Editing Treaty of Verdun (section)

==Background==
Following Charlemagne's death, Louis was made ruler of the Frankish Empire. [[Agobard]], archbishop of Lyon, opposed the division of the empire, as he claimed that it would divide the [[Catholic Church|church]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=von Ranke |first=Leopold |title=Deutsche Geschichte |date=1894 |publisher=Verlag von Duncker & Humblot |edition=3rd |location=Leipzig |pages=8 |language=de |trans-title=German History}}</ref> During his reign, [[Louis the Pious]] divided the empire so that each of his sons could rule over their own kingdom under the greater rule of their father. Louis’ eldest son, [[Lothair I]], was given the title of emperor but because of several re-divisions by his father and the resulting revolts, he became much less powerful. When Louis died in 840, Lothair I claimed overlordship over the entirety of his father's kingdom in an attempt to reclaim the power he had at the beginning of his reign as [[emperor]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://www.thoughtco.com/the-treaty-of-verdun-1789809|title=What was the Treaty of Verdun?|work=ThoughtCo|access-date=2017-05-15}}</ref> He also supported his nephew [[Pepin II of Aquitaine|Pepin II's]] claim to [[Aquitaine]], a large province in the west of the [[Frankish Realm|Frankish realm]]. Lothair's brother, [[Louis the German|Louis II]], and his half-brother [[Charles the Bald|Charles II]] refused to acknowledge Lothair's [[suzerainty]] and declared war against him.<ref name=":0" /> After a bloody civil war, they defeated Lothair at the [[Battle of Fontenoy (841)|Battle of Fontenoy]] in 841 and sealed their alliance in 842 with the [[Oaths of Strasbourg]] which declared Lothair unfit for the imperial throne, after which he became willing to negotiate a settlement.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|title=Treaty of Verdun|url=https://www.britannica.com/event/Treaty-of-Verdun|website=[[Encyclopedia Britannica]]}}</ref> The meeting happened shortly before August 10, as confirmed by a contemporary letter.<ref>Pouzet, Philibert (1890). [https://books.google.com/books?id=90Df1UkNqlgC&pg=PA72 ''La succession de Charlemagne et le traité de Verdun''.] Paris. p. 72.</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Goldberg|first=Eric Joseph|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oyiTg0wgl58C&pg=PA115|title=Struggle for Empire: Kingship and Conflict Under Louis the German, 817–876|publisher=[[Cornell University Press]]|year=2006|pages=115|isbn=9780801438905}}</ref>