Treaty of Verdun

The Treaty of Verdun was a pact signed in August 843 between Lothair, Louis the German and Charles the Bald —sons of Ludovico Pío and grandsons of Charlemagne—, in the French town of the same name. This treaty originated from the ordinatio imperii, which decreed the procedure to proceed if one of the subsidiary monarchs died without issue. However, this resulted in a series of conflicts in the empire that, far from resolving the divisions, accentuated them. The document established the regions that corresponded to each heir and prior to the signing of this treaty, it was agreed between them a commitment to mutual aid. In this way, the Carolingian civil war (and Charlemagne's project to revive the Roman Empire) came to an end through the signing of the Strasbourg Oaths on February 14, 842. After the division was carried out, three territories arose which became known as West Francia, Middle Francia, and East Francia. The exact date of the treaty is unknown, although it is certainly known to have occurred before 10 August, as confirmed by a contemporary letter.

Lothario settled in Italy and inherited the title of emperor, now reduced to a symbolic character. Louis the German established his residence in Bavaria and was granted the Germanic and annexed territories from the Alps to the Rhine—the future Germany. Charles the Bald received the western part of what was left of the Carolingian Empire—the future France—the two kingdoms partitioned Middle France after the death of Lothair I in 855.

Participants

After the death of Louis I the Pious (Lodovico Pío), the Carolingian Empire was divided among his three sons: Charles the Bald, Lothair, and Louis the German. In this way, each of the heirs was granted a kingdom: Lothair I was granted Italy, Louis the German established himself in Bavaria, and Charles the Bald in Aquitaine. In this agreement Lothair I reserved the title of emperor for himself. and the division of the Empire of Louis the Pious was carried out as follows among his heirs:

• Luis el Germánico: The Germanic countries and annexes to the north of the Alps and to the east of the Rhine River joined the counties of Espira, Worms and Maguncia; in addition to Germany and the Recia that corresponded to the territories of the greyons and Engadina.
• Carlos el Calvo: It was awarded, from north to south, the regions west of the Escalda river and the western territories from the region of Cambray and Sedán to the upper valley of Malme, the Meseta de Longres, the Saona and the Rhone.
• Lotario: It is the depositary of the imperial title. It modifies its denomination, and from that time it becomes called "Christian emperor" of the territories between the Germanic kingdom of the east and the French kingdom of the west, linked to the italic peninsula. Its kingdoms make up the territories from the north of Frisia, part of the Burgundy to the River Rhone and Provence.

Consequences

Division of the Carolingian Empire according to the Treaty of Verdun

Geographic consequences

The agreement had considerable political results. Likewise, the failure of the Carolingian imperial restoration was evidenced, gestating the germ of what would later be the nations of France —to the west— based on the territory of Carlos; and in the west Germany - on the basis of the regions of Luis to the east. The demarcation of Lothair (which is usually called Lotharingia, although it is more correct to call the northern area that was granted to his son Lothar II by that name), included the area that historiography designates with the name of Flanders —the current Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg—; the sector located west of the Rhine — the current French regions of Alsace and Lorraine and parts of the current German areas called the Rhineland — and the current territories of Burgundy, Provence and the north of present-day Italy.

Its stability was very insecure due to its divisions and distribution. First between the offspring of Lothair —Treaty of Prüm, 855— and then between the neighboring monarchies —Treaty of Mersen, signed on August 8, 870, and Treaty of Ribemont, in 880— and thanks to the Treaty the Empire was left following way: the Frankish Empire was divided into three distinct parts, forming three kingdoms: the central, eastern and western kingdoms. The title of emperor fell to Lothair I, who in turn received the central kingdom, whose extension stretched from the sea to North to the Gulf of Gaeta; including the cities of Aachen and Rome. For his part, Louis the German took control of the eastern kingdom. Finally, Charles the Bald received the western kingdom and, despite this division of the Carolingian Empire, the imperial unit would be formally recognized, being crowned as king in 848 in Orleans.

Political consequences

Charles the Bald received the so-called "Kingdom of the West Franks" or Francia Occidentalis, which would become known as the Kingdom of France from 1205. Geographically it covered the south of present-day France, culminating in the so-called Hispanic March. However, Carlos had a confrontation with his nephew Pepin II of Aquitaine, since when his father died he was recognized as sovereign only by the nobility without taking into account the approval of the emperor, who in the assembly of Worms in the year 939, he chose Carlos as monarch. For his part, Carlos the Bald went to war with Pepin in the year 840. Thus, after several defeats, in the year 845 the treaty of Benoît was signed -sur-Loire, recognizing the rights of his nephew. From the year 840, Viking raids proliferated, Paris being sacked between the years 856 and 862. For this reason, Carlos the Bald took measures that were ineffective, being necessary to reach an vassalage with the Vikings, giving them the territory that would be called Normandy. In addition to this, the incursions of the Magyars were added from the year 920.

For his part, the eldest son of Ludovico Pío, on whom the title of emperor falls, Lotario I, obtained Middle France as his kingdom, which was located between the North Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. It included what are currently the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Belgium, west of the Rhine, France, Switzerland and northern Italy. In turn, the Kingdom of the East Franks, also called East Francia, would be the germ of the future monarchy in Germany. Louis the Germanic corresponded to the mostly German-speaking eastern part, a fact that is referred to in the Annales Fuldenses, which made mention of the division of the Empire and the eastern part that was granted to Louis the Germanic. The territory was made up of conquests from the 8th century century, which included the duchies of Germany, Bavaria, Saxony, and Thuringia along with the Marches Danish and Slavic.

Around August 10, 843, Louis the Pious died and after a vintage, his offspring and heirs signed the Treaty of Verdun through which Louis the German obtained the eastern part called Eastern Francia, which was made up of regional incorporations from the 8th century to the Carolingian Empire, including: Bavaria, Saxony, Thuringia, and the Danish and Slavic Marches whose population it was mostly Germanic and Slavic-speaking, forming a population that was divided by race, customs, and language.

Additional bibliography

• De Fulda, Roudolfo (1992). The Annals of Fulda: Ninth-century Histories Volume II (in English). Manchester University Press. ISBN 0719034582.
• De Fulda, Roudolfo; Pertz, Georg Heinrich and Kurze Friedrich (eds.) (1891). Annales Fuldenses. Pars II (in Latin). Hánnover: Imprensis Bibliopolii Hahniami. ISBN 978-83-930932-6-7. The reference uses the obsolete parameter |coautores= (help)
• Ullmann, Walter (2010). The Carolingian Renaissance and the idea of kingship. Routledge. ISBN 0415578477.