Louis the German facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Louis the German |
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Louis's seal with an image of the Roman emperor Hadrian. The words say "XPE PROTEGE HLUDOICUM REGEM" which means – "O Christ, protect King Louis!"
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| King of East Francia (King of Germany) |
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| Reign | 843–876 |
| Predecessor | Louis the Pious |
| Successor | Carloman of Bavaria (Bavaria) Louis the Younger (Saxony) Charles the Fat (Swabia) |
| Born | c. 806 |
| Died | 28 August 876 Frankfurt am Main |
| Burial | Lorsch Abbey |
| Spouse | Emma of Altdorf (m. 827; d. 876) |
| Issue | Carloman of Bavaria Louis the Younger Charles the Fat |
| Dynasty | Carolingian |
| Father | Louis the Pious |
| Mother | Ermengarde of Hesbaye |
| Signum manus |  |
Louis the German (born around 806/810 – died 28 August 876) was a very important king. He was also known as Louis II of Germany or Louis II of East Francia. He was the first king of East Francia, which is like an early version of Germany. He ruled for a long time, from 843 to 876 AD.
Louis was the grandson of the famous emperor Charlemagne. He was also the third son of Louis the Pious, who was the emperor of a large kingdom called Francia. Louis the German got his nickname Germanicus after he died. This was because East Francia later became known as the kingdom of Germany.
Louis had many disagreements with his father and brothers. But in 843, he finally received the East Frankish kingdom. This happened through an important agreement called the Treaty of Verdun. He tried to take over the West Frankish kingdom, ruled by his half-brother Charles the Bald, but he failed. The 860s were tough years for Louis. His own sons rebelled against him. He also struggled to keep control over his kingdom.
In 870, he gained more land for East Francia through the Treaty of Meerssen. This land was called Lotharingia. Louis also tried to become emperor and rule Italy, but he was not successful. In the East, he made a peace agreement with the Moravians in 874. This ended many years of fighting. During his rule, fewer official government papers were written. This was a change that continued for a long time.
Contents
Early Life and Rule
Louis spent some of his early years at the court of his grandfather, Charlemagne. People say he was Charlemagne's favorite. In 817, his father, Emperor Louis the Pious, divided his lands among his sons. Louis was made the ruler of the Duchy of Bavaria. This was a common practice back then. A family member would rule a local kingdom as a governor.
Louis ruled from Regensburg, which was the old capital of the Bavarians. In 825, he started fighting wars with the Wends and Sorbs. These groups lived on his eastern border. In 827, he married Hemma. She was the sister of his stepmother, Judith of Bavaria. Their family, the Welfs, owned land from Alsace to Bavaria.
Louis officially started ruling Bavaria in 826. In 828 and 829, he led two campaigns against the Bulgarians. They were trying to enter Pannonia, but Louis didn't have much success. While he was a sub-king, he tried to expand his rule. He wanted to control the Rhine-Main area.
A Son Who Rebelled
Louis didn't get too involved in the first civil war against his father. But in the second war, his older brothers convinced him to join them. These brothers were Lothair I, King of Italy, and Pepin I, Duke of Aquitaine. They promised Louis land if he helped them invade Alamannia. This land had been given to their young half-brother, Charles the Bald.
In 832, Louis led an army of Slavs into Alamannia. But his father, the emperor, drove him back. Louis the Pious took away Louis's right to inherit. However, this didn't last long. The emperor was soon captured by his own rebellious sons and removed from power. When the emperor was quickly put back on the throne, he made peace with Louis. In 836, he officially gave Bavaria back to Louis.
Louis started the third civil war in 839. A part of his land was given to his young half-brother Charles. So, Louis invaded Alamannia again. This time, Emperor Louis reacted quickly. He forced the younger Louis to retreat to the far southeastern part of his kingdom. Peace was then made by force.
Civil War and Aftermath (840–844)
Emperor Louis the Pious died in 840. Then, Lothair I claimed the entire Empire for himself. So, Louis allied with Charles the Bald. They fought against Lothair I and their nephew Pepin II of Aquitaine. This big battle was called the Battle of Fontenoy. It happened in June 841. Both sides lost many soldiers.
According to old records, it was the biggest bloodbath the Franks had ever seen. This battle was also Louis's last fight to unite the kingdom. In June 842, the three brothers met on an island in the Saône river. They wanted to discuss peace. Each brother chose forty representatives to decide the borders of their kingdoms.
This led to the Treaty of Verdun, signed on August 10, 843. Louis received most of the lands east of the Rhine river. This area became known as East Francia. He also got a region around Speyer, Worms, and Mainz. His territories included Bavaria, where he made Regensburg his main government center. He also ruled Thuringia, Franconia, and Saxony.
Louis is often called the founder of the German kingdom. But his efforts to keep the Empire united didn't work. In 842, he stopped the Stellinga uprising in Saxony. In 844, he forced the Obotrites to accept his rule. He even put their prince, Gozzmovil, to death. Thachulf, Duke of Thuringia, then led campaigns against the Bohemians and Moravians. But he wasn't very good at stopping the attacking Vikings.
Fighting Charles the Bald
In 852, Louis sent his son Louis the Younger to Aquitaine. The nobles there were unhappy with Charles the Bald's rule. But Louis the Younger didn't leave until 854. He returned the next year.
From 853 onwards, Louis tried many times to take the throne of West Francia. Old records say the people of West Francia offered him the throne. They were tired of Charles the Bald's harsh rule. Louis was encouraged by his nephews, Peppin II and Charles of Provence. So, Louis invaded West Francia in 858. Charles the Bald couldn't even gather an army to fight. He fled to Burgundy.
Later that year, Louis signed a document. It was dated "the first year of the reign in West Francia." But his army turned against him. Also, the bishops in Aquitaine stayed loyal to Charles the Bald. This caused Louis's plan to fail. So, on June 7, 860, in Koblenz, both Louis and Charles promised to keep the peace.
After Emperor Lothair I died in 855, Louis and Charles worked together for a while. They planned to divide Lothair's lands between themselves. The only problem was Lothair's sons. These were Lothair II (who got Lotharingia), Louis II of Italy (who was emperor), and Charles of Provence. In 868, Louis and Charles agreed to split Lotharingia.
When Lothair II died in 869, Louis was very sick. His armies were also fighting a war with the Moravians. Charles the Bald quickly took Lothair's lands. But Louis recovered. He forced Charles to agree to the Treaty of Meerssen. This treaty divided Lothair's lands among all the people who claimed them.
Dividing the Kingdom Among His Sons
The last years of Louis the German's life were difficult. His sons rebelled against him. His oldest son, Carloman of Bavaria, rebelled in 861 and again two years later. Then his second son, Louis the Younger, joined the rebellion. His brother Charles the Fat also joined them. In 864, Louis had to give Carloman the kingdom of Bavaria. This was the same kingdom Louis himself had once ruled under his father.
In 865, Louis divided the rest of his lands. Saxony with Franconia and Thuringia went to Louis the Younger. Swabia with Raetia went to Charles the Fat. In May 868, Louis called a meeting of church leaders in Worms. They discussed church issues and how to get the church's support against Moravia.
There was a report that Emperor Louis II had died in Italy. This led to peace between Louis and his sons. Louis the German then tried to get the imperial crown for his oldest son, Carloman. But these efforts were stopped by Louis II, who was not dead. Louis's old rival, Charles the Bald, also stopped him.
Later Years
In 872 and 873, messengers from the Eastern Roman Emperor Basil I visited Louis in Regensburg. This showed that his rule was known even in Constantinople. Emperor Louis II died in August 875. After this, Louis tried to become emperor himself. He wanted the title for himself and his family.
To do this, Abbot Sigihard von Fulda traveled to Rome to see Pope John VIII. On May 18, 876, he returned and told Louis the news. In December 875, Charles the Bald had quickly gone to Rome and gotten the title of emperor.
His wife Hemma visited Louis for the last time in May 875. In 874, she had a stroke and lost her voice. During her visit, Louis gave the Berg im Donaugau Abbey to the Marienkapelle, a chapel he built. Hemma died in late January 876 in Regensburg. Louis then died after a short illness on August 28, 876, in his palace in Frankfurt.
The next day, his son Louis buried him at Lorsch Abbey. However, some historians are not sure if the body in his tomb is really the Carolingian king. After Louis's death, Charles the Bald tried to take over the Eastern kingdom too. But Louis the Younger defeated him on October 8, 876. This battle happened at Andernach. Louis the Younger had an army of Franks, Saxons, and Thuringians. One year later, Charles the Bald also died.
Louis's Rule and Legacy
We don't have many official papers from Louis's 50 years of rule. Only 172 royal documents exist. This makes it hard to know exactly where Louis was at all times. For comparison, his father, Louis the Pious, created 18 documents per year. His half-brother, Charles the Bald, made 12 per year. Sometimes, Louis didn't produce many documents for several months. For example, we don't know where he was between June 849 and July 850.
At least 52 documents were for people in Bavaria. But over time, fewer documents were made for Bavarian people. The Rhine-Main area was an important region. It included Frankfurt, Mainz, and Worms. This area had many Imperial Palaces and treasuries. It was also in the middle of the East Frankish kingdom, making it easy to reach. Because of this, most church meetings and royal gatherings were held there.
Nickname "the German"
Louis was only called "the German" much later, in the 1700s. People living at the same time as Louis called him rex Germaniae ("King of Germania") or rex Germanorum ("King of the Teutons"). But back then, Germania or Germani didn't mean "Germany" or "the Germans." It meant the land east of the Rhine river, outside the old Roman Empire, and its people.
His friends and people of his time called Louis "pious" or "very pious." Coins from his time called him HLUDOVICUS PIUS REX, which means "Louis the Pious King."
Family and Children
Louis was married to Hemma (who died on January 31, 876). They had several children:
- Hildegard (828–856)
- Carloman of Bavaria (829–880), who became King of Bavaria
- Irmgard of Chiemsee (died 866), also known as Ermengard. Louis made her the head of two convents: first Buchau Abbey, then the royal abbey of Frauenchiemsee in Bavaria. She is remembered as a saint on July 17.
- Gisela, who might have died when she was a child
- Louis the Younger (835–882)
- Bertha (died 877)
- Charles the Fat (839–888)
See also
In Spanish: Luis el Germánico para niños
