King of West Francia from 898 to 922
This article is about the king of West Francia. For the king of France sometimes derogatorily called "Charles the Simple", see
Charles X
.
Charles III
(17 September 879 ? 7 October 929), called
the Simple
or
the Straightforward
(from the
Latin
Carolus Simplex
),
[a]
was the king of
West Francia
from 898 until 922 and the
king of Lotharingia
from 911 until 919?923. He was a member of the
Carolingian dynasty
.
Early life
[
edit
]
Charles was the third and
posthumous son
of King
Louis the Stammerer
by his second wife
Adelaide of Paris
.
[3]
As a child, Charles was prevented from succeeding to the throne at the time of the death in 884 of his half-brother, king
Carloman II
.
[4]
Instead, Frankish nobles of the realm asked his cousin, Emperor
Charles the Fat
, to assume the crown.
[5]
He was also prevented from succeeding the unpopular Charles the Fat, who was deposed in November 887 and died in January 888, although it is unknown if his overthrow was accepted or even made known in
West Francia
before his death. The nobility then elected
Odo
, the hero of the
Siege of Paris (885?886)
as the new king, although there was a faction that supported claims of
Guy III of Spoleto
. The young Charles was put under the protection of
Ranulf II
, the
Duke of Aquitaine
, who may have tried to claim the throne for him and in the end used the royal title himself until making peace with Odo.
[
citation needed
]
King of West Francia
[
edit
]
In 893, at the age of 14, 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.
[6]
In 911, a group of
Vikings
led by
Rollo
besieged
Paris
and
Chartres
. 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
. In return for the Vikings' loyalty, they were granted all the land between the river
Epte
and the sea, as well as
Duchy of Brittany
, which at the time was an independent country which West Francia had unsuccessfully tried to conquer. Rollo also agreed to be baptised and to marry Charles's daughter
Gisela
.
[7]
King of Lotharingia
[
edit
]
Also in 911,
Louis the Child
, the last Carolingian king of
East Francia
died, and nobles of
Lotharingia
, who had been loyal to him, under the leadership of
Reginar, Duke of Lorraine
declared Charles their new king, breaking from East Francia which had elected non-Carolingian
Conrad I
as the new king.
[6]
Charles had tried to win Lotharingian support for years, for instance, by marrying in April 907 a Lotharingian woman named
Frederuna
,
[8]
and in 909 his niece
Cunigunda
married
Wigeric of Lotharingia
. Charles defended Lotharingia against two attacks by Conrad I.
[9]
In 925, Lotharingia was once again seized by East Francia.
[10]
Revolt of the nobles
[
edit
]
![](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9d/Carolingian_empire_915.svg/220px-Carolingian_empire_915.svg.png)
Realms ruled by Charles the Simple in 915 (red)
Queen Frederuna died on 10 February 917 leaving six daughters and no sons
[11]
?and thus uncertainty as to the succession. 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
.
[12]
By this time, Charles's excessive favouritism towards a certain
Hagano
, a petty nobleman (mediocris) and a relative of Charles's first wife Frederuna, had turned the aristocracy against him. 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
, who in 919 declared loyalty to the new king of East Francia
Henry the Fowler
.
[6]
Opposition to Charles in Lotharingia was not universal, however; he retained the support of
Wigeric
.
[
citation needed
]
The nobles, completely exasperated with Charles's policies and especially his favouritism of Count Hagano, seized Charles in 920.
[13]
After negotiations by
Archbishop Herveus of Reims
the king was released.
[13]
In 922, the Frankish nobles revolted again led by
Robert of Neustria
.
[13]
Robert, who was Odo's 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, who had succeeded Fulk in 900. Charles returned with a Norman army in 923 but was defeated on 15 June at the
Battle of Soissons
by Robert, who died in the battle.
[6]
Charles was captured and imprisoned in a castle at
Peronne
under the guard of
Herbert II of Vermandois
.
[14]
Robert's son-in-law
Rudolph of Burgundy
was then elected to succeed him as king.
[15]
Charles died in prison on 7 October 929 and was buried at the nearby abbey of
Saint-Fursy
. His son by Eadgifu would eventually be crowned in 936 as
Louis IV of France
.
[16]
In the initial aftermath of Charles's defeat, Queen Eadgifu and their children fled to England.
[16]
Background
[
edit
]
On 6 December 884, King
Carloman II
of
West Francia
died without a male heir and his half-brother, the future Charles the Simple, was just a five-year-old boy. Because of this, their cousin
Charles the Fat
, already
Holy Roman Emperor
and King of
East Francia
, was invited by the nobles of the Kingdom to assume the throne. Since the beginning, the new monarch was forced to deal with constant Viking raids, with little success. After three years of incompetent government, Charles the Fat was finally deposed by the
Diet of Tribur
in 887.
[17]
[
full citation needed
]
Faced with the growing threat of northern invaders, the local nobles again rejected the succession of Charles the Simple because he was too young, and
Odo, Count of Paris
(member of the
Robertian
dynasty) was chosen as the new King of West Francia, after successfully defending
Paris
against the Vikings, led by
Rollo
. In 893, aided by
Archbishop Fulk of Reims
, Charles the Simple attempted to reclaim the throne, but in vain. By 897, the young prince ruled only the city of
Laon
before Odo on his deathbed designated him as his successor.
[
citation needed
]
Following the death of Odo in January 898, Charles the Simple finally assumed the title of king of West Francia. Soon the new monarch showed his ambition to conquer
Lotharingia
, the main objective of all the monarchs of West Francia since
Charles the Bald
. Lotharingia was the cradle of the Carolingian dynasty. Charlemagne's ancestors, the
Pippinids
were from Lotharingia (
Herstal
,
Jupille
...). After the
Treaty of Verdun
in 843, the Lotharingia was part of
Middle Francia
for a short time and both West and East Francia tried to gain control over it.
Arnulf of Carinthia
, King of East Francia prevented this by entrusting the land to his son
Zwentibold
in 895. Zwentibold was hated by his subjects, so Charles the Simple decided to invade in 898 after being called by
Count Reginar of Hainaut
. After seizing
Aachen
and capturing
Charlemagne
's Palace at
Nijmegen
, he returned to France at the request of the German bishops. A few years later, in September 911, the Lotharingian aristocracy again called on Charles the Simple after the death of
Louis the Child
, the last Carolingian ruler in East Francia.
[
citation needed
]
Charles the Simple was crowned King of Lotharingia in early November 911. However, the constant absences of the new monarch (who preferred to stay in Aachen or Thionville), quickly irritated the Lotharingian nobility (who feared for their own independence) and nobles of France, who saw this inclination as an affront.
[18]
[
full citation needed
]
The situation was even more complicated because, according to Flodoard, Charles the Simple refused to march against the Hungarians who threatened Lotharingia (only Archbishop Herve de Reims was present there) and finally caused an open rebellion when he attempted to dispossess his own aunt, Abbess Rothilde (also mother-in-law of
Hugh the Great
), from
Chelles Abbey
in order to give it to his favourite,
Hagano
(a relative of his first wife Frederuna).
[19]
[
full citation needed
]
Deposition
[
edit
]
From 920 to 922, Charles the Simple was in trouble. Although he signed the
Treaty of Bonn
with king
Henry the Fowler
of
East Francia
on 7 November 921, he had to fight on two fronts: one against
Duke Giselbert of Lotharingia
and the other against Hugh the Great, irritated by the treatment of his mother-in-law. Defeated, in June 922 Charles the Simple took refuge in Lotharingia. The nobles of West Francia declared him deposed from the throne, choosing as the new King
Robert, Count of Paris
, brother of the late King
Odo
and father of Hugh the Great.
[20]
[
full citation needed
]
Charles the Simple returned to France to regain the throne. His army, supported by a Lotharingian army and a group of soldiers, faced King Robert's army at
Soissons
in June 923. According to
Richerus
, Robert was killed in battle by Count Fulbert
[21]
or according to other historians, by Charles the Simple. Despite the death of Robert, his army won the battle and Charles the Simple had to escape from the battlefield. The French nobles elected
Rudolph of France
(Robert's son-in-law) as their new King, with his coronation taking place on 13 July 923 at
St Medard
, Soissons.
[
citation needed
]
During the summer, Charles the Simple was captured by
Herbert II, Count of Vermandois
, (another son-in-law of King Robert) at
Chateau-Thierry
; meanwhile, King Henry I of Germany took advantage of the situation to seize and add Lotharingia to his domains, after giving his daughter
Gerberga of Saxony
in marriage to Duke Giselbert.
[22]
[
full citation needed
]
After some time at Chateau-Thierry, the humiliated Charles the Simple was transferred in 924 to
Peronne
, where he died on 7 October 929 and was immediately buried in the local Monastery of Saint-Fursy. The legitimate Carolingian heir was now
Louis
, but King Rudolph retained the throne and ruled until his death from illness on 15 January 936 at
Auxerre
, being buried in the Abbey of Sainte-Colombe of
Sens
.
[23]
The nobility then discussed who could be the next king, because Rudolph left no sons. Finally, the nobles unanimously summoned back Louis to France, thanks to the decisive support of Hugh the Great, to become their new king.
[
citation needed
]
Family
[
edit
]
Charles first married in May 907 to
Frederuna
, daughter of
Dietrich Theodorich von Ringelheim
.
[3]
Together they had six daughters:
Charles married for the second time in 919 to
Eadgifu of Wessex
.
[3]
Together they had one son:
Charles also had several other offspring:
Notes
[
edit
]
- ^
His nickname "Simplex" or "the Simple" can be misleading. The Latin "simplex" was given to mean "straightforward", as in loyal or without guile. The nickname "the Simple" has stuck with him even though its meaning has been corrupted. He was not, however, generally complimented by the chroniclers. He was called Charles the Stupid by a later chronicler for an incident in 919 where he abandoned his men.
[1]
Besides this, he was called
stultus
(fatuous),
hebes
(stupid),
insipiens
(foolish),
parvus
(small) and
minor
(inferior).
[2]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Jim Bradbury,
The Capetians; Kings of France 987?1328
(New York; London: Hambledon Continuum, 2007), p. 33
- ^
John E. Morby, "The Sobriquets of Medieval European Princes",
Canadian Journal of History
,
13
:1 (1978), p. 6.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
l
m
Schwennicke, Detlev; Isenburg, Wilhelm Karl von; Freytag von Loringhoven, Frank (1984).
Europaische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der europaischen Staaten: neue Folge
[
European family tables: Family tables on the history of European states: new series
] (in German). Vol. Bd. 2, Die ausserdeutschen Staaten: die regierenden Hauser der ubrigen Staaten europas [Vol. 2, The non-German states: the ruling houses of the other European states]. Marburg: Verlag von J. A. Stargardt. Tafel 1.
OCLC
750595132
.
- ^
The Annals of Flodoard of Reims, 9919?966
, ed. & trans. Steven Fanning; Bernard S. Bachrach (Toronto:
University of Toronto Press
, 2011), p. xv
- ^
Pierre Riche,
The Carolingians; A Family who Forged Europe
, trans. Michael Idomir Allen (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1993), p. 216
- ^
a
b
c
d
Michel Parisse, "Lotharingia",
The New Cambridge Medieval History, III: c. 900?c. 1024
, ed.
Timothy Reuter
(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005), 313?15.
- ^
Ordericus Vitalis [1075 ? c.?1142 CE], trans. Thomas Forester,
The Ecclesiastical History of England and Normandy, Volume 1
(London: H.G. Bohn, 1853), 379?81. More-recent discussion of critical sourcing in Leah Shopkow, "Dudo of St.-Quentin and His Patrons", in Thomas E. Burman et al.,
Religion, Text, and Society in Medieval Spain and Northern Europe: Essays in Honor of J.N. Hillgarth
(Toronto: Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, 2002), 307?11.
ISBN
9780888448163
- ^
Bradbury, J. (2007).
The Capetians: Kings of France 987?1328
. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 34.
ISBN
978-0-8264-2491-4
.
- ^
Cambridge Medieval History
, Vol. III ? Germany and the Western Empire, eds. H. M. Gwatking; J. P. Whitney, et al. (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1922), p. 74
- ^
MacLean, Simon (2013).
"Shadow Kingdom: Lotharingia and the Frankish World, C.850?C.1050"
.
History Compass
.
11
(6): 443?457.
doi
:
10.1111/hic3.12049
.
hdl
:
10023/4176
.
- ^
Genealogiæ Comitum Flandriæ, Witgeri Genealogica Arnulfi Comitis
MGH SS IX, p. 303.
- ^
Lappenberg, Johann Martin.
A History of England Under the Anglo-Saxon Kings
, Volume 2, George Bell, London. 1884, p. 120
- ^
a
b
c
Pierre Riche,
The Carolingians; A Family who Forged Europe
, trans. Michael Idomir Allen (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1993), p. 250
- ^
Jean Dunbabin, "West Francia: The Kingdom",
The New Cambridge Medieval History, III: c. 900?c. 1024
, ed.
Timothy Reuter
(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005), 378?79.
- ^
The Annals of Flodoard of Reims, 9919?966
, ed. & trans. Steven Fanning; Bernard S. Bachrach (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2011), p. xvi
- ^
a
b
The Annals of Flodoard of Reims, 9919?966
, ed. & trans. Steven Fanning; Bernard S. Bachrach (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2011), p. xvii
- ^
Depreux 2002, pp. 128?129.
- ^
Isaia 2009, p. 82.
- ^
Depreux 2002, pp. 131?132.
- ^
Depreux 2002, p. 129.
- ^
Richer de Reims:
Gallica Histoire de son temps
Book I, p. 87
Archived
19 February 2016 at the
Wayback Machine
.
- ^
Isaia 2009, p. 87.
- ^
Toussaint-Duplessis:
Annales de Paris. Jusqu'au regne de Hugues Capet
, 1753, p. 201.
- ^
Orderic Vitalis,
The Ecclesiastical History of Orderic Vitalis
, ed. Marjorie Chibnall, Volume II, Books III And IV (Oxford: The Clarendon Press, 1993), p. 9
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