Charles the Bald
Charles the Bald (French: Charles le Chauve; 13 June 823 – 6 October 877), also known as Charles II, was a 9th-century king of West Francia (843–877), King of Italy (875–877) and emperor of the Carolingian Empire (875–877).[1] 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.[2]
Not to be confused with Charles the Bold or Charles IV of France.Charles the Bald
875 – 6 October 877
25 December 875, Pavia
- Charles III (Emperor)
- Carloman of Bavaria (Italy)
c. 10 August 843 – 6 October 877
Louis I the Pious as King of the Franks
13 June 823
Frankfurt
6 October 877 (aged 54)
Brides-les-Bains
Burial and succession[edit]
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,[18] in a porphyry tub[19] which may be the same one known as "Dagobert's tub" (cuve de Dagobert), now in the Louvre.[20] It was recorded that there was a memorial brass there that was melted down at the Revolution.
Charles was succeeded by his son, 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.[9]
Baldness[edit]
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.[21]
An alternative or additional interpretation is based on Charles's initial lack of a regnum. "Bald" would in this case be a tongue-in-cheek reference to his landlessness at age at which his brothers already had been sub-kings for some years.[22]
Contemporary depictions of his person, such as in his 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 (c. 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 Calvus ("Charles the Bald"),
and he is given the same name in the late tenth century by Richier of Reims and Adhemar of Chabannes.[23]
Charles married 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.
With Ermentrude:
With Richilde: