Charles the Bald

Charles the Bald was a Carolingian ruler who governed West Francia from 843 and became emperor in 875. He was a grandson of Charlemagne and a son of Louis the Pious.

Louis the Pious: Louis the Pious was emperor of the Carolingian Empire from 814 to 840 and son of Charlemagne. His father’s succession plans and death triggered the conflict that shaped Charles’s inheritance.
West Francia: West Francia was the Carolingian kingdom formed in 843 that developed into the kingdom of France. It was the political realm Charles ruled and sought to defend.
Pope John VIII: John VIII was pope from 872 to 882 during a period of conflict and political fragmentation in Italy. He crowned Charles emperor in 875 and sought Frankish support in Italy.
Treaty of Meerssen: The Treaty of Meerssen, concluded in 870, divided much of Lothair II’s former kingdom between Charles the Bald and Louis the German. It expanded Charles’s lands eastward and reshaped the balance among Carolingian rulers.
Charlemagne: Charlemagne was king of the Franks and Lombards and emperor, ruling much of western Europe from 768 to 814. Charles’s identity and legitimacy rested on descent from this earlier Carolingian emperor.
Carolingian Empire: The Carolingian Empire was a medieval European empire ruled by the Frankish Carolingian dynasty. Charles’s kingship operated within its divided territories and claims to imperial unity.
Charles the Simple: Charles the Simple was a Carolingian king of West Francia who ruled from 898 to 922. He was a later West Frankish king whose reign followed a different phase of Carolingian decline.
Imperial coronation of Charles the Bald: Pope John VIII crowned Charles the Bald emperor at Rome in 875. The coronation made Charles emperor after the death of his nephew Louis II.
Treaty of Verdun: The Treaty of Verdun, concluded in 843, divided the Carolingian Empire among the sons of Louis the Pious. It established Charles’s kingdom of West Francia after years of civil war.
Viking expansion: Viking expansion was the movement of Scandinavian raiders, traders, and settlers across Europe from the late eighth century onward. Raids on West Francia forced Charles to negotiate, fortify, and raise resources.

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