Editing Charles the Bald

{{short description|King of West Francia from 843 to 877 and Carolingian Emperor from 875 to 877}}
{{Distinguish|Charles the Bold|Charles IV of France}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2023}}
{{Infobox royalty
| image        = Bibliothèque nationale de France - Bible de Vivien Ms. Latin 1 folio 423r détail Le comte Vivien offre le manuscrit de la Bible faite à l'abbaye de Saint-Martin de Tours à Charles le Chauve.jpg
| caption      = Charles the Bald as depicted in the [[Vivian&nbsp;Bible]], {{circa|845}}
| succession   = [[Holy Roman Emperor|Emperor]] of the [[Carolingian Empire]]
| title        = [[Holy Roman Emperor|Emperor of the Romans]]
| reign        = 875 – 6 October 877
| coronation   = 25 December 875, [[Pavia]]
| predecessor  = [[Louis II of Italy]]
| cor-type     = [[Coronation of the Holy Roman Emperor|Coronation]]
| successor    =  [[Charles the Fat]]
| succession1  = [[King of West Francia]]
| reign1       = {{circa}} 10 August 843 – 6 October 877
| coronation1  = 
| cor-type1    = 
| predecessor1 = [[Louis the Pious]]
| successor1   = [[Louis the Stammerer]]
| spouses      = {{plainlist|
* [[Ermentrude of Orleans]]
* [[Richilde of Provence]]
}}
| issue        = {{plainlist|
*[[Judith of Flanders]]
*[[Louis the Stammerer]]
*[[Charles the Child]]
*[[Lothar the Lame]]
*[[Carloman, son of Charles the Bald|Carloman]]
*[[Rothild (daughter of Charles the Bald)|Rothilde]]
}}
| full name    = 
| house        = [[Carolingian]]
| father       = [[Louis the Pious]]
| mother       = [[Judith of Bavaria (died 843)|Judith of Bavaria]]
| birth_date   = {{birth date|823|6|13|df=y}}
| birth_place  = [[Frankfurt]], [[Francia]]
| death_date   = {{death date and age|877|10|6|823|6|13|df=y}}
| death_place  = [[Brides-les-Bains]], [[West Francia]]
| date of burial = 
| place of burial = [[Abbey of Saint-Denis]]
}}
[[File:Denier de Charles II le Chauve.jpg|thumb|[[French denier|Denier]] of Charles the Bald struck at Paris]]

'''Charles the Bald''' ({{langx|fr|link=no|Charles le Chauve}}; 13 June 823 – 6 October 877), also known as '''Charles{{nbsp}}II''', was a 9th-century king of [[West Francia]] (843–877), [[King of Italy]] (875–877) and emperor of the [[Carolingian Empire]] (875–877).<ref>He is retroactively counted as "Charles{{nbsp}}II" in the lists of both French and German monarchs.</ref> After a series of civil wars during the reign of his father, [[Louis the Pious]], Charles succeeded, by the [[Treaty of Verdun]] (843), in acquiring the western third of the empire. He was a grandson of [[Charlemagne]] and the youngest son of Louis the Pious by his second wife, [[Judith of Bavaria (died 843)|Judith]].{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=897}}

==Struggle against his brothers==
{{further|Carolingian civil war}}
[[File:Carolingian empire 876.svg|thumb|Kingdoms of Charles the Bald (orange) and other Carolingians in 876]]
He was born on 13 June 823 in [[Frankfurt]],{{sfn|Riche|1983|p=150}} when his elder brothers were already adults and had been assigned their own ''regna'', or subkingdoms, by their father. The attempts made by [[Louis the Pious]] to assign Charles a subkingdom, first [[Alemannia]] and then the country between the [[Meuse]] and the [[Pyrenees]] (in 832, after the rising of [[Pepin I of Aquitaine|Pepin{{&nbsp}}I of Aquitaine]]) were unsuccessful. The numerous reconciliations with the rebellious [[Lothair I|Lothair]] and Pepin, as well as their brother [[Louis the German]], [[List of rulers of Bavaria|King of Bavaria]], made Charles's share in [[Aquitaine]] and Italy only temporary, but his father did not give up and made Charles the heir of the entire land which was once [[Gaul]]. At a [[Diet (assembly)|diet]] in [[Aachen]] in 837, Louis the Pious bade the nobles do homage to Charles as his heir.{{sfn|Riche|1983|p=157}} Pepin of Aquitaine died in 838, whereupon Charles at last received that kingdom,{{sfn|Riche|1983|p=157}} which angered Pepin's heirs and the Aquitainian nobles.{{sfn|Riche|1983|p=158}}

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{{&nbsp}}I, and the two allies defeated Lothair at the [[Battle of Fontenoy-en-Puisaye]] on 25 June 841.{{sfn|Bradbury|2007|p=14}} In the following year, the two brothers confirmed their alliance by the celebrated [[Oath of Strasbourg|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 governing until then, and which practically corresponded with what is now France, as far as the [[Meuse]], the [[Saône]], and the [[Rhône]], with the addition of the [[Marca Hispanica|Spanish March]] as far as the [[Ebro]]. Louis received the eastern part of the [[Carolingian Empire]], known then as [[East Francia]] and later as Germany. Lothair retained the imperial title and the [[Kingdom of Italy (medieval)|Kingdom of Italy]]. He also received the central regions from [[Flanders]] through the [[Rhineland]] and [[Burgundy (region)|Burgundy]] as king of [[Middle Francia]].{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|pp=897–898}}

==Reign in the West==
[[File:Charles the Bald denier struck Reims.jpg|thumb|[[French denier|Denier]] (type Temple and cross) of Charles the Bald, minted at [[Reims]] between 840 and 864 (pre-[[Edict of Pistres]]).]]

[[File:Charles Marville, Hôtel Carnavalet, statue of Charlemagne, ca. 1853–70.jpg|thumb|upright|The so-called [[Equestrian statuette of Charlemagne]] (c.&nbsp;870), thought to possibly depict Charles the Bald]]

Shortly after Verdun, Charles went on to an unsuccessful campaign against Brittany, on the return from which he signed the [[Treaty of Coulaines]] with his nobility and clergy.<ref name=Grosse>{{cite book|author=Rolf Grosse |title=Du royaume franc aux origines de la France et de l'Allemagne 800–1214 |publisher=Presses Universitaires du Septentrion |date=2014 |pages=50–52}}</ref> After that, the first years of his reign, up to the death of Lothair{{&nbsp}}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, Ardennes|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 (region)|Burgundy]]. He was saved only by the support of the bishops, who refused to crown Louis the German king, and by the fidelity of the [[Elder Welfs|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.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=898}} On the death of his nephew [[Lothair II|Lothair{{&nbsp}}II]] in 869, Charles tried to seize Lothair's dominions by having himself consecrated as King of [[Lotharingia]] at [[Metz]], but he was compelled to open negotiations when Louis found support among Lothair's former vassals. Lotharingia was partitioned between Charles and Louis in the resulting [[Treaty of Mersen|treaty]] (870).{{sfn|Nelson|1992|p=17–18}}

Besides these family disputes, Charles had to struggle against repeated rebellions in Aquitaine and against the [[Brittany|Bretons]]. Led by their chiefs [[Nominoe, Duke of Brittany|Nomenoë]] and [[Erispoe, Duke of Brittany|Erispoë]], who defeated the king at the [[Battle of Ballon]] (845) and the [[Battle of Jengland]] (851), the Bretons were successful in obtaining a ''de facto'' independence. Charles also fought against the [[Vikings]], who devastated the country of the north, the valleys of the [[Seine]] and [[Loire]], and even up to the borders of Aquitaine. At the Vikings' successful [[Siege of Paris (845)|siege and sack of Paris in 845]] and several times thereafter Charles was forced to purchase their retreat at a heavy price.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=898}} Charles led various expeditions against the invaders and, by the [[Edict of Pistres]] of 864, made the army more mobile by providing for a [[cavalry]] element, the predecessor of the French [[chivalry]] so famous during the next 600 years. By the same edict, he ordered fortified bridges to be put up at all rivers to block the Viking incursions. Two of these bridges at Paris saved the city during its [[Siege of Paris (885–86)|siege of 885–886]]. Charles engaged in diplomacy with the [[Emirate of Córdoba|Emirate of Cordoba]], receiving camels from [[Muhammad I of Córdoba|Emir Muhammad{{&nbsp}}I]] in 865.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Sénac|first=Philippe|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/470405780|title=Les Carolingiens et al-Andalus (VIIIe–IXe siècles)|date=2002|publisher=Maisonneuve et Larose|isbn=2-7068-1659-7|location=Paris|pages=131|oclc=470405780}}</ref> From the 860s, the palace of [[Compiègne]] became an increasingly important centre for Charles and he founded a monastery there in 876.{{sfn|Nelson|1992|pp=36, 235}} In the tenth century Compiègne was known as 'Carlopolis' because of its association with Charles.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Lohrmann|first=Dietrich|date=1976|title=Trois Palais Royaux de la Vallée de l'Oise d'après les travaux des érudits mauristes: Compiègne, Choisy-au-Bac et Quierzy|journal=Francia|volume=4|pages=124–129}}</ref>

In 871–872, Charles sent two letters to [[Pope Adrian II|Pope Hadrian{{&nbsp}}II]] where he made a defence of royal sovereignty in the face of intrusive actions by the papacy into state affairs.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Pecksmith |first=Robert |date=2024 |title=A King Praises Himself: The Letters of Charles the Bald to Pope Hadrian II |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ehr/ceae104 |journal=The English Historical Review |volume=139 |issue=597 |pages=301–325 |doi=10.1093/ehr/ceae104 |issn=0013-8266}}</ref>

==Reign as emperor==
[[File:Apparition Charles le chauve.jpg|thumb|upright|Apparition of Charles the Bald after his death and burial in Saint Denis]]
In 875, after the death of the Emperor [[Louis II, Holy Roman Emperor|Louis{{&nbsp}}II]] (son of his half-brother Lothair), Charles the Bald, supported by [[Pope John VIII|Pope John{{&nbsp}}VIII]], traveled to Italy, receiving the royal crown at [[Pavia]] and the imperial insignia in Rome on 25 December.<ref name=":0">''[[Annales Vedastini]]''; AV 876</ref>{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=898}} As emperor, Charles combined the mottoes that had been used by his grandfather and father into a single formula: ''[[Renovatio imperii Romanorum|renovatio imperii Romani]] [[Renovatio regni Francorum|et Francorum]]'', "renewal of the empire of the Romans and Franks". These words appeared on his [[Bulla (seal)|seal]].{{sfn|West-Harling|2018|p=173}}

Louis the German, also a candidate for the succession of Louis{{&nbsp}}II, revenged himself by invading and devastating Charles's domains, and Charles had to return hastily to [[West Francia]]. After the death of Louis the German (28 August 876), Charles in his turn attempted to seize Louis's kingdom, but was decisively beaten at the [[Battle of Andernach (876)|Battle of Andernach]] on 8 October 876.<ref name=":0" />{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=898}}

In the meantime, Pope John{{&nbsp}}VIII, menaced by the [[Saracens]], was urging Charles to come to his defence in Italy. Charles again crossed the [[Alps]], but this expedition was received with little enthusiasm by the nobles, and even by his regent in [[Lombardy]], [[Boso of Provence|Boso]], and they refused to join his army. At the same time [[Carloman of Bavaria|Carloman]], son of Louis the German, entered northern Italy. Charles, ill and in great distress, started on his way back to Gaul, but died while crossing the pass of [[Mont Cenis]] at [[Brides-les-Bains]], on 6 October 877.<ref>''[[Annales Vedastini]]''; AV 877</ref>{{sfn|Riche|1983|p=204}}{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=898}}

==Burial and succession==
According to the Annals of St-Bertin, Charles was hastily buried at the abbey of [[Nantua]], [[Burgundy]], because the bearers were unable to withstand the stench of his decaying body. A few years later, his remains were transferred to the [[Abbey of Saint-Denis]] where he had long wished to be buried,<ref>{{citation|title=Rituals of Powers: From Late Antiquity to the Early Middle Ages|editor=Frans Theuws, Janet Laughland Nelson|page=164}}</ref> in a [[Porphyry (geology)|porphyry]] tub<ref>{{cite book|publisher=Belin|page=412|title=La France avant la France, (481–888)|author1=Geneviève Bührer-Thierry|author2=Charles Mériaux|date=2010|location=Paris}}</ref> which may be the same one known as "[[Dagobert I|Dagobert]]'s tub" (''cuve de Dagobert''), now in the [[Louvre]].<ref>{{cite web|website=Musée du Louvre|title=Cuve dite 'de Dagobert '|url=http://cartelfr.louvre.fr/cartelfr/visite?srv=car_not&idNotice=28786}}</ref> It was recorded that there was a memorial brass there that was melted down at the Revolution.

Charles was succeeded by his son, [[Louis the Stammerer|Louis]]. Charles was 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]].{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=898}}

==Baldness==
It has been suggested that Charles's nickname was used ironically and not descriptively; he was not in fact bald but rather was extremely hairy.{{sfn|Nelson|1992|p=13}}
An alternative or additional interpretation is based on Charles's initial lack of a ''[[Realm|regnum]]''. "Bald" would in this case be a tongue-in-cheek reference to his landlessness at an age at which his brothers already had been sub-kings for some years.{{sfn|Lebe|2003}}

Contemporary depictions of his person, such as in his [[First Bible of Charles the Bald|Bible of 845]], on his seal of 847 (as king) and on his seal of 875 (as emperor), show him with a full head of hair, as does the [[Equestrian statuette of Charlemagne|equestrian statuette]] (c.&nbsp;870), which is thought to depict him.

The ''Genealogy of Frankish Kings'', a text from Fontanelle dating from possibly as early as 869, names him as ''Karolus [[:wikt:calvus|Calvus]]'' ("Charles the Bald"),
and he is given the same name in the late tenth century by [[Richier of Reims]] and [[Adhemar of Chabannes]].{{sfn|Dutton|2008}}

==Marriages and children==
Charles married [[Ermentrude of Orléans|Ermentrude]], daughter of [[Odo I, Count of Orléans]], in 842. She died in 869. In 870, Charles married [[Richilde of Provence]], who was descended from a noble family of [[Lorraine (province)|Lorraine]].

With [[Ermentrude of Orléans|Ermentrude]]:
* [[Judith of Flanders|Judith]] (c.&nbsp;843 – after 866), married first King [[Ethelwulf]] of [[Wessex]], second his son [[Æthelbald, King of Wessex|King Ethelbald]], and third [[Baldwin I, Margrave of Flanders]]
* [[Louis the Stammerer]] (846–879)
* [[Charles the Child]] (847–866)
* [[Lothair the Lame]] (848–866), monk in 861, became Abbot of Saint-Germain
* [[Carloman, son of Charles the Bald|Carloman]] (849–876)
* Rotrude (852–912), a nun, Abbess of Saint-Radegunde
* Ermentrud (854–877), a nun, Abbess of Hasnon{{sfn|LaVoy|2015|p=36}}
* Hildegarde (born 856, died young)
* Gisela (857–874)
* Godehilde (864–907)

With [[Richilde of Provence|Richilde]]:
* [[Rothild (daughter of Charles the Bald)|Rothilde]] (871–929), married firstly to Hugues, Count of Bourges and secondly to [[Roger, Count of Maine]].{{sfn|Riche|1983|p=237}}
* Drogo (872–873)
* Pippin (873–874)
* a son (born and died 875)
* Charles (876–877)

==See also==
* [[First Bible of Charles the Bald]]
* [[Crown of Charlemagne]]
* [[Capitularies of Charles the Bald]]
* [[Engelram, Chamberlain of France]]

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
*{{cite book |last=Bradbury |first=Jim |title=The Capetians: Kings of France 987–1328 |publisher=Hambledon Continuum |year=2007 }}
*{{EB1911|wstitle=Charles II (Roman Emperor)|display=Charles{{nbsp}}II|volume=5|pages=897–898}}
*{{cite book |last=Dutton |first=Paul E. |title=Charlemagne's Mustache |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |year=2008 }}{{ISBN?}}
*{{cite journal |title=Hirmindrut Sculdarissa: A Ninth-Century Woman's Original Letter and its Implications |first=Hailey |last=LaVoy
|journal=The Journal of Medieval Latin |volume=25 |year=2015 |pages=29–50 |doi=10.1484/J.JML.5.109439 }}
*{{cite book |last=Lebe |first=Reinhard |title=War Karl der Kahle wirklich kahl? Historische Beinamen und was dahintersteckt |publisher=Dt. Taschenbuch-Verlag|year=2003 }}
*{{Cite book|last=Nelson|first=Janet L.|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/23767726|title=Charles the Bald|date=1992 |publisher=Longman|isbn=0-582-05585-7|location=London|oclc=23767726}}
*{{cite book |last=Riche |first=Pierre |title=The Carolingians: The Family who forged Europe |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |year=1983 }}
*{{cite book |first=Veronica |last=West-Harling |chapter=The Roman Past in the Consciousness of the Roman Elites in the Ninth and Tenth Centuries |title=Transformations of Romanness: Early Medieval Regions and Identities |editor1=Walter Pohl |editor2=Clemens Gantner |editor3=Cinzia Grifoni |editor4=Marianne Pollheimer-Mohaupt |doi=10.1515/9783110598384-013 |publisher=De Gruyter |year=2018 |pages=173–194|hdl=10278/3702393 |isbn=978-3110598384 |s2cid=242056088 }}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Charles the Bald }}
{{wikisource author}}
* [http://www.documentacatholicaomnia.eu/30_10_0823-0877-_Carolus_Calvus_Francorum_Rex.html Carolus Calvus Francorum Rex, ''Patrologia Latina'']

{{S-start}}
{{S-hou|[[Carolingian dynasty]]|13 June|823|6 October|877|name=Emperor Charles II the Bald}}
{{S-reg}}
{{S-bef
| rows = 2
| before = [[Pepin I of Aquitaine|Pepin{{nbsp}}I]]
}}
{{S-dis|title=[[King of Aquitaine]]|years=838–855|by=[[Pepin II of Aquitaine|Pepin{{nbsp}}II]]|years1=838–855}}
{{S-aft
| after = [[Charles the Child]]
}}
|-
{{s-ttl
| title = [[Duke of Maine]]
| years = 838–851
}}
{{s-aft
| after = [[Robert the Strong]]
}}
{{s-break}}
{{S-bef
| before = [[Louis the Pious]]
| as = king of the Franks
}}
{{S-ttl
| title = [[List of French monarchs|King of West Francia]]
| years = 843–877
}}
{{S-aft
| after = [[Louis the Stammerer]]
}}
{{s-break}}
{{S-bef
| rows = 2
| before = [[Louis II of Italy|Louis the Younger]]
}}
{{S-ttl
| title = [[Carolingian emperor]]
| years = 875–877
}}
{{s-vac|next=[[Charles the Fat]]}}
{{s-break}}
{{S-ttl
| title = [[King of Italy]]
| years = 875–877
}}
{{S-aft
| after = [[Carloman of Bavaria|Carloman]]
}}
{{S-end}}

{{Holy Roman Emperors}}
{{Monarchs of France}}
{{Antique Kings of Italy}}
{{Carolingians footer}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Charles 02}}
[[Category:823 births]]
[[Category:877 deaths]]
[[Category:9th-century Holy Roman Emperors]]
[[Category:9th-century kings of West Francia]]
[[Category:9th-century kings of Italy]]
[[Category:Frankish warriors]]
[[Category:Burials at the Basilica of Saint-Denis]]
[[Category:Dukes of Swabia]]
[[Category:Dukes of Maine]]
[[Category:People from Frankfurt]]
[[Category:Carolingian dynasty]]
[[Category:Sons of emperors]]