,840. The youngest, Charles the Bald, received the western Francia, the contemporary West Frankish Annales Bertiniani describes Charles arriving at Verdun, where the distribution of portions took place. After describing the portions of his brothers, Lothair the Emperor and Louis the German, the Annales Fuldenses of East Francia describe Charles as holding the western part after the kingdom was divided in three. Charles the Bald was at war with Pippin II from the start of his reign in 840, accordingly, in June 845, after several military defeats, Charles signed the Treaty of Benoît-sur-Loire and recognised his nephews rule. This agreement lasted until March 25,848, when the Aquitainian barons recognised Charles as their king, thereafter Charless armies had the upper hand and by 849 had secured most of Aquitaine. In May, Charles had himself crowned King of the Franks, the coronation was officiated by Archbishop Wenilo of Sens, and included the first instance of royal unction in West Francia. The idea of anointing Charles may be owed to Archbishop Hincmar of Reims, by the time of the Synod of Quierzy, Hincmar was claiming that Charles was anointed to the entire West Frankish kingdom. With the Treaty of Mersen in 870 the western part of Lotharingia was added to West Francia, in 875 Charles the Bald was crowned Emperor of Rome. The last record in the Annales Bertiniani dates to 882, the next set of original annals from the West Frankish kingdom are those of Flodoard, who began his account with the year 919. After the death of Charless grandson, Carloman II, on December 12,884 and he was probably crowned King in Gaul on 20 May 885 at Grand. His reign was the time after the death of Louis the Pious that all of Francia would be re-united under one ruler. In his capacity as king of West Francia, he seems to have granted the title and perhaps regalia to the semi-independent ruler of Brittany. His handling of the Viking siege of Paris in 885–86 greatly reduced his prestige, in November 887 his nephew, Arnulf of Carinthia revolted and assumed the title as King of the East Franks. Charles retired and soon died on January 13,888, in Aquitaine, Duke Ranulf II may have had himself recognised as king, but he only lived another two years. Although Aquitaine did not become a kingdom, it was largely outside the control of the West Frankish kings
West Francia
–
Map of the division of Francia enacted at Verdun in 843. From
Ridpath's Universal History (1895)
17.
King of Italy
–
King of Italy was the title given to the ruler of the Kingdom of Italy after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The first to take the title was Odoacer, a military leader, in the late 5th century. With the Frankish conquest of Italy in the 8th century, the Carolingians assumed the title, the last Emperor to claim the title was Charles V in the 16th century. During this period, the holders of the title were crowned with the Iron Crown of Lombardy, although Napoleon I used the title from 1805 to 1814, it was not until the Unification of Italy in the 1860s that a Kingdom of Italy was restored. From 1861 the House of Savoy held the title as monarchs of the peninsula until the last King of Italy, Umberto II. After the deposition of the last Western Emperor in 476, Heruli leader Odoacer was appointed Dux Italiae by the reigning Byzantine Emperor Zeno. Later, the Germanic foederati, the Scirians and the Heruli, as well as a segment of the Italic Roman army. In 493, the Ostrogothic king Theoderic the Great killed Odoacer, Ostrogothic rule ended when Italy was reconquered by the Byzantine Empire in 552. In the 8th century, estrangement between the Italians and the Byzantines allowed the Lombards to capture the remaining Roman enclaves in northern Italy. However, in 774, they were defeated by the Franks under Charlemagne, after the death of Charles III the Fat in 887, Italy fell into instability and a number of kings attempted to establish themselves as independent Italian monarchs. During this period, known as the Feudal Anarchy, the title Rex Italicorum was introduced, after the breakup of the Frankish empire, Otto I added Italy to the Holy Roman Empire and continued the use of the title Rex Italicorum. The last to use this title was Henry II, subsequent emperors used the title king of Italy until Charles V. At first they were crowned in Pavia, later Milan, in 1805, Napoleon I was crowned with the Iron Crown of Lombardy at the Milan Cathedral. The next year, Holy Roman Emperor Francis II abdicated his imperial title, from the deposition of Napoleon I until the Italian Unification, there was no Italian monarch claiming the overarching title. The Risorgimento successfully established a dynasty, the House of Savoy, over the peninsula, uniting the kingdoms of Sardinia. The monarchy was superseded by the Italian Republic, after a referendum was held on 2 June 1946 after the World War II. The Italian monarchy formally ended on 12 June of that year, Guy of Spoleto opponent of Berengar, ruled most of Italy but was deposed by Arnulf. Lambert of Spoleto subking of his father Guy before 894, reduced to Spoleto 894–895, Arnulf of Carinthia Ratold In 896, Arnulf and Ratold lost control of Italy, which was divided between Berengar and Lambert, Berengar I seized Lamberts portion upon the latters death in 898
King of Italy
–
Iron Crown of Lombardy
King of Italy
–
Otto I
King of Italy
–
Otto II
King of Italy
–
Otto III
18.
Treaty of Verdun
–
The treaty signed in Verdun-sur-Meuse ended the three-year Carolingian Civil War. Lothairs brother Louis the German and his half-brother Charles the Bald refused to acknowledge Lothairs suzerainty, each of the three brothers was already established in one kingdom, Lothair in Italy, Louis the German in Bavaria, and Charles the Bald in Aquitaine. In the settlement, Lothair retained his title as emperor and, Lothair received Middle Francia and his domain later became the Low Countries, Lorraine, Alsace, Burgundy, Provence, and the Kingdom of Italy. He also received the two cities, Aachen and Rome, and the imperial title, but it conferred only nominal overlordship of his brothers lands. Louis the German received the eastern portion, Charles the Bald received the western portion, which later became France. Pepin II was granted the kingdom of Aquitaine, but only under the authority of Charles, Charles received all lands west of the Rhône, which was called West Francia. Lothairs eldest son, Louis II inherited Italy and his fathers claim to the Imperial, the division of the Frankish realm by the Treaty of Verdun, carried out without any regard to linguistic and cultural continuities, resulted in conflicts in Western Europe until the 20th century. Since the Middle Frankish Kingdom combined lengthy and vulnerable borders with poor internal communications as it was severed by the Alps, it was not a viable entity. This made it difficult for a ruler to reassemble Charlemagnes empire. Only Charles the Fat achieved this briefly, in 855, the northern section became fragile Lotharingia, which became disputed by the more powerful states that evolved out of West Francia and East Francia. Generations of kings of France and Germany were unable to establish a rule over Lothair’s kingdom. In 1766, it passed to France after the death of Stanislaw Leszcyznski, in 1871, Alsace-Lorraine became German, after the victory of Prussia and its German allies over the French in the Franco-Prussian War. In 1919, it became French again by the Treaty of Versailles, in 1940, Germany reannexed Alsace-Lorraine following Germanys successful invasion of France. Finally, in 1945, after World War II, Alsace-Lorraine was solidified as French territory, the collapse of the Middle Frankish Kingdom also compounded the disunity of the Italian Peninsula, which persisted into the 19th century. Oaths of Strasbourg Treaty of Prüm Treaty of Meerssen Treaty of Ribemont Media related to Treaty of Verdun at Wikimedia Commons
Treaty of Verdun
–
The Carolingian Empire at its greatest extent, with the three main divisions of 843. Pink area indicates
West Francia. Green area indicates
Middle Francia. Yellow area indicates
East Francia.
19.
Carolingian Empire
–
The Carolingian Empire was a large empire in western and central Europe during the early Middle Ages. It was ruled by the Carolingian dynasty, which had ruled as kings of the Franks since 751 and as kings of the Lombards of Italy from 774. In 800, the Frankish king Charlemagne was crowned emperor in Rome by Pope Leo III in an effort to revive the Roman Empire in the west during a vacancy in the throne of the eastern Roman Empire. The unity of the empire and the right of the Carolingians continued to be acknowledged. In 884, Charles the Fat reunited all the kingdoms for the last time, but he died in 888 and the empire immediately split up. With the only remaining male of the dynasty a child, the nobility elected regional kings from outside the dynasty or, in the case of the eastern kingdom. The size of the empire at its inception was around 1,112,000 square kilometres, in southern Italy, the Carolingians claims to authority were disputed by the Byzantines and the vestiges of the Lombard kingdom in the Principality of Benevento. Use of the term Carolingian Empire is a modern convention, the language of official acts in the empire was Latin. The empire was referred to variously as universum regnum, Romanorum sive Francorum imperium, Romanum imperium or even imperium christianum. Only the remaining Saxon realms, which he conquered, Lombardy. Further, Martel cemented his place in history with his defense of Christian Europe against a Muslim army at the Battle of Tours in 732, the Iberian Saracens had incorporated Berber lighthorse cavalry with the heavy Arab cavalry to create a formidable army that had almost never been defeated. Christian European forces, meanwhile, lacked the powerful tool of the stirrup, in this victory, Charles earned the surname Martel. Edward Gibbon, the historian of Rome and its aftermath, called Charles Martel the paramount prince of his age, Pepin III accepted the nomination as king by Pope Zachary in about 751. Charlemagnes rule began in 768 at Pepins death and he proceeded to take control over the kingdom following his brother Carlomans death, as the two brothers co-inherited their fathers kingdom. Charlemagne was crowned Roman Emperor in the year 800, the Carolingian Empire during the reign of Charlemagne covered most of Western Europe, as the Roman Empire once had. Prior to the death of Charlemagne, the Empire was divided among members of the Carolingian dynasty. These included King Charles the Younger, son of Charlemagne, who received Neustria, King Louis the Pious, who received Aquitaine, and King Pepin, Pepin died with an illegitimate son, Bernard, in 810, and Charles died without heirs in 811. Although Bernard succeeded Pepin as King of Italy, Louis was made co-Emperor in 813, Louis the Pious often had to struggle to maintain control of the Empire
Carolingian Empire
–
The Carolingian Empire at its greatest extent, with the three main divisions of 843 and tributary nations to the east.
Carolingian Empire
–
A coin depicting
Charlemagne with the inscription KAROLVS IMP AVG (Karolus imperator augustus)
Carolingian Empire
–
Louis the Pious on a sesquisolidus
Carolingian Empire
–
Carolingian empire 843-888
20.
Charlemagne
–
Charlemagne or Charles the Great, numbered Charles I, was the King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774 and Emperor of the Romans from 800. He united much of Europe during the early Middle Ages and he was the first recognised emperor in western Europe since the fall of the Western Roman Empire three centuries earlier. The expanded Frankish state which Charlemagne founded was called the Carolingian Empire, Charlemagne was the oldest son of Pepin the Short and Bertrada of Laon. He became king in 768 following his fathers death, initially as co-ruler with his brother Carloman I, carlomans sudden death in 771 in unexplained circumstances left Charlemagne as the undisputed ruler of the Frankish Kingdom. He continued his fathers policy towards the papacy and became its protector, removing the Lombards from power in northern Italy and he campaigned against the Saxons to his east, Christianising them upon penalty of death and leading to events such as the Massacre of Verden. Charlemagne reached the height of his power in 800 when he was crowned Emperor of the Romans by Pope Leo III on Christmas Day at Old St. Peters Basilica. Charlemagne has been called the Father of Europe, as he united most of Western Europe for the first time since the Roman Empire and his rule spurred the Carolingian Renaissance, a period of energetic cultural and intellectual activity within the Western Church. All Holy Roman Emperors considered their kingdoms to be descendants of Charlemagnes empire, up to the last Emperor Francis II and these and other machinations led to the eventual split of Rome and Constantinople in the Great Schism of 1054. Charlemagne died in 814, having ruled as emperor for thirteen years and he was laid to rest in his imperial capital of Aachen in what is today Germany. He married at least four times and had three sons, but only his son Louis the Pious survived to succeed him. By the 6th century, the western Germanic Franks had been Christianised, Francia, ruled by the Merovingians, was the most powerful of the kingdoms that succeeded the Western Roman Empire. Following the Battle of Tertry the Merovingians declined into powerlessness, for which they have dubbed the rois fainéants. Almost all government powers were exercised by their chief officer, the mayor of the palace, in 687, Pepin of Herstal, mayor of the palace of Austrasia, ended the strife between various kings and their mayors with his victory at Tertry. He became the governor of the entire Frankish kingdom. Pepin was the grandson of two important figures of the Austrasian Kingdom, Saint Arnulf of Metz and Pepin of Landen, Pepin of Herstal was eventually succeeded by his illegitimate son Charles, later known as Charles Martel. After 737, Charles governed the Franks in lieu of a king, Charles was succeeded in 741 by his sons Carloman and Pepin the Short, the father of Charlemagne. In 743, the brothers placed Childeric III on the throne to curb separatism in the periphery and he was the last Merovingian king. Carloman resigned office in 746, preferring to enter the church as a monk, Pepin brought the question of the kingship before Pope Zachary, asking whether it was logical for a king to have no royal power
Charlemagne
–
A coin of Charlemagne with the inscription KAROLVS IMP AVG (Karolus Imperator Augustus)
Charlemagne
–
Francia, early 8th century
Charlemagne
–
External video
Charlemagne
–
Moorish Hispania in 732
21.
Judith of Bavaria (died 843)
–
Queen Judith, also known as Judith of Bavaria, was the daughter of Count Welf of Bavaria and Saxon noblewoman, Hedwig. She was the wife of Louis the Pious, King of the Franks and Emperor of the Romans. Marriage to Louis marked the beginning of her rise as a figure in the Carolingian court. She had two children with Louis, a daughter Gisela and a son, Charles the Bald, the birth of her son led to a major dispute over the imperial succession, and tensions between her and Charles half-brothers from Louis first marriage. She would eventually fall from grace when Charles wife, the new empress Ermentrude of Orléans and she was buried in 846 in Tours. No surviving sources provide a record of Judith’s exact date and year of birth. Judith was probably born between 797 and 805, given that girls in the Carolingian world would be eligible for marriage at around the age of twelve, and her marriage to King Louis occurred in 819. Judith was the daughter of the noble Saxon Heilwig and Count Welf I, though the Welf clan was noble, they were not part of the Imperial Aristocracy that dominated high office throughout the Carolingian empire. The Welf clans leaders, having lost influence in their region of Alemannia eventually rose to power though cementing familial ties with the Carolingian Imperial Aristocracy in the 770s. Nonetheless, they remained a part of the aristocracy of their region. After the death on the 3rd of October 818 of Louis first wife Queen Ermengard, mother of his sons Louis the German, Peppin and Lothar, shortly after Christmas in 819 he married Judith in Aachen. Like many of the marriages of the time Judith was selected. It is at the show that, at the age of forty. In Frankish society, only women of the nobility were eligible to compete, this trait is highlighted in the Regesta Imperii. Contemporary witnesses such as Ermoldus Nigellus, Walahfrid Strabo, and Louis biographer Thegan attributed Judiths selection to her beauty, intelligence. It is just as likely, however, that Louis was attracted to the geographical and political advantages offered by Judiths family. This fact would have made them desirable allies for Louis, since any military campaign in the eastern frontiers would require the emperor to travel through this region. By marrying Judith, in words, the emperor would effectively gain friends and allies, an important military and political stronghold
Judith of Bavaria (died 843)
–
Empress Judith, 2nd wife of Emperor Louis the Pious (from a c. 1510 manuscript)
Judith of Bavaria (died 843)
–
Family Tree of Charlemagne
Judith of Bavaria (died 843)
–
Carolingian territorial divisions, 843
Judith of Bavaria (died 843)
–
Charles The Bald, French painting, 19th century, unknown painter
22.
Frankfurt
–
The city is at the centre of the larger Frankfurt Rhine-Main Metropolitan Region, which has a population of 5.8 million and is Germanys second-largest metropolitan region after Rhine-Ruhr. Since the enlargement of the European Union in 2013, the centre of the EU is about 40 km to the east of Frankfurts CBD. Frankfurt is culturally and ethnically diverse, with half of the population. A quarter of the population are foreign nationals, including many expatriates, Frankfurt is an alpha world city and a global hub for commerce, culture, education, tourism and traffic. Its the site of many global and European headquarters, Frankfurt Airport is among the worlds busiest. Automotive, technology and research, services, consulting, media, Frankfurts DE-CIX is the worlds largest internet exchange point. Messe Frankfurt is one of the worlds largest trade fairs, major fairs include the Frankfurt Motor Show, the worlds largest motor show, the Music Fair, and the Frankfurt Book Fair, the worlds largest book fair. Frankfurt is home to educational institutions, including the Goethe University, the UAS, the FUMPA. Its renowned cultural venues include the concert hall Alte Oper, Europes largest English Theatre and many museums, Frankfurts skyline is shaped by some of Europes tallest skyscrapers. In sports, the city is known as the home of the top football club Eintracht Frankfurt, the basketball club Frankfurt Skyliners, the Frankfurt Marathon. Its the seat of German sport unions for Olympics, football, Frankfurt is the largest financial centre in continental Europe. It is home to the European Central Bank, Deutsche Bundesbank, Frankfurt Stock Exchange, the Frankfurt Stock Exchange is one of the worlds largest stock exchanges by market capitalization and accounts for more than 90 percent of the turnover in the German market. Frankfurt is considered a city as listed by the GaWC groups 2012 inventory. Among global cities it was ranked 10th by the Global Power City Index 2011, among financial centres it was ranked 8th by the International Financial Centers Development Index 2013 and 9th by the Global Financial Centres Index 2013. Its central location within Germany and Europe makes Frankfurt a major air, rail, Frankfurt Airport is one of the worlds busiest international airports by passenger traffic and the main hub for Germanys flag carrier Lufthansa. Frankfurter Kreuz, the Autobahn interchange close to the airport, is the most heavily used interchange in the EU, in 2011 human-resource-consulting firm Mercer ranked Frankfurt as seventh in its annual Quality of Living survey of cities around the world. According to The Economist cost-of-living survey, Frankfurt is Germanys most expensive city, Frankfurt has many high-rise buildings in the city centre, forming the Frankfurt skyline. It is one of the few cities in the European Union to have such a skyline and because of it Germans sometimes refer to Frankfurt as Mainhattan, the other well known and obvious nickname is Bankfurt
Frankfurt
–
Collage of Frankfurt, clockwise from top of left to right: Facade of the
Römer and
Frankfurt Cathedral, statue of
Charlemagne in
Frankfurt Historical Museum, view of Frankfurt skyline and
Main River
Frankfurt
–
The legend of the Frankenfurt (ford of the Franks)
Frankfurt
–
Frankfurt in 1612
Frankfurt
–
Frankfurt in 1872
23.
Alemannia
–
Alamannia or Alemannia was the territory inhabited by the Germanic Alemanni after they broke through the Roman limes in 213. The Alemanni expanded from the Main basin during the 3rd century, raiding the Roman provinces, the term Swabia was often used interchangeably with Alamannia in the 10th to 13th centuries. Raetia Curiensis, although not part of Alemannia, was ruled by Alemannic counts, the territory corresponds to what was still the areal of Alemannic German in the modern period, i. e. French Alsace, German Baden and Swabia, German-speaking Switzerland and Austrian Vorarlberg. The Alamanni were pushed south from their area of settlement in the Main basin and in the 5th and 6th century settled new territory on either side of the Rhine. In Swabia, Hegowe, between Lake Constance, the upper Danube and the Swabian Jura, perahtoltaspara in the upper Neckar basin, left of the upper Danube as far as Ulm, including the source of the Danube. Swiggerstal, Filiwigawe, Trachgowe and Alba between the Neckar and the Danube, albegowe, Keltinstein and Augestigowe along the Lech forming the border to Bavaria. Rezia in the Northeastern corner, left of the Danube, linzgowe and Argungowe north of Lake Constance. Eritgau, Folcholtespara, Rammegowe and Illargowe on the side of the Danube. In Baden, Brisigowe along the Upper Rhine opposite Sundgau, and Mortunova, the pertinence of this territory to either Alamannia or Upper Burgundy was disputed. The county of Raetia Curiensis was absorbed into Alamannia in the early 10th century and it comprised the Ringowe and Retia proper. The Alemanni during the Roman Empire period were divided into a number of cantons or goviae, but there appears to have been the custom of the individual kings uniting under the leadership of a single king in military expeditions. Some kings of the Alemanni of the 4th and 5th centuries are known by name, the first being Chrocus, chnodomarius supported Constantius II in the rebellion of Magnentius. Chnodomarius was the leader of the Alemannic army in the battle of Strasbourg in 357, macrian, Hariobaud, Urius, Ursicinus, Vadomar, and Vestralp were Alemannic kings who in 359 made treaties with Julian the Apostate. Macrian was deposed in an expedition ordered by Valentinian I in 370, macrian appears to have been involved in building a large alliance of Alemannic tribes against Rome, which earned him the title of turbarum rex artifex. Macrian was killed on campaign against the Franks, in an ambush laid by the Frankish king Mallobaudes, gibuld is the last known king of the Alemanni. His raid on Passau is mentioned in the vita of Saint Lupus, the name of Gibulds successor who was defeated at Tolbiac is not known. Thereafter, Alamannia was a nominal dukedom within Francia, though ruled by their own dukes, it is not likely that they were very often united under one duke in the 6th and 7th centuries. The Alemanni most frequently appear as auxiliaries in expeditions to Italy, Rhaetia too, though Alamannic, was ruled by the Victorids coterminously with the Diocese of Chur
Alemannia
–
Alemannia (orange) and Upper Burgundy (green) in the 10th century
24.
Meuse
–
The Meuse or Maas is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea. It has a length of 925 km. Its lower Belgian portion, part of the sillon industriel, was the first fully industrialized area in continental Europe. The Meuse and its crossings were a key objective of the last major German WWII counter-offensive on the Western Front, the Meuse River is represented in the documentary The River People released in 2012 by Xavier Istasse. The name Meuse is derived from the French name of the river, the Dutch name Maas descends from Middle Dutch Mase, which comes from the presumed but unattested Old Dutch form *Masa, from Proto-Germanic *Masō. Only modern Dutch preserves this Germanic form, however, despite the similarity, the Germanic name is not derived from the Latin name, judging from the change from earlier o into a, which is characteristic of the Germanic languages. Therefore, both the Latin and Germanic names were derived from a Proto-Celtic source, which would have been *Mosā. The Meuse rises in Pouilly-en-Bassigny, commune of Le Châtelet-sur-Meuse on the Langres plateau in France from where it flows northwards past Sedan, at Namur it is joined by the River Sambre. Beyond Namur the Meuse winds eastwards, skirting the Ardennes, the river then forms part of the Belgian-Dutch border, except that at Maastricht the border lies further to the west. The river has been divided near Heusden into the Afgedamde Maas on the right, the Bergse Maas continues under the name of Amer, which is part of De Biesbosch. Near Lage Zwaluwe, the Nieuwe Merwede joins the Amer, forming the Hollands Diep, between Maastricht and Maasbracht, an unnavigable section of the Meuse is bypassed by the 36 km Juliana Canal. South of Namur, further upstream, the river can carry more modest vessels. From Givet, the river is canalized over a distance of 272 kilometres, the canalized Meuse used to be called the Canal de lEst — Branche Nord but was recently rebaptized into Canal de la Meuse. The waterway can be used by the smallest barges that are still in use commercially, just upstream of the town of Commercy, the Canal de la Meuse connects with the Marne–Rhine Canal by means of a short diversion canal. The Cretaceous sea reptile Mosasaur is named after the river Meuse, the first fossils of it were discovered outside Maastricht 1780. An international agreement was signed in 2002 in Ghent, Belgium about the management of the river amongst France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, also participating in the agreement were the Belgian regional governments of Flanders, Wallonia, and Brussels. Most of the area is in Wallonia, followed by France. An International Commission on the Meuse has the responsibility of the implementation of the treaty, the map of the basin area of Meuse was joined to the text of the treaty
Meuse
–
Prefecture building of the Meuse department, in Bar-le-Duc
Meuse
–
Spring in Meuse
Meuse
–
Bar-le-Duc
Meuse
–
Le Transi de René de Chalon by
Ligier Richier in
Bar-le-Duc
25.
Pyrenees
–
The Pyrenees is a range of mountains in southwest Europe that forms a natural border between France and Spain. For the most part, the main crest forms a divide between France and Spain, with the microstate of Andorra sandwiched in between. The Crown of Aragon and the Kingdom of Navarre have historically extended on both sides of the range, with smaller northern portions now in France and larger southern parts now in Spain. The demonym for the noun Pyrenees in English is Pyrenean, in Greek mythology, Pyrene is a princess who gave her name to the Pyrenees. The Greek historian Herodotus says Pyrene is the name of a town in Celtic Europe, Hercules, characteristically drunk and lustful, violates the sacred code of hospitality and rapes his hosts daughter. Pyrene gives birth to a serpent and runs away to the woods, alone, she pours out her story to the trees, attracting the attention of wild beasts who tear her to pieces. After his victory over Geryon, Hercules passes through the kingdom of Bebryx again, and all the rock-cliffs and wild-beast haunts echo back Pyrene. … The mountains hold on to the name through the ages. Pliny the Elder connects the story of Hercules and Pyrene to Lusitania, the Spanish Pyrenees are part of the following provinces, from east to west, Girona, Barcelona, Lleida, Huesca, Navarra and Gipuzkoa. The French Pyrenees are part of the following départements, from east to west, Pyrénées-Orientales, Aude, Ariège, Haute-Garonne, Hautes-Pyrénées, the independent principality of Andorra is sandwiched in the eastern portion of the mountain range between the Spanish Pyrenees and French Pyrenees. Physiographically, the Pyrenees may be divided into three sections, the Atlantic, the Central, and the Eastern Pyrenees, together, they form a distinct physiographic province of the larger Alpine System division. In the Western Pyrenees, from the Basque mountains near the Bay of Biscay of the Atlantic Ocean, at the eastern end on the southern side lies a distinct area known as the Sub-Pyrenees. On the French side the slopes of the range descend abruptly. The Pyrenees are older than the Alps, their sediments were first deposited in coastal basins during the Paleozoic and Mesozoic eras, the intense pressure and uplifting of the Earths crust first affected the eastern part and moved progressively to the entire chain, culminating in the Eocene Epoch. The eastern part of the Pyrenees consists largely of granite and gneissose rocks, the massive and unworn character of the chain comes from its abundance of granite, which is particularly resistant to erosion, as well as weak glacial development. Low passes are lacking, and the roads and the railroads between France and Spain run only in the lowlands at the western and eastern ends of the Pyrenees. A notable visual feature of mountain range is La Brèche de Roland, a gap in the ridge line. Coal deposits capable of being profitably worked are situated chiefly on the Spanish slopes, the open pit of Trimoun close to the commune of Luzenac is one of the greatest sources of talc in Europe
Pyrenees
–
Central Pyrenees
Pyrenees
–
Composite satellite image of the Pyrenees (
NASA)
Pyrenees
–
Pico del Aneto, the highest mountain of the Pyrenees.
Pyrenees
–
Pic de Bugatet in the
Néouvielle massif
26.
Pepin I of Aquitaine
–
Pepin I or Pepin I of Aquitaine was King of Aquitaine and Duke of Maine. Pepin was the son of Emperor Louis the Pious and his first wife. When his father assigned to each of his sons a kingdom in August 817, he received Aquitaine, ermoldus Nigellus was his court poet and accompanied him on a campaign into Brittany in 824. Pepin rebelled in 830 at the insistence of his brother Lothairs advisor Wala and he took an army of Gascons with him and marched all the way to Paris, with the support of the Neustrians. His father marched back from a campaign in Brittany all the way to Compiègne, in 832, Pepin rebelled again and his brother Louis the German soon followed. Louis the Pious was in Aquitaine to subdue any revolt, but was drawn off by the Bavarian insurrection of the younger Louis, Pepin took Limoges and other Imperial territories. The next year, Lothair joined the rebellion and, with the assistance of Ebbo, archbishop of Reims, Lothairs later behaviour alienated Pepin, and the latter was at his fathers side when Louis the Pious was reinstated on 1 March 834. Pepin was restored to his former status, Pepin died scarcely four years later and was buried in the Church of St. Radegonde in Poitiers. In 822, Pepin had married Ingeltrude, daughter of Theodobert, count of Madrie, both were minors when Pepin died, so Louis the Pious awarded Aquitaine to his own youngest son, Pepins half-brother Charles the Bald. The Aquitainians, however, elected Pepins son as Pepin II and his brother Charles also briefly claimed the kingdom. Pippin I and the Kingdom of Aquitaine, Charlemagnes Heir, New Perspectives on the Reign of Louis the Pious, edd. Reprinted in Law, Culture and Regionalism in Early Medieval Spain
Pepin I of Aquitaine
–
A
Denier of Pepin I of Aquitaine (817–838). The inscription reads Pippinus rex.
Pepin I of Aquitaine
–
Carloman, son
Pepin I of Aquitaine
–
Pepin, son
Pepin I of Aquitaine
–
Charles the Simple, sons
27.
Lothair I
–
Lothair I or Lothar I was the Holy Roman Emperor, and the King of Bavaria, Italy and Middle Francia. Lothair was the eldest son of the Carolingian emperor Louis the Pious and his wife Ermengarde of Hesbaye, upon the fathers death, Charles and Louis joined forces against Lothair in a three-year civil war. Lothair was born in 795, to Louis the Pious and Emengarde of Hebsbaye and his father was the son of the reigning Emperor, Charlemagne. Little is known of Lothairs early life, which was passed at the court of his grandfather Charlemagne. In 814, the elderly Charlemagne died at age 72, when his grandson Lothair was 19, the next year, Lothair was sent to govern Bavaria in 815 for his father Louis the Pious. He first comes to attention in 817, when Louis the Pious drew up his Ordinatio Imperii. Lothair would also inherit their lands if they were to die childless, Lothair was then crowned joint emperor by his father at Aachen. At the same time, Aquitaine and Bavaria were granted to his brothers Pippin and Louis, respectively, following the murder of Bernard by Louis the Pious, Lothair also received the Kingdom of Italy. In 821, Lothair married Ermengarde, daughter of Hugh the Count of Tours, in 822, he assumed the government of Italy, and at Easter,5 April 823, he was crowned emperor again by Pope Paschal I, this time at Rome. Lothair, however, soon changed his attitude and spent the decade in constant strife over the division of the Empire with his father. The first rebellion began in 830, all three brothers fought their father, whom they deposed. In 831, their father was reinstated and he deprived Lothair of his imperial title, the second rebellion was instigated by Angilbert II, Archbishop of Milan, in 833, and again Louis was deposed in 834. Lothair, through the loyalty of the Lombards and later reconciliations, retained Italy, when Louis the Pious was dying in 840, he sent the imperial insignia to Lothair, who, disregarding the various partitions, claimed the whole of the Empire. He was 45 years old when his father died, negotiations with his brother Louis the German and his half-brother Charles, both of whom resisted this claim, were followed by an alliance of the younger brothers against Lothair. A decisive battle was fought at Fontenay-en-Puisaye on 25 June 841, with fresh troops he began a war of plunder, but the forces of his brothers were too strong, and taking with him such treasure as he could collect, he abandoned his capital to them. He met with the leaders of the Stellinga in Speyer and promised them his support in return for theirs, peace negotiations began, and in June 842 the brothers met on an island in the Saône. They agreed to an arrangement which developed, after much difficulty and delay, into the Treaty of Verdun, in 845 the count of Arles, Fulcrad, led a rebellion in Provence. The emperor put it down and the count joined him in an expedition against the Saracens in Italy in 846 and he was buried at Prüm, where his remains were found in 1860
Lothair I
–
Lothair I
Lothair I
–
Carolingian denier of Lothair I, struck in
Dorestad (
Middle Francia) after 850.
Lothair I
–
Kingdom of Bavaria
Lothair I
–
Medallion portrait presumed to be of Lothair, from the binding of the Lothaire Psalter in the British Library
28.
Louis the German
–
Louis the German, also known as Louis II, was the first king of East Francia. His early years were spent at the court of his grandfather, Charlemagne. Louis ruled from Regensburg, the old capital of the Bavarii, in 825 he became involved in wars with the Wends and Sorbs on his eastern frontier. In 827 he married Hemma, sister of his stepmother Judith of Bavaria, Louis soon began to interfere in the quarrels arising from Judiths efforts to secure a kingdom for her son Charles the Bald and the consequent struggles of his brothers with their father. In 832 he led an army of Slavs into Alamannia and completely subjugated it, Louis the Pious disinherited him, but to no effect, the emperor was soon captured by his own rebellious sons and deposed. Upon his swift reinstatement, however, the emperor Louis made peace with his son Louis, Louis was the instigator of the third civil war, which began in 839. A strip of his land having been given to the young haf-brother Charles and this time emperor Louis responded quickly, and soon the younger Louis was forced into the far southeastern corner of his realm, the March of Pannonia. Peace was then made by force of arms, in June 842 the three brothers met on an island in the river Saône to negotiate a peace, and each appointed forty representatives to arrange the boundaries of their respective kingdoms. His territories included Bavaria, Thuringia, Franconia, and Saxony, Louis may be called the founder of the German kingdom, though his attempts to maintain the unity of the Empire proved futile. Having in 842 crushed the Stellinga rising in Saxony, in 844 he compelled the Obotrites to own his authority and put their prince, Gozzmovil, to death. Thachulf, Duke of Thuringia, then undertook campaigns against the Bohemians, Moravians, and other tribes, in 852 Louis sent his son Louis the Younger to Aquitaine, where nobles had grown resentful of Charles the Balds rule. The younger Louis did not set out until 854, and returned the following year, encouraged by his nephews Pepin of Herstal and Charles of Provence, Louis invaded in West Francia in 858. Charles the Bald could not even raise an army to resist the invasion, later that year Louis issued a charter dated the first year of the reign in West Francia. In 868 at Metz Louis and Charles agreed to partition Lotharingia, when Lothair II died in 869, Louis was lying seriously ill, and his armies were engaged in a war with the Moravians. The later years of Louis the German were troubled by rebellions of his sons, the eldest, Carloman of Bavaria, revolted in 861 and again two years later. This was followed by the second son Louis the Younger, who was joined by his brother Charles the Fat, in 864 Louis was forced to grant Carloman the kingdom of Bavaria, which he himself had once held under his father. In 865 he divided the remainder of his lands - Saxony with Franconia and Thuringia went to Louis the Younger and Swabia with Raetia to Charles the Fat. A report that the emperor Louis II of Italy had died led to a peace between father and sons and attempts by Louis the German to gain the crown for his oldest son Carloman
Louis the German
–
Seal with Louis' inscription and effigy.
29.
List of rulers of Bavaria
–
The following is a list of rulers during the history of Bavaria. Bavaria was ruled by dukes and kings, partitioned and reunited. Since 1949, Bavaria has been a state in the Federal Republic of Germany. The first duke we know of, and likely the first, was Gariwald, or Garibald I and this was the beginning of a series of Agilolfing dukes that was to last until 788. Carolingian dynasty The Kings of the Franks now assumed complete control, placing Bavaria under the rule of non-hereditary governors and they were not Dukes but rather Kings of Bavaria. The Emperor Louis the Pious divided control of the Empire among his sons, the Frankish rulers controlled Bavaria as part of their possessions. Luitpolding dynasty Luitpold, founder of the Luitpolding dynasty, was not a Duke of Bavaria, Frankish power had waned in the region due to Hungarian attacks, allowing the local rulers greater independence. Luitpolds son, Arnulf, claimed the title of Duke in 911, ottonian dynasty Salian dynasty From 947 until the 11th century, the kings of Germany repeatedly transferred Bavaria into different hands, never allowing any one family to establish itself. Bavaria was ruled by a series of short-lasting, mostly unrelated dynasties, houses of Welf and Babenberg In 1070, Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor deposed duke Otto, granting the duchy instead to Welf I, Duke of Bavaria, a member of the Italo-Bavarian family of Este. Welf I subsequently quarreled with King Henry and was deprived of his duchy for nineteen years, during which it was directly administered by the German crown. Welf I recovered the duchy in 1096, and was succeeded by his sons Welf II and Henry IX — the latter was succeeded by his son Henry X, Bavaria remained in the possession of various branches of the family until the First World War. In 1253, on Otto IIs death, Bavaria was divided between his sons, Henry became Duke of Lower Bavaria, and Louis of Upper Bavaria. From this point until the beginning of the 16th century, the territories were divided between brothers, making the Dukes difficult to list. In Lower Bavaria, Henry XIII was succeeded by his three sons, Otto III, Louis III, and Stephen I ruling jointly, Otto IIIs successor in the joint dukedom was his son Henry XV. Stephens successors were his sons Otto IV and Henry XIV, Henry XIVs son was John I. In Upper Bavaria, Louis II was succeeded by his sons Rudolf I, the latter was elected King of Germany in 1314. After John Is death in 1340, Louis IV unified the Bavarian duchy, the dukes of Upper Bavaria served also as Counts Palatinate of the Rhine. In 1329 Louis IV released the Palatinate of the Rhine including the Bavarian Upper Palatinate to the sons of Rudolf I, the Upper Palatinate would be reunited with Bavaria in 1623, the Lower Palatinate in 1777
List of rulers of Bavaria
–
Coat of arms of the Kingdom of Bavaria
List of rulers of Bavaria
–
Coat of arms of Bavaria.
List of rulers of Bavaria
–
Charlemagne
List of rulers of Bavaria
–
Lothair I
30.
Aquitaine
–
Aquitaine, archaic Guyenne/Guienne was a traditional region of France, and was an administrative region of France until 1 January 2016. It is now part of the new region Nouvelle-Aquitaine and it is situated in the south-western part of Metropolitan France, along the Atlantic Ocean and the Pyrenees mountain range on the border with Spain. It is composed of the five departments of Dordogne, Lot-et-Garonne, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Landes, in the Middle Ages, Aquitaine was a kingdom and a duchy, whose boundaries fluctuated considerably. This has been demonstrated by various Aquitanian names and words that were recorded by the Romans, whether this Aquitanian language was a remnant of a Vasconic language group that once extended much farther, or whether it was generally limited to the Aquitaine/Basque region is not known. The original Aquitania at the time of Caesars conquest of Gaul included the area bounded by the Garonne River, the Pyrenees, the name may stem from Latin aqua, maybe derived from the town Aquae Augustae, Aquae Tarbellicae or just Aquis or as a more general geographical feature. In 392, the Roman imperial provinces were restructured and Aquitania Prima, Aquitania Secunda, accounts of Aquitania during the Early Middle Ages are a blur, lacking precision, but there was much unrest. The Visigoths were called into Gaul as foederati, legalizing their status within the Empire, eventually they established themselves as the de facto rulers in south-west Gaul as central Roman rule collapsed. Visigoths established their capital in Toulouse, but their tenure on Aquitaine was feeble, in 507, they were expelled south to Hispania after their defeat in the Battle of Vouillé by the Franks, who became the new rulers in the area to the south of the Loire. The Roman Aquitania Tertia remained in place as Novempopulania, where a duke was appointed to hold a grip over the Basques and these dukes were quite detached from central Frankish overlordship, sometimes governing as independent rulers with strong ties to their kinsmen south of the Pyrenees. As of 660, the foundations for an independent Aquitaine/Vasconia polity were established by the duke Felix of Aquitaine, a united Basque-Aquitanian realm reached its heyday under Odo the Greats rule. Odo was required to pledge allegiance to the Frankish Charles Martel in exchange for help against the advancing Arabic forces, Basque-Aquitanian self-rule temporarily came to a halt, definitely in 768 after the assassination of Waifer. Seguin, count of Bordeaux and Duke of Vasconia, seemed to have attempted a detachment from the Frankish central authority on Charlemagnes death, the new emperor Louis the Pious reacted by removing him from his capacity, which stirred the Basques into rebellion. Before Pepins death, emperor Louis had appointed a new king in 832, his son Charles the Bald, however scarce, some Frankish population and nobles settled down in regions like Albigeois, Carcassone, Toulouse, and Provence and Lower Rhone. After the death of the king Dagobert I, the Merovingian tenure south of the Loire became largely nominal, with the power being in the hands of autonomous regional leaders. The Franks may have largely assimilated to the preponderant Gallo-Roman culture by the 8th century. Still, in the Battle of Toulouse, the Aquitanian duke Odo is said to be leading an army of Aquitanians, on the other hand, the Franks didnt mix with the Basques, keeping separate paths. Recorded evidence points to their deployment across Aquitaine in a capacity as a mainstay of the Dukes forces. Romans are cited as living in the cities of Aquitaine, as opposed to the Franks, in 1058, the Duchy of Vasconia and Aquitaine merged under the rule of William VIII, Duke of Aquitaine
Aquitaine
–
Landscape in Dordogne, Aquitaine
Aquitaine
–
Flag
Aquitaine
–
Situation in the duchies of Vasconia and Aquitaine (760)
Aquitaine
–
Landscape in Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Aquitaine
31.
Gaul
–
It covered an area of 190,800 sq mi. According to the testimony of Julius Caesar, Gaul was divided into three parts, Gallia Celtica, Belgica and Aquitania, during the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, Gaul fell under Roman rule, Gallia Cisalpina was conquered in 203 BC and Gallia Narbonensis in 123 BC. Gaul was invaded after 120 BC by the Cimbri and the Teutons, Gallia remains a name of France in modern Greek and modern Latin. The Greek and Latin names Galatia, and Gallia are ultimately derived from a Celtic ethnic term or clan Gal-to-. Galli of Gallia Celtica were reported to refer to themselves as Celtae by Caesar. Hellenistic folk etymology connected the name of the Galatians to the supposedly milk-white skin of the Gauls, modern researchers say it is related to Welsh gallu, Cornish galloes, capacity, power, thus meaning powerful people. The English Gaul is from French Gaule and is unrelated to Latin Gallia, as adjectives, English has the two variants, Gaulish and Gallic. The two adjectives are used synonymously, as pertaining to Gaul or the Gauls, although the Celtic language or languages spoken in Gaul is predominantly known as Gaulish. The Germanic w- is regularly rendered as gu- / g- in French, also unrelated in spite of superficial similarity is the name Gael. The Irish word gall did originally mean a Gaul, i. e. an inhabitant of Gaul, but its meaning was later widened to foreigner, to describe the Vikings, and later still the Normans. The dichotomic words gael and gall are sometimes used together for contrast, by 500 BC, there is strong Hallstatt influence throughout most of France. By the late 5th century BC, La Tène influence spreads rapidly across the territory of Gaul. The La Tène culture developed and flourished during the late Iron Age in France, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, southwest Germany, Bohemia, Moravia, Slovakia, farther north extended the contemporary pre-Roman Iron Age culture of northern Germany and Scandinavia. By the 2nd century BC, the Romans described Gallia Transalpina as distinct from Gallia Cisalpina, while some scholars believe the Belgae south of the Somme were a mixture of Celtic and Germanic elements, their ethnic affiliations have not been definitively resolved. One of the reasons is political interference upon the French historical interpretation during the 19th century, in addition to the Gauls, there were other peoples living in Gaul, such as the Greeks and Phoenicians who had established outposts such as Massilia along the Mediterranean coast. Also, along the southeastern Mediterranean coast, the Ligures had merged with the Celts to form a Celto-Ligurian culture, the prosperity of Mediterranean Gaul encouraged Rome to respond to pleas for assistance from the inhabitants of Massilia, who were under attack by a coalition of Ligures and Gauls. The Romans intervened in Gaul in 154 BC and again in 125 BC, whereas on the first occasion they came and went, on the second they stayed. Massilia was allowed to keep its lands, but Rome added to its territories the lands of the conquered tribes. The direct result of conquests was that by now, Rome controlled an area extending from the Pyrenees to the lower Rhône river
Gaul
–
Map of Roman Gaul (Droysens Allgemeiner historischer Handatlas, 1886)
Gaul
–
Gaul on the eve of the Gallic Wars.
Roman ethnography divides Gaul into five parts:
Gallia Belgica,
Gallia Celtica (largely corresponding to the later province
Gallia Lugdunensis),
Gallia Cisalpina,
Gallia Narbonensis and
Gallia Aquitania.
Gaul
–
Gauls in Rome
Gaul
–
Soldiers of Gaul, as imagined by a late 19th-century illustrator for the
Larousse dictionary, 1898
32.
Aachen
–
Aachen or Bad Aachen, traditionally known in English and French as Aix-la-Chapelle, is a spa and border city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Aachen was the residence of Charlemagne, and, from 936 to 1531. Aachen is the westernmost city in Germany, located near the borders with Belgium, RWTH Aachen University is located in the city. Aachens industries include science, engineering and information technology, in 2009, Aachen was ranked eighth among cities in Germany for innovation. The location has been inhabited by humans since the Neolithic era, about 5,000 years ago, latin Aquae figures in Aachens Roman name Aquae granni, which meant waters of Grannus, referring to the Celtic god of healing who was worshipped at the springs. Aachens name in French and German evolved in parallel, Aachens local dialect is called Öcher Platt and belongs to the Ripuarian language. Bronze Age settlement is evidenced by the remains of barrows found, for example, during the Iron Age, the area was settled by Celtic peoples who were perhaps drawn by the marshy Aachen basins hot sulphur springs where they worshipped Grannus, god of light and healing. Later, the 25-hectare Roman spa resort town of Aquae Granni was, according to legend, founded by Grenus, under Hadrian, a kind of forum, surrounded by colonnades, connected the two spa complexes. There was also a residential area, part of it inhabited by a flourishing Jewish community. The Romans built bathhouses near Burtscheid, a temple precinct called Vernenum was built near the modern Kornelimünster/Walheim. Today, remains have been found of three bathhouses, including two fountains in the Elisenbrunnen and the Burtscheid bathhouse, Roman civil administration in Aachen broke down between the end of the 4th and beginning of the 5th centuries. Rome withdrew its troops from the area, but the town remained populated, by 470, the town came to be ruled by the Ripuarian Franks and subordinated to their capital, Cologne. Einhard mentions that in 765–6 Pepin spent both Christmas and Easter at Aquis villa, which must have been equipped to support the royal household for several months. In the year of his coronation as king of the Franks,768, Charlemagne spent most winters in Aachen between 792 and his death in 814. Aachen became the focus of his court and the centre of his empire. In 936, Otto I was crowned king of East Francia in the church built by Charlemagne. During the reign of Otto II, the nobles revolted and the West Franks, under Lothair, Aachen was attacked again by Odo of Champagne, who attacked the imperial palace while Conrad II was absent. Odo relinquished it quickly and was killed soon afterwards, the palace and town of Aachen had fortifying walls built by order of Emperor Frederick Barbarossa between 1172 and 1176
Aachen
–
Panoramic view of Aachen, including Kaiser Karls Gymnasium (foreground), townhall (back center) and
cathedral (back right)
Aachen
Aachen
–
Aachen's Neues Kurhaus
Aachen
–
Construction of Aix-la-Chapelle, by
Jean Fouquet
33.
Battle of Fontenoy-en-Puisaye
–
The three year Carolingian Civil War culminated in the decisive Battle of Fontenoy-en-Puisaye, also called the Battle of Fontenoy, fought at Fontenoy, near Auxerre, on the 25 June 841. The war was the contention over the territorial inheritances —the division of the lands of Charlemagnes Carolingian Empire between his grandsons, the three surviving sons of Louis the Pious. Despite provisions by Louis the Pious, war broke out between his sons and nephews and it was a defeat for the allied forces of Lothair I of Italy and Pepin II of Aquitaine and a victory for Charles the Bald and Louis the German. While hostilities continued until two years into 843, the Treaty of Verdun ending the war shaped and influences history in Europe even to this late modern date. Louis the Pious throughout his reign had entreated to divide his empire meritoriously amongst his sons—all his sons—as it was required by the Salic Law of the Franks. With the late-born Charles, his attempts led to civil wars which culminated in his defeat of his last rebellious son, Louis. Louis was left with Bavaria while Pepin, his grandson, was out of the inheritance. On 24 July 840 in Strasbourg, Lothair precipitated a new war by declaring his imperium over all the lands of the empire and, joining with his nephew Pepin. The barons of Burgundy divided over allegiance to Charles and Lothair, ermenaud III of Auxerre, Arnoul of Sens, and Audri of Autun pledged themselves for Lothair, while Guerin of Provence and Aubert of Avallon remained with Charles. Girard II, Count of Paris, Lothairs brother-in-law, joined Lothair also, in March 841, the Burgundians faithful to Charles accompanied Guerin to join him and in May, Louis of Bavaria and his troops met Charles army at Châlons-sur-Marne. In June, Pepin finally joined with Lothair in Auxerre, the two armies, of about 3,000 men each, met on 25 June. According to tradition, Charles established his camp at Thury, on the hill of Roichat, Lothair and Pepin initiated battle and took the upper hand until the arrival of Guerin and his army of Provençals. While Pepin and his contingent continued to push back Charles men, Lothair was slowly pushed back himself by Louis the German, finally, when victory seemed sure for Charles, Bernard of Septimania entered the conflict on his side and the victory became a rout. According to Andreas Agnellus of Ravenna a total of 40,000 men died, including Gerard of Auvergne and Ricwin of Nantes, who fell at Charles side. Neither dew nor showers nor rain ever fell again on that field where the most battle-hardened warriors had perished mourned by their mothers, their sisters, their brothers, and their friends. On Charles side and Louis too, the fields were white with the habits of the dead as they might have been with birds in the autumn. In spite of his gallantry, Lothair was defeated and fled to his capital of Aachen. With fresh troops he entered upon a war of plunder, but the forces of his brothers were too strong for him, and taking with him such treasure as he could collect, he abandoned to them his capital
Battle of Fontenoy-en-Puisaye
–
The battle as depicted in the fourteenth-century
Grandes Chroniques de France.
Battle of Fontenoy-en-Puisaye
–
Obelisk commemorating the Battle of Fontenoy.
34.
Oath of Strasbourg
–
The Oaths of Strasbourg were mutual pledges of allegiance between Louis the German, ruler of East Francia, and his half-brother Charles the Bald, ruler of West Francia made on 12 February 842. They are written in three different languages, Medieval Latin, Old French and Old High German, all in Caroline minuscule, the Old French passages are generally considered to be the earliest texts in a language that is distinctly French. The several pledges were spoken at a meeting on 12 February 842 at Strasbourg, with the brothers assembled armies in attendance. Louis spoke his oath in the Romance language, while Charles spoke his oath in lingua teudisca, the sole source for the wording of the oaths is Nithards Historiae or De dissensionibus filiorum Ludovici pii, where it is found in Chapter V of Book III. Nithards work is preserved in a manuscript from the 10th or 11th century, both kings first made the same preamble speech, which was a detailed complaint against Lothair. Each king then swore his oath in front of their assembled armies, not in Latin nor in his own language. Finally, the armies swore separate pledges in their respective languages, one version of the pledges was written in the Rhine Franconian dialect of Old High German. The second version is in a form of Proto-French, the preamble was also written in Latin, as were sections to report the ceremonies. The text is significant to both linguists and historians, linguistically, the text is the oldest document written in a Romance language, and specifically in a form of French. The documents also shed light on a significant period in the history of the Carolingian-Frankish empire, however, others of late have come to favour a different hypothesis, that the Frankish Kingdom comprised several regna that since ancient times had maintained different customs and dialects. The transcriptions are edited, with abbreviations written out and some punctuation, the image to the right is a scan of the original text. In the transcription below, two asterisks mark the beginning and end of the visible in this scan. Altfranzösisches Übungsbuch, zum Gebrauch bei Vorlesungen und Seminarübungen, ithaca and London, Cornell University Press. The Oaths of Strassburg, Phonemics and Classification, ludwig der Deutsche und seine Zeit. Lowe, Lawrence F. H. Edwards, Bateman, the Language of the Strassburg Oaths. The Romance Text of the Strassburg Oaths, was it Written in the Ninth Century
Oath of Strasbourg
–
Text of the Oaths
35.
Marca Hispanica
–
In its broader meaning, Marca Hispanica sometimes refers to a group of early Iberian and trans-Pyrenean lordships or counts coming under Frankish rule. As time passed, these lordships merged or gained independence from Frankish imperial rule, the area broadly corresponds to eastern regions between the Pyrenees and the Ebro River. The local population of the March was diverse, the Pyrenean valleys started to switch loyalties after 785 with the construction and garrisoning by counts loyal to the Carolingians of new outposts and fortresses on bordering areas. The territory changed with the fortunes of the Empires and the ambitions of those, whether the Counts or Walis. Eventually the rulers and people of the March became autonomous and claimed independence, out of the welter of counties in the region emerged the principality Catalonia divided into a myriad of counties with the county of Barcelona as their main power centre. Counties that at times formed part of the March included, Ribagorza, Urgell, Cerdanya, Perelada, Empúries, Besalú, Ausona, Barcelona, Girona and, Conflent, Roussillon, Vallespir. The nominal boundaries of Gothia and the Hispanic Marches vary in time, the Muslim invasions reached the Pyrenees in the Iberian Peninsula. In 719 the forces of Al-Samh ibn Malik surged up the east coast, overwhelming the remaining Visigoth province of Septimania, control was secured by offering the local population generous terms, inter-marriage between ruling families or treaties. Further expansion was halted by defeat in the Battle of Toulouse, wālis were installed in Girona and Barcelona. The Muslim forces however continued to raid their Gallic neighbours to the north, the peace treaty was sealed with the marriage of the Duke’s daughter to Munuza. However, Munuza was defeated by a Umayyad military expedition and another period of Muslim expansion commenced, Aquitaine pledged formal allegiance to the Frankish leaders several times, but remained actually independent. In 737 Charles led an expedition to the Lower Rhone and Septimania, possibly seeing that the Umayyad thrust was threatening his grip on Burgundy, both Aquitaine and Septimania were still out of central Frankish control after Charless death, but Pepin the Short was determined to subdue southern Gaul. In 759, after conquering Septimania from the Umayyad, the Carolingian king focused all his might in crushing Aquitanian resistance to central Frankish power, after a ruthless war of 8 years, Aquitainian independence came to an end. Toulouse was now under the grip of the new Carolingian king Charlemagne and access to Andalusian Hispania was open for him, the Franks created the Marca Hispanica by conquering former north-eastern territory of the Visigothic kingdom of Hispania, which had been conquered by the Muslims. The first county to be conquered was Roussillon in around 760, in 785 the county of Girona to the south of the Pyrenees was taken. Ribagorza and Pallars were linked to Toulouse and were added to this county around 790, Urgell and Cerdanya were added in 798. The first records of the county of Empúries are from 812, after a series of struggles the County of Barcelona was taken by Frankish forces in 801. A number of castles were established in Aragón between 798 and 802, after subduing the Basques to the north of the Pyrenees, Frankish overlordship expanded to the upper Ebro and Pamplona, when Alphonse II of Asturias came also under Charlemagnes influence
Marca Hispanica
–
By the second half of the ninth century, three political subdivisions (marches) existed in the eastern Pyrenees: Toulouse (green), Gothia (blue), and Hispania (pink). At times they were placed under one authority and at other times not.
36.
Ebro
–
The Ebro or Ebre is one of the most important rivers on the Iberian Peninsula. It is the second longest river in the Iberian peninsula after the Tagus, the source of the river Ebro is in Fontibre, from the Latin words Fontes Iberis, source of the Ebro. Close by is the big artificial lake Embalse del Ebro created by the damming of the river, the upper Ebro rushes through rocky gorges in Burgos Province. Karst geological processes shaped the landscape of layers of carbonate rock of extensive limestone bedrock formed in an ancient seabed. Aragonite, a named for Aragon, attests to the fact that carbonates are abundant in the central Ebro Valley. The valley expands and the Ebros flow then becomes slower as its volume increases. There, larger tributaries flowing from the Central Pyrenees and the Iberian System discharge large amounts of water, as it flows through Zaragoza the Ebro, is already a sizeable river. There, the Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar stands next to the Ebro, the soils in most of the valley are primarily poor soils, calcareous, pebbly, stony, and sometimes salted with saltwater endorheic lagoons. The semi-arid interior of the Ebro Valley has either drought summers and it is covered with chaparral vegetation. Summers are hot and winters are cold, the dry summer season has temperatures of more than 35 °C, occasionally reaching over 40 °C. In winter, the temperatures drop below 0 °C. In some areas the vegetation depends heavily on moisture produced by condensation fogs and it is a continental Mediterranean climate with extreme temperatures. There are many ground frosts on clear nights, and sporadic snowfalls, the biomes are diverse in these Mediterranean climate zones, Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub. Hinterlands are particularly distinctive on account of extensive sclerophyll shrublands known as maquis, the dominant species are Quercus coccifera and Quercus ilex. These trees form monospecific communities or communities integrated with Pinus, Mediterranean buckthorns, Myrtus, Chamaerops humilis, junipers, Pistacia, Rosmarinus, Thymus, etc. The mountain vegetation is mostly coniferous forests that are drought adapted and their presence is related to the marine origin of the Ebro valley and the extensive marine deposits in the same area. After reaching Catalonia, the Ebro Valley narrows, and the river becomes constrained by mountain ranges, massive dams have been built in this area, such as the dams at Mequinenza, Riba-roja, Flix. In the final section of its course the river bends southwards, the massive calcareous cliffs of the Serra de Cardó range constrain the river during this last stretch, separating the Ebro Valley from the Mediterranean coastal area
Ebro
–
The Ebro River in Zaragoza
Ebro
–
Watershed of the Ebro
Ebro
–
The source of the Ebro in
Fontibre.
Ebro
–
The Ebro River delta from space
37.
East Francia
–
East Francia or the Kingdom of the East Franks was a successor state of Charlemagnes empire and precursor of the Holy Roman Empire. Until 911 it was ruled by Carolingian dynasty and it was created after the 840-43 civil war between Charlemagnes grandchildren which ended with the Treaty of Verdun which divided the former empire into three kingdoms. In August 843, after three years of war following the death of emperor Louis the Pious on 20 June 840. The division of lands was based on the Meuse, Scheldt. The contemporary East Frankish Annales Fuldenses describes the kingdom being divided in three and Louis acceding to the eastern part, while West and Middle Francia contained the traditional Frankish heartlands, the East consisted mostly of lands only annexed to the Frankish empire in the eighth century. These included the duchies of Alemannia, Bavaria, Saxony and Thuringia, as well as the northern and eastern marches with the Danes, in 869 Lotharingia was divided between West and East Francia under the Treaty of Meersen. The short lived Middle Francia turned out to be the theatre of Franco-German wars up until the 20th century, all the Frankish lands were briefly reunited by Charles the Fat, but in 888 he was deposed by nobles and in East Francia Arnulf of Carinthia was elected king. The increasing weakness of royal power in East Francia meant that dukes of Bavaria, Swabia, Franconia, Saxony, Kings increasingly had to deal with regional rebellions. Because Conrad I was one of the dukes, he found it hard to establish his authority over them. Duke Henry of Saxony was in rebellion against Conrad I until 915 and struggle against Arnulf, on his deathbed Conrad I chose Henry of Saxony as the most capable successor. This kingship changed from Franks to Saxons, who had suffered greatly during the conquests of Charlemagne, by his death in July 936 Henry had prevented collapse of royal power as was happening in West Francia and left a much stronger kingdom to his successor Otto I. After Otto I was crowned as the Emperor in Rome in 962 the era of the Holy Roman Empire began, the term orientalis Francia originally referred to Franconia and orientales Franci to its inhabitants, the ethnic Franks living east of the Rhine. The use of the term in a sense, to refer to the eastern kingdom, was an innovation of Louis the Germans court. Since eastern Francia could be identified with old Austrasia, the Frankish heartland, under his grandson, Arnulf, the terminology was largely dropped and the kingdom, when it was referred to by name, was simply Francia. When it was necessary, as in the Treaty of Bonn with the West Franks, Henry I refers to himself as rex Francorum orientalium, king of the East Franks, in the treaty. By the 12th century, the historian Otto of Freising, in using the Carolingian terminology had to explain that the kingdom of the Franks was now called the kingdom of the Germans. The regalia of the Carolingian empire had divided by Louis the Pious on his deathbed between his two faithful sons, Charles the Bald and Lothair. Louis the German, then in rebellion, received nothing of the jewels or liturgical books associated with Carolingian kingship
East Francia
–
The parting of Carolingian Empire by the Treaty of Verdun in 843. From Histoire Et Géographie - Atlas Général Vidal-Lablache, 1898.
38.
Kingdom of Italy (medieval)
–
The Kingdom of Italy was one of the constituent kingdoms of the Holy Roman Empire, along with the kingdoms of Germany, Bohemia, and Burgundy. It comprised northern and central Italy, but excluded the Republic of Venice and its original capital was Pavia until the 11th century. In June 774, the collapsed and the Franks became masters of northern Italy. The southern areas remained under Lombard control in the Duchy of Benevento, Charlemagne adopted the title King of the Lombards and in 800 had himself crowned Emperor of the Romans in Rome. Members of the Carolingian dynasty continued to rule Italy until the deposition of Charles the Fat in 887, until 961, the rule of Italy was continually contested by several aristocratic families from both within and without the kingdom. In 961, King Otto I of Germany, already married to Adelaide, widow of a king of Italy. He continued on to Rome, where he had himself crowned emperor on 7 February 962, the union of the crowns of Italy and Germany with that of the so-called Empire of the Romans created the Holy Roman Empire, to which Burgundy was added in 1032. The resulting wars between Guelphs and Ghibellines, the anti-imperialist and imperialist factions, respectively, were characteristic of Italian politics in the 12th–14th centuries. The Lombard League was the most famous example of this situation, though not a declared separatist movement, by the 15th century, the power of the city-states was largely broken. A series of wars in Lombardy from 1423 to 1454 further reduced the number of competing states in Italy, the next forty years were relatively peaceful in Italy, but in 1494 the peninsula was invaded by France. The resulting Great Italian Wars lasted until 1559 as control of most of the Italian states passed to King Philip II of Spain. The Spanish branch of the Habsburg dynasty—the same dynasty of which another branch provided the Emperors—continued to rule most of imperial Italy down to the War of the Spanish Succession, after the Imperial Reform of 1495–1512, the Italian kingdom corresponded to the unencircled territories south of the Alps. The Imperial rule in Italy came to an end with the campaigns of the French Revolutionaries in 1792–97, in 1806, the Holy Roman Empire was dissolved by the last emperor, Francis II, after its defeat by Napoleon at the Battle of Austerlitz. After the Battle of Taginae, in which the Ostrogoth king Totila was killed, the battle lasted two days and Teia was killed in the fighting. The Kings of the Lombards ruled that Germanic people from their invasion of Italy in 567–68 until the Lombardic identity became lost in the ninth and tenth centuries, after 568, the Lombard kings sometimes styled themselves Kings of Italy. Upon the Lombard defeat at the 774 Siege of Pavia, the kingdom came under the Frankish domination of Charlemagne, the Iron Crown of Lombardy was used for the coronation of the Lombard kings, and the kings of Italy thereafter, for centuries. The primary sources for the Lombard kings before the Frankish conquest are the anonymous 7th-century Origo Gentis Langobardorum, the earliest kings listed in the Origo are almost certainly legendary. They purportedly reigned during the Migration Period, the first ruler attested independently of Lombard tradition is Tato, an initial phase of strong autonomy of the many constituent duchies developed over time with growing regal authority, even if the dukes desires for autonomy were never fully achieved
Kingdom of Italy (medieval)
–
The
Iron Crown of Lombardy, now at
Monza Cathedral
Kingdom of Italy (medieval)
–
Holy Roman Empire about 1000, Italian territories in shades of pink.
Kingdom of Italy (medieval)
–
Imperial Italy (outlined in red) in the 12th and 13th centuries
39.
Flanders
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Flanders is the Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium, although there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, language, politics and history. It is one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium, the demonym associated with Flanders is Fleming, while the corresponding adjective is Flemish. The official capital of Flanders is Brussels, although Brussels itself has an independent regional government, in historical contexts, Flanders originally refers to the County of Flanders, which around AD1000 stretched from the Strait of Dover to the Scheldt estuary. In accordance with late 20th century Belgian state reforms the area was made two political entities, the Flemish Community and the Flemish Region. These entities were merged, although geographically the Flemish Community, which has a cultural mandate, covers Brussels. Flanders has figured prominently in European history, as a consequence, a very sophisticated culture developed, with impressive achievements in the arts and architecture, rivaling those of northern Italy. Belgium was one of the centres of the 19th century industrial revolution, geographically, Flanders is generally flat, and has a small section of coast on the North Sea. Much of Flanders is agriculturally fertile and densely populated, with a density of almost 500 people per square kilometer. It touches France to the west near the coast, and borders the Netherlands to the north and east, the Brussels Capital Region is an enclave within the Flemish Region. Flanders has exclaves of its own, Voeren in the east is between Wallonia and the Netherlands and Baarle-Hertog in the consists of 22 exclaves surrounded by the Netherlands. It comprises 6.5 million Belgians who consider Dutch to be their mother tongue, the political subdivisions of Belgium, the Flemish Region and the Flemish Community. The first does not comprise Brussels, whereas the latter does comprise the Dutch-speaking inhabitants of Brussels, the political institutions that govern both subdivisions, the operative body Flemish Government and the legislative organ Flemish Parliament. The two westernmost provinces of the Flemish Region, West Flanders and East Flanders, forming the central portion of the historic County of Flanders, a feudal territory that existed from the 8th century until its absorption by the French First Republic. Until the 1600s, this county also extended over parts of France, one of the regions conquered by the French in Flanders, namely French Flanders in the Nord department. French Flanders can be divided into two regions, Walloon Flanders and Maritime Flanders. The first region was predominantly French-speaking already in the 1600s, the latter became so in the 20th century, the city of Lille identifies itself as Flemish, and this is reflected, for instance, in the name of its local railway station TGV Lille Flandres. The region conquered by the Dutch Republic in Flanders, now part of the Dutch province of Zeeland, the significance of the County of Flanders and its counts eroded through time, but the designation remained in a very broad sense. In the Early modern period, the term Flanders was associated with the part of the Low Countries
Flanders
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The
Sack of Antwerp in 1576, in which about 7,000 people died.
Flanders
–
Flag
Flanders
–
Winter scene by
Sebastian Vrancx, 1622
Flanders
–
1609 map of the county of Flanders
40.
Rhineland
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The Rhineland is the name used for a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine River, chiefly its middle section. In the High Middle Ages, numerous Imperial States along the river emerged from the stem duchy of Lotharingia. The term covered the whole occupied zone west of the Rhine including the bridge-heads on the eastern banks, after the collapse of the French dominated West Bank in the early 19th century, the regions of Lower Rhine and Jülich-Cleves-Berg were annexed to the Kingdom of Prussia. In 1822 the Prussian administration reorganized the territory as the Rhine Province, following the First World War, the western part of Rhineland was occupied by Entente forces, then demilitarized under the 1919 Treaty of Versailles. German forces remilitarized the territory in 1936, as part of a diplomatic test of will, stretching down to the North Palatine Uplands in the south, this area, except for the Saarland, more or less corresponds with the modern use of the term. The southern and eastern parts are mainly hill country, cut by valleys, principally the Middle Rhine up to Bingen and its Ahr, Moselle. The border of the North German plain is marked by the lower Ruhr, in the south, the river cuts the Rhenish Massif. The area encompasses the western part of the Ruhr industrial region, toponyms as well as local family names often trace back to the Frankish heritage. The lands on the shore of the Rhine are strongly characterised by Roman influence. In the core territories, large parts of the population are members of the Catholic Church. On the right bank of the Rhine, between the Main and the Lahn, were the settlements of the Mattiaci, a branch of the Germanic Chatti, while farther to the north were the Usipetes and Tencteri. Julius Caesar conquered the tribes on the left bank, and Augustus established numerous fortified posts on the Rhine. The Frankish conquerors of the Rhenish districts were singularly little affected by the culture of the Roman provincials they subdued, by the 8th century the Frankish dominion was firmly established in western Germania and northern Gaul. On the division of the Carolingian Empire at the Treaty of Verdun the part the province to the east of the fell to East Francia. As the central power of the Holy Roman Emperor weakened, the Rhineland split up into small independent principalities, each with its separate vicissitudes. After the Imperial Reform of 1500/12, the territory was part of the Lower Rhenish–Westphalian, Upper Rhenish, aachen was the place of coronation of the German emperors, and the ecclesiastical principalities of the Rhine played a large role in German history. At the Peace of Basel in 1795, the whole of the bank of the Rhine was taken by France. The population was about 1.6 million in small states
Rhineland
–
Deutsches Eck, Koblenz
Rhineland
–
Coat of arms of the Rhineland
41.
Burgundy (region)
–
Burgundy is a historical territory and a former administrative region of east-central France, entities that trace their name from the Burgundians, a Germanic people. Historically, Burgundy has referred to political entities, including kingdoms. The first known inhabitants of the area that became Burgundy were Celts, during the 4th century, the Burgundians, a Germanic people, who may have originated in Bornholm, settled in the western Alps. They founded the Kingdom of the Burgundians, which was conquered in the 6th century by another Germanic tribe, under Frankish dominion, the Kingdom of Burgundy continued for several centuries. Later, the region was divided between the Duchy of Burgundy and the Free County of Burgundy, burgundys modern existence is rooted in the dissolution of the Frankish Empire. In the 880s, there were four Burgundies, which were the Kingdom of Upper and Lower Burgundy, the duchy, during the Middle Ages, Burgundy was the seat of some of the most important Western churches and monasteries, among them Cluny, Cîteaux, and Vézelay. During the Hundred Years War, King John II of France gave the duchy to his youngest son, the duchy soon became a major rival to the crown. The court in Dijon outshone the French court both economically and culturally, in 1477, at the battle of Nancy during the Burgundian Wars, the last duke Charles the Bold was killed in battle, and the Duchy itself was annexed by France and became a province. However the northern part of the empire was taken by the Austrian Habsburgs, with the French Revolution in the end of the 18th century, the administrative units of the provinces disappeared, but were reconstituted as regions during the Fifth Republic in the 1970s. The modern-day administrative region comprises most of the former duchy, as of he region of Burgundy is both larger than the old Duchy of Burgundy and smaller than the area ruled by the Dukes of Burgundy, from the modern Netherlands to the border of Auvergne. Today, Burgundy is made up of the old provinces, Burgundy, Côte-dOr, Saône-et-Loire and this corresponds to the old duchy of Burgundy. However, the old county of Burgundy is not included inside the Burgundy region, also, a small part of the duchy of Burgundy is now inside the Champagne-Ardenne region. Nivernais, now the department of Nièvre, the climate of this region is essentially oceanic, with a continental influence. The regional council of Burgundy is the legislative assembly, the council has been chaired by the Socialist François Patriat since 2004. The councils seat is in the capital city Dijon, at 17 boulevard de la Trémouille, Burgundy is one of Frances main wine producing areas. The region is divided into the Côte-dOr, where the most expensive and prized Burgundies are found, and Beaujolais, Chablis, with regard to cuisine, the region is famous for the Burgundian dishes coq au vin, beef bourguignon, and époisses de Bourgogne cheese. Earlier, the part of Burgundy was heavily industrial, with coal mines near Montceau-les-Mines and iron foundries. These industries declined in the half of the twentieth century
Burgundy (region)
–
Arboretum de Pézanin
Burgundy (region)
–
Flag
Burgundy (region)
–
Dijon, Place du Bareuzai
Burgundy (region)
–
Le Creusot
42.
Middle Francia
–
Middle Francia was allocated to emperor Lothair I, the eldest son and successor of emperor Louis the Pious. Following the 855 partition, Middle Francia became only a geographic term, in 855, on his deathbed at Prüm Abbey, Emperor Lothair I with the Treaty of Prüm divided Middle Francia among his three sons. The lands in northern Italy, which extended as far south as Rome and Spoleto, were left to the eldest son Louis II the Younger, crowned co-Emperor in 850 and this eventually became the Kingdom of Italy. Charles received Kingdom of Burgundy and Provence, which became the Kingdom of Arles, Charles died early and without sons in 863. According to a Frankish custom, his brothers Louis II and Lothair II divided his realm, Lothair II received the western Lower Burgundian parts which were bordering his western Upper Burgundy which were incorporated into Lotharingia, while Louis II received the Kingdom of Provence. When Lothair II died in 869, his only son Hugh by his mistress Waldrada, was declared illegitimate, so his legal heir was his brother. If Louis II had inherited Lotharingia, Middle Francia would have been reunited, however, as Louis II was at that time campaigning against the Emirate of Bari, Lotharingia was partitioned between his uncles Charles the Bald and Louis the German by the Treaty of Meerssen in 870. Louis the German took Upper Burgundy, territory north of the Jura mountains, in 875 the last of Lothair Is children Louis II died without sons and named as his successor in Italy his cousin Carloman of Bavaria, eldest son of Louis the German. However, Pope John VIII, dealing with the constant threat of raiders from the Emirate of Sicily, after much confusion and conflict, Charles the Bald took Louis realm in Italy. Charles was crowned Emperor by Pope John VIII in 881 and thus he reunited the entire Carolingian Empire in 884, John M. Riddle, A History of the Middle Ages, 300–1500. Timothy Reuter, The New Cambridge Medieval History, Volume 3, c, engreen, Fred E. Pope John the Eighth and the Arabs
Middle Francia
–
Frankish Empire divided, Middle Francia shaded green
43.
Reims
–
Reims, a city in the Grand Est region of France, lies 129 km east-northeast of Paris. The 2013 census recorded 182,592 inhabitants in the city of Reims proper and its river, the Vesle, is a tributary of the Aisne. Founded by the Gauls, it became a city during the period of the Roman Empire. Reims played a prominent ceremonial role in French monarchical history as the site of the crowning of the kings of France. The Cathedral of Reims housed the Holy Ampulla containing the Saint Chrême and it was used for the anointing, the most important part of the coronation of French kings. Reims functions as a subprefecture of the department of Marne, in the region of Grand Est. Although Reims is by far the largest commune in both its region and department, Châlons-en-Champagne is the capital and prefecture of both. Before the Roman conquest of northern Gaul, Reims, founded circa 80 BC as *Durocorteron, at its height in Roman times the city had a population in the range of 30,000 -50,000 or perhaps up to 100,000. Christianity had become established in the city by 260, at which period Saint Sixtus of Reims founded the bishopric of Reims, for centuries the events at the crowning of Clovis I became a symbol used by the monarchy to claim the divine right to rule. Meetings of Pope Stephen II with Pepin the Short, and of Pope Leo III with Charlemagne, took place at Reims, Louis IV gave the city and countship of Reims to the archbishop Artaldus in 940. Louis VII gave the title of duke and peer to William of Champagne, archbishop from 1176 to 1202, by the 10th century Reims had become a centre of intellectual culture. Archbishop Adalberon, seconded by the monk Gerbert, founded schools which taught the liberal arts. Louis XI cruelly suppressed a revolt at Reims, caused in 1461 by the salt tax, during the French Wars of Religion the city sided with the Catholic League, but submitted to Henri IV after the battle of Ivry. In August 1909 Reims hosted the first international meet, the Grande Semaine dAviation de la Champagne. Major aviation personages such as Glenn Curtiss, Louis Blériot and Louis Paulhan participated, hostilities in World War I greatly damaged the city. German bombardment and a subsequent fire in 1914 did severe damage to the cathedral, from the end of World War I to the present day an international effort to restore the cathedral from the ruins has continued. The Palace of Tau, St Jacques Church and the Abbey of St Remi also were protected and restored, the collection of preserved buildings and Roman ruins remains monumentally impressive. During World War II the city suffered additional damage, but in Reims, at 2,41 on the morning of 7 May 1945, General Eisenhower and the Allies received the unconditional surrender of the German Wehrmacht
Reims
–
City hall (hôtel de ville)
Reims
–
A month after Blériot's crossing of the English Channel in a biplane, the aviation week in Reims (August 1909) caught special attention.
Reims
–
German surrender of 7 May 1945 in Reims. (Top) – German officers sign
unconditional surrender in Reims. (Bottom) – Allied force leaders at the signing.
Reims
–
Interior of St Jacques, 1907.
44.
Edict of Pistres
–
The Edict of Pistres or Edictum Pistense was a capitulary promulgated, as its name suggests, at Pistres on 25 July 864. It is often cited by historians as one of the examples of successful government action on the part of Charles the Bald. At the time Vikings more than annually ravaged not only the Frankish coastlands but, with the aid of Europes numerous navigable rivers, a king was most valued who could defeat them in the field and prevent their attacks in the future. The purpose and primary effect of the Edict was long thought to be the protection of the cities, Charles created a large force of cavalry upon which he could call as needed. He ordered all men who had horses or could afford horses to serve in the army as cavalrymen and this was one of the beginnings of the French chivalry so famous for the next seven centuries. The intention of Charles was to have a force with which to descend upon the raiders before they could up. To prevent the Vikings from even attaining a great booty, Charles also declared that fortified bridges should be built at all towns on rivers and this was to prevent the dreaded longships from sailing into the interior. Charles also prohibited all trade in weapons with the Vikings, in order to prevent them from establishing bases in Gaul, the penalty for selling horses to the Vikings was death. Since the prohibition on the sale of horses was new, it is probable that mounted Viking raids were on the rise, aside from its auspicious military reforms, the Edict had political and economic consequences. King Pepin II of Aquitaine, against whom Charles had been fighting for decades, had captured in 864 and was formally deposed at Pistres. Economically, besides the prohibitions on commerce with the enemy, Charles tightened his control of the mints, prior to this edict at least nine places in France had the right of minting but these were reduced to three. A. Boretius and V. Krause, edd, the Fortified Bridges of Charles the Bald. Journal of Medieval History,17,1, 1–12, war on the Rivers, Viking Numbers and Mobility on the Seine and Loire, 841–886. New York, The Century Company,1921
Edict of Pistres
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Denier (type Temple and cross) of
Charles the Bald, minted at
Reims between 840-864 (pre-Edict of Pistres).
45.
Koblenz
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Koblenz, also spelled Coblenz or Coblence, is a German city situated on both banks of the Rhine at its confluence with the Moselle, where the Deutsches Eck and its monument are situated. As Koblenz was one of the military posts established by Drusus about 8 BC, the name Koblenz originates from Latin confluentes, confluence or merging of rivers. Subsequently, it was Covelenz and Cobelenz, in the local dialect the name is Kowelenz. After Mainz and Ludwigshafen am Rhein, it is the third largest city in Rhineland-Palatinate, around 1000 BC, early fortifications were erected on the Festung Ehrenbreitstein hill on the opposite side of the Moselle. In 55 BC, Roman troops commanded by Julius Caesar reached the Rhine, about 9 BC, the Castellum apud Confluentes, was one of the military posts established by Drusus. Remains of a bridge built in 49 AD by the Romans are still visible. The Romans built two castles as protection for the bridge, one in 9 AD and another in the 2nd century, north of Koblenz was a temple of Mercury and Rosmerta, which remained in use up to the 5th century. With the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the city was conquered by the Franks, after the division of Charlemagnes empire, it was included in the lands of his son Louis the Pious. In 860 and 922, Koblenz was the scene of ecclesiastical synods, at the first synod, held in the Liebfrauenkirche, the reconciliation of Louis the German with his half-brother Charles the Bald took place. The city was sacked and destroyed by the Norsemen in 882, in 925, it became part of the eastern German Kingdom, later the Holy Roman Empire. In 1018, the city was given by the emperor Henry II to the archbishop-elector of Trier after receiving a charter and it remained in the possession of his successors until the end of the 18th century, having been their main residence since the 17th century. Emperor Conrad II was elected here in 1138, in 1198, the battle between Philip of Swabia and Otto IV took place nearby. In 1216, prince-bishop Theoderich von Wied donated part of the lands of the basilica and the hospital to the Teutonic Knights, the city was a member of the league of the Rhenish cities which rose in the 13th century. The Teutonic Knights founded the Bailiwick of Koblenz in or around 1231, Koblenz attained great prosperity and it continued to advance until the disaster of the Thirty Years War brought about a rapid decline. After Philip Christopher, elector of Trier, surrendered Ehrenbreitstein to the French, however, this force was soon expelled by the Swedes, who in their turn handed the city over again to the French. Imperial forces finally succeeded in retaking it by storm in 1636, the city was the residence of the archbishop-electors of Trier from 1690 to 1801. In 1786, the last archbishop-elector of Trier, Clemens Wenceslaus of Saxony, greatly assisted the extension and improvement of the city, the archbishop-elector approved of this because he was the uncle of the persecuted king of France, Louis XVI. Among the many royalist French refugees who flooded into the city were Louis XVIs two younger brothers, the Comte de Provence and the Comte dArtois
Koblenz
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Koblenz
Koblenz
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Josef Friedrich Matthes in 1923 in Koblenz during the short lived
Rhenish Republic
Koblenz
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Palace of the
prince electors of
Trier.
Koblenz
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Map of the Koblenz region.
46.
Meerssen
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Meerssen is a place and a municipality in southeastern Netherlands. The Treaty of Meerssen was signed in Meerssen in 870, the Treaty of Meerssen was an agreement of the division of the Carolingian Empire by the surviving sons of Louis I, Charles II of the West Franks and Louis the German of East Franks. Around the middle of the 10th century the allodium Meerssen was the property of queen Gerberga and she was the spouse of Louis IV of France. In 968 she donated all her property to the abbey of Saint Remigius in Reims, bunde Geulle Meerssen Rothem Ulestraten Railway station, Meerssen Meerssen is a founding member of the Douzelage, a town twinning association of 24 towns across the European Union. This active town twinning began in 1991 and there are events, such as a produce market from each of the other countries. Discussions regarding membership are also in hand with three further towns, notes Media related to Meerssen at Wikimedia Commons Official website
Meerssen
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Geulle Castle
Meerssen
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Dutch Topographic map of Meerssen, June 2015
47.
Attigny, Ardennes
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Attigny is a French commune in the Ardennes department in the Grand Est region of north-eastern France. The inhabitants of the commune are known as Attignatiens, the commune has been awarded one flower by the National Council of Towns and Villages in Bloom in the Competition of cities and villages in Bloom. Attigny is located some 16 km east by south-east of Rethel and 14 km west by south-west of Le Chesne, access to the commune is by the D987 road from Charbogne in the north passing through the village and continuing south to Coulommes-et-Marqueny. The D983 road comes from Givry in the west passing through the village, the D25 road comes from Saulces-Champenoises in the south-west merging with the D983 west of the village then continuing north-east to Rilly-sur-Aisne. There is also a railway with a station just north of the village, there is the hamlet of La Couture east of the village. The town has a residential area with the rest of the commune farmland. The Aisne river runs through the commune as it flows west to join the Seine at Conflans-Sainte-Honorine. The Canal des Ardennes is close to and parallel to the Aisne, the Ruisseau de Saint-Lambert flows into the Aisne from the north. In the High Middle Ages Attigny had some importance as it had had a residence since Clovis II who built a palace there in 647. It was also the Carolingian imperial residence and Charlemagne is said to have attended many Christmas, charles the Bald stayed many times at the palace. The first Council of Attigny was convened at Attigny in 765 by Pepin the Short which was an assembly of the Frankish nation that was continued as a synodal council). The Council made a decree, pro causa religionis et salute animarum which was signed by twenty-seven bishops and it involved a form of alliance in the event of death. Each of the bishops and abbots who signed this document committed, on the death of a member of the alliance, to sing 100 psalms and the priests to celebrate 100 Masses. Each of the bishops himself was to celebrate thirty masses and if he was prevented by illness or some other cause, similarly, the abbots who were not bishops should appoint a bishop to say these thirty masses. Finally the monks who were priests were to celebrate 100 Masses, in 785, Charlemagne held a council at Attigny where Saxon Duke Widukind, main enemy of Charlemagne during his wars against the Saxons, and Aboin received baptism from Charlemagne. He was deprived of his abbeys and imprisoned at Senlis, in the council of 875 Hincmar, Bishop of Laon appealed to the pope for his uncle, Hincmar, Archbishop of Reims. In 880 the Battle of Attigny was fought between a Carolingian coalition against an army of Boso - self-proclaimed King of Provence, the Carolingians abandoned the residence before 931 and the palace disappeared after the 10th century. Attigny was also a domain and remained so when it ceased to be a royal residence of the Carolingians
Attigny, Ardennes
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The
Canal des Ardennes at Attigny
Attigny, Ardennes
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Louis the Pious doing penance at Attigny in 822
Attigny, Ardennes
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Wayside Cross near the bridge
Attigny, Ardennes
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Reconciliation plaque
48.
Elder Welfs
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The Elder House of Welf was a Frankish noble dynasty of European rulers documented since the 9th century. Closely related to the Carolingian dynasty, it consisted of a Burgundian and it has not been definitively clarified, however, whether the two groups formed one dynasty or whether they shared the same name by coincidence only. According to a tradition, the ancestry of the Welfs can be traced back to the Skirian prince Edeko, a confidant of King Attila the Hun. Nevertheless, an early ancestor may have been the Frankish nobleman Ruthard, the origin of the name Welf has not been conclusively established. When Bundus came of age and was betrothed to a duchess of Guelders, the shocked young man waived both the duchess hand and the rule in Swabia. Retired, he spent the rest of his life at the Altdorf monastery, only on his deathbed he revealed the truth about his descendance and was called Herzog Wolf henceforth. Another popular version refers to the sons of one Count Isenbart of Altdorf, whose mother wanted them to be drowned. The older of the two groups was the Burgundian group and its oldest known member was Welf, the first Count of Altdorf. He was mentioned in 819 as father of Empress Judith, when Judith was surprised and confined by her stepsons, her brothers were shaven as monks but claimed and obtained permission to stand beside the throne. Judiths sister Hemma later married Judiths stepson Louis the German and became Queen of the Franks, Conrad had two sons, Conrad II, who succeeded him, and Hugh, from his church preferment, styled the Abbot. He is traditionally given a son, Welf I of the Swabian group. Conrad II succeeded his father in the dignity of Count of Paris and he twice attempted the conquest of Italy, and for a period of three years, governed in that kingdom. His son and successor, Conrad III, reigned upwards of fifty-six years, from 937 to 993, Otto I married his sister Adelaide, and she was the mother of Otto II, and the grandmother of Otto III. Conrad was succeeded by his son Rudolph III, surnamed the Lossy, when Rudolph III, died childless in 1032 without issue, the sovereignty of the kingdom of Burgundy devolved as a fief or legacy to his nephew Conrad of Swabia, who was elected emperor in 1024. With Rudolph, this became extinct in the male line. The last member of the Burgundian group was King Rudolph III of Burgundy, according to legend, Welf I was a son of Conrad, son of Welf, count of Altdorf, the ancestor of the Burgundian group. This relationship is considered probable because both Conrad and Welf I were counts of Linzgau and Alpgau, the relationship between Welf I and all later members of the Swabian group is, again, known only through legend. The Elder House of Welf became extinct when Welf, Duke of Carinthia, the property of the House of Welf was inherited by the elder branch of the House of Este that came to be known as the younger House of Welf, or House of Welf-Este
Elder Welfs
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Welf, Count of Altdorf (819)
Elder Welfs
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Empress Judith (* 795 † 843), daughter of Welf, wife of Emperor
Louis the Pious
Elder Welfs
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Queen Hemma (* 808 † 876), daughter of Welf, wife of King
Louis the German
Elder Welfs
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Empress Adelaide (* 931 † 999), daughter of
Rudolph II of Burgundy, wife of Emperor
Otto I
49.
Lothair II
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Lothair II was the king of Lotharingia from 855 until his death. He was the son of Emperor Lothair I and Ermengarde of Tours. He was married to Teutberga, daughter of Boso the Elder, for political reasons, his father made him marry Teutberga in 855. Upon his fathers death in 855, he received the Middle Francia territory west of the Rhine stretching from the North Sea to the Jura mountains and it became known as Regnum Lotharii and early in the 10th century as Lotharingia or Lorraine. His elder brother Louis II received northern Italy and the title of Emperor, and his younger brother Charles received the parts of his fathers domains, Burgundy. A synod of Frankish bishops met at Metz in 863 and confirmed this decision, but Teutberga fled to the court of Charles the Bald, and Pope Nicholas I voided the decision of the synod. Teutberga, however, either from inclination or compulsion, now expressed her desire for an annulment, and Lothair went to Italy to obtain the assent of the new pope, Adrian II. Placing a favourable interpretation upon the words of the pope, he had set out on the return journey and his son, Hugh, by Waldrada, was declared illegitimate, so his heir was his brother, Emperor Louis II of Italy. As Louis was at that time campaigning against the Emirate of Bari, his kingdom was divided by and they had two sons Hugh of Italy and Boso of Tuscany. Ermengarde Odo Hincmar, Opusculum de divortio Lotharii regis et Tetbergae reginae, in Cursus completus patrologiae, tome cxxv
Lothair II
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Seal of Lothair II
Lothair II
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Carloman, son
Lothair II
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Pepin, son
Lothair II
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Charles the Simple, sons
50.
Treaty of Mersen
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Charles of Provence suffered from epilepsy and died heirless in 863, and his kingdom was partitioned between his brothers. Lothair II, his heir, received only the western Lower Burgundian parts which were bordering his western Upper Burgundy, lothair II died in 869 without legitimate children so his heir was his brother, Emperor Louis II of Italy. As Louis was at that time campaigning against the Emirate of Bari, his uncles, Louis the German and Charles the Bald, however, at this time large parts of the Frisian coast were under Viking control and therefore only divided on paper. The borderline ran roughly along the rivers Meuse, Ourthe, Moselle, in the north, Louis received most of Lothairs Austrasia, with his eastern part including both Aachen and Metz, and most of Frisia. The arrangement did not endure more than ten years, upon the death of Louis the German in 876, Charles the Bald, by then King of Italy and Emperor, attacked eastern Lotharingia, but was rejected by Louis the Younger in the Battle of Andernach. In turn, after Charles the Bald had died and his successors struggled to consolidate their rule over West Francia, Charles grandsons were forced to cede the whole Lotharingia to him, sealed by the 880 Treaty of Ribemont, according to which it finally became part of East Francia. Carolingian dynasty Treaty of Verdun Treaty of Prüm Treaty of Ribemont Chisholm, Hugh, ed. Mersen, Treaty of
Treaty of Mersen
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Map of the Carolingian Empire showing lower levels of administrative division
Treaty of Mersen
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Division after the treaties of Verdun and Prüm (855)
Treaty of Mersen
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The Carolingian Empire 843-888
.svg)
