Charles the Bald (french: Charles le Chauve; 13 June 823 – 6 October 877), also known as Charles II, was a 9th-century king of
West Francia (843–877),
king of Italy (875–877) and emperor of the
Carolingian Empire (875–877). After a series of civil wars during the reign of his father,
Louis the Pious, Charles succeeded, by the
Treaty of Verdun
The Treaty of Verdun (), agreed in , divided the Frankish Empire into three kingdoms among the surviving sons of the emperor Louis I, the son and successor of Charlemagne. The treaty was concluded following almost three years of civil war and ...
(843), in acquiring the western third of the empire. He was a grandson of
Charlemagne
Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first ...
and the youngest son of Louis the Pious by his second wife,
Judith.
Struggle against his brothers
He was born on 13 June 823 in
Frankfurt
Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on it ...
, when his elder brothers were already adults and had been assigned their own ''regna'', or subkingdoms, by their father. The attempts made by
Louis the Pious to assign Charles a subkingdom, first
Alemannia and then the country between the
Meuse and the
Pyrenees (in 832, after the rising of
Pepin I of Aquitaine
Pepin I or Pepin I of Aquitaine (French: ''Pépin''; 797 – 13 December 838) was King of Aquitaine and Duke of Maine.
Pepin was the second son of Emperor Louis the Pious and his first wife, Ermengarde of Hesbaye. When his father assigne ...
) were unsuccessful. The numerous reconciliations with the rebellious
Lothair and Pepin, as well as their brother
Louis the German,
King of Bavaria, made Charles's share in
Aquitaine
Aquitaine ( , , ; oc, Aquitània ; eu, Akitania; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Aguiéne''), archaic Guyenne or Guienne ( oc, Guiana), is a historical region of southwestern France and a former administrative region of the country. Since 1 Janu ...
and Italy only temporary, but his father did not give up and made Charles the heir of the entire land which was once
Gaul
Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during ...
. At a
diet
Diet may refer to:
Food
* Diet (nutrition), the sum of the food consumed by an organism or group
* Dieting, the deliberate selection of food to control body weight or nutrient intake
** Diet food, foods that aid in creating a diet for weight loss ...
in
Aachen in 837, Louis the Pious bade the nobles do homage to Charles as his heir. Pepin of Aquitaine died in 838, whereupon Charles at last received that kingdom, which angered Pepin's heirs and the Aquitainian nobles.
The death of the emperor in 840 led to the outbreak of war between his sons. Charles allied himself with his brother Louis the German to resist the pretensions of the new Emperor Lothair I, and the two allies defeated Lothair at the
Battle of Fontenoy-en-Puisaye on 25 June 841. In the following year, the two brothers confirmed their alliance by the celebrated
Oaths of Strasbourg. The war was brought to an end by the
Treaty of Verdun
The Treaty of Verdun (), agreed in , divided the Frankish Empire into three kingdoms among the surviving sons of the emperor Louis I, the son and successor of Charlemagne. The treaty was concluded following almost three years of civil war and ...
in August 843. The settlement gave Charles the Bald the kingdom of the West Franks, which he had been up until then governing and which practically corresponded with what is now France, as far as the
Meuse, the
Saône, and the
Rhône, with the addition of the
Spanish March as far as the
Ebro. Louis received the eastern part of the
Carolingian Empire, known then as
East Francia and later as Germany. Lothair retained the imperial title and the
Kingdom of Italy. He also received the central regions from
Flanders
Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...
through the
Rhineland and
Burgundy as king of
Middle Francia
Middle Francia ( la, Francia media) was a short-lived Frankish kingdom which was created in 843 by the Treaty of Verdun after an intermittent civil war between the grandsons of Charlemagne resulted in division of the united empire. Middle Franc ...
.
Reign in the West
Shortly after Verdun, Charles went on to an unsuccessful campaign against Brittany, on the return from which he signed the
Treaty of Coulaines
The Treaty of Coulaines, named after the western French locality of Coulaines near Le Mans, was concluded in late 843 between Charles the Bald, king of West Francia, and his nobility and clergy. Since its validity was limited to West Francia, it h ...
with his nobility and clergy.
After that, the first years of his reign, up to the death of Lothair I in 855, were comparatively peaceful. During these years the three brothers continued the system of "confraternal government", meeting repeatedly with one another, at
Koblenz (848), at
Meerssen
Meerssen (; li, Meersje ) is a town and a municipality in southeastern Netherlands.
History
The Treaty of Meerssen was signed in Meerssen in 870. The Treaty of Meerssen was an agreement of the division of the Carolingian Empire by the surviving ...
(851), and at
Attigny (854). In 858, Louis the German, invited by disaffected nobles eager to oust Charles, invaded the West Frankish kingdom. Charles was so unpopular that he was unable to summon an army, and he fled to
Burgundy. He was saved only by the support of the bishops, who refused to crown Louis the German king, and by the fidelity of the
Welfs, who were related to his mother, Judith. In 860, he in his turn tried to seize the kingdom of his nephew,
Charles of Provence, but was repulsed. On the death of his nephew
Lothair II in 869, Charles tried to seize Lothair's dominions by having himself consecrated as King of
Lotharingia
Lotharingia ( la, regnum Lotharii regnum Lothariense Lotharingia; french: Lotharingie; german: Reich des Lothar Lotharingien Mittelreich; nl, Lotharingen) was a short-lived medieval successor kingdom of the Carolingian Empire. As a more durable ...
at
Metz
Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand ...
, but he was compelled to open negotiations when Louis found support among Lothair's former vassals. Lotharingia was partitioned between Charles and Louis in the resulting
treaty (870).
Besides these family disputes, Charles had to struggle against repeated rebellions in Aquitaine and against the
Bretons. Led by their chiefs
Nomenoë
Nominoe or Nomenoe (french: Nominoë; br, Nevenoe; c. 800, 7 March 851) was the first Duke of Brittany from 846 to his death. He is the Breton ''pater patriae'' and to Breton nationalists he is known as ' ("father of the country").
...
and
Erispoë, who defeated the king at the
Battle of Ballon
The Battle of Ballon took place on 22 November 845 between the forces of Charles the Bald, king of West Francia, and Nominoë, Duke of Brittany. Nominoë was appropriating border territory and opposing Charles' attempt to impose Frankish author ...
(845) and the
Battle of Jengland
The Battle of Jengland (also called Jengland-Beslé, Beslé, or Grand Fougeray) took place on 22 August 851, between the Frankish army of Charles the Bald and the Breton army of Erispoe, Duke of Brittany. The Bretons were victorious, leading to t ...
(851), the Bretons were successful in obtaining a ''de facto'' independence. Charles also fought against the
Vikings, who devastated the country of the north, the valleys of the
Seine and
Loire, and even up to the borders of Aquitaine. At the Vikings' successful
siege and sack of Paris in 845 and several times thereafter Charles was forced to purchase their retreat at a heavy price. Charles led various expeditions against the invaders and, by the
Edict of Pistres of 864, made the army more mobile by providing for a
cavalry element, the predecessor of the French
chivalry so famous during the next 600 years. By the same edict, he ordered fortified bridges to be put up at all rivers to block the Viking incursions. Two of these bridges at Paris saved the city during its
siege of 885–886. Charles engaged in diplomacy with the
Emirate of Cordoba, receiving camels from
Emir Muhammad I in 865. From the 860s, the palace of
Compiègne became an increasingly important centre for Charles and he founded a monastery there in 876. In the tenth century Compiègne was known as ‘Carlopolis’ because of its association with Charles.
Reign as emperor
In 875, after the death of the Emperor
Louis II (son of his half-brother Lothair), Charles the Bald, supported by
Pope John VIII
Pope John VIII ( la, Ioannes VIII; died 16 December 882) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 14 December 872 to his death. He is often considered one of the ablest popes of the 9th century.
John devoted much of his papacy ...
, traveled to Italy, receiving the royal crown at
Pavia
Pavia (, , , ; la, Ticinum; Medieval Latin: ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy in northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was the cap ...
and the imperial insignia in Rome on 25 December.
['']Annales Vedastini {{italic title
The ''Annales Vedastini'' or ''Annals of St-Vaast'' are a series of annals written in the early tenth century at the Abbey of St. Vaast in Arras. They are an important source for the ninth century. The years from 874 to 900 are covere ...
''; AV 876 As emperor, Charles combined the mottoes that had been used by his grandfather and father into a single formula: ''
renovatio imperii Romani et Francorum'', "renewal of the empire of the Romans and Franks". These words appeared on his
seal
Seal may refer to any of the following:
Common uses
* Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly:
** Earless seal, or "true seal"
** Fur seal
* Seal (emblem), a device to imp ...
.
Louis the German, also a candidate for the succession of Louis II, revenged himself by invading and devastating Charles's domains, and Charles had to return hastily to
West Francia. After the death of Louis the German (28 August 876), Charles in his turn attempted to seize Louis's kingdom, but was decisively beaten at the
Battle of Andernach
The Battle of Andernach, between the followers and the opponents of King Otto I of Germany, took place on 2 October 939 in Andernach on the Rhine river and ended with a decisive defeat of the rebels and the death of their leaders.
Duke Eberhard ...
on 8 October 876.
In the meantime, John VIII, menaced by the
Saracens, was urging Charles to come to his defence in Italy. Charles again crossed the
Alps, but this expedition was received with little enthusiasm by the nobles, and even by his regent in
Lombardy,
Boso, and they refused to join his army. At the same time
Carloman, son of Louis the German, entered northern Italy. Charles, ill and in great distress, started on his way back to Gaul, but died while crossing the pass of
Mont Cenis
Mont Cenis ( it, Moncenisio) is a massif (el. 3,612 m / 11,850 ft at Pointe de Ronce) and a pass (el. 2,085 m / 6,840 ft) in Savoie (France), which forms the limit between the Cottian and Graian Alps.
Route
The term "Mont Cenis" cou ...
at
Brides-les-Bains, on 6 October 877.
Burial and succession
According to the Annals of St-Bertin, Charles was hastily buried at the abbey of
Nantua
Nantua (; Arpitan: ''Nantuat'') is a commune in and subprefecture of the Ain département in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Eastern France. In 2019, it had a population of 3,454. The commune of Nantua comprises the glacial Lac de Nantua ...
,
Burgundy because the bearers were unable to withstand the stench of his decaying body. A few years later, his remains were transferred to the
Abbey of Saint-Denis
The Basilica of Saint-Denis (french: Basilique royale de Saint-Denis, links=no, now formally known as the ) is a large former medieval abbey church and present cathedral in the commune of Saint-Denis, a northern suburb of Paris. The building ...
where he had long wished to be buried, in a
porphyry tub which may be the same one known as "
Dagobert's tub" (''cuve de Dagobert''), now in the
Louvre.
It was recorded that there was a memorial brass there that was melted down at the Revolution.
Charles was succeeded by his son,
Louis. Charles was a prince of education and letters, a friend of the church, and conscious of the support he could find in the episcopate against his unruly nobles, for he chose his councillors from among the higher clergy, as in the case of
Guenelon of Sens, who betrayed him, and of
Hincmar of Reims.
Baldness
It has been suggested that Charles's nickname was used ironically and not descriptively; i.e. that he was not in fact bald, but rather that he was extremely hairy.
An alternative or additional interpretation is based on Charles's initial lack of a ''
regnum''. "Bald" would in this case be a tongue-in-cheek reference to his landlessness, at an age where his brothers already had been sub-kings for some years.
Contemporary depictions of his person, e.g., in his
Bible of 845, on his seal of 847 (as king) as well as on his seal of 875 (as emperor) show him with a full head of hair, as does the
equestrian statuette (c. 870) thought to depict him.
The ''Genealogy of Frankish Kings'', a text from Fontanelle dating from possibly as early as 869, and a text without a trace of irony, names him as ''Karolus
Calvus'' ("Charles the Bald").
Certainly, by the end of the 10th century,
Richier of Reims and
Adhemar of Chabannes refer to him in all seriousness as "Charles the Bald".
Marriages and children
Charles married
Ermentrude, daughter of
Odo I, Count of Orléans, in 842. She died in 869. In 870, Charles married
Richilde of Provence
Richilde of Provence (c. 845 – 2 June 910, Kingdom of Lower Burgundy) was the second wife of the Frankish emperor Charles the Bald.Pierre Riche, ''The Carolingians: The Family who forged Europe'', transl. Michael Idomir Allen (University of Penn ...
, who was descended from a noble family of
Lorraine
Lorraine , also , , ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; german: Lothringen ; lb, Loutrengen; nl, Lotharingen is a cultural and historical region in Northeastern France, now located in the administrative region of Gra ...
.
With
Ermentrude:
*
Judith (c. 843 – after 866), married first King
Ethelwulf of
Wessex
la, Regnum Occidentalium Saxonum
, conventional_long_name = Kingdom of the West Saxons
, common_name = Wessex
, image_map = Southern British Isles 9th century.svg
, map_caption = S ...
, second his son
King Ethelbald, and third
Baldwin I, Margrave of Flanders
Baldwin I (probably 830s – 879), also known as Baldwin Iron Arm ( nl, Boudewijn met de IJzeren Arm; the epithet is first recorded in the 12th century), was the first margrave of Flanders, which evolved into the County of Flanders.
He was the ...
*
Louis the Stammerer (846–879)
*
Charles the Child (847–866)
*
Lothair the Lame (848–866), monk in 861, became Abbot of Saint-Germain
*
Carloman (849–876)
* Rotrude (852–912), a nun, Abbess of Saint-Radegunde
* Ermentrud (854–877), a nun, Abbess of Hasnon
* Hildegarde (born 856, died young)
* Gisela (857–874)
* Godehilde (864–907)
With
Richilde:
*
Rothilde (871–929), married firstly to Hugues, Count of Bourges and secondly to
Roger, Count of Maine.
* Drogo (872–873)
* Pippin (873–874)
* a son (born and died 875)
* Charles (876–877)
See also
*
First Bible of Charles the Bald
*
Crown of Charlemagne
The Crown of Charlemagne was a name given to the ancient coronation crown of King of the Franks, Kings of the Franks, and later King of France, Kings of France after 1237.
It was probably created as a simple circlet of four curved rectangular je ...
*
Capitularies of Charles the Bald
*
Engelram, Chamberlain of France
Engelram (also, Enguerand, Enguerrand, Engilram, Ingelram) (ca. 810 - 877) was Chamberlain (office), Chamberlain to Charles the Bald through sometime after 871. He also held the title of count from 853, but it is unclear what his domain was. Noth ...
Notes
References
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
External links
Carolus Calvus Francorum Rex, ''Patrologia Latina''
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Charles 02
823 births
877 deaths
9th-century Holy Roman Emperors
9th-century kings of West Francia
9th-century kings of Italy
Frankish warriors
Burials at the Basilica of Saint-Denis
Dukes of Swabia
Dukes of Maine
People from Frankfurt
9th-century rulers in Europe
9th-century French people
9th-century people from West Francia
Carolingian dynasty
Sons of emperors