Louis was the Emperor of the West following the Wars of Carolingian Succession. The ‘West’ refers to the western segment of Charlemagne’s empire and maps to most of modern-day France.
He is my 32 x great-grandfather.
Louis, or Hloudowic1, was born on an island in the Rhine in 7781 2 3, possibly in August2, the third son1 of Charlemagne and his wife Hildegard1 3.
He was a twin with his brother Hlothar1.
Titles
Pope Hadrian I crowned him King of the Aquitanians in Rome on 15 April 781.
Pope Stephen IV1 crowned him Emperor of the West4 as Louis I “The Fair” in 816. He ruled from 814 to 8402 3. His coronation was in Reims cathedral1.
He also was King of France2 and King of Italy but he didn’t want to use these titles because he preferred emphasising the unity of Empire1.
Family
Louis married three times2, but perhaps his third relationship wasn’t as formal as we think1:
- In 7945 he married Ermengarde of Hesbaye4. Together they had six children:
- Lothaire, who became Emperor Lothaire I.
- Pepin, who became King of Aquitaine.
- Hrotrud
- Berta
- Hildegarde4, who married Gerard, Count of Auvergne.
- Louis, who became King of the East Franks.
- In 819, he married the Bavarian Judith of Altdorf. Together they had one son, Charles the Bald, who inherited the title of Emperor of the West.
- His third wife, or mistress, is unknown.
Notable events
As King of Aquitaine, his armies occupied cities in northern Spain in 785 – Girona, Urgel and Cerdanya1. In 802 he besieged Barcelona1. This led to the creation of buffer states in northern Spain between the Arabic dominated Iberian peninsula and the Carolingian Empire in Europe. (This is one reason why the region of Catalunya has a distinct identity today.)
The only buffer state that still exists to this day is the state of Andorra.
In 806 Charlemagne partitioned these territories at Thionville. Louis became the sovereign of Aquitaine, Gascony, Septimania, Provence and southern Burgundy1. In 813, his father nominated him as his successor and crowned him joint-emperor at Aix-La-Chapelle1.
Inheritance
In 817 Louis produced the Ordinatio Imperii in Worms. This document dictated who of his sons was to inherit different parts of empire. It is a detailed document and would have made sense had he not tried to change it later to favour children from his second marriage.
His sons thought it unfair that Louis went back on his promises. This led to the War of Carolingian Succession.
One of the battles of this war was the Battle of Fontenoy where Louis’ son-in-law, Gerard, died.
It was normal to split your inheritance between your male sons even if, in this case, it led to great wars. Louis didn’t have this problem himself because he was the only surviving male son when his father died. It’s a shame he didn’t learn from that.
Five generations later, Italian nobles offered Louis’ descendant – William V – the crown of Italy. If Louis hadn’t botched his will, William would have never received that offer.
In November 824 Louis placed Pope Eugene II under his protection1. This subordinated the pope to Imperial control1.
In 833, Count Rorrick of Maine – another ancestor of mine – donated a monastery in Anjou to Emperor Louis.
Louis the Pious had an interest in all parts of his domain. He made an impact in education when he mandated that a scholasticus – a master teacher – should be appointed in all churches6. In those days, all teaching took place inside churches, so this added structure.
In popular culture
In 835, Louis established 1 November as the day to honour saints, after persistent demands by Pope Gregory III7. On Hallowtide, as the eve of All Saints’ Day was known, people dressed up and paraded around bonfires to ward away ghosts, before the saints were honoured7. Some stopped at homes, offering prayers for the dead in exchange for beer and food7.
This tradition is continued today with Halloween and All Saints’ Day.
Death
He died on 20 June 8402 3 but I don’t know what he died of. They buried him in the Abbey of Saint-Arnould, Metz, France1.
- Franks, Carolingian Kings; Charles Cawley; (As updated 2018-11-03) [↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩]
- Royalty for Commoners (4th edition); p107; Roderick W Stuart; Baltimore; 2002[↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩]
- Genealogy of the Kings of France; Armel de Wismes; Nantes; 2008-06[↩][↩][↩][↩]
- Royalty for Commoners (4th edition); p99; Roderick W Stuart; Baltimore; 2002[↩][↩][↩]
- Royalty for Commoners (4th edition); p202; Roderick W Stuart; Baltimore; 2002[↩]
- Schools need more space. Churches have it. Could COVID-19 bring them back together?; Andrew Barnes; 2020-08-26; Fast Company[↩]
- Minot Daily News; Dr Dennis Sommers; 2023-10-31[↩][↩][↩]
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