Louis_the_Stammerer

Louis the Stammerer

Louis the Stammerer

King of West Francia from 877 to 879

Louis II, known as Louis the Stammerer (French: Louis le Bègue; 1 November 846 – 10 April 879), was the king of Aquitaine and later the king of West Francia. He was the eldest son of Emperor Charles the Bald and Ermentrude of Orléans.[1] Louis the Stammerer was physically weak and outlived his father by a year and a half.

Quick Facts King of West Francia, Reign ...

Louis succeeded his younger brother Charles the Child as the ruler of Aquitaine in 866 and his father in West Francia in 877, but he was never crowned emperor. He was crowned king on 8 October 877 by Hincmar, archbishop of Reims, at Compiegne[2] and was crowned a second time in August 878 by Pope John VIII at Troyes while the pope was attending a council there.[3] The pope may have even offered him the imperial crown, but it was declined. Louis had relatively little impact on politics. He was described "a simple and sweet man, a lover of peace, justice, and religion". In 878, he gave the counties of Barcelona, Girona, and Besalú to Wilfred the Hairy. His final act was to march against the invading Vikings, but he fell ill and died on 10 April 879 at Compiègne,[4] not long after beginning this final campaign. On his death, his realms were divided between his two sons, Carloman II and Louis III of France.

Family

During the peace negotiations between his father and Erispoe, duke of Brittany, Louis was betrothed to an unnamed daughter of Erispoe in 856. It is not known if this was the same daughter who later married Gurivant. The contract was broken in 857 after Erispoe's murder.

Louis was married twice. His first wife Ansgarde of Burgundy had two sons: Louis (born in 863) and Carloman (born in 866),[2] both of whom became kings of West Francia, and three daughters: Hildegarde (born in 864), Gisela (865–884).

By his second wife, Adelaide of Paris,[2]he had Princess Ermentrude (874–914)[5] and a posthumous child, Charles the Simple who would become, long after his elder brothers' deaths, king of West Francia.

With his first wife, Ansgarde of Burgundy, Louis had the following children:

With his second wife, Adelaide of Paris, Louis had:

References

  1. [1]
    Riche 1993, p. 369.
  2. [2]
    McKitterick 1999, p. 258.
  3. [3]
    Riche 2002, p. 837.
  4. [4]
    Bak 1990, p. 20.
  5. [5]
    Lößlein 2019, p. 147.

Sources

  • Bak, János M. (1990). Coronations: Medieval and Early Modern Monarchic Ritual. University of California.
  • Lößlein, Horst (2019). Royal Power in the Late Carolingian Age: Charles III the Simple and His Predecessors. Modern Academic Publishing.
  • McKitterick, Rosamond (1999). The Frankish Kingdoms under the Carolingians. Pearson Education Limited.
  • Riche, Pierre (1993). The Carolingians: A Family who Forged Europe. Translated by Allen, Michael Idomir. University of Pennsylvania Press.
  • Riche, Pierre (2002). "John VIII". In Levillain, Philippe (ed.). The Papacy: Gaius-Proxies. Vol. 2. Routledge.


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