In 866, Louis succeeded his younger brotherCharles the Child as the ruler ofAquitaine. In 877, he succeeded his father as ruler of the entireWest Francia, includingLower Burgundy withProvence, but without rule over Italy. Thus, he did not become theemperor. He was crowned king of West Francia on 8 October 877 byHincmar,archbishop of Reims, at Compiegne[2] and was crowned a second time in August 878 byPope John VIII atTroyes while thepope was attending a council there.[3] The pope may have even offered him the imperial crown, but it was declined. Louis had relatively little impact on politics. He was described as "a simple and sweet man, a lover of peace, justice, and religion". In 878, he gave the counties ofBarcelona,Girona, andBesalú toWilfred the Hairy. His final act was to march against the invadingVikings, but he fell ill and died on 10 April 879 at Compiègne,[4] not long after beginning this final campaign.
Domains of King Louis the Stammerer in Western Francia, including Western Lotharingia and Lower Burgundy with Provence (all in orange)
During the peace negotiations between his father andErispoe, duke ofBrittany, Louis was betrothed to a daughter of Erispoe in 856. The daughter's name is not known, nor is it known if this was the same daughter who later married Gurivant. The contract was broken in 857 after Erispoe's murder.
Louis was married twice. His first wifeAnsgarde of Burgundy had two sons:Louis (born in 863) andCarloman (born in 866),[2] both of whom became kings ofWest Francia, and three daughters: Hildegarde (born in 864), Gisela (865–884).
Legend: → ≡ "father of", · ≡ "brother of" Begga, the daughter of Pepin I, married Ansegisel, the son of Arnulf of Metz, and was the mother of Pepin II.
