Family Card - Person Sheet
Family Card - Person Sheet
NameCharles “the Bald” Martel , King of West Francia, Holy Roman Emperor 
Birth13 Jun 823, Frankfurt
Death6 Oct 877
FatherLouis I “The Pious” Martel , King of the Franks (778-840)
MotherJudith of Bavaria (-843)
Misc. Notes
Charles the Bald (numbered Charles II of France and the Holy Roman Emperor) (German: Karl dear Kahle, French: Charles le Chauve) (June 13, 823 ‐ October 5 or 6, 877), Holy Roman Emperor (875-877) and king of West Francia (840-877), was the youngest son of Emperor Louis the Pious, by his second wife Judith.
He was born on 13 June 823 in Frankfurt, when his elder brothers were already adults and had been assigned their own regna, or subkingdoms, by their father.
The death of the emperor in 840 led to the outbreak of war between his sons. Charles allied himself with his brother Louis the German to resist the pretensions of the new emperor Lothair I, and the two allies defeated Lothair at the Battle of Fontenay-en-Puisaye on June 25, 841. In the following year, the two brothers confirmed their alliance by the celebrated Oaths of Strasbourg. The war was brought to an end by the Treaty of Verdun in August 843. The settlement gave Charles the Bald the kingdom of the West Franks, which he had been up till then governing and which practically corresponded with what is now France, as far as the Meuse, the Saône, and the Rhone, with the addition of the Spanish March as far as the Ebro. Louis received the eastern part of the Carolingian Empire, known as the East Francia and later Germany. Lothair retained the imperial title and the Iron Crown of Lombardy. He also received the central regions from Flanders through the Rhineland and Burgundy as king of Middle Francia.
The first years of Charles' reign, up to the death of Lothair I in 855, were comparatively peaceful. During these years the three brothers continued the system of “confraternal government", meeting repeatedly with one another, at Koblenz (848), at Meerssen (851), and at Attigny (854). In 858, Louis the German, invited by disaffected nobles eager to oust Charles, invaded the West Frankish kingdom. Charles' was so unpopular that he was unable to summon an army, and he fled to Burgundy. He was saved only by the support of the bishops, who refused to crown Louis king, and by the fidelity of the Welfs, who were related to his mother, Judith. In 860, he in his turn tried to seize the kingdom of his nephew, Charles of Provence, but was repulsed. On the death of his nephew Lothair II in 869, Charles tried to seize Lothair's dominions, but by the Treaty of Mersen (870) was compelled to share them with Louis the German.
Charles was succeeded by his son, Louis, the child of Ermentrude, daughter of Odo, Count of Orléans, whom Charles had married in 842 and who had died in 869. In 870, Charles had married Richilde, who was descended from a noble family of Lorraine, but none of the children he had with her played a part of any importance. Charles seems to have been a prince of education and letters, a friend of the church, and conscious of the support he could find in the episcopate against his unruly nobles, for he chose his councillors from among the higher clergy, as in the case of Guenelon of Sens, who betrayed him, and of Hincmar of Reims.
Finally, it is unlikely that Charles was actually bald. Rather, the epithet the Bald is thought to be early medieval humour and historians generally agree that he was probably quite hirsute, with a full head of hair and a beard.
He was born on 13 June 823 in Frankfurt, when his elder brothers were already adults and had been assigned their own regna, or subkingdoms, by their father.
The death of the emperor in 840 led to the outbreak of war between his sons. Charles allied himself with his brother Louis the German to resist the pretensions of the new emperor Lothair I, and the two allies defeated Lothair at the Battle of Fontenay-en-Puisaye on June 25, 841. In the following year, the two brothers confirmed their alliance by the celebrated Oaths of Strasbourg. The war was brought to an end by the Treaty of Verdun in August 843. The settlement gave Charles the Bald the kingdom of the West Franks, which he had been up till then governing and which practically corresponded with what is now France, as far as the Meuse, the Saône, and the Rhone, with the addition of the Spanish March as far as the Ebro. Louis received the eastern part of the Carolingian Empire, known as the East Francia and later Germany. Lothair retained the imperial title and the Iron Crown of Lombardy. He also received the central regions from Flanders through the Rhineland and Burgundy as king of Middle Francia.
The first years of Charles' reign, up to the death of Lothair I in 855, were comparatively peaceful. During these years the three brothers continued the system of “confraternal government", meeting repeatedly with one another, at Koblenz (848), at Meerssen (851), and at Attigny (854). In 858, Louis the German, invited by disaffected nobles eager to oust Charles, invaded the West Frankish kingdom. Charles' was so unpopular that he was unable to summon an army, and he fled to Burgundy. He was saved only by the support of the bishops, who refused to crown Louis king, and by the fidelity of the Welfs, who were related to his mother, Judith. In 860, he in his turn tried to seize the kingdom of his nephew, Charles of Provence, but was repulsed. On the death of his nephew Lothair II in 869, Charles tried to seize Lothair's dominions, but by the Treaty of Mersen (870) was compelled to share them with Louis the German.
Charles was succeeded by his son, Louis, the child of Ermentrude, daughter of Odo, Count of Orléans, whom Charles had married in 842 and who had died in 869. In 870, Charles had married Richilde, who was descended from a noble family of Lorraine, but none of the children he had with her played a part of any importance. Charles seems to have been a prince of education and letters, a friend of the church, and conscious of the support he could find in the episcopate against his unruly nobles, for he chose his councillors from among the higher clergy, as in the case of Guenelon of Sens, who betrayed him, and of Hincmar of Reims.
Finally, it is unlikely that Charles was actually bald. Rather, the epithet the Bald is thought to be early medieval humour and historians generally agree that he was probably quite hirsute, with a full head of hair and a beard.