Middle Francia

Middle Francia was the kingdom assigned to Emperor Lothair I by the 843 Treaty of Verdun. It stretched from the North Sea through Italy and included the imperial cities of Aachen and Rome.

Carolingian Civil War: The conflict among the sons of Louis the Pious over control of the Carolingian Empire. Its battles and rival claims drove the settlement that created Middle Francia.
Lotharingia: A kingdom formed from the northern portion of Lothair II’s realm after the 855 division of Middle Francia. It carried the kingdom’s name and political legacy into the contested lands between East and West Francia.
Lothair II: King of Lotharingia from 855 to 869 and son of Lothair I. He inherited the northern kingdom created by Middle Francia’s first partition.
West Francia: The western kingdom assigned to Charles the Bald in the 843 Treaty of Verdun. It bordered Middle Francia and became the basis of the kingdom of France.
Louis the Pious: Carolingian emperor from 814 to 840 and son of Charlemagne. His contested succession left his sons to divide the empire.
Kingdom of Italy: A medieval kingdom centered on the Italian peninsula, ruled by Carolingian and later German kings. It was the southern core of Middle Francia and passed to Lothair I’s son Louis II.
Louis II of Italy: Carolingian emperor and king of Italy from 844 to 875, son of Lothair I. He ruled the Italian portion of his father’s divided kingdom.
East Francia: The eastern kingdom assigned to Louis the German in the 843 Treaty of Verdun. It bordered Middle Francia and became the main predecessor of the German kingdom.
Lothair I: Carolingian emperor from 817 to 855 and eldest surviving son of Louis the Pious. He received Middle Francia and its imperial title in the partition.
Kingdom of Provence: A kingdom in southeastern Gaul formed from territories held by Charles of Provence. It emerged from the division of Middle Francia after Lothair I’s death.

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Frankish EmpireBroader topic: Its fragmentation exposed the limits of partitioning the imperial heartlands.