My ancestor, Gerard d’Auvergne, died at the Battle of Fontenoy on 25 June 841. Historians describe this battle as the most traumatic experience of the ninth century¹. The result of this war has influenced European affairs up till today.

This article describes the reasons behind the battle, what happened, and its after-effects.

The Charlemagne effect

When Charlemagne died, his son Louis the Pious inherited the entire Carolingian Kingdom². This consisted of most of Western Europe, excluding the Iberian peninsula³. Louis wanted to split the Empire because he had 3 sons of his own⁴:

• Lothar I, who was the eldest son.
• Louis the German
• Charles the Bald

History calls him Louis, Emperor of the West and he is also an ancestor of mine.

Louis the Pious had his eldest rule as Emperor for some time⁵. When his other sons came of age, he gave each son authority over one-third of the Empire⁶.

Inheritance

This wasn’t unusual; Louis the Pious followed the law of the day which dictated an equal share to all sons⁷. What was unusual is that he let the eldest think he was going to inherit the whole lot. Lothar fought his brothers in a civil war in the late 830s, and lost⁸.

Louis the Pious died on 20 June 840.

The Annals of Fulda claim that Louis pledged his entire empire to Lothar on his deathbed and even sent him crown and scepter of Empire⁹. It’s hard to tell if this happened even if Fulda was a contemporary because no other source states this fact¹⁰. Either way, Lothar sensed an opportunity to get his hands on the whole empire^11 12.

On 24 July 840 Lothar launched a war against his brothers. This was the beginning of the Carolingian War of Succession¹³. The war culminated in the Battle of Fontenoy in 841¹⁴.

The Battle

Between 22 and 24 June 841, Louis and Charles begged Lothar to remember they were brothers¹⁵. Lothar dithered while his ally, Pippin of Aquitaine, arrived with his troops¹⁶. (Pippin II was Gerard’s brother-in-law)

On 25 June 841, Louis and Charles rose at dawn and assembled their troops on the peak of a hill at 06:00 am^{17 18 19}. Some estimates claim each side had about 150 000 men²⁰. That would suggest 1% of Europe’s population was there. (It’s not impossible, but it is unlikely.)

The Divisionists attacked Lothar from two separate hills, splitting his flank²¹. This is not to suggest the armies were a well-trained force. Warlords commanded many of the soldiers who were unfamiliar with ‘teamwork'²². As Count of Auvergne, Gerard commanded troops under Lothar’s banner.

It’s possible the different warlords fought shoulder-to-shoulder with previous enemies²³. Each independent army would have wanted to show off and achieve glory²⁴.

Warcraft

Tactics in the ninth century were predictable²⁵:

• The foot soldiers would start with terrifying war cries.
• The infantry core was a trained militia. They would advance in close formation protected by a strong shield wall. Their main weapon was a long-handled throwing axe, but some had armour and 1 meter (3 foot long) swords too.
• When the commander decided the time was right, he would order mounted Knights into battle. These would have sturdy body armour, 1.5 meter (5-foot) spears and shields for defence. Their horses were swift and easy to maneuver. 
• The Knights would follow up the charge with horseback hand-to-hand combat.

The battle progressed till about noon when a cavalry charge broke Lothar’s defenses. The bulk of the slaughter started at this point when the elite of Frankish nobility were killed²⁶, including Gerard. By the end of the day Lothar lost 40 000 men²⁷.

Sensing he was losing the battle he retreated²⁸ to Aachen²⁹. Charles and Louis decided to end the carnage, and seized their brother’s camp³⁰. The next day they celebrated mass³¹ and buried all their slain comrades-in-arms³².

The War did not end here, but many historians consider this battle to be the turning point³³.

Resolution

On 12 February 842, Louis the German and Charles the Bald signed the Oath of Strasbourg. They committed themselves to oppose their brother’s imperialistic ambitions³⁴. By June, Lothar realised his efforts had united his brothers against him. He started peace negotiations³⁵. In August 843, the three signed the Treaty of Verdun which divided the Empire in 3³⁶:

• Charles the Bald received the western part of the Empire. This is a large chunk of modern France.
• Louis the German received anything East of the Rhine and north-east Italy. This formed the basis of the Holy Roman Empire. This became East Francia.
• Lothar got modern day Netherlands, Alsace, Lorraine, Burgundy, Provence and northern Italy. This became Middle Francia or Lotharingia.

After effects

Europe split into factions still visible in modern-day politics. Viking invaders preyed on this. The wars also caused the Battle of Brissarthe, where Gerard’s son Ranulf died.

The treaty of Verdun influenced modern Europe; in many ways, our world is a direct result of this treaty.

1. Louis the Pious had, once, united Europe under a single banner. After Fontenoy, the possibility this would happen again disappeared.
2. The infighting led to frigid relations between the heirs for many years to come. The invading Vikings preyed on a disunited continent to invade, plunder and occupy.
3. East Francia became the basis for the Holy Roman Empire of many Germanic city-states. If they’d been part of a large grouping their fragmentation would have been different. Would we have had German nationalism in the 19th and 20th century?
4. France and Germany fought over Alsace and Lorraine many times in history. If you visit the region now you’ll note the cities are the most Germanic French cities you’ll find. (In the 1990s, Mercedes built its first A-series factory in the Alsace-Lorraine region. This was an intentional sign of closer Franco-German cooperation). Winning the region was a source of national pride during the many European wars.
5. The northern part of the Italian peninsula has always been separate to the southern part. It led to the Kingdom of Two Sicilies in the south being distinct from the city-states of the north. Italian politics is still influenced by a separatist northern movement.

My ancestor, Gerard, was on the wrong side of history. His death in battle suggests he wasn’t given a proper burial.

References

1. Diesenberger, M. (2018). Remembering Fontenoy – After Empire. [online] St-andrews.ac.uk. Available at: https://arts.st-andrews.ac.uk/after-empire/2018/04/03/remembering-fontenoy/ [Accessed 2 Nov. 2024][↩]
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