Editing Louis the Child

{{Short description|Final Carolingian-dynasty King of East Francia (reigned 900 to 911)}}
{{About||the king of Sicily with the same nickname|Louis of Sicily|the Chicago-based musical duo|Louis the Child (DJs)}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name            = Louis the Child
| image           = Reichsschwert_ludwig_das_kind.jpg
| caption         = Louis the Child as he appears on the [[Imperial Sword]].
| full name       =

| succession      = [[List of Frankish kings|King of East Francia]]
| reign           = 899 &ndash; 20/24 September 911
| coronation      = 4 February 900, [[Forchheim (Oberfranken)|Forchheim]] 
| othertitles     =
| predecessor     = [[Arnulf of Carinthia]]
| successor       = [[Conrad I of Germany|Conrad I]]

| succession1     = [[List of rulers of Lorraine|King of Lotharingia]]
| reign1          = 900 &ndash; 20/24 September 911
| predecessor1    = [[Zwentibold]]
| successor1      = [[Charles III of France]]

| suc-type        =
| heir            =
| queen           = 
| consort         =
| spouse          = unknown
| issue           =
| house     = [[Carolingian dynasty]]
| father          = [[Arnulf of Carinthia]]
| mother          = [[Ota, wife of Arnulf of Carinthia|Ota]]
| birth_date      = September/October 893
| birth_place     = [[Altötting|Ötting]] (Autingas), [[Duchy of Bavaria|Bavaria]]
| death_date      = 20/24 September 911 (aged 17 or 18)
| death_place     = possibly [[Frankfurt]]
| burial_date  =
| burial_place = [[Saint Emmeram's Abbey]], [[Regensburg]]
}}

'''Louis the Child''' (893 – 20/24 September 911), sometimes called '''Louis III''' or '''Louis IV''', was the king of [[East Francia]] from 899 until his death and was also recognized as king of [[Lotharingia]] after 900. He was the last East Frankish ruler of the [[Carolingian dynasty]]. He succeeded his father, [[Arnulf of Carinthia|Arnulf]], in East Francia and his elder illegitimate half-brother [[Zwentibold]] in Lotharingia.

Louis became king when he was six and reigned until his death aged 17 or 18. During his reign the country was ravaged by [[Magyars|Magyar]] raids.

==Life==
Louis was born in September or October 893 in [[Altötting]], [[Duchy of Bavaria]]. He was the only legitimate son of king [[Arnulf of Carinthia]] and his wife, [[Ota, wife of Arnulf of Carinthia|Ota]], a member of the [[Conradines|Conradine dynasty]]. He had at least two brothers: his elder, illegitimate brother [[Zwentibold]], who ruled [[Lotharingia]], and another brother named [[Ratold of Italy|Ratold]], who briefly ruled the [[Kingdom of Italy (Holy Roman Empire)|Kingdom of Italy]]. 

===East Francia===
Louis was crowned in [[Forchheim (Oberfranken)|Forchheim]] on 4 February 900.<ref>{{EB1911|wstitle=Louis the Child|volume=17|page=50}}</ref> This is the earliest East Frankish royal coronation about which records are known to exist. Louis was of a weak personal constitution, often sick, and due to his young age, the reins of government were entirely in the hands of others – the nobles and bishops. Indeed, the coronation was probably a result of the fact that there was little Louis could gain at the expense of the nobles.

The most influential of Louis's councillors were [[Hatto I]] and [[Solomon III (bishop of Constance)]]. It was these two who assured that the royal court decided in favour of the [[Conradine]]s against the [[Babenberger]]s in the matter of the [[Duchy of Franconia]]. They appointed Louis's nephew, [[Conrad I of Germany|Conrad]] as a duke. In 903 the [[Raffelstetten customs regulations]] were promulgated under Louis' reign, the first customs regulations in the East Frankish part of Europe.

===Lotharingia===
Louis succeeded Zwentibold in 900. He maintained a separate chancery for East Francia and Lotharingia, the latter under Archbishop [[Radbod of Trier]]. He appointed an East Frank, [[Gebhard, Duke of Lorraine|Gebhard]], as [[duke of Lotharingia]], alienating the Lotharingian nobility. The latter did not participate in East Frankish assemblies.<ref>{{citation |author=Rosamond McKitterick |authorlink=Rosamond McKitterick |title=The Frankish Kingdoms under the Carolingians, 751–987 |publisher=Longman |location=London |year=1983}}, p. 307.</ref>

===Magyar invasions===
In 900, during the [[Hungarian invasions of Europe]], the [[Magyars|Magyar]] army ravaged Bavaria. Another group of Magyars were defeated by [[Luitpold, Margrave of Bavaria]] and Bishop [[Richer of Passau]]. In 901 they devastated the [[Duchy of Carinthia]]. In 904 Louis invited [[Kurszán]], the [[kende]] of the [[Magyars]], to negotiations, but killed him and his delegation.<ref>{{cite web|title=Tanulmányok a magyar állam eredetéről |last=Györffy |first=György |url=http://mek.oszk.hu/00300/00355/html//ABC07165/08962.htm|year=1959 |publisher=Akadémiai Publishing Company |location=[[Budapest]] }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Transylvania: A Short History|author=Andrew L. Simon, Istvan Lazar|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sCdhLh0C2okC&q=Kursz%C3%A1n&pg=PA32|isbn=1-931313-21-0|year=2001|publisher=Simon Publications }}</ref> In 906 Magyars twice ravaged the [[Duchy of Saxony]]. In 907 they inflicted a heavy defeat on the Bavarians who had invaded Hungary, killing the Margrave Luitpold and many high nobles in the [[Battle of Pressburg]]. Next year it was the turn of Saxony and Thuringia, and in 909 that of [[Alemannia]]. On their return, however, [[Arnulf, Duke of Bavaria]] inflicted a defeat on them on the river [[Rott (Inn, Neuhaus am Inn)|Rott]], but in 910 they, in their turn, defeated Louis the Child's army in the [[Battle of Lechfeld (910)|Battle of Augsburg]].<ref>Gwatking, H. M., Whitney, J. P., et al. Cambridge Medieval History: Volume III – Germany and the Western Empire.</ref> Louis himself tried to take some military control as he grew older, but he had little success against the Magyars. His army was destroyed at [[Ennsburg]] in 907.

===Death and succession===
In a state of despair, possibly afflicted by severe [[Major depressive disorder|depression]], Louis died at [[Frankfurt am Main]] on 20 or 24 September 911, seventeen or eighteen years old. Louis was buried in the monastery of [[St. Emmeram's Abbey|Saint Emmeram's]] in [[Regensburg]], where his father Arnulf also lay. His death brought an end to the eastern branch of the Carolingian dynasty.

In 911 the dukes of East Francia elected [[Conrad I of Germany|Conrad of Franconia]], son of Gebhard, as the king, while the nobles of Lotharingia elected the Carolingian [[Charles the Simple]], already king of [[West Francia]], as their king.

==See also==
*[[Kings of Germany family tree]]
*[[List of Frankish kings]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{Commons category-inline|Louis the Child}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-hou|[[Carolingian dynasty]]|September/October|893|20/24 September|911|name=Louis IV of East Francia}}
{{s-reg|}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Arnulf of Carinthia|Arnulf]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[King of East Francia]]|years=899–911}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Conrad I of Germany|Conrad I]]}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Zwentibold]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[King of Lotharingia]]|years=900–911}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Charles the Simple]]}}
{{s-end}}

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{{German monarchs}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Louis The Child}}
[[Category:893 births]]
[[Category:911 deaths]]
[[Category:9th-century kings of East Francia]]
[[Category:10th-century kings of East Francia]]
[[Category:9th-century dukes of Bavaria]]
[[Category:10th-century dukes of Bavaria]]
[[Category:People from Altötting]]
[[Category:Kings of Bavaria]]
[[Category:Kings of Saxony]]
[[Category:Kings of Lotharingia]]
[[Category:Medieval child monarchs]]
[[Category:Burials at St. Emmeram's Abbey]]
[[Category:Sons of emperors]]