1.
King of the Franks
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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
2.
Coronation of the French monarch
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The accession of the King of France was legitimized by coronation ceremony performed with the Crown of Charlemagne at Notre-Dame de Reims. The most important part of the French coronation ceremony was not the coronation itself, the Carolingian king Pepin the Short was the first anointed monarch in Europe, which occurred in Soissons to legitimize the accession of the new dynasty. A second coronation of Pepin by Pope Stephen II took place at the Basilica of St Denis in 754, the first coronation performed by a Pope. Since this Roman glass vial containing the balm due to be mixed with chrism, was brought by the dove of the Holy Spirit. All succeeding Kings of France were anointed with this same oil—mixed with chrism prior to their coronation, French queens were crowned either together with their husband at Rheims or alone at Sainte-Chapelle or Abbey of St. Denis. The king is crowned by the Archbishop of Reims who is assisted by four bishops of his ecclesiastical province. The established order of six bishops is, The Archbishop of Reims anoints, the Bishop of Laon carries the holy ampulla. The Bishop of Langres carries the scepter, the Bishop of Beauvais carries and shows the coat of arms or royal mantle. The Bishop of Chalons carries the royal ring, the Bishop of Noyon carries the belt. To these are added the Abbot of the Abbey of Saint-Remi, guardian of the ampulla. Peers are cited for the first time in 1203 and 1226, however, their first recorded participation in the coronation is made on the occasion of the coronation of Philip V of France on 9 January 1317. These are the six aforementioned ecclesiastical peers and the six lay peers, in order of protocol, the six lay peers are, The Duke of Burgundy carries the royal crown, girds the kings sword, and gives him the order of chivalry. The Duke of Normandy carries the first square banner, the Duke of Aquitaine carries the second square banner. The Count of Toulouse carries the spurs, the Count of Flanders carries the royal sword. The Count of Champagne carries the banner of war, the spiritual peerages were perpetual, and were never extinguished during the existence of the Kingdom of France. But as early as 1204, the roster of the lay peerages had been incomplete, Normandy had been absorbed into the French crown, Toulouse in 1271, Champagne in 1284. Aquitaine was several times forfeited and restored, Burgundy became extinct in 1361 and again in 1477, hence, more often than not, princes of the royal blood and high-ranking members of the nobility acted as representatives of the ancient lay peerages. Spiritual peers were also represented if their see is vacant or they are unable to attend
3.
Noyon
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Noyon is a commune in the Oise department in northern France. It lies on the Oise Canal about 100 kilometers north of Paris, the Gallo-Romans founded the town as Noviomagus. As several other cities shared the name, it was distinguished by specifying the people living in, by the Middle Ages, the towns Latin name had mutated to Noviomum. The town was fortified, some sections of the Roman walls still remained in late antiquity. This may explain why, around the year 531, bishop Medardus moved his seat from Vermand in the Vermandois to Noyon, the bishop of Noyon was also bishop of Tournai from the seventh century until Tournai was raised to a separate diocese 1146. The cathedral at Noyon was where Charlemagne was crowned as co-King of the Franks in 768, as was the first Capetian king, in 859 the town was attacked by Vikings and the bishop, Immo, captured and killed. The town received a charter in 1108, which was later confirmed by Philip Augustus in 1223. In the twelfth century, the diocese of Noyon was raised to a duchy in the peerage of France. The bishops library is an example of half-timbered construction. The treaty brought the War of the League of Cambrai— one stage of the Italian Wars— to a close, near the end of the sixteenth century the town fell under Habsburg control, but Henry IV of France recaptured it. The Concordat of 1801 suppressed its bishopric, the town was occupied by the Germans during World War I and World War II and on both occasions suffered heavy damage. John Calvin was born in Noyon,1509, dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography. Official Web site Quid, Noyon About the cathedral, Picardy architecture Gargoyles
4.
Louis V of France
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Louis V, was the king of West Francia from 986 until his premature death a year later. He died childless and was the last monarch in the Carolingian line in West Francia. The eldest son of King Lothair and his wife Emma of Italy, daughter of Lothair II of Italy, Louis was born c. Louis V was the last Carolingian King of West Francia and reigned in Laon from 2 March,986 until his death, at the age of 20, in 21 May,987. Immediately after their wedding, Louis and Adelaide-Blanche were crowned King, Louis, without suspecting the artifice, yielded to the advice of his wife, and went with her. When they were in Aquitaine, she left her husband to join his family, however, despite being recorded by relative contemporary and later sources, the existence of this marriage was recently challenged by historian Carlrichard Brülh. Upon his fathers death on 2 March 986, the already-crowned Louis V became the undisputed King of the Franks, in addition, the young monarch inherited a battle between his fathers line of elected kings, and the Ottonian house of the Holy Roman Emperor Otto I. As defender of Rome, Otto I had the power to name the clergy in Carolingian territory, the escape of the Archbishop was perceived by Louis V as treason, he turned violently against Adalberon and threatened him with a siege of Reims. The matter was settled in a trial court at Compiègne. Before all these events were resolved, Louis V died on 21 May 987 from a fall while hunting in the Forest of Halatte near the town of Senlis. He was buried in the Abbey of Saint-Corneille in Compiègne and he left no legitimate heirs, so his uncle Charles, Duke of Lower Lorraine, was nominated as the hereditary successor to the throne. Capet was elected to the Frankish throne and Adalberon crowned him, thus the rule of the Carolingian dynasty ended and the Capetian era had begun. Gwatkin, H. M. Whitney, J. P. et al, the Cambridge Medieval History, Volume III. Frantz Funck-Brentano, National History of France, ferdinand Lot, Les derniers Carolingiens, Lothaire, Louis V, Charles de Lorraine, Paris 1891. Walther Kienast, Deutschland und Frankreich in der Kaiserzeit, vol
5.
Robert II of France
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Robert II, called the Pious or the Wise, was King of the Franks from 996 until his death. The second reigning member of the House of Capet, he was born in Orléans to Hugh Capet, immediately after his own coronation, Roberts father Hugh began to push for the coronation of Robert. Lewis has observed, in tracing the phenomenon in this line of kings who lacked dynastic legitimacy, ralph Glaber, however, attributes Hughs request to his old age and inability to control the nobility. Robert was eventually crowned on 25 December 987, Robert had begun to take on active royal duties with his father in the early 990s. In 991, he helped his father prevent the French bishops from trekking to Mousson in the Kingdom of Germany for a synod called by Pope John XV and she was the widow of Arnulf II of Flanders, with whom she had two children. Robert divorced her within a year of his fathers death in 996 and he tried instead to marry Bertha, daughter of Conrad of Burgundy, around the time of his fathers death. She was a widow of Odo I of Blois, but was also Roberts cousin, for reasons of consanguinity, Pope Gregory V refused to sanction the marriage, and Robert was excommunicated. After long negotiations with Gregorys successor, Sylvester II, the marriage was annulled, finally, in 1001, Robert entered into his final and longest-lasting marriage to Constance of Arles, the daughter of William I of Provence. Her southern customs and entourage were regarded with suspicion at court, after his companion Hugh of Beauvais urged the king to repudiate her as well, knights of her kinsman Fulk III, Count of Anjou had Beauvais murdered. The king and Bertha then went to Rome to ask Pope Sergius IV for an annulment so they could remarry, after this was refused, he went back to Constance and fathered several children by her. Her ambition alienated the chroniclers of her day, who blamed her for several of the kings decisions, Constance and Robert remained married until his death in 1031. Robert was a devout Catholic, hence his sobriquet the Pious and he was musically inclined, being a composer, chorister, and poet, and made his palace a place of religious seclusion where he conducted the matins and vespers in his royal robes. Roberts reputation for piety also resulted from his lack of toleration for heretics and he is credited with advocating forced conversions of local Jewry. He supported riots against the Jews of Orléans who were accused of conspiring to destroy the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, furthermore, Robert reinstated the Roman imperial custom of burning heretics at the stake. In 1003, his invasion of the Duchy of Burgundy was thwarted, the pious Robert made few friends and many enemies, including his own sons, Hugh, Henry, and Robert. They turned against their father in a war over power. Hugh died in revolt in 1025, in a conflict with Henry and the younger Robert, King Roberts army was defeated, and he retreated to Beaugency outside Paris, his capital. He died in the middle of the war with his sons on 20 July 1031 at Melun and he was interred with Constance in Saint Denis Basilica and succeeded by his son Henry, in both France and Burgundy
6.
Saint Denis Basilica
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The Basilica of Saint Denis is a large medieval abbey church in the city of Saint-Denis, now a northern suburb of Paris. The building is of unique importance historically and architecturally as its choir, completed in 1144, the site originated as a Gallo-Roman cemetery in late Roman times. The archeological remains still lie beneath the cathedral, the people buried there seem to have had a faith that was a mix of Christian and pre-Christian beliefs, around 475 St. Genevieve purchased some land and built Saint-Denys de la Chapelle. In 636 on the orders of Dagobert I the relics of Saint Denis, the relics of St-Denis, which had been transferred to the parish church of the town in 1795, were brought back again to the abbey in 1819. Saint-Denis soon became the church of a growing monastic complex. In the 12th century the Abbot Suger rebuilt portions of the church using innovative structural. In doing so, he is said to have created the first truly Gothic building, the abbey church became a cathedral in 1966 and is the seat of the Bishop of Saint-Denis, Pascal Michel Ghislain Delannoy. Although known as the Basilica of St Denis, the cathedral has not been granted the title of Minor Basilica by the Vatican, Saint Denis, a patron saint of France, became the first bishop of Paris. A martyrium was erected on the site of his grave, which became a place of pilgrimage during the fifth and sixth centuries. Dagobert, the king of the Franks, refounded the church as the Abbey of Saint Denis, Dagobert also commissioned a new shrine to house the saints remains, which was created by his chief councillor, Eligius, a goldsmith by training. He composed a crest and a magnificent frontal and surrounded the throne of the altar with golden axes in a circle and he placed golden apples there, round and jeweled. He made a pulpit and a gate of silver and a roof for the throne of the altar on silver axes and he made a covering in the place before the tomb and fabricated an outside altar at the feet of the holy martyr. So much industry did he lavish there, at the kings request, the Basilica of St Denis ranks as an architectural landmark—as the first major structure of which a substantial part was designed and built in the Gothic style. Both stylistically and structurally, it heralded the change from Romanesque architecture to Gothic architecture, before the term Gothic came into common use, it was known as the French Style. As it now stands, the church is a cruciform building of basilica form. It has an aisle on the northern side formed of a row of chapels. The west front has three portals, a window and one tower, on the southern side. The eastern end, which is built over a crypt, is apsidal, surrounded by an ambulatory, the basilica retains stained glass of many periods, including exceptional modern glass, and a set of twelve misericords
7.
Adelaide of Aquitaine
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Adbelahide or Adele or Adelaide of Aquitaine, was queen consort of France by marriage to Hugh Capet. Adelaide was the daughter of William III, Duke of Aquitaine and Adele of Normandy and her father used her as security for a truce with Hugh Capet, whom she married in 969. In 987, after the death of Louis V, the last Carolingian king of France and they were proclaimed at Senlis and blessed at Noyon. They were the founders of the Capetian dynasty of France, adeleide and Hughs children were, Hedwig, Countess of Mons, wife of Reginar IV, Count of Mons Robert II, the future king of France. Crowned co-king 987 in order to consolidate the new dynasty Gisèle, Countess of Ponthieu, wife of Hugh I, Count of Ponthieu A number of other daughters are less reliably attested
8.
Dynasty
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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
9.
House of Capet
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The House of Capet or the Direct Capetians, also called the House of France, or simply the Capets, ruled the Kingdom of France from 987 to 1328. It was the most senior line of the Capetian dynasty – itself a derivative dynasty from the Robertians, historians in the 19th century came to apply the name Capetian to both the ruling house of France and to the wider-spread male-line descendants of Hugh Capet. It was not a contemporary practice and they were sometimes called the third race of kings, the Merovingians being the first, and the Carolingians being the second. The name is derived from the nickname of Hugh, the first Capetian King, the direct succession of French kings, father to son, from 987 to 1316, of thirteen generations in almost 330 years, was unparallelled in recorded history. The direct line of the House of Capet came to an end in 1328, with the death of Charles IV, the throne passed to the House of Valois, descended from a younger brother of Philip IV. He then proceeded to make it hereditary in his family, by securing the election and coronation of his son, Robert II, the throne thus passed securely to Robert on his fathers death, who followed the same custom – as did many of his early successors. Louis VIII – the eldest son and heir of Philip Augustus – married Blanche of Castile, a granddaughter of Aliénor of Aquitaine and Henry II of England. In her name, he claimed the crown of England, invading at the invitation of the English Barons and these lands were added to the French crown, further empowering the Capetian family. Louis IX – Saint Louis – succeeded Louis VIII as a child, unable to rule for several years, the government of the realm was undertaken by his mother, at the death of Louis IX, France under the Capetians stood as the pre-eminent power in Western Europe. Unfortunately for the Capetians, the proved a failure. Philip IV had married Jeanne, the heiress of Navarre and Champagne, by this marriage, he added these domains to the French crown. More importantly to French history, he summoned the first Estates General – in 1302 – and in 1295 established the so-called Auld Alliance with the Scots and it was Philip IV who presided over the beginning of his Houses end. The first quarter of the century saw each of Philips sons reign in rapid succession, Louis X, Philip V, accordingly, Louis – unwilling to release his wife and return to their marriage – needed to remarry. He arranged a marriage with his cousin, Clementia of Hungary and this proved the case, but the boy – King John I, known as the Posthumous – died after only 5 days, leaving a succession crisis. Eventually, it was decided based on several reasons that Joan was ineligible to inherit the throne, which passed to the Count of Poitiers. Marie died in 1324, giving birth to a stillborn son, the last of the direct Capetians were the daughters of Philip IVs three sons, and Philip IVs daughter, Isabella. Since they were female, they could not transmit their Capetian status to their descendants, the wife of Edward II of England, Isabella overthrew her husband in favour of her son and her co-hort, only for Edward III to execute Mortimer and have Isabella removed from power. Joan, the daughter of Louis X, succeeded on the death of Charles IV to the throne of Navarre, she now being – questions of paternity aside – the unquestioned heiress
10.
Hedwige of Saxony
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Hedwige of Saxony, a member of the Ottonian dynasty, was Duchess consort of the Franks by her marriage to the Robertian duke Hugh the Great, a descendant of Emperor Charlemagne. Upon her husbands death in 956, she acted as a regent during the minority of their son Hugh Capet, the founder of the Elder House of Capet. After her brother Otto I came to power in 936, an alliance and marriage was arranged with the West Frankish duke Hugh the Great and they married probably in May 937. With Hugh, Hedwig had the children, Beatrice married Frederick I. Hugh Capet, who was crowned King of France in 987, emma of Paris, who married Duke Richard I of Normandy in 960. Otto, Duke of Burgundy Henry I, Duke of Burgundy When Hedwigs husband died in 956, although Hugh inherited his fathers estates, he did not rule independently from the beginning. Along with her brother, Archbishop Bruno, Hedwig acted as Hughs regent, Bruno also held guardianship over his nephew King Lothair of France, son of his sister Gerberga, and temporarily raised to one of the most powerful nobles in West Francia. Hedwig backed her brother in his conflict with Count Reginar III of Hainaut, Hedwig is last mentioned in 958 by the West Frankish chronicler Flodoard of Reims and may have died soonafter, a 965 entry by Sigebert of Gembloux seems doubtful. W. Glocker, Die Verwandten der Ottonen und ihre Bedeutung in der Politik, studien zur Familienpolitik und zur Genealogie des sächsischen Kaiserhauses. J. Michelet, History of France, Vol. I, P. Riché, The Carolingians, A Family Who Forged Europe, trans. Medieval Lands Project Hadwig von Sachsen
11.
List of French monarchs
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The monarchs of the Kingdom of France and its predecessors ruled from the establishment of the Kingdom of the Franks in 486 till the fall of the Second French Empire in 1870. Sometimes included as kings of France are the kings of the Franks of the Merovingian dynasty, which ruled from 486 until 751, and of the Carolingians, who ruled until 987. The Capetian dynasty, the descendants of Hugh Capet, included the first rulers to adopt the title of king of France for the first time with Philip II. The Capetians ruled continuously from 987 to 1792 and again from 1814 to 1848, the branches of the dynasty which ruled after 1328, however, are generally given the specific branch names of Valois and Bourbon. During the brief period when the French Constitution of 1791 was in effect and after the July Revolution in 1830 and it was a constitutional innovation known as popular monarchy which linked the monarchs title to the French people rather than to the possession of the territory of France. With the House of Bonaparte Emperors of the French ruled in 19th century France and it was used on coins up to the eighteenth century. During the brief period when the French Constitution of 1791 was in effect and after the July Revolution in 1830 and it was a constitutional innovation known as popular monarchy which linked the monarchs title to the French people rather than to the possession of the territory of France. They used the title Emperor of the French and this article lists all rulers to have held the title King of the Franks, King of France, King of the French or Emperor of the French. For other Frankish monarchs, see List of Frankish kings, in addition to the monarchs listed below, the Kings of England and Great Britain from 1340–60, 1369-1420, and 1422–1801 also claimed the title of King of France. For a short time, this had some basis in fact – under the terms of the 1420 Treaty of Troyes, Charles VI had recognized his son-in-law Henry V of England as regent and heir. Henry V predeceased Charles VI and so Henry Vs son, Henry VI, most of Northern France was under English control until 1435, but by 1453, the English had been expelled from all of France save Calais, and Calais itself fell in 1558. Nevertheless, English and then British monarchs continued to claim the title for themselves until the creation of the United Kingdom in 1801. The Merovingians were a Salian Frankish dynasty that ruled the Franks for nearly 300 years in a known as Francia in Latin. Their territory largely corresponded to ancient Gaul as well as the Roman provinces of Raetia, Germania Superior, the Carolingian dynasty was a Frankish noble family with origins in the Arnulfing and Pippinid clans of the 7th century AD. In 751, a Carolingian, Pepin the Younger, dethroned the Merovingians and with the consent of the Papacy, the Robertians were Frankish noblemen owing fealty to the Carolingians, and ancestors of the subsequent Capetian dynasty. Odo, Count of Paris, was chosen by the western Franks to be their king following the removal of emperor Charles the Fat, the Bosonids were a noble family descended from Boso the Elder, their member, Rudolph, was elected King of the Franks in 923. After the death of Louis V, the son of Hugh the Great and grandson of Robert I, the Capetian Dynasty, the male-line descendants of Hugh Capet, ruled France continuously from 987 to 1792 and again from 1814 to 1848. They were direct descendants of the Robertian kings, the cadet branches of the dynasty which ruled after 1328, however, are generally given the specific branch names of Valois and Bourbon
12.
Carolingian
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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
13.
Charlemagne
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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
14.
King of Germany
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This is a list of monarchs who ruled over the German territories of central Europe from the division of the Frankish Empire in 843, until the collapse of the German Empire in 1918. The Kingdom of Germany started out as the section of the Frankish kingdom. The rulers of the area thus called themselves rex Francorum, king of the Franks. The kings reacted by using the title rex Romanorum, King of the Romans. This title remained until the end of the Empire in 1806, the Kingdom of Germany was never entirely hereditary, rather, ancestry was only one of the factors that determined the succession of kings. The king was elected by the leading nobility in the realm. Gradually the election became the privilege of a group of princes called electors, in the Middle Ages, the king did not assume the title Emperor until crowned by the pope. Moving to Italy, he was usually first crowned with the Iron Crown of Lombardy, after which he assumed the title of rex Italiae, after this he would ride on to Rome and be crowned emperor by the pope. See Coronation of the Holy Roman Emperor for more details, maximilian I was the first king to bear the title of Elected Emperor. After the failure in 1508 of his attempt to march to Rome and be crowned by the pope and his successor Charles V also assumed that title after his coronation in 1520 until he was crowned emperor by the pope in 1530. From Ferdinand I onwards, all emperors were Elected Emperor, although they were referred to as emperors. At the same time, chosen successors of the held the title of king of the Romans. See King of the Romans for more details, rival kings, anti-kings, and junior co-regents are italicized. The title King of the Romans, used under the Holy Roman Empire, is considered equivalent to King of Germany, a king was chosen by the German electors and would then proceed to Rome to be crowned emperor by the pope
15.
Henry the Fowler
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Henry the Fowler was the duke of Saxony from 912 and the elected king of East Francia from 919 until his death in 936. An avid hunter, he obtained the epithet the Fowler because he was fixing his birding nets when messengers arrived to inform him that he was to be king. By his death in July 936 Henry had prevented collapse of royal power, as had happened in West Francia, Henry died on July 2,936 in his royal palace in Memleben, one of his favourite places. He was buried at Quedlinburg Abbey, established by his wife Matilda in his honor, in 906 he married Hatheburg von Merseburg, daughter of the Saxon count Erwin. She had previously been a nun, the marriage was annulled in 909 because her vows as a nun were deemed by the church to remain valid. She had already given birth to Henrys son Thankmar, the annulment placed a question mark over Thankmars legitimacy. Later that year he married Matilda, daughter of Dietrich of Ringelheim, Matilda bore him three sons, one called Otto, and two daughters, Hedwig and Gerberga, and founded many religious institutions, including the Quedlinburg Abbey where Henry is buried. Henry became Duke of Saxony after his fathers death in 912, an able ruler, he continued to strengthen the position of his duchy within the weakening kingdom of East Francia, and was frequently in conflict with his neighbors to the South in Duchy of Franconia. On December 23,918 Conrad I, king of East Francia and Franconian duke, although Henry had rebelled against Conrad I between 912 and 915 over the lands in Thuringia, Conrad recommended Henry as his successor. Kingship now changed from Franks to Saxons, who had suffered greatly during the conquests of Charlemagne and were proud of their identity, Henry, as Saxon, was the first non-Frank on the throne. Conrads choice was conveyed by his brother, duke Eberhard III of Franconia at the Imperial Diet of Fritzlar in 919, the assembled Franconian and Saxon nobles elected Henry to be king with other regional dukes not participating in election. Henry, who was elected to kingship by only Saxons and Franconians at Fritzlar, had to subdue other dukes, Duke Arnulf of Bavaria did not submit until Henry defeated him in two campaigns in 921. Henry besieged his residence at Ratisbon and forced Arnulf into submission, Arnulf had crowned himself as king of Bavaria in 919, but in 921 renounced crown and submitted to Henry while maintaining large autonomy and the right to mint his own coins. Duke Burchard II of Swabia soon swore fealty to the new King, Henry was too weak to impose absolutist rule, and regarded his kingdom as a confederation of stem duchies rather than as a feudal monarchy and saw himself as primus inter pares. In 920 king of West Francia Charles the Simple invaded and marched as far as Pfeddersheim near Worms, on November 7,921, Henry and Charles met and concluded a treaty of friendship. Henry then saw an opportunity to wrest Lotharingia when a war over royal succession began in West Francia after coronation of king Robert I. In 923 Henry crossed the Rhine twice, capturing a part of the duchy. The eastern part of Lotharingia was left in Henrys possession until October 924, in 925 duke Gilbert of Lotharingia rebelled
16.
Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor
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Otto I, traditionally known as Otto I the Great, was German king from 936 and emperor of the Holy Roman Empire from 962 until his death in 973. He was the oldest son of Henry I the Fowler and Matilda, Otto inherited the Duchy of Saxony and the kingship of the Germans upon his fathers death in 936. He continued his fathers work of unifying all German tribes into a single kingdom, through strategic marriages and personal appointments, Otto installed members of his family in the kingdoms most important duchies. This reduced the various dukes, who had previously been co-equals with the king, Otto transformed the Roman Catholic Church in Germany to strengthen royal authority and subjected its clergy to his personal control. After putting down a brief civil war among the duchies, Otto defeated the Magyars at the Battle of Lechfeld in 955. The victory against the pagan Magyars earned Otto a reputation as a savior of Christendom, by 961, Otto had conquered the Kingdom of Italy and extended his realms borders to the north, east, and south. The patronage of Otto and his immediate successors facilitated a so-called Ottonian Renaissance of arts, following the example of Charlemagnes coronation as Emperor of the Romans in 800, Otto was crowned Holy Roman Emperor in 962 by Pope John XII in Rome. Ottos later years were marked by conflicts with the papacy and struggles to stabilize his rule over Italy, reigning from Rome, Otto sought to improve relations with the Byzantine Empire, which opposed his claim to emperorship and his realms further expansion to the south. To resolve this conflict, the Byzantine princess Theophanu married his son Otto II in April 972, Otto finally returned to Germany in August 972 and died at Memleben in May 973. Otto II succeeded him as Holy Roman Emperor, Otto was born on 23 November 912, the oldest son of the Duke of Saxony, Henry the Fowler and his second wife Matilda, the daughter of Dietrich of Ringelheim, a Saxon count in Westphalia. Otto had four siblings, Hedwig, Gerberga, Henry. On 23 December 918, Conrad I, King of East Francia and Duke of Franconia, although Conrad and Henry had been at odds with one another since 912, Henry had not openly opposed the king since 915. Furthermore, Conrads repeated battles with German dukes, most recently with Arnulf, Duke of Bavaria, after several months of hesitation, Eberhard and the other Frankish and Saxon nobles elected Henry as king at the Imperial Diet of Fritzlar in May 919. For the first time, a Saxon instead of a Frank reigned over the kingdom, Burchard II of Swabia soon swore fealty to the new king, but Arnulf of Bavaria did not recognize Henrys position. According to the Annales Iuvavenses, Arnulf was elected king by the Bavarians in opposition to Henry, in 921, Henry besieged Arnulfs residence at Ratisbon and forced him into submission. Arnulf had to accept Henrys sovereignty, Bavaria retained some autonomy, Otto first gained experience as a military commander when the German kingdom fought against Slavic tribes on its eastern border. While campaigning against the Slavs in 929, Ottos illegitimate son William, with Henrys dominion over the entire kingdom secured by 929, the king probably began to prepare his succession over the kingdom. No written evidence for his arrangements is extant, but during this time Otto is first called king in a document of the Abbey of Reichenau, while Henry consolidated power within Germany, he also prepared for an alliance with Anglo-Saxon England by finding a bride for Otto
17.
Henry I, Duke of Bavaria
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Henry I, a member of the German royal Ottonian dynasty, was Duke of Bavaria from 948 until his death. He was the son of the German king Henry the Fowler. After the death of his father, the title passed to Henrys elder brother Otto I. Moreover, the kings son from his first marriage, Thankmar. While Thankmar was killed by his own henchmen in 938, Henry, in custody, in 939 Henrys forces were defeated at Birten and he himself was forced to leave Germany. Both his allies Duke Eberhard and Duke Gilbert were killed at the Battle of Andernach on 2 October, Henry fled, first to his sister Gerberga, widow of Duke Gilbert of Lorraine, later to the court of King Louis IV of France. When Ottos troops invaded Lorraine and marched against France, Henry returned and submitted to his elder brother and he and Otto were reconciled in 940, and Henry was awarded the Lotharingian duchy. However, he could not assert his authority in Lorraine against the local nobility tending to France, over the years, the relationship between the brothers improved. After the death of the Luitpolding duke Berthold of Bavaria, Otto, at the instigation of his mother Matilda, Henry had ties to Bavaria through his marriage with Judith, a daughter of late Duke Arnulf. Though he met resistance by local nobles, he first defended. In 951 he accompanied King Otto on his Italian campaign against King Berengar II and acted as matchmaker for his brother, in turn he received the newly established March of Verona with Friuli, Aquileia, and Istria at the 952 Imperial Diet in Augsburg. In 953–954 Henry, temporarily deserted by his Bavarian subjects, brutally suppressed a revolt by Ottos son, Duke Liudolf of Swabia and Duke Conrad of Lorraine. While his brother gained a victory over the Hungarians in the Battle of Lechfeld, Henry fell ill in 955. His son and heir was Henry II, Duke of Bavaria and he was laid to rest in the abbey of Niedermünster in Regensburg, Bavaria, where his wife Judith is also buried
18.
Bruno the Great
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Bruno the Great or Bruno I, was Archbishop of Cologne, from 953 until his death and Duke of Lotharingia from 954. He was the brother of Otto I, king of Germany, Bruno was the youngest son of Henry the Fowler and his second wife Matilda. While he was still a child, it was decided that he should pursue an ecclesiastical career, in the early 940s he was educated in Trier by the leading scholar, Israel the Grammarian. In 951, Otto appointed Bruno as his archchaplain, in 953, the Archbishopric of Cologne fell vacant just when Conrad the Red, Duke of Lotharingia and Ottos son-in-law, had joined a rebellion against Otto. By appointing Bruno to the vacant position, Otto provided himself with an ally against Conrad in Lotharingia just when he needed one most. By the next year, the rebellion had collapsed, Otto deposed Conrad as Duke of Lotharingia and appointed Bruno in his place. Bruno was to be almost the last duke of the whole of Lotharingia, both margraves were recognised as dukes after Brunos death. The two duchies would only be reunited between 1033 and 1044 under Gothelo I, Duke of Lotharingia. The combined positions of archbishop and duke — or archduke, as his biographer Ruotger called him — made Bruno the most powerful man after Otto not just in Germany, from 962 onwards, Bruno was also appointed as Ottos regent in Germany while Otto was absent in Italy. Bruno died in Reims in 965 and was buried in the monastery of St Pantaleon, Brunos position in Cologne was little short of royal. Even though Brunos successors as archbishops would not be dukes as well, Brunos court in Cologne was the main intellectual and artistic centre of its period in Germany — far more so than that of his brother Otto, which was far more peripatetic and militarily oriented. Among others, Ratherius and Liutprand of Cremona spent time at the court, many of the next generation of German ecclesiastical leaders were educated at Brunos court, like Everaclus of Liège, Gerard bishop of Toul, Wikfrid, bishop of Verdun, and Theoderic, bishop of Metz. Brunos effect on medieval Cologne was immense, apart from building a palace, he extended the cathedral to the point where it was regarded as rivalling St Peters in Rome. Bruno translated St. Patroclus relics from Troyes and buried them in 964 at St Patrokli Dom in Soest, santiebeati. it Literature by and about Brun in the German National Library catalogue Bruno I of Cologne in the Ecumenical Lexicon of Saints
19.
Gerberga of Saxony
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Gerberga of Saxony was Regent of France during the minority of her son in 954–959. She was a member of the Ottonian dynasty and a descendant of Charlemagne and her first husband was Gilbert, Duke of Lorraine. Her second husband was Louis IV of France, contemporary sources describe her as a highly educated, intelligent and forceful political player. She was the oldest daughter of Henry the Fowler, King of Germany and her older brother was Otto I of Germany. In 928, Gerberga married her first husband, Gilbert, Duke of Lorraine and they had four children, Alberade of Lorraine b. about 929. Married Renaud, a Viking chieftain who became the Count of Roucy Henry, giselbert was defeated by Otto I in 939 at the Battle of Andernach and, while trying to escape, drowned in the Rhine. When Gilbert died, Gerberga was about 26 years old and she married secondly Louis IV of France in 939. At this time, his son and heir with Gerberga, Lothair of France, was only thirteen, Gerberga took action to ensure that Lothar could succeed his father. She reached an agreement with her brother-in-law Hugh the Great, who had been an adversary to Lothairs father, after the death of Hugh the Great in 956, Gerberga and her sister Hadwig were the heads of the two most powerful dynasties in West Francia. Along with their brother, Bruno, who was archbishop of Cologne and duke of Lotharingia, Gerberga and Hadwig ruled the kingdom, until Lothair came of age. In 959, after Lothair had come of age, Gerberga became abbess of the Benedictine monastery of Notre Dame in Soissons, in 961 she was involved in choosing the new archbishop of Reims, Odalric. In 965 she was present at the court in Cologne, when her son Lothair married Emma of Italy. There is some debate about when Gerberga died and she is last documented in May 968. Since necrology records indicate that she died on 5 May, her date of death is given as 968 or 969. She is buried in the Abbey of Saint-Remi in Reims, Champagne, bouchard, Constance Brittain, Those of My Blood, Constructing Noble Families in Medieval Francia. Studien zur Familienpolitik und zur Genealogie des sächsischen Kaiserhauses, D. Schwennicke, Europäische Stammtafeln Neue Folge Band I.1 A. 256–257, Gerberga von Sachsen
20.
Louis IV of France
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Louis IV, called dOutremer or Transmarinus, reigned as king of West Francia from 936 to 954. A member of the Carolingian dynasty, he was the son of king Charles the Simple and Eadgifu of Wessex. His reign is known thanks to the Annals of Flodoard. The only child of king Charles the Simple and his second wife Eadgifu of Wessex, from his fathers first marriage with Frederuna he had six half-sisters and was the only male heir to the throne. Young Louis was raised in the Anglo-Saxon court until his teens, during this time he enjoyed legendary stories about Edmund the Martyr, King of East Anglia, an ancestor of his maternal family who had heroically fought against the Vikings. Once he took the throne, Louis wanted to free himself from the tutelage of Hugh the Great, in 945, following the death of William I Longsword, Duke of Normandy, Louis tried to conquer his lands, but was kidnapped by the men of Hugh the Great. The Synod of Ingelheim in 948 allowed the excommunication of Hugh the Great, from 950 Louis gradually imposed his rule in the northeast of the kingdom, building many alliances and under the protection of the Ottonian kingdom of East Francia. In spring of 936 Hugh the Great sent an embassy to Wessex inviting Louis to come, after a few hours of sea journey, Louis received the homage of Hugh and some Frankish nobles on the beach of Boulogne, who kissed his hands. Chronicler Richerus gives us an anecdote about this first encounter, Then the Duke hastily brought a horse decorated with the royal insignia. By the time he wanted to put the King in the saddle, the horse ran in all directions, but Louis, a young man, jumped suddenly, without stirrups. This pleased all those presented and caused recognition from all, Louis and his court then began the trip to Laon where the coronation ceremony was to take place. The chronicler Flodoard records the events as follows, During the ritual, almost nothing is known about the coronation ceremony of Louis IV. It seems certain that the King would wear the crown and sceptre of his predecessor and he must have promised before the bishops of France to respect the privileges of the Church. Maybe he received the ring, the sword and the stick of Saint Remigius, historians have wondered why the powerful Hugh the Great called the young Carolingian prince to throne instead of taking it himself, as his father had done fifteen years earlier. First, he had rivals, especially Hugh, Duke of Burgundy and Herbert II. But above all, it seems that he was shocked by the death of his father. Richerus explains that Hugh the Great remembered his father who had died for his pretentions and it was then that the Gauls, anxious to appear free to elect their King, assembled under the leadership of Hugh to deliberate about the choice of a new King. According to Richerus, Hugh the Great delivered the following speech, if my father and us, we hurt your Majesty by some of our actions, we must use all our efforts to erase the trace
21.
Lothair of France
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Lothair, sometimes called Lothair III or Lothair IV, was the Carolingian king of West Francia from 10 September 954 until his death in 986. Lothair was born in Laon near the end of 941, as the eldest son of king Louis IV and Gerberga of Saxony. He succeeded his father on 10 September 954 at the age of thirteen and was crowned at the Abbey of Saint-Remi by Artald of Reims, Archbishop of Reims on 12 November 954. Queen Gerberga made an arrangement with her brother-in-law Hugh the Great, Duke of the Franks and Count of Paris, in exchange for supporting Lothairs rule Hugh was given rule over Duchy of Aquitaine and much of Kingdom of Burgundy as more or less a regent. Lothair inherited a kingdom, where the great magnates took lands, rights. Magnates like Hugh the Great and Herbert II, Count of Vermandois were always a veiled threat, in 955 Lothair and Hugh the Great together took Poitiers by siege. With Hugh the Greats death in 956 Lothair, only fifteen, came under the guardianship of his maternal uncle Bruno, archbishop of Cologne, with Brunos advice, Lothair mediated between Hughs sons - Hugh Capet and Otto, Duke of Burgundy. The King gave Paris and the title of dux francorum to Hugh Capet, the guardianship of Archbishop Bruno of Cologne lasted until 965 and oriented Lothair towards policy of submission towards the East Francia, which was evolving into German Holy Roman Empire. Despite his youth, Lothair wanted to rule alone and reinforced his authority over his vassals and this desire of political independence led to a deterioration in relations between the King and his maternal relatives and a struggle with the new Holy Roman Empire. Despite this, Lothair wanted to maintain ties with Emperor Otto I by marrying Princess Emma of Italy in early 966, in 962 Baldwin III, Count of Flanders, son, co-ruler, and heir of Arnulf I, Count of Flanders died and Arnulf bequeathed Flanders to Lothair. On Arnulfs death in 965, Lothair invaded Flanders and took many cities and he temporarily remained in control of Arras and Douai. Lothair attempted to increase his influence in the Lotharingia, once held by his family, a great battle, which remained undecided, took place in Mons. Although Lothair secretly encouraged this war, he did not intervene directly to help his brother, Charles took advantage of the situation and established himself in Lotharingia. In 977, Charles accused Queen Emma of adultery with Bishop Adalberon of Laon, the Synod of Sainte-Macre, led by Archbishop Adalberon of Reims, took place in Fismes to discuss the matter. Due to a lack of evidence, both the Queen and Bishop were absolved, but Charles, who maintained the rumors, was expelled from the kingdom by Lothair. The House of Ardennes and the Lotharingian party, who were favorable to an agreement with Otto II, rewarding Charles, who had questioned the honor of the wife of the King of the Franks, was a way to offend the King himself. In August 978 Lothair mounted an expedition into Lorraine accompanied by Hugh Capet and upon their crossing the Meuse river took Aachen, Lothair then sacked the imperial Palace of Aachen for three days, and reversed the direction of the bronze eagle of Charlemagne to face east instead of west. In retaliation Otto II, accompanied by Charles, invaded West Francia in October 978 and ravaged Reims, Soissons and Laon
22.
Charles, Duke of Lower Lorraine
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Charles was the Duke of Lower Lorraine from 977 until his death. Born at Reims in the summer of 953, Charles was the son of Louis IV of France and Gerberga of Saxony and he was a sixth generation descendant of Charlemagne. When his father was captured by the Normans and held, both his sons were demanded as ransom for his release, queen Gerberga would only send Charles, who was then handed over and his father was released into the custody of Hugh Capet. In or before 976, he accused Lothairs wife, Emma, daughter of Lothair II of Italy, of infidelity with Adalberon, Bishop of Laon. The council of Sainte-Macre at Fismes exonerated the queen and the bishop, Otto promised to crown Charles as soon as Lothair was out of the way and Charles paid him homage, receiving back Lower Lorraine. In August 978, Lothair invaded Germany and captured the capital of Aachen. In October, Otto and Charles in turn invaded France, devastating the land around Rheims, Soissons, in the latter city, the chief seat of the kings of France, Charles was crowned by Theodoric I, Bishop of Metz. Lothair fled to Paris and was there besieged, but a relief army of Hugh Capets forced Otto and Charles to lift the siege on 30 November. Lothair and Capet, the tables turned once more, chased the German king and his back to Aachen. Around 979, Charles transferred the relics of Saint Gudula from Moorsel to the Saint Gaugericus chapel in Brussels and this is generally accepted as the time when the city was founded. Charles would construct the first permanent fortification in the city, doing so on that same island, as he had been a vassal also of Lothair, Charles acts on behalf of Otto were considered treason and he was thereafter excluded from the throne. On Lothairs death, the magnates elected his son Louis V and on the latters death, thus, the House of Capet came to the throne over the disgraced and ignored Charles. Charles unexceptional marriage and his lack of wealth are two of the reasons he was denied the throne, Charles made war on Hugh, even taking Rheims and Laon. However, on Maundy Thursday 991, he was captured, through the perfidy of the Bishop Adalberon, and was imprisoned by Hugh in Orléans and he was succeeded as Duke of Lower Lorraine by his son Otto. In 1666, the sepulchre of Charles was discovered in the Basilica of Saint Servatius in Maastricht and his body appears to have been interred there only in 1001, but that is not the date of his death, as some scholars assumed. Though Charles ruled Lower Lorraine, the Dukes of Lorraine counted him as Charles I of Lorraine, in 970 Charles married Adelaide of Troyes. Together he and Adelaide had, Otto, succeeded as Duke of Lower Lotharingia Gerberga of Lower Lorraine, the Cambridge Medieval History, Volume III
23.
Robert I of France
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Robert I of France was the elected King of West Francia from 922 to 923. Before his election to the throne he was Count of Poitiers, Count of Paris and Marquis of Neustria and he succeeded the overthrown Carolingian king Charles the Simple, who in 898 had succeeded Roberts brother, king Odo. Robert was born in 866 as the son of Robert the Strong, count of Anjou, and the brother of Odo. In time West Francia evolved into Kingdom of France, and under Odo, Robert and Odo came from the Robertian dynasty out of which the Capetian dynasty grew. In 885 Robert participated in the defence of Paris during the Viking siege of Paris and he was appointed by Odo as the ruler of several counties, including the county of Paris, and abbot in commendam of many abbeys. Robert also secured the office of Dux Francorum, a dignity of high importance. He did not claim the crown of West Francia when his brother died in 898, instead recognizing the supremacy of the Carolingian king, Charles then confirmed Robert in his offices and possessions, after which he continued to defend northern Francia from the attacks of Vikings. Robert defeated a band of Vikings in the Loire Valley in 921, after which the defeated invaders converted to Christianity. The peace between the king Charles the Simple and his powerful vassal was not seriously disturbed until about 921 when Charles favoritism towards Hagano aroused rebellion. Roberts rule was contested by the Viking leader Rollo, who had settled in Duchy of Normandy in 911 with the permission of Charles the Simple, during Roberts reign, Rollo remained loyal to Charles, who continued to contest his deposition. Gathering an army, Charles marched against Robert, and on 15 June 923 in a battle near Soissons Robert was killed, however, his army won the battle and Charles was captured. Charles remained a captive until his death in 929, Robert was succeeded as king by his son-in-law Rudolph, Count of Burgundy, also known as Raoul. By her, he had, Hildebrant of France to Herbert II of Vermandois and Emma of France, married to Rudolph, Robert married for the second time c. 890 to Béatrice of Vermandois, daughter of Herbert I of Vermandois. Together they had, Adela, married Herbert II, Count of Vermandois Emma of France, married to Rudolph, Duke of Burgundy Hugh the Great, Hugh was the father of the future Hugh Capet, King of the Franks. This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh
24.
Odo, Count of Paris
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Odo was the elected King of West Francia from 888 to 898 as the first king from the Robertian dynasty. Before assuming the kingship Odo had the titles of Duke of France, Odo was the eldest son of Robert the Strong, Duke of the Franks, Marquis of Neustria and Count of Anjou. After his fathers death in 866, Odo inherited his Marquis of Neustria title, Odo lost this title in 868 when king Charles the Bald appointed Hugh the Abbot to the title. Odo regained it following the death of Hugh in 886, after 882 he held the post of Count of Paris. Odo was also the lay abbot of St. Martin of Tours, Odo married Théodrate of Troyes and had two known sons, Arnulf and Guy, neither of whom lived past the age of fifteen. For his skill and bravery in resisting the attacks of Vikings at the Siege of Paris and he was crowned at Compiègne in February 888 by Walter, Archbishop of Sens. In 889 and 890 Odo granted special privileges to the County of Manresa in Osona, because of its position on the front line against the Moorish aggression, Manresa was given the right to build towers of defence known as manresanas or manresanes. This privilege was responsible for giving Manresa its unique character, distinct from the rest of Osona, to gain prestige and support, Odo paid homage to the East Francias King Arnulf. Odo died in La Fère on 1 January 898 and this article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh, ed. article name needed
25.
Rudolph of France
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Rudolph or Rudolf was the elected King of France from 923 until his death in 936. Prior to his election as king, he was Duke of Burgundy and he was the son of Richard, Duke of Burgundy and Adelaide of Auxerre inheriting the Duchy of Burgundy from his father. He married Emma of France, daughter of king Robert I of France and he is frequently confused with his uncle Rudolph I of Burgundy. Rudolph was elected king of West Francia in 923 by an assembly of Frankish nobles and he was crowned by Walter, Archbishop of Sens at St. Médard in Soissons on Sunday,13 July 923. On assuming the crown he passed the Duchy of Burgundy to his younger brother Hugh the Black, in contemporary Latin documents, his name is usually Rodulfus, from the Germanic roots hruod, glory, and wulf, wolf. Rodulf and Rudolf are variants of this name, the French form is Rodolphe, by contrast, the king is normally known as Raoul in modern French, a name which derives from Radulfus, from Germanic rad, counsel, and wulf. Although this name is of different origin, it was used interchangeably by contemporaries with Rodulfus. The king himself, however, always, used Rodulfus, as on his personal seal, nonetheless, he is sometimes called Ralph or Radulf in English. The deposed Charles the Simple was still alive and claimed the throne and this was solved when Rudolphs brother-in-law, Herbert II, Count of Vermandois, who was married to Emmas sister, tricked Charles, a fellow Carolingian, into meeting and then took him prisoner. Rudolphs first act was to lead an army against the king of East Francia Henry the Fowler, after trying to annex Lotharingia Henry met Rudolph with a considerably-sized army and made peace again. However, in 925 Henry attacked Gilbert, Duke of Lorraine and took over Lotharingia permanently, in 924 Vikings made a fresh series of raids into West Francia. From the Loire Valley they threatened Hugh the Great, brother of Queen Emma, soon they attacked Burgundy, domain of Rudolphs brother and were repulsed, moving on to Melun, where they threatened the royal lands. Joined only by his vassals and Herbert, he recruited troops in Burgundy. After Vikings left, the Normans, whom Charles the Simple had settled in Duchy of Normandy in 911, also in that year, Rudolph conversed with Louis the Blind, king of Provence, over the Magyars, the newest barbarian migrants to Europe, then menacing Louis. In 930 Magyars invaded the region around Rheims, but left before the king could engage them, in 935 Magyars invaded Burgundy and Rudolph brought a large army against them, causing their retreat without a battle. West Francia was temporarily safe from both Vikings and Magyars at Rudolphss death, the complaints from Rudolph led Herbert II to bring Charles before William Longsword, Count of Rouen, for homage and then to Rheims to press Charles claim on Pope John X. In 928 Herbert II finally got possession of Laon, but the next year Charles died at Péronne, in 929 Rudolph attempted to reduce the power of Ebalus, Duke of Aquitaine. He withdrew from him access to Berry, and in 932 granted the title of prince of Gothia to the count of Toulouse, Raymond Pons and he also transferred the title Count of Auvergne to Raymond
26.
Robert the Strong
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Robert the Strong, also known as Rutpert, also known as Robert IV of Worms, was Margrave in Neustria. His family is named after him and called the Robertians, in 853 he was named missus dominicus by Charles the Bald, King of West Francia. He was the father of two kings of West Francia Odo and Robert I of France, Robert the Strong was the great-grandfather of Hugh Capet and thus the ancestor of all the Capetians. Robert was a son of Robert III of Worms, during the reign of Louis the German in East Francia, the Robertian family emigrated from East Francia to West Francia. After their arrival in his realm Charles the Bald rewarded the family defecting from his enemy by assigning to Robert the lay abbacy of Marmoutier in 852. Roberts rise came at the expense of the family of the Rorigonids and was designed to curb their regional power and to defend Neustria from Viking. In 858 Robert joined a rebellion against Charles the Bald, with the Bretons under Salomon he led the Frankish nobles of Neustria and invited Louis the German to invade West Francia and receive their homage. Charles had given Robert the counties of Autun and Nevers in Burgundy, but following Erispoes assassination in November 857, he and Salomon rebelled against Charles. Robert’s Neustrians chased Louis the Stammerer from Le Mans in 858, later that year, Louis the German reached Orléans and received delegations from the Breton and Neustrian leaders, as well as from Pepin II. In 861, Charles made peace with Robert and appointed him Count of Anjou, thereafter Robert successfully defended the northern coast against a Viking invasion. In 862 Charles granted Louis the Stammerer, his son, the lay abbacy of Saint Martin of Tours—a worthy benefice but small in comparison with the kingdom he had received in 856, and lost in 858. The young Louis rebelled and, befriended by Salomon who supplied him with troops, in 862 two Viking fleets converged on Brittany, one had recently been forced out of the Seine by Charles the Bald, the other was returning from a Mediterranean expedition. Salomon hired the Mediterranean fleet to ravage the Loire valley in Nuestria, Robert captured twelve of their ships, killing all on board save a few who fled. He then hired the former Seine Vikings to attack Salomon’s realm for 6,000 pounds silver, robert’s apparent purpose was to prevent the Vikings from serving Salomon. He presumably collected an amount in taxes for a Danegeld to pay for keeping the Vikings out of Neustria. But peace between the Franks and the Vikings did not last long, in 863 Salomon made his peace, Charles now made Robert Lay abbot of the influential abbey St. Martin at Tours. Robert warred with Pepin II in his later years, in 863 he again defended Autun from Louis the German, he campaigned in Neustria in 865 and again in 866, shortly before his death, dealing with Bretons and Vikings ravaging the environs of Le Mans. On 2 July 866, Robert was killed at the Battle of Brissarthe while defending Francia against a joint Breton-Viking raiding party led by Salomon, King of Brittany, during the battle the Viking commander was entrapped in a nearby church
27.
Charles the Simple
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Charles III, called the Simple or the Straightforward, was the King of West Francia from 898 until 922 and the King of Lotharingia from 911 until 919–23. He was a member of the Carolingian dynasty, Charles was the third and posthumous son of king Louis the Stammerer by his second wife Adelaide of Paris. As a child, Charles was prevented from succeeding to the throne at the time of the death in 884 of his half-brother, instead, Frankish nobles of the realm asked his cousin, Emperor Charles the Fat to assume the crown. The nobility then elected Odo, the hero of the Siege of Paris as the new king, in 893 Charles was crowned by a faction opposed to the rule of Odo at the Reims Cathedral, becoming monarch of West Francia only after the death of Odo in 898. In 911 a group of Vikings led by Rollo besieged Paris, after a victory near Chartres on 26 August, Charles decided to negotiate with Rollo, resulting in the Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte which created the Duchy of Normandy. Rollo also agreed to be baptised and to marry Charles daughter Gisela, Charles had tried to win Lotharingian support for years, for instance, by marrying in April 907 a Lotharingian woman named Frederuna, and in 909 his niece Cunigunda married Wigeric of Lotharingia. Charles defended Lotharingia against two attacks by Conrad I, in 925 Lotharingia was once again seized by East Francia. Queen Frederuna died on 10 February 917 leaving six daughters and no sons, on 7 October 919 Charles married Eadgifu, the daughter of Edward the Elder, King of England, who bore him a son, the future King Louis IV of France. By this time Charles excessive favouritism towards a certain Hagano had turned the aristocracy against him and he endowed Hagano with monasteries that were already the benefices of other barons, alienating them. In Lotharingia he earned the enmity of the new duke Gilbert, opposition to Charles in Lotharingia was not universal, however, he retained support of Wigeric. The nobles, completely exasperated with Charles policies and especially his favoritism of count Hagano, after negotiations by Archbishop Herveus of Reims the king was released. In 922 the Frankish nobles revolted again led by Robert of Neustria, Robert, who was Odos brother, was elected king by the rebels and crowned, while Charles had to flee to Lotharingia. On 2 July 922, Charles lost his most faithful supporter, Herveus of Reims, Charles returned with a Norman army in 923 but was defeated on 15 June near Soissons by Robert, who died in the battle. Charles was captured and imprisoned in a castle at Péronne under the guard of Herbert II of Vermandois, Roberts son-in-law Rudolph of Burgundy was then elected to succeed him as king. Charles died in prison on 7 October 929 and was buried at the abbey of Saint-Fursy. His son by Eadgifu would eventually be crowned in 936 as Louis IV of France, in the initial aftermath of Charless defeat, Queen Eadgifu and children had fled to England. On 6 December 884 King Carloman II of West Francia died without a heir and his half-brother. Because of this, their cousin Charles the Fat, already Holy Roman Emperor, since the beginning, the new monarch was forced to deal with constant Viking raids, with little success
28.
Athelstan of England
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Æthelstan or Athelstan was King of the Anglo-Saxons from 924 to 927 and King of the English from 927 to 939. He was the son of King Edward the Elder and his first wife, modern historians regard him as the first King of England and one of the greatest Anglo-Saxon kings. He never married, and was succeeded by his half-brother, Edmund, when Edward died in July 924, Æthelstan was accepted by the Mercians as king. His half-brother Ælfweard may have been recognised as king in Wessex, Æthelstan still encountered resistance in Wessex for several months, and was not crowned until September 925. In 927 he conquered the last remaining Viking kingdom, York, in 934 he invaded Scotland and forced Constantine II to submit to him, but Æthelstans rule was resented by the Scots and Vikings, and in 937 they invaded England. Æthelstan defeated them at the Battle of Brunanburh, a victory which gave him great prestige both in the British Isles and on the Continent, after his death in 939 the Vikings seized back control of York, and it was not finally reconquered until 954. Æthelstan centralised government, he increased control over the production of charters and these meetings were also attended by rulers from outside his territory, especially Welsh kings, who thus acknowledged his overlordship. More legal texts survive from his reign than from any other 10th-century English king and they show his concern about widespread robberies, and the threat they posed to social order. His legal reforms built on those of his grandfather, Alfred the Great, Æthelstan was one of the most pious West Saxon kings, and was known for collecting relics and founding churches. His household was the centre of English learning during his reign, no other West Saxon king played as important a role in European politics as Æthelstan, and he arranged the marriages of several of his sisters to continental rulers. By the ninth century the kingdoms of the early Anglo-Saxon period had been consolidated into four, Wessex, Mercia, Northumbria. In the eighth century, Mercia had been the most powerful kingdom in southern England, in the middle of the century, England came under increasing attack from Viking raids, culminating in invasion by the Great Heathen Army in 865. By 878, the Vikings had overrun East Anglia, Northumbria, and Mercia, the West Saxons fought back under Alfred the Great, and achieved a decisive victory at the Battle of Edington. Alfred and the Viking leader Guthrum agreed on a division that gave Alfred western Mercia, in the 890s, renewed Viking attacks were successfully fought off by Alfred, assisted by his son Edward and Æthelred, Lord of the Mercians. Æthelred ruled English Mercia under Alfred and was married to his daughter Æthelflæd, Alfred died in 899 and was succeeded by Edward. Æthelwold, the son of Æthelred, King Alfreds older brother and predecessor as king, made a bid for power, but was killed at the Battle of the Holme in 902. Little is known of warfare between the English and the Danes over the few years, but in 909, Edward sent a West Saxon. The following year the Northumbrian Danes attacked Mercia, but suffered a defeat at the Battle of Tettenhall
29.
Senlis
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Senlis is a commune in the Oise department in northern France. It has a long and rich heritage, having traversed centuries of history and this medieval town has welcomed some of the most renowned figures in French history, including Hugh Capet, Louis IX, the Marshal of France, Anne of Kiev and Séraphine de Senlis. The monarchs of the early French dynasties lived here, attracted by the proximity of the Chantilly forest and it is renowned for the gothic Senlis Cathedral and its vast historical monuments. Its inhabitants are called Senlisiens and Senlisiennes, Senlis is part of the province of lOise in the region of Hauts-de-France in the north of France. It is situated on the river Nonette, between the forests of Chantilly and dErmenonville in the South and dHalatte on the North and it is located 40 kilometers from the north of Paris,44 km from Beauvais and 79 km from Amiens. The highest point of the lies at the heart of the forest Halatte. Geologically, the area is occupied by a vast limestone plateau of the Lutetian covered mostly in silt, Senlis was known in early Roman imperial times as Augustomagus and later as Civitas Silvanectium. During the 3rd century, a high defensive wall, about half of which still exists, was erected around the settlement in response to Frankish incursions. The wall remained in use into the 13th century, the town also featured a Roman amphitheatre, the remains of which are still visible, about 500 m west of the walled town. The amphitheatre seated as many as 10,000 people and was used for meetings, theatre, gladiatorial combats. The monarchs of the early French dynasties lived here, attracted by the proximity of the Chantilly Forest and its venison, in 987 Alberon, the archbishop of Reims, called together an assembly, and asked them to choose Hugh Capet as king of France. However, the monarchs of France soon abandoned the city, preferring Compiègne, new life was given to the city in the 12th century, and ramparts were built. The popularity of the city fell, and it slipped into decline. Today it remains an attraction for tourists for its long history, Senlis fell under the ownership of Hugh Capet in 981. He was elected king by his barons in 987 before being crowned at Noyon, under the Capetian rule, Senlis became a royal city and remained so until the reign of Charles X. A castle was built during this period remains are still visible today. The city reached its apogee in the 12th and 13th centuries as trade in wool and leather increased, with an increasing population, the city expanded and needed new ramparts, a second chamber was erected under Phillip II that was larger and higher than the ramparts of the Gallo-Romans. A municipal charter was granted to the town in 1173 by King Louis VII, the bishop of Senlis and the Chancellor Guérin became close advisors to the King, strengthening Senlis ties to the French royalty
30.
Auxerre
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Auxerre is the capital of the Yonne department and the fourth-largest city in Burgundy. Auxerres population today is about 39,000, the area comprises roughly 92,000 inhabitants. Residents of Auxerre are referred to as Auxerrois, Auxerre is a commercial and industrial centre, with industries including food production, woodworking and batteries. It is also noted for its production of Burgundy wine, including world-famous Chablis, in 1995 Auxerre was named Town of Art and History. Auxerre was a flourishing Gallo-Roman centre, then called Autissiodorum, through which passed one of the roads of the area. In the third century it became the seat of a bishop, in the 5th century it received a Cathedral. In the late 11th-early 12th century the existing communities were included inside a new line of walls built by the counts of Auxerre. Bourgeois activities accompanied the land and wine cultivations starting from the twelfth century. The Burgundian city, which part of France under King Louis XI, suffered during the Hundred Years War. In 1567 it was captured by the Huguenots, and many of the Catholic edifices were damaged, the medieval ramparts were demolished in the 18th century. In the 19th century numerous heavy infrastructures were built, including a station, a psychiatric hospital and the courts. Up until recently, Auxerre was one of the most prosperous cities in the country, in Gothic style, it is renowned for its three doorways with remarkable bas-reliefs. The stained glass windows in the choir and the chapel are among the finest in France. The 11th century crypt houses the remains of the former Romanesque cathedral, abbey of Saint-Germain, existing from the ninth century. The crypt has some of the most ancient mural paintings in France, also interesting are the chapter room, the cellar and the cloister. The Clock tower, located in the Old Town The church of St. Pierre en Vallée, in the style of late Gothic architecture, it has a tower similar to that of the cathedral. Portions of the decorations and inner chapels were financed by local winegrowers, church of St. Eusèbe, founded in the 7th century. The nave was rebuilt in the 13th century, while the tower is in Romanesque style, Saint Helladius, bishop of Auxerre Saint Patrick, Apostle to the Irish, visited Bishop Germanus of Auxerre here
31.
Laon
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Laon is the capital city of the Aisne department in Hauts-de-France, northern France. As of 2012 its population was of 25,317, the holy district of Laon, which rises a hundred metres above the otherwise flat Picardy plain, has always held strategic importance. In the time of Julius Caesar there was a Gallic village named Bibrax where the Remis had to meet the onset of the confederated Belgae. Whatever may have been the locality of that battlefield, Laon was fortified by the Romans. At that time it was known as Alaudanum or Lugdunum Clavatum, archbishop Remigius of Reims, who baptised Clovis, was born in the Laonnais, and it was he who, at the end of the fifth century, instituted the bishopric of Laon. Thenceforward Laon was one of the towns of the kingdom of the Franks. Charles the Bald had enriched its church with the gift of very numerous domains, in about 847 the Irish philosopher John Scotus Eriugena appeared at the court of Charles the Bald, and was appointed head of the palace school. Eriugena spent the rest of his days in France, probably at Paris, early in the twelfth century the communes of France set about emancipating themselves, and the history of the commune of Laon is one of the richest and most varied. Anselm of Laons school for theology and exegesis rapidly became the most famous in Europe, the consequence was a revolt, in which the episcopal palace was burnt and the bishop and several of his partisans were put to death on 25 April 1112. The fire spread to the cathedral, and reduced it to ashes, uneasy at the result of their victory, the rioters went into hiding outside the town, which was anew pillaged by the people of the neighbourhood, eager to avenge the death of their bishop. The king alternately intervened in favour of the bishop and of the inhabitants till 1239, after that date the liberties of Laon were no more contested till 1331, when the commune was abolished. During the Hundred Years War it was attacked and taken by the Burgundians, under the League, Laon took the part of the Leaguers, and was taken by Henry IV. At the Revolution Laon permanently lost its rank as a bishopric, during the campaign of 1814, Napoleon tried in vain to dislodge Blücher and Bülow from it in the Battle of Laon. In 1870, during the Franco-Prussian War, an engineer blew up the magazine of the citadel at the moment when the German troops were entering the town. Many lives were lost, and the cathedral and the old palace were damaged. It surrendered to a German force on 9 September 1870, in the fall of 1914, during World War I, German forces captured the town and held it until the Allied offensive in the summer of 1918. It is 55 km from Reims,131 km from Amiens, the city contains numerous medieval buildings, including the cathedral Notre-Dame of Laon, dating mostly from the 12th and 13th centuries. The chapter-house and the cloister contain specimens of early 13th century architecture, the old episcopal palace, contiguous to the cathedral, is now used as a court-house
32.
Soissons
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Soissons is a commune in the Aisne department in Hauts-de-France in northern France, located on the Aisne River, about 100 kilometres northeast of Paris. It is one of the most ancient towns of France, and is probably the ancient capital of the Suessiones, Soissons is also the see of an ancient Roman Catholic diocese, whose establishment dates from about 300. Soissons enters written history under its Celtic name, Noviodunum, meaning new hillfort, at Roman contact, it was a town of the Suessiones, mentioned by Julius Caesar. Caesar, after leaving the Axona, entered the territory of the Suessiones, and making one days march, reached Noviodunum, which was surrounded by a high wall. From 457 to 486, under Aegidius and his son Syagrius, Noviodunum was the capital of the Kingdom of Soissons, until it fell to the Frankish king Clovis I in the Battle of Soissons. Part of the Frankish territory of Neustria, the Soissons region, after the death of Clovis I in 511, Soissons was made the capital of one of the four kingdoms into which his states were divided. Eventually, the kingdom of Soissons disappeared in 613 when the Frankish lands were amalgamated under Clotaire II. During the Hundred Years War, French forces committed a massacre of English archers stationed at the towns garrison. The Congress was largely successful and led to the signing of a treaty between them. During the First World War The city came under heavy bombardment, there was mutiny after the disastrous Chemin des Dames offensive. A statue erected with images of French soldiers killed in action in 1917 is behind the St Peters Church, the town was on the main path of totality for the Solar eclipse of August 11,1999. Today, Soissons is a commercial and manufacturing centre with the 12th century Soissons Cathedral, the nearby Espace Pierres Folles contains a museum, geological trail, and botanical garden. The Cathédrale Saint-Gervais-et-Saint-Protais de Soissons is constructed in the style of Gothic architecture, the building of the south transept was begun about 1177, and the lowest courses of the choir in 1182. The choir with its original elevation and extremely tall clerestory was completed in 1211. This was earlier than Chartres, on which the design was supposed to have been based, work then continued into the nave until the late 13th century. The former abbey of Notre Dame, former royal abbey, founded in the Merovingian era, famous for its treasure of relics. The abbey was prestigious abbesses like Gisèle, sister of Charlemagne, or Catherine de Bourbon, the Saint-Médard Abbey was a Benedictine monastery of Soissons whose foundation went back to the sixth century. The city hall built by architect Jean-François Advyné, between 1772 and 1775, at the request of the Intendant Pelletier Mortefontaine on the site of the old counts of Soissons
33.
French denier
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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
34.
Philip II of France
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Philip II, known as Philip Augustus, was King of France from 1180 to 1223, a member of the House of Capet. Philips predecessors had been known as kings of the Franks, but from 1190 onward, Philip became the first French monarch to style himself king of France. The son of King Louis VII and his wife, Adèle of Champagne, he was originally nicknamed Dieudonné God-given because he was the first son of Louis VII. Philip was given the nickname Augustus by the chronicler Rigord for having extended the Crown lands of France so remarkably, the military actions surrounding the Albigensian Crusade helped prepare the expansion of France southward. Philip did not participate directly in these actions, but he allowed his vassals, Philip transformed France from a small feudal state into the most prosperous and powerful country in Europe. He checked the power of the nobles and helped the towns to free themselves from seigniorial authority and he built a great wall around Paris, re-organized the French government and brought financial stability to his country. Philip was born in Gonesse on 21 August 1165 and he spent much of the following night attempting to find his way out, but to no avail. Exhausted by cold, hunger and fatigue, he was discovered by a peasant carrying a charcoal burner. His father went on pilgrimage to the Shrine of Thomas Becket to pray for Philips recovery and was told that his son had indeed recovered, however, on his way back to Paris, he suffered a stroke. In declining health, Louis VII had his 14-year-old son crowned and anointed as king at Rheims on 1 November 1179 by the Archbishop Guillaume aux Blanches Mains. He was married on 28 April 1180 to Isabelle of Hainaut, the daughter of Baldwin V, Count of Hainaut, and Margaret I, Countess of Flanders, who brought the County of Artois as her dowry. From the time of his coronation, all power was transferred to Philip. Eventually, Louis died on 18 September 1180, while the royal demesne had increased under Philip I and Louis VI, it had diminished slightly under Louis VII. In April 1182, partially to enrich the French crown, Philip expelled all Jews from the demesne, Philips eldest son Louis was born on 5 September 1187 and inherited the County of Artois in 1190, when his mother Isabelle died. The main source of funding for Philips army was from the royal demesne, in times of conflict, he could immediately call up 250 knights,250 horse sergeants,100 mounted crossbowmen,133 crossbowmen on foot,2,000 foot sergeants, and 300 mercenaries. Towards the end of his reign, the king could muster some 3,000 knights,9,000 sergeants,6,000 urban militiamen, using his increased revenues, Philip was the first Capetian king to build a French navy actively. By 1215, his fleet could carry a total of 7,000 men, within two years, his fleet included 10 large ships and many smaller ones. In 1181, Philip began a war with Philip, Count of Flanders, over the Vermandois, which King Philip claimed as his wifes dowry, finally the Count of Flanders invaded France, ravaging the whole district between the Somme and the Oise before penetrating as far as Dammartin
35.
Louis XII of France
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Louis XII was a monarch of the House of Valois who ruled as King of France from 1498 to 1515 and King of Naples from 1501 to 1504. The son of Charles, Duke of Orléans, and Maria of Cleves, he succeeded his cousin Charles VIII, who died without a closer heir in 1498. Before his accession to the throne of France, he was known as Louis of Orléans and was compelled to be married to his disabled and supposedly sterile cousin Joan by his second cousin, king Louis XI. By doing so, Louis XI hoped to extinguish the Orléans cadet branch of the House of Valois, Louis of Orléans was one of the great feudal lords who opposed the French monarchy in the conflict known as the Mad War. At the royal victory in the Battle of Saint-Aubin-du-Cormier in 1488, Louis was captured and he subsequently took part in the Italian War of 1494–1498 as one of the French commanders. When Louis XII became king in 1498, he had his marriage with Joan annulled by Pope Alexander VI and instead married Anne of Brittany and this marriage allowed Louis to reinforce the personal Union of Brittany and France. Louis persevered in the Italian Wars, initiating a second Italian campaign for the control of the Kingdom of Naples, Louis conquered the Duchy of Milan in 1500 and pushed forward to the Kingdom of Naples, which fell to him in 1501. Proclaimed King of Naples, Louis faced a new coalition gathered by Ferdinand II of Aragon and was forced to cede Naples to Spain in 1504. A popular king, Louis was proclaimed Father of the People in 1506 by the Estates-General of Tours for his reduction of the tax known as taille, legal reforms, Louis XII died in 1515 without a male heir. He was succeeded by his cousin Francis from the Angoulême cadet branch of the House of Valois, Louis was born on 27 June 1462 in the Château de Blois, Touraine. The son of Charles, Duke of Orléans, and Marie of Cleves, however, Louis XI may have been more influenced in this opinion by his opposition to the entire Orleanist faction of the royal family than by the actual facts of this paternity case. Despite any alleged doubts that King Louis XI may have had, King Louis XI died on 30 August 1483. He was succeeded to the throne of France by his thirteen year-old son, nobody knew the direction which the new king would take in leading the kingdom. Accordingly, on 24 October 1483, a call went out for a convocation of the Estates General of the French kingdom, in January 1484, deputies of the Estates General began to arrive in Tours, France. The deputies represented three different estates in society, the First Estate was the Church, in France this meant the Roman Catholic Church. The Second Estate was composed of the nobility and the royalty of France, the Third Estate was generally composed of commoners and the class of traders and merchants in France. Louis, the current Duke of Orleans and future Louis XII, each estate brought their chief complaints to the Estates General in hopes to have some impact on the policies that the new King would pursue. The First Estate wanted a return to the Pragmatic Sanction, the Pragmatic Sanction had been first instituted by King Charles VII, the current King Charles VIIIs grandfather
36.
Francis I of France
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Francis I was the first King of France from the Angoulême branch of the House of Valois, reigning from 1515 until his death. He was the son of Charles, Count of Angoulême, and he succeeded his cousin and father-in-law Louis XII, who died without a male heir. Francis reign saw important cultural changes with the rise of absolute monarchy in France, the spread of humanism and Protestantism, Jacques Cartier and others claimed lands in the Americas for France and paved the way for the expansion of the first French colonial empire. For his role in the development and promotion of a standardized French language, he became known as le Père et Restaurateur des Lettres. He was also known as François au Grand Nez, the Grand Colas, following the policy of his predecessors, Francis continued the Italian Wars. In his struggle against Imperial hegemony, he sought the support of Henry VIII of England at the Field of the Cloth of Gold. When this was unsuccessful, he formed a Franco-Ottoman alliance with the Muslim sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, a controversial move for a Christian king at the time. Francis was born on 12 September 1494 at the Château de Cognac in the town of Cognac, which at that time lay in the province of Saintonge, today the town lies in the department of Charente. Francis was the son of Charles, Count of Angoulême, and Louise of Savoy. His family was not expected to inherit the throne, as his third cousin King Charles VIII was still young at the time of his birth, as was his fathers cousin the Duke of Orléans, later King Louis XII. However, Charles VIII died childless in 1498 and was succeeded by Louis XII, the Salic Law prevailed in France, thus females were ineligible to inherit the throne. Therefore, the four-year-old Francis became the heir presumptive to the throne of France in 1498 and was vested with the title of Duke of Valois. In 1505, Louis XII, having fallen ill, ordered that his daughter Claude and Francis be married immediately, Claude was heiress to the Duchy of Brittany through her mother, Anne of Brittany. Following Annes death, the took place on 18 May 1514. Louis died shortly afterwards and Francis inherited the throne and he was crowned King of France in the Cathedral of Reims on 25 January 1515, with Claude as his queen consort. As Francis was receiving his education, ideas emerging from the Italian Renaissance were influential in France, some of his tutors, such as François Desmoulins de Rochefort and Christophe de Longueil, were attracted by these new ways of thinking and attempted to influence Francis. His academic education had been in arithmetic, geography, grammar, history, reading, spelling, Francis came to learn chivalry, dancing, and music and he loved archery, falconry, horseback riding, hunting, jousting, real tennis and wrestling. He ended up reading philosophy and theology and he was fascinated with art, literature, poetry and his mother, who had a high admiration for Italian Renaissance art, passed this interest on to her son
37.
Henry II of France
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Henry II was a monarch of the House of Valois who ruled as King of France from 31 March 1547 until his death in 1559. The second son of Francis I, he became Dauphin of France upon the death of his elder brother Francis III, Duke of Brittany, as a child, Henry and his elder brother spent over four years in captivity in Spain as hostages in exchange for their father. Henry pursued his fathers policies in matter of arts, wars and he persevered in the Italian Wars against the House of Habsburg and tried to suppress the Protestant Reformation, even as the Huguenot numbers were increasing drastically in France during his reign. Henry suffered a death in a jousting tournament held to celebrate the Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis at the conclusion of the Eighth Italian War. The kings surgeon, Ambroise Paré, was unable to cure the infected wound inflicted by Gabriel de Montgomery and he was succeeded in turn by three of his sons, whose ineffective reigns helped to spark the French Wars of Religion between Protestants and Catholics. Henry was born in the royal Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, near Paris and his father was captured at the Battle of Pavia in 1525 by the forces of his sworn enemy, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, and held prisoner in Spain. To obtain his release, it was agreed that Henry and his brother be sent to Spain in his place. They remained in captivity for four years. Henry married Catherine de Medici, a member of the family of Florence, on 28 October 1533. The following year, he became involved with a thirty-five-year-old widow. They had always very close, she had publicly embraced him on the day he set off to Spain. Diane became Henrys mistress and most trusted confidante and, for the next years, wielded considerable influence behind the scenes. Extremely confident, mature and intelligent, she left Catherine powerless to intervene and she did, however, insist that Henry sleep with Catherine in order to produce heirs to the throne. When his elder brother Francis, the Dauphin and Duke of Brittany, died in 1536 after a game of tennis and he succeeded his father on his 28th birthday and was crowned King of France on 25 July 1547 at Reims Cathedral. Henrys reign was marked by wars with Austria and the persecution of Protestants, Henry II severely punished them, particularly the ministers, for example by burning at the stake or cutting off their tongues for uttering heresies. Even those only suspected of being Huguenots could be imprisoned and it also strictly regulated publications by prohibiting the sale, importation or printing of any unapproved book. It was during the reign of Henry II that Huguenot attempts at establishing a colony in Brazil were made, persecution of Protestants at home did not prevent Henry II from becoming allied with German Protestant princes at the Treaty of Chambord in 1552. Simultaneously, the continuation of his fathers Franco-Ottoman alliance allowed Henry II to push for French conquests towards the Rhine while a Franco-Ottoman fleet defended southern France, an early offensive into Lorraine was successful
38.
Carolingian Empire
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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
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East Francia
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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
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Holy Roman Empire
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The Holy Roman Empire was a multi-ethnic complex of territories in central Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806. On 25 December 800, Pope Leo III crowned the Frankish king Charlemagne as Emperor, reviving the title in Western Europe, more than three centuries after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The title was revived in 962 when Otto I was crowned emperor, fashioning himself as the successor of Charlemagne, some historians refer to the coronation of Charlemagne as the origin of the empire, while others prefer the coronation of Otto I as its beginning. Scholars generally concur, however, in relating an evolution of the institutions and principles constituting the empire, the office of Holy Roman Emperor was traditionally elective, although frequently controlled by dynasties. Emperor Francis II dissolved the empire on 6 August 1806, after the creation of the Confederation of the Rhine by Napoleon, before 1157, the realm was merely referred to as the Roman Empire. In a decree following the 1512 Diet of Cologne, the name was changed to Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, by the end of the 18th century, the term Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation had fallen out of official use. As Roman power in Gaul declined during the 5th century, local Germanic tribes assumed control, by the middle of the 8th century, however, the Merovingians had been reduced to figureheads, and the Carolingians, led by Charles Martel, had become the de facto rulers. In 751, Martel’s son Pepin became King of the Franks, the Carolingians would maintain a close alliance with the Papacy. In 768 Pepin’s son Charlemagne became King of the Franks and began an expansion of the realm. He eventually incorporated the territories of present-day France, Germany, northern Italy, on Christmas Day of 800, Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne emperor, restoring the title in the west for the first time in over three centuries. After the death of Charles the Fat in 888, however, the Carolingian Empire broke apart, according to Regino of Prüm, the parts of the realm spewed forth kinglets, and each part elected a kinglet from its own bowels. After the death of Charles the Fat, those crowned emperor by the pope controlled only territories in Italy, the last such emperor was Berengar I of Italy, who died in 924. Around 900, autonomous stem duchies reemerged in East Francia, on his deathbed, Conrad yielded the crown to his main rival, Henry the Fowler of Saxony, who was elected king at the Diet of Fritzlar in 919. Henry reached a truce with the raiding Magyars, and in 933 he won a first victory against them in the Battle of Riade, Henry died in 936, but his descendants, the Liudolfing dynasty, would continue to rule the Eastern kingdom for roughly a century. Upon Henry the Fowlers death, Otto, his son and designated successor, was elected King in Aachen in 936 and he overcame a series of revolts from an elder brother and from several dukes. After that, the managed to control the appointment of dukes. In 951, Otto came to the aid of Adelaide, the queen of Italy, defeating her enemies, marrying her. In 955, Otto won a victory over the Magyars in the Battle of Lechfeld
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Ottonian
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The Ottonian dynasty was a Saxon dynasty of German monarchs, named after its first Emperor Otto I, but also known as the Saxon dynasty after the familys origin in the German stem duchy of Saxony. The family itself is sometimes known as the Liudolfings, after its earliest known member Count Liudolf. The Ottonian rulers were successors of the Carolingian dynasty in East Francia, in the 9th century, the Saxon count Liudolf held large estates on the Leine river west of the Harz mountain range and in the adjacent Eichsfeld territory of Thuringia. His ancestors probably acted as ministeriales in the Saxon stem duchy, Liudolf married Oda, a member of the Frankish House of Billung. About 852 the couple together with Bishop Altfrid of Hildesheim founded Brunshausen Abbey, Liudolf already held the high social position of a Saxon dux, documented by the marriage of his daughter Liutgard with Louis the Younger, son of the Carolingian king Louis the German in 869. Liudolfs sons Bruno and Otto the Illustrious ruled over parts of Saxon Eastphalia, moreover. He married Hedwiga, a daughter of the Babenberg duke Henry of Franconia, upon Ottos death in 912, his son Henry the Fowler succeeded him as Duke of Saxony. Henry had married Matilda of Ringelheim, a descendant of the legendary Saxon ruler Widukind, while East Francia under the rule of the last Carolingian kings was ravaged by Hungarian invasions, he rose to a primus inter pares among the German dukes. In 933 he led a German army to victory over the Hungarian forces at the Battle of Riade, by succession regulation, he transferred the power to his second son Otto I, who acceded to an undivided heritage. Otto I, Duke of Saxony upon the death of his father in 936, was elected king within a few weeks. He continued the work of unifying all of the German tribes into a single kingdom, through strategic marriages and personal appointments, he installed members of his own family to the kingdoms most important duchies. This, however, did not prevent his relatives from entering into civil war, Otto was able to suppress their uprisings, in consequence, the various dukes, who had previously been co-equals with the king, were reduced into royal subjects under the kings authority. His decisive victory over the Magyars at the Battle of Lechfeld in 955 ended the Hungarian invasions of Europe, the defeat of the pagan Magyars earned King Otto the reputation as the savior of Christendom and the epithet the Great. He transformed the Church in Germany into a kind of church and major royal power base to which he donated charity. By 961, Otto had conquered the Kingdom of Italy, which was an inheritance that none wanted, and extended his kingdoms borders to the north, east. In control of much of central and southern Europe, the patronage of Otto and his immediate successors caused a cultural renaissance of the arts. He even reached a settlement with the Byzantine emperor John I Tzimiskes by marrying his son, in 968 he established the Archbishopric of Magdeburg at his long-time residence. Co-ruler with his father since 961 and crowned emperor in 967, by excluding the Bavarian line of Ottonians from the line of succession, he strengthened Imperial authority and secured his own sons succession to the Imperial throne
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