Louis the Pious

Louis the Pious, also called the Fair and the Debonaire, was King of the Franks and co-emperor with his father, Charlemagne. He was born on April 16, 778. He became King of Aquitaine in 781 and was crowned co-emperor in 813. After Charlemagne’s death in 814, Louis became the sole ruler of the Frankish Empire.

During his time as King of Aquitaine, Louis worked to protect the empire’s southwestern lands. He conquered Barcelona from the Emirate of Córdoba in 801 and made the Frankish control stronger in places like Pamplona and among the Basques south of the Pyrenees.

Louis wanted his adult sons, Lothair, Pepin, and Louis, to help him rule. He planned to share the empire with them. But his time as ruler had many hard moments, including family problems and civil wars. Louis kept ruling until he died on June 20, 840.

Birth and rule in Aquitaine

Louis was born in 778 while his father Charlemagne was traveling through the Pyrenees. He was the third son of Charlemagne and his wife Hildegard. When he was three, Louis became the King of Aquitaine and started ruling there with help from advisors. Charlemagne made this smaller kingdom to protect the borders.

Charlemagne wanted Louis to learn about his people. In 794, he gave Louis some homes to use in winter. Louis also led soldiers in battles, like the siege of Barcelona, to learn how to rule. After his brothers passed away, Louis became the ruler of the whole Frankish Empire when his father died in 814.

Reign

Louis heard about his father's death while at his palace in Doué, Anjou. He hurried to Aachen and crowned himself emperor. When he arrived, his first action was to remove things he did not like from the palace. He destroyed old Germanic pagan items that Charlemagne had collected. He also sent away some people at court who he thought were not behaving well, including some of his own family members.

He sent his unmarried sisters and nieces to live in nunneries. He chose Bernard, margrave of Septimania, and Ebbo, Archbishop of Reims to help him. He asked Benedict of Aniane to lead a new monastery in Aix-la-Chapelle and help improve the Frankish church.

In 816, Pope Stephen IV visited Reims and crowned Louis again on October 5. After this, most French kings were crowned in Reims.

On April 9, 817, Louis made a plan called the Ordinatio Imperii for who would rule after him. He divided the empire among his three sons: Lothair would be co-emperor and get most of the land; Pepin would be King of Aquitaine; and Louis, his youngest son, would be King of Bavaria.

This plan did not work well because it left out Bernard. He began to plot against Louis. Later, when Louis changed the plan to favor his second wife Judith's son Charles the Bald, his other sons did not agree. The idea that sons should inherit before brothers stayed the same.

Louis had many problems during his time as ruler. In 833, his son Lothair captured him and made him do public penance. But the next year, Louis was put back in power. More fights happened between his sons, which led to the empire being split up again.

In the last big fight of his rule, Louis made his son Charles king over Alemannia and Burgundy. When Pepin died in 838, Louis made Charles the new king of Aquitaine, which caused another fight. By 839, Louis had control of Aquitaine and Charles was accepted by the nobles and clergy. The empire was settled as Louis had decided at Worms, and the last civil war of his reign ended.

Death

Louis got sick after his last trips to fight. He went to his summer home near Ingelheim. He died on 20 June 840. Bishops and clerics were with him, and his half-brother Drogo was there too. Before he died, he forgave his son Louis, named Lothair as emperor, and asked for protection for Charles and Judith, who were not there.

After Louis's death, his brothers fought until 843. This ended with the Treaty of Verdun, which split the empire into three parts. West Francia and East Francia later became the roots of modern France and Germany. Middle Francia, which included areas such as Burgundy, the Low Countries, and northern Italy, existed only until 855 before becoming Lotharingia. The disagreement over who would rule Aquitaine wasn’t completely solved until 860. Louis was buried in the Abbey of Saint-Arnould in Metz.

Marriage and issue

Louis the Pious had many children with his wives and one child outside of marriage. With his first wife, Ermengarde of Hesbaye, he had three sons and three daughters. One son was Lothair, who became king of Middle Francia. Another son was Louis the German, who became king of East Francia. With his second wife, Judith of Bavaria, he had a son named Charles the Bald, who became king of West Francia, and a daughter named Gisela. He also had a child outside of marriage named Arnulf of Sens and another named Alpaïs of Paris.